Punjab Government’s decision to crack whip on the adulterators of milk and milk products has brought double delight.
For, the strict action by the food safety teams has not only purged the market out of adulterated products to some extent, but it has also managed to bring a large number of Food Business Operators (FBOs) into the fold of law.
Sharing the information, the state Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said that as many 4,518 applications have been received by the Department for licence or registration as an FBO in a month.
“This includes 1,113 applications for licenses and 3,405 for registration certificates,” said Pannu adding that the license is issued to the FBO having an annual turnover above Rs 12 lakh while the registration certificate is mandatory for an FBO with annual turnover under Rs 12 lakh.
“It is highly encouraging to see that people are willing to abide by law and are coming forward to be the part of the system,” he said.
Consequently, the Department has issued 531 licenses and 2,057 registration certificates in the last 30 days, generating revenue approximately to the tune of Rs 66 lakh as the license or registration fee while the processing of remaining applications is in the pipeline, informed Pannu.
Ludhiana district tops the chart with approval of 61 licenses and 312 registration certificates while Jalandhar being close on heels with a similar 61 licences and 90 registration certificates (RCs), followed by Mohali which gets 60 licenses and 138 RCs.
Pannu said that the application process for license or the RC is very simple. “FBO can apply manually to the Designated Officers in the district or can pay the relevant fee and update the challan details online in the Food Licensing and Registration System on FSSAI website,” he added.