The Central Food Safety licences of 18 units in the State, including seven dairies, two star category hotels and one pharmaceutical manufacturer, have been suspended by the Central Designated Officers of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) of the respective southern States for not conducting third party audits.
The Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2018, that was notified on August 28, 2018, mandates annual third party food safety audit of food business operators falling under six high risk categories.
The audit has to be done by an agency recognised by the FSSAI.
Several reminders
Even after several reminders and notices, 84 FBOs in southern States had not conducted third-party food safety audit, said a release from the office of the Director of Southern Region, FSSAI.
The Central licences of 16 such food business operators (FBOs) in Andhra Pradesh, 16 in Karnataka, 18 in Telangana, 15 in Kerala and one in Puducherry had been suspended.
Industry sources said that several hotels remained shut because of the pandemic. The suspension of licences during such a time was not correct.
