By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 10: With food safety becoming an increasingly critical concern in India, the Commissionerate of Food Safety, Meghalaya, under the guidance of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI, has intensified efforts to train Food Business Operators (FBOs) across the state through the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme.
Held over a span of 20 days, the training sessions recorded an average daily participation of 80 to 120 individuals, amounting to over 1,840 vendors in total. These included local vendors, restaurant owners and food handlers.
The programme underscored the importance of every food unit, regardless of size, appointing at least one or two trained Food Safety Supervisors to ensure hygiene, quality and compliance with national standards.
Leading the sessions was Deborshi De, a nationally certified FoSTaC trainer from Smart Management Consultancy, Kolkata, who emphasised the urgent need for grassroots-level awareness.
“There is no point in forcing the rules and regulations on vendors who have no understanding of them,” he said, adding, “Food safety is not a one-day affair. It has to be part of their daily practice.”
He added that the Shillong food safety commissionerate is taking the issue seriously and is taking steps in all directions to make food safety training a regular affair. “They are hell-bent on making the vendors understand the importance of food safety,” he noted.
Despite these efforts, the response from several regions has been underwhelming.
De further pointed out that while enforcing penalties for non-compliance might be tempting, it could have adverse effects. “Imposing fines without first building awareness could alienate small vendors and worsen the food safety scenario in the country,” he added.