State Food Safety Index 2022- 2023

• 03 Nov 2023

For Prelims: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, State Food Safety Index

For Mains: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Food and nutrition insecurity - a consequence of structural inequities

Source: IE

Why in News?

The State Food Safety Index (SFSI) 2022- 2023 released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sheds light on the performance of Indian states in ensuring food safety.

• The 2022- 2023 index introduced a new parameter, 'Improvement in SFSI Rank', which assessed a state's progress from the previous year. To accommodate this change, weights of other parameters were adjusted.

What is the State Food Safety Index (SFSI)?

• It is an annual evaluation that measures the performance of states and union territories on food safety.
• The Index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model that provides an objective framework for evaluating food safety across all States/UTs.
• SFSI was started in 2018-19 to create a competitive and positive change in the food safety ecosystem in the country.

What are the Key Findings of the State Food Safety Index 2022- 2023?

• General Decline in State Food Safety Scores:
  • Over the past five years, 19 out of 20 large Indian states, including Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, have experienced a decline in their 2022 - 2023 SFSI scores compared to 2019.

• Impact of the 2023 Index Parameter Adjustment:
  • After adjusting for a new parameter introduced in the 2022- 2023 index, 15 out of 20 states recorded lower SFSI scores in 2022 - 2023 compared to 2019.
• States' Overall Rankings in their Respective Categories:

• Decline in 'Food Testing Infrastructure':
  • The ‘Food Testing Infrastructure’ parameter measures the availability of adequate testing infrastructure with trained personnel in each state for testing food samples.
  • This parameter experienced the steepest fall, with the average score for all large states dropping from 13 out of 20 in 2019 to 7 out of 17 in 2022 - 2023.
    • Gujarat and Kerala were the best performers in this parameter in 2022 - 2023 while Andhra Pradesh performed the worst.
• Compliance Scores Decreased:
  • This parameter measures licensing and registration of food businesses, inspections conducted, special drives and camps organized, and other such compliance-related tasks carried out by each state’s food safety authority.
  • Scores for the 'Compliance' parameter also declined.
    • Punjab and Himachal Pradesh received the highest scores in this parameter and Jharkhand received the lowest score.
  • The 2022 - 2023 average compliance score for all large states stood at 11 out of 28 compared to 16 out of 30 in 2019.
• Varied Consumer Empowerment:
  • The ‘Consumer Empowerment’ parameter, measures a state’s performance in various consumer empowering initiatives of FSSAI including participation in Food Fortification, Eat Right Campus, BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God), Hygiene Rating of Restaurants, and Clean Street Food Hubs.
    • Tamil Nadu emerged as the top performer followed by Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Overall, the average score in 2022 - 2023 being 8 points out of 19 compared to 2019 when it was 7.6 points out of 20.
• Decline in Human Resources and Institutional Data Scores:
  • The ‘Human Resources and Institutional Data’ parameter measures the availability of human resources including number of Food Safety Officers, Designated Officers, and facility of adjudications and appellate tribunals in each state.
    • The average score for this parameter dropped to 7 points out of 18 in 2022- 2023 from 11 points out of 20 in 2019.
    • Even top performers in 2019 like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh received lower scores, in 2022 - 2023.
• Improvement in 'Training and Capacity Building':
  • The average score increased from 3.5 out of 10 in 2019 to 5 out of 8 in 2022- 2023.
• Improvement in SFSI Rank:
  • In the new parameter 'Improvement in SFSI Rank,' only Punjab showed significant improvement.
  • Improvement in the SFSI Rank parameter, which carried a weightage of 10% in 2022 - 2023, 14 out of 20 large states received 0 points.