Several business units yet to register under Food Safety Act

12,000 units need to be registered and 2,800 require licence 

Despite the one-year extension given for food business units to register themselves under the Food Safety and Standards Act, several traders engaged in the business in the district have failed to utilise the window and still seem to be reluctant to comply with the requirement.

As per the Act, all food business operators with a turnover of Rs. 12 lakh should obtain licence from the designated officer and those with turnover of below Rs. 12 lakh should register themselves with the respective food safety officer. 

Apart from hotels and restaurants, roadside eateries, grocers, and departmental stores selling food products, and meat stalls would have to register or obtain licence depending on the turnover. The Act was enforced through the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department which had a district-level designated officer and food safety officers across the district.

According to estimates, about 12,000 units engaged in the food sector in the district need to be registered and about 2,800 require licence. The deadline for the units to register themselves was extended by a year in February last year. With just about a couple of weeks to go for the extended deadline of February 4, enquiries revealed that many units were yet to register themselves. 

According to sources, about 7,200 units had registered so far and about 890 units had been issued licences. District officials had already held a series of awareness meetings across the district to sensitise traders to the provisions of the Act.

But with a few traders’ organisations making a bid to get a further extension of time, many traders are reluctant to go in for the registration. A delegation of the Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu recently called on the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and urged him to either scrap the Act or extend the deadline. 

“We are hopeful that the Centre will extend the deadline and make appropriate changes in the Act so as to remove certain impractical rules,” Ve. Govindarajalu, treasurer of the organization, told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the Food Safety Department officials were making good progress in registering government agencies, including ration shops, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies godowns, HR and CE Department temples and government hostels. 

The process of registration of all government agencies would be completed within a week or 10 days, said an officer of the department.

FDA registers 2,000 food businesses registered in 8 days

KOLHAPUR: As many as 2,000 food selling businesses in the district have registered themselves with the food and drugs administration (FDA) in the last eight days.

The body appealed to vendors to register and obtain licenses before February 4, failing which it will impose a fine up to Rs 5 lakh and a jail term for defaulters.

U S Vanjari the assistant commissioner of Kolhapur said, "We have received good response so far. The drive will be complete on February 4. We appealed to all food vendors and businesses to comply with the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006."

According to the act, all such businesses must be registered with FDA and must have license to operate. The businesses include grocery shops, hotels, stalls, canteens, roadside dhabas, sweet marts, commission agents, food processing units, vegetable merchants and other such agencies related to food.

Vanjari added that there are 27,000 businesses that are registered across the district, but many small businesses are not registered as they are unaware. "As per the act every business must be licensed. If a person is found operating a food business without license, he or she can be punished with a jail term of 6 months or fined Rs 5 lakh. If the business is unregistered, the fine is Rs 1 lakh," Vanjari added.

FDA will start another drive in February to review the status of food businesses. At that time, FDA will start taking action against defaulters, Vanjari added.

Among other administrative reasons, the main reason to make the registration and license compulsory is to ensure that food items are hygienic, healthy and without any impurities, he added.

In October last year, the FDA had seized adulterated edible oil worth Rs 1.05 crore as part of its drive against adulterated food products. Since then, however, the office has been busy in streamlining the food business licenses. At Kolhapur, the FDA has barely nine food inspectors to monitor the 27,000 registered businesses.

'15 % food business operators apply for licences, registration'

With two weeks left for the deadline of registration, only 15% food business operators have applied for licences or registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

There are nearly one lakh food business operators in the district. The operators that fall under the Act are hotels, restaurants, canteens, dhabas, food carts, sweet shops, tea stalls, grocery stores, milk vendors and others involved in sale of any kind of food.

Talking to HT, district health officer Abnash Kumar said, “We are continuously making efforts and organising camps, so that registration can be done. Till Friday only 15% business operators from the district have applied for licence. We have organised a camp at Sherpur on Thursday and at Basti Jodhewal on Friday, where registrations were issued to only 150 operators.” 

He said, “During the camps we are receiving better response than before. So, we appeal the food business operators to visit our office or camps for registration and license to avoid inconvenience in future.”

Civil Surgeon Subash Batta said, “There are only a few educational institutes, schools and colleges which have got licences and most of the institutes have not applied till now.”

If operators fail to get registration or licence till February 4, a fine of Rs. 5 lakh will be imposed.

