Food is everyone’s responsibility- let us pledge to not waste even one grain of food, and ensure that in our own personal capacities and in our institutions, contribute towards food security, said Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
He was speaking at the first-ever World Food Safety Day being celebrated by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The theme for this day was ‘food safety, everyone’s business.’
He said that health is not only absence of disease and infirmity but the presence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan further stated that people should adopt Gandhiji’s messages of eating less, eating safe and healthy food, and also reducing waste and sharing surplus food. “I request you all to take this pledge in your own local communities to take this message forward. It needs to be used optimally and turned into a Jan Andolan”, the Union Minister added.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, congratulated FSSAI and said, “Clean food will result in a clean body, mind and thoughts and deeds. For this people’s awareness about safe and healthy food and participation is critical to make an impact on society.”
The Union Health Minister felicitated seven leading States/UTs based on the ranking for the year 2018-2019 for their impressive performance. These were Chandigarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. In an effort to galvanize states to work towards ensuring safe food for citizens, FSSAI has developed the first State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States on five parameters of food safety. The categories included Human Resources and Institutional Arrangements, Compliance, Food Testing- Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment. States such as Bihar, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh followed close behind.
