Food safety remains a critical issue in India with frequent reports of outbreaks of food borne illnesses every year resulting in substantial costs to individuals, health care system and the country.
Chandigarh,24.10.13:Food safety remains a critical issue in India with frequent reports of outbreaks of food borne illnesses every year resulting in substantial costs to individuals, health care system and the country. Food contamination can occur at any stage from production to consumption i.e from ‘Farm to Fork’. This issue is a matter of concern for authorities in all kinds of settings e.g., eating outlets of hospitals, schools, colleges etc.
Government of India has taken many initiatives to ensure food safety in the country e.g., ushering a new legislation Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006. This lays down minimum food safety standards at all levels. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also been established and Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) 2011 have been promulgated. Hence, sooner or later, all eating establishments will have focus on training their food handlers. They will have to ensure conformance to the food safety law.
With the increasing eating out culture, the present customers are more concerned about food safety than they were in the past. At the same time, with food processing industry diversifying its operations a variety of food is now also becoming increasingly available. Food safety issue has become further complex with the lengthening of food chain before a product reaches the consumer.
An essential element in food safety management in any eating establishment is to ensure that all its employees observe hygienic practices. The Food Business Operator (FBO) along with the all employees of eating establishments should have an easy access to the updated information they regularly need on food safety.
Lack of trained food handlers is a definite bottle neck in achieving food safety. Lapse at any point by a food handler can compromise the food safety and thereby the health of the people. In service training of food handlers on food safety is not given due consideration. In fact, there is a dearth of training material on these aspects.
Chandigarh,24.10.13:Food safety remains a critical issue in India with frequent reports of outbreaks of food borne illnesses every year resulting in substantial costs to individuals, health care system and the country. Food contamination can occur at any stage from production to consumption i.e from ‘Farm to Fork’. This issue is a matter of concern for authorities in all kinds of settings e.g., eating outlets of hospitals, schools, colleges etc.
Government of India has taken many initiatives to ensure food safety in the country e.g., ushering a new legislation Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006. This lays down minimum food safety standards at all levels. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also been established and Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) 2011 have been promulgated. Hence, sooner or later, all eating establishments will have focus on training their food handlers. They will have to ensure conformance to the food safety law.
With the increasing eating out culture, the present customers are more concerned about food safety than they were in the past. At the same time, with food processing industry diversifying its operations a variety of food is now also becoming increasingly available. Food safety issue has become further complex with the lengthening of food chain before a product reaches the consumer.
An essential element in food safety management in any eating establishment is to ensure that all its employees observe hygienic practices. The Food Business Operator (FBO) along with the all employees of eating establishments should have an easy access to the updated information they regularly need on food safety.
Lack of trained food handlers is a definite bottle neck in achieving food safety. Lapse at any point by a food handler can compromise the food safety and thereby the health of the people. In service training of food handlers on food safety is not given due consideration. In fact, there is a dearth of training material on these aspects.
Dr Puja Dudeja, who is doing her Ph D under Dr Amarjeet Singh of SPH, PGIMER has taken the initiative of creating a useful set of training material on this aspect. Dr Sukhpal Kaur has also contributed in this endeavour. Both Hindi and English versions of a book on food safety have been published this month by them. Dr Puja has also developed a short comedy film on food safety. This film, directed by Mr Ravinder Kumar of Rudra Theatre Company seeks to use infotainment mode to propagate the idea of food safety. These books and CDs are expected to help FBOs of eating establishments in training the food handlers on safe food practices.
This book has eight sections. These sections have covered aspects like who is a food handler, their role in causing and preventing food borne illnesses, various environmental aspects of a kitchen, procurement and storage of food materials, safe food handling practices, tips for ready to eat foods, cleaning of utensils, maintenance of kitchen and role of monitoring and supervision in ensuring food safety. This book is an attempt in this direction. It will serve as a training tool for the food handlers and food business operators.
The book has plenty of illustrations. This coupled with a simple language has helped to make the book easy to read and comprehend. It has been modestly priced @145/- per copy (Hindi version @ Rs 125/-). It has been published by New Era Book Agency (SCO 49-51), Sector 17, Chandigarh.
Being from medical background the authors have given a special focus on implementing food safety standards in hospital kitchens. Thus this book will be thus very valuable resource for all those managing or working in the hospital kitchens.
This book has eight sections. These sections have covered aspects like who is a food handler, their role in causing and preventing food borne illnesses, various environmental aspects of a kitchen, procurement and storage of food materials, safe food handling practices, tips for ready to eat foods, cleaning of utensils, maintenance of kitchen and role of monitoring and supervision in ensuring food safety. This book is an attempt in this direction. It will serve as a training tool for the food handlers and food business operators.
The book has plenty of illustrations. This coupled with a simple language has helped to make the book easy to read and comprehend. It has been modestly priced @145/- per copy (Hindi version @ Rs 125/-). It has been published by New Era Book Agency (SCO 49-51), Sector 17, Chandigarh.
Being from medical background the authors have given a special focus on implementing food safety standards in hospital kitchens. Thus this book will be thus very valuable resource for all those managing or working in the hospital kitchens.
No comments:
Post a Comment