AFSTI with the support of GAIN and CECOEDECON organized Food Safety and Fortification Summit on the occasion of World Food Safety Day which is celebrated on 7th June.
On this occasion, Dr. T. Longvah, Former Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Government of India gave a technical presentation on the need and importance of food safety and fortification. He pointed that almost one-third population suffering from micronutrient deficiency worldwide are in India.
The event witnessed the presence of Shri Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. He said “FSSAI has taken a decision that we can take fortification of edible oil. The transition is not going to be difficult.” “Both edible oil and milk can be fortified with Vitamin A & D. As we gain more experience, we might go for mandatory fortification as well,” he further added.
The time has come for the mandatory fortification of refined packaged edible oil. And FSSAI is working towards the same in the next two or three months. Along with edible oils, even the fortification of milk can be made mandatory soon.”
An interactive session on food fortification was moderated by Mr. Tarun Vij, Country Director, GAIN and Mr. P. Muthumaran, Director, FSSAI who were also present there. The session saw participation of from various companies such as General Mills for wheat flour, Marico for edible oil, Prabhat Dairy for milk fortification and Hexagon Nutrition for micronutrient premix. Sevelar industry leaders such as Dr. Vivek Arora from Tata Trust and Dr. Shailesh Ghodekar from Marico gave informative speeches. They stressed on how fortification is beneficial to the consumers. Some also mentioned about the scope of introduction of fortified rice in Maharashtra and how the implementation of fortification was advantageous to them. They also stressed on how the process is cost-effective and how these ingredients can act as vehicles for combating nutrition deficiency in India.
On this day, Maharashtra Food Safety Network (FoSNet) Online Application was also launched in the presence of Shri Girishji Bapat Sir, Honorable Cabinet Minister and Dr. Pallavi Darade, Commissioner, FDA Maharashtra by Mr. Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pallavi Darade said “As FDA it is our responsibility to encourage the stakeholders specially to use fortified food and convey the message of fortification as per Government of India’s policy. Emphasis is on fortification of mid-day meals and other programs and hence we request the officers from the Women and Child Development and Health Department to take this message forward.”
Mr. Pawan Kumar Agarwal said “The public health consequences of not eating right are immense. Consequences of food borne diseases are equivalent to diseases like malaria, tuberculosis etc. and yet governments around the world do not give importance to food safety. Recognition of food safety is at the heart of preventive healthcare is now sinking in slowly in our citizens across the country. All of us are aware about the kind of importance Honorable PM is giving to healthcare. It is in this context that we should not lose the opportunity. Issues of food safety and nutrition need to get attention that they deserve and this is also increasingly becoming a central part of the global health agenda. It is heartening to see that things are slowly but steadily come into place and we can create a very robust system for food safety.” He mentioned about the five pillars on which food safety stands and emphasized on the success of mobile food testing labs.
Mr. Agarwal also introduced Yellow, Pink and Orange Books launched by FSSAI and congratulated the State of Maharashtra for organizing the event on a special day and launching hygiene rating i.e. score on door in short and Street Clean Food Hub initiatives on the day.
Various certificates of hygiene rating to various eateries and restaurants were also given in the august presence of Indian Celebrity Padma Shri Sanjeev Kapoor. He appreciated the changing scenario in the way food bodies operate and committed free promotion of FDA initiatives on his channel Food Food which is worth Rs. 25 lakh for a period of six months.
The event ended successfully with the closing remarks by Dr. Prabhodh Halde, AFSTI. The event took place at the MMRDA auditorium, BKC, Mumbai.