FSSAI crackdown sparks hiring surge in food safety and compliance

New Delhi: Large packaged food companies, food startups, restaurant chains and hotels are doubling down on hiring for food safety, audit, quality control and compliance roles amid unprecedented inspections by regulatory authorities such as the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration and Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA).

The move is aimed at bolstering the existing quality and compliance teams as brands seek to protect their reputation, according to companies. PepsiCo, Bikanervala, DLF Hospitality, Hilton and LT Foods are among companies posting jobs related to compliance audits on professional networking platform LinkedIn in past fortnight.

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"In light of the current regulatory environment, the focus and monitoring on these matters has increased," said AD Singh, managing director at Olive Group of Restaurants, the operator of Olive Bar & Kitchen and SodaBottleOpenerWala. "Companies like ours with overseas investments and hard-earned reputations have always given priority to compliance and hygiene."

In its job posting for a quality capability manager, snack and beverage multinational PepsiCo wrote, "This role is expected to drive quality, food safety and regulatory competency development." "With co-manufacturing footprint increasing and new portfolios being added, there is need to build capability of operating teams with respect to quality and food services," it said.

LT Foods, which produces Daawat basmati rice and Kari Kari snacks, said in its LinkedIn post that it is seeking an officer "for food safety, inspection and rejection control."

The sweeping checks by F&B regulatory authorities are sparking an intense revamp of hygiene and quality across small and large makers of packaged foods and beverages, alcoholic drinks, and restaurant and cafe chains. Restaurateurs and hoteliers have circulated checklists with restaurant associations, urging members to undertake internal audits and vendor registrations.

"We are adding the number of trained food safety officers in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru where the number of restaurants are more than three," said Anjan Chatterjee, founder of Speciality Restaurants. The new hires are in addition to its existing teams of trained food safety officers, he said.

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Speciality Restaurants, which operates brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta in India and in London, recently hired a former director at airline catering services provider Taj Sats to oversee food safety standards. Last week, the FSSAI proposed a single-phase rollout of front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) before the Supreme Court.