Food security must be seen as essential public health component: Harsh Vardhan

Significant steps should be taken to help, prevent, detect and manage any food borne risks for contributing towards food security, human health, economic prosperity, market access and sustainable food system, Vardhan said in a statement.An indigenous food testing equipment - Precision Iodine Value Analyzer PIVA was also recognised by FSSAI during the occasion.

Union minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday emphasised on the need to consider food safety as a ''shared responsibility'', saying significant steps are required to ensure sustainable food system.

The World Food Safety Day is celebrated worldwide to draw attention that food is not only an agricultural or trade commodity but also a public health issue and hence, food safety has to be seen as an essential public health function, the union health and family welfare minister said at an event organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). ''The call to action is to ensure that the food we eat is safe and nourishing and the food safety must be integrated across all stages from farm to table and all should converge to ensure it is a shared responsibility,'' he said. Food safety forms an essential component of health and nutrition policies. Significant steps should be taken to help, prevent, detect and manage any food borne risks for contributing towards food security, human health, economic prosperity, market access and sustainable food system,'' Vardhan said in a statement.

An indigenous food testing equipment - Precision Iodine Value Analyzer (PIVA) was also recognised by FSSAI during the occasion. This home-grown kit is developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) along with Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) and can determine the Iodine Value (degree of unsaturation) measurement in edible oils and fats in a faster, better, and cheaper way. Currently, PIVA has been calibrated and tested for coconut, sunflower, mustard, palm, rice bran, soyabean, groundnut, olive oil and ghee.

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