FOSCOS FSSAI Objectives and improved features

by varun · Published November 29, 2020 · Updated December 24, 2021

foscos fssai

FSSAI stands for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. It is an autonomous body that monitors and govern food business in India. FSSAI is mainly responsible for protecting and promoting public health through rules and guidelines. FSSAI make sure that FOSCOS FSSAI requirements are taken care by food industry in India. FSSAI is headqutered in Delhi and have 6 regional offices at different locations within India.

The FSSAI was established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act). FSSAI guidelines are legal obligations for anyone operating a food business in India. FSSAI rules can be accessed by anyone on FSSAI official site. FSSAI is also responsible for licensing and supervision of Food operators within India. FSSAI and food safety are two side of a same coin. It make sure that under FSSAI regulation, every food operator undergo a quality check for food adulteration and sub standard products.

FSSAI has recently launched Food Safety Compliance System (FOSCOS) to replace existing Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS). FOSCOS FSSAI is an enhanced version of FLRS with improved features and user experience. FOSCOS was implemented to provide greater utility to FSSAI authorized and new applicant for FSSAI license. FOSCOS is built on open source platform, has new and advanced user interface. It is comparatively superior and competent to FSSAI FLRS.

FOSCOS is launched in the States/UTs of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, Goa, Odisha, Manipur, Delhi, Chandigarh and Ladakh. Existing FSSAI login id and password are applicable for FOSCOS website too.

FOSCOS FSSAI portal

The home page of FOSCOS FSSAI website can be accessed from FOSCOS website. Homepage of FOSCOS FSSAI website has been divided into following sections-

Track Application
Know your officer
FBO Search
How to apply on FOSCOS FSSAI
Application processing

Track application – On track application bar in FSSAI FOSCOS website, applicant track his FOSCOS application status with the help of application reference number.

Know your officer – Applicant can know about FSSAI food safety officer for his geo location. One need to enter information like state and district of applicant on FOSCOS portal. This make it easier for an applicant to get FSSAI guidelines from respective food safety officer within his district.

FBO Search – An external stakeholder like bank can track status of FSSAI license of FBO on FOSCOS portal. One has to enter Company name and FOSCOS FSSAI license number to get the details of FOSCOS license holder.

How to apply – How to apply section on FOSCOS portal provides all help and guidance required to an applicant for registering on FOSCOS portal.

Application processing – Application processing on FOSCOS portal is divided into steps that include – Confirmation of jurisdiction of application, Scrutiny of documents for FOSCOS FSSAI application, Conduct of inspection by FSSAI food safety officer if required, Issue of License to applicant on mail.

Other section of FOSCOS portal includes following sub sections –

Latest announcement on FOSCOS
HELP/Topics on FOSCOS FSSAI
Helpdesk

New FOSCOS FSSAI portal has many improved features from existing FLRS. Some of them are –

enhanced processing speed, least possible downtime, higher user traffic capability and potential for future upgrades.
Huge shift in licensing approach from Text Box approach to Standardized Product approach for manufacturers
Home page has been re designed on FOSCOS website to give greater user experience.
Annual returns can be filed through FOSCOS application.

FOSCOS FSSAI Objectives

To transform from the present FLRS which is only a licensing platform to a holistic central food
safety compliance regulatory platform.
To build a technically advanced integrated application to achieve interoperability with
other applications, capable of higher FSSAI Website traffic, and has potential for future
upgrades as per feedback.
To enhance user experience of the application and make application process simpler
and efficient to promote ease of doing business amongst FBOs.
To simplify user interface of FOSCOS portal.
To achieve minimal physical documentation and streamline business process flows for
FBOs for online application for FOSCOS FSSAI.
To achieve and enable the application to have standardized product approach rather
than text box approach intended for manufacturers.

In this article, we have discussed about later FOSCOS system development. This system is an improved version of existing FSSAI FLRS system. For further reading on different types of trade licenses required in India, you can visit our website’s other section.