Police to help FDA crack the whip

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has now decided to act tough against unlicenced vendors, restaurant owners and all those who either manufacture, package or sell food products. In order to ensure that its officials visit every nook and corner of the city, the FDA has sought help from the city police, who will be accompanying the FDA team when the officers will be on field.

Game over? As per law, even a pani puri vendor is supposed to acquire an FSSAI licence before he sells his eatables. File pic

"From May onwards, we would be personally visiting all the areas of the city. In addition, we have sought help from the Mumbai police, who know the city better. The main idea behind seeking their help is to tackle law and order issues that may arise during our checks. Soon, we would be approaching all the senior police officers from all the police stations across the city. By next month, we would be having over 80 field officers, who will be helping us work faster and efficiently," said Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner (food), FDA.

Did you know?
Anybody who manufactures, sells or packages food products must have an FSSAI licence. The FDA had set March 31 deadline for vendors to get registered and acquire Food Safety Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) licenseu00a0