LIST of ACTIVITIES
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A. Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses and Surveillance Drives
A1.Registration and Licensing Drive
Under the Food Safety and Standards Act and the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, it is mandatory for every food business operator to get registration/license for carrying out any food business. With an aim to cover all the food business operators under the ambit of FSSAI, it has been decided to provide registration certificate/license to at least 1 FBO per 200 persons.
- Identification of all food business operators in the city/district including street food vendors
- Evaluation of the approx. number of licensed/registered units
- Motivation and sensitization of food business operators by organising camps who does not have valid FSSAI License/Registration Certificate to access details regarding License/Registration through FoSCoS portal at https://foscos.fssai.gov.in/
- Providing guidance and assistance to the food business operators to take FSSAI license/registration or to correct anomalies in their existing license
- Evaluation of number of licensed/registered units in the area/district after carrying out above activities to assess the increase in the number/percentage of licensed/registered units
A1. a Auto generated license and registration
- FSSAI has a policy for auto-generation for Licenses and Registrations in case of unattended applications within the stipulated time and the same is implemented in FoSCoS. Registrations and Licenses are being auto-generated on 8th day and 61st day respectively. Ideally, there should be no auto-generation of licenses/registration.
A2. a Surveillance Drives
With a view to ascertain the pattern of prevalent risk in food items available in specific areas, necessary surveillance drives are to be carried out by analysing the samples. The surveillance will help identify in identifying the area of concerns in respect of food safety which would require improvement and planning course of actions to address the issues.
- Conducting commodity wise surveillance drives especially during the period when non-compliance is most expected eg. festival times, high consumption periods.
A3 (a). Enforcement Samples
Under Section 29 of FSS Act 2006, it is mandatory to monitor and verify that the relevant requirements of law are fulfilled by food business operators at all stages of food business. For ensuring compliance to the standards notified by the Food Authority by industrial units engaged in manufacturing or processing of food, enforcement drives are required to be carried out.
- Lifting of enforcement samples pertaining to high risk food categories i.e. 1,8,9,10,13,16,18.1 and Fortified Rice Kernels [99.5].
- Monitoring the outcome of analysis reports of enforcement samples and initiating actions as per the FSS Act, Rules and Regulations, wherever required.
A3 (b). Inspection
With the approval of Food Authority, FSSAI has developed a comprehensive plan, based on risk associated with the Food Businesses, to enable the authorities to carry out the mandatory inspections of the premises of the Food Business Operators (FBOs) ensuring the safety of high risk food categories in a more systematic and intensive manner.
- Conducting inspections as per comprehensive plan issued by FSSAI
- Inspections to be conducted through FoSCoRIS app
A4. Annual return compliance for FY 2021-22
As per Condition of License number 5, every manufacturer has to file annual return. FSSAI has mandated to submit annual return only through FoSCoS. To calculate the scores, Base Figures: Active Manufacturers [including Repackers and Relabellers] as on 31.03.2022 will be taken.
A5. Grievance Redressal
The District Authorities shall monitor the consumer grievances and initiate actions based on the level of severity of the grievance. Ideally, consumer grievances shall be dealt on very first day of receiving in DO’s bin.
B. Benchmarking and Certification (Choose any three)
The Cluster Certification model has five simple steps:
Step 1:
Cluster Identification: The Food Safety Department of State/UTs in association with the local bodies (Panchayat, municipalities, municipal corporations etc.), will identify geographical areas with an aggregation/cluster of vendors and ensure they are licensed/registered as a first step.
Step 2:
Pre-Audit: Benchmarks and checklists have been defined by FSSAI, covering parameters like location, facilities, personal hygiene etc., to be followed by the FBO, based on Schedule 4 requirements. The State Food Safety Department representatives from local bodies and an FSSAI-empanelled auditing agency will conduct a pre-audit to identify gaps against the benchmarks, through a physical visit to the cluster.
Step 3:
Training and Infrastructure Improvement: After the pre-audit, training of Food Safety Supervisors will be conducted under the FoSTaC programme. The trainer will focus on the gaps identified during pre-audit. Further, for non-compliance due to infrastructural issues, the local Food Safety Department/municipalities/concerned state department/funding partner would help to plug the gaps; the trainer or training partner may guide the FBOs with suitable solutions. In certifying any given cluster, the audit agency and training partner will be two different entities to avoid conflict of interest.
