‘Eat Right Station’ Certification | 12 Nov 2022

For Prelims: ‘Eat Right Station’ Certification, Food Safety, National Health Policy 2017, Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat, Swachh Bharat Mission

For Mains: Importance of Food Safety and related Initiatives

Why in News?

Recently, Bhopal Railway Station has been awarded a 4- star 'Eat Right Station' certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers.

  • The 4-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.

What is 'Eat Right Station' Certification?

  • About:
  • Other Railway Stations with this Certification:
    • Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station; (Delhi), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus; (Mumbai), Mumbai Central Railway Station; (Mumbai), Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway Station.

What is the Eat Right Movement?

  • It is 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.
  • Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is suitable both for the people and the planet.

What are the 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.

What is the Importance of Food Safety?

  • Access to sufficient amounts of safe food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health.
    • Foodborne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and often invisible to the plain eye, caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water.
    • An estimated 4,20,000 people around the world die every year after eating contaminated food and children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 1,25, 000 deaths every year.
  • Food safety has a critical role in assuring 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.

What is FSSAI?

  • It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts and orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments.
  • The Food Standards and Safety Act, 2006 replaced several Acts and Orders like the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; Fruit Products Order, 1955; etc.
  • FSSAI is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or have held a position, not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. It is not under the charge of Director General of Health Services.
  • FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q1. With reference to pre-packaged items in India, is it mandatory to the manufacturer to put which of the following information on the main label, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011? (2016)

  1. List of ingredients including additives
  2. Nutrition information
  3. Recommendations, if any, made by the medical profession about the possibility of any allergic reactions
  4. Vegetarian/non-vegetarian

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4 
(d) 1 and 4 only

Ans: (c)

  • According to Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 for labelling of prepackaged foods, every package of food shall carry the following information on the label:
    • Name of Food: The name of the food shall include trade name or description of food contained in the package.
    • List of Ingredients: Except for single ingredient foods, a list of ingredients shall be declared on the label. Hence, 1 is correct.
    • Every package of “Non-Vegetarian” food shall bear a declaration to this effect made by a symbol and colour code to indicate that the product is Non-Vegetarian Food. The symbol shall consist of a brown colour filled circle, having a diameter not less than the minimum size specified. Hence, 4 is correct.
    • Nutritional Information or nutritional facts per 100 gm or 100 ml or per serving of the product shall be given on the label containing the following:
      • Energy value in kcal;
      • The amounts of protein, carbohydrate (specified quantity of sugar) and fat in grams (g);
      • The amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition or health claim is made;
  • Wherever, numerical information on vitamins and minerals is declared, it shall be expressed in metric units.
  • Where the nutrition declaration is made per serving, the amount in gram (g) or millilitre (ml) shall be included for reference besides the serving measure. Hence, 2 is correct. Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Q2. Consider the following statements: (2018)

  1. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
  2. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is under the charge of Director General of Health Services in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only 
(c) Both 1 and 2 
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (a)

Source: PIB