What is the procedure for obtaining a License as per FSSAI Guidelines? Is there a separate application form for renewal of the License?

The Food Business Operators seeking a new license or looking to renew their existing license have to apply through application form B, so there is just one application form for either applying for a new license or to renew the existing license of a food business.

The procedure for obtaining a license: 

1. Application for License shall be made in FORM B to the concerned central licensing authority or the state licensing authority, based on the eligibility criteria for the food business..(See – Regulation 2.1.2, Regulation 2.1.3 and Regulation2.1.7 of FSS ACT/RULES&REGULATIONS) 

2. The application shall be accompanied by a self attested declaration in the specified format declaring that he conforms/shall conform to the Food Safety and Standards Act,Regulations/Bye Laws and shall follow the guidelines on Hygiene and Sanitary Practices provided under Schedule – 4 of the Registration and Licensing Regulations, along with the requisite documents and requisite license fee. 

3. The Authorities will carry out inspection of the food business. 

4. The license shall be issued by the concerned licensing authority within a period of 60 days. 

5. If from the date of making the completed application, a license is not issued within 60 days or the applicant has not received any intimation in this regard the applicant may commence his food business without waiting for further communication. 

Important 

* The Food Business Operators who are applying for the renewal of the license have to apply atleast 30 days prior to the expiry date of the license 

* The last date for registration of the existing food businesses under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is ending on February 4, 2014 and for the new businesses, FBOs can continue apply for the registration but they shall only allowed to start their business operations once permitted from the concerned authorities.

DINAMALAR NEWS

‘Packaged drinking water cannot be produced, sold without BIS mark’

Regulatory body makes assertion in affidavit to National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the highest regulatory body in the country, said no person should manufacture or sell ‘packaged drinking water’ without the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mark.

FSSAI made this assertion in the form of a counter affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, which was hearing a suo motu matter related to the quality of water supplied by local bodies such as Chennai Metrowater. 

Taking suo motu notice of a letter sent by a public-spirited person, the Tribunal, in August 2013, had issued notices to the State agencies and FSSAI. The Tribunal was conducting a hearing on another suo motu matter related to illegal packaged drinking water units based on a report published in The Hindu. 

When the matter came up for hearing before the Bench comprising Justice M. Chockalingam and Prof. R. Nagendran, the counter affidavit was filed by a counsel for FSSAI.

The counter said after the enactment of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, the FSSAI was the competent authority to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 

The FSSAI also said the question raised by the complainant would not fall within the ambit of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. 

“Mere supply of drinking water by the State machinery/instrumentality to its people, in view of its constitutional duty, will not per se attract the provisions of the FSS Act and the National Green Tribunal Act, and as such, the contention of the complainant is misplaced and misconceived,” said FSSAI.

However, FSSAI said the specifications of packaged drinking water had already been prescribed. 

“As per Food Safety and Standards Regulations 2011, no person shall manufacture, sell or exhibit for sale packaged drinking water under the BIS certification mark,” it said.

MP’s traders should purchase farmers’ product without worry: CM

Bhopal: Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Madhya Pradesh’s traders should purchase farmers’ product without worry. They should not stop purchasing farmers’ products having become sub-standard due to apprehension of provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. No action will be taken against traders on purchase of farmers’ products. On the Chief Minister’s assurance, traders’ associations decided to call off strikes in Mandis.

Chief Minister Shri Chouhan assured a delegation of traders here today that a permanent solution will be evolved regarding difficulties being caused to farmers and traders by provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act. He said that traders and farmers from almost all places have informed about difficulties due to this Act. State’s 37 Mandis’ are shut due impractical provisions of the act. The Prime Minister and presidents of all major opposition parties will be apprised of difficulties cropping up due to this Act’s provisions. A meeting of Chief Ministers of all states will be convened on the issue to suspend the Act’s implementation with immediate effect and make its provisions practical and later the Prime Minister will be urged in this regard. He said that this Act should be streamlined. The delegation was led by School Education Minister Shri Paras Jain.

How safe is the colour in your cola?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says there's no reason to believe that the colouring added to sodas is unsafe. But the agency is taking another look just to make sure. The agency's announcement comes in response to a study by Consumer Reports that shows 12 brands of soda have varying levels of 4-methylimidazole -- an impurity found in some caramel colouring.

The FDA says it has studied the use of caramel as a flavour and colour additive for decades but will review new data on the safety of 4-methylimidazole. The agency did not provide details about the data. "These efforts will inform the FDA's safety analysis and will help the agency determine what, if any, regulatory action needs to be taken," said FDA spokeswoman Juli Putnam. The agency monitors food and drug safety.

There are no federal limits on the amount of 4-methylimidazole in food and drink. The substance is formed in some caramel coloring at low levels during the manufacturing process. The FDA says it also can occur in trace amounts when coffee beans are roasted or some meats are grilled.

The Consumer Reports study urged the agency to set a maximum level of the substance when it is artificially added to foods or soda, to require labeling when it is added and to bar products from carrying the "natural" label if they contain caramel colours.

"There is no reason why consumers need to be exposed to this avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from colouring food and beverages brown," said Consumer Reports' Dr. Urvashi Rangan, a toxicologist and lead investigator on the study.

Though studies have not been conclusive about whether 4-methylimidazole is a carcinogen, California includes it on the state list of carcinogens and a state law mandates a cancer warning label on products that have a certain level of the substance. In reaction to that law, Coke, Pepsi and other soft drink makers have directed their caramel-colour suppliers to reduce the levels of 4-methylimidazole. It is not found in all caramel colourings.

Over an eight-month period, the study found that single 12 oz. servings of two beverages purchased in California, Pepsi One and Malta Goya, exceeded the 29 micrograms of 4-methylimidazole that are the threshold per day in California but carried no warning. Consumer Reports has asked the California attorney general's office to investigate; a spokesman for the attorney general says the office is reviewing the request.

PepsiCo spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez said the company is "extremely concerned" about the study and believes it is factually incorrect. Gonzalez said the average amount of soda consumed daily by those who drink it is less than the 12-ounce can Consumer Reports used as its basis for measurement. As a result, she said people are not exceeding the limit of 29 micrograms a day.

But PepsiCo did not provide details about how it arrived at its conclusions of daily soda consumption. "All of Pepsi's products are below the threshold set in California, and all are in full compliance with the law," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not point to any recent data on daily consumption of all sodas, but Beverage Digest, a trade publication that tracks the industry, says per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks in the U.S. is 1.3 cans of soda a day.

The drinks tested were Sprite, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Dr Pepper, Dr. Snap, Brisk Iced Tea, A&W Root Beer, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi One and Goya Malta. Consumer Reports said there was no significant level found in Sprite, and consistently low levels were found in Coke products.