An end-to-end solution for food, water and air quality testing / auditing in the country, Equinox Labs is a Food Safety And Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified laboratory. It also has accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and is among the first few private Food Safety Training And Certification (FoSTaC) partners in the country. Ashwin Bhadri, chief executive officer, Equinox Labs, in conversation with Ashish K Tiwari, speaks about the delisting of food business outlets from various online food delivery platforms, the purpose it serves in the area of promoting food safety and hygiene. Edited excerpts...

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What's your take on the recent uproar on food safety and hygiene issues with large and small food service businesses in the country?

The situation is not as bad as it looks like. There have been a few instances of videos going viral on social media platforms but those are just a handful of fly-by-night food service businesses bringing a bad name to the industry. It's like if there have been few instances of Ola or Uber cab drivers misbehaving or being unprofessional doesn't mean people should stop using their services. It can't be a one represents all scenario. There is no denying that there have been instances of food safety and hygiene issues and whether online platforms are involved or not, it is a concern and a critical aspect for every (food industry) player irrespective of the size.

What stops food business operators from following safety and hygiene practices?

There appears to be a perception that following food safety norms is expensive, it is not. There is a lack of awareness and knowledge gap among food business owners. I have been in the food safety domain for 13 years now and have trained over 45,000 people. From what I have witnessed, it's not that a food business owner / handler deliberately wants to cause food poisoning. The issue is that no one has taught the food handler the dos and don'ts of doing it right.

The FSSAI has a training programme for creating awareness on that front.

FoSTaC is a great initiative by FSSAI where they have now made it mandatory that at least one person in 25 needs to get trained and s/he can then train the remaining. That's the onus being passed on to the food safety supervisor. That's a programme if it actually gets to the root wherein 80% to 90% of the people in the food service business are trained, it will have a much bigger impact on food safety and hygiene practices across the industry.

The main challenge however, is with food businesses in the lower strata where one person managing the entire operations and makes Rs 200 to 300 a day, the person doesn't have enough time on hand to ensure food safety and hygiene standards because s/he is short on staff. You can't blame such players because s/he is struggling for her/ his livelihood and cannot afford additional resources to support the business. But as you go up the food chain wherein people are a more responsible and have the resources they need to take it very seriously and should invest in educating their employees on the dos and don'ts of food safety and hygiene standards. That's where the FoSTaC programme plays a very crucial role.

Does having a licence or a certification ensure dispensing of safe food?

Just because someone has a license it doesn't mean the food being dispensed is safe for consumption and vice-versa. Many people confuse safety for license/ documentary compliance. Delay in procuring a license is an issue faced largely by the newer restaurants. The business owner has invested significantly in setting up a modern kitchen and waiting for the authorities to audit and issue a license. The regulatory delays sometimes compels the business owner to start operations as license and related certifications are already work-in-progress. So, just because they don't have a license it doesn't mean s/he is dispensing unsafe/ unhygienic food.

The FSSAI has asked food delivery platforms to delist non-registered food business operators.

Delisting the FBOs is a good move but it will have some repercussions on the online food delivery platforms. That's because almost 50% of the paying food service operators will go out of system and that's certainly going to impact revenues. While due procedure is being followed for listing new FBOs, it will take time to get all the details from the existing ones who are now being delisted for lack of necessary documents/ certifications. Food delivery platforms are proactively working on finding a solution to the current challenge in the market. Initiatives include setting up a helpline, asking food service businesses to submit licences, assisting those who do not have one and so on. A lot of good work is happening in this space but it will take some time to streamline it all. While everyone is working on meeting the deadline set by FSSAI it may be a challenge to achieve it in such a short span.

What are the possibilities of FSSAI license and registration becoming mandatory irrespective if whether one is selling from food delivery platforms or not?

Food businesses license is mandatory for any outfit to function but that's not the case with the FSSAI certification, which is generally issued by third-party auditing agencies on behalf or in lieu of FSSAI. It's not mandatory at present but is very likely to become mandatory in the coming years. It cannot be done overnight because there isn't enough bandwidth to implement the same. Even FoSTaC was started as a voluntary programme two years ago and now it has been made mandatory.

Efforts are also being made to promote self vigilance through food safety display boards that tell the customer 10 things to expect (from the food handler at the outlet) in terms of food safety and hygiene. If there is a discrepancy the consumer can bring that to the notice of the food safety officer by calling or sending a visual on the contact details provided on the display board. This was voluntary earlier but is gradually being made mandatory across food catering businesses. The idea behind making it mandatory to have a FSSAI license/ registration number for a food business outlet is basically for quick and efficient traceability. For instance, if there is any issue with food being delivered from an FBO registered with one of the online food delivery platforms, it will become easy to track/ trace that FBOs through the FSSAI number. So there will be a central helpline as well as a local branch number to call and complaint. If there is no satisfactory resolution at the local level then the consumer can esclate it to FSSAI on the central number.

Won't it make doing business more challenging for food businesses?

The compliance requirements may appear to be blocks / hurdles initially but what's been done through all this is that the entire food business value chain is being brought into the FSSAI system. It definitely increases problems for the food business owners one way or the other. The FBOs will have no option but to quote their FSSAI registration number to be able to do business on any of the e-commerce / food delivery platforms. Not only that, it may also happen at a later stage that major suppliers will not be able sell to FBOs that do not have a FSSAI registration number. So whether one likes it or not, every FBO owner will be forced to come under the FSSAI system. Very much like what's being done through the goods and services tax (GST) number. While GST was rolled out much quicker, FSSAI will take it slow.