Licensing/registration at FDA speeds up as staff works round the clock

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has set March 31 as the target deadline for undertaking new licensing/registrations and converting from the old Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) to the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA).

This has set the ball rolling at the FDA headquarters in Mumbai. “We are trying our best to expedite work. However, if we just assign ourselves to this work one whole day, the number of licences we will be able to issue is 100 per day. We have around 35,000 applications pending and the deadline is nearing, but the officers are working round-the-clock completing the work,” an officer at the Administration said.

Earlier, these licences were issued by the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). During that time, the task was divided among 25 offices that covered around 227 wards in Mumbai and were backed by sufficient manpower to complete the task. Now, it's just one designated officer who has been appointed as the licensing authority for the entire city.

“The DO (designated officer) has one clerk to help him out but again he is currently assigned on the election duty,” said the officer.

Also, currently the licences are being issued manually in spite of the software being launched for the purpose. In fact, the online system of applying for licences has also not found many takers. “From the time of its launch on Jan 12, online has not registered more than five licences. Most of the traders being electronically-challenged, the software has not lured applicants,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, the inspection work has taken a backseat with the ongoing gigantic task of issuing licences. The mandatory clause of inspection of the food business operations before issuance of licences is also being overlooked due to manpower shortage.

There are other concerns with inspection and sample testing. One, the food inspector (now the food safety officer) has to pay from his pocket to the food business operator for the samples he picks up to test. He gets it reimbursed only after months of chasing the clerk at the FDA. Unlike the drugs wing, FDA does not pay the food business operators directly for the samples they pick up for testing. In such a scenario, the trader may offer free samples to the officer for testing which could be clear of adulteration. “Given the money constraints, the officer may be tempted to ignore other adulterated product samples and go for this free sample. This becomes a breeding ground for corruption,” said the official.

He added, “Besides, the inspectors are not even provided standardised equipment for collection of samples. They buy temporary containers for storing the samples picked for testing - these containers sometimes maybe the cause of adulteration as well.”

Meanwhile, new food safety commissioner Mahesh Zagade is being commended from all quarters for his “jet-speed” style of operating. However, FDA being a comparatively niche and underrated subject than his previous plum role as Pune municipal commissioner, Zagade's completion of term at the FDA seems unlikely. If grapevine is to be believed then his transfer is due in the coming months.