Enforcement squads to ensure food quality

The State Government on Tuesday decided to intensify the implementation of food safety standards. “All food products manufacturing and selling units having annual turnover of more than Rs.12 lakh will have to obtain licence. Registration of units having less than Rs 12 lakh turnover will be made mandatory,” official sources said after a meeting here.
The legal and executive issues relating to food safety standards were discussed at the meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik on Tuesday.
Health and Family Welfare Secretary PK Mohapatra told the meeting that implementation of food safety standards will be governed as per the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, which envisages developing an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food.
Food Safety Commissioner-cum-Director, Public Health, BK Panda said the business units having licence under the Food Adulteration Act will have to renew their licence under the FSS Act by February 4. The renewal of licence will be done at district level.
The additional district medical officers (ADMOs), public health, of the respective areas designated officer for registration. No shop can carry on food business without valid licence or registration. The food inspectors have been designated as food safety officers and 12 new posts have been created, he said.
The State will have 38 Food Safety Officers with one in each district. The remaining eight officers will be posted in urban local bodies. It was proposed to declare the ADM as adjudicating officers.
Food testing laboratories will be set up in five clusters and each cluster will cover four or five districts. Mobile food testing laboratories will be set up to cover remote areas. The cluster testing laboratories are likely to come up in Balasore, Berhampur, Cuttack, Puri and Rourkela.
Patnaik advised the members to involve PRIs in the implementation of the Act with technical support from PHCs. Multimedia campaigns will be undertaken to create awareness about the new food laws, institutions created for implementation, provisions relating to licensing and registration.
The meeting also discussed the feasibility of engaging accredited organisations at field level for inspection of food products at manufacturing level and sale outlets on incentive basis.
Previously the food standards were being enforced by several authorities. Now it will be enforced under a single authority.
Food Safety Standards Authority of India, a regulatory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has started functioning.

Focus on food safety in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 29: From now, shops and business establishments selling food materials and having an annual turnover of Rs 12 lakh and above will require a licence from the Odisha government. The ones with a turnover below Rs 12 lakh will be required to register themselves with the Odisha commissioner of food safety. But business establishments with an annual turnover of Rs 20 crore and above will have to obtain a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. A full-fledged commissioner of food safety will be appointed in Odisha soon. The commissioner will be an officer not below the rank of a commissioner-cum-secretary charged with monitoring enforcement of rules and regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act, which came into force across the country from August 5, 2011. Food safety officers will assist him. At present, the director of public health is acting as the food safety commissioner. A decision was taken today at the level of the chief secretary to intensify enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act which envisages development of an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food. The Act has amalgamated eight existing acts and orders dealing with food adulteration, fruit products, meat products, vegetable oil products, edible oil packaging, solvent extracted, edible flour and dairy products. The meeting, which was presided over by Odisha chief secretary B.K. Patnaik, today decided that there would be 38 food safety officers in the state to enforce food safety laws. The existing 26 food inspectors have been designated as food safety officers. Besides, 12 new posts have also been created. Out of the 38 food safety officers, 30 will be posted at the district level while the rest eight will have to be posted in urban local bodies. It has been proposed that the additional district magistrates of all districts will be declared as the adjudicating officers for the purpose of the Act. A steering committee will also be constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary and district level committees will be headed by their respective collectors. Earlier, several authorities were enforcing food standards. Now, it will be done by a single authority. Food safety commissioner –cum-director B.K. Panda said business units, which had licence under the Food Adulteration Act, would have to renew their licences under the Food Safety and Standards Act.