FSSAI to train one lakh street food vendors in the next year
Union Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda chaired a training and awareness program for 1,000 street food vendors conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Vigyan Bhawan. He was joined by Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare.
Highlighting the importance of street food in India, Nadda directed the FSSAI to waive the registration fee of Rs 100 for street food vendors. He said, “To encourage vendors and promote more and more registrations, FSSAI would waive off the Rs.100 registration fee for the street food vendors.”
The Union Health Minister said that “the innovative ‘Street Safe’ Rapid Testing Kit should be provided to all vendors attending the Food Safety and Certification (FoSTaC) trainings to ensure that safe food is used by the street food vendors across the country.” “In addition, we should focus on empowering the street food vendors by enrolling them on food delivery platforms to increase their reach to the consumers. I urge these platforms to support street food vendors by providing user-friendly technology solutions without imposing a financial burden,” he further said.
The one-day training programme for 1,000 street food vendors from various regions of Delhi, covered a wide range of essential topics including personal hygiene, food handling, cooking practices, and waste management. Participants were also educated on the Food Safety and Standards Act, particularly focusing on the guidelines outlined in Schedule 4 regarding the licensing and registration of food businesses. This initiative aims to enhance the knowledge and practices of street food vendors, ensuring better food safety standards and public health. Street food vendors also took a pledge to keep their food, equipment and the surroundings clean and provide safe food to everyone.