Bhubaneswar: With different food safety measures, Odisha has kept up its upward movement in the national food safety index from 26th position in the year 2018-19 to 13th position in 2019-20 and further to 4th position in 2020-21.
This was known from the state-level food safety advisory committee meeting held on digital mode under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Sri Suresh Chandra Mahapatra from Lokseba Bhawan wherein Additional Chief Secretary Sri Raj Kumar Sharma outlined the issues for discussion.
Reviewing the progress made so far, Chief Secretary Sri Mahapatra directed the department to orient and train the street food vendors on preparation of safe food.
He directed that the food vendors must be made aware about the dangerous effect of adulterated food on the human health.
Mahapatra said, “Training and orientation to the food vendors would be a definite deterrent against the unsafe food”. He also directed to strengthen enforcement activities against the adulterated food. Sri Mahapatra said selling of adulterated food is a criminal activity like selling adulterated medicine and it must be dealt mercilessly”.
Further, Chief Secretary Sri Mahapatra directed to hold district level food safety meetings regularly to keep vigil over sale of safe food by street vendors and food business operators. Sri Mahapatra also directed to collect intelligence on the quality of food being sold in towns from public and police sources.
Commissioner Smt Sadangi appraised that the State food Testing Laboratory has enhanced its capacity and has been accredited by the National Accreditation and Calibration Board, and has also been assessed and accredited as per the standards of ISO /IEC 17.25:2017. The Mobile food testing laboratory has been rolled out for food testing in different melas, public celebrations and festivals.
Further Smt Sadangi also appraised, “under the programme of blissful hygienic offering to God ( BHOG), Tarinima Temple in Rourkela has received the certification of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ( FASSI)”. Further Smt Sadangi said that KIIT hospital was declared as first eat right campus in Odisha. Similarly, the convent school street connecting Ram Mandir Road in Unit-III was declared as clean street food hub.
The issues relating to have office accommodation for food safety officers at the district level figured in the meeting. It was decided the explore all possibilities for providing them the office space for them in district head quarter hospitals.
The proposals like intensifying the surveillance, increasing the number of food testing laboratories, involving private labs in food testing, food fortification measures etc were deliberated in the meeting. Additional Chief Secretary Sri Sharma directed the Food Safety Commissioner to assess the requirements for up-scaling the collection and testing of the food sample.
Available data show in the year 2020-21 a total number of 3049 samples were collected and tested by way of surveillance and enforcement. Out of this 576 samples were booked under adulteration and misbranding. Similarly, by end of October 2021-22 a total number of 1984 samples were tested out of which 446 were booked under adulteration or misbranding. Apart from this total number of 280 cases were compounded with fines.
A total number of 22,706 food business operators ( FBOs) were issued licenses online; and 83,285 FBOs were issued online registration certificate. It may be pertinent here to mention that the FBOs having the turnover of less than 12 lakhs per annum are issued the registration certificate; and, the FBOs having the annual turnover of more than 12 lakhs are issued licenses. FoSCoS online system has been adopted for the online application of Food License and Registration.
Development Commissioner Sri Pardeep Kumar Jena, Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Sri Raj Kumar Sharma, Food Safety Commissioner Smt Yamini Sadangi ADG Law and Order Sri Radhakishan Sharma long with senior officers from respective departments participated in the discussions.
