Whose mandate is Food Safety?

2 departments carry out drives, none accountable

Confusion prevails regarding the food safety in Kashmir as more than one department carries out ‘drives’ to address food safety related issues.

With food safety issues coming to fore and increasing public vigilance about it, government has still not been able to designate food safety to a single department. While on one hand, Drug and Food Control Organisation has been in the news for lifting samples of food from various outlets, some of which have also been found to be ‘unsafe’ and invoked penal action, on the other hand, Srinagar Municipal Corporation has been pulling food business operators over hygiene issues of establishments and food items.

In addition to these two, Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, has also been conducting market checks and ‘destroyed’ food items that it found to be ‘rotten’ or ‘stale’.

Although the essence of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is to have a single line control of food safety and do away with the multi-level and multi channel players, the ground realities remain unchanged. 

Last week, SMC conducted a ‘massive’ market check of Hazratbal, Rainawari and other adjoining food business operators and imposed a fine on a few vendors for not maintaining hygiene in the premises. Some time back, a drive was also organized by CAPD around Dalgate area, and vegetables and other eatables that were found ‘stale’ were destroyed.

This despite, directions of High Court passed in 2012 in a PIL 01/2012 and government issuing orders to streamline food safety in state.

On March 29th this year, Commissioner Food Safety issued orders that denotified Food Safety Officers and Sanitary Inspectors of SMC and Directorate of Urban Local Bodies with ‘immediate effect’. The order 03 CFS of 2016, denotified 16 such official. However, this has not changed the mandate of these officials who have continued business as usual.

The Commissioner SMC, Bashir Ahmed Khan, acknowledged that the officers of SMC had been denotified but expressed displeasure over the decision. “We received the orders today from Commissioner Food Safety. Earlier they (Food Control Organization) had denotified our Health Officers now they have done the same to our Food Safety Officers too,” he said. 

He questioned the logic of the decision and said the matter had been taken up with the higher authorities. “What will our officers do if they cannot even check hygiene of a food establishment?” he asked.

It was reported that departments while on their drives indulge on spot action such as destruction of eatable, utensils and also realized fines. “These actions are taken as per Municipal Corporations Act,” the SMC Health Officer said.

However, as per officials of Food Safety department when FSSA 2006 came into being, it superseded all previous legislations and laws.

The FSSA 2006 is described as ‘An Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’.