UPSC Articles
State Food Safety Index: FSSAI
Part of: Prelims and GS – II – policies and interventions
Context Recently, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare has released the 3rd State Food Safety Index (SFSI).
- Also, 19 Mobile Food Testing Vans (Food Safety on Wheels) have been flagged off to supplement the food safety ecosystem across the country.
About the Index:
- The index is developed by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) to measure the performance of states on five significant parameters of Food Safety.
- The first State Food Safety Index for the year 2018-19 was announced on the first-ever World Food Safety Day on 7th June 2019.
Ranking of States:
- Among the larger states, Gujarat was the top ranking state, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Among the smaller states, Goa stood first followed by Meghalaya and Manipur.
- Among UTs, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and New Delhi secured top ranks.
About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- It is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act).
- The Act aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi-departmental control to a single line of command.
- Ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- It comprises a Chairperson and twenty two members out of which one – third are to be women. The Chairperson of FSSAI is appointed by the Central Government.
- The primary responsibility for enforcement is largely with the State Food Safety Commissioners
