The Apex food regulator, once again introduced new set of regulations for the food analysis and sampling which will deliver the new ways to send for sampling and improvised steps of taking samples.
Encapsulated as Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Rules, 2020, the draft prescribes the food safety officers to ‘mask all the information relating to the Food Business Operator in the label of the sample including brand/ trade name and bar code through non-detachable tamper-proof stickers and provide appropriate code number’.
FSSAI made new facilities and purveyings for taking the samples of decayable products having shelf life of 7 days or lesser for compliance investigation and microbiological investigation, four samples would not be needed more and new numbers of sample to be taken are mentioned in the table given in regulation.
According to the draft, ‘for microbiological analysis, number of samples will be as specified in appendix B of Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards And Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, for surveillance, import clearance, analysis of perishable product having less than seven days shelf-life, complaint investigation and food safety emergency response, two samples will be taken respectively for each for analysis, while for other special cases, if any as may be directed by the commissioner of food safety’.
Draft also purported to set time period of 14 days to seek the report and appeal to the authority, and if delay occurs by the labs, DO’s would be posted with reasons for delay.