Fee structure per annum

Registration fee: Rs. 100

If the turnover is above Rs. 30 crore, the licence is issued by the Central Licensing Authority, and if it is below Rs. 30 crore, then the State Licensing Authority issues it.

Fee for licence issued by Central Licensing Authority: Rs. 7,500

Fee for licence issued by State Licensing Authority

Manufacturer or miller: Rs. 3,000-Rs 5,000

Hotels (3 star and above): Rs. 5,000

All food service providers, including restaurants/boarding houses, clubs, canteens (schools, colleges, office, institutions), caterers, banquet halls with food catering arrangements, and food vendors like dhabas or any other food business operator: Rs. 2000

Food Business Operators to obtain license/registration

Port Blair, Jan. 17: All Food Business Operators (FBOs) are informed that the Govt. of India has fixed 4th February 2014 as the deadline for obtaining license/registration under Food Safety & Standards Act 2006. As per Section 63 of FSS Act 2006 operating food business without license/registration attracts imprisonment for a term which may extend to six (6) months and also with a fine which may extend to five (5) lacs rupees.

All FBOs including Govt. department/office canteens, fruit vendors, vegetable vendors, fish vendors are requested to obtain licence/registration under FSS Act 2006 as per their annual turnover. 

FBOs with annual turnover of Rs.12 lacs and above shall be granted licenses and those FBOs with annual turnover below Rs.12 lacs shall be registered under the Act.

Formalin traces found in fish, Kerala HC told

The government on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that some samples of fish brought from outside the State and also the ice used as preservative were found to contain formalin traces on analysis.

In an action taken report filed by the Food Safety Commissioner on behalf of the State government, it had been pointed out that the food safety commissioners of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Goa had already been approached seeking immediate preventive action. 

The government said it had ordered closure of 18 ice plants across the State for their failure to maintain the necessary standards and hygiene. 

The report was filed in response to a writ petition filed by High Court lawyer Basil Attipetty, seeking a directive to restaurants and eateries to sell food in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act and Rules.

The report said the officials of the food commissionerate had intensified inspection to ensure that the public had safe food. 

The Food Safety Commissioner had issued certain guidelines for hotels, bakeries, fast food units, drinking water suppliers, and drinking water tanker lorries. Moreover, a special drive had been initiated to ensure quality of drinking water, vegetables, and other food sold in the State.

In a special drive during Onam, two tanker lorries suspected to be carrying cheaper oil for adulterating coconut oil had been confiscated and the licence of the consignee firm was suspended.

The report pointed out that absence of scientific slaughterhouses had been a major concern as the State was a major consumer of non-vegetarian food.

The Food Safety Commissioner had taken up the issue with the government for an immediate solution.

Apart from this, training was also being imparted to field officers to equip themselves with the latest developments in the food industry so that they could function effectively.

Only 46 cases of unsafe food in 18 months, govt in HC

KOCHI: In the past one-and-a-half years, a period in which a number of instances of food poisoning reported from different parts of the state, authorities could detect only 46 cases of unsafe food samples that warranted prosecution, the government has informed the high court.

The report also said presence of formalin was detected in fish brought in from other states. Food safety commissioners of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa have been asked to take necessary steps immediately to prevent such incidents. For not maintaining necessary standards and hygiene, 18 ice plants in the state were ordered to be closed, the government has submitted.

The government filed an action taken report (ATR) as directed by the court while considering a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking strict implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 (FSSA). The PIL was filed by advocate Basil Attipetty in the wake of death of a person allegedly after consuming 'shawarma' from a restaurant in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to FSSA, only restaurants that sell food that is unsafe or injurious to health need to face prosecution. If a person dies from consuming unsafe food, the manufacturer or seller can be sentenced to imprisonment that may extend up to a life term and fine of Rs 10 lakh. Sellers of substandard or misbranded food need only to pay a fine, the maximum being Rs 5 lakh.

Government's report to the court stated, "Since August 10, 2012, the date of filing the earlier ATR, 4,753 inspections have been conducted all over the state and 475 statutory samples were collected for analysis. Based on the analytical reports, steps are underway to initiate adjudication process and prosecution steps. Pursuant to analysis, 46 cases of unsafe food samples and 57 cases of substandard/misbranded food samples have been detected."

During the one-and-a-half year period, the government collected Rs 21.84 lakh as fine, the report said. A special drive was conducted in which 1,056 juice stalls were inspected. However, only three stalls were closed down, while 487 stalls were served with improvement notice and Rs 48,500 was collected as compounding fine for not maintaining hygienic conditions, government has informed.

