In a bid to facilitate food business operators get their establishments registered and licensed, the Thoothukudi Central Merchants Association, along with Food Safety and Drug Administration, organised a programme here on Thursday.
Association president P. Vinayagamurthy welcomed the gathering.
District Designated Officer for Food Safety J. Thangavignesh, presiding over the programme, said it was essential for all food business operators to register and get licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) by January 15. Notices under Section 63 of FSSA would be served to those without registration or licence and action would be taken against them. Defaulters would have to undergo punishment of up to six months imprisonment or fine of up to ₹5 lakh.
Food business operators with an annual turnover of ₹12 lakh and below must obtain Form – A for registration by paying ₹100, and operators with an annual turnover of ₹12 lakh and above must apply for licence through Form–B by paying ₹2,000, ₹3,000 and up to ₹5,000 based on their source of income.
Dr. Thangavignesh said only 11,385 of the 20,222 food business operators had registered and obtained licences so far. The food business operators could also access common service centres for registering their establishments by providing a copy of the electricity bill, photograph and Aadhaar card of the proprietor. They could also remit the registration fee through challan in State Bank. By providing the challan, registration certificates could be obtained from common service centres.
Moreover, online payment facility had also been introduced for registration and licensing through the website: foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in
For lodging complaints regarding contamination in eatables, consumers could access WhatsApp number 94440 42322 or 0461-2340699, he added.
M. Chockalingam, advocate, spoke about the legal aspects of FSSA.
Food Safety Officers Chandramohan, Ramakrishnan and Shanmugasundaram also spoke. A. Senthil Arumugam, president, Thoothukudi Hotel Owners Association, proposed a vote of thanks.
