THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Commissionerate of Food Safety has selected Thiruvananthapuram's premier hospital as one of the campuses in the capital for the Eat Right Campus initiative being rolled out by FSSAI. It aims to ensure safe and quality food for the public in 197 select cities
As part of its efforts to step up food safety and create safe and hygienic food environments for the public, the district wing of the Commissionerate of Food Safety has selected Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital as one of the campuses in the capital for the Eat Right Campus initiative being rolled out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The authorities will launch the drive at the MCH on Friday.
The food safety authorities are planning to launch a special surveillance drive on the campus as part of the initiative on the same day. The commissionerate has already submitted the district’s action plan to take part in the Eat Right Challenge, an annual competition for cities and districts in the country which aims at strengthening food safety and awareness among the public.
The plan is to collect surveillance samples of water, milk and other food items available at the MCH to screen their quality. Thiruvananthapuram is one of the 197 cities shortlisted by FSSAI for its Eat Right Challenge, As part of it, FSSAI would be giving the Eat Right Campus certification for institutions and workplaces.
The FSSAI is granting a seed funding of Rs 5 lakh to each city taking part in the challenge. A district-level advisory committee with the district collector as the chairperson has been formed to monitor the enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act in the district and also to address the grievances of consumers and food business operators.
Thiruvananthapuram assistant food safety commissioner Alex K Issac told TNIE that Mar Ivanios College would be the second campus selected in the city for the Eat Right Campus certification. “We chose MCH because it’s one place in the city where hundreds of people from different parts of the district come and we believe this would be an ideal place for the initiative as it would benefit the public,” said Issac. The campus houses multiple premier healthcare institutions, hostels, mess halls, canteens etc.
“We will station our mobile laboratories on the MCH campus and collect samples from canteens. If the standards are not met, we will issue notices to improve the quality. We will begin the drive inside the campus first and in the next phase, we will extend it outside the campus. Our objective is to raise the food safety standards on the campus and ensure that the public have the access to safe and quality food,” he added. The official said a third party auditing by an FSSAI-accredited agency would be held on the campus eventually to evaluate the standards.
Safe food for public
The food safety authorities have decided to monitor the quality of seven food commodities which are consumed by the public on a daily basis. Jaggery, oil, water, rice, milk, pulses/cereal and fish are the seven food commodities chosen by the food safety authorities for regular monitoring. The authorities are planning to collect around 700 surveillance samples as part of the action plan and there would be continuous monitoring. According to the authorities, surveillance samples of these products are being collected from the markets and shops.
They are targeting the wholesale markets for making effective interventions.“By monitoring the wholesale markets, we would be able to actually track the sources of the products and make interventions at the source. Chalai is one of the wholesale markets in the state capital from where retail sellers are buying,” said the official.
Licence/registration for food business operators
As part of the action plan, the authorities have launched special drives in the state capital to encourage food business operators to take licence/registration. Recently, the district food safety authorities with the help of NSS unit of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University carried out a sample survey in the district and found out that only 360 of the total 750 food business operators have licence/registration. “We are conducting drives in various part of the district to encourage traders to get the licence/registration. So far, we have covered 14 places,” the official added. They include Vattiyoorkavu, Nemom, Kazhakoottam, East Fort, Chalai, West Fort and Sasthamangalam.
Objectives of the challenge
Robust food regulatory system: Broaden the reach of registration/licensing, enforcement, surveillance
Self-compliance of food business and capacity building: Training and certification for food business operators
Transforming the food environment
Bring about social and behavioural change through large-scale campaigns
Strengthen food safety through the food regulatory environment
Provide safe and healthier food options by enabling the supply side
Engage the citizens for adoption and demanding healthier diets
Surveillance samples collected so far (nos)
Jaggery 100
Milk 100
Rice 50
Oil 50