Registration of food business operators made mandatory

Homemade pickle sold at a food stall in Dimapur.

Kohima, January 17: All Food Business Operators (FBOs) in the state irrespective of urban and rural based food business operators are directed to obtain license and register their food business under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, before February 4, 2014. 

Offenders shall attract penalty upto Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment up to 6 months.

While informing this in a press release, Dr. Neiphi Kire, principal director & additional food safety commissioner, directorate of health & family welfare, Nagaland added, “Operating food business without license or registration will attract penalty upto Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment up to 6 months under section 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. 

According to the Act, all Food Business Operators should be registered under FSSAI and obtain license. FBO includes hotels, permanent or temporary stallholders, hawkers, home based canteens, Dhabawalas, food manufacturers, processors, re-packers, food stalls arrangements in religious gatherings, slaughterhouses, storage houses, retail and wholesale traders, hostels, packaged drinking water units and so on.

Application forms for licensing/registration and other details can be obtained from the office of the Designated Officer (CMO) of the district on all working days.

Further, all food business involved in local food products and homemade food for sale, stores, distribution for sells are directed to properly seal the products in Food Grade plastic container or polyethylene. The product seal should carry the following information on the label: name of food; date of manufacture or packing; ingredients used or added; net weight, volume, number; lot number, batch number, code number; best before; use by date and expiry date.

This was informed in pursuance of Food Safety and Standards (packaging and labeling) Regulations 2011 chapter 1 of sub-rule 1.2 (1.2.1).

The information on the package shall be duly printed and not through a sticker. The concerned has to register their business under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules & regulation 2011. “Non-compliance to this directive would be an offence, punishable under the said Act and Rules,” Dr. Neiphi Kire said in the press release.

The measure will help the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, an agency of the Union ministry of health and family welfare, protect and promote public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

IIP’s conference demystifies packaging design, regulations, logistics and retail

The two-day packaging conference organised by Indian Institute of Packaging saw an enthusiastic start with an attendance of over 200 delegates at Hotel Shangri-La’s Eros, New Delhi on 17 January 2014.

In the keynote session, Asim Parekh of Coca Cola India discussed the challenges in packaging development with regards to changing retail environment. He shared few instances, in the modern retail environment, where convenience and customisation plays a significant role such as the initiative of personalised Coca Cola bottles and wallet Maaza bottle, which is ready to be launched all over India. Parekh said, “Thanks to the packaging fraternity, Coca Cola has been a successful unchanged product for last 26 years.”

The gist of Parekh’s presentation was that retail drives the behaviour of brand owners and influences packaging.

The second presentation highlighted the significance of packaging design. Tridha Gajjar, professor, NID Ahmedabad shared her views on design aspects of packaging: shapes, colour, surface graphics, printing technologies etc.

Gajjar demonstrated how selecting appropriate geometrical shapes can help in eliminating the dead space in packaging being transported and thereby reduce costs. Cylinderical ice-cream packs with perforations for easy opening and dispensing, portable-flexible-flatable pouches, packaging for Khakra among others were some of the packaging case-studies shared by Gajjar.

Radha Mohan Gupta, regional procurement director, Rickett Benckiser spoke on efficient distribution and logistics systems. In his presentation, Gupta explained the evolution of retail environment in India. “The initialisation of retail in India began in 1990s with factory retail outlets, the conceptualisation happened in a period from 1995 to 2005 and in next five years the retail industry in India saw expansion. Since 2010, it is in consolidation mode and this is fuelled by penetration in rural areas and FDI in multi-brand retail.”

According to Gupta, India is the fifth most attractive investment destination for organised retail in the world. Gupta spoke about the impact of retail on distribution and logistics. He stressed on the need of the supply chains to transform to demand chains, which are consumer focused.

The final presentation of the key-note session was hosted by Vinod Kotwal, director, FSSAI, government of India. Kotwal’s presentation focused on statutary regulation for consumer packaging. She spoke about Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSS). “FSS (packaging and labelling) regulation, 2011 lays down the packaging and labelling requirements for food products. The mandatory declarations made on label of food product as required must be in English or in Hindi. The label should not contain any information that is false, misleading and deceptive.”

All food products and ingredients and all food business are regulated by the new FSS Act 2006, which represents a new scientific based regulatory regime in India replacing the older Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.