Process of Food Licensing in India

What is food licensing?

Food being a very delicate subject matter has to be Kept under strict vigilance as it directly affects the health and well-being of its consumers. Rules and regulations are strictly to be followed so that these foods are completely safe for consumption. Verification of these food products becomes very necessary. Hence they have to follow the verification procedure at the time of the registration of their food products. When this registration is successful they are provided with the food license.

Food license is a proof that the food has undergone standard testing and is now fit for human consumption without causing any health complications. This licensing process increases the efficiency of reliability on the companies selling those food products. In India FSSAI which stands for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is the standard authority of providing food licensing in India and is considered to provide authorize legal permission to sell these food products by the companies for commercial purposes.

According to FSSAI rules every company involved in manufacturing, processing, storing, distributing and selling of food for commercial purpose 1 is bound to apply for its registration and get the but according to the guidelines a food company with an annual turnover of below Rs.12 lakhs only need to comply with the registration process after the verification is conducted therefore no food license is required by such companies. However any company with a turnover of more than 12 lakhs needs a food license mandatorily.

Necessity of food licensing

FSSAI licensing provides a verification to ensure that the food is chemically tested to check it’s reliability for consumption. Health being a sensitive topic strikes a lot of questions in mind especially before consumption of food products, therefore a regulation body is needed to ensure consumers about any product they are consuming. On the other hand it is equally important for the food industry as it is subjected to a higher risk of food adulteration acquisitions for the ingredients used for its preparation or chemicals used for its preservation.

Food licensing protects them from such acquisitions by providing the proof of test those products go through. FSSAI registration creates a sense of reliability of the consumers on the company which can be a greater market strategy for these companies to sell their food products thus gaining a largernumber of customers. It creates a sense of trust in them which attracts not only the customers butalso other business investors as well increasing the company’s market.

The registration process involves technically proven methods of testing the food underprofessional guidance which assures that the consumers are provided with food safe forconsumption. Any food product which does not match the standard criteria is not registeredunder FSSAI.

Types of Food licensing

There are three types of license available for the FSSAI registration. The classification is basedon the type of business, its turnover and the production capacity of the business. The three typesof registration are:

1. FSSAI basic registration– Food business operations with a turnover less than 12 lakhs perannum require FSSAI basic registration, it requires them to fill form A for the registrationprocess.

2. FSSAI State License– Food business operations with turnover more than 12 lakhs per annumbut less than 20 crores per annum have to obtain FSSAI state license for this process they haveto fill form B of the FSSAI registration form.

3. FSSAI Central License– Food business operations with turnover more than 20 crores perannum have to obtain this license they have to obtain the central license by filling in form B.

Process of Food licensing

FSSAI registration number or a license number is a 14 digit number printed at the food packagewhich provides details about the assembling states and producer’s permit. The licensing as wellas the registration is regulated by the Food Safety and Standard (License and Registration ofFood Business Regulation) act of 2011

Food business operators can obtain the license and registration by filing and submitting theFSSAI registration form from the FoSCoSportal .  They can also register off-line applicationbysubmitting the respective forms to the Food and Safety department other required documentsshould be submitted along with the forms either off-line or online whichever mode is selectedforthe process of registration and licensing. The department shall accept or reject the form withinseven days of receiving such application either off-line or online. The department may alsoconduct an inspection at the food premises as a process of granting the registration certificate ifall the grounds are met the FSSAI shall grant the registration certificate along with theregistration number in addition to the photo of the applicant email ID.This certificate has to be prominently displayed during the business are at the place of business.

Eligibility for registration

For small scale food business the food-based operators require the following categories to becovered.

• -An annual turnover of not more than 12 lakhs.
• -Petty retailer dealing in food products.
• -Any individual selling food products on his own.
• -Temporary food stalls.
• -Individual distributing food in any religious or social gathering except a caterer.
• -Any small scale or cottage industry which deals in food business along with the following 6.

Except the small scale food businesses all other food business have to obtain the license whichare classified into state license and central license based on the size of industry. Large-scaleindustry obtains the Central FSSAI registration license whereas small to medium sizemanufacturing units obtain the State FSSAI license.

Other conditions include manufacturing capacity of 2MT per day and dairy units handlingbusiness up to 5000 L per day. Three star hotels, re-labelling units, clubs and canteens will haveto apply for the licensing which shall have its validity for maximum five years from the date ofissuing and minimum of one year

Documents required for obtaining the FSSAI registration/license

• -Identity proof of the food business in photograph.
• -Certificate of business Constitution such as the certificate of incorporation, partnership deed or
• any other business registration certificate.
• -Proof of possession and non-objection certificate from the owner if the premises is rented.
• -Food safety management system plan.
• -Food products manufactured.
• -The information of bank account.
• -Other supporting documents such as the non-objection certificate by the municipality or the
• health not objection certificate, manufacturing license etc.

Apart from the above mentioned documents in case of State and Central licensing the followingdocuments are also required.

• -Form B duly filled and attested
• -Plan of the processing unit showing the dimensions and operation-wise area allocation
• -List of Directors/ Partners/ Proprietor with address, contact details, and photo ID
• -Name and list of equipment and machinery used with the number and installed capacity
• -Authority letter from manufacturer nominated a responsible person name and address
• -Analysis report of water to be used in the process to confirm the portability
• -Copy of certificate obtained under Coop Act 1861/Multi-State Coop Act 2002

Apart from the general license, the following specific documents are required to obtain FSSAIcentral license:

• -Form B duly completed and signed
• -Plan of the processing unit showing the dimensions and operation-wise area allocation
• -List of Directors/ Partners/ Proprietor with address, contact details, and photo ID
• -Name and list of equipment and machinery used with the number and installed capacity
• -Authority letter from manufacturer nominated a responsible person name and address
• -Analysis report of water to be used in the process to confirm the portability
• -Source of raw material for milk, meat etc
• -Recall plan wherever applicable
• -Ministry of Commerce Certificate for 100% EOU
• -NOC/PA document issued by FSSAI
• -IE code document issued by DGFT
• -Form IX
• -Certificate from Ministry of Tourism
• -Supporting document for proof of turnover and transportation
• -Declaration form

Registration fees

Basic registration requires a fee of Rs.100

State license requires a fees of Rs.2500 to 5000 which depends on the business carried out

The central license requires a fee of Rs.7500

Conclusion

As an aware consumer it is important to know about the product and the process it goes through before being sold in the market. Food industry has a fair share in today’s market and this gives rise to competition among different companies. FSSAI guidelines provide a standardized norm to be followed by all these producers and ensures safe consumption, along with that it also keeps a check on the quality of the product. This helps in maintaining a regulated food product supply in the market thus creating a healthy environment.