Shortage of Food Safety Officers (FSOs) has come in the way of enforcement of provisions listed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, putting food safety and public health in jeopardy.
After the officers deputed from the Department of Health and Family Welfare to the FSSAI were withdrawn five years ago and sent back to the parent department, the office of the FSSAI in Mysuru had remained short staffed, affecting surveillance work as well.
With only three officers at the helm, out of 13 for the city as well as the district, the existing officers were responding only to the specific complaints, reportedly discontinuing surprise raids, general surveillance and public awareness programmes.
Temporary arrangement
Even the designated officer of FSSAI in Mysuru is holding the additional charge (only for administrative reasons as he happens to be from the Department of Health) until further appointments and arrangements.
The FSSAI team in Mysuru district should consist of a full-time designated officer, full-time district level food safety officer, four FSOs for Mysuru city and seven FSOs for the activities in the district.
Thanks to the rapid rise in the number of roadside eateries and food operators across the city and district, there has been an urgent need for enforcing the FSSAI provisions in the interest of public health. However, the enforcement has taken a backseat with only three FSOs, who were also supposed to attend to protocol duty when VVIPs and VIPs visit the city.
20,000 food operators
Sources in the FSSAI said Mysuru has over 20,000 food operators – from star hotels to roadside eateries. The number of roadside eateries has been growing immensely because of the rapid urbanisation and mushrooming of residential hubs. All the operators – roadside eateries, restaurants and star hotels – were supposed to have a food safety licence. But, a majority were running without the licence since not many were aware of the existence of such an Act and its provisions. The eateries blame authorities for not effectively educating them about the Act.
Sources said only 30% of the operators have availed the food safety licence since the Act came into force. A penalty ranging from ₹30,000 to ₹5 lakh can be imposed on those flouting the norms and not availing the licence.
The Food Safety and Standards Act came into force in 2011 and the Centre gave food manufacturers till August 2016 to register and get licences. The time for registration was extended gradually and it was made mandatory for the operators to register from August 2016.
A one-time fee of ₹100 was collected at the time of registration. The licence fee ranges from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 depending on the size of the food business and the annual turnover.
