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FSSAI Public Health
Gain clarity on FSSAI public health initiatives to prevent food borne illness
Read about food safety standards and food license for public health
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Overview of FSSAI Public Health
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) helps to maintain food safety standards and regulations that prevent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. It outlines food safety measures that are fundamental to preventing any form of public health hazard.
- Food safety regulations play a major role in protecting public health. It ensures that food products are safe for human consumption and free from contaminants. Public health risks related to food safety issues in the food market include exposure to harmful bacteria, contaminants, and other viruses that can lead to diseases and other serious health conditions. The FSSAI public health hazard management framework identifies and mitigates these risks with the help of stringent food safety regulations to protect public health.
Introduction to FSSAI's Impact on Public Health
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is established under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 primarily to set standards for food products across India, to maintain food quality and public health. The main objective of the FSSAI is to establish science based standards for food articles and regulate their manufacturing, distribution, storage, sale, and import. It is crucial to make sure that the availability of food is safe for public consumption.
- Established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Government of India administers the ministry for the implementation of FSSAI. The chairperson and the chief executive of the FSSAI are appointed by the government of India. FSSAI public health initiatives help create awareness among the general public and provide them with guidelines on how to find adulterated food articles. They have also launched online portals where consumers can raise complaints on lower food quality.
The Benefits of FSSAI Food License for Public Health
- As per the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, it is crucial for every food business operator to be licensed or registered under FSSAI. FSSAI has launched FoSTaC, a web portal through which food business owners can apply for licenses and registrations as per the daily threshold of productivity. The FSSAI food license plays a crucial role in protecting public health.
- A FSSAI license is provided only when the food business operator adheres to all the standards set by the FSSAI. The food safety officers directly inspect the business premises before providing the food license.
- The FSSAI license outlines the business structure and contains important details about the business for the general public. The primary role of FSSAI is to guarantee consumers that the food they eat is safe and of high quality. The FSSAI license is only provided when the FBO follows all the food safety standards and regulations. This promotes customer trust in the goods and the market. Issuing FSSAI certification ensures that the food business operator has followed all the food rules and regulations. This also plays a crucial role in foodborne illness prevention.
FSSAI's Initiatives in Promoting Public Health
FSSAI has initiated various online portals in order to maintain Food safety and public health and create consumer awareness with respect to Nutritional standards and food safety.
Some of the significant initiatives of FSSAI include:
- Eat Right India Portal: This provides outlines on tips, training, and general awareness. It also helps in collaborative and empowerment approaches to make sure that the food products are healthy enough for general consumption.
- Clean Street Food Initiative Project: Clean Street Food is one of the initiatives by FSSAI which focuses on providing general information on food safety and nutrition for street vendors. This educates street food sellers about the Act. This also addresses the social and economic advancement of the sellers.
- Diet4Life: The main objective of this program is to create awareness about various metabolic problems, food quality on a large scale, and tips to prevent them. It is one of the Healthy eating campaigns of FSSAI.
- Save food, share food, and share Joy: It is a FSSAI campaign that focuses on encouraging people individually to reduce food waste, and donate food. To improve food access for the underprivileged, it is crucial to establish connections between food production and food collection organisations.
Nutritional and Safety Standards
FSSAI takes major steps for food borne illness prevention and to enhance dietary practices. It has made significant strides in setting and enforcing regulations to ensure the quality and safety of various food products so that it doesn't affect public health. Notably, the authority has issued a series of regulations covering diverse parameters as mentioned below:
- Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011
- Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011
- Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011
- Food Safety and Standards (Food or Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Foods for Special Dietary Uses, Foods for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Foods and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016
- Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017
- Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018
- Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Food) Regulation, 2018
These regulations cover a wide array of food products and establish guidelines for their quality, safety, packaging, labelling, and fortification. Through these measures, FSSAI aims to provide consumers with comprehensive information and assurance regarding the products they consume. It is crucial for all the FBOs to make sure to follow these regulations in order to get licensed or registered.
Public Health Campaigns and Programs
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) aims to provide health workers at the 1.5 lakh wellness centres that are planned as part of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme with a training package in order to promote safe and healthy food habits.
According to CEO of the FSSAI Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the organisation is also launching a nationwide campaign called ‘The Eat Right Movement’ in collaboration with health and wellness centres to incorporate its current programs, ‘Safe and Nutritious Food’ (SNF) into schools, homes, and workplaces in addition to food fortification.
