Self regulation means
that the rules which govern the behavior in the market are enforced
by the people whose behavior is to be governed. It is a collective activity, involving
all or the majority of participants and done mostly on a voluntary basis. This would ultimately benefit the
participants.
In the aftermath of the death due to food poisoning at a small wayside
outlet at Thiruvananthapuram, the Commissionerate of Food Safety was forced to
enforce the newly enacted law, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 with the
Rules, Regulations and standards made there under. The department has taken a pragmatic
approach in the implementation which is evident from the figures of the hotels
closed down. When, on
04.08.2012, about 1200 hotels and premises of other FBOs were inspected, only
73 were closed. It may be
pertinent to note that improvement notices were issued to over 696
establishments. The public
is scared to venture out for eating out in the evening. This is a stage of transformation for
our people who relished every kind of food – Chinese, Arabic, North Indian,
Punjabi and what not. The
sales of hotels dropped. Most
of the industry association have taken this as an incident as a time for
introspection and has offered their willingness to associate with the
Government to enforce self-regulation. It
is necessary to provide an opportunity to the public to differentiate between
the good and the bad. It is
proposed to introduce a grading system for the different class of FBOs who are
in the field. This concept
paper is prepared for discussion with the industry leaders and to evolve out a
strategy for joint certification of FBOs.
1. Class/Sub
class of FBOs (in the first instance) :
a) Hotels
& Restaurants
i. Wayside
eateries (Thattukada)
ii. Medium
sale hotels (Janatha)
iii. Classified
hotels
b) Bakeries
c) Caterers
2. The
Grades :
A Grade:
The ultimate in the food safety.
B
Grade: Those who comply with all the
stipulation of Grade-C. But additional conditions like purchase of raw
materials from suppliers with Registration/License, testing of water every 3
months and use of RO plan, proper self waste disposal shall be complied.
C Grade: The lowest grade awarded to any FBOs under the above class. They shall
strictly comply with the basic requirements of Food Safety and Standards Act,
Rules and Regulations (the 30 point guidelines of CFS may be taken up as the
starting point).
3. The procedure for grading :
a) Any
FBO who wish to apply for grade shall submit the following documents.
i. License
under Food Safety and Standards Act.
ii. Checklist
showing the compliance of guidelines.
iii. Application
form duly filled.
iv. Photos/videos.
b) A
district level committee headed by the Collector as the Chairman with following
members shall inspect the eating establishment.
i. District
Food Safety Officer (Designated Officer)
ii. District
Medical Officer of Health
iii. Representative
of the respective association
iv. Secretary,
Tourism Promotion Council.
v. Health
officer of the concerned Corporation/ Municipality
c) The
District Grading Committee shall make suitable recommendation to the
Commissioner of Food Safety. If
recommended for grading the Commissioner of Food Safety shall publish the same
in local news papers and on the website, with the intention to give grading to
the establishment and invite public remarks complaints from the general public
with in a period of 15/30 days. The
public, who so demand, shall be given an opportunity to visit the kitchen and
other facilities during this period and shall be explained how strict adherence
of the standards are maintained.
d) The
complaints can be sent in writing, by e-mail or posted in the website (to be
designed in the form of www.tripadvisor.com).
e) An
independent evaluation agency like ……………………….. shall evaluate the
complaints/remarks of the public. The
complaints are disposed off by the agency and the information is passed on to
the District Grading Committee.
f) If
the committee, after evaluation, is satisfied with the grades awarded by the
independent agency, then it shall hold a public hearing, during which the
complaints are heard. If
satisfied, the committee shall recommend the grade and the same is notified by
the Commissioner of Food Safety.
4. Approval and Award :
The grade given will be announced and awarded in a public function once
or twice every year. The
graded establishment will be permitted to display a logo and certificate for a
period of one year at the establishment and all the advertisements.
5. District and State Level Award :
a) The
District Level Committee will select one establishment from each district for
district level Food Safety Award (usually from A Grade establishments). The
winner will get certification and award prize of Rs. …………..
b) A
State Level Committee headed by the Commissioner of Food Safety with Senior
Officer of Tourism, Health, Municipal Administration, State level
representatives of the 4 associations shall conduct a joint inspection and
select the winner for State Level Food Safety Award. The winner shall be given the award by
the Hon’ble Chief Minister or Health Minister according to convenience along
with a public function organized jointly by the Commissionerate of Food Safety
and the Associations.
PLEASE OFFER YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS SYSTEM PROPOSED
