FSSAI likely to tone down order on mandatory testing norms

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New Delhi: In a relief to small food business operators, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has agreed to tone down its recent order that called for mandatory testing of products manufactured by all food business operators (FBOs).

Responding to the concerns expressed by activists and small FBOs, the FSSAI said it examines options to provide minimal parameters for testing in the respective product category.

“Keeping in view a large number of representations received from stakeholders, especially the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, that expressed concerns such as testing costs, we are exploring options to provide minimal parameters to be tested without compromising the food safety,” Ganesh Vishweshwar Bhat, Technical Officer (Regulatory Compliance), FSSAI, said.

In a response sent to Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), he said the tweak in the order would ease the burden of FBOs, especially regarding the testing fees.

A recent FSSAI order directed all the FBOs to get tests done on their products and upload the results every six months. The ASHA lodged a strong protest with the authority early this month, alleging that the move would cause a severe financial burden on small FBOs, who don’t have the financial wherewithal to conform to the order.

Stating that it’s the government’s responsibility to test the food products, he said the order puts the onus on small FBOs. It pointed out that small FBOs (with less than a turnover of Rs 12 lakhs) are only required to register with the FSSAI. (Small operators have a production ceiling of 100 litres or kilograms a day).

The FSSAI, however, said that the order provisions align with FSSAI’s mandate to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

“In order to ensure food safety by the manufacturers, testing of food products at least once in six months by the licensed food manufacturers has been made mandatory since August 5, 2011,” the FSSAI official said in his letter.

“One of the conditions that a licensed manufacturer must meet is to ensure testing of relevant chemical and/or microbiological contaminants in food products in accordance with these regulations as frequently as required,” he said.

These tests will are t be conducted at the NABL-accredited FSSAI-notified laboratories at least once in six months.

He said the FSSAI’s January 2023 order directed the licensed players to follow the regulations and upload test reports on the Food Safety Compliance System portal.

Activists’ response

The FSSAI’s response, however, didn’t enthuse the activists much. “It appears that FSSAI has agreed to have a relook at the provisions made in its order. We continue to believe that there is no scientific basis for this order, even if they reduce the parameters for testing,” an ASHA constituent member said.