No pre-licence checks for select food segments
FSSAI directs its officers from refraining from inspections where it is not mandatory as licence may be granted on the submission of mandatory documents
image for illustrative purpose
No More Inspector Raj
- Officials insist on pre-licensing inspection in non-mandatory cases
- FSSAI directed Food Safety Commissioners in States, UTs, its directors to restrict inspections
New Delhi: In a bid to check the incidence of the so-called ‘inspector raj,’ the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed its designated officers from refraining from inspections where it is not mandatory.
By way of a May 2022 notification, the food authority had mandated pre-licence inspections in the manufacturing and processing businesses related to five categories: milk and milk products; meat and meat products, fish and fish products, fortified rice kernels (FRKs), and slaughterhouses.
In the remaining categories of food businesses, there is no requirement of pre-licence inspection. Licence may be granted on the submission of mandatory documents.
It, however, came to the notice of FSSAI that designated officers were frequently marking licensing applications for pre-licensing inspection in non-mandatory cases. So, it has directed the Commissioners of Food Safety of all States and Union Territories (UTs) and the Directors of its own regional offices to restrict inspections.
The FSSAI has directed them that no pre-licence inspections ‘shall be conducted’ other than the five specified categories, official sources told Bizz Buzz.
But if the designated officer still believes that it is necessary to conduct inspection in an enterprise in the non-mandatory category, they should ‘record the reason in writing with clear justification.’
Further, once an application is marked for inspection in a non-mandatory category enterprise, the inspection ‘should be done within 15 days.’
In the past, the FSSAI has taken many steps to make the life of food business operators (FBOs) and other stakeholders in the food industry easier. Among other things, it smoothened the licensing process for FBOs in January 2023.
In April, it set up a committee of scientists for the scrutiny of Rapid Analytical Food Testing or RAFT kits, equipment, and methods. The next month, it issued a clarification specifying the procedures and jurisdictions of inspections.
