Enrolment of Non-Food Production Units for collection of Used Cooking Oil from the FBOs across India

This document specifies the mechanism for enrolment of Non-Food Production Units such as Manufacturers of Biodiesel, Soap, Lubricant, etc. who intend to collect Used Cooking Oil from the Food Business Operators across India for manufacture of the aforementioned products. All such units are required to enrol with FSSAI under Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) initiative and comply with the directions of the Food Authority issued from time to time.

Terminology:

General terms used in this document are described below: –

1. Used Cooking Oil (UCO): Schedule VI of Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Trans boundary Movement) Rules, 2016 notified by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changes lists Used Cooking Oil (UCO) as ‘Waste edible fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin (e. g. frying oil)

In this document UCO refers to ‘Waste edible fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin generated after commercial/industrial food processing which will not be reused in food operations’

5. Non-food production (NFP) units refers to company or production units involved in preparation of non-food products such as biodiesel, candles, soaps, lubricant, etc. in which Used Cooking Oil (UCO) is used as an ingredient.
6. Collection agencies refer to companies involved in collection or recovery of the Used Cooking Oil from the food industry.
7. Aggregator refers to any person individuals or companies involved in the collection or recovery of the Used Cooking Oil from the food industry.
8. Resource Center refers to a dedicated center setup by Industry Association and authorized by FSSAI to:

• sensitise NFP units regarding the policy/procedure for enrolment of NFP Units for collection of UCO from FBOs across India
• receive and review application and enroll eligible NFP Units for collection of UCO from FBOs across India
• monitor the collection of Used Cooking Oil and production of Non-food product by the enrolled NFP unit
• report FSSAI and Food Safety Departments of State/UTs regarding enrolment and UCO collection, production of NFP and key findings of monitoring of NFP units

Recognition of a Non-Food Production Unit for collection of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) from FBO:

1. List of Documents: For this purpose, they shall submit self-certified copies of the following documents along with a covering letter and duly filled application format (available at Annexure 1 A and B):

• License issued by Department of Industries and Commerce /District Industry Centre (DIC)/ or the department concerned.
• Annual Return for previous financial year
• In case the license issued or the annual return does not clearly indicate the product manufactured by the company, any other document issued by a third party/government body indicating the product manufactured
• An affidavit in the prescribed format at Annexure C (signed by legal representative/ nominee of the company) –

1. Procedure for enrollment:

For Biodiesel manufacturers:

• The Biodiesel Manufacturers using Used Cooking Oil (UCO) as feedstock to manufacture Biodiesel and registered with any of the State/UTs as per clause (xiv) of the Gazette Notification dated 30th April, 2019 Vide No.- P-13039 (18)/1/2018-CC (P-26825) “Guidelines for sale of Biodiesel for blending with high speed diesel for transportation purposes-2019” issued by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, shall be deemed enrolled under RUCO Initiative and approved to collect UCO from Food Business Operators (FBOs).
• Till the mechanism of registration of Biodiesel Manufacturers is devised at States/UTs levels as notified by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Biodiesel Manufacturers may enrol themselves with FSSAI for collection of UCO from FBOs.
• The aforementioned documents shall be submitted by a Biodiesel Manufacturer to Regulatory Compliance Division, FSSAI with a copy to State FDA/State Biofuel or Bio-energy Boards.
• Once the registration mechanism is in place the Biodiesel Manufacturers may submit the letter of registration by the State level committee to FSSAI for getting their name included in the list of approved NFP Units for UCO collection.

Other NFP units including Soap and Lubricant manufacturers:

1. Initially, Soap Manufacturers may send the documents listed at para B (i) above to FSSAI for enrolment under RUCO scheme on pilot basis.
2. In due course of time, FSSAI will recognize the industry associations of soap and other NFP Units in the respective States/UTs or regions to set up Resource Centers for enrollment of Non-Food Production Units. These Resource Centers will:

• Provide assistance to a NFP unit for filing application for enrollment as Non-Food Production Units for collection of Used Cooking Oil from the Food Business Operators.
• Review the application form and provide enrollment to eligible NFP units for collection of Used Cooking Oil from the Food Business Operators in respective State/UT or region.
• Ensure genuineness of the information shared by the applicant NFP unit.
• Inform FSSAI about the NFP units and their aggregators/collection agencies enrolled from time to time
• Fulfill other roles and responsibilities as directed by FSSAI and Food Safety Department of States/UTs from time to time.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Non-Food Production (NFP) Units and their authorized aggregator/collection agency:

The NFP Units shall issue an authorization letter/certificate to the collection agencies/aggregator (with copies to Food Safety Department of State/UTs and FSSAI) for collection of UCO from the FBOs.

