FDA Rating

Today being the World Food safety Day, on this occasion the Maharashtra State Food & Drug Administration is coming out with the rating system for the  Restaurants for the first time in India. Restaurants will be rated on a scale of zero to five stars on the basis of hygiene and responsibility to customers safety.

The state FDA Commissioner Pallavi Darade made a statement yesterday that  the food hygiene rating will reflect our inspection findings. The main aim of the rating is to reduce the incidences of the food  borne illness and associated cost to the customers. The rating system will help customers to  make choice , and to know about the place where they wish to eat.

Restaurants will have to first fill an on line self assessment form, then FDA officials will visit the restaurant premises, the emphasis of the inspection will be on parameters such as cleanliness, design and facilities, availability of water, soaps etc. Based on this assessment  the Food Safety and Standards Authority will issue the Hygiene rating. The food hygiene rating will be based on the findings, the ratings will 5 for best and zero for worst.

The second rating , the responsible place to eat, can be earned only if the  staff of the restaurant is clean and undergoes periodic health check ups, and the most important aspect of this rating will be  that the surplus food  is not thrown out but donated. additionally restaurants will also be graded on on the advice they impart to customers regarding eating balanced food, adding extra sugar and salt to food.

There is one more parameter and that is whether restaurant allows its customer to visit their  kitchen and brief them about how the different food items are prepared.

The following are key  parameters for Hygiene Rating

Non Toxic Fittings

Walls free of  paint flakes

Windows nets, Sufficient light and air.

Food thawed hygienically, proper re heating and good cooking oil.

Key Parameters for  Responsible Place To eat

For Personal Hygiene-

Toilets, hand wash for all.

Food Handlers must wear clean clothes, glove , aprons.

Medical test every six months.

For  Promoting Healthy Eating-

Create awareness through posters, display screen and menu.

Advising consumers against use of extra salt and sugar.

For Complaint Handling-

Appoint a responsible Person. Effective Redressal mechanism via phone, WhatsApp, e mail, web portal etc.

Lastly- Encouraging Kitchen visits, and donation of surplus foods.

The FDA has already started the process and will be awarding the ratings  to 15 restaurants in Mumbai, 10 in Pune and 5 in Nagpur in a public function today.

In my personal opinion it is a good beginning and every thing looks very good on paper but knowing how the govt agencies works in Maharashtra state, where the corruption is set so deeply that it wont be surprising that these rating system will be available to any one  who greases the palms of FDA officials. You all have seen how the eateries have flouted fire norms all over the state and there have been so many fires, where it  was found later that there was  no fire compliance by the management of restaurant which resulted in loss of so many lives. OK in this case the chances of losing life is minimal but it amounts to cheating the customer. Suppose a customer enters the restaurant after seeing the rating of 5 star, but has a very bad experience and he feels that it was not fit for 5 star rating, this amounts to a case of cheating. In this system of rating there should be a provision for customer to complain directly to FDA Commissioner, and  the contact details of Commissioner should be widely displayed in the eatery and also mentioned in the Menu card.

What you say my friends.

waiting your views/comments/feed backs.