Food safety and Standards Authority of India, FSSAI has intimated the state Food department asking to constitute and run training and acquaintance programs to ensure the counterparts about the new FSS Act and regulations regarding adulteration and contamination in edibles.
All the state food authorities are asked to calliberate programmes including agricultural, industrial and MSME techniques of food processing.
“It is requested to conduct training and awareness programme about the Act and promotion of ‘Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP), Good Animal Feeding Practices (GAFP) etc., apart from integrated pest management, use of pesticides only in the prescribed manner and for approved crops, observance of waiting period prior to harvesting by the cultivators etc. among farmers,” reads the letter.
The letter added that the programmes can be arranged in association with state departments of agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
This matter was shed with staunch light when Parliamentary Standing committee saw that almost all the contamination and adulterants enter the food chain at the basic production levels and gradually met with increased concentration.
Food authorities are directed to ensure that the food is safe right from the beginning of the food chain, the food authority needs to work closely with the primary producers.
According to the FSSAI, being a food regulator it monitors and regulates the contaminants and maximum residue limits for various pesticides in farm produce once the food enters in the food value chain.
“However, the source of presence of pesticides and heavy metals in food chain are agricultural practices like use and sale or unapproved pesticides to the cultivators, overuse of pesticides beyond the recommended dose, non-following of waiting period and other agronomic practices including integrated pest management and contaminated irrigation water etc.,” said an official with the FSSAI.
The official informed that FSSAI has issued various codes of practices under the Food Safety Management System for milk, milk products, fish, fish products, meat and meat products and so on, along with vegetable edible oils.
In addition to it, FSSAI has also notified with guidelines of fair use of ingredients and harmful components such as aflatoxin etc so that nation be met with high quality products free from adulteration.
