Licences of 2,500 National Capital Region FBOs converted by February 4

The office of Delhi’s food safety commissioner stated that of the estimated 25,000 National Capital Region (NCR) food business operators (FBO) who had to convert their licences as stipulated by the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, only 2,500 converted them before the February 4, 2014 deadline for licensing and registration lapsed. 

State food safety commissioner K J R Burman said his office received 9,000 applications (of which 5,000 were online) for licence conversion in the last 10-15 days, forcing them to work overtime to dispose the same. “The officials were asked to receive applications by the deadline, and renew the same after scrutinising the papers,” he added.

The licensing and registration conversion infrastructure in the Delhi food commissioner’s office, however, remains indequate, which explains why the national capital is lagging behind other states as far as getting the FBOs’ old licences converted under FSSA is concerned. 

The country’s apex food regulator’s decision to extend the licence conversion deadline by six months from February 4, 2014 came as a relief for FBO in the capital. Burman said, “By the end of the new deadline, the target would be achieved. I am in talks with associations and organisations to ensure the same.”

He called the number of people who visited his office with hard copies of their applications (currently estimated to be about 4,000) another challenge for the food safety authority. “We made the process fully online, but people continue to submit the applications in person. It creates problems, but it is difficult to convince them,” he said. 

“We also receive applications via speed post, so we request everybody to apply online,” Burman added. The state government has now decided to create a help desk to assist the applicants with the process. Meanwhile, its claim that it extended the deadline for licenses and registration for FBOs in Delhi proved to be false - it has no right to do so.

When apprised about the claim by state health minister Satyendra Jain, government officials termed it a mere proposal. The state government suggested that the licensing and registration deadline for Delhi-based FBO be extended by at least a year, but the same has lapsed.