The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) observed ‘World Food Safety Day’ on June 7th, 2021 at the State Capital with the theme, “Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow” along with the rest of the world.
Food safety has a critical role in ensuring that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain - from production to harvest, processing, storage, distribution all the way to preparation and consumption. Strongly sensing the urgent need to raise awareness at all levels and to promote and facilitate actions for global food safety, the United Nations General Assembly designated 7th June as World Food Safety Day in December 2018.
President, NVCO, Kezhokhoto Savi who is also a recipient of First Prize National Award said the observance of ‘World Food Safety Day’ is to mark the importance of clean and hygienic food and understand the significance of healthy and safe food, which is a basic necessity for survival. The citizens of the State must realised that the day is celebrated to draw the attention and inspire action to help, prevent, detect and manage food borne risks and so contributing to food security, human health, economy prosperity, tourism and sustainable development, he added. With the pandemic in place, the event has been celebrated through virtual medium through social media awareness campaigns and posts in many parts of the world. Savi stated that food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers and consumers where everyone has a role to play from farm to table, to ensure the food consumed is safe and healthy.
Savi highlighted that food safety is everyone’s business and calls for actions listed as follows– a) State government must ensure safe and nutritious food for all, b) business operators must make sure food is safe, c) consumers need to learn about safe and healthy food and last but the least and d) ‘we should all work together for safe food and good health.
The Government of Nagaland has implemented the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006 and as per the Act ‘Food’ safety refers to the condition and practices that preserves the quality of food to prevent contamination of food borne illness. The Act also aims to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of sale and wholesome food for human consumption in the country. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FS&SAI) has regulated Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 for every state of India to ensure food safety and standards for human consumption and to check the substandard of any article of foods in every state by Food Safety Officer. Slaughterhouse should have proper hygiene and maintenance instruments and to be regularly checked by the medical concern doctor and thereafter it should be given to the slaughter house for human consumption. Under the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the consumers have the right to safety, they are protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life, and therefore, the goods which are hazardous to health is illegal and punishable.
Today, Nagaland State has the only level-2 laboratory in the entire North East, the equipment fully funded by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) situated at State Public Health Laboratory in Kohima. The three major equipment: Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (LCMS), Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICPMS). Savi suggested that it is best for the food business operators (FBOs) to come forward in bringing their products/food item/sample to get tested in the State Public Health Laboratory situated at Para-medical, Kohima, Nagaland before they sells out to the consumers and urging the enforcement wing of State Public Health Laboratory to work harder so as to keep the Analysis Wing led by Food Analyst busy in analyzing all parameters as the Food Safety and Standard Act.
Chief Medical Officer and designated officers of various district in the State are to ask all the hotels, restaurants, provisions, groceries, home based canteens of schools, colleges, office, etc. to obtain food safety license/registration from the Chief Medical Officer’s office. Food business operators are to renew their license/registration before expiry date in order to avoid penalisation as per the food safety and standards act rules and regulations and newly established food business operators have also been directed to obtain the license/registration.
The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) has been conducting awareness campaign on “Food Safety” for the last several years and assured the public to continue the same in spreading awareness on food safety. Savi said that health depends on the food consumed and in order to remain healthy one has to go for healthy food and also as the world is fighting against COVID-19, it is very important for the citizens of the state to remain healthy.
(DIPR)