World Food Safety Day: Mandaviya releases 4th State Food Safety Index

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya released the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) 4th State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States across five parameters of food safety in an effort to galvanize States/UTs to work towards ensuring safe food for citizens.

Dr Mandaviya further launched various innovative initiatives by FSSAI including the Eat Right Research Awards and Grants – Phase II. Eat Right Creativity Challenge – Phase III, a competition at the school level and logo for Ayurveda Aahar which contains the initials of Ayurveda and Ahara with 5 leaves symbolising five elements of nature. The newly launched logo would be useful for generating a distinct identity, easy identification, and proven health and wellness benefits.

Mandaviya stressed the importance of nationalism and nutrition, saying that for a Samruddh Bharat, we need a Swasthya Bharat, and for a Swasthya Bharat, we need Swasthya Nagrik. He emphasised that in recent years, the country's healthcare has undergone a holistic transformation.

Mandaviya went on to say that the government is committed to ensuring health security for all citizens in the country, and that to that end, it is focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare through initiatives such as Health and Wellness Centers and district hospital strengthening as part of the National Health Mission.

"It is important to note that states have an important role in ensuring food safety and healthy food practices. It is the need of the hour that we come together to ensure a healthy nation", he said.

The Health Minister also felicitated 11 winning smart cities of the EatSmart Cities Challenge, which was launched by FSSAI in association with the Smart Cities Mission under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs last year to encourage Smart Cities to develop and implement a plan that supports a healthy, safe, and sustainable food environment through adoption of various Eat Right India initiatives (MoHUA). He presented the Eat Right Research Challenge for Cities and Districts, as well as the Eat Right Research Awards and Grants, to the recipients. In addition, the Minister of Health has issued a number of e-books that promote and capture unique recipes for oil-free cookery and sugar-free desserts.

He then launched a number of resource publications, including Khadyanjali, a quarterly journal produced by the FSSAI's Rajbhasha Division; and Guidance Document on Food Safety. He also launched various resource books including Khadyanjali, a quarterly magazine published by the Rajbhasha Division of FSSAI; Guidance Document on Food Borne Disease Outbreak Investigation and Microbiological Process Control, Sampling and Testing of Fish and Fishery Products etc.