Mumbai: In a major food safety crackdown, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will launch a statewide campaign from Thursday, bringing nearly 4.5 lakh food establishments under stricter compliance norms.Food businesses must also display accurate labelling, including calorie information and allergen details, as mandated under food safety regulations, say new norms.Hotels, restaurants, dhabas, cloud kitchens, caterers and online food delivery operators will be required to maintain hygienic kitchens, clean customer washrooms, safe food handling practices, potable drinking water and proper food storage standards, according to the new FDA norms drawn up at a meeting held on Tuesday.“No food service establishment shall be allowed to operate without a valid FSSAI licence or registration,” said FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.Employees handling food will have to undergo regular medical check-ups, obtain medical fitness certificates and training. “Food handlers have to undergo regular checks to ensure they are not carriers of diseases that can spread to people,” said Mundhe.Mundhe told reporters on Wednesday that inspections conducted recently uncovered serious lapses, including food being prepared in unhygienic conditions, reuse of cooking oil, improper temperature control, among others.As part of the new campaign, FDA has directed all establishments to provide free safe drinking water to customers and prominently display the facility. “You cannot ask the consumer if they want to buy bottled water. First tell them we have safe, potable water. If they still prefer, they can buy bottled water,” he said.Failure to adhere to the rules, which are an amalgamation of existing legislations, will attract penalties ranging from fines and improvement notices to licence suspension or cancellation, closure orders, food seizures and prosecution.Operating without a valid FSSAI licence can invite penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh.The FDA warned that serving unsafe food resulting in death can attract a prison term ranging from seven years to life imprisonment, along with a minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.Other key provisions of the order include “menu labelling and nutrition information”: Large chain restaurants and centrally licensed establishments will be required to display calorie information, nutritional values and allergen information on their menus. Strict restrictions have been laid down against recycling used cooking oil. Food business operators with an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 crore will be required to undergo third-party audits through an FSSAI approved organisation.FDA chief Mundhe said, “Safe food is a fundamental right of every citizen. It is not only a legal responsibility but a social obligation for every person running a food business to adhere to food safety standards. …All establishments should strictly follow this order.”
