Notification – FSSAI – Instant Renewal of License/ Registration

FSSAI – Ease of Doing Business : Instant Renewal of License/ Registration

The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India, (FSSAI) has issued a notification on 11th January 2023 regarding Ease of Doing Business: Instant Renewal of License/ Registration.

To streamline the process of licensing / registration and its renewal, Food Authority has decided the following:

With effect from 12th January 2023, Renewals of License and Registrations have been made instant [without requiring the approval of authorities] subject to the following:

(i)         No change in the existing details of the license/registration shall be allowed 

(ii)        Validity of the Renewal:

a) For License: This renewal of the license shall be for 1 year

b) For Registration: Renewal shall continue as per existing provision i.e. for 1-5 years, based on the selection and payment made by the FBO in the application.

(iii)       FBOs whose licenses/ registrations have been suspended/canceled, shall not be allowed to renew their license/registration.

(iv)       Further, i.e. November 10, 2022, the FoSCoS system ensures that FBO (Manufacturers and Importers) shah file annual returns with penalties (if any), before renewal, for FY 2021-22 onwards.

(v)        A declaration to be submitted by Food Business Operator (tick in the checkbox) has been added in FoSCoS as follows namely: –

a) I/We have complied with all the permissions/rules, which are applicable to my food business and the premises of the food business such as CGWA NOC etc.

b) I/We do not possess more than one active license/ registration for any other food businesses at the same premises.

Validity of the New License and Registration

New License – The Validity of the new License is now restricted to only 1  year instead of the existing provision

For Registration – Validity shall be continued as per the existing provision.

There shall be no late fee of Rs. 100 per day  

The renewal of license and registration shall be available as early as 180 days prior to the expiry date

Now FBOs are required to self – declare the compliance regarding the points in the inspection checklist at the time of renewal.

The Order shall be applicable on applications submitted on or after January 12, 2023

Source: https://www.fssai.gov.in/

FSSAI’s mandate for Food Businesses in the country

FBOs to mention FSSAI Licence No. on Invoice / Bills from Oct 1st, 2021

Come 1st October 2021 Food Business Operators (FBO) to mention FSSAI License or Registration number on every invoice.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatory for the FBO’s to declare the 14-digit FSSAI License or Registration number on cash receipts/purchase invoices/cash memo /bills etc.

As per the order dated 8th June 2021, FSSAI mentioned that declaration of the License or Registration number will facilitate the consumers to complain about any grievance with the FBO. Since complaints remain unresolved due to lack of specific information, this move will help consumers who can lodge an online complaint against a particular food business using the FSSAI number.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a latest order in this regard 8th June 2021 which can be downloaded here.

Licensing and Registration Authorities are directed to widely publicise the policy and shall ensure its implementation mandatorily with effect from October 2, 2021, the FSSAI order says

Mentioning of FSSAI number shall also improve the overall awareness, the Regulator said. If not mentioned, it will indicate non-compliance or non registration/licensing by the food business.

Stating that the food business ecosystem is large, the regulator said 14-digit FSSAI number of any food business operator is not “easily visible and available on consumer/service recipient.”

If the FSSAI number is not available to consumers, expecting him to complain with complete coordinates is an uphill task. Even regulators find it difficult to trace the origin of complaint and attend to it promptly.

No database can be created without a unique locator code, which in case of food safety is the FSSAI number.

Presently, FSSAI number is compulsory to be displayed on packaged food labels but the issue lies especially in case of establishments such as restaurants, mithai shops, caterers, even retail stores.

Further, the regulator said that it is amending the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses Regulations to mandate display of ‘food safety display boards’ at all times at prominent places in case of restaurants.

However, there remains a deficit of mechanism for consumer to know the FSSAI number of the service/product provider.

In case of pre-packaged food where the manufacturer’s FSSAI number is printed on the pack, there exist a deficit of track and trace mechanism whereby the path of the package from a manufacturer to consumer can be traced. The invoice helps establishing this trail. With mentioning of the FSSAI number will help in improving traceability for food products, the regulator added.

FSSAI Notification

Standards for fortification of processed food products

FSSAI notifies norms for permissible levels of micronutrients for fortifying processed food products.

In the wake of setting stronghold principles for staples, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has advised standards for passable degrees of micronutrients for fortifying food items that are processed, for example, breakfast oats, breads, biscuits, rusks, noodles, pasta, buns and juices.

Manufacturers should abide by the set standards by next year.