FSSAI State License – An Overview

FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) is a prominent government-backed entity regulating India’s food sector. It has outlined countless guidelines and provisions to foster food safety across the nation. Presently, every food business in India is mandated to secure an applicable FSSAI state license to conduct its business operation.

Functioning without a valid state food license registration is a punishable offence for FBOs as per the FSS Act, 2006. FSSAI conducts all its operations given the said Act and also follows the direction of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Role of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) oversees and monitors food safety to safeguard public health. The key roles of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India are as follows:

• Formulating guidelines and norms for the food sector
• Introducing initiatives related to food safety awareness
• Releasing directions for food business operators
• Setting out norms and rules for food testing labs
• Accumulating Data pertaining to contaminants in food articles
• To facilitate recommendations to the Indian Government for formulating new provisions
• Utilizing a rapid alert system for prompt identification of issues in food articles available to the public

FSSAI has underpinned stringent norms for proprietary food units, as the majority of them conduct their operation without any norms. FSSAI has mandated these facilities to secure FSSAI state licenses without any exceptions.

FSSAI has rolled the mandatory provisions for FBO and regulation of manufacturing, storage, sale, & distribution processes to ensure food safety and hygiene. The authority has also set up a legitimate information network for the awareness of the masses to secure valid information related to food safety & hygiene.

Benefits of FSSAI State License

The FSSAI State License is essential for food businesses operating within a specific state in India. Here are some key benefits:

• Creates strong brand recognition among the target end-users and the public at large.
• Improves the creditability of the business.
• Enables businesses to attract more customers.
• Offers legal stability that otherwise is lacking in unregistered counterparts.
• Facilitates best practices for the business owner to ensure food safety.

Who Needs an FSSAI State License?

Businesses with a medium-sized operation in food manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, distribution, or sales need to obtain an FSSAI State License. In particular, this license is required for businesses that belong to the following categories such as:

• Businesses operating in a single state and generating an annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lacs and less than Rs 20 Crores.
• Facility dealing with Proprietary foods.
• Vegetable oil production & processing facility using the process of solvent extraction meeting the above turnover criteria.
• Hotels having a 4-star rating or less.
• Facilities dealing with dairy products, Milk Chilling Units having production capacity ranging from 500 to 50000 lit.
• Storages possess an overall capacity of less than 50,000 metric tons yearly.
• A slaughterhouse having a capacity of more than 2 & up to 50 large animals. Or the handling capacity of more than 10 & up to 150 small animals. Or per day capacity of more than 50 to up to 1000 poultry birds.
• All food processing facilities, including re-packing units, with a per-day capacity of not less than 100kg/l to up to 2 metric tons.