FDA advocate for only licensed food vendors

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has advised both e-commerce businesses and event organizers to only permit FDA-licensed food vendors to advertise and sell their food on their platforms.

The FDA also entreated event organizers to only admit FDA-licensed food vendors to participate in their events.

The move, the FDA said, is to ensure that only safe foods are sold to the public and also to prevent the risk of food-borne illnesses.

The FDA in a statement, said “Both e-commerce businesses and event organizers are advised to only permit FDA licensed food vendors to advertise and sell their food on their platforms and to only admit FDA licensed food vendors to participate in their events, respectively.”

The FDA instructed the event organizers and e-commerce businesses to ensure that all food vendors who apply to use their platforms for food fairs and stand at the exhibitions, among others, provide valid Food Hygiene Permits before admission.

“As part of their requirements, e-commerce businesses and event organizers are to ensure that all food vendors who apply to use your platforms for the sale of their food, or apply for slots or stands at exhibitions, food fairs, weekend markets and music concerts provide valid Food Hygiene Permits before admission. Applicants without the Food Hygiene Permits must be directed to immediately take steps to regularize their activities by applying for the Permit at FDA and making their facilities available for food safety inspections,” the FDA said in its statement.

The FDA stated that it cannot guarantee the quality of operations and safety of food prepared by Food Service Establishments (FSEs) that do not have valid Food Hygiene Permits.

“Food Service Establishment” is an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption such as a restaurant, bakery, canteen, online food business, event caterer, fast-food service, and chop bars.