BANGALORE,
June 22, 2014 Did you know that if a shop or a manufacturer sells you a food product that lacks the 'prescribed standards', they can be fined up to Rs. 5 lakhs?
They can also be made to cough up a penalty of up to Rs. 10 lakhs if their products are 'adulterated' or if they are misleading people through wrong advertisements.
They may also
attract huge penalty if their products are either made or sold under
unhygienic conditions or they provide wrong information about
ingredients.
These provisions have been made in the
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. All that the consumers need to do
is lodge a complaint with the Health Commissioner who is also the Food Safety Commissioner either in person
or over phone.
Food Safety Commissioner S.N. Jayaram told reporters here on Saturday that
the government would launch a Statewide drive from July 1 against
erring food business operators.
Do not hang carcasses
“The meat shop owners should not hang carcasses in front of their
shops, but should have a display cabinet to protect the meat from dust
and unhygienic conditions inside their premises. Every shop should have
the display cabinet before July 1, he said.
‘Check for ISI mark on water bottle’
Food Safety Commissioner S.N. Jayaram came out with a shocking disclosure that nearly 60 per cent of the packaged drinking water in Bangalore city did not have ISI certification though rules make it mandatory.
‘Check for ISI mark on water bottle’
Food Safety Commissioner S.N. Jayaram came out with a shocking disclosure that nearly 60 per cent of the packaged drinking water in Bangalore city did not have ISI certification though rules make it mandatory.
“If the packaged drinking water does not have ISI mark, then it is meant for industrial use,” he said, and appealed to consumers to check for ISI mark on the container or bottles of packaged water before buying them. According to the law, licences of the shops that sell packaged drinking water without ISI certification could be cancelled, he said.
New Regime
S.N. Jayaram said a board containing the details of officials, their
addresses and telephone numbers for helping people reach them in case of
adulteration or poor quality of food should be placed in front of all
eateries and retail outlets.
Though hotels too were controlled by this Act, the drive was not
focussing on them for now as there was a case in this regard before the
court, he said. He said August 4 was the last date for food business
operators to register themselves and get licence. Violators could face
imprisonment of six months and penalty of Rs. 5 lakh. Of the nearly 4
lakh food business operators in the State, only 1.3 lakh had registered
themselves so far. There is provision for online registration as well.
Help line
For further details on Food safety Act visit : www.foodsafety.kar.nic.in
Official email ID of the food safety officer in Bangalore : dobbmpsouth@gmail.com
Citizens may also contact (080) 23465403 with complaints.
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