COVID-19: FSSAI launches online training programme for food businesses

Food regulator FSSAI on Wednesday said it has started an online training program for food business operators (FBOs) to help them maintain safety and hygiene across the food supply chain given the coronavirus outbreak. "COVID-19 is posing a serious challenge for food supply chains worldwide. The challenge is to ensure uninterrupted food supply to consumers whilst containing the risk of COVID-19 for the workers, customers, and all participants in the food supply chain," FSSAI said in a statement.

FSSAI had already issued detailed guidelines for food businesses. "Further, to enable and equip food businesses to function and reduce the risk of contagion, FSSAI has launched a training program for food businesses under its flagship Food Safety Training & Certification Program (FoSTaC)," it said.

The training will be conducted online through impaneled training partners. Food businesses can visit the FoSTaC website or connect with FoSTaC training partners directly for the certification program.

The training program caters to all stakeholders in the food ecosystem comprising manufacturers, packers, transporters, retailers, and food delivery partners and aggregators. The agencies/NGOs serving food in places including langar, community kitchens, among others, should also get their food handlers trained for COVID-19 precautionary measures, it said.

A certificate of participation shall be issued to the trainees through the FoSTaC portal.