Step 4:
Final Audit and Certification: The final audit has to be conducted within six months of the pre-audit, by the same audit agency that did the pre-audit. The report will be submitted to the concerned State Food Safety Department and if the benchmarks, as prescribed, are met, FSSAI and the State Food Safety Department will jointly issue a certificate with a plaque to the cluster, which will be prominently displayed. The plaque will help to assure consumers that the cluster meets food safety and hygiene standards, thereby increasing business and enhancing livelihood of the vendors.
Step 5:
Sustenance and Renewal of Certificate: The certificate will be valid for two years. In these two years, certified clusters will be routinely inspected and samples drawn and tested by the Food Safety Department of State/UTs in accordance with Schedule 4 of FSS Regulations, 2011. For renewal, an audit is to be conducted by an empanelled agency/State Food Safety Department one month prior to the expiry date of the certificate. On receiving approval from State Food Safety Department, the certificate will be renewed for the next 2 years.
Currently, cluster initiatives include:
- Clean Street Food Hubs
- Clean and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Markets
- BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God) - Places of Worship
- Eat Right Station
B1. Clean Street Food Hubs
A Clean Street Food Hub (CSFH) may be defined as a hub or cluster of vendors/shops/stalls selling popular street foods, 80 per cent or more of which represent local and regional cuisines and meet the basic hygiene and sanitary requirements, excluding fine dining.
This initiative aims at raising the quality of street food vending to the level of food courts and established restaurants. It also aims to upgrade food streets and build trust among consumers about enjoying safe and hygienic local eating experiences.
FSSAI will certify the cluster as a “Clean Street Food Hub” and reward the hub with a plaque after the final audit if 80% compliance is achieved. If 80% compliance is achieved in the pre-audit, the cluster may be certified as “Clean Street Food Hub” after the pre-audit.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Partners
- Auditing Agency
- Training Partners
- Funding Partners : Companies through CSR like HUL, Nestle, Jubilant Food Works, Herbalife etc. have supported. Both food and non-food companies can support.
D. Supplementary Resources
B2. Clean and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Markets
A Clean and Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Market may be defined as: “A market or cluster of permanent vending shops/stalls/carts/kiosk selling fresh fruits and vegetables having adequate infrastructure and meet the basic hygiene and safety requirements. It excludes wholesale markets.”
The initiative includes pre- audit of fruits and vegetable market and its vendors jointly by State FDA and FSSAI empanelled auditing agency for gap analysis followed by training, handholding, final audit, and certification of market at later stages. After successful completion of all the steps, identified market is recognized/certified.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
B3. Places of Worship under BHOG
BHOG is an initiative to encourage Places of Worship to ensure the health and welfare of the pilgrims, by educating food handlers in the premises about proper food safety and hygiene.
Under this initiative, in the places of worship, cooks/ food handlers are identified, audit conducted and basic training is imparted. Display of food safety messages and Food Safety Display Boards at prominent places in the place of worship to encourage adoption of safe and hygienic food habits by the devotees is an important element of this initiative. After successful completion of all the steps, identified place of worship is recognized/certified.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Partners
- Auditing agency
- Training partners
- Funding partners Temple Trust/Authorities, companies through CSR like HUL, Nestle, Jubilant Food Works etc. Both food and non-food companies can support.
D. Supplementary Resources
B4. Eat Right Stations
Under this initiative, all food vendors in the railway station will be audited, trained and certified. Audit of kitchens run by the Indian Railways/ IRCTC will also be conducted (wherever present). Railway stations that fulfill benchmark criteria will then be recognized as "Eat Right Station" through plaques and/or certificate of excellence, which they would display prominently to enhance customer confidence.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Partners
D. Supplementary Resources
B5. Restaurants/Hotels/Food Service establishments Hygiene rated
Sweet shops/bakeries Hygiene rated
Meat shops
Hygiene rated.
Hygiene rating is a technology-enabled, user-friendly scheme where individual food service establishments are given a rating for their hygiene and food safety compliance. Establishments participating in the scheme are awarded a consolidated “Star Rating” (between 1 to 5) based on the level of their compliance to multiple safety and hygiene parameters prescribed by FSSAI through a simple checklist. The Hygiene Rating is a powerful visual symbol that allows consumers to make informed choices by finding out how hygienic and well-managed food preparation is at any of the star-rated premises, while also boosting the business of the establishment. Moreover, it encourages businesses to improve their hygiene standards and reduce the incidence of food-borne illnesses.
Hygiene Rating can be implemented in standalone food establishments such as restaurants (even those present in food courts or hotels), cafes, caterers, sweet shops, bakeries and meat shops etc. These food establishments can be located in a market, mall, tourist spots, airport, highways, institutes, hospitals, etc. The Hygiene Rating Certification is valid for 2 years.
