The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

Retail & Food Industry

(FSSAI)
Brief Introduction to Retailer and Food Business Holder
It has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created 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.
Highlights of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006:-

Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 , Fruit Products Order , 1955, Meat Food Products Order , 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc will be repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006.

The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command. To this effect, the Act establishes an independent statutory Authority  the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India with head office at Delhi. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Food Safety Authorities shall enforce various provisions of the Act.
Establishment of the Authority:-

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI. The Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have already been appointed by Government of India. The Chairperson is in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
FSSAI has been mandated by the FSS Act, 2006 for performing the following functions:-

Framing of Regulations to lay down the Standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and specifying appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus notified.
Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in certification of food safety management system for food businesses.
Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.

To provide scientific advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments in the matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing of food safety and nutrition.

Collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various, and contaminants in foods products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
Creating an information network across the country so that the public, consumers, Panchayat etc receive rapid, reliable and objective information about food safety and issues of concern.

Provide training programme for persons who are involved or intend to get involved in food businesses.

Contribute to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.

Promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.
How to Get Licence:-

1] LICENSING AND REGISTRATION OF FOOD BUSINESS-

A] Registration of Petty Food Business:-

(1) Every petty Food Business Operator shall register themselves with the Registering Authority by submitting an application for registration in Form A under Schedule 2 of these Regulations along with a fee as provided in Schedule 3
(2) The petty food manufacturer shall follow the basic hygiene and safety requirements provided in Part I of Schedule 4 of these Regulations and provide a self attested declaration of adherence to these requirements with the application in the format provided in Annexure-1 under Schedule 2.
(3) The Registering Authority shall consider the application and may either grant registration or reject it with reasons to be recorded in writing or issue notice for inspection, within 7 days of receipt of an application for registration.
(4) In the event of an inspection being ordered, the registration shall be granted by the Registering Authority after being satisfied with the safety, hygiene and sanitary conditions of the premises as contained in Part II of Schedule 4 within a period of 30 days.
If registration is not granted, or denied, or inspection not ordered within 7 days as provided in above sub regulation (3) or no decision is communicated within 30 days as provided in above sub regulation (4), the petty food manufacturer may start its business, provided that it will be incumbent on the Food Business Operator to comply with any improvement suggested by the Registering Authority even later.

Provided that registration shall not be refused without giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard and for reasons to be recorded in writing.
(5) The Registering Authority shall issue a registration certificate and a photo identity card, which shall be displayed at a prominent place at all times within the premises or vehicle or cart or any other place where the person carries on sale/manufacture of food in case of Petty Food Business.
(6) The Registering Authority or any officer or agency specifically authorized for this purpose shall carry out food safety inspection of the registered establishments at least once in a year.

Provided that a producer of milk who is a registered member of a dairy Cooperative Society registered under Cooperative Societies Act and supplies or sells the entire milk to the Society shall be exempted from this provision for registration.
License for food business :-

No person shall commence any food business unless he possesses a valid license. License for commencing or carrying on food business, which falls under Schedule 1, shall be granted by the Central Licensing Authority, provided that Food Authority may through notification make such changes or modify the list given in the Schedule I as considered necessary.
Application for license to the Licensing Authority:-

