FSSAI Registration & Licensing

If a food business operator (FBO) is required to have a subcontract with another vendor, he must ensure that the new vendor is registered or licensed with FSSAI. As per FSSAI(Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) Food Safety Standards Regulations 2011, every FBO also needs to obtain a license for every premise where food is either manufactured or served. If he is operating in more than two states, he is required to have a central license and one for every state as the central license can cover a maximum of two states. 

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• Conducting regular Food, Beverage, Air  & Swab (Hand & Food contact surfaces) Tests 

This is most conclusive way of finding out if the food that has been prepared or is being served is safe or not. It also helps you track back into the chain & conduct a root cause analysis of where exactly the food business operator faltered or what the problem is & what can be done to resolve it and prevent it from recurring. It is also essential for every food business operator to submit a water analysis report where water is used as an ingredient in the food being prepared, to secure a license.

• Conducting Hygiene Audits or Inspection 

This is a root cause analysis & check of all the process & systems in place against Food Safety Standards Regulations, 2011. Scrutinizing the processes & finding out Gaps or deficiencies within the system where food is served or processed is one of the most significant steps to providing bang-on measures to arrest or to prevent hazards that may occur.

• Vendor Audits or Inspection  

This helps you establish controls on your vendor – the processes & practices, verifying the methods of monitoring & measuring activities. This also helps you track if the errors are at the vendor site or the manufacturing or service site.

• Pre – Transportation & Dispatch Audits 

Even if all measures have been taken, transportation is a stage that increases the probability of introducing a food hazard or can cause a food to become a toxin rather than a nutrient. Inspection of dispatch procedures, condition of the transportation vehicle, the containers used for transportation, temperature control during transportation etc is absolutely necessary.

• Food Safety Management System (FSMS)

Food Safety Management System (FSMS) is a must for FSSAI license. It is based on ISO 22000 and incorporates the Food Safety Standards Regulations 2011. Irrespective of whether you need to get a license or not, FSMS plan is a must for every organization in the food sector as it brings in along with it a structure, uniformity and systematic follow-through of all that is expected from an FBO and all that they need to ensure or put into place to abide by the law as well to safeguard themselves as well as their consumers.

• Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC)

Trainings help create awareness on latest regulations, penalties for various offences laid down by the law, guidelines on basic hygiene & sanitary conditions that need to be followed by all food business operators, & help food handlers to understand basic concepts of food safety & hygiene. The Government of India has constituted FOSTAC for this purpose only. Regular training are a must not only according to the law but also to help minimize food poisoning incidents & also to increase consumer safety & productivity

• Regular Medical Check-ups of Food Handlers 

It is the one of the safest ways to ensure that your food handlers do not only contaminate food but also do not transmit any infectious diseases to other staff as well as people who consume the food. FSSAI advises that all food handlers have at least a yearly check-up to detect any kind of infectious diseases & to track their overall fitness. The check-up can be conducted by any authorized/registered medical practitioner. The Medical Performa certificate is a must that has to be submitted along with medical test records of food handlers for licensing purposes.

Documentation

It is always good to be safe, than sorry. Regular Audit Reports done by an Internal Auditor (Trained Admin/Facility Manager), and monthly/quarterly Audit Reports by a Food Safety/Hygiene Auditor, coupled with monthly/quarterly Food, Water and Hygiene Swab testing reports, and documentation of the steps taken for rectification of errors in case of any non-compliance to the standards found would complete the documentation required for safeguard against the rough sides of the Law. Such documentation is needed to be maintained at the Food Vendor’s end, as well as the Corporate Canteen too.

• Penalties  

Any Company found to have contracted a Food Vendor, without the FSSAI License / Registration will be prosecuted by FSSAI / FDA. The managers handling F&B / Catering / Canteen / Cafeteria will be held responsible. In case of any unfortunate incidents like food poisoning, an outbreak of foodborne diseases etc and if proper documentation is not maintained, the Authorities will prosecute the responsible person with monetary penalties ranging between Rs. 1,00,000/- up to Rs. 10,00,000/- and/or imprisonment from 6 months up to lifetime, depending upon the severity of the case and the documentation maintained as a safeguard.

• Implementation of solutions provided  

There are suggestions & solutions provided for all analyses & inspections conducted. Implementation of these will help close all non-conformities & resolve issues that lead to any contamination & any law suits.

• Form C, format of Food License  

Every FBO shall display the license, the format of which is given in Form C, at all times at a prominent location.

• Form E, the guarantee of quality 

Every manufacturer, distributor or dealer selling an article of food to a vendor shall give either separately or in the bill, cash memo or label, a warranty or guarantee of quality, the format of which is in Form E.

All of the above-mentioned measures are not just solutions but the responsibility of each food business operator.