Friday, August 08, 2014

Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that Food business operators (FBO) have to adhere to the advisories and guidelines that have been issued by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) since 2011, the year the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) were implemented. These are published on the website of the country’s apex food regulator.

 These guidelines are in addition to the rules and regulations notified under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and all FBO have to comply with the requirements stipulated under the Act. This was the minister’s reply in writing to a question raised in Rajya Sabha by Member of Parliament Y S Chowdhry, who asked whether FBO were issued any guidelines and whether these were being followed?

 Dr Vardhan added, “Various provisions of the FSSA, 2006, and Rules and Regulations notified under the Act, offer food manufacturing companies guidelines. In addition to these, various advisories have also been issued to FBO as guidelines. These have been placed on the website of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. All FBO have to comply with them and must either obtain a licence or register, depending on eligibility.”

 “The Act and Regulations have provisions for surveillance, monitoring and enforcement to regulate FBO across the country,” he added, and informed that there were 68 Laboratories in the country which were accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and authorised by FSSAI. Of these, 15 are in Maharashtra, nine are in Delhi and seven are in Tamil Nadu.

 The minister added that modernisation and upgradation of food testing laboratories was a continuous process. The state governments sanctioned funds for their laboratories based on the Budgetary provisions. However, an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore was made in the Twelfth Five-year Plan to strengthen the states’ food regulatory system and food testing laboratories.