The Inspector Asked One Question He Could Not Answer

Almost every shop selling food needs FSSAI registration, and most compliance failures are storage and labelling rather than paperwork.

The inspector who visited Ravindran's shop in Thrissur did not ask for his licence first. He asked where the cleaning chemicals were stored, and they were on the shelf directly above the open rice sacks.

The paperwork was in order. The practice was not, and in food safety terms the practice is what actually matters.

Who Needs Registration

If you sell food in any form — including sealed packaged food — you fall under the Food Safety and Standards Act. The tier depends on turnover, and the thresholds are worth confirming locally, but the structure is consistent.

• Basic Registration: for small businesses below the lower turnover threshold — a simple registration, not a licence
• State Licence: for mid-sized businesses above that threshold
• Central Licence: for larger operations, importers, and businesses operating across multiple states
• Repacking or manufacturing on the premises raises the requirements regardless of size

Most neighbourhood kirana stores fall into the first category. The registration is inexpensive, valid for one to five years depending on what you choose, and renewable.

Displaying the Number Is Part of the Requirement

The registration or licence number must be displayed at the premises, visible to customers. A registration sitting in a drawer does not satisfy this, and it is among the most commonly noted omissions.

If you deliver or take orders digitally, the number should appear on your bills as well.

I had the certificate for four years. It had never once been out of the folder.

The Storage Failures That Actually Get Noticed

Documentation is straightforward. Storage practice is where small shops genuinely fall short, usually through habit rather than negligence.

• Cleaning chemicals, pesticides or detergents stored above or beside food
• Open sacks and loose goods on the floor rather than raised off it
• Food stored directly against an outside wall where damp gets in
• Refrigerated goods held above safe temperature because a unit is overfilled or failing
• No separation between raw and ready-to-eat items
• Expired stock still on the shelf, which is the most serious of all

The chemical-above-food arrangement is extremely common and entirely avoidable. It is also the one an inspector will notice within seconds of entering.

Every other issue on this list is a correction notice. Expired stock on sale is a different category of problem, with real legal exposure and no good explanation available. Daily expiry checks on dated goods are not just commercially sensible — they are the compliance issue with the largest downside.

Practical Compliance That Costs Nothing

• Chemicals and non-food items stored physically below and apart from food, always
• Everything raised off the floor, on pallets or the lowest shelf
• A thermometer in each refrigerated unit, checked daily
• Dated goods reviewed daily, with short-dated items pulled forward
• Damaged or expired stock removed to a write-off box, not left on the shelf
• The registration number displayed where customers can see it

Repacking Changes the Rules

Many shops buy in bulk and repack into smaller quantities — dal, rice, spices, dry fruit. This is normal practice and it carries obligations that selling a sealed manufacturer pack does not.

Your own packaging generally needs to declare the contents, the net quantity, the price and your details, and the hygiene requirements around the repacking area are higher. If repacking is a meaningful part of what you do, it is worth confirming the specific requirements rather than assuming the basic registration covers it.

Renewal Is Where People Get Caught

A lapsed registration is treated as operating without one. Renewal is straightforward and cheap; forgetting it is neither.

Note the expiry date somewhere you will actually see it, and start the renewal a month early rather than in the final week.

Arali's expiry tracking addresses the compliance issue with the largest consequence — expired stock reaching a customer — by surfacing dated goods before they become a problem. The storage arrangements are an afternoon's work and cost nothing at all.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small kirana store need FSSAI registration?

Yes, if you sell food in any form including sealed packaged items. Most neighbourhood shops fall under Basic Registration, which applies below the lower turnover threshold and is a simple, inexpensive registration rather than a full licence. Larger turnover requires a State Licence, and repacking on the premises raises requirements regardless of size.

Do I have to display my FSSAI number?

Yes — the registration or licence number must be displayed at the premises where customers can see it, and it should appear on bills if you deliver or take digital orders. A certificate kept in a drawer does not satisfy this, and it is one of the most commonly noted omissions.

What food storage mistakes do small shops most often make?

Storing cleaning chemicals or pesticides above or beside food, keeping open sacks directly on the floor, food against damp outside walls, overfilled or failing refrigeration, no separation of raw and ready-to-eat items, and expired stock still on the shelf. The chemical-above-food arrangement is both very common and noticed within seconds.

What happens if my FSSAI registration lapses?

A lapsed registration is treated as operating without one. Renewal is straightforward and inexpensive, so the practical protection is noting the expiry date somewhere visible and beginning the renewal a month early rather than in the final week.