An Insight into Powers and Rights of FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established under the Food Safety act of 2006. The statutory body came into existence in 2011 under the health ministry. It was enacted with an aim to bring all the food testing and quality control authority under one statutory body. Now, many people have questions on the powers and responsibilities of FSSAI. The FSSAI is responsible for registration and other licensing services for food businesses across the country. Hence, it is essential for all new business owners as well as the existing ones that they understand the rights of this regulatory body.

In the following sections, we will understand the formation of the body under the law, its purpose, and its powers. We will also learn about the organizational structure of the institution.

Formation of FSSAI

The authority has been established as an autonomous body according to the existing framework of legislation. It acts as a department operating under the Public Health Ministry of the central government. It has been formed to keep oversight over all the food businesses operating across the country and ensure that these companies are meeting the quality norms. In other words, this authority is responsible to ensure that the people of the country have access to only standard quality food products that won't harm the health if consumed judiciously. To keep up with its objective, the authority has strict licensing procedures. Any food business with a turnover of more than 12 lakhs needs to get the FSSAI License to operate in the country. Let us understand the objective of the authority in detail.

Purpose of Setting Up FSSAI

Before the formation of FSSAI, there were many different bodies working under different administrations to regulate the food licensing and quality check procedures. This has created chaos over the years as the businesses seeking to enter the food processing industry did not know which type of registration or certification would be appropriate for them. This situation demanded creation of a single statutory body that can overlook the entire system of licensing and registration in the country. There was also the need for a single organization that could regulate all the different food regulatory bodies working in the country. So, to streamline the licensing and registration procedures for the food industry and to make a single body responsible for quality control of food products, FSSAI was formed.

The food licensing procedures which used to be a mess before the formation of FSSAI became smooth and thus brought a lot of investment in the food sector of the economy. Also, it became quite easier for the regulatory body to conduct regular checks on the businesses to ensure compliance with the regulations. Even the companies were happy that they have to follow a single set of regulations and compliances which are valid in the entire country. Earlier, different states had different types of rules which created confusion among the companies operating in the whole country. Also, the FSSAI licensing procedure became online and thus, reduced the time taken for the generation of new licenses.

Powers and Responsibilities

As mentioned before, all businesses need to adhere to the norms set by FSSAI and hence, they must understand the powers of this authority. There are a variety of rights given to the institution by the government but the main responsibility is to oversee the registration procedure in the whole nation. The other responsibilities of the institution includes:

1. Developing and releasing food safety standards and related regulations for the businesses to follow during their operation. The rules must keep the health of the whole nation as priority.

2. Coming up with guidelines for new laboratories seeking accreditation from the authority for food quality checks.

3. In the matters of health and nutrition concerning the people of the country, it also needs to advise the govt. with the scientific view and provide technical support.

4. The food safety authorities across the world have to contribute to create international food safety standards and the related framework of regulations. The FSSAI is also responsible to give its recommendations in such matters.

5. It is responsible for collecting and correlating data concerning the food consumption habits of the country, any emerging risks, contamination, and adulteration practices.

6. After collection of this data, it is also responsible to take necessary actions and make the public aware of any new developments in food safety standards or emerging risks.

Organizational Structure of FSSAI

As per its objective, the FSSAI is a pretty centralized institution with its subdivisions spread across the major cities of the country. Together with its subdivisions, it regulates the FSSAI certification in the whole country. The headquarter of the institution is located in New Delhi and is responsible to appoint the heads of all the subdivisions in the country. The main division in New Delhi is headed by a chairperson appointed by the Ministry of Public Health of the Central Government. The appointments are finalized by Central government officials who have previously held or currently hold the position of government secretary.

There are five other divisional offices located in the country to look after the process of new FSSAI registration and the FSSAI renewal process for existing licenses. The five other subdivisions are located in Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Kolkata, and Guwahati. Each subdivision has regulatory authority over its local subdivision and is responsible to manage the licensing procedures of their area. However, these subdivisions are not autonomous and have to report their activities to the head office. They cannot formulate any regulations on their own and have to rely on the regulations issued by the head office.

To Conclude...

In the end, we can conclude that the FSSAI has been granted with enough authority to regulate the business of food processing, manufacturing, and vending across the country. It has streamlined the licensing procedures and has been instrumental in bringing a lot of investment to the sector in the past decade. Now, business owners just need to understand and follow the standards formed by this authority after getting the license to meet the necessary compliance requirements.