The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is likely to come up with a draft notification within a few weeks to regulate the quality of liquor.
According to sources in FSSAI, the move of the central food watchdog aims at bringing a stringent legislation to bring drinks such as beer, whisky and rum under its ambit to avoid tragedies.
Mumbai’s Malwani hooch tragedy in June this year had claimed over 100 lives, while 200 died in
December 2011 due to the consumption of spurious liquor in West Bengal.
“If things go as per plan, the FSSAI will come up with a draft notification on the standards of alcoholic beverages in the next 45 days. After the finalisation of standards of liquor and alcoholic beverages, it would be intimated to all states and UTs so that they may advise their respective excise departments,” said a source, who is involved in preparation of the draft notification.
“Work is going on to prepare standards for all kind of liquor and alcoholic beverages, broadly under two heads – one for drinks with less alcohol like beer and other for drinks having major alcohol content like whisky,” the source said.
Other drinks – vodka, brandy and gin – will also come under the proposed standards. Earlier this year, a meeting of the Central Advisory Committee had discussed having standards for alcohol and alcoholic beverages.
The Food Safety Standards Authority of India has already proposed that alcoholic beverages, paan masala and supari may not be treated as “unsafe food” for recall just because they carry a mandatory warning on their covers.
The proposal has been made in the Safety and Standards (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2015, which has been put up for public comments. These draft norms were put up for public comments on May 29 and the deadline ends on August 1.
Sharma given addl charges as FSSAI cheif
Health and Family Welfare Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma was on Monday given additional charge of FSSAI Chairperson for three months. Sharma, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, will hold the additional charge for three months beyond July 3 or till the appointment of a regular incumbent, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.