Food Safety Mitra (FSM) scheme
Context: Food Safety Mitra (FSM) scheme for strengthening and scaling up ‘Eat Right India’ movement launched.
What is FSM scheme?
A scheme to support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws and facilitate licensing and registration, hygiene ratings and training.
Significance of the scheme:
Apart from strengthening food safety, this scheme would also create new employment opportunities for youth, particularly with food and nutrition background.
How it works?
- Food Safety Mitras will be chosen.
- They undergo training and certification by FSSAI to do their work and get paid by food businesses for their services.
About Eat Right Movement:
- It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
- The movement aims to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
- It also aims to engage and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being by making the right food choices.
Measures in place:
- FSSAI has put in place robust regulatory measures under three major pillars: Eat Safe, Eat Health and Eat Sustainably for the programme.
- FSSAI has prescribed a limit for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) at 25% in cooking oil to avoid the harmful effects of reused cooking oil.
Significance of the campaign:
- The country is in need of a movement on preventive health for all in the backdrop of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases, widespread deficiencies of vitamins and minerals and rampant food-borne illnesses.
- The Eat Right India movement acts as a crucial preventive healthcare measure to trigger social and behavioural change through a judicious mix of regulatory measures, combined with soft interventions for ensuring awareness and capacity building of food businesses and citizens alike.
