On the occasion of World Food Day (October 16), Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan launched ‘Food Safety Mitra’ Scheme’ and ‘Eat Right Jacket and Eat Right Jhola’.
Theme World Food Day
The theme for this day was ‘Our Actions are Our Future- Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World’ .
According to the Government, Eat Right India and Fit India Campaign can prove to be a big success with the right strategy and implementation. The Minister urged people to reduce ghee, salt and ghee in food.
About Food Safety Mitra
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced scheme of Food Safety Mitra (FSM) through which it plans to engage motivated individuals with the food safety ecosystem at ground level.
The ‘Food Safety Mitra (FSM)’ scheme will support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws and facilitate licensing and registration, hygiene ratings and training. Apart from strengthening food safety, this scheme would also create new employment opportunities for youth, particularly with food and nutrition background.
The FSMs would undergo training and certification by FSSAI to do their work and get paid by food businesses for their services.
Eat Right Jhola
During the event, the Minister also launched Eat Right Jhola which is a reusable, washable and bio-degradable bag.
It will be used by the field staff. This jacket has a smart design to hold tech devices like tablets/smart phone, a QR code and RFID tag for identification and tracking.
Apart from providing safety to field staff on duty, this would bring in efficiency, professionalism and transparency in food safety administration and bring in a sense of ownership & visibility of FSOs.
The ‘Eat Right Jhola’, a reusable cloth bag shall replace plastic bags for grocery shopping in various retail chains. Since on repeated use, bags are often contaminated with microorganisms and bacteria, proper and regular washing of cloth bags is essential to ensure safety and hygiene. These cloth bags are being provided on rental basis through a private textile rental service company.
