Modified Act to ensure better roadside food

PUNE: Roadside vendors of food items like 'pani puri', 'bhel', 'chat' among others, will now come under the ambit of the amended Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) of 2006. One of the purposes of the modified Act is to regulate uncontrolled growth of roadside eateries, which are not governed by any quality standards. The amended FSSA came into force in Maharashtra on August 5.Mahesh Zagade, who recently took over as the commissioner of state Food and Drug Administration (FDA), addressed a press conference in the city on Saturday. Zagade said that vendors who produce less than 12 lakh tonnes of food material a year, will have to obtain a registration certificate from the state Food Safety Commission. Besides, vendors who produce more than 12 lakh tonnes will have to obtain a licence from this Commission.Zagade, who was previously the commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation, said, "We are appointing staff, developing a machinery and regulating the system to implement the FSSA Act effectively. Some vendors have already applied for a licence. By August 5 next year we will try and bring maximum number of food vendors, manufacturers and producers under the ambit of the FSSA. This will keep a check on food adulteration.""As the economy of the country improves, the rate of processing food is also increasing rapidly. In developed countries, about 50% to 60% food is processed and India is catching up fast. Today, we have a variety of milk products. But, there is no regulation on its processing yet. It needs to be kept in mind that while processing, the quality of food is not to be compromised. The licensing and registration of food items will be done under norms concerning hygiene and safety habits as well as adulteration. This will ensure a healthy product reaches the market."Zagade said that very soon registration of vendors could be done online. Some licences are currently are being issued online, he said.At present there are two laboratories that test food samples, one in Mumbai and the other is based in Aurangabad. The Mumbai lab tests 8,000 samples a year while the Aurangabad lab tests 2,500 samples per year. The workload on the two laboratories is enormous and the FDA is planning to expand the present infrastructure.

Source: timesofindia