PUNE: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cancelled the licences of nine food business operators and suspended those of 233 others in Pune in the last financial year for dispensing unsafe and substandard food items violating provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
"The aim is to ensure that food articles dispensedby the food business operators conform to standards of safety, hygiene and quality. We are stringently enforcing food safety regulations across the state. In Pune, our officials inspected about 8,000 food business establishments between April 2013 and March 2014. Nine licences were cancelled and 233 were suspended," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune.
The new licencing regime was initiated on August 5, 2011, when the Food Safety and Standards Act came into force. The act aims at bringing the food industry under one umbrella by scrapping all old licences. The food industry needs to be regulated in order to ensure food safety.
Food businesses include hotels, restaurants, owners of small food stalls, dhabas, milk suppliers, fish stall owners, fruit and vegetable vendors, manufacturers, hawkers, small scale industrialists, fair price shop owners, self-help groups among others.
According to the Food Safety and Standards Act India (FSSAI) 2006, every food manufacturer should get a licence from the Food and Drug Authority or an authority connected to FSSAI.
If the food manufacturer has an annual income of less than Rs 12 lakh, a process of registration is enough. The centralised act has been implemented to promote safe food across the country.
"Among the commonest violations were preparing food in unhygienic surroundings, operating without licence or registration and food sample drawn for testing failing on the parameters of safety and quality," Kekare said.
Between April 2013 and March 2014, the officials drew 1,996 food samples to check whether they are fit for consumption and meet all parameters of standards. Of all the samples, 131 were found to be unsafe and 380 failed to meet the standard criteria.
The latest regulation is going to further help FDA officials keep quality checks on food products.
"Food products manufactured and sold in India will now have to bear the logo and registration or licence number of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). Every food business operator must obtain a 14-digit registration or a licence number which must be printed on food packages," said Dilip Sangat, assistant commissioner (food), FDA.
The move will help consumers know if the product has undergone quality checks and bring down the instances of substandard products, reduce the number of bogus manufacturers and enhance accountability among food manufacturers. The deadline for complying with the provisions is July 1, 2014.
"The move will bring down the number of illegal or bogus manufacturers and put all food manufacturers on the FDA's radar, ensuring more quality checks on food manufactured and sold here," Sangat said.
As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recent report, in Maharashtra, more than 1.41 lakh food business operators have already procured the licence while around 4.62 lakh FBOs have been issued registration.
Action Report
* Inspections done - 7,999
* Improvement notices issued - 1,728
* Licences suspended - 233
* Licences cancelled - 9
* Action taken for operating - 15
Enforcement on the right track. Appreciated.
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