Food licensing authorities must avoid demanding additional or irrelevant documents from FBOs: FSSAI

New Delhi, Nov 25 (KNN) The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has its Commissioners and Directors to ensure that the licensing authorities must avoid demanding additional or irrelevant documents from Food Business Operators. The FSSAI said this causes inconvenience to and harassment of FBOs and delays the processing of applications.

In a letter to the Commissioners of States/ UTs and Directors of all Regional Offices, FSSAI said, “FSSAI has been in receipt of many cases of licensing authorities demanding FBOs to submit documents/ information not required under FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations.

Many a time, these additional documents have no direct relevance to the Kind of Business applied for and sometimes they are quite irrelevant like asking for in-house laboratory in food business where not mandatory, recall plan in case of transporter etc.

FSSAI has said that a list of documents required for such kinds of business is already available on the Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS) and licensing authorities may limit their queries only to those documents.

In case any additional documents is considered essential, reasons must be recorded and submitted to the FSC.

FSSAI said “Queries should not be asked in piece-meal manner” and application should be properly and carefully scrutinized and all deficiencies in the applications should be raised in one go.

Also, in case of auto generated licenses, the licensing authorities shall check those applications to ensure that all documents filed are in order. Else a notice should be issued to FBO and further processing undertaken.

The food watchdog has also asked the Commissioners and Directors to conduct monthly monitoring meetings to review the cases where queries have been raised more than twice, where additional documents have been called by DO/ FSO; and cases of auto generated licenses due to their non-attendance by licensing officers.

FSSAI has requested authorities to ensure strict compliance and warned that “Repetition of such delinquency should invite adverse action against erring officials.” (KNN Bureau)

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