FSSAI Registration and licensing for Home Kitchens and Home Bakers

While home kitchens & bakeries have been around for a long time, the COVID-19 crisis and its attendant effects on employment and related factors have occasioned a prolific increase in the number of such businesses in India, whether they are listed on delivery platforms or otherwise. Consumers, now wary of ordering in from restaurants, have also begun seeing such home-based kitchens as better, safer options to turn to in this time. Consequently, food safety and hygiene, in the context of home-based kitchens, has come into focus; while food safety norms pertaining to the same have been in force since 2011, the proliferation of such businesses and the reportedly disproportionately low number of applications received by the FSSAI for registration/ license, has brought the issue of compliance with these norms into question. Further, there is also a lack of awareness regarding these norms amongst food business owners.

Registration and Licensing Norms applicable to Home-kitchens and bakers:

Section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, (Hereinafter referred to as ‘Act’) states as follows:

Licensing and registration of food business.

(1) No person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a license.

(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to a petty manufacturer who himself manufactures or sells any article of food or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or a temporary stall holder or small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food business operator; but they shall register themselves with such authority and in such manner as may be specified by regulations, without prejudice to the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption or affecting the interests of the consumers.

The regulations that govern registration and licensing are Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses), Regulations 2011 (Hereinafter referred to as ‘Regulations’).

Food businesses are required to register or obtain a license depending on the stipulation pertaining to the category under which they fall in terms of revenue, territories of operation, etc.

Home based kitchens generally fall within the category of “Petty Food Manufacturer” which means any food manufacturer, who;

(a) manufactures or sells any article of food himself or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or temporary stall holder;

(b) or distributes foods including in any religious or social gathering except a caterer; or

(c) such other food businesses including small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 12 lakhs.

Such Petty Food Manufacturers are not required to obtain a license (unless the threshold of Rs. 12 lakhs is crossed) but are mandatorily required to register themselves with the Registering Authority, by making the requisite disclosures such as kind of business, location, food item and quantity, turnover, water and power source, etc., along with a registration fee. The Registering Authority will, upon inspection (if deemed necessary), issue a registration certificate and a photo identity card, which the business is required to display at a prominent place at all times within the premises where the person carries on sale/manufacture of food.

What is the validity of the registration?

Such a registration is valid for a period of 1 to 5 years as opted by the business owner, from the date of issue of registration subject to the remittance of the fee, and can be renewed thereafter.

What are the consequences of non-registration?

Failure to register/ obtain a valid license may entail a penalty of up to Two Lakh Rupees as laid down in the Act.

Other offences under the Act such as selling sub- standard or unsafe food, possessing adulterants, misleading advertisements, etc. can give rise to the imposition of penalties ranging from Rs. 25,000 upto Rs. 10,00,000, or in some cases, a sum depending on the severity of the injury caused to the consumer.

What are the hygiene and safety standards to be adhered to?

The business must adhere to the hygiene and safety standards enumerated in Schedule 4 of the Regulations; some of them are as follows:

1. The premises shall be located in a sanitary place and free from filthy surroundings and shall maintain overall hygienic environment.

2. The premises shall be clean, adequately lighted and ventilated and sufficient free space for movement.

3. The floor and skirted walls shall be washed as per requirement with an effective disinfectant the premises shall be kept free from all insects. No spraying shall be done during the conduct of business, but instead fly swats/ flaps should be used to kill spray flies getting into the premises. Windows, doors and other openings shall be fitted with net or screen, as appropriate to make the premise insect free.

4. The water used in the manufacturing shall be potable and if required chemical and bacteriological examination of the water shall be done at regular intervals at any recognized laboratory.

5. Continuous supply of potable water shall be ensured in the premises. In case of intermittent water supply, adequate storage arrangement for water used in food or washing shall be made.

6. Equipment and machinery when employed shall be of such design which will permit easy cleaning. Arrangements for cleaning of containers, tables, working parts of machinery, etc. shall be provided.

7. No vessel, container or other equipment, the use of which is likely to cause metallic contamination injurious to health shall be employed in the preparation, packing or storage of food. (Copper or brass vessels shall have proper lining).

8. The vehicles used to transport foods must be maintained in good repair and kept clean.

9. Foods while in transport in packaged form or in containers shall maintain the required temperature.

10. Insecticides / disinfectants shall be kept and stored separately and `away from food manufacturing / storing/ handling areas.

Registration Process:

- Filing of an application in Form- A with Fees Rs. 100/-

- UNIQUE APPLICATION REFERENCE NUMBER is generated.

- Registering Authority may grant/ reject registration, with reasons to be recorded in writing within 7 days of receipt of an application for registration.

- If granted, the Applicant may start their business.

- If necessary, the Registering Authority may issue a notice for inspection, in which case the same is ordered within 7 days, and done within a period of 30 days.

- If registration is not granted, or denied, or inspection not ordered within 7 days or no decision is communicated within 30 days, the applicant may start its business, provided that it will be incumbent on the Food Business Operator to comply with any improvement suggested by the Registering Authority even later.

- Registration is granted, and the Applicant may start its business.

The registration can be done here.

The documents required for the same are as follows:

- Photo of Food Business Operator

- Document for Identity Proof like Ration Card, Voter ID Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Passport, AADHAR Card, Senior Citizen Card, Department Issued ID

- Supporting Documents (if any):- NOC by Municipality/Panchayat, Health NOC

Do E- Commerce Platforms Fall Within the Framework of the Act?

In October, 2018, Zomato, Swiggy, UberEats and Foodpanda reportedly delisted 10,500 restaurants because they did not receive approval from FSSAI. This move was in response to FSSAI's directive in June, 2018, directing online delivery sites to remove unlicensed and non-registered restaurants from their catalogues as it had received several reports of restaurants and vendors providing sub-standard food on the said e-commerce platforms.

Against that backdrop and the increasing number of e-commerce ventures in the food industry, the Regulations were amended in 2018 to include e-commerce (both marketplace and inventory based) within its purview. As per the Regulations, e-commerce FBOs (manufacturing/ processing/ packaging/ storage/ transportation/ distribution/import of food and food services, including the food delivery applications) are required to obtain a central license from the Central Licensing Authority.

Most noteworthy for Home-based kitchen & bakery businesses is the prerequisite to be compliant with the Act and its provisions before being listed on such e-commerce platforms, since the Regulations stipulate that such an agreement must be entered into between the platform and the sellers listed therein. Since the liability rests with the E- Commerce FBOs, they are likely to be very careful in enlisting sellers on their platforms.

Registration mandatory, but also beneficial to businesses:

While registration is a mandatory requirement under law, it is also an effective method to secure the success of the Home-kitchen and bakery business model, by opening several avenues for the marketing and sales of food items due to registration being a pre-requisite for signing up to sell food products on various delivery platforms and other e-commerce aggregator platforms. Further, Consumers can access the details of the registered business on the FSSAI website by entering the name or the registration number of the business, and satisfy themselves about the safety of the food being ordered, and thereby fostering an increased sense of accountability and trust in the business.