Food Safety requirements of Food Businesses

To provide assurance of food safety, Food businesses must implement an effective Food Safety Management System (FSMS) based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and suitable pre-requisite programmes by actively controlling hazards throughout the food chain starting from food production till final consumption.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

FSMS Requirements

As per the condition of license under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, every food business operator (FBO) applying for licensing must have a documented FSMS plan and comply with schedule 4 of this regulation. Schedule 4 introduces the concept of FSMS based on implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) by food businesses and is divided into five parts as under:.

Click here for Schedule 4 of FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011

FSSAI guidance documents on FSMS

A series of sector specific Food Safety Management System (FSMS) Guidance Documents have been developed/underdevelopment with the intent to provide implementation guidance to food businesses (especially the small and medium businesses) involved in manufacturing, packing, storage and transportation to ensure that critical food safety related aspects are addressed throughout the supply chain.

These documents are based on Schedule 4 of Food Safety & Standards (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011 and lay down general requirements on good hygienic practices to be followed by Food Business Operators & indicate practical approaches which a business should adopt to ensure food safety. The documents are recommendatory in nature and also provide the basic knowledge and criteria for implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system by the food businesses. Sample HACCP Plans have been taken from some established practising industries. These plans could be used as reference by the industry and modified or altered based on their operations.

Inspection checklists for Food Business Operator to audit their facility & operations are also included in these documents. The FBOs can evaluate themselves based on the indicative scoring. Also, these documents provide important templates and forms to facilitate the FBOs to maintain the records. These include mandatory forms as prescribed by FSSAI & few templates for maintaining records of processes critical for food safety.

In this regard, the following documents have been developed by FSSAI as guidance to the food businesses:

• FSMS Guidance document for Spices
• FSMS Guidance document for Fish and Fish Products.
• FSMS Guidance document for Meat and Meat Products(Poultry).
• FSMS Guidance document for Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals.
• FSMS guidance document for vegetable edible oils and fats sectors
• FSMS guidance document for bakery sector
• FSMS guidance document for foodgrain warehouses
• FSMS guidance document for flour milling sector
• FSMS guidance document for catering sector

Source : Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

Related resources

1. Food Safety Display Boards at Food businesses
2. FSSAI booklet on good hygiene & sanitation practices for food handlers in restaurant & catering sector