Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), apex regulatory body for the food and beverage industry, is likely to get its new chairperson by the first week of January. K Chandramouli's appointment as head of the Authority has been cleared by the PMO's Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).

Chandramouli emerged as a clear choice from among all the contenders which included R K Srivastava, ex-director-general of health services, and K Sujatha Rao, former health secretary. All the three have been among those being considered for the post since last September.

Chandramouli, who would be replacing P I Suvrathan, who superannuated in September this year, was the Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer of 1975 batch and retired this October as union health secretary under the ministry of health and family welfare. He functioned in that post December 2010 onwards, prior to that he worked as secretary, AIDS control, in the same ministry.

Chandramouli's appointment is a good decision for the FSSAI but only that he comes from health industry background and may have to study the intricacies of the food industry deeply.