The new regulation by FSSAI

A new order was issued by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) according to which every food business operator must mandatorily possess the FSSAI License or must be registered with the food body before starting operations. If the FSSAI number is not mentioned on bills, this will be treated as non-compliance by the food business. FSSAI has directed licensing and registration authorities in the Indian food industry to increase awareness about this policy and to ensure that it is enforced.

What businesses need to do

As per new regulations, restaurants, mithai (sweet) shops, retail stores, and caterers will need to compulsorily mention their FSSAI number on cash receipts, purchase invoices, and food bills starting October of this year. They must also comply with the already present guidelines for compulsorily displaying the FSSAI number on packaged food labels. Small operators and eateries need to correct their existing protocols and align them with this new regulation.

How the Customer Grievance System will improve for Restaurants

When it comes to the food business, customer complaints are not novel or rare. But oftentimes, the discrepancies from the restaurant or food provider are too severe in terms of hygiene or health factor. Such business practices must be reported, and it should be made easy for the consumer to file a complaint. This is where the FSSAI number will improve the grievance system and work in favour of the consumer. FSSAI number is equivalent to a unique locator code for any food business within the country.

FSSAI has been keen on pointing out that a ‘robust customer grievance system’ is the mark of ‘any credible regulatory structure’ hinting at the need for compliance among food businesses of all kinds.

The biggest challenge faced by consumers who want to share grievances about food businesses is that the food business ecosystem is so vast here in India that the FSSAI number is not easily accessible to them. Without this number at hand, lodging a complaint becomes pointless and tedious. Information access should be easy in the case of a complaint. If the consumer possesses the FSSAI number of the food business they have a complaint against, submitting the complaint becomes simple.

Disinfection, sanitisation, and hygiene have become the most valuable and now inseparable lexicon of our lifestyle since the onset of covid. In times of uncertainty where several businesses are at a precarious stage, the heightened concerns of hygiene are paving the demand for several cleaning and disinfection service providers. The cleaning startups which desperately waited for Diwali or festive occasions to generate revenues are now on the priority check-list of corporates and offices to maintain hygiene and cleanliness for the safety of their employees. 

In the past few months, Urban Company has witnessed an unprecedented 200 percent rise in the number of people demanding professional cleaning services.

 A pandemic or an opportunity in disguise?

VrLocal, a Hyderabad-based cleaning service initially began with the intent of providing hassle-free on-demand services to corporates and organisations with fumigation, cleaning, plumbing, electricals, painting, etc. Sai Abhishek Rayarao, founder of VrLocal realised that the demand for disinfection and sanitisation services amongst corporates is high but lacks supply. The cleaning and disinfection services is an unorganised market, sensing this VrLocal stepped forward to bridge the gap by offering high-quality cleaning and disinfection services and parallelly educating the corporates of its service benefits. 

Similarly, Pune-based service tech startup Inspacco associated with the Indian Pest Control Association to offer end-to-end disinfection solutions to residential, commercial and industrial properties using VIREX 256 disinfectant. In the past year, they have provided sanitisation services to more than 10,000 clinics and 2,000 banks.

Gurgaon-based cleaning service Tenon Prime is an online platform that offers end-to-end specialized cleaning services for commercial and residential premises has been experiencing a surge in its services more from Delhi and NCR region. It uses 3 LP processes of WHO-recommended chemicals to disinfect surfaces with the help of ULV fogging and high-pressure steam machines. Till date, it has sanitised more than 7000 residential complexes of Delhi and NCR region and is booming in demand for its services from other tier-I cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore.