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New Delhi, February 16, 2024: The canteen staff of Chhattisgarh Bhawan in New Delhi would soon be trained by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to enhance the Food Safety Ecosystem through its Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme.
This will be a significant step towards fostering a safer and healthier food environment for the citizens of India also, official sources said today.
The training programs at State and union territory Bhawans and canteens of government offices located in the National Capital cover a wide array of topics, including food safety rules and regulations, personal hygiene, allergen management, food operation and control, documentation and records, labelling, training methodologies and emerging trends in the food industry, the sources said.
The objective is to instill a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the food sector, they said.
These training programmes are aimed at enhancing food safety standards across State and union territories Bhawans and canteens of Government Office Buildings.
Participants, who successfully complete the training, will be conferred with the Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) certificate, recognized across India, they added.
This initiative of providing training to food handlers to Chhattisgarh Bhawan canteen staff and at all State and union territory Bhawans and canteens of government offices located in the National Capital, is in line with the announcement of training of 25 lakh food business operators by FSSAI in the next 3 years, made by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare on 7th June, 2023 on the occasion of World Food Safety Day, the sources said.
The food regulator FSAAI has conducted training sessions at four State Bhawans including Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Sikkim so far. In addition, training has also been conducted in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), North Block.
Training sessions are planned at Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Manipur Bhawans in the coming days.
Further, training under FoSTaC programme will be conducted in all canteens in government offices, the sources said.
Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC), a flagship initiative of FSSAI, is designed to impart training to food handlers involved in the food business.
In financial year 2023-24, a total of 3,58,224 food handlers have been trained under FoSTaC programme across the country.
The decision to extend FoSTaC training in canteens of all State/UT Bhawans and government offices will help reach a wider audience and empower individuals involved in the food supply chain with the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain food safety standards, the sources added.