An application for the grant of a license shall be made in Form B of Schedule 2 to the concerned Licensing Authority as specified in Regulation and it will be accompanied by a self-attested declaration in the format provided in the Annexure-1 and copies of documents mentioned in the Annexure 2 of Schedule-2 along with the applicable fees prescribed in Schedule 3.
Mode of payment:
All fees and charges payable under these regulations shall be paid vide pay order or demand draft or any online mode of payment as may be prescribed in this regard, by the concerned Food Safety Commissioner.
Conditions of License:-
All Food Business Operators shall ensure that the following conditions are complied with at all times during the course of its food business.
Food Business Operators shall:
1. Display a true copy of the license granted in Form C shall at all times at a prominent place in the premises.
2. Give necessary access to Licensing Authorities or their authorized personnel to the premises
3. Inform Authorities about any change or modifications in activities /content of license.
4. Employ at least one technical person to supervise the production process. The person supervising the production process shall possess at least a degree in Science with Chemistry/Bio Chemistry/Food and Nutrition/ Microbiology or a degree or diploma in food technology/ Dairy technology/ dairy microbiology/ dairy chemistry/ dairy engineering/ oil technology /veterinary science /hotel management & catering technology or any degree or diploma in any other discipline related to the specific requirements of the business from a recognized university or institute or equivalent.
5. Furnish periodic annual return (1st April to 31st March), within upto 31st May of each year. For collection/ handling/manufacturing of Milk and Milk Products half yearly returns also to be furnished as specified (1st April to 31st September before 30th November and 1st October to 31st March).
6. Ensure that no product other than the product indicated in the license/ registration is produced in the unit.
7. Maintain factory sanitary and hygienic standards and worker Hygiene as specified in the Schedule  4 according to the category of food business.
8. Maintain daily records of production, raw materials utilization and sales separately.
9. Ensure that the source and standards of raw material used are of optimum quality.
10. Food Business Operator shall not manufacture, store or expose for sale or permit the sale of any article of food in any premises not effectively separated to the satisfaction of the licensing authority from any privy, urinal, sullage, drain or place of storage of foul and waste matter.
11. Ensure Clean-In-Place systems (wherever necessary) for regular cleaning of the machine & equipments.
12. Ensure testing of relevant chemical and/or microbiological contaminants in food products in accordance with these regulations as frequently as required on the basis of historical data and risk assessment to ensure production and delivery of safe food through own or NABL accredited /FSSA notified labs at least once in six months.
13. Ensure that as much as possible the required temperature shall be maintained throughout the supply chain from the place of procurement or sourcing till it reaches the end consumer including chilling, transportation, storage etc.
14. The manufacturer/importer/distributor shall buy and sell food products only from, or to, licensed/registered vendorsand maintain record thereof.
Other conditions:-
1. Proprietors of hotels, restaurants and other food stalls who sell or expose for sale savories, sweets or other articles of food shall put up a notice board containing separate lists of the articles which have been cooked in ghee, edible oil, vanaspati and other fats for the information of the intending purchasers.
2. Food Business Operator selling cooked or prepared food shall display a notice board containing the nature of articles being exposed for sale
3. Every manufacturer [including ghani operator] or wholesale dealer in butter, ghee, vanaspati, edible oils, Solvent extracted oil, de oiled meal, edible flour and any other fats shall maintain a register showing the quantity of manufactured, received or sold, nature of oil seed used and quantity of de-oiled meal and edible flour used etc. as applicable and the destination of each consignment of the substances sent out from his factory or place of business, and shall present such register for inspection whenever required to do so by the Licensing Authority.
4. No producer or manufacturer of vegetable oil, edible oil and their products shall be eligible for license under this Act, unless he has own laboratory facility for analytical testing of samples.
Penalty for breach of Rules:-
The Food safety and Standards Act, 2006 in chapter ix from clause.48 to 67 gives information about the offences and penalties.

Clause 48 provides for general provisions relating to offences. In determining whether any food is injurious to health, regard shall be had to the particular health sensitivities of a specific category of consumer where the food is intended for that category of consumers but also to the probable cumulative effect of food of substantially the same composition on the health of a person consuming it in ordinary quantities. For the purposes of the chapter on offences and penalties, injury includes any impairment whether permanent or temporary, and injurious to health shall be construed accordingly.
Clause 50 provides penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five lakh rupees. However the persons covered under clause 31(2) of this bill, shall for such non- compliance be liable to a penalty not exceeding Rs. 25,000/-.
Clause 51 provides penalty for manufacturing, selling, storing or import etc., of sub-standard food for human consumption and makes it liable to a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees.
Clause 52 provides penalty for misbranded food, Shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to three lakh rupees.
Clause 53 provides penalty for misleading advertisement and makes it liable to a fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
Clause 54 provides penalty for food containing extraneous matter or import of such foods and makes it liable to a fine which may extend to one Lakh rupees.
Clause 55 provides that if a food business operator or importer without reasonable ground, fails to comply with requirements of the bill or the rules, regulations or orders issued there under, as directed by the food safety officer, he shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to two lakh.
Clause 59 seeks to provide punishment for unsafe food and makes the offence punishable, where such failure or contravention
Does not result in injury, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine which may extent to one lakh rupees.
Result in non “grievous injury , with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and also with fine which may extend to three lakh rupees.
Results in a grievous injury, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six years and also with the fine which may extend to five lakh rupees.
Results in death, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extent to imprisonment for life and also with fine which shall not be less than ten lakh rupees.
There are some provisions which deals with the penalties but these are the some of the important clauses.
How to avoid penalties:-
The penalties can be avoided by applying the rules and regulation issued by the Government of India under different regulations i.eThe food Safety and Standards Act rules 2011The food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of food business.)
The food Safety and Standards (food product standards and food additives) etc.
The food business holder must comply with all conditions given in the act i.e. Food Safety and Standards Act , 2006 and given in the regulations which is recently inserted in the year 2011.