Through its notification dated 1 June, 2016 the FSSAI has passed an order to facilitate the speedy registering of food businesses through the Common Service Centre-Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC-SPV) platform and has also proposed funding the service charges for this facility till 4 August 2016. All Food Safety Commissioners of the States and Union territories as well as All Central Licencing Authority have been apprised of this order so that they can facilitate licensing and registering of food businesses.
According to FSSAI estimation there are around two crore Food Business Operators (FBOs) and out of these only 35 lakh FBOs have been licensed or registered so far. Under regulation 2.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations 2011 all FBOs in the country have to be registered or licensed. The State of Jammu and Kashmir has started using the platform of Common Service Centre-Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC-SPV) to facilitate the licensing and registration of FBOs. To help FBOs they are carrying out this service on payment of Rs.30/. This payment is in addition to the applicable registration fee which the FBO has to pay.
Since the CSC model in an online platform the Registration Certificate would also be Auto Generated after filing of the application. The data will then be electronically transferred to the concerned Registering Authority for verification and other follow up actions if there are any. The auto Generated Registration Certificate will be provisional during the first 30 days. In this period if the FBO is found to be non-compliant with any of the provisions of the FSSA Act, Rules and Regulations then the Registering Authority can suspend or cancel the Registration Certificate for any kind of non-compliance.
The FSSAI has informed all Commissioners of the Food Safety of all the other States/UTs that they are free to utilise this Common Service Centre platform also. The FSSAI has also provided the names, email IDs and contact phone numbers of all the CSC state coordinators. The FBOs can make use of this facility to accelerate the registration process as required by the FSS Act 2006. As a special promotional gesture the FSSAI would fund the CSC service charges of Rs.30/- for Registration of FBOs until 4 August 2016.
The onus is now on all Food Business Operators to get their licenses or registration at the earliest so that they can ensure food safety. By getting their food businesses licensed and registered, the FBOs will play a crucial role in ensuring that they are providing food that is safe and free of hazards so as to protect the health of consumers. With the rise of economic standards and awareness of health hazards consumers demand food that will not cause harmful effects on their health. Once they are licensed or registered, the FBOs can assure consumers that their food is free of contaminants and has been prepared hygienically in clean premises keeping in mind Schedule 4 of the FSSA Act.
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