Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has issued detailed guidelines for hotels, restaurants, dhabas and other food establishments across the Union Territory under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
According to the public notice issued by Commissioner FDA J&K, Smita Sethi the move aims to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food to consumers and mandates strict compliance within one month.
The directions include mandatory FSSAI licensing and registration, prominent display of Food Safety Display Boards (FSDBs) and annual medical check-ups of food handlers.
Establishments have also been instructed to maintain hygiene ratings, carry out regular pest control operations, ensure periodic water quality testing and strictly adhere to FSSAI’s RUCO guidelines for disposal of used cooking oil.
As per the notice, every food business must nominate a Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) trained under the FoSTaC programme, maintain records of raw material procurement, pest control operations, water testing reports, UCO disposal records and employee medical certificates and use only food-grade utensils, containers and packaging materials.
The notice also stresses on proper storage and temperature control of perishable food items including chilled, frozen and hot foods and periodic calibration of equipment such as refrigerators, thermometers and ovens. Food establishments have been directed to procure raw materials only from licensed or registered suppliers to ensure traceability.
“All hotels, restaurants and food establishments shall comply with these guidelines within one month from the date of issuance. Failure to adhere shall invite special enforcement drives and legal action under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006” the notice reads
