Medical stores in TN under pressure to take fresh licence from FSSA to sell food supplements

With the implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006, the medical stores in Tamil Nadu have got into a quandary as the act mandates every trader who sells packed food items to obtain food licence from the State Food Commissionerate. Food items come under dietary supplements such as Bournvita, Farex, Amul, Complan, Boost etc are being sold through medical shops, and from now on, separate licence is required to sell these items. All the vitamin and mineral products come under dietary supplements are sold in packaged forms. In Tamil Nadu the FSSA 2006 came into force on August 8, 2011. Perturbed over the stringent norms, the state chemists and druggists association (TNCDA) has approached the Commissioner of FDA requesting him to exempt the drug traders from taking separate licence for selling dietary supplements. As per the act, every trader who has an annual turnover of Rs.12 lakh has to obtain food licence and those whose turnover is less than Rs.12 lakh has to register with the Commissionerate, said G Selvaraju, the drugs control director. The traders complain that they have to produce another set of documents to get the licence for the sale of food items. They have already submitted the documents with the drugs control directorate for getting their drug licence. In their meeting with the commissioner, the traders urged him to issue separate food licence based on the documents already submitted by drug traders. But the government has not accepted their demands as FSSA demands separate set of documents to issue licence. M Arul Kumar, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association and V P Elango, president of Tamil Nadu Pharmaceutical Distributors Association told Pharmabiz that they would submit separate memorandums to the Commissioner and to the health secretary seeking exemption from submitting additional documents for availing food licence. According to M S Rajendran, former director of Tamil Nadu drugs control administration, a pharmacy shop which gets drug licence should have minimum 110 squire feet work space. For getting an additional licence for sale of packed food, the medical shops have to mark additional work space.