He was speaking at the 2nd National Seminar on Food Safety, organised by the Institute of Quality and Environment Management Services Pvt ltd (IQEMS) on Friday.
Naveen stated that since food is a basic necessity, unhygienic practices should be shunned. As food safety was a low priority in developing countries, greater efforts should be given on creating awareness and people should start demanding safe food.
“The food sold by street vendors should be monitored closely for safety standards. People in the food industry should be trained in hygienic practices too,” said Naveen.
The two-day seminar on ‘Challenges and Opportunities in food Safety in Food Processing Industry’ was attended by people from food safety, processing and manufacturing industries.
Ministry of Commerce Joint Secretary and Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) Chairman Asit Tripathy spoke on the need for more laboratories, both by private and government institutes to test the standard of food in the State.
In last five years India exported food amounting to `1,65,000 crore. “Food export is disrupted everyday due to high standards expected by the private buyers,” said Tripathy.
Another major concern is the use of pesticide in agriculture. The incidence of cancer due to chemical pesticide residue has been rising. Tourism and Culture Principal Secretary Ashok Tripathy mentioned that food safety was one of their top priorities considering the number of hotels and restaurants that they have to operate.
Discussion on Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011, will take place on the second day. The participants will deliberate on a road map to achieve better food safety standards in the State. IQEMS MD Debabrata Panigrahi, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) member DP Guha and seminar chairman DN Padhi were present.
No comments:
Post a Comment