FSSAI plans mandatory audit of supply chains of e-commerce firms selling meat products

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to conduct mandatory third-party audits of supply chains of e-commerce companies that sell meat and meat products. In addition, third-party food safety audits of meat units and municipal slaughter houses will also conducted in 40 cities in the next three months, in a bid to bolster surveillance and consumer trust.

“FSSAI is launching “Clean and safe meat” initiative with the objective to develop an ecosystem that will enable the availability of clean and safe meat and meat products for consumers,” it said in a statement.

The decisions were taken after the Authority recently held discussions with key stakeholders to formalise a strategy to improve the quality and safety of meat and meat products. It was attended by government officials, poultry meat industry representatives, animal feed companies as well as e-commerce companies. Under the FoSTac programme, training and capacity building of such food businesses will also be undertaken by FSSAI.

“FSSAI, in coordination with BIS, will explore the possibility of including the BIS certification of feed — as one of the clauses in schedule 4 covering Good Hygienic Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice requirements,” an official statement added. If required, BIS, in collaboration with stakeholders, will also review and amend their feed standards.

Safety of food ecosystem

Officials said the “Clean and safe meat” initiative is focused on identifying food safety issues and bolstering quality and safety of the entire ecosystem beginning with animal feed till the level it reaches consumers through offline retail stores and e-commerce platforms.

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