9th meeting of District Level Advisory Committee held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner Shimla Anupam Kashyap said that compromise with the health of children is not acceptable under any circumstances, hence there should be a ban on the sale of such items which are being sold in the market without any label.
The Deputy Commissioner was presiding over the 9th meeting of the District Level Advisory Committee constituted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 here today.
He said that with summer approaching, many food items are available in the market whose quality is unknown, so it is important to ensure that such products are not sold in the market. Food items that contain chemicals for artificial color or flavor must be tested. He instructed the department to increase the number of food samples.
Take samples from remote areas and make people aware
He said that the department should also collect samples of food prepared in Anganwadi centres and schools and test them. It was told in the meeting that the department had taken samples of mid-day meal from educational institutions in areas like Mashobra, Ghanahatti etc. on which the Deputy Commissioner directed the department to collect samples from remote areas of the district as well. He said that the department should also collect samples from remote areas like Rohru, Chidgaon, Kupvi, Chaupal and organize awareness camps to make the people there aware.
In the last meeting, the Deputy Commissioner had directed inspections and awareness campaigns against food vendors operating near school campuses. He was informed that since the last meeting, 12 surveillance samples have been taken and approximately 30 inspections have been conducted by the Municipal Corporation’s Food Safety Officer at educational institutions. Additionally, training for approximately 600 street food vendors was conducted by the Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC) in December last year.
Hotels and food establishments should also be inspected, samples should also be taken from weddings.
The Deputy Commissioner also directed inspections of hotels and dining establishments in rural and municipal areas, and it was reported that 67 enforcement samples and 88 surveillance samples have been collected in the district since last year. Similarly, 80 enforcement samples and 85 surveillance samples have been collected in the municipal area. The Deputy Commissioner added that weddings also involve food prepared for hundreds of people, so it’s important to take samples of that food as well to ensure no one’s health is compromised.
The meeting was informed that 15 cases have been disposed of by the Adjudicating Officer (Additional District Magistrate) while 01 case has been filed in Jubbal Court and 26 cases have been filed in the court. Apart from this, 57 improvement notices have been issued in the Municipal Corporation area in the last three months and compliance reports have been filed by 56 food business operators. It was also informed that from 03 July 2025 till date, 280 licenses have been issued for Food Safety Licensing and Registration in the Municipal Corporation area. Similarly, a total of 238 licenses and 1849 registrations have been issued in the district.
The Deputy Commissioner also directed the department to make the mobile food testing laboratory functional and asked to make people aware through it.
