Hygiene has often
been a debatable aspect of street foods and small eateries situated in
every nook and cranny of the city, however, the Government has taken the
task of setting things right and ensuring that what is being served
doesn’t make people sick.
However, Government’s route
to hygiene — Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food
Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2013 — has given trade bodies goose
bumps as they are wary of the sweeping powers vested in the authority
under the provisions. “The
penalties are too severe for small businessmen to bear. It can’t be
justified so we would like the Government to reconsider the provisions,”
said FJCCI Spokesperson Suresh Agrawal.
The trade association fears that the sweeping powers would only
contribute to corruption and may promote blackmailing by the authorities
entitled to inflict penalty. While
the monetary punishment for the violations of the provisions are in the
bracket of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh provisions of awarding punishment
upto seven years has sent hoteliers in tizzy. Failing to pay penalty
would invite termination of license besides auctioning property of the
offender. “Street vendors will become extinct in a matter of days,” said
a small eatery owner in Kanke road.
Notably, a double whammy of monetary punishment and imprisonment is
been opposed by FJCCI with tooth and nail as the association feels that
maintaining standards of packaged food products is a responsibility of a
manufacturer not the seller. “Many small ration shop owners do not
even make profit equivalent to the minimum penalty stipulated in the
regulation,” said Sushil
Yadav a ration shop owner in Dhawan Nagar. Meanwhile, under the amended
regulation a competent authority will set the standards for the
businesses to emulate. For
instance, there will be a set parameter for fortified aata or maida with
predetermined quantities for its ingredients. The authorities will also
set the quantity of a particular substance in food product.
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