Bathinda, January 6
With the last date for getting registered for licences under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ending on February 4, the Health Department today appealed to the food business operators to get themselves enrolled.
District Health Officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa said so far, 4,000 people had got registered, while 600 had got licences under the Act.
The numbers are small as compared to the targeted ones of vendors and big traders in food business. A rough estimate of the district health department states that there are around 60,000 small vendors and over 4,000 big traders.
As per the Act, anyone dealing in eatables with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakhs has to get registered under the FSSAI and those with an annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lakhs have to get licences.
All food business operators have to get themselves enrolled and promptly display their registration or licence numbers in their shops, enabling consumers to know that they are buying eatables from registered and safe shops.
The Act also covers food handlers, working at the food business shops, who will have to undergo regular medical tests and maintain hygiene.
Meanwhile, the department also collected food samples under the FSSAI. The samples would be sent to the food lab located at Chandigarh for purity test.
Led by DHO Dr Randhawam, a team collected eatables from Arya Samaj Chowk. The samples collected include that of items like tikki and some oily food. A batch of expired cold drinks was also destroyed. Mainly targeting makeshift food shops like rehris, the department also conducted raids in Nai Basti from where it collected samples of “namkeen” and other eatables.
Online filing facility soon
The state government will soon introduce the facility of filing online applications to get registered or seek licence. The move is aimed at minimising paper work as well as ensuring less footfall in the government offices. The vendor or the trader will have to display a hard copy of the licence or registration at their shop. However, the move will put the small-time vendors in a fix, adding to their woes of having to visit cyber cafes or relying on agents for online services.
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