Hoteliers in the city have been advised to follow food safety standards as per the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006, and Food Safety Regulations, 2011, or get ready to face stringent action as per the law.
At an awareness meeting conducted by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in association with the Visakhapatnam Hotel Merchants’ Association here on Saturday, the hoteliers were told that the Acts would be enforced from February 4, 2014 — the deadline set for applying for licence/registration from the competent authority expires.
In the event of food adulteration, one could be awarded life sentence and imposed fine up to Rs.10 lakh. For misrepresentation of facts, one could be jailed for six months or slapped a penalty of up to Rs.5 lakh. Self-compliance, food safety audit, maintaining log register, bill for all raw material, periodical health check-up for workers, regular water sampling, and implementation of good practices followed internationally have been made compulsory under the new Act, which replaces multiple enactments.
Assistant Food Controller, FSSAI, Purnachandra Rao, said the procedure for applying for registration/licence had been simplified. A presentation on tools developed for compliance by food business operators was made by Smart FBO. National Institute of Smart Governance GM Raghavendra, Assistant Food Controller of FSSAI B. Hanumanta Rao, Gazetted Food Inspector Shaik Gouse Mohiuddin, VHMA president T. Satyanarayana, and Visakhapatnam Star Hotels’ Association president P.C. Rao were present.
