• Photo Identity proof of promoters
• Business Constitution certificate (Which can be partnership deed, certificate of incorporation or any other registration, eg: trust)
• Proof of possession of business premises (Can be rent agreement, or any other utility bill)
• List of food products manufactured or processed
• Bank account information ( Opening page of bank passbook held in the name of business or proprietor)

If you are a home baker, providing tiffin service or opening a small cafe or food joint, FSSAI is the basic license you must arrange for when you are starting with a food business.

This is a mechanism by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, a governmental body to ensure the level of consumable foods and raw materials – it checks the hygiene and cleanliness maintaining in the cooking and baking area, packaging level, and how the food and raw materials are preserved. You can take FSSAI Certificate as the lifeline of your food business.

The procedure for FSSAI Registration are as follows:

• Step one: Depending on the size of the food business, fill Form A or Form B.
• Step two: The intimation from the department of Food and security shall be communicated to the applicant within seven working days – whether the application is accepted or rejected or has certain issues.
• Step three: If rejected, get back to step one, and if accepted proceed with step three. The department may come for an inspection and clarify if there is any doubt, and grant a certificate of registration along with the number and photo of the applicant.
• Step Four: Frame the certificate the way you like it, and find a good place to display to the public.

For the procedure, certain documents are required which are listed here:

• Form A and Form B – duly filled and signed
• Photo identity of the food business organization
• Proof of the possession of the property (ownership/rent/lease)
• Certificate of incorporation/deed of partnership/ Articles of Association
• List of food products to be served or sold.
• A plan on how the hygiene, health, and quality of food shall be maintained.

The entities intending to obtain FSSAI licenses are divided into three categories:

Yes, a fresh application for FSSAI registration can be filed only after 90 days from the date of rejection of the previous application.

Hiring a professional reduces your stress, and assures an expected result, and when you hire an FSSAI professional through Gigzoe, you get the money paid to the insured and easy track of the work going on.

Why to take this risk, when Gigzoe is offering a professional within a reasonable price, that’s definitely a fact to think upon. Moreover, hiring a professional online through Gigzoe is easy, convenient, as well as the whole track of work and communication is online. It is all meant to reduce your stress, not to increase it, indeed.

Talking about the fees, and expecting a quality work in return, Gigzoe provides a 100% money security, under which each penny you are paying the professional through Gigzoe, remains in an escrow account, and only after the professional completes the work, the payment is released.

Therefore, think twice, act wise.

In case an FBO has failed to comply with the guidelines, it is penalized based on the following conditions:

• If the FBO is carrying on the operation without even applying to FSSAI, then the penalty can be up to Rs. 5 lakhs.
• If any substandard quality of food is served, then the penalty can be upto Rs. 5 lakhs
• If the food product contains any flawed ingredients or extra ingredients which is not mentioned, then the fine can be up to Rs. 1 lakh.

Based on this, a notice of improvement may be sent to the FBO which mentions the changes to be made for the purpose of compliance. For making this change, a time limit is also specified in this notice. If the FBO fails to comply with the changes within this time, a show-cause notice may be sent to appear before the Commissioner for Food Safety of that state and explain the reason behind such failure.

Any food item which is sold/distributed or consumed, with the FSSAI license, but later on it caused any harm or found to be harmful for the consumers, then it can be removed from the market under the policy of food recall.

There are no such rules on the microbiological items are specified under the rules of FSSAI yet, but they can be covered under Nonspecified categories. The non-specified categories include:

• Novel food items, or ingredients prepared using a novel technology
• New food additives
• New processing aids and enzymes
• Food ingredients consisting of any different kinds of algae, fungi or microorganisms.