Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has undertaken several initiatives under the umbrella of ‘Safe and Nutritious Food’ (SNF) for citizen guidance and behavioral change in every sphere at home, school, workplace or eating out viz: i) SNF@Home, ii) SNF@School, iii) SNF@Workplace and iv) SNF@Eatout.
Awareness and capacity building are key to usher in a culture of safe and wholesome food. Through focussed interventions, FSSAI would share and reiterate the message that safe and nutritious food has to be a way of life. The SNF portal i.e. www.snfportal.in serves as an online resource centre containing information pertaining to this initiative with access to resource materials developed by FSSAI, interactive guides on understanding food safety and nutrition and a gateway for everyone to participate in these initiatives through partnerships.
Ensuring safe and nutritious food for all Indian citizens on Pan-India basis calls for massive outreach efforts which can be achieved only in partnership with multiple stakeholders and role of state governments is paramount for adaptation, implementation and coordination of this initiative.
A Roundtable Conference was organized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with State Health Ministers, Senior State government officials, related Central Government Ministries, Industry Associations and other stakeholders in January, 2018. It was agreed to address these issues through a systematic and structured approach for bringing about a large-scale social and behavioural change in citizens on Safe and Nutritious Food (SNF) by way of taking up awareness and engagement activities in campaign mode, developing effective institutions and institutional arrangements backed with competent human resources and adequate financial resources. States have also been encouraged to use funds under National Health Mission (NHM) for food safety and nutrition related activities.
The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.
