Addl charge of food officer draws MOs’ ire

Withdraw notification, Medical Officers ask CM

Shimla, June 12

The Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association (HPMOA) today opposed the move of the Health Department for assigning them the additional job of food safety officers (FSO) to medical officers (MO) in each district.

According to HPMOA general secretary Dr J N Chauhan and president Dr SL Sharma claimed that a medical officer was a Class-I officer. While the job of a food officer involved collecting food samples which was a class-III job.

MOs had to examine patients and perform other duties. A notification in this regard should be withdrawn in public interest, they demanded.

They said they had requested the Chief Minister and Health Minister to direct the department to withdraw the notification.

The department had issued a notification on May 27 that authorised the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to select MOs to perform the functions of FSOs.

On the other hand, the Directorate of Health Food Safety Regulation seeks to tide over the shortage of FSOs and designated officers in the state by given the additional charge to the MOs. But part-time designated officers are deemed as “null and void under the provisions of the Food Safety Standard Act (FSSA) that has come into force in the state in August 2011 and hence state needs full-time designated officers”, said officials.

The directorate needs about 27 FSOs. The composite testing lab at Kandaghat needs to fill 18 posts of technicians and upgrading of the testing facilities to keep pace with time.

The Director, Health Food Safety Regulation, Rameshwar Sharma said they had asked the CMOs to appoint the designated officers as they faced the shortage of the food safety officers in eight districts and the notification had been issued by the Health Department. The government had to take a final call on filling the posts of the FSO, he added.