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Anand Vihar Terminal railway station becomes first Eat Right Station
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Friday, 13 March, 2020, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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New Delhi’s Anand Vihar Terminal railway station (ANVT) has been declared as the first Eat Right Station in the northern region with an audit score of 92 per cent, which is the highest in the country.
The Eat Right Certification (ERC) is an initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), wherein detailed guidelines and norms have been established for certifying any railway station as an Eat Right Station.
The certification process involves a series of activities including pre-audit checks, inspection, training and audit of the station complex, as well as those of the units where the food is handled, viz. catering stalls, kiosks, quick food joints, food plazas, etc.
According to FSSAI, the process starts with registration of intent for the station to achieve an ERC with the country’s apex food regulator. It is followed by the collection of primary data followed by pre-audit checks.
The vendors and the food handlers are given a basic level training on food safety, hygiene and sanitation practices under the Food Safety and Training Certification (FoSTaC) programme.
The audit involved various parameters to assess the practices and processes followed at the Anand Vihar station. The broad criteria involved the assessment of two areas - the station complex and individual food units, viz. catering stalls, kiosks, quick food joints, food plazas, etc.
For the station complex, the aspects related to infrastructure, quality of drinking water for passengers, facilities of public washrooms, cleanliness, etc. were covered.
For the food units, parameters assessed, checked and audited included:
• Food safety and hygiene check: Aspects covering infrastructure, operations control, maintenance and sanitation, personal hygiene and training, etc.
• Healthy and local food monitoring: Aspects related to availability of healthy, fortified, local and seasonal food
• Food waste reduction and management
Hindustan Unilever was also involved in the process as an implementation partner and RIR certification as auditors. The detailed post-audit of ANVT was undertaken by the third-party auditors on January 15, 2020, and ANVT was rated in the exemplary category with a score of 92.08 per cent with a rating of five stars.
Rita Teaotia, chairperson, FSSAI, said, “On one hand, FSSAI has been taking several measures towards effective implementation of various regulations, targeted enforcement and compliance efforts to ensure availability of safe food.”
“And on the other, we are also trying to leverage partnerships across the levels to ensure safety and hygiene of food wherever it is served. FSSAI has taken a clusterisation approach to ensure that the concept of Eat Right Certification (ERC) rolls-out across the country,” she added.
“Our partnership with Indian Railways (being one of the largest sector handling a major footfall of citizens everyday), particularly with Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC), is really laudable, and I must place on record their efforts towards implementation of this unique concept,” Teaotia said.
Present on the occasion, Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, managing director and chief executive officer, IRSDC, mentioned, “Eat Right Certification is a unique concept and a very good initiative by FSSAI.”
“Anand Vihar is the third Eat Right Station after Mumbai Central and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station, and has the top-most ranking. We feel proud to achieve such a high score,” he added.
Lohia said, “We are glad to be associated with FSSAI, and would continue to ensure that the food available across the outlets here will be prepared in the right hygiene and sanitary conditions, stored at proper temperature and served safely.”
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