Suffering staff crunch, officials try to meet February 2014 deadline for registrations

With a 60 per cent shortage in the number of food safety officers, implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011, has become a problem in Karnataka. Unable to meet the targets of registrations of and issuance of licence to firms/units under the new Act, the deadline has been extended twice.
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in the State are now concentrating on registering and issuance of licences to firms and units in the business of manufacturing, transporting, processing, storing and selling easily perishable items (milk, vegetables, ice cream et al) to bring them under the ambit of the new rules, on a priority basis.