Rlys to create data bank of caterers, food suppliers

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : A high level meeting  to improve catering facility  and food safety at stations and trains was chaired by Chairman, Railway Board,  Ashwani Lohani, with CMD (IRCTC), Food Safety Commissioner & CEO (FSSAI), Additional Member (Commercial), Railway Board, Director General (Health), Railway Board, & other Senior officials at Rail Bhavan on May 25, 2018.

To improve catering facility, it has been decided that series of reformative steps shall be initiated. All vendors who sell any article of food themselves or a petty retailer, hawker, temporary stallholder or such food business including smallscale or cottage or tiny food businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding Rs 12 lakh  or whose production capacity of food does not exceed 100 Kg./ Ltrs per day shall require registration with FSSAI.

License is mandatory for food business operators involved in catering services having annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh per year. It has been decided that online registration for vendors will start within 15 days.

It was decided at  the meeting that Food Safety Officer (FSO) will cover each Division of Indian Railways and also 300 Health Inspectors across Indian Railways shall be deployed to undertake the work of Food Safety Officer and assist them. It has been decided to create a data bank of caterers and food suppliers to Indian Railways by July 15, 2018, having details of vendors, online registration details & sample test done. DRM and Sr. DCM shall be the in-charge of the data bank at divisional level and CCM/ Catering at zonal level, according to a PIB release.

FSSAI and Indian Railways have decided to adopt a revised protocol for sample selection for food sample test, frequency of data collection will increase and surprise sample collection will be included in data bank. Mobile App will be developed for sample collection with the technology of geo tagging.  Decision has also been taken for third party audit of vendors.