With the deadline for registration and getting a licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, having ended on August 4, the Health Department has constituted four teams to initiate inspections at business establishments selling eatables in the holy city.
According to figures available with the Health Department as many as 12,000 food businesses have registered and another 1,500 have received licences. According to the Act, a business with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh has to get registered with the department. Those exceeding the limit have to apply for a licence to carry on the business.
As the registration and licence are mandatory for all businesses involved in manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution and import of food items besides catering, the authorities believe that many shops have not yet complied with their instructions.
The District Health Officer, Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon, said after the implementation of the Act in the state on August 8, 2011, the deadline for the registration of applicants was extended many times to give them a chance. “Now our teams will check traders selling food and other eatables. They will be issued show-cause notice if they are not registered or do not have licence,” he said.
Owners of food business without registration or license could be sentenced to six months imprisonment, besides imposing fine upto Rs five lakh, Kahlon said. Areas were distributed among teams, which were instructed to visit each and every food business in their field, he added.
Officials said the Act also covered free distribution of food in langars (community kitchen). Even liquor vends had to obtain licenses. Despite extension of the deadline by the government no liquor vend owner had ever applied for a licence.
The idea of Food Safety and Standard Act was to ensure better quality, besides checking adulteration.
However, the Act incorporated in 2006 became operational in the state after a delay of five years. The registration process took another five years to complete.
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