As part of food security measures, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to permit 'Clean' street food hubs, under food security regulations, at strategic public spots in towns and cities including Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
“The hubs will be set at Juhu and Goregaon in Mumbai, at Sarasbaug in Pune and at Phutala Talao in Nagpur,” Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, FDA, Girish Bapat said on the occasion of 'World Food Security Day'. Besides this, two food testing labs will be procured at a cost of Rs 10 crore each.
He said that road-side eateries will also be brought under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and awareness will be created among vendors to ensure that they take all precautions, including selection of hygienic ingredients to prepare the food articles. Most of the states have already began spreading the message of 'health food'. Similarly, Maharashtra too will now spread this message across the state, including its villages.
As per the agreement between Maharashtra FDA and Coca-Cola, nearly 1,200 street-food vendors in Pune were recently given training on the aspect of safe and nutritious food, enabling them to improve the quality of their offering. This initiative was a part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Coca-Cola to train 50,000 street food vendors across India over the next three years under the 'Clean Street Food' project.
As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola India is closely working with the FDA in upgrading the eating out experience for the local populace. While Coca-Cola India is responsible for the program execution through its network of trainers, the FDA will ensure the relevance of the training content and shall oversee the overall delivery.
Also, machinery for fortification of food, including milk, maida, salt, vitamins, etc. will be set up in the state, Bapat said, adding, “Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micro-nutrients to food. Although generally it is a purely commercial choice to provide extra nutrients in a food, basically it is a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies.”
Meanwhile, the FDA has begun a drive to register and issue licenses to vendors. They include fruit, vegetable, coconut water vendor, egg, chicken, meat and fish sellers, pani-puri seller, soda, wine and beer shops, canteens in school, colleges and other public places, hotels, and restaurants, to name a few. So far, over 1 lakh local market shopkeepers and vendors have a food safety registration or license.
Food sellers who have a turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh need to compulsorily have a food license. If the turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh, they need to register with the FDA. As per the Section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, if the food vendor does not register, he can be punished for six months in jail, with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. Manufacturers and distributors too are supposed to sell food products only to those who have a registration or license. If they sell food products to vendors who are not registered, they can be fined up to Rs 2 lakh.
FDA Joint Commissioner (Food), Shailesh Adhav, said, “Notices have been served to vendors and shopkeepers. They will be given some time. If they fail to have a license even after that, we will take strict action against the erring vendors.”
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