In the bustling kitchens of Government Bhawans and office canteens across the National Capital, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has embarked on a mission to provide rigorous training to food handlers to ensure a safer and healthier culinary delight to the hundred of visitors who hails from various walks of life.
These training programmes are aimed at enhancing food safety standards across State/UT Bhawans and canteens of Government Office Buildings, said an official on Friday here. He added, this initiative is in line with the announcement of “Training of 25 lakh food business operators by FSSAI in the next 3 years” made by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on the occasion of World Food Safety Day.
“We are providing training to food handlers at all State/UT Bhawans and canteens of government offices located in the National Capital as part of the organisation’s endeavor to enhance the Food Safety Ecosystem nationwide through its Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme, said an official from the top food regulator.
So far training sessions have already been conducted at four State Bhawans including Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Sikkim, wherein all the food handlers of these Bhawans were imparted with the necessary training.
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 the FoSTaC programme will be conducted in all canteens in government offices.
Under FoSTaC, a flagship initiative of FSSAI, is designed to impart training to food handlers involved in the food business. The training programs at State/UT Bhawans and canteens of government offices 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 objective is to instill a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the food sector. Participants who successfully complete the training will be conferred with the Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) certificate, recognized across India. In FY 2023-24, a total of 3,58,224 food handlers have been trained under the FoSTaC programme across the country,” said the official.