Food Safety Act takes effect in Northern Tamil Nadu

Samples can be taken from food joints even without a complaint

To ensure consumers in this region had access to safe food products, the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing) has ordered its officials in northern districts to immediately begin taking samples from all shops selling food and related products on a regular basis.

The Department directed the Designated Officers of the Food Safety Wing to initiate legal action against shops found selling sub-standard food products.

High Court order

Official sources told The Hindu here on Wednesday that the order came after the Madras High Court recently vacated its stay imposed on certain regulations of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, from taking effect in the northern districts that come under its jurisdiction (including districts in Western Tamil Nadu). The stay order had prevented the Food Safety Officials from taking samples.

A similar stay for the southern districts was vacated by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court a few months ago.

However, the case against these provisions was still pending. The orders were issued during a review meeting held in Chennai on December 20.

A senior official here said that the order would pave the way for the full fledged implementation of Food Safety Act. Hitherto, the Food Safety Wing only performed surveillance and issued licences besides registering food traders. Samples were lifted only based on specific complaints.

Now, the Food Safety Officials could take samples and conduct microbiological and chemical tests to ascertain its standards, even without receipt of a complaint.

If the testing results found the food to be unsafe, it will attract, depending upon the case, both a fine and imprisonment. If it was sub-standard/ misbranded, a heavy penalty would be levied.

Officials said that the Food Safety Wing in Coimbatore had a Designated Officer and 31 Food Safety Officers to enforce the Food Safety Act.

Coimbatore has one of the six food analysis laboratories in Tamil Nadu that are approved under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The others were in Chennai, Salem, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Madurai.

Sources said that so far, 2,500 licences and 6,500 registrations have been done for restaurants, eateries, bakeries and wholesale dealers of food products in Coimbatore. All food and food product enterprises must mandatorily register or get licences by February 4, 2014. A total of 22,500 licences and registrations were expected to be done in Coimbatore.