COIMBATORE: In a major relief to food business operators, the deadline for getting registered with the food safety department has been extended till August 4, 2014. The decision was taken in New Delhi on the basis of a petition from Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) demanding an extension, claiming that it would be a major relief for six crore traders across the country. Though there were reports coming in on Tuesday evening about further extension of the deadline, it was officially confirmed on Wednesday.
"We have received instruction about the six month extension till August. As of now, there will be no further changes in other procedures and we will continue to seek applications online, carry out the necessary formalities for registration and issue licenses," said R Kathiravan, designated officer, food safety department, Coimbatore.
This is the third extension given to traders to comply with the norms of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulation 2011. The traders' associations have been claiming that the act is extremely stringent and impractical to follow, especially for domestic food producers.
"The norms of this regulation cannot be practically implemented. Besides, it will wipe out the entire small and medium scale food business operators. The fact that even outlets like provision stores, grocery stores and bakeries are included in its scope itself is not at all logical," claimed VC Natarajan, district secretary, Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Association.
As on February 4, 2906 food business operators had got their license from the food safety department and another 6905 got registered as per the norm. In total, there are 22,000 food business operators in Coimbatore district. According to officials, they were facing maximum resistance from small and medium scale food business operators.
"As per the law, grocery stores are also supposed to get registered with the department. There are different parameters to analyse and confirm whether products like rice, pulses and cereals sold through these outlets could be certified as safe for consumption," said an official from the food safety department.
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