Registering and licensing of hotels, eateries and roadside vendors under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, is currently underway at Madurai in Tamil Nadu.Speaking to FnB News over the telephone, Dr J Suguna, designated officer in charge, food safety, Madurai, seemed confident that there would be no let-up in implementing the Act in the rural and urban areas of the district.She said, “The officials appointed to implement the FSSA now have the powers to enforce the rules. Anyone found violating them will have their licences cancelled.” Quoting the examples of rice and mineral water, which were often found to be adulterated, she added that food hygiene was the top priority.“Every food vendor, be a restaurant-owner or owner of a roadside eatery, must register his particulars with food safety officials at the office of the deputy director of health services, which is located in Viswanathapuram here,” she said.The Madurai Corporation has 10 food safety officers on its rolls and there are 16 more who will be in charge of implementing the Act in the rural areas of the state. “All 26 officers will inspect the licences of every hotel, restaurant, eatery and petty vendor in the district,” Suguna reiterated.“Public health is the main concern of the Act. The officers will function in their respective areas and ensure, in utmost strictness, that food hygiene and other mandatory aspects are followed,” she said, adding that plans were afoot to conduct a number of public awareness programmes about the FSSA.
source: fnbnews.com
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