Almost fifty per cent retail outlets in the Capital are sans garbage
disposal mechanism, raising concerns over hygiene in these crowded
places. A study conducted by the Delhi University has revealed this
and noticed that in number of outlets water quality is also poor.
The findings of the study revealed that the attitudes and practices need
more attention on the implementation level.
The students studied the various gap areas which can act as threats to food safety. A total of 100 different retail outlets were surveyed. The retail sector, being the most visible part of Food Supply Chain has to adopt a approach of looking beyond the four walls for a holistic approach to food safety, the study has suggested. Inspite of the fact, all the FSMS (Food Safety Management Systems) are in place but their effective implementation is lacking. The most neglected areas are the water quality and the garbage disposal.The study found 78.9% of the retail outlets were following the hygiene guidelines whereas 12.6% partially and 8.4% were not following any. Only 54.7% of the lot had proper water facilities whereas remaining had no proper facility. Water is a critical factor in food safety because it can act as a source of contamination,the study said. It found that all the retail outlets were following standard practices,but the neglected area was found to be disposal mechanism where no mechanism was found in place for 48.4% outlets at all. The study recently conducted by the innovative project team comprising three faculty members - Dr Shalini Sehgal, Associate Professor, Department of Food Technology,Dr Purnima Anand (Department of Microbiology),Dr Uma Chaudhary (Department of Biomedical Science) from Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, University of Delhi, along with their ten students has studied the behaviour of food employees in retail food establishments of Delhi. The purpose of this study was to assess their knowledge of compliance with Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and also find out the gap areas which act as an threat to food safety in the retail market. The study was funded by Delhi University under the Innovation Scheme which encourages innovative thinking and trans disciplinary approach among the undergraduate students. The study's mentor,Dr RK Khandhal,Vice Chancellor, UP TECH University has suggested that these results can be used as a referral document for drawing up plans and strategies to achieve the desired standards of food safety in the country especially metros.
The students studied the various gap areas which can act as threats to food safety. A total of 100 different retail outlets were surveyed. The retail sector, being the most visible part of Food Supply Chain has to adopt a approach of looking beyond the four walls for a holistic approach to food safety, the study has suggested. Inspite of the fact, all the FSMS (Food Safety Management Systems) are in place but their effective implementation is lacking. The most neglected areas are the water quality and the garbage disposal.The study found 78.9% of the retail outlets were following the hygiene guidelines whereas 12.6% partially and 8.4% were not following any. Only 54.7% of the lot had proper water facilities whereas remaining had no proper facility. Water is a critical factor in food safety because it can act as a source of contamination,the study said. It found that all the retail outlets were following standard practices,but the neglected area was found to be disposal mechanism where no mechanism was found in place for 48.4% outlets at all. The study recently conducted by the innovative project team comprising three faculty members - Dr Shalini Sehgal, Associate Professor, Department of Food Technology,Dr Purnima Anand (Department of Microbiology),Dr Uma Chaudhary (Department of Biomedical Science) from Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, University of Delhi, along with their ten students has studied the behaviour of food employees in retail food establishments of Delhi. The purpose of this study was to assess their knowledge of compliance with Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and also find out the gap areas which act as an threat to food safety in the retail market. The study was funded by Delhi University under the Innovation Scheme which encourages innovative thinking and trans disciplinary approach among the undergraduate students. The study's mentor,Dr RK Khandhal,Vice Chancellor, UP TECH University has suggested that these results can be used as a referral document for drawing up plans and strategies to achieve the desired standards of food safety in the country especially metros.
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