Manufacturers and traders of food items have appealed to the State Government to urge the Centre to defer the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2011 (FSSA) for the next three years.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the president of Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association, S. P. Jeyapragasam, claimed that the FSSA would allow multinationals to open shop here, thereby affecting the small food manufacturers and traders.