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Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare visited the FSSAI Office today to review their working. She flagged off Food Safety Awareness vehicles and unveiled a book on the History of Food and another cookbook on curated recipes that uses minimal salts. The ‘National Low Salt Cooking Challenge Report’ was also released.
The Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare inspected the technical capabilities of Mobile Food Testing Vans called “Food Safety on Wheels”. These vans are equipped with State-of-the-Art equipment to detect adulteration in submitted food items. The Minister flagged of several of these vans to supplement the food safety ecosystem across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar observed that food is an essential component of health in a holistic sense. “Balanced nutrition is an integral part of Health,” she stated. She also emphasized that the citizens are a stakeholder for food safety along with Government and Industry. Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar applauded the action taken by the organisation along with industry partners to take the country forward in Food Safety.
She reviewed the functions of FSSAI with regards to provisions of the recent Food Safety Act. She was apprised of specific instances of adulteration that have been de-penalised from imprisonment to fines and strengthening of provisions to punish instances of wilful adulteration using harmful substances. The view that regulations should benefit the wide section of consumers along with India’s vibrant food manufacturing sector was espoused.
She took a tour of the FSSAI gallery that displays India’s food ecosystem in an interactive fashion.
The Minister of State also released various innovative books and initiatives by FSSAI including the book ‘History and Food’ that traces history of commonly cooked and consumed foods in India. The cookbook ‘Eat Right with Low Salt’ with curated recipes that use minimal salt was also unveiled by her along with the ‘National Low Salt Cooking Challenge Report.’
Dr. Pawar observed that with the onset of globalisation and consumerism, there should be more awareness regarding the ingredients of the food we are consuming. “Mothers and Grandmothers played a key role in the food choices and nutrition of our earlier generation. There is now a pressing need to educate the next generation on food choices,” she said.
Ms Rita Teaotia, Chairperson, FSSAI, Shri Arun Singhal, Chief Executive Officer and Member Secretary, FSSAI, Shri Mandeep Bhandari, Joint Secretary (Health) were also present during the visit.
