Food Canteen - Is there any provision under the act to take license for canteen in the factory if there is more than 250 staff is there?

Dear Experts,

Is there any provision under the act to obtain a license for the canteen in the factory if there are more than 250 staff members? What are the legal requirements to operate a canteen within the company premises?

Thank you.

The Factories Act, 1948 mandates for maintaining and providing the canteen facility for the employees/workers where the number of workers employed in a factory exceeds 250.

In this regard, an employer can either provide such a facility on their own or it can be outsourced to third-party caterers.

The company has to form a canteen committee to monitor the function of the canteen & its housekeeping. The foodstuff at the canteen is to be provided at a subsidized rate.

The employer has to provide room for dining, cooking, washing with toiletry facility, and required furniture.

You need to follow the state rules of the Factories Act to know what else to do.

No separate license is required for a canteen inside the factory premises because the factory inspector is the authority as per the statute.

Thank you, sir, for your information. But some auditors informed us that in Gujarat, you need to obtain a canteen food license from FSSAI for running a canteen in-house. Can you please provide any guidelines for the same.

In 2006, FSSAI became mandatory to have an industrial canteen license that meets the basic health and safety standards and can assure food safety and health safety of their food.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Can you provide me with any references on the process for obtaining a canteen license?

The applicant has to go to the FosCos website to make a fresh application.

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The corrected text has no spelling or grammar errors.

Dear Colleague,

As rightly clarified by the colleagues, the applicability of the Industrial Canteen depends on the number of workers employed and the threshold specified by the respective State Government under the provisions of the rules applicable under the Factories Act 1948. Here, there is no separate license for the Industrial Canteen under the provisions of the Factories Act, but it is a mandatory welfare measure to be provided under the Act. The details are to be furnished in the Annual Return.

With regard to the provisions of the Food Safety license, kindly go through the full details provided by the Government of India using the link below:

https://www.fssaifoodlicense.com/get...e-india-fssai/

All the best, God bless,

Dr. P. Sivakumar
Doctor Siva Global HR
Tamil Nadu

The employees of a statutory canteen (a canteen set up as mandated by the Factories Act) are employees of the establishment 'with respect' to the Factories Act. Therefore, due care should be taken while outsourcing the activity of the canteen. The workers deployed by the canteen contractor are workers of the establishment just because they form part of the operations of the factory.

In G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Nainital vs. State of U.P. (AIR 2000 SC 2695), it was observed that employees of the cafeteria where food was provided to the students and staff members were employees of the university. The reason was that as per the University Act and regulations, the inmates of the hostel (students and staff members) were not allowed to have food from outside. Therefore, setting up a cafeteria/canteen was an obligation of the University, and as such, the employees employed in the cafeteria could not be treated otherwise than the employees of the University.

However, in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. vs. Shramik Sena (1999 (6) SCC 439-1999 LLR 961 (SC)), it was observed that "the workmen of a statutory canteen would be the workmen of the establishment for the purpose of the Factories Act only and not for all other purposes." This means that you can have the function of the canteen given to a contractor. The workers deployed in the canteen cannot demand any regularization or absorption provided the contract is genuine and not sham. What the Factories Act provides is that the employer should provide food to his workers at subsidized rates. The Act also provides for neatness and food safety arrangements in the canteen. Once these are met, the employer is said to comply with the requirements under the Factories Act. Outsourcing will not come under the purview of the Factories Act. Since the canteen activity is not a core function of the factory, there is nothing against the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act also.

That time has passed when FSSAI did not consider the use of microplastics in food items in the canteen. Now, as awareness has been increasing day by day, most food businesses are registered with the FSSAI and are also obtaining a food license renewal to avoid penalties. You can learn more about renewal here through this page.