FSSAI enlists 15 food safety agencies to audit FBO in India

In a bid to strengthen the food safety surveillance system and assuring safe food to the consumers, FSSAI will undertake the audits of Food Business Operators through private auditing agencies/third party.

This move of third party food safety audits has been taken to reduce the burden on the regulatory inspections conducted by Central or State Licensing Authorities

In this regard FSSAI has enlisted 15 food safety auditing agencies which have been granted provisional recognition as food safety auditing agencies under draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017.

These include Onecert International, Bureau Veritas (India), BSI Group India, Indocert, DNV GL Business Assurance, Intertek, IRCLASS Systems and Solutions, RIR Certification, TUV India, TUV Rheinland (India), MS Certification Services, SGS India Pvt Ltd, Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Limited, URS Certification Ltd and BIS.

These food auditing agencies will be used for audit of some food businesses as decided by FSSAI.

The classification will be based on factors like food type, intended customer use, nature of activity of the business, volume of the business & method of processing/any other factors prescribed by food authority.

FSAAI in its notification said that the experience and feedback obtained would be used while finalizing the regulations in this regard.

Presently, the provisionally recognized auditing agencies will only be engaged by FSSAI to audit some food businesses as decided by the FSSAI from time to time.

Once the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017 after considering the comments from relevant stakeholders, is finally vetted and notified, the food authority shall from time to time specify the category of food businesses which shall be liable for mandatory audits, it added.

Also, to encourage self compliance, food businesses which are not subject to mandatory Food Safety auditing can also conform to auditing of their businesses on voluntary basis.

“Food businesses having undergone satisfactory audits will be subjected to less frequent audits by Central or State licensing authorities”, said FSSAI in its notification.