Eatery licence a must for canteens in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Canteens across the city catering exclusively to "in-house clients" in schools, colleges, offices or hospitals will have to acquire a licence like commercial establishments. The little-known rule, though mandated under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act of 2011, is gradually being implemented in the city.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found out that the canteen of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies was operating without a licence. The institute's canteen was served a notice, besides being pulled up for glaring hygiene violations.

"The canteen will be allowed to operate again only after they have made the necessary rectification and get a licence," FDA's joint commissioner (food) Suresh Annapure said. "The FSS Act mandates that any and every kind of eatery will have to function with a licence. It does not matter if they are catering only to their own staffers," he said. He added that hospital canteens have been most proactive in adhering to this new rule. "Almost all hospital canteens have acquired the licence from us barring a few, who have just initiated the process," he said. Though the FDA's priority remains commercial outlets, they act as and when there are complaints about any particular establishment. Educational institutions come under the surveillance, only after there are complaints.

In the JBIMS case, the FDA officials acted on a tip-off. The in-charge director, Kavita Laghate, said the canteen manager had claimed that they did not received any notice from the FDA. "We are already discussing with Mumbai University's engineering department for the building's maintenance. There have been no major complaints from the students in the past and the contractor is with the institute for the last three years," said Laghate.

Last year, the FDA had conducted surprise checks on two canteens in the varsity's Kalina campus and found that they were operating without a health licence. The check was conducted after students complained of unhygienic food served to them on the campus. Unhygienic canteens across institutions are increasingly becoming a concern among students and parents. The premier IIT-B's campus was no exception to the rule, when around 600 students took to bed after they consumed Chinese food from their canteen in 2011.