The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra is planning to conduct a series of food safety awareness campaigns until March 2021 under Eat Right Challenge, an initiative by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The FDA Maharashtra will be conducting awareness campaigns under these categories which include Registration, Licensing, Surveillance and Enforcement Drive (All), Capacity Building and Certification (Choose any three), Eat Right Food Environments (All), Changing Food Choices, and Innovative Activities.
While speaking to FnB News, Shashikant Kekare, Joint Commissioner, Food, Greater Mumbai, Maharashtra, said, “We are conducting regular webinars to make people aware about food safety. We are currently working on Eat Right Challenges. We have decided about this initiative and it will be followed till March 2021. Other than that, even during the pandemic, our FBOs are doing field work by conducting inspections, collecting samples from in and around Maharashtra to ensure safety of the masses.”
In Registration and Licensing Drive, it will have full coverage with the action plan of conducting Licence/ Registration camp on the second fortnight of every month. In the Surveillance drive, they will conduct 6 or more drives/ 1,200 samples with the action plan of Conducting Surveillance drive on the third week of every month. This drive includes food articles like Milk, Spices, Vegetables and Fruits, Beverages, Rava/ Aata/ Maida or Edible oil. The Enforcement Samples will collect 15 samples per FSO per month with the action plan of Dadar lab.
Inspection using FoSCoRIS will have 100% of high risk+ 100% of medium risk + 10% of low risk, with the action plan of conducting training of FSOs. The special camps for consumer awareness including food testing with 30 and more (50 participants) will be conducted in November, December 2020.
FoSTaC will have training of 2,000 food handlers or more; training will be conducted with the help of HUL. The Hygiene Rating will have more than 1,000 establishments which include hotel, restaurant, café, dhaba, bakery and mithai. The Hub Certification- street food, vegetable markets, places of worship will have more than 10 hubs. The places of worship suggested are Iskon, Swaminarayan Temple, Siddhivinayak Temple and Gurudwara.
RUCO, No Food Waste Certification will have 100 establishments in one/both the initiatives and they will also be contacting Muenzer Bharat Pvt. Ltd, Navi Mumbai. The Eat Right Tool Kit- training of ANMs/ ASHA Workers/ Anganwadi workers will have 100% of frontline workers in all three categories.
Eat Right School will have 100 schools with the action plan in November, December 2020 with the co-ordination of Dr Prabodh Halde, regulatory head, Marico. Eat Right Campus will have 12 or more campuses with private hospitals, private offices (TCS).
The Eat Right in public places will have posters, backlit boards and wall paintings. They will also play Eat Right videos in cinema hall and public places. They will have digital media outreach by sharing Eat Right India videos on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.
In Innovative Activities, they have planned Eat Right Bollywood and Street Plays.