SLAUGHTERHOUSES, MEAT SHOPS TO TAKE LICENCE FROM BOTH CENTRE, CIVIC BODY

Slaughterhouses and meat shops in the country will have to have mandatory licences both from the civic bodies and the Central Government. The country’s top Food regulator, Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has issued notices to food safety commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies across the country in this regard. It has also asked the officials that proper infrastructure and hygiene were maintained in such shops and slaughterhouses.

Asking the food commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies to ensure compliance with the legal provisions as well as animal welfare measures, the apex body has called for a clear action plan. “It may kindly be ensured that no abattoir or slaughter house operates without a valid licence or registration,” the direction says.

As per the norms under the Food Safety (License and Registration of Food Business) Regulations 2011, all slaughterhouses are required to be licensed and registered with the FSSAI, an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry.

The FSSAI has also proposed installing CCTV at all strategic positions in the slaughterhouse, which would be an effective deterrent as far as hygiene and ‘stunning’ norms are concerned.

The notice also comes in the wake of the Supreme Court order direction to all states and Union Territories to constitute State committees for slaughterhouses within a specified time and sought compliance by them.

Pointing out that provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act for proper transportation of animals are followed strictly, the FSSAI has also directed the food safety commissioners to ask the local commissioners to ensure that livestock is not ill-treated during transportation. “Stringent action must be taken against the violators under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,” says the notice.

The food authority has also asked the food commissioners and urban local commissioners to take necessary steps to prohibit slaughter of animals other than those allowed under the food safety regulations.