Eat Right Station Certification

• 06 Sep 2021

Why in News

Recently, Chandigarh Railway Station has been awarded a 5- star Eat Right Station certification. It is the fifth station in India to get this recognition.

• The other four stations are Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai), Mumbai Central Railway Station (Mumbai) and Vadodara Railway Station. The certification is part of the 'Eat Right India' movement.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The 'Eat Right Station' certification is awarded by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to railway stations that set benchmarks (As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.
    
    • FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
  • The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5.
• Eat Right Movement:
  
  • An initiative of FSSAI to transform the country’s food system in order to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians. Its tagline is ‘Sahi Bhojan, Behtar Jeevan’.
  • It is aligned to the National Health Policy 2017 with its focus on preventive and promotive healthcare and flagship programmes like Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat and Swachh Bharat Mission.
  • It adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure food safety.
• Related Initiatives:
  
  • State Food Safety Index:
    
    • FSSAI has developed it to measure the performance of States on five parameters of food safety - Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing - Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training & Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment.
  • Eat Right Awards:
    
    • Instituted by FSSAI to recognize the contribution of food companies and individuals to empower citizens to choose safe and healthy food options.
  • Eat Right Mela:
    
    • Organised by FSSAI, it is an outreach activity for citizens to nudge them towards eating right.

Source: PIB