'Need more experts to ensure food safety'

HYDERABAD: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will create a bigger pool of professionals, through online courses, to tackle the country's food safety issues, said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO of the body.

Agarwal was in the city to attend the 26th Indian Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists (AFSTi).

"FSSAI and AFSTi will work together in the future to start government certified online courses to create experts who can tackle food safety issues," said Agarwal sharing that FSSAI has also proposed internships and research-based projects that can directly allow students to work on the most pressing issues in food safety in India.

Stressing the importance of reaching out to the population to realise the value of nutrition and food safety, Agarwal said: "With 134 crore Indians to feed, and a majority of the sector being unorganised, it is essential that we create professionals who can bring awareness."