Millions of food sellers across the country could go out of business from the night of August 4 when a new licence-inspector Raj - in the garb of food safety regulations - comes into force.
Anybody engaged in selling anything edible - roadside tea stalls, dhabas, fruits and vegetable hawkers, grocery shops, milk vendors, canteens, caterers, restaurants, hotels, food processors - will have to obtain a new food safety licence by August 4. Even trucks and other vehicles engaged in transporting food will have to obtain licences.
"Unlicensed food businesses will become illegal after August 4," the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has declared.
Food safety licence is in addition to all existing licensing requirements from different government agencies. Those who fail to get a licence will have to either close down their business or shell out heavy penalties ranging from Rs.25,000 to Rs.10 lakh if they continue without licence or registration.
In Kerala and Maharashtra, where the governments have already begun enforcing the new regulation, several hundred food vendors and petty restaurants have been ordered to close down. In Delhi, the registration process is yet to begin.
The Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, under which the August 4 deadline has been fixed, would particularly hit millions of street vendors and petty food businessmen. Several food operators Mail Today spoke to in the Capital on Monday had not even heard of the new requirement.
"The regulation is impractical, undemocratic and dictatorial. We don't know if it will ensure food safety, but it will certainly breed corruption and harassment at unprecedented levels," Shyam Bihari Mishra, head of the Kanpur-based Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, said. "The regulation is a mere copy of food safety laws prevalent in developed countries, completely overlooking ground realities here."
The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) said though the process would help vendors get some kind of legitimacy, it would open doors for widespread harassment. "It is supposed to ensure street food vendors observe better hygiene standards, but the deadline is unrealistic. Failure to obtain registration certificate would entail closure of operations," Arbind Singh, national coordinator of the association, said.
In order to get registered or licensed, food business operators will have to fulfil many safety, hygiene and sanitary conditions. While conditions set for street vendors are designed to ensure hygiene and safety in general and would be welcomed by most consumers, implementation poses problems.
Food businesses with an annual turnover below Rs.12 lakh will have to get themselves registered while those with a turnover of Rs.12 lakh and more will have to obtain a licence. The procedure for both categories is elaborate and timeconsuming. Documents from a list 18 will have to be submitted depending on the nature of business. Fee for one-year registration is Rs.100, while that for licence ranges from Rs.2,000 to Rs.7,500. Some categories of food operators will also have to file annual returns to the food regulator.
Others in the food business such as grocery stores, smalltime manufacturers of 'ghani oil' and cottage bakeries which cater to roadside vendors are also apprehensive of the new rules. "What is the logic of including grains and spices, which are not processed, under the regulation. Already we are burdened with a plethora of licences and have to deal with so many agencies," Daryaganj Kirana trade leader Vijay Prakash Jain said.
More than food safety, the regulations seem to be designed to promote packaging of products in order to help large manufacturers, traders pointed out. For instance, the rules virtually ban selling of any unpacked edible oil. Similarly, biscuits and cookies from all bakeries will have to be "properly wrapped/packaged".
The number of street vendors engage in food business is estimated to be over one crore. The number of traders dealing with grains, edible oil, sugar and spices who will need to be licensed is about 3.5 crore.
Q&A
What is the logic behind the new regulation?
The regulation has been notified under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 which covers a gamut of food safety issues and supersedes earlier laws such as the Food Adulteration Act. In order to enforce basic hygiene and sanitary conditions at all installations handling food, the authority feels all food businesses need a licence so they can be made to follow set norms and can be punished in case they don't do so.
Who will be affected?
The licensing regulations notified under the Act covers the entire food chain: manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributors, sellers, importers, transporters, processors and food storage establishments. All street food vendors, fruit and vegetable sellers, roadside tea shops, dhabas, sweet shops, hotels, restaurants, canteens, caterers, religious places distributing food, milk dairies, grocery stores, food malls, bakeries and edible oil units will either need a licence or registration.
What is wrong with the system?
