Review of FSS Regulations silent on Product Approval, vocal on enforcement

New Delhi 

The recently-released draft recommendations by the committee doing comprehensive review of Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, seemed to be silent on the crucial issue of Product Approval.

The proposed draft recommendations, accessed by FnB News, talk about five parts of amendment to the regulations. These talk about mainly enforcement issues that include qualification of the food safety officer and designated officer, time limit for making an appeal under Rule 2.4.6 (1), rules for destruction or release of confined food, time limit for test report from referral labs and storage and packaging of food article. 

The committee suggestions include –

1. Qualification and eligibility condition of the designated officer and food safety officer may be rationalised. It further recommends training for the officers after recruitment. 

2. The time limit of 30 days for making an appeal to the designated officer under rule 2.4.6 (1) be reduced to 15 days. Further the designated officer shall send the sample part to the referral labs within 15 days from the date of the receipt of appeal.

3. Rules should be prescribed for destruction of the food items or their release, if found or not found complying with the specified requirement (This appears a direct fallout of Maggi noodles case).

4. Time limit may also be specified for referral labs to submit their report. Further rules should be specified for sampling of the food that will be sent to referral labs. 

5. The procedure of breaking open of package in which any article or food may be contained or any premise where food may be kept be also provided in the rules.

According to Union ministry of health and family welfare, suggestions, if any, could be made in this regard before September 24, 2015.

Meanwhile, a notification on the draft, released by ministry of health recently, stated that Central government intended to review and suitably amend the FSS Rules, 2011, to remove the deficiencies that were noticed during the operation of the rules. And subsequently, last December, a committee was constituted by the ministry to do a comprehensive review.

There were some 37 sections of the Act, the industry wanted a review of, among many key recommendations.