Downsides To Running An Establishment On An Expired FSSAI License

Are there any downsides to running an establishment on an expired FSSAI license

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was established in 2006 under the Food Safety and Standards Act to look after food-related issues across the country. Its main purpose was to lay down science-based standards for food and regulate it’s manufacturing, storing, distributing, selling, and importing to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

The FSSAI license is the primary requirement to commence running a food business so it has to be up to date and regularly renewed. These licenses are issued for a term of one or five years, and businesses should apply for a renewal 30 days before their expiration. Additionally, the  FSSAI introduced an online application called Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS) allowing businesses to apply online for these licenses.

The FLRS is utilized in five regional offices for the issue of licenses and entitlements. These are:

• Northern Region -New Delhi (head office)
• Eastern Region – Kolkata
• North Eastern Region – Guwahati
• Western Region – Mumbai and Kerala
• Southern Region – Chennai

A few points to note when working with FSSAI licenses

• Establishments can open their doors without a license but have 60 days from the time they start running to get one. This allows them to begin their business and the application process simultaneously not waiting for their license to be
• The name on the application form (A or B) will be the name on the food license

What are some of the benefits of getting an establishment registered with the FSSAI?

Although getting a license is mandatory, there are other benefits that come along with it.

• There are a ton of legal benefits that come with it
• It also builds goodwill since customers are more open to trusting brands with the FSSAI logo
• Getting the license also ensures that certain safety and hygiene standards are met which helps create customer awareness and business expansion

What are the downsides of not getting the business registered with the FSSAI or having an expired license?

All licensed people or establishments under the FSSAI have to follow a set of rules. Inspectors generally visit these establishments to make sure they are compliant and food security officers accordingly grade the food and establishment to mark their compliance level.

They then receive one of the four grades.

• Compliance (C)
• Non-compliance (NC)
• Partial compliance (PC)
• Not applicable/Not observed (NA)

According to the grade the establishment gets, they might receive an improvement notice. If the food business operator refuses to comply with the notice, they might even find themselves with a show cause and their license suspended. If these operators feel they have been wrongly convicted, they can appeal to the State Commissioner of Food Safety which will further decide the Food safety appellate tribunal or high court.

Some of the penalties they might have to pay are:

• Food quality not in compliance with the act – 2 lac
  • Petty manufacturer – 25k
• Sub-standard food – 5 lac
• Misbranded Food – 3 lac
• Misleading advertisement or false description – 10 lac
• Extraneous matter in food – 1 lac
• Failure to comply with the food safety officers direction – 2 lac
• Unhygienic processing or manufacture – 1 lac

For FSSAI Registration and Udyog Aadhar registration click here

How To Apply For New Gas Connection Online And Offline