What are the Tips to Avoid Delay in Food License?

The Food Safety and Standard Act of India, 2006 (FSSAI) is established to ensure that safe and standard food products are being delivered for consumption. The FSSAI governs and regulates the business of food business operators (FBO) such as manufacturers, retailers, storage units, distributors, transporters, and petty food retailers, etc to supply food products that are fit for human consumption. All the food business operators must obtain a food license for their food business. This article will discuss a few tips to Avoid Delay in Food License by the FBO’s.

Who needs to obtain an FSSAI License?

The following food business operators need to obtain FSSAI Registration: –

• Petty food retailers and vendors
• Food business operators having an annual turnover of less than 12 lakh
• Manufactured or self-owned food businesses
• Social or religious gatherings distributing food
• Temporary food vendors
• Cottage or small scale industries having the capacity of food production up to 100kg or liter per day.
• Business related to milk handling up to 500 liters per day
• Slaughtering units having the capacity of 210 small animals, 2 large animals and 50 poultry

How to obtain the FSSAI License?

In order to obtain FSSAI License, the following steps must be fulfilled: –

• The applicant applying for the food license has to submit an application in Form A to the Food and Safety department.
• The food and safety department may either accept or reject the application. The applicant shall be notified about this in writing. This process will take seven days.
• If the food and safety department is satisfied with the application, it shall issue a certificate along with the registration number and a photo of the applicant.
• Once the license is received by the food business operator, he shall display the certificate at his place of business during working hours.

Types of FSSAI License

There are three types of FSSAI Licenses depending upon the nature and the size of the business:

FSSAI Registration

This type of registration is done by the small food businesses whose annual turnover does not exceed more than Rs. 12 Lakhs.

FSSAI State License

This type of license is obtained by the medium food businesses whose annual turnover is between Rs. 12 Lakhs and 20 Crore.

FSSAI Central License

This type of license is obtained by large food businesses whose annual turnover is more than 20 Crore.

Delay in food license registration process

The FSSAI authority has specified the reasons why the food business operators are facing delay in obtaining the FSSAI License, as mentioned below:

• Because many applications are left unaddressed by the Designated Officer (DO), it results in the delay of getting the FSSAI License.
• Because the food business operators fail to reply to the queries and requesting information put up by the License authority within 30 days, many applications are sent back to the FBO’s.

Tips to avoid delay in Food License

Here ar some tips to Avoid Delay in Food License

• If any person is planning to get a food license, he/she must select the right kind of food business.
• Also, the person must choose the food product categorization code. The categorization code can be provided through a quick link by the authorities.
•  The applicant must submit the correct and complete set of documents.
• One must identify the eligibility for central or state license or registration according to the type of business.
• The applicant must be prepared for the inspection of his/her food business.
• The applicant should know the mandatory conditions of a food business license.
• The applicant must be aware and have knowledge about the treasury heads and payment modes.
• The applicant is required to nominate one technical person to supervise the production. He must have a degree or diploma in food technology or a degree in science, etc.
• The applicant has to nominate a person to follow the conditions of the license.
• The applicant has to respond with 30 days if any queries or any information is requested by the authorities. If the response is not given on time, the authorities will reject the application. And upon the rejection, the applicant can file an appeal to the food safety Commissioner.
• If no response is given by the licensing authority, then the applicant can write it to the food commissioner.
• The applicant is required to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the central groundwater authority if the applicant is extracting groundwater to carry out his food business. The no-objection certificate has to be submitted along with the application Form B for FSSAI Registration. This is also one of the reasons why there is a delay in obtaining a food license.

Time period to renew a food license

Every food business operator needs to obtain a food license in order to operate its food business. The food license can be obtained online on the web portal of the FSSAI and can be renewed as well. The tenure of a food license can be from 1 to 5 years and the food business operators should renew their license occasionally to avoid any penalty for it. The license should be renewed within 120 days after the expiry of it.

Conclusion

The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) is a very important and regulatory authority for the food business. Every food business operator is required to follow all the rules and regulations framed by the authority. Since obtaining a food license is mandatory for every food business operator, many times the license gets delayed due to various reasons. Therefore, there are certain tips to avoid delay in food license as stated above in the article.

The FSSAI License ensures that the food which is delivered by the FBO is safe and of standard quality.  If the tips for avoiding delay in food license are followed, then an FBO can obtain the entire license in no time.

Also, Read: What are the Licenses Required to Start a Food Van in India?