In a bid to create awareness so that certain standards were followed for articles of food, to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) organized a workshop on ‘Food Safety and Standards Act’ Thursday here at Hotel Saramati.
Delivering the keynote address, additional food commissioner, Nagaland designated officer, FSSAI, R. F. Lotha while expressing happiness that a first of its kind workshop was being organized in the state, said that it was essential for all stakeholders to update themselves with the new regulations of the FSSAI Act 2006 to provide and ensure food safety to the consumers.
Lotha said that though food safety might sound “very common” it was not so, as food safety and standards were purely technical terms which could be only defined in scientific and technical process.
Pointing out that food was a life sustaining article, Lotha said that even though medicine was a life saving component, it was only the sick who requires medication while food was required by every person on a daily basis.
Highlighting on some rules and regulations which Food Business Operators (FBO)’s have to abide under food safety and regulations, Lotha said that it was mandatory for all FBO’s to obtain food license from the appropriate authority and ensure that all food articles under his/her control were totally safe in all stages of supply chain.
FBO’s must also see to it that no contaminated and unsafe, sub-standard, misbranded, adulterated foods and food articles beyond expiry were sold or distributed, added Lotha.
The additional food commissioner also said that no FBO should employ any person suffering from any infectious, contagious or loathsome disease.
He then expressed hope that FBOs would make note of the regulations and implement it for the interest of public health and safety.
During the workshop, senior consultant CII-FACE, Deepak Mathur while highlighting on the overview of food safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations said that the Act was extended to whole of the country.
Citing the aims and objectives of FSSAI, Mathur said FSSAI aims to consolidate various laws relating to food in India, to establish food safety and standards authority of India for laying down science based standards for food, to regulate the manufacturer, storage, distribution, sale and import of food products and to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
He also briefed the gathering on key changes from PFA, new administrative structure, responsibility of the FOBs, licensing and registration of food businesses etc.
Later, a document scrutinization, on-spot application for licensing and registration and an open house session was also held.
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