15K unlicensed eateries may have to shut

CHENNAI: Come January, owners of more than half of the city's 32,000 food establishments will be forced to pay a hefty fine or face imprisonment with the government set to penalise those who have failed to obtain licences.

Commissioner of food safety P Amudha has given the go-ahead to crack down on establishments who don't apply for licences on or before December 31.

In March, the food safety department undertook an enumeration and found a total of 32,002 food establishments in Chennai, including pushcart vendors, retailers, provisional stores, bakeries, hostels, restaurants, fruits and vegetable shops and units that engage in making sweets and savouries. Of these, only 14,462 have been certified by the department.

The Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, mandates a licence for any food business with an annual turnover in excess of Rs 12 lakh. Those with a lower turnover must register with the state food safety department. After eight extensions, the last deadline set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for getting licenses expired in August, 2016.

R Kathiravan, designated food safety officer, Chennai, said although the department has been sporadically inspecting illegal units based on complaints, licensing would bring all of them under its scanner. "Before we issue licenses or register them, a team inspects the facility and judges them on various parameters, including quality of the water and raw materials they use for cooking, the hygiene of workers, kitchen and storage places," he said.

A vendor who fails to register or procure a licence is liable to be forced to shut shop, pay fines ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10 lakh or face imprisonment of up to six months.

Food safety officials said a majority of those who have not registered are retailers. "They comprise 25% of the food business in the city. Many are reluctant as they source provisions from unlicensed manufacturers. This is where the maximum adulteration happens," said an official.

In February, TOI had carried a story on how less than 50% of the total 3,254 government institutions, including fair price shops, TASMAC outlets, Amma canteens and anganwadis, were licensed. Kathiravan maintains that all of them are now certified, except the mid-day meal kitchens in schools.

In the meanwhile, members of trade unions feel several provisions in the Act are too stringent. A M Vikrama Raja, president of Tamil Nadu Federation of Traders' Association, said at least 30% of the norms laid out under the regulation fall under the responsibility of the government. "If the water provided by Metrowater isn't clean, how is it our fault? The same goes with garbage piled close to the units and stagnant sewage," he said, adding that some members also felt the penalties were too harsh

Consumer activists have welcomed the government cranking up the heat, but said awareness on licensing still remain low. "And officials should not limit inspections just to the time licences are issued or when the public raise complains. It should be done on a periodic basis," said consumer activist T Sadagopan.