The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set
February 4, 2014, as the final deadline for food business operators
(FBOs) to obtain licences or get their establishments registered and
many states seem to be on track thanks to methods such as creation of
awareness over the issue, introduction of online licensing and
registration, and impartation of training for the same.
However
some states like Delhi and Punjab are still struggling to find solutions
for problems such as lack of manpower thus putting a question mark on
what would happen here if the process is not completed on time.
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, home to approximately 15 lakh FBOs, about 3.5 lakh FBOs have either registered their establishments or obtained licences, either online or offline, according to Mahesh Zagade, the state FDA commissioner.
“The process is about 35-40 per cent complete,” he said, adding that the remainder would be completed on time, because food safety officers (FSOs) across the state are not only creating awareness about the importance of registration and licensing, but also imparting training on the process of applying for the same online.
Kerala
K Anil Kumar, joint commissioner, food, FDA Kerala, said, “The estimated number of FBOs is 5 lakh. We have already completed the registration and licensing of about 1,80,000 FBOs. Most of it has been offline so far, but we have recently started the online registration and licensing process. We are imparting training to the FBOs on the online licensing and registration process, and they are now comfortable applying online. We are sure that the process would be complete before February 4, 2014. If any of them failed to comply with the norms, they would be fined and imprisoned.”
Hitches in northern states
A regulatory source from the north, however, was not very optimistic, primarily due to the shortage of manpower. According to him, this was particularly the case in Delhi and Punjab. K J R Burman, Delhi’s food commissioner, said that the state had over 15 lakh FBOs, but to date, only 645 of them have acquired licences, because the state food regulator has been grappling with a shortage of manpower and inadequate infrastructure.
Burman explained, “We are lagging behind other states, because we have just started the process. We were not able to focus on the registration and licensing earlier, but now we have started the process online, and are confident that we would complete the registration and licensing of FBOs well before the deadline. Most FBOs in Delhi acquired their licences online.”
FDA Punjab’s food commissioner Hussan Lal said about 70,000 FBOs in the state have already registered or acquired licences, and efforts are on to get the rest to comply. He added there was no data about the number of FBOs in the state.
A state-wise statistical summary
In Maharashtra, 2,29,296 FBOs have registered and 1,21,484 have acquired licences. Tamil Nadu (with 2,03,869 registrations and 29,121 licences) is second, and Kerala (with 1,48,639 registrations and 26,910 licences) is third. Dr H G Koshia, food commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, said, “Till date, we have registered 87,316 and licensed 31,266 FBOs. We would able to complete the process well on time. Since we were one of the first states to start the online registration and licensing process, FBOs have been cooperating with us.”
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, home to approximately 15 lakh FBOs, about 3.5 lakh FBOs have either registered their establishments or obtained licences, either online or offline, according to Mahesh Zagade, the state FDA commissioner.
“The process is about 35-40 per cent complete,” he said, adding that the remainder would be completed on time, because food safety officers (FSOs) across the state are not only creating awareness about the importance of registration and licensing, but also imparting training on the process of applying for the same online.
Kerala
K Anil Kumar, joint commissioner, food, FDA Kerala, said, “The estimated number of FBOs is 5 lakh. We have already completed the registration and licensing of about 1,80,000 FBOs. Most of it has been offline so far, but we have recently started the online registration and licensing process. We are imparting training to the FBOs on the online licensing and registration process, and they are now comfortable applying online. We are sure that the process would be complete before February 4, 2014. If any of them failed to comply with the norms, they would be fined and imprisoned.”
Hitches in northern states
A regulatory source from the north, however, was not very optimistic, primarily due to the shortage of manpower. According to him, this was particularly the case in Delhi and Punjab. K J R Burman, Delhi’s food commissioner, said that the state had over 15 lakh FBOs, but to date, only 645 of them have acquired licences, because the state food regulator has been grappling with a shortage of manpower and inadequate infrastructure.
Burman explained, “We are lagging behind other states, because we have just started the process. We were not able to focus on the registration and licensing earlier, but now we have started the process online, and are confident that we would complete the registration and licensing of FBOs well before the deadline. Most FBOs in Delhi acquired their licences online.”
FDA Punjab’s food commissioner Hussan Lal said about 70,000 FBOs in the state have already registered or acquired licences, and efforts are on to get the rest to comply. He added there was no data about the number of FBOs in the state.
A state-wise statistical summary
In Maharashtra, 2,29,296 FBOs have registered and 1,21,484 have acquired licences. Tamil Nadu (with 2,03,869 registrations and 29,121 licences) is second, and Kerala (with 1,48,639 registrations and 26,910 licences) is third. Dr H G Koshia, food commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, said, “Till date, we have registered 87,316 and licensed 31,266 FBOs. We would able to complete the process well on time. Since we were one of the first states to start the online registration and licensing process, FBOs have been cooperating with us.”
|
State
|
FBO licensed
|
FBO registered
|
|
Maharashtra
|
1,21,484
|
2,29,296
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
29,121
|
2,03,869
|
|
Kerala
|
26,910
|
1,48,639
|
|
Gujarat
|
31,266
|
87,316
|
|
Punjab
|
8,931
|
57.263
|
|
Rajasthan
|
55,382
|
1,52,649
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
30,957
|
1,29,619
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
22778
|
51,657
|
|
Bihar
|
6,965
|
14,815
|
|
Goa
|
1,751
|
12,691
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
17,352
|
61,456
|
|
West Bengal
|
8,788
|
26,476
|
|
Delhi
|
645
|
Nil
|
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