The Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set February 4,
2014, as the final deadline for food business operators (FBOs) to obtain
licences or get their establishments registered and many states seem to
be on track thanks to methods such as creation of awareness over the
issue, introduction of online licensing and registration, and
impartation of training for the same.
However some states like
Delhi and Punjab are still struggling to find solutions for problems
such as lack of manpower thus putting a question mark on what would
happen here if the process is not completed on time.
Maharashtra
In
Maharashtra, home to approximately 15 lakh FBOs, about 3.5 lakh FBOs
have either registered their establishments or obtained licences, either
online or offline, according to Mahesh Zagade, the state FDA
commissioner.
“The process is about 35-40 per cent complete,” he
said, adding that the remainder would be completed on time, because food
safety officers (FSOs) across the state are not only creating awareness
about the importance of registration and licensing, but also imparting
training on the process of applying for the same online.
Kerala
K
Anil Kumar, joint commissioner, food, FDA Kerala, said, “The estimated
number of FBOs is 5 lakh. We have already completed the registration and
licensing of about 1,80,000 FBOs. Most of it has been offline so far,
but we have recently started the online registration and licensing
process. We are imparting training to the FBOs on the online licensing
and registration process, and they are now comfortable applying online.
We are sure that the process would be complete before February 4, 2014.
If any of them failed to comply with the norms, they would be fined and
imprisoned.”
Hitches in northern states
A regulatory
source from the north, however, was not very optimistic, primarily due
to the shortage of manpower. According to him, this was particularly the
case in Delhi and Punjab. K J R Burman, Delhi’s food commissioner, said
that the state had over 15 lakh FBOs, but to date, only 645 of them
have acquired licences, because the state food regulator has been
grappling with a shortage of manpower and inadequate infrastructure.
Burman
explained, “We are lagging behind other states, because we have just
started the process. We were not able to focus on the registration and
licensing earlier, but now we have started the process online, and are
confident that we would complete the registration and licensing of FBOs
well before the deadline. Most FBOs in Delhi acquired their licences
online.”
FDA Punjab’s food commissioner Hussan Lal said about
70,000 FBOs in the state have already registered or acquired licences,
and efforts are on to get the rest to comply. He added there was no data
about the number of FBOs in the state.
A state-wise statistical summary
In
Maharashtra, 2,29,296 FBOs have registered and 1,21,484 have acquired
licences. Tamil Nadu (with 2,03,869 registrations and 29,121 licences)
is second, and Kerala (with 1,48,639 registrations and 26,910 licences)
is third. Dr H G Koshia, food commissioner, Food and Drug Control
Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, said, “Till date, we have registered
87,316 and licensed 31,266 FBOs. We would able to complete the process
well on time. Since we were one of the first states to start the online
registration and licensing process, FBOs have been cooperating with us.”
|
State
|
FBO licensed
|
FBO registered
|
|
Maharashtra
|
1,21,484
|
2,29,296
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
29,121
|
2,03,869
|
|
Kerala
|
26,910
|
1,48,639
|
|
Gujarat
|
31,266
|
87,316
|
|
Punjab
|
8,931
|
57.263
|
|
Rajasthan
|
55,382
|
1,52,649
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
30,957
|
1,29,619
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
22778
|
51,657
|
|
Bihar
|
6,965
|
14,815
|
|
Goa
|
1,751
|
12,691
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
17,352
|
61,456
|
|
West Bengal
|
8,788
|
26,476
|
|
Delhi
|
645
|
Nil
|
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