The CEO noted that 1.5 lakh employees and wellness facilities will have access to and integration with the produced equipment. The kit is intended to function as an additional resource for involvement that can be integrated into national nutrition and public health initiatives. The emphasis is on consuming safe and healthy food and changing social and behavioural norms to promote preventative healthcare. It also covers topics related to eating safely, like upholding sanitation and hygiene standards and preventing food adulteration.
FSSAI and Its Collaborative Efforts for Public Health
A collaborative partnership between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and CHIFSS was proposed as part of fulfilling CHIFSS's mandate to drive activities related to science-based food safety in the nation with the goal of strengthening consumer protection while ensuring a healthy growth of the food sector in India. With India's regulatory authorities, this partnership project seeks to foster cooperation between industry, academia, the scientific community, key opinion formers, and domain experts.
Roles and Responsibilities of the FSSAI-CHIFSS Interface Steering Committee
The FSSAI-CHIFSS Interface Steering Committee is tasked with various responsibilities aimed at enhancing food safety through science-based interventions. These include:
- Identifying the scope of technical intervention in emerging issues related to science-based food safety
- Assisting in the prioritisation of sectors and food categories to focus interventions effectively
- Reviewing and monitoring the roadmap and technical deliverables to ensure progress and compliance
The Terms of Reference for the FSSAI-CHIFSS Initiative on Food Safety Sciences outline specific activities aimed at establishing a robust food operations regime in India, grounded in the principles of food safety sciences and risk-based approaches. Some of the FSSAI and public health collaboration activities include:
- Creating FSMS Plan Documents for eight categories, covering sectors such as food service (e.g., restaurants, catering, sweets in halwai shops) and food manufacturing (e.g., fruit-based beverages, ready-to-eat poultry and meat products)
- Creating national risk assessment models, developing risk management and communication protocols, assessing alternative techniques, technologies, and inspection procedures, and addressing public health concerns related to food safety
- Creating online versions of Training Programs on Regulations, GHP, GMP, and ISO 22000 to educate and train food business operators and associated institutions extensively.
- .In collaboration with the FSSAI-CHIFSS Interface Steering Committee, technical briefs on risk-based methods for food safety across selected food categories will be developed to inform the formulation of food regulations in India.
Apart from this, FSSAI has also partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific India Limited to establish a food safety solution centre at FSSAI premises located at FRSL, Ghaziabad, to improve research and provide demonstrations and training in the field of food safety.
FSSAI partners with MERC to build a world-class laboratory for the skill development of food analysts and other researchers. A memorandum of understanding has been signed to develop a state-of-the art laboratory called the Centre for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT).
FSSAI participates in the association of analytical chemistry to avoid copyright issues and further update its manual with the latest analytical advancements. FSSAI has partnered with the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management for a period of 5 years, focusing on general cooperation areas like food testing analysis and services research, data analysis training facilitation, and any emerging cases of cooperation.
The Future of Public Health with FSSAI's Continued Endeavours
FSSAI is involved in multilateral engagement with the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP), established under the World Bank. It is a unique public-private initiative dedicated to improving the safety of food in middle-income and developing countries. FSSAI has been in a partnership with GFSP for cooperation in areas of food safety. The GFSP conducted the following specific training programs for FSSAI:
- Training of Trainers (ToT) on Mycotoxins and Pesticide Residues in Foods was held in Singapore
- In April 2017, the University of Maryland in the United States hosted the second session of this kind on veterinary drug residues
- In India, the Master Trainers from ToT's are currently offering instruction in various areas and contributing to the development of a trained workforce
- The GFSP's Governing Council meeting in New Delhi in February 2017 resulted in an extension of FSSAI and GFSP's cooperation
- The May 2017 GFSP Regional Council conference in New Delhi featured a high-level discussion on fostering capacity and trust for Asia's safe food supply. It examined new obstacles to and chances for enhancing South Asian food safety management
- Following the discussion, the GFSP released the Delhi Declaration, which outlines the range of projects that may be undertaken under the organisation's auspices and concentrates on enhancing food safety across Asia through partnerships
- Additionally, GFSP is helping the FSSAI establish an International Training Center in Mumbai
- Additionally, GFSP is arranging for an Indian delegation and FSSAI to conduct study visits to other nations.
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