Food business operators asked to ensure quality

Ahead of Deepavali, Collector M. Ravikumar has instructed food business operators to ensure quality. With just eleven days left for the festival, eateries selling sweets and bakeries are busy preparing several varieties. All food business operators should get registered and obtain licence from Food Safety Officers under Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA). The packed food items should mandatorily possess labels mentioning its name, full address of manufacturer, manufacturing date, shelf life and expiry date and should be categorised as vegetarian or non-vegetarian, he said here on Thursday. Consumers should look for these details while buying food products. The ready-to-eat food items should be covered properly so as to keep them free from flies. For any complaint, consumers could reach the Designated Food Safety Officer, FSSA and stern action would be taken against violation of norms, the Collector said. 

M. Jagadis Chandrabose, Designated Food Safety Officer, said that as many as 17, 659 food business operators, including 13, 696 private units and 3, 963 government enterprises, were functioning across the district. Out of them, 8, 194 operators, whose annual turnover was below Rs.12 lakh, had registration certificates and 962 operators, whose annual turnover was above Rs.12 lakh, had obtained licences from food safety officers.