KOCHI: The food safety department of Ernakulamhas plans to develop three grama panchayats in the district into model food safety panchayats by the end of the month. The three panchayats - Nayarambalam, Chengamanad and Avoly - were selected by the food safety department, Ernakulam.
Seminars and awareness classes will be held extensively this month for the public, food vendors and hoteliers towards achieving the goal.
"The project is being carried out as a three-fold programme. In the first stage, we will give awareness to the community at different levels - initially to food business operators. Then we move on to the educational institutions, which will include colleges, schools and anganwadis, wherein both the working staff and the students will be given guidelines on healthy eating," said assistant food safety commissioner, Ernakulam, Shibu K V said.
Other local bodies functioning in the area including Kudumbashree, resident associations and other clubs will also be included in the purview of the awareness campaign. Around 14 food safety officers along with local primary health care doctors have been deployed in the area for the same.
"Important sources of drinking water in the area are also surveyed as part of the project. Food samples are also being collected from shops that are suspected of storing stale items," Shibu added.
The initiative, which is being done as a pilot project, will be extended to every other panchayat in the district after the evaluation of the results of the drive. "If the initiative is found to be effective after assessing the evaluation report, the project will be extended to other panchayats so as to cover all rural areas in the city," Shibu said.
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