SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh is yet to put in place a system to ensure that the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is implemented effectively in the state, according to a report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The report, prepared for the period from 2014-15 to 2016-17, said inadequate institutional, or regulatory, structure affected the Act’s implementation. It said the state’s health and family welfare department had not conducted any survey to create a database of food business units. The report said the regulation of food-business operators, and monitoring of adherence to standards of food quality and safety, was weak.
In Himachal Pradesh, the Act came into force in August 2011. The commissioner of food safety (principal secretary, health and family welfare) is responsible for its compliance through the joint commissioner of food safety (director, health safety and regulation) at state level and “designated officers” (DOs) at district level. DOs are assisted by food safety officers (FSOs), food analysts, and adjudicating officers in discharge of their duties.
The CAG started carried out an audit of the Act’s implementation in the state from April to May last year, through test-check of records of director of health safety and regulation, Composite Testing Laboratory, Kandaghat, DOs and adjudicating officers in Kangra and Solan districts.
Scrutiny of records in two selected districts showed that the validity of 37 licences issued during 2014-17, of the 240 cases which underwent the audit, had expired between March 2015 and April 2017, and were not renewed by May 2017. Likewise, validity of seven registration certificates (RCs), of 60 audited RCs (issued during 2014-17), expired between July 2016 and May 2017.
Scrutiny of records in test-checked districts showed that equipment such as fridge, cold chain boxes, spot analysis kits, equipment for lifting, storage and transportation of samples for testing against microbiological parameters was not available. In the absence of this, no spot analysis of samples could be conducted, deterioration of food samples owing to temperature, etc., remained a risk, and integrity of food samples lifted could not be ensured. Also, items of perishable nature such as fruits and vegetables were not being lifted, report said.
It said testing and analysis of food samples was being done in the Composite Testing Laboratory (CTL), Kandaghat. Scrutiny of records of CTL, Kandaghat, showed that against 31 sanctioned posts of technical staff, 20 were vacant in April 2017. “The acute shortage of technical staff resulted in delays in analysis of food samples and dispatch of analysis reports to DOs, non-preparation of reports in prescribed format, etc,” it added.
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