FSSAI for tie up with stakeholders to tackle safety concerns

Regulator Food Safety And Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday pitched for partnerships with all stakeholders to address the challenges of quality and safety concerns. There is an urgent need to drive improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of overall food system, given the triple challenges of food safety, food security and nutritional security faced by the country, it said.

Addressing the sixth stakeholder forum on scientific advances in food safety and food security, the FSSAI Chairperson Rita Teotia elaborated on the scale of challenges faced by India, where 1.3 billion population is vulnerable to both under and over nutrition. Among others, Teotia emphasized the need for partnerships and collaborations with all stakeholders to successfully address the complexities and challenges.

The stakeholders meet was organised by CII-HUL Initiative on Food Safety Sciences (CHIFSS) in partnership with FSSAI. CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research Director Alok Dhawan highlighted the critical importance of timely adoption of next generation science based, risk based, objective safety evaluation approaches, application of sensors and diagnostic techniques into regulatory frameworks to keep pace with developed world.

He also emphasized the need to focus on the origin of food supply chain, which will help deliver safe foods to the consumers. Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) Regulatory Affairs Director A Sivakumar stressed on the need to institutionalise food safety and build capacity and capability.