“Goa is already doing quite well in terms of health; it can also become a model for other states in food safety measures†said CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Goa’s small geographical size and low population could help it become a model state in terms of food safety habits.
Therefore, it will be a continuous activity,†said Agarwal, who was in Goa for the launch of the food safety initiatives which have been adopted by Goa.
Responding to the growing controversies involving in food testing laboratories, the FSSAI CEO denied the existence of any political or commercial pressures on the authorities.
“That has passed and you have to understand that food testing is not a perfect science. There are different parameters to distinguish different contents. We are still developing standards for some food items in tune with what is acceptable globally,†said Agarwal, stating that the central government has decided to invest around 500 crore to revamp the infrastructure of the state funded food testing laboratories.
Talking about the problem that food exporters face with certain countries, Agarwal stated that although there are no two ways about safety standards, at times, these controls are employed as trade tactics.
“There are tactical issues which certain countries raise and we have to deal with it in the same way. Our standards have to match the global ones and we have to have a robust internal checking system. Only then, we can question others if they stop our products,†he said, adding that the organization is also focusing on food fortification, to improve the country’s ranking in various global health and nourishment indices.
“Food fortification is an important factor to counter malnourishment in India. We are in touch with other organizations like the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to start food fortification. Some of the states have already started distributing fortified grains through the public distribution system.
Source : FSSAI