The licensing and registration procedures will drive millions of street vendors and food sellers out of business. The law empowers state food authorities and inspectors with powers to order units and impose heavy penalties with a minimum of Rs.25,000.
Anybody engaged in selling anything edible - roadside tea stalls, dhabas, fruits and vegetable hawkers, grocery shops, milk vendors, canteens, caterers, restaurants, hotels, food processors - will have to obtain a new food safety licence by August 4. Even trucks and other vehicles engaged in transporting food will have to obtain licences.
"Unlicensed food businesses will become illegal after August 4," the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has declared.
Even posh restaurants will need to get the licences if they want to stay open.
In Kerala and Maharashtra, where the governments have already begun enforcing the new regulation, several hundred food vendors and petty restaurants have been ordered to close down. In Delhi, the registration process is yet to begin.
The Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, under which the August 4 deadline has been fixed, would particularly hit millions of street vendors and petty food businessmen. Several food operators Mail Today spoke to in the Capital on Monday had not even heard of the new requirement.
"The regulation is impractical, undemocratic and dictatorial. We don't know if it will ensure food safety, but it will certainly breed corruption and harassment at unprecedented levels," Shyam Bihari Mishra, head of the Kanpur-based Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, said. "The regulation is a mere copy of food safety laws prevalent in developed countries, completely overlooking ground realities here."
The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) said though the process would help vendors get some kind of legitimacy, it would open doors for widespread harassment. "It is supposed to ensure street food vendors observe better hygiene standards, but the deadline is unrealistic. Failure to obtain registration certificate would entail closure of operations," Arbind Singh, national coordinator of the association, said.
In order to get registered or licensed, food business operators will have to fulfil many safety, hygiene and sanitary conditions. While conditions set for street vendors are designed to ensure hygiene and safety in general and would be welcomed by most consumers, implementation poses problems.
Food businesses with an annual turnover below Rs.12 lakh will have to get themselves registered while those with a turnover of Rs.12 lakh and more will have to obtain a licence. The procedure for both categories is elaborate and timeconsuming. Documents from a list 18 will have to be submitted depending on the nature of business. Fee for one-year registration is Rs.100, while that for licence ranges from Rs.2,000 to Rs.7,500. Some categories of food operators will also have to file annual returns to the food regulator.
Others in the food business such as grocery stores, smalltime manufacturers of 'ghani oil' and cottage bakeries which cater to roadside vendors are also apprehensive of the new rules. "What is the logic of including grains and spices, which are not processed, under the regulation. Already we are burdened with a plethora of licences and have to deal with so many agencies," Daryaganj Kirana trade leader Vijay Prakash Jain said.
More than food safety, the regulations seem to be designed to promote packaging of products in order to help large manufacturers, traders pointed out. For instance, the rules virtually ban selling of any unpacked edible oil. Similarly, biscuits and cookies from all bakeries will have to be "properly wrapped/packaged".
The number of street vendors engage in food business is estimated to be over one crore. The number of traders dealing with grains, edible oil, sugar and spices who will need to be licensed is about 3.5 crore.
Q&A
What is the logic behind the new regulation?
The regulation has been notified under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 which covers a gamut of food safety issues and supersedes earlier laws such as the Food Adulteration Act. In order to enforce basic hygiene and sanitary conditions at all installations handling food, the authority feels all food businesses need a licence so they can be made to follow set norms and can be punished in case they don't do so.
Who will be affected?
The licensing regulations notified under the Act covers the entire food chain: manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributors, sellers, importers, transporters, processors and food storage establishments. All street food vendors, fruit and vegetable sellers, roadside tea shops, dhabas, sweet shops, hotels, restaurants, canteens, caterers, religious places distributing food, milk dairies, grocery stores, food malls, bakeries and edible oil units will either need a licence or registration.
What is wrong with the system?
The licensing and registration procedures will drive millions of street vendors and food sellers out of business. The law empowers state food authorities and inspectors with powers to order units and impose heavy penalties with a minimum of Rs.25,000.
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