In the age of Information Technology, the flow of information is instantaneous. If an incident of food adulteration happens in Delhi and is reported in the media, the news is spread across India within seconds. Common mobile apps like What’s up have even allowed the general masses to record and spread information about unethical practices in the food business. Today’s consumer has become very health conscious and wants to ensure that he buys only those food products which are safe, without any adulteration and is prepared with minimum required hygiene.

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Due to this consumer awareness and to be seen as accountable, the regulatory bodies are taking stringent steps to provide safe, healthy and nutritional food to their subjects. If a food product is to be launched in the market, it has to be first tested and certified by the FSSAI-accredited laboratory and is to be declared fit for human consumption.

If an FBO wants to start selling a food product in the Indian market or is already selling a food product in India, he has to apply for a license from FSSAI (Food Safety & Standards Authority of India). It is the apex authority which came into existence by an Act of the Indian Parliament and is governed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. FSSAI is mandated to regulate and develop the manufacturing, processing and storage of food articles. It also regulates the sale, distribution and import of every food product in India. The FSSAI provides the licenses to certify safety and standardization of food products and any legitimate food business operator or retailer is not allowed to store or sell any food product without an FSSAI license.

FSSAI License is compulsory for any kind of business activity related to food. All restaurants, manufacturers, traders and vendors need to have an FSSAI license.  The licenses issued by FSSAI consist of three types: Basic Registration, State License and Central License.

FSSAI Registration 

If an FBO is running a food business which have an annual turnover of less than Rs.12 Lakhs, he has to get himself registered with the FSSAI. The license application fee is Rs.100 for one-year, yearly renewal for Rs.100 and 10% of the fee for duplicate license issuance. The small restaurants, dhabas, banquet hall with catering arrangements, hawkers and petty retailers fall under this registration. For more details about the eligibility and documents required, please visit www.corpseed.com. 

FSSAI State License

If the annual turnover of the food business is more than Rs.12 lakhs and less than Rs.20 crore, an FSSAI State License is required to run this business. For a manufacturer, the annual fee for a state FSSAI license is Rs.3000 for one year if the annual production is less than 1 Metric Ton and Rs.5000 if it exceeds one metric ton. The fee for hotels up to 4 stars is Rs.5000 for one year and Rs.2000 for food service providers such as restaurants, clubs, school canteens, caterers etc. Dairy units with refrigeration facilities, vegetable oil processing units, slaughterhouses, meat processing units and relabelled and repackers are the food businesses that come under the State License category. 

FSSAI Central License

When a food business exceeds the annual of Rs.20 crore, a central FSSAI license is required to be able to run the business activity of that particular business. The fee for a central license is Rs.7500/year for a new license, Rs.7500 for yearly renewal and 10% of the fee for duplicate license issuance.