• In case a NFP unit wants to collect UCO themselves, they shall inform the same in the application submitted to FSSAI or FSSAI recognised Resource Centres.
• The collection agencies/aggregator can be enrolled for more than one NFP Unit
• At the time of collection of UCO, the Collection agencies/aggregators will be required to present the following documents to the FBOs:
  • a copy of the enrolment letter issued to the NFP unit (by FSSAI or FSSAI recognised resource centers)
  • a copy of certificate/ authorization letter issued by the enrolled NFP unit to the collection agencies/aggregators authorizing them to collect UCO.
• The authorized aggregator/collection agency shall also ensure that the UCO collected from the food business operators is supplied only to the NFP units enrolled by FSSAI and under no circumstance is supplied back to food supply chain or resold to FBOs. Any violation in this regard will be liable to penal action as per provision of FSS Act, 2006, Indian Penal Code or any other law, as applicable including cancellation of the enrollment.
• It will be the responsibility of the NFP Unit to ensure that the UCO collected by such collection agencies/aggregators does not go back into food value chain, resold to food business operators by the collection agencies/aggregators or the NFP Unit itself. The UCO collected from the FBOs is only used for manufacture of biodiesel/soap/other non-food products as approved by FSSAI and no other purpose. Any violation in this regard will be liable to penal action as per provision of FSS Act, 2006, or any other law, as applicable including cancellation of the enrollment.
• It will be the responsibility of the NFP Unit to ensure that the UCO collected by such collection agencies/aggregators does not go back into food value chain, resold to food business operators by the collection agencies/aggregators or the NFP Unit itself. The UCO collected from the FBOs is only used for manufacture of biodiesel/soap/other non-food products as approved by FSSAI and no other purpose. Any violation in this regard will be liable to penal action as per provision of FSS Act, 2006, or any other law, as applicable including cancellation of the enrollment.
• Quarterly returns shall be submitted by the enrolled NFP unit to FSSAI along with a copy to Food Safety Department of the respective State/UT and State Biofuels board (only in case of biodiesel manufacturers) as mentioned in the Guidelines so as to enable them to keep record and monitor their progress. The report shall have state wise information regarding the quantity of UCO collected, date of collection, details of FBO (including FSSAI license or registration number) from which UCO is collected, and quantity of each product manufactured from UCO, name of collection agencies/aggregators and any other relevant information (Annexure 2).
• The NFP Unit or the collection agency/aggregator shall not use FSSAI’s logo on any branding and awareness material and shall strictly abide by the logo usage policy of FSSAI.
• The enrolled NFP units and authorized collection agencies/aggregators shall be bound by the guidelines issued by FSSAI from time to time.

Other Provisions:

1. Food Business Operator is at liberty to provide UCO to any aggregator/collection agency authorized by FSSAI enrolled NFP units.
2. A directory of the enrolled NFP units and their aggregators and collection agencies will be maintained by FSSAI which will be made available on FSSAI web site.
3. FSSAI reserves the right to get the NFP unit inspected through its regulatory officials or officials from Regional Offices or Food Safety Departments of State/UT or any other authorized agency from time to time to ensure compliance with the directions issued by FSSAI. In case of violation, suitable action will be taken against the enrolled NFP unit and/or the collection agency/aggregator as per provisions of FSS Act, 2006, or any other law, as applicable including cancellation of the enrollment.
4. Inspection of the premises of the applicant / NFP unit may be done by the officials of FSSAI and /or the State/ UT Governments to verify the existence of infrastructure and facilities for production of the product(s) mentioned by the applicant NFP unit before or any time after their enrollment.
5. The officials of FSSAI and Food Safety Departments of States/UTs will be required to conduct periodic checks of the FSSAI enrolled NFP Units and their authorized aggregators/collection agencies to ensure compliance with the directions issued by FSSAI and ensure that no malpractice is carried out by such agencies.

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• Application format for enrolment of Non-Food Production Units for collection of Used Cooking Oil from the FBOs (A) Covering Letter (B) Application Format &     (C) AFFIDAVIT FORMAT

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