State Food Safety Commissionerate understaffed?

BANGALORE: Short of 130 Food Safety Officers (FSOs), the State Food Safety Commissionerate is finding it difficult to enforce the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011. Karnataka requires 234 Food Safety Officers, but the state has managed to train only 104 officers. Speaking to Express B S Rama Prasad, State Food Safety commissioner, says the appointment of FSOs is not an easy procedure. “It is easy to say these vacancies have to be filled. But the work is technical and we need officers who are specially trained under the new Act. No ordinary training will suffice,” he explained. He added that the commissionerate needed to re-designate, retrain and re-orient existing officers. Despite that, there is still a shortage of officers. “We have forwarded our proposal to the state government for the appointment of an independent cadre. We have framed the cadre requirement rules as well,” he added. The rules specify that to be an FSO, one needs to have a degree in ‘Food Technology/Dairy, Technology/Biotechnology/Oil Technology /Agricultural Sciences or Veterinary Sciences, and must be trained by the Food Authority in a recognised institute approved for the purpose (as per the Rules).Due to the shortage, existing officers are forced to handle a vast area making it difficult to enforce the provisions of the Act. Additionally, the officers also lack sufficient awareness and education about the new Act. Dr Srinivasa Gowda, Joint Director of Public Health Institute, Government of Karnataka, said that even in the category of designated officers, some officers in the state lack training. “Out of 30 designated Ooficers, 19 have been trained. The remaining 11 will have to be trained by the ones who have already received training,” he explained.Since the Act and its rules have come into force only in August 2011, officials believe that the commissionerate will be able to consolidate itself soon. “The proposal for appointment is with the state government. We expect a reply soon,” said Gowda. Replacing the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) came into force on August 5, 2011. According to these rules, a food safety team is appointed in each state.