Through a letter dated 17 April 2018 addressed to Commissioners and Officers-in-Charge of Food Safety of all States and Union Territories, the FSSAI has pointed out the Licensing requirements of FBOs that have establishments at seaports and airports.
The FSSAI has drawn attention to the Office Orders dated 20 November 2015 and 18 July 2016, where the FSSAI had pointed out that FBOs having establishments within seaport and airport premises, which means for establishments inside Port/Airport terminals licenses would be issued by officers as follows
- Only by Designated Officers (PHOs/APHOs) that had been notified under the FSS Act, 2006.
- In those cases where the Designated Officers (PHOs/APHOs) had not been notified under the FSS Act, 2006 then licenses would be issued by the respective Central Licensing Authority.
The Office Orders also stated that all the licenses that had already been issued by the State DOs at Seaports/ Airports would have to be modified by the notified PHOs/APHOs as Designated Officers of seaports/airports and by the Central Licensing Authorities at the time of renewal of existing licenses, with renewal fee but without charging any fee for the modification.
However, licenses for FBOs that have establishments outside the premises of the seaport or airport premises that is, outside the port/airport terminal would be issued by the respective State Designated Officers/ Central Licensing Authority as per the capacity or turnover of the food businesses.
Now it has come to the notice of the FSSAI that despite the issue of the existing Office Orders; the Licenses for FBOs having establishments inside seaports and airports for which PHOs/ APHOs as Designated Officers have either been notified or not notified under the FSS Act 2006 (like Lucknow and Raipur) have been issued or renewed by the State DOs instead of PHOs/APHOs and CLAs.
The FSSAI has clarified that the licenses of all such FBOs, where Licenses have been issued or renewed inadvertently by the State DOs need to have them modified immediately. Accordingly, all such FBOs have been advised to surrender their existing licenses and apply afresh for the FSSAI license to the
- concerned PHO/APHO notified as Designated Officers of Seaports/ Airports
OR
- Central Licensing Authority in such cases where Designated Officers have not been notified under the FSS Act 2006.
- FBOs would also have to deposit the prescribed fee for Central License.
The FSSAI has also sought a report on this issue by 30 April 2018, from the Commissioners and Officers-in-Charge of Food Safety of all States and Union Territories.
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