What is the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India act (FSSAI)? What are the rules of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India?
The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) are responsible for setting a standard of food. In order to set the standard of the food FSSAI emphasises on the quality of the food. There are few tests that are done to detect the quality of the food. If a particular food can pass all the tests regarding nutrient properties, colour, smell, presence of chemical, and shape. The food gets the permission to be sold in the market only after the food is passed in all the tests. Under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, FSSAI aims to control the adulteration of food to ensure the quality of food.
The brief history or Full form of FSSAI
The full form of FSSAI is Food safety and Standard Authority of India. FSSAI was established in August 5, 2008. The act came into action in 2006. The objective of FSSAI is to maintain the quality of the food that is being sold in the market.
| Date of establishment of FSSAI | August 2011 |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
| Authority board | Ashish Bahuguna, President
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India |
| Official website | www.fssai.gov.in |
There are many laws related to food in India. The laws were implemented after the establishment of FSSAI. Here is the list of finished acts that are mentioned below.
- Food Fruit Product Order, 1955
- Adulteration Act, 1954
- Meat Food Products Order, 1973
- Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947
- Food Oil Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1988
- Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992
- D -Ommed Mail and Edible Floor (Control) Order, 1967
FSSAI headquarter
The headquarters of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India is situated at the heart of India, New Delhi. The Government of India has the authority to appoint the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI. The chairman is appointed from the secretary rank. The Apart from the Chief executive and Chairman there are six regional officers who are posted in six different states of the country. The six states are Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin and Chennai. Additionally, there are several laborites certified by FSSAI are located throughout the country.
Role of FSSAI
FSSAI was established by the Government of India. The role of FSSAI is stated below.
- Determining the guideline- One of the major roles of FSSAI is to set a guideline for the food items. The authority makes sure that the food manufacturers and the restaurants follow the guideline.
- Certification- FSSAI certifies the foods that are made by maintain the guideline. They certify the food that is edible.
- Network establishment- FSSAI established a strong network throughout the country so that the get instant information if any fallacy occurs regarding food. They are connected to the panchayats and consumers.
- Training- FSSAI organizes training program for those who are into food business. The training provides important information regarding food business.
Importance of FSSAI
The primary objective of FSSAI is to operate the food marketing, storage, sales, supply, and manufacturing. The manufacturers need to enroll their business under FSSAI before selling food in the market. The manufacturers get the approval after their food passed all the tests that are being conducted in the FSSAI certified laboratories. There are strict provisions under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 regarding the quality of the food. Under the act the FSSAI officials can file criminal case against any person who sells adulterated food in the market.
Products under FSSAI
The food products that come under FSSAI’s criteria are listed below.
- Dairy products
- Oil and fats
- Fruit and vegetables
- Grain products
- Meat products
- Fish
- Sweet
- Salt and spices
- Beverages
Application process of acquiring FSSAI license
- To apply for the license you need to visit http://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/precheck/precheckunitdetails.aspx to check whether you are eligible or not.
- You need to fill all the necessary information by visiting https://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/index.aspx
- FSSAI approved license on the basis of the nature of the food business. There are several categories of providing license. The traders whose business worth between 12 lakh to 20 crore, come under the state license. The trader whose business worth more than 200 million they come under the central license.
In order to learn about the required documents, all are mentioned on the official website.
For central license registration visit https://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/indexCL.aspx
For state license registration visit https://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/indexSL.aspx
Rejection of license
FSSAI has the authority to cancel the approved license. The license can only be cancelled only if you fail to provide the quality you claimed and your food does not pass all the tests. Therefore, to retain the license the person involved with food business needs to follow all the guideline stated by FSSAI.
Other Articles: