A state government official on Thursday suggested that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) link the trade licence for eateries with the food licence so that the establishments are forced to follow food safety standards.
The trade licence is issued by the KMC and the food licence by the food safety division of the state health department. Both are mandatory for eateries.
“I would like to bring to your notice that there are some eateries that have a trade licence but have not obtained a food licence,” said T.K. Rudra, the state’s food safety commissioner.
“If the issue of trade licence is made conditional on obtaining a food licence, these eateries will have to take the food licence as well,” Rudra said at the inauguration of a “modern” food testing laboratory at an annexe of the KMC headquarters on SN Banerjee Road.
An official said the food licence was issued to a restaurant following an inspection of the premises.
The food safety division’s inspectors verify whether the restaurant follows the basic hygiene — such as whether the establishment has a safe source of water and whether the employees are trained in cooking and serving food according to the norms of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
“We are looking at an arrangement where the KMC issues the trade licence and then tells the business that it must obtain a food licence as well within a stipulated time. Failure to do so will lead to the cancellation of the trade licence,” said the official.
Atin Ghosh, a member of the KMC’s board of administrators, later said the civic body had earlier made the issue or renewal of trade licence for eateries conditional on the food licence. But the order could not be enforced as the pandemic hit the KMC’s revenues hard. “The trade licence is a source of revenue for the KMC,” said Ghosh.