PART 4 — FSSAI READINESS: WHAT ALL SHOULD WE LOOK AT?

Introduction 

There may be 100 things. We should be ready for all 100.

There is a temptation in Food Safety to ask:

“सबसे important दस चीजें बता दीजिए.”

That may be useful for training.

It is not enough for FSSAI Readiness.

A Food Safety Officer is not required to restrict himself to the ten things we consider most important.

A cracked floor.

Peeling paint.

An opening through which pests can enter.

An incomplete record.

Food too close to a wall.

An unclean pallet.

A thermometer whose calibration cannot be established.

A returned carton lying with normal stock.

A missing training record.

Any one of these may become an observation.

FSSAI's own inspection system recognizes Compliance, Partial Compliance, Non-Compliance and Not Applicable/Not Observed, and its checklists are explicitly intended to identify compliance with regulatory requirements. 

Therefore, in this Part we will not classify requirements as:

Important / Less Important.

Cheap / Expensive.

Immediate / Can Wait.

Major / Minor.

We have already discussed cost in Part 3.

Here our question is much simpler:

IS IT IN ORDER?

And if a requirement genuinely does not apply to our particular operation:

CAN WE CLEARLY ESTABLISH WHY IT IS NOT APPLICABLE?

________________________________________

BEFORE USING THIS CHECKLIST — ONE IMPORTANT CAUTION

A warehouse is not always just a warehouse.

A dark store may store, pick and dispatch.

Another may also handle fresh produce.

A fulfilment centre may wash, trim, cut, chop or repack vegetables and fruits.

A distributor may also operate vehicles.

A cold store may handle chilled and frozen foods.

A wholesaler may also perform retail activities.

Therefore:

FSSAI Readiness follows the activities actually being performed -not merely the name written outside the building.

FSSAI's own mapping takes this approach: Storage uses the Storage checklist, while wholesalers, distributors, suppliers and marketers may need the relevant checklist depending upon whether they perform storage, transport, retail or other activities. 

So first know what you actually do.

Then check what applies.