Food Safety Laws and the Role of FSSAI Under the FSSAI Act 

Home-made food items have been sold by many people since the lockdown began. But, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has noticed that there have been very few registrations of such home-based businesses since then. FSSAI has therefore issued a directive to all sellers of home-made food in India.

The FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSAI Act) of 2006 to keep a check on the ever-growing problem of food adulteration and mixing of additives ever since the food industry began playing a major role in the economy. 

Reason for Enactment

The FSS Act was enacted to:

1. Consolidate multiple laws in the country relating to food safety,
2. Establish a single-point reference system,
3. Additionally, establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
4. Cultivate safe food practices
5. Further, license food business for efficient monitoring
6. Ensure compliance through inspections and penalties

The Present Functions of the FSSAI Include

1. Framing of Regulations to lay down the standards and guidelines of food safety.
2. Additionally, granting FSSAI food safety licenses and certification for food businesses.
3. Moreover, laying down procedures and guidelines for laboratories in food businesses.
4. To provide suggestions to the government in framing the policies.
5. Further, to collect data regarding contaminants in food products, identification of emerging risks, and the introduction of a rapid alert system.
6. Creating an information network across the country about food safety.
7. Moreover, promotes general awareness about food safety and food standards.

The food processing industry is arguably one of the largest industries in India and has a huge potential to contribute to the upliftment of the agricultural economy, the creation of large-scale manufacturing units and food chain outlets, resulting in the generation of employment and export earnings. 

Key Regulations by the FSSAI Act

General Principles for Food Safety and Articles of Food

The Food Safety and Standards Act has a few regulations mentioned that need to be followed by Food Business Operators such as Food Safety & Standards (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011. Moreover, Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins & Residues) Regulations, 2011; Additionally, Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sale) Regulations, 2011; Similarly, Food Safety & Standards (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011, etc. The regulations under the act allow or prohibit the inclusion of substances in food that is meant for human consumption

The Food Safety and Standards Act expressly prohibits the inclusion of harmful substances such as insecticides in food. Further, the Act also mentions clearly that no article of food shall contain any contaminant, naturally occurring toxic substances or toxins, hormones, heavy metals, insecticide and pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, antibiotic residues, solvent residues, pharmacologically active substances, and microbiological counts above tolerance limit as mentioned in the regulations as well

The act mentions that, if it is a novel, genetically-modified article of food, irradiated food, organic food, foods for special dietary uses, functional foods, nutraceuticals, health supplements, proprietary foods, etc. it cannot be manufactured, distributed, sold, or imported into India. Moreover, only those that the regulations and provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act allow can be possible

The Act mandates special labelling for different kinds of food and Food Business Operators are to adhere to these requirements strictly. Additionally, imported food has other specific requirements that are to be followed

Packaging and Labelling Regulations

According to the Food Safety & Standards (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011, FSSAI Regulations are a comprehensive set of guidelines that all food product manufacturers and brands should follow. Further, FSSAI imposes twelve primary labelling regulations for any food packaging. These are:

1. Name of the food
2. The list of ingredients
3. Nutritional information
4. Declaration if the food product is vegetarian or not
5. Declaration of the food additives used
6. Name and complete address of the manufacturer 
7. Customer care details,
8. Quantity
9. Retail sale price 
10. FSSAI logo and license number, 
11. Batch identification number, the date of marketing, country of origin 
12. The instructions for use. 

FSSAI License and Registration

Under the Food Safety & Standards (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, a Food Business Operator (FBO) is required to obtain a food license upon exceeding a particular turnover. Additionally, the type of food license to be obtained depends on the scale of the business and the type of business activity the food business operator is involved in. Only after submitting the documents required for an FSSAI license, the application would be considered by the government authority. Further, there are three types of FSSAI Licenses:

1. Basic FSSAI Registration: This type of FSSAI registration is mandatory for petty food business operators. It is for the business whose turnover does not exceed the limit of ₹. 12 lac per annum. Additionally, people who come under this category are mostly petty retailers, itinerant vendors, hawkers, or temporary stallholders.
2. State FSSAI License: This license is mandatory for the food businesses with an annual turnover between ₹. 12 Lac – ₹. 20 Crore additionally or per annum. Further, the turnover limit is the same for an FSSAI State Manufacturing license or FSSAI State trading license.
3. Central FSSAI license: Central FSSAI license is mandatory for the food business whose annual turnover is above ₹. 20 Crore in case of trading or manufacturing or storage beyond certain limits as specified by the laws.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Any registered or licensed person under the FSSAI has to adhere to the rules and regulations under the FSS Act, 2006. Further, Food safety officers generally conduct inspections of the food business operator’s facility and identify the level of compliance with the regulation using a checklist. Based on the compliance level, the food safety officers mark it as:

1. Compliance (C)
2. Non-compliance (NC)
3. Partial compliance (PC)
4. Not applicable/Not observed (NA)

In accordance with Section 32 of the FSS Act, 2006, officers may issue improvement notices where necessary. A show-cause notice may be issued if the business operator fails to comply with the improvement notice. Food business operators aggrieved by an improvement notice can appeal to the State Commissioner of Food Safety. Additionally, the decision thereon can be challenged by appealing to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal/High Court.

Conclusion 

Consequently, any food business found to be in violation of the set rules will be punished.

In most cases, the penalty charge takes the form of a fee or monetary charge. The withdrawal of the license and keeping the business under a supervisor and routine inspection will be the penalty in case of a situation of grave violations or multiple accounts of rule-breaking.

Other Related Articles

• Food Irradiation With FSSAI 
• How to Check the Status of an FSSAI Application?
• Regulations for Labelling Food Products According to FSSAI