Ensure food safety by March 7, roadside eateries told

The Hindu Though tempting, roadside eateries can cause stomach ailments. Photo: K.Ananthan 

Officials sensitise owners, vendors to Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006

The Food and Drug Administration Department of Food Safety Directorate has fixed March 7 as the deadline for owners of roadside, small eateries and food vendors using pushcarts to fall in line with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 to ensure hygiene and food safety.

Designated Officer for Food Safety R. Kadiravan, Food Safety Officers K. Chandran and R. Govindarajan on Thursday sensitised owners of small, roadside eateries and food stalls on pushcarts to the provisions in the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 compared to the repealed Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.

The owners will have to apply for licence and registration before March 7 failing which they will be evicted from their places of business. If the vendor has applied for licence and there is a delay in its issuance then he/she is at liberty to carry on with the business and the Act insulates him/her from action. The Department will provide identity cards with photo and certificates to them. 

The food stall owners should provide protected potable drinking water preferably water packets or bottled water to customers and the workers should be wearing masks and gloves. Those preparing and serving food should wear aprons and there should be stainless steel replacing iron or wooden surfaces on which the food is being prepared. All the three sides of the cooking place in pushcarts should be covered with 2.5-ft glass panes. 

Food should not be merely served on plates and there should be a plantain leaf or a butter paper. Spoons provided should be of “use and throw” type to prevent repeated use without proper cleaning. The food containers should remain closed and there should be containers or drums to wash hands.

No eatery or pushcart should be closer to drainage. Eateries should have a board depicting the brands of edible items used. The officials point out that a beginning has been made and the machinery wants to make the food vendors obey the rules so that their business grows and also the health of the customers is not affected.

New Food Safety Licence irks Traders

The Hindu

It will only burden small business further, they say

With the Union Health Ministry making it mandatory for all traders and dealers of food items to obtain a new licence under the new Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), traders in Bangalore say it will burden them further.

The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), passed by Parliament in 2006, replaced the erstwhile Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFAA) with effect from August 5, 2011. This means that all traders should obtain the new licence by August 4, 2012 failing which they will attract a six-month imprisonment along with a hefty penalty.

At an interaction with C.R. Srinivasa Gowda, Joint Director of State Public Health Institute on Wednesday, members of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) expressed their displeasure over the new licence being made mandatory.

Long red tape

Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, who heads the FKCCI's APMC and Internal Trade Committee, said although traders were not against the Act they were concerned over the elaborate process of documentation required to be maintained to adhere to the new rules. “This will be major hindrance for small operators,” he said.

While some traders pointed out that the Health Department had not made any efforts to create awareness about the new food safety rules, others wanted the Government to first provide them with adequate infrastructure to run their business.

‘Who is monitoring?'

R.V. Gopi, president of Vegetable and Fruit Wholesale Merchants Association, who spoke on the unhygienic conditions in the city's markets, said: “If you see the surroundings of Kalasipalyam wholesale market, you will stop buying vegetables and fruits. Hotels buy their stocks from here and no one knows whether they clean the vegetables before cooking. How do your ensure food safety in such circumstances? Who will be responsible — the traders or the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) — for not maintaining cleanliness?”

Responding, Mr. Srinivasa Gowda said traders could complain to the BBMP about the poor maintenance of markets.

Big challenge

Admitting that the transition from the old Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 to the new Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 was a big challenge for the State Health and Family Welfare Department's Food Safety Commissionerate, Mr. Gowda said efforts were being made for effective implementation of the Act.

FKCCI senior vice president K. Shiva Shanmugam and BBMP Chief Health Officer K.E. Manjula spoke.