FSSAI Transitions FLRS to FoSCoS for Better Compliance
From 2011, the electronic licensing portal FLRS (Food Licensing and Registration System) of the FSSAI has become the core of the licensing ecosystem with 100 percent coverage of India (all State and UTs), 70 lakh licenses/registrations issued till date, and more than 35 lakhs licensees/registrants actively transacting here. With effect from 1 June 2020, FSSAI launched a Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, Goa, Odisha, Manipur, Delhi, Chandigarh and Ladakh states / UTs. This system replaces the current online Food License and Registration System (FLRS)) and now allows consumers of these states / UTs to access (https:/foscos.fssai.gov.in) and login to the same user IDs and passwords.
The Food Safety Compliance System is structured to include a one-point stop for every regulatory enforcement activity with all FBO appointments with the agency. Food Safety Compliance System was incorporated into the FoSCoRIS mobile app and would soon be merged with new FSSAI IT systems such as INFOLNet, FoSTaC, FICS, FPVIS, etc. In addition, sample management, notices for improvement, adjudications, audit management framework activities/modules, etc. should be allowed in a phased manner. The current strategy is for standard food manufacturers only. For manufacturers, in the case of non-specified food, supplements/nutraceuticals, proprietary food, and substances added to food - the approach continues to be as in FLRS. All other forms of business such as catering, shipping, storage, etc., licensing/registration, as before, shall be based on a broad category framework.
The Annual Report application for filing online will also be required along with FoSCoS. Returns for the 2019-2020 financial year may be filed online. Delayed returns due to postal errors would be removed, and the need to retain transport/receipt proofs and conflicts about delivery of returns would result in intimidation of food business operators. It rationalized compulsory documents and replaced several paper-based declarations with tick-based declarations. The core theme is to make it easy for food business owners to do business and to boost the user experience for consumers.
To ensure a smooth transition from FLRS to FoSCoS, States/UTs have been provided instructions for capacity building among officers and Food Business Operators. FSSAI has held many training/workshops on the system's core features during the past months. In addition, a tutorial edition of FoSCoS (https:/fcstrainlng.fssaI.gov.in) has been made accessible to the public, so that system users can familiarize themselves with the new framework. The Guidance Document, PPT, Visual Tutorials, and User Manuals are made accessible on the system's web page under the User Manual Page. Migration rules, FAQs, and other user-oriented resources were made accessible on FoSCoS 's homepage.
Working and Launch of Food Safety Compliance System
- The Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) is implemented in stages.
- Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Odisha, Manipur, Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Ladakh have been chosen for the initial launch of FoSCoS with effect from 1 June 2020. If the FoSCoS has been introduced in a State / UT, all State-related licenses/registrations will be accessible on FoSCoS (https:/foscos.fssai.gov.in/), and the FLRS details will be unavailable for any operation.
- However, users can access their authorized licenses/registrations or applications being processed on FLRS for viewing purposes only for the initial days.
- Users would not be asked to do anything directly after conversion to FoSCoS other than check the correctness of the details in the licenses/registrations given and the applications being processed.
- However, before 31 December 2020, all manufacturers with a current FSSAI license would need to modify their license to choose from the eligible selection of standardized goods.