Food safety authority to register 55 million food and beverage operators

FSSAI has asked the govt for Rs.5,000 crore in the 12th Five-Year Plan to set up food safety labs across India

Currently, only one million licences have been issued to food and beverage operators.

New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to register and license 55 million food and beverage companies, manufacturers and vendors, including those in the unorganized sector, by February 2014.

The exercise is part of the organization’s efforts to harmonize food safety standards, said K. Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI, on the sidelines of an Indian Beverage Association seminar in New Delhi on Friday. FSSAI has also asked the government for Rs.5,000 crore in the 12th Five-Year Plan to set up food safety labs across the country. The proposal is awaiting clearance, he said.

“We don’t have food and safety standards in the country which deal with food products across the spectrum. For this, we need to get the state governments and other stakeholders on board,” Chandramouli said.

Currently only one million licences have been issued to food and beverage operators. According to Chandramouli, the implementation of the FSSAI Act continues to remain a challenge.

FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as a statutory body for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and regulating manufacturing, processing, distribution, sale and import of food to ensure safe and wholesome food for human consumption.