Now, register packaged food complaints on FSSAI app

Discovered some “strange” and “unexpected” object in your packaged food and you do not know whom to approach? Here is a good news. Now, you will be able to report safety concerns of a packaged food product or served food at a restaurant instantly.

The Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI), in their new mobile application launched on Sunday, will have a feature by which the food concerns raised by a consumer will be routed to the food safety officer (FSO), a designated officer or the state food commissioner for necessary action.

The FSSAI app, which is a free mobile application developed will help consumers verify registration/ licence of the food manufacturer, will further help in ensuring safety standards of the product. The easy-to-use application will require only the licence number printed on the food package after which the app will search for manufacturer details in the FSSAI database and provide the details to the consumer who can verify the authenticity by matching the data. The consumers can then report their concern to the authority concerned.

Union health minister J.P. Nadda, who launched the “safety app”, told this newspaper that it is an “intiative to bring the in economic mainstream the unorganised sector of food vendors by providing them official recognition, dignity and skills. This would benefit the street food vendors to establish their brand enhance their income while also benefiting the consumers by promotion of hygiene and quality of the food served by the street food vendors. This is a true reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “sab ka sath sab ka vikas”.

The consumers will also have an option to provide hygiene rating of a food outlet through the App. According to officials, this will further help the food outlet to improve their hygiene standards. “This will also help the FSSAI to identify weak areas of hygiene and will help the outlet to improve their food safety standards”.

In a bid to help manufacturers provide safe food to its consumers the App also provides food safety tips on packed food and served food. This will help in creating awareness of safe food among the consumers too.