By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 25: Advocating for food safety as an important component of public health, Commissioner and Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department, Joram Beda, said that the enforcement wing of the Commissionerate of Food Safety are putting their best efforts to underline the significance of food safety.
He was speaking at the ‘Technical Session-cum-Food Awareness Safety’ programme held at the conference hall of the State Food Testing Laboratory, Pasteur Hill, Shillong, on Thursday.
Beda further mentioned that the first-ever scientific estimate on the global burden of food-borne disease was done by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015.
This study, he added, found that there are more than 600 million food-borne diseases and 4.5 lakh deaths due to food disease every year.
The worst part is the food disease, which disproportionately affects the underprivileged group of population under 5 years of age and the low and middle income nations.
He said that many still do not understand that the burden of food disease to public health and to the economy has been underestimated.
He also emphasised on regular monitoring of the global burden of food-borne and zoonotic diseases in Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Food Safety (Technical), Dr Wadamika Lyngdoh said that Thursday’s training session will be a turning point in food safety, while laying focus on the technical importance of food safety for the people.
“Our aim is to equip the participants not only with technical skills but with understanding of its potential impact on society,” Lyngdoh added.
This ‘Technical-cum-Awareness session’ is the first-of-its-kind to be held in the Northeast region after the inauguration of the NABL-certified Molecular Microbiology Laboratory.
The session combines both technical knowledge and awareness-building elements and aims to equip participants not only with technical skills but also a well-rounded understanding of how their work fits into the larger context and its potential impact on society. “With presentations, hands-on activities, discussions, and guest speakers from relevant fields our goal is to foster a more holistic approach to learning and development, ensuring that participants are not only proficient in their technical abilities but also socially and ethically conscious professionals,” Lyngdoh said.
Other dignitaries which were present during the inaugural function organised by the State Food Testing Laboratory, Meghalaya in collaboration with the Commissionerate of Food Safety, Department of Health and Family Welfare include Dr D Mishra, NFL, Kolkata as the guest of honour in the presence of RM Kurbah, Secretary, C&RD department, Malthus S Sangma, Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations and other officials.
