A week after the Indira Canteens were inaugurated in Bengaluru, it has been reported the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has forgotten to procure a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence to run the eateries.
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Amidst all the strain of meeting the deadlines for the completion of the construction works, the civic body had forgotten to fulfil one of the essential requirements to commence any food business— an FSSAI licence.
The licence is granted under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, which was introduced to improve the hygiene and quality of food in India.
Top officials unaware
All the 101 Indira Canteens that were inaugurated on August 15 with the vision of alleviating hunger have been functioning without an FSSAI licence.
To make matters all the more embarrassing, it has also been found out that the senior authorities responsible for launching and authorising the canteens are not even aware that an FSSAI licence is required for such canteens as well.
"Yes, Indira canteens need to be registered as per the food safety and standard norms," said Manoj Kumar Meena, Food Safety Commissioner of Karnataka. Though Meena has assured that the licence will be procured soon, he has refused to provide any details as to why they failed to obtain one earlier.
In fact, a BBMP engineer has said that government-run canteens do not need an FSSAI licence at all.
"Only private hotels require registration and licence. The government issues them these certificates to ensure that the food they serve to the public is safe," BBMP executive engineer and nodal officer in charge of Indira Canteens, Nandish JR, told the Bangalore Mirror.
"But Indira Canteen is the government's project so there will be no such problems," added JR.
However, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad has said that the BBMP will be applying for the FSSAI licence in a week, which is expected to be issued within 60 days.
It has been found that only 70 to75 of the 101 Indira canteens are functioning as most of the kitchens are not yet ready.
