What is fSSAI registration?
In 2006, the Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) was established to consolidate multiple acts and regulations, which were previously dealt with in matters of food safety, in different ministries and departments. To ensure a safe and healthy food supply for human consumption and produces, packaging, delivery, sales, and imports, FSSAI is set to produce and track scientifically based quality food products.
The Act further seeks to create a single benchmark for all food safety issues and requirements by transferring multi-level multi-departmental checks into a single command line. In this sense, the Act creates a separate regulatory authority – the Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority with its headquarters in Delhi. Different provisions of the Act are implemented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Food Safety Authorities.
procedure for FSSAI registration :
Registration of FSSAI is initiated by the Food and Safety Department by submitting Form A (application).
This request may be accepted or departmentally rejected within 7 days from the day a request is received and the refusal is to be notified in writing to the applicant.
The Ministry shall award a registration certificate with the registration number and the applicant's photo, where the application is approved.
During business hours FBO should show prominently the registration certificate at the place of business.
FSSAI License agreement :
FSSAI license must be obtained for all other FBOs other than small businesses. FSSAI can be divided into two groups, e.g., State FSSAI License and Central FSSAI License depending on whether the organization is medium or large.
The FSSAI registration from the central government and FBO, with small to medium-sized manufacturing facilities, transporters, marketers, traders, etc. should generally be obtained by FBO who are major producers, importers, exporters in the large-scale food sector. The FBO must have a turnover from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 20 crore to apply for a State License.
Other requirements include factories with a daily capacity of 2 MT and dairy units with a daily operating capacity of up to 5000 litres. 3 star and above hotels, repackers, refurbishers, clubs, and other catering businesses must apply for a license irrespective of their turnover. The license period is not more than 5 years and is not shorter than 1 year.
The FBO must have a turnover above Rs. 20 crores and activities in two or more States to qualify for a central license. This license must be sought by both importers and exporters. The cumulative period shall be 5 years and the minimum period shall be 1 year.
