HRAWI to assist hoteliers become FBO Complaint in collaboration with FSSAI

FOOD BUSINESSES ACROSS INDIA, FROM ROADSIDE EATERIES TO RESTAURANTS, WILL SOON HAVE TO COMPLY WITH A WIDE SET OF FOOD SAFETY RULES, NORMS AND PROCEDURES, AND OBTAIN FOOD BUSINESS OPERATOR (FBO) LICENSES. AS PER THE DRAFT, NON COMPLIANCE IS TO BE MET WITH RIGOROUS PUNISHMENT.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has collaborated with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to educate and equip hotels and restaurants with food safety and security standards. As part of the initiative, the association has organized a certification programme that will have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from FSSAI to counsel and guide representatives from hotels and restaurants through a series of conclaves held at various locations across the western region.

The objective behind the HRAWI-FSSAI Certification Programme for Master Trainer is to familiarize the hoteliers and restaurateurs with the finer nuances of food safety and hygiene and to effectively cascade the communication to the grass root levels in the establishment in order to uniformly implement the processes. The association aims to proactively ready its members for becoming FSSAI compliant even before it becomes a mandate so as to be thorough and fully equipped to serve their guests with the best.

“The Food Safety and Standards Act means to serve the interest of the consumers with reference to food safety, and standards of cleanliness and hygiene. HRAWI is in favour of the FSSAI Act being implemented and it has our full support. In this endeavour and to come a step closer in realizing the objective, we have collaborated with FSSAI so that our members can benefit with learning from the best in the field and also so that they can be well versed with the process and systems by the time the Act actually rolls out,” says Mr Dilip Datwani, Presi

dent, HRAWI.

The HRAWI has also brought on board Dr V Pasupathy, Food Scientist and a Certified Lead Auditor on Food Safety Management Systems in the country who will mentor, train and certify eligible representatives from the participating member establishments. These Master Trainers in turn will then be in a position to train the appointed Food Safety Supervisors in their respective establishments.

“The FSSAI Act requires that every FBO in the country maintains Food Safety Supervisors (FSSs) across shifts. These supervisors will be responsible for overlooking all aspects of the rules and regulations as laid down by the FSSAI and following them. Hence the programme that we have organized has one of the best experts in the domain who will hand-hold and systematically train the representatives in becoming effective delegates for their hotels or restaurants,” says Mr. Datwani, HRAWI.

In its first leg, the association has successfully concluded the certification programmes at Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur and plans to conduct similar programmes in various cities across Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu & Silvassa in the coming months.

“The sessions in Mumbai and Pune turned out to be very successful. It was interesting to note that many hotels and restaurants were aware of the rules and regulations but weren’t sure about how exactly to action on them. With Dr V Pasupathy to guide and help them, a lot of queries got addressed and we now have a solution to the grey areas. The sessions include role plays which have helped us to a large extent in understanding how the things may practically unfold once we are on the floor. We are certain that this exercise will benefit our members tremendously and will make them better equipped to become compliant. Also this will go a long way in instilling trust and confidence in our discerning guests who will be able to easily identify with the International Standards that they may have experienced anywhere else in the world,” concludes Mr Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Sr. Vice President, HRAWI.

About Hotel & Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)

The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 67 years old Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Western India. Its members include smaller Hotels up to 5-Star Deluxe categories. The bulk of its members like any growth economy are made up of budget hotels. HRAWI covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu & Silvassa, and is considered to be the voice of the Hotel Industry. The association is part of the national body of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI), located in New Delhi, which was originally founded in Mumbai in 1950 by the late Mr. J.R.D. Tata.

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