Hyderabad: Telangana has been described as a ‘weak state’ when it comes to food safety. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has given India’s youngest state a total score of 40 out of 100 in the state food safety index report.
Telangana received poor marks in various categories. In human resources and institutional data, it got seven out of 20 marks. In compliance, it got 14 out of 30, in food testing-infrastructure and surveillance, it received 15 out of 20, in training and capacity building, it got four out of 10 and in consumer empowerment, it got zero out of 20 marks.
Telangana is among the 24 states that have been bracketed as ‘weak states’. Jharkhand got 33 marks, Lakshadweep 22, Mizoram 36, Nagaland 39 and Sikkim received 37 marks. Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh did comparatively better with 57 out of 100. With 84 out of 100, Goa topped the list of states, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Having been bracketed among weak states, which have a score of less than 60 and needing a push in food safety, authorities in Telangana have started implementing measures to improve the ranking. “We are positive that our ranking and scores will improve soon. Among the most important measures we have taken include training hotel workers in cleanliness and preservation of food, use of gloves and regular health check-ups,” K Shankar, director of food safety.
According to Shankar, 2,500 hotel workers in Hyderabad and districts like Warangal have been trained on various aspects of food safety. Additionally, vegetable oil manufacturers are being urged to produce fortified oils which will be rich in vitamins. They can display ‘K+’ label on their products to show the oil has been fortified. The food index report was released in June.
No comments:
Post a Comment