The Food Safety Commissioner has issued guidelines for catering services, in view of reports of food poisoning from food served at various functions and complaints from various quarters.
All catering services must have a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence as per the Food Safety Act, 2006. Some catering services have been functioning just with an FSSAI registration. However, this will not be allowed, as a license is mandatory.
Such services must function only as per the guidelines in the Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standard (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulation, 2011.
The food items have to be maintained in the correct temperature. The refrigerated food items have to be maintained at below 5 degrees Celsius and the hot food items above 60 degrees Celsius. The food samples from catering businesses have to be kept preserved for two days and has to be produced for checks, if demanded.
At least one supervisor at a catering business must have completed the FSSAI's Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC). The supervisor must provide training to the rest of the staff. Consumers have to ensure that the catering service or restaurant they are ordering from is functioning with an FSSAI licence, said a press release from the commissioner on Wednesday.
