Important Facts For Prelims
Food Safety Mitra Scheme
- 17 Oct 2019
- 2 min read
Recently, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched the Food Safety Mitra (FSM) scheme to mark the occasion of World Food Day.
- The theme for the day was ‘Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World’.
- ‘Eat Right Jacket’ and ‘Eat Right Jhola’ initiatives were also launched to strengthen the food safety administration and to scale up the Eat Right India movement.
- The Food Safety Mitra scheme aims to support small and medium-scale food businesses so as to comply with the food safety laws and will facilitate them with the licensing and registration process, hygiene ratings and training programme.
- The FSMs would undergo training and certification that will be conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in order to get paid by food businesses for their services.
- The scheme would also create new employment opportunities for youth (particularly with food and nutrition background).
- The Eat Right Jacket is a jacket that has a smart design to hold technological devices like tablets/smartphones, a QR code and a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag for identification and tracking, which will be used by the field staff.
- The use of technology would bring in the efficiency, professionalism, and transparency in food safety administration.
- The Eat Right Jhola is a reusable cloth bag that is expected to replace plastic bags for shopping purpose in various retail chains.
- FSSAI has partnered with the Domestic Workers Sector Skill Council under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to launch the training course.
