Sep 29, 2012

Now, vendors to get hygiene lessons

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to meet food vendors on the city streets and five other district in the state to instruct them on hygiene and check that they comply with these requirements.
A pilot project will be launched next month in select food places in the city as well as Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Nashik, FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade said.
The department has been considering registering food business operators (FBOs), particularly the roadside food stalls, across the state under the Food Standards and Safety Act (FSSA) for some time now.
"These vendors will be tracked over a period of time to ensure that they have been registered under the FSSA and are complying with the hygiene standards," Zagade said.
Under revised rules in force since August last year, FBOs are required to register with the FDA to convert their licences under the 1954 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act to the 2006 FSSA.
Zagade said that workshops will be conducted for vendors and hawkers will be instructed in the use of plastic gloves and caps when preparing food, checking the quality of materials like vegetables, and proper washing of utensils.
"The state has an estimated 15 lakh FBOs, which include hawkers, vendors, shopkeepers, wholesale suppliers, grocers and restaurateurs. So far, 2.6 lakh licences have been issued and we are reaching out to roadside stall owners in the pilot project to ensure due compliance under the FSSA," Zagade said.

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