Whenever one talks about food, health automatically comes to mind because both are associated with each other directly. Food is directly proportional to the health of the general public. If food is good, health will be good, but if food is not good, it will also adversely affect health. Hence, it is essential to take care of what type of food one is taking. Even the government is worried about the same thing; thus, they came up with a food safety law in 2006. They are ensuring the quality of food by providing an FSSAI License under the same law. The current blog will discuss particularly regarding State FSSAI License and how to get FSSAI State License in detail.
Who needs to take a State Food License?
Given below is the category of businesses that need to get FSSAI State License:
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Caterers
- PG Owners
- Dairy business owners
- Food vending machine owners
- Food Manufacturers
- Food retailers
- Food wholesalers
- Food distributors
- Owner of a slaughtering house
- Vegetable oil processing units
- Food transportation services
- Food storage owner
Criteria to get FSSAI State License
It completely depends on the business and turnover of the business which license one needs to take. To get FSSAI State License, check the given criteria below. If your business falls under any of the categories given below, you need to get FSSAI State License:
| Kind of Business | Criteria | Fees to get FSSAI State License |
| Business related to dairy units, which also includes milk chilling units | 10001 – 50,000 Milk Lt./day, and in solid form it will be 501-2500 MT/annum | Rs. 5000 |
| Business related to dairy units, which also includes milk chilling units | 501 – 10,000 Milk Lt./day, and in solid form, it will be 2.5-500 MT/annum | Rs. 3000 |
| Processing units of vegetable oils | 1-2 MT/day | Rs. 5000 |
| Processing units of vegetable oils | Below 1 MT/day | Rs. 3000 |
| Slaughtering houses | It depends on the number of animals: Large animals between 3-50Small animals between 11-150Poultry birds between 51-1000 | Rs. 2000 |
| All types of food manufacturing other than vegetable oil processing units, slaughtering houses and dairy units | If the per day production capacity is between 101 Kgs/Ltrs – 1 MT/day | Rs. 3000 |
| All types of food manufacturing other than vegetable oil processing units, slaughtering houses and dairy units | If the per day production capacity is between 1-2 MT/day | Rs. 5000 |
| Substances that can be added to food | If the per day production capacity is up to 2 MT/day | Rs. 5000 |
| Cold Storage | The capacity of storage is up to 10,000 MT | Rs. 2000 |
| Atmospheric controlled storage | The capacity of storage is up to 1000 MT | Rs. 2000 |
| Food transportation business | Up to 100 transports and turnover is up to 30 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Food wholesaler | Turnover of the business is up to 30 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Food distributors | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Food retailers | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Hotel | 3 and 4 star | Rs. 5000 |
| Hotel | 1, 2 or without a star | Rs. 2000 |
| Restaurant | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Club and canteen | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Caterer | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
| Food vending machine business | Up to 100 machines in one single state or UT | Rs. 2000 |
| Dhaba | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Paying guest facility with food | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Banquet halls provide catering services as well | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Home Based Canteens | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Permanent or temporary food stall holder | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Food stall arrangements in religious gatherings, fairs, etc | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Dabba Wallas | Turnover of the business is more than Rs. 12 lakhs | Rs. 2000 |
| Caterers under the mid-day meal scheme | Turnover of the business is up to 20 crores/annum | Rs. 2000 |
Process to get FSSAI State License
Given below is the step-by-step guidance to get FSSAI State License:
- Visit the official portal of government for the FSSAI
- On the home screen, you will find a box where it has been written: “Apply for license/registration.”
- Click on the “apply for license/registration” option, and three boxes of red, green and blue colours will open on your screen. Click on the red colour option.
- Select the state as per the business address proof of your business
- Choose the category of the business carefully
- After that, select State FSSAI License
- Click on the proceed button and move forward
- Click on the option available on your screen, that is “ Click here to apply for registration for all businesses.”
- Form A will open, fill out the form and generate credentials
- Upload all the documents required to get FSSAI State License
- Make payment as per the duration you want to apply for. One can apply for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years. Accordingly, fees will vary
- You will get the payment receipt
- Now department will verify your application, and if it finds everything appropriate, your license will be issued within 10-15 working days
Documents Required for State Food License
Given below is the list of documents required to get FSSAI State License:
- Complete Form A with the signature is required.
- Basic documents of the directors, partners, proprietor or authorised signatories of the entity like identification proof, address proof, etc.
- Photograph of the directors, partners, proprietor or authorised signatories of the entity
- Business address proof will be needed
- Complete and sign Form B
- Layout plan of the plant
- In the case of the manufacturer list of all the food categories
- Non-objection certificate from the local municipality corporation
- Name of the equipment used in the plant
- Source of raw materials
- Certificate, which was provided by the Ministry of Tourism in the case of hotels and restaurants.
Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006
Under the FSS Act of 2006, certain important things given with respect to food safety will be discussed one by one. It’s really important to know about these things for a better understanding and knowledge of the food safety laws in India and how they work. Below is the list of crucial things given under the FSS Act:
What is FSSAI?
The government came up with a food safety law in 2006, but coming up with a law is not sufficient to maintain food safety in the market. There must be a proper body or authority to look into this particular aspect of food safety. Without having authority, it’s not possible to implement this law; hence, the government established a competent authority called FSSAI whose full form is Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The following are the roles and responsibilities of the FSSAI under section 16 of the FSS Act:
- To ensure food safety in the market
- Grand permission to do food business in India
- Grant all three types of FSSAI License as per the requirement of the business.
- Issue standards and guidelines with respect to different types of food articles
- Must prescribe limits for the use of contaminants and preservatives
- Must check the quality of the food that is supplied in the market
- Provide advice to the central government whenever it requires
- Spread general awareness regarding food safety and security
Types of Food Licenses
There are three types of FSSAI licenses given under the food safety laws. These three types of licenses are given below with their criteria, but are not exhaustive in nature; there are many more things to be considered that depend on business to business:
| Types of License | Applicability | Example |
| General FSSAI Registration | Turnover is up to or less than Rs. 12 lakhs | Petty food business owners like vendors, hawkers, stall owners, temporary stalls, thela, sweet shops, juice shops, tea stalls, golgappa stalls, vegetable vendors, fruit vendors etc. |
| State FSSAI License | Turnover is between Rs. 12 lakhs to Rs. 20 Crore | Restaurants, hotels, canteens, food retailers, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers etc. |
| Central FSSAI License | Turnover of more than Rs. 20 lakhs | Food import and export businesses, canteens on railway platforms, food vending agencies, mid-day meal caterers, e-commerce food businesses, etc. |
Benefits of Food Licenses
Whether a business get FSSAI state license, central license, or general food registration, there is a certain type of benefits associated with them. Some of the benefits associated with food licenses, especially when one get FSSAI state license, are given below:
- Safe and healthy food supply
- Awareness about food safety among the common masses
- Maintain hygiene while preparing and manufacturing food
- Build customer trust
- Reliability to the business
- Earns credibility in the market
Conclusion
Getting an FSSAI State License is crucial for businesses involved in various aspects of food production, distribution, and services, such as hotels, restaurants, caterers, dairy units, and more. The current writeup has discussed the State Food License in detail. It is one of the types of food licenses out of the three categories of licenses given under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. These licenses are basically permission under the food safety laws to the food business owners to do a particular food business in a particular area. It is mandatory to get FSSAI State License to run a particular type of business. If one is caught running a food business without this license, a heavy fine can be imposed for such a violation. Therefore one must take this license before starting any kind of food business.
