The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has created a new provision on the food safety compliance system (FoSCoS) portal to encourage women and transgender people to work in the food industry. They will be recognized as "special category" individuals to facilitate quicker license processing.
According to sources, the goal of this provision is to close the gender gap and advance equal opportunities in the food industry. The new clause will make it easier for licensing and registration authorities to process applications for special categories in a ratio of 1:1 with those for regular categories. The Aadhar Card or the Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be used to identify the special category of business owners. A user guide has been sent by the FSSAI to its top officials involved in the State and UT Authorities, FBO associations, and other stakeholders.
According to the Food Service and Restaurant Business Report 2022-23 by Fancorp and restaurantindia. in, it is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 11.19 per cent from $41.1 billion in 2022 to $79.65 billion by 2028. While the peak of COVID-19 saw the loss of more than two million jobs, the industry is predicted to employ one crore people by 2025.
The new provision will help and encourage women and transgender people to work in the industry by simplifying the procedure. It will also facilitate the sector's formalization and will be done by the PradhanMantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme, funded by the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for five years that was introduced by the Ministry of Food Processing Industry (MoFPI).
