FDA begins drive to check food stalls at public places

With a view to set up 'Clean Street Food Hubs' to provide safe food, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has begun inspection of food stalls located at Girgaum, Chowpatty and Juhu in Mumbai and also food stalls in public places in Pune and Nagpur.

The stall owners have been asked to take precaution of using only pure and potable water for preparing food and for serving to customers. They have been asked to clean the drums, in which water is stored, every day so that the bacteria germs like E Coli do not get accumulated. E Coli leads to intestinal infection, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever and even kidney failure.

“In the street food vending initiative, FDA will be the first one to fill up gaps where there is a lack of good facilities. The problems that come in the way of maintaining good hygiene include non-potable water, cleanliness of the place, and waste disposal. We are checking even whether these stalls have proper drainage system so that the water does not get stagnated near the stall, FDA Joint Commissioner Shailesh Adhav told 'The Afternoon D&C' and added that these stall owners have been given training about food safety measures. The FDA is also in the process of procuring two food testing labs, at a cost of Rs 10 crore each. Besides Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu in Mumbai, 'Clean Street Food Hubs' will be set up at Sarasbaug in Pune and at Phutala talao in Nagpur.

Even private food technologists, have come forward to assist us”.

“The road side eateries will also be brought under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and an awareness will be created among vendors to ensure that they take all precautions right from selection of hygienic ingredients while preparing food articles. Most of the states have already began spreading the message of 'health food'. Similarly, Maharashtra too will spread out this message across the state, including villages”.

In a related development BMC’s hydraulic engineer department drew 3086 water samples from 24 wards. Of these 53 samples were found unfit for human consumption and in 14 cases water was found containing E Coli. In all BMC has identified 174 water sampling spots in slum and non-slum areas, each.

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 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Coca-Cola to train 50,000 street food vendors across India over next three years under the project ‘Clean Street Food. As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola India, is closely working with FDA in upgrading the eating out experience for the local populace.

Also, a machinery for fortification of food, including milk, maida, salt, vitamins etc., will be set up in the state. The 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.

The FDA has also began a drive to register and issue licenses for vendors. They include fruit, vegetable, coconut water vendors, egg, chicken, meat and fish sellers, panipuri sellers, soda, wine and beer shops, canteens in school, colleges and other public places, hotels, and restaurants to name a few. So far, over one 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 have a compulsory food license. If the turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh, they need to register with 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 and pay Rs 5 lakh in fine.

Manufacturers and distributors too are supposed to sell food products only to those who have registration or license. If they sell food products to vendors who are not registered, they can be fined up to Rs 2 lakh.

“We have served notices on vendors and shopkeepers. They will be given some time. Even after that, if they fail to have a license, we will take strict action against erring vendors” Adhav said.