Golden Temple Street, Amritsar recognized as a ‘Clean Street Food Hub’
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
“I appeal to all the people of India to make ‘Eat Right’ movement a ‘Jan Andolan’ with ‘Jan Bhagidhari’ just as we all had come together and made India Polio-free. Food is everyone’s responsibility- let us pledge to not waste even one grain of food, and ensure that in our own personal capacities and in our institutions, contribute towards food security. This will help to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition”. This was stated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare at the first-ever World Food Safety Day being celebrated by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), here today. The theme for this day was ‘food safety, everyone’s business.’ Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare was also present at the event.
“The New India vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi includes health, social security and nutrition. He has acknowledged the ‘Eat Right Movement’ of FSSAI in his “Mann ki Baat” address”, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated. Reiterating the importance of this, he said that health is not only absence of disease and infirmity but the presence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan unveiled a statue of ‘Gandhiji on a Bicycle’ installed at the FSSAI complex. “As we commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Bapu, the statue symbolizes his journey towards good health and shall constantly inspire people for emulating his good health practices”, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated. He further added that Bapu’s philosophy on food and health is relevant even today. He advocated a simple, whole-foods, plant-based diet, regular fasting and physical exercise for health benefits, which was the inspiration behind the Swasth Bharat Yatra of FSSAI.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan further stated that people should adopt Gandhiji’s messages of eating less, eating safe and healthy food, and also reducing waste and sharing surplus food. “I request you all to take this pledge in your own local communities to take this message forward
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, congratulated FSSAI and said, “Clean food will result in a clean body, mind and thoughts and deeds. For this people’s awareness about safe and healthy food and participation is critical to make an impact on society.”
In an effort to galvanize states to work towards ensuring safe food for citizens, FSSAI has developed the first State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States on five parameters of food safety. The categories included Human Resources and Institutional Arrangements, Compliance, Food Testing- Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment. States such as Bihar, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh followed close behind.
Following the certification of several ‘Clean Street Food Hubs’ in several cities based on third-party audits and training of street food vendors, now Golden Temple Street, Amritsar has been also recognized as a ‘Clean Street Food Hub’.
