Introduction:- FSSAI also known as The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
FSSAI has been mandated by Food Safety and standards act, 2006 to perform the following functions:
- Framing of Regulations to lay down the Standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and specifying appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus notified.
- Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in certification of food safety management system for food businesses.
- Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
- To provide scientific advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments in the matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing of food safety and nutrition .
- Collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various, contaminants in foods products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
- Creating an information network across the country so that the public, consumers, Panchayats etc receive rapid, reliable and objective information about food safety and issues of concern.
- Provide training programmes for persons who are involved or intend to get involved in food businesses.
- Contribute to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
- Promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.
Procedure for getting a FSSAI licence for food Industries: FSSAI licence are to be filled online and a challan has to be submitted offline in SBI branch.
Important documents in electronic form: To apply for the registration for FSSAI, you had to get documents in electronic form, which has to be uploaded later in the portal of Food licensing and Registration system. Requisite documents differs from the licence for which you are applying
- If the application is for central licence then you could check the important documents on following link
- If the application is for state licence then you could check the important documents on following link
- If the application is for registration then following documents are important
- Electronic passport size photo of the owner
- Document for Identity Proof like Ration Card, Voter ID Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Passport, Aadhar Card, Senior Citizen Card, Department Issued ID
- Supporting documents (if any) : NOC by municipalities or village panchayat, Health NOC etc.
Step I
Checking the eligibility:- Before applying for the license you has to ensure that whether the license for which you are applying is a central license, state licence or registration. For this you have to visit on http://www.fssai.gov.in, thereafter to file an online application for food safety licence. Click on “Food licensing and Registration system” also known as FLRS, whereby a new portal would open. In that portal click on the tool “Check Your Eligibility” to know whether you are eligible for central licence, state licence or registration, by filling the required details in the page.
Note: If you are operating from multi premises/unit, using save and add each premises and check for eligibility individually.
Step: II
Signing up:- Sign up in the portal on the top right of FLRS, by filling required details, create your own user id and password, after your ID is generated sign up by using the generated user ID and password. After that click on the link for “Apply for Licence/Registration” in the link licence/registration and select the state in which your business is situated and select the kind of business for which you are applying. After filling these information click on “click to apply” on the right hand side of the page.
Step III
Filling up the form: If you are applying for central or state licence then you would have to fill form ‘B’ but if you are applying for registration then you would have to fill form ‘A’. So, looking by for which licence or registration you are applying click on the form and fill out the form online.
Before taking the step “Save and Next” print the page you are filling as you would need to upload it later. Do this for every page. After taking the print of the form, sign each page of the hard copy wherever your signature are required.
Step IV
Scan and upload: After signing the hard copy of the form scan the form and upload it in the portal along with other required documents which are required to be uploaded for getting the licence or registration. After uploading all the documents SBI Challan would be generated, take the print of the challan and deposit the fee as printed on challan in any branch of SBI.
Advantages for getting a FSSAI licence
- Single point access to all laws and departmental controls.
• FSSAI as a single reference point for all matters relating to Food Safety and Standards, Regulations and Enforcement
• High degree of consumer confidence in quality & safety of food
• A single license by the Licensing Authority for one or more articles of food and for different establishments or premises in the same local area
Disadvantages for not getting a FSSAI licence
- FSSAI licence is an important licence which you have to get before starting a business, if you do not get it then it would harm your reputation, because the confidence in the customers about the food being safe would not be established.
- FSSAI licence means that one has the permission from every department whereby he could continue his business without the interruptions from departments later, saying that the approval from department is not there, so one could not continue his business. But if one do not has a FSSAI licence then one could face difficulties from department, saying that required permission from a specific food department is not present.
