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Street food to be audited for cleanliness and hygiene by FSSAI

Ahmedabad's Kankaria Lake area became India's first Clean Street Food Hub in July this year.

Indian street food experience could soon undergo a massive change if Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) plans follows to fruition. FSSAI is implementing a "clean street food hub programme" so that you can enjoy your chaats and gol guppas without bothering about hygiene. The autonomous body has identified 144 clusters across the country that would be audited by FSSAI along with state authorities for cleanliness and hygiene.

Such clusters would be encouraged to keep up with certain practices and standards and the ones that meet the criteria will be given a clean street food hub certificate.

Ahmedabad's Kankaria Lake area is one such example. In July, the area that has 66 vendors became India's first Clean Street Food Hub, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times. There is a FSSAI certification on display in the area that is visited by 1.2 crore people every year.

Arbind Singh, national coordinator of National Association of Street Vendors of India said that such certified street vending zones provide safe, tasty and affordable eating options for citizens and tourists, along with the local ambience and flavour, as mentioned in the daily.

Not only hygienic environs, this will also provide better employment opportunities. This initiative will improve the prospects of around 20 lakh street food vendors in India as well as give tourism a boost. But all in all, this is only part of FSSAI's larger game plan that seeks to ensure that all food business operators adhere to certain standards and hygiene. FSSAI also wants food served in schools, offices and hospitals to come under its initiatives.

FSSAI will, however, have to make sure that vendors have access to clean water and garbage disposal system. They have also started a massive training programme in Delhi across 40 locations, covering 23,000 vendors.

The organisation is also redefining its role as a mere licensing and testing body to an organisation that addresses the core issues of health and nutrition in the body, the daily mentioned. They also want FMCG and food companies to reformulate their products to address the issue of nutrition and health in the country.

As part of this move, the organisation also ordered online delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy to delist restaurants and food business operators that do not comply with its regulations.

Food safety dept to identify ‘clean street food hubs’

Trichy: Wondering where to buy or eat clean and safe street food in the city? The general public may get a better idea in the near future if the district food safety department’s efforts to identify “clean street food hubs” in Trichy become a reality.

Officials from the food safety department said they will start identifying the zones which have 50 or more street food stalls within Trichy that serve popular local or regional cuisine and assess them based on certain benchmarks. If the street food hubs/ clusters meet 80% of the benchmarks specified, they would be declared as “clean street food hubs” and also given awards, plaque and certification. The programme to be launched this month is being taken up as part of a national campaign.

Street food is something very popular among many people, but often there is lot of scepticism or criticism regarding the quality of preparation or hygiene at the stalls and kiosks. As a result, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had earlier launched a massive campaign called “clean street food hub” programme to identify and officially certify popular street food hubs in the country. In September, FSSAI had declared a lake area called Kankaria in Ahmedabad as the country’s first clean street food hub.

Speaking on how the department would zero in on potential hubs in the city, designated officer (DO) of district food safety department, Trichy, Dr R Chitra said that they would initially focus on conducting awareness drives. Two such awareness drives – where the roadside stall owners and vendors from across the city would be invited – are to be organised at Gandhi market and Thiruverumbur this month. “During these events, it will be explained to the owners how a street food stall should be maintained, the dos and don’ts etc. We will give them time to improve their stalls,” the DO said. She added that inspections at the identified zones would be made after that and if a particular hub/ cluster was found to satisfy the prescribed benchmarks, it would be certified officially.

According to sources in the food safety department, there were about 350 to 400 registered street food shops within the city limits and close to 600 which were yet to get registered. However, sources said that absence of street food hubs in Trichy and lack of cooperation in maintaining hygiene among the stall owners could possibly prove to be obstacles for certification. “Street food hubs are found primarily in central bus stand area, Chathiram bus stand, Big Bazaar street, NSB road etc., but only the central bus stand area looks to be a potential cluster,” a source from the department told TOI. The central bus stand cluster which had around 70 street food stalls was more cooperative with the food safety department, the source added.

Goa to hire foreign agency to test fish for chemicals: Vishwajit Rane

PANAJI: The Goa government will hire an international agency to check fish and ensure that hazardous chemicals like formalin are not used as preservatives, state Food and Drugs Administration Minister Vishwajit Rane said Monday.

A high level committee comprising Goa Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai, Fisheries Minister Vinod Palyekar, besides Rane, met in Margao on Monday to discuss the issue.

"There are fears being raised about use of formalin in fish. We have decided to address it by hiring an international agency which will test the fish that is imported in Goa from other states," Rane told reporters after the culmination of the meeting.

He informed that the state government would finalise the name of the international agency within 24 hours and it would be invited to work along with the state's FDA in this regard.

He said that the decision to invite the international agency was taken after consulting Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The FSSAI, a Central body, is responsible for making regulations and setting standards, import of food, notifying labs and ensuring cooperation with the states.

The issue of formalin or formaldehyde, a potential cancer-inducing chemical, as a preservative in fish has rocked Goa for several months now.

Rane said that unlicensed fish traders will not be allowed to operate in Goa after October 15.

Goa Town and Country Planning minister Vijai Sardesai said Monday's meeting discussed measures to ensure highest standards are adopted so as to make fish safe for consumption.

Sardesai alleged that the opposition Congress was creating doubt in the minds of the people about fish being consumed in Goa and added that chief minister Manohar Parrikar had been apprised of the issue.