Chandigarh: Punjab has been awarded a certificate of achievement in state food safety index, conferred by the Union health ministry, while the Golden Temple street has been declared as ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
K S Pannu, commissioner, food and drug administration, Punjab, said the certificate has been given to Punjab for achieving the status as one of the states which are catching up in state food safety index (SFSI) in recognition of their overall performance on various parameters of food safety during the assessment period between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019.
Pannu said the food and drug control administration, Punjab, identified the street food hub near the Golden Temple for ‘clean street food hub’ award. “Tourists from India and abroad visit the Golden Temple on a daily basis, so it was decided that food vendors on this street need to be trained and hygiene standards should be upgraded,” said Pannu.
Initial survey was conducted by Food Safety Awareness and Training Organization (FSATO) and district administration in March 2019 which was followed by a pre-audit survey of the street by food drug administration, Punjab, along with other bodies.
In the pre-audit, many deficiencies and gaps were identified and corrective measures were taken to fill the gaps. According to the final audit report submitted to food commissioner, Punjab, it was recommended that food street near the Golden Temple meets 85% of the specified benchmarks of basic hygiene and sanitary requirements and hence can be awarded ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ tag.
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