IIFPT holds programme to sensitize street food vendors on food safety

Trichy: The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) organised a programme to sensitize street food vendors on safe practices pertaining to food safety and personal hygiene which needs to followed during production of food products. It further stressed that the guidelines, if followed, would improve the quality of food which inturn would be instrumental in the financial upliftment of the vendors.

More than 200 street food vendors across the district participated from the one-day awareness drive. 

“About a crore street food vendors are functioning across the country and around two lakh vendors are functioning in metropolitan cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. Thus proper knowledge of the food safety and personal hygiene guidelines would help in improving the quality of food they make,” said director of IIFPT C C Anandharamakrishnan.

He also briefed about the training and consultancy services offered by the institute and encouraged the participants to benefit from the services on offer. 

Member of the Parliament K Parasuraman, who inaugurated the programme also highlighted and appreciated the research activities and services provided by IIFPT in the field of food processing.

Corporation Commissioner, Thanjavur P Kalimuthu spoke about organizing the street food vendors by allotting them identity cards. A number of schemes are there to support the livelihood development of street food vendors we would take steps to sensitize them about availing them, he added.

Food Safety Dept conducts raids, seize milk products

Ahmedgarh, October 4

Officials of the Food Safety Department raided establishments dealing in food products, besides intercepting vehicles transporting various items.

They also seized the entire stock of packed drinking water at a Kaheru Plant and took the samples of various products.

Sangrur Assistant Commissioner (Food) Ravinder Garg said raids were conducted at various establishments dealing in food products, including milk products and packaged water.

A dairy named Chaman Milk Centre was also raided by the team where a huge quantity of paneer, desi ghee, curd and milk were found. Two samples of paneer and one sample each of milk, dahi and ghee was sealed for further testing of purity and fitness. The team sealed two samples of mustard oil at Shree Gurcharan Parkash Oil Mill where nothing objectionable was found.

A raid was conducted at a packaged drinking water unit at Kaheru where water was being packed under the name of Greatway. The entire stock of 2,390 boxes of packed water, each containing 24 glasses, was seized, besides stopping the sale of the product.

The team also intercepted a truck coming from Saharanpur and heading to Samrala in Ludhiana which was carrying 100 quintal of gur of Surya brand and 25 quintals of shakkar laced with unpermitted colour. One sample of each was sealed. Another vehicle carrying about 55 bags (each containing 65 packets) of Anshul brand tobacco was intercepted and a sample was sealed. A vehicle carrying 150 boxes of Flake brand packaged drinking water and 125 boxes of Mango Flake was intercepted and one sample of each product was sealed.