Through a notification dated 11 September 2017, the FSSAI has implemented the Food Safety Compliance Through Regular Inspections and Sampling (FoSCoRIS) system. It was unanimously agreed at the 20th meeting of the Central Advisory Committee (CAC) to implement this web-based platform to verify compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per regulatory requirements. The FoSCoRIS is a nationwide online system for food safety compliance.
For the FoSCoRIS System, a hand-held device with net connectivity is required for Food Safety Officers (FSOs). Many of the States/ UTs have already provided these devices to FSOs for enforcement and surveillance these states should adopt the system straight away. The other States can consider other options for providing such devices to FSOs through bundled or rental plans from carriers, reimbursement of mobile expenses to FSOs with mobile/ tablet etc. This will enable them to initiate action for obtaining necessary approvals to implement the FoSCoRIS.
To encourage and support the States/ UTs during the initial phase the FSSAI has decided to bear the cost of bundled/rentals for the first three months subject to a maximum of Rs.500/- a month per connection to the first 10 states willing to implement the FoSCoRIS System. The FSSAI has requested the Commissioners of Food Safety to convey their willingness and to send their response to the FSSAI through the appropriate form by 30 September 2017. The FSSAI has also requested the Commissioners of Food Safety to appoint a nodal officer for the FoSCoRIS System and to send the details of such officers to the State Food Authority as per the Proforma provided for this purpose so they may be integrated for FoSCoRIS.
Food Safety Compliance Through Regular Inspections and Sampling is a system that will verify compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per regulatory requirements through inspections and sampling. This will ensure regular inspections of food businesses in an objective and transparent manner and would ensure consistency in approach to inspections throughout the country.
Once it is set up the FoSCoRIS system would replace the current system which is mostly ad hoc and subjective. The FoSCoRIS system would be created on a nation-wide IT platform which will bring together all key stakeholders like FBOs, FSOs designated officers (DOs) as well as Food Safety Commissioners (FSCs) so there can be a high degree of integrity when carrying out inspections and sampling. This will also effectively monitor the process at various levels. It will also enable sharing of test results data to all at all levels from district to national.
The App based FoSCoRIS inspection will save time and increase the efficiency of the FSOs. It will also give a clear picture to all stakeholders as well as the FSSAI on a real-time basis.
The FSSAI has outlined the entire process of setting up of the infrastructure to the steps in the procedure for inspection and sampling. The monitoring and data analysis has been outlined as well as defined access rights for each group of stakeholders.
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