NEW DELHI : The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has started training food handlers at the Bhawans of all states and Union Territories, and government office canteens in the national capital.So far, they have trained food handlers in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Sikkim Bhawans. The next training is planned for Bhawans of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Manipur.There are Bhawans of 34 states and UTs in the capital. According to FSSAI officials, they plan to cover all of these.The exercise to train food handlers has been undertaken as part of FSSAI’s endeavour to enhance the food safety ecosystem nationwide through its flagship programme of Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC), designed to impart training to food handlers involved in the food business.In the four-hour-long training session, the food handlers were taught food safety rules and regulations, keeping personal hygiene, allergen management, food operation and control, documentation and records, labelling, training methodologies and emerging trends in the food industry.FSSAI has also imparted training to food handlers at the Department of Personnel and Training, North Block. “These training programmes are aimed at enhancing food safety standards across state/UT Bhawans and canteens of government offices,” a statement said, adding, “It will be a significant step towards fostering a safer and healthier food environment for citizens of India.” The initiative is in line with the announcement of training of 25 lakh food business operators by FSSAI in the next three years, a promise made by Union Minister Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on World Food Safety Day last year.The objective is to instill a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the food sector. Participants who complete the training will be conferred with the Food Safety Supervisor certificate, recognised across India. In 2023-24, 3,58,224 staff were trained under the FoSTaC programme.Setting standardsThe exercise to train food handlers has been undertaken as part of FSSAI’s endeavour to enhance the food safety ecosystem nationwide through its flagship programme of Food Safety Training and Certification, designed to impart training to food handlers involved in the food business. In 2023-24, FSSAI has trained 3,58,224 food handlers under the programme.
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