PUNE: Members of The Poona Merchants Chamber have demanded changes in the food safety and standards regulations after various merchants were reportedly penalised to the tune of Rs 50,000 for not abiding by the Food Safety and Standards Act. 

As per the law, all Food Business Operators (FBOs) shall ensure that the manufacturer/ importer/ distributor shall buy and sell food products only from, or to, licensed/ registered vendors and maintain records for the same at all times during the course of its food business. 

The members claimed there are several technical challenges to be addressed by the Food and Drug Administration before they start imposing a penalty on them. 

Speaking at a press meet at The Poona Merchants Chamber office in Gultekdi, Popatlal Ostwal, President of the chamber said the merchants are being given the responsibility to check the licence of Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) of the vendor before a deal.

“It should be the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to check for the licence and not us. Even if we are handed over the responsibility of checking for licence, the FSSAI application does not fetch any result to verify whether the vendor has FSSAI licence. Moreover, the penalty of Rs 50,000 imposed is too high, which is impacting our business. We should be focusing on our business or we should be getting into the business of checking for licences of vendors. Many a time there is dispute and the vendors question our right to ask for licence from them which further leads to dispute,” added Ostwal.

Another member of the chamber, Ashok Lodha spoke about the notices sent by FDA for not following the FSSAI norms.

Speaking on the issue, FDA Joint Commissioner Suresh Deshmukh told Sakal Times that the action was taken as per law.

“The merchants can check for the licence from the vendors. The law came into implementation in 2011 and we have started taking action now. Vendors can carry their licence on their mobile phones and show the same to the merchants. We cannot escape from the law. All we are asking the merchants to verify the licence from their vendors,” added Deshmukh,

He said the penalty amount ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh and FDA has penalised merchants to the tune of Rs 50,000.