Kerala Leads: Tops India's Food Safety Index Again

Kerala's Triumph in the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) 2024

• Kerala secured the top position in the SFSI for the second consecutive year.
• The index, released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), evaluates food safety performance across Indian states and union territories.
• Kerala's Health Minister Veena George celebrated the achievement on social media.
• Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, and Nagaland rounded out the top five rankings.
• The SFSI assesses states on five key parameters: Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building, and Consumer Empowerment.

Key Factors Behind Kerala's Success

• Comprehensive food safety policies, including rigorous quality checks and increased inspection frequency.
• Establishment of specialized food safety squads to monitor high-risk areas like street food vendors and restaurants.
• Implementation of public health initiatives such as the Safe Kerala project.
• Active engagement with the food business community for training and certification of food handlers.
• Digitalization efforts, including online systems for license issuance and food testing reports.
• State-of-the-art food testing labs enabling routine inspections and randomized testing in urban and rural areas.
• Advanced equipment for GMO testing and chemical residue analysis.
• Consumer empowerment through awareness campaigns and educational programs.
• Collaboration with consumer protection organizations to provide information on food adulteration, labeling, and hygiene standards.
• Exceeding food safety inspection targets set for 2023-24.
• Increasing the number of licensed food operators through targeted drives.

SFSI and FSSAI Overview

• The State Food Safety Index was launched in 2019 to evaluate food safety performance across India.
• FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) established in 2006 under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
• FSSAI's responsibilities include setting rules for food labeling, packaging, and enforcing standards for additives and contamination.
• The organization runs training programs on food safety and works with international bodies like Codex Alimentarius.
• Union Health Minister J P Nadda emphasized the increasing importance of food regulators in addressing challenges such as foodborne illnesses, nutraceutical safety, novel foods, and microplastics.
• The SFSI rankings were released during the Global Food Regulators Summit 2024.
• The index serves as a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model for evaluating food safety across all states and union territories.