|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
FSSAI launches Indian Food Recovery Alliance at Nutrition Security meet
|
|
Tuesday, 17 October, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Our Bureau, New Delhi
|
At the National Conclave on Nutrition Security - Convergence and Partnerships, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, introduced its new initiative, the Indian Food Recovery Alliance (IFRA), a coalition of food recovery partners to fight the issue of hunger and prevent food loss and food waste.
The food recovery partners showcased their existing models of food recovery and showcased the integrated Web-based platform that is being developed. Released on a pilot level, the platform allows interested donors, individuals and volunteers to register themselves to be a part of this initiative.
Following the pilot study, the main platform and mobile applications will be accessible for the registered people to donate food through online communication with food recovery agencies that will ensure proper distribution after reasonable due diligence.
The donors will be able to track all the data, information and the status of the food they will donate through their personal logins. This platform will also provide guidance to citizens, food businesses and various food recovery agencies on prevention of food loss and food waste and safe recovery of surplus food.
In India, multiple food recovery agencies are already functional in various cities. Together, 12 such organisations, including No Food Waste, Feeding India, Indian Food Banking Network, Roti Bank, Annakshetra, Giveaway India, Robin Hood Army etc., feed, on an average, over a lakh people per day in over 70 cities. The alliance of these food recovery models with uniform implementation process will enable smoother pan-India coverage.
Delivering the keynote address, Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI, highlighted that wastage and loss of food were recognised as global challenges and there was significant food loss and food waste in India.
He addressed the need of an integrated approach to food recovery networks across India to combat food waste issues. He said, “This initiative is an effort to recover surplus food that is lost and wasted at various stages in India every year.”
“Through this initiative several food recovery agencies will be able to work uniformly towards one common goal of saving food and distributing it to the needy, so that India is able to eradicate hunger problems,” Agarwal added.
In his address, he also mentioned the draft regulation of surplus food recovery and distribution were already formulated for the safe recovery of surplus food.
During the conclave, FSSAI also discussed and reviewed the progress on food fortification so far, shared the experiences and key leanings and convened various stakeholders to discuss the way forward.
A comprehensive report, titled Large-scale Food Fortification in India – The Journey So Far and the Road Ahead, was released by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for health and family welfare.
The redesigned and updated Web portal on food fortification was also launched by the minister, who also appreciated the efforts of the apex food regulator and food recovery networks to join hands for this noble cause.
Choubey also mentioned that it was the social and moral responsibility of every individual to feed the needy and prevent food waste.
Directives have been issued by the key Central ministries and the governments of such states and Union Territories (UTs) as Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh have set up cross-ministerial working groups.
Development partners have offered unstinting support with resources. New fortified variants from leading food businesses are being launched every month, the latest being ITC’s Aashirwad and General Mills’ Pillsbury in wheat flour, and DCP Foods’ Asbah and LT Foods’ Daawat-Rozana in rice.
All these developments, along with the support of the scientific and medical community, have all contributed to building a can do environment for the widespread adoption of fortification.
Through creating a network of networks from entities across sectors in India and leveraging the power of technology, FSSAI’s aim is to create an ease of communication among all the stakeholders, so that everybody can take a step closer towards reducing food wastage in a uniform direction.
With respect to fortification, the next phase involves wide consumer outreach to build awareness and sensitise people to the need for fortification.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|