Under the Food Safety (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations 2011, all slaughter houses are required to be licensed and registered with FSSAI. As of date meat shops and slaughter houses are operating only under license of the civic bodies in their areas. According to a new direction issued by FSSAI to food commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies, all abattoir and slaughter houses across the country will no longer be permitted to carry out their operations unless they have a registration or mandatory license from the Centre.
FSSAI has asked all food commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies to prepare an action plan and present it at the meeting of the Central Advisory Committee to be held on December 29. The FSSAI wants meat and slaughter houses to run their shops in
- Compliance with legal provisions
- Keep animal welfare measures in mind
- Prohibit slaughter of animals other than those allowed by the food safety regulations
According to the food safety law, meat shops are prohibited from slaughtering animals including chicken and fish if they do not have the required infrastructure. FSSAI has therefore directed the food safety commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies to close down roadside slaughter shops that keep birds. They have been directed to give the shops a time frame within which they must upgrade their infrastructure for stunning and handling and to maintain hygiene or shut down.
Animal activists have appreciated the fact that FSSAI has directed the food safety commissioners and local urban bodies to ensure that livestock is transported without being ill treated. It has directed them to take action against anyone who is found violating the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
In the same way, all existing slaughter houses and meat plants without adequate infrastructure will have to upgrade their infrastructure. FSSAI also wants that they train butchers properly and implement proper practices. The 2012 the Supreme Court had also directed all States and Union Territories to constitute state committees for slaughter houses within a specified time, and sought compliance by them.
FSSAI has also recommended the food commissioners and urban local commissioners to ensure that animals are transported according to provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act. FSSAI also wants to prohibit the slaughter of those animals that are not mentioned in the food safety regulations. The regulations food law no animal, other than sheep, goat, bovines, pigs, poultry and fish is allowed to be slaughtered for food.
The Licensing/Registration of the slaughter houses would be done as per the following FSSAI criteria for licensing:
Eligibility for Central License based on the capacity:
Large animals: more than 50 large animals per day
Small animals including sheep and goats: 150 or more per day
Poultry birds: 1000 or more per day
Eligibility for State License based on the capacity:
Large animals: more than 2 and upto 50 per day
Small animals: more than 10 and upto 150 per day
Poultry birds: more than 50 and upto 1000 per day
Eligibility for Registration Certificate based on the capacity:
Large animals: Upto 2 per day
Small animals: Upto 10 per day
Poultry birds: Upto 50 per day
ASIF AHMED says
Please Give My Meat Shop