- Be licensed/registered by FSSAI
- At least one FoSTaC certified Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) must be available and the FSS in turn should have trained all the food handlers on the premises.
- Restaurants and Catering Establishments
- Meat Shops
- Mithai (Sweets) and Namkeen (Savoury) Shops
Step 1: Verification by Auditing Agency
The stand-alone food establishment will have the option to choose an FSSAI-empanelled auditing agency, who will visit and inspect the premises for food safety compliance.
Step 2: Generation and display of Hygiene Rating
Based on the inspection, verified hygiene rating will be generated. The FBO can download the Hygiene Rating Certificate and display it in their premises where it is visible to the consumers. The simple design of Hygiene Rating Certificate, wherein the score is depicted through smileys, makes it very easy for consumers to understand the hygiene standards of restaurants.
C. Training & Capacity Building
C1.FoSTaC
Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC): It is a large-scale training programmes for food handlers those who are in the food business or intending to enter into the food business. There are 19 courses under FoSTaC programme meant for all kind of food businesses such as catering, manufacturing, dairy etc. The courses primarily focus on the good hygiene and sanitary practices as regulated by the Schedule 4 of FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.The courses are of three levels Basic, Advanced and Special. Duration of Basic level courses is four hours while the advanced and special courses are of 8 to 12 hours. In the end of the training, trainee gets “Food Safety Supervisor’ certificate.
The training under FoSTaC programme is being undertaken by FSSAI through its empanelled Training Partners. There are 261 Training Partners, details of which are available on FoSTaC portal. State FDA can select Training Partner from the empanelled list and can allocate food business to train the food handlers. Training is delivered to the food handlers by the trained & certified trainers of FSSAI.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Partners
D. Supplementary Resources
- Training manuals along with their translated versions are available at https://archive.fssai.gov.in/home/capacity-building/e-library/training-manual.html
- For more details
C2. Eat Right Campus
The 'Eat Right Campus' aims to promote safe, healthy and sustainable food in campuses across the country. The concept of ‘Eat Right Campus’ has been institutionalized based on a five star-rating mechanism with a set of well-defined benchmarks on food safety and hygiene, food waste management, healthy diets, promotion of local/seasonal food and awareness generation. Certification as an Eat Right Campus recognizes the efforts of the campus, adds prestige to its name and enables it to set an example for other campuses.
- Hold a sensitization meeting with the management/heads of campus.
- Enrolment of the potential campus on the website: www.eatrightindia.gov.in/EatRightCampus
- Appointment of a nodal officer from the campus for overall coordination. The campus has to register and will have to create its own login credentials. This will be used for uploading any reports by the campus in the future on the same portal.
- Once registered, assist the campus in ensuring pre-audit with the attached audit checklist (PDF). Pre-audit can be conducted by self-assessment, with the help of state or central food safety department or through FSSAI empanelled third party agency or hygiene rating auditors.
- Selection of training partner ( www.fostac.fssai.gov.in ). Please note that training and auditing partners can’t be the same for a particular campus.
- Schedule date of training of all associated food handlers.
- Schedule date for the final audit of all food business activities carried out inside the campus. The final audit shall be done by a third party agency only. If the pre-audit was conducted by a third party agency, the final audit shall be conducted by the same agency.
- The final audit report will reflect the scoring and the rating which is required for certification. Certificate will be given to the campuses with rating 3 stars and above. In a case where the rating is below 3, the campus will have to go for another audit after doing improvement of identified gaps.
- The campus need to upload the pre-audit, training and final audit report on the website with the credentials mentioned in the point (i). Basis the rating, the final certificate will be generated.
- The certificate will be valid for two years.
- Sustenance: Local food safety officer will draw samples randomly as per the risk involved.
For any more information, write to eatrightcampus@gmail.com
D. Changing Food Settings
D1. Eat Right Campus
The 'Eat Right Campus' initiative led by FSSAI aims to promote safe, healthy and sustainable food in campuses such as universities, colleges, institutes, workplaces, hospitals, tea estates, jails, hotels (only cafeteria for staff) and Anganwadi centres across the country. The objective is to improve the health of people and the planet and promote social and economic development of the nation.
Benchmarks have been created on four different parameters based on which campuses are evaluated and certified as 'Eat Right Campus'. These parameters include (a) food safety and hygiene measures, (b) steps to ensure provision of healthy food and (C) environmentally sustainable food e.g., replacing plastic bottles with eco-friendly alternatives or recycling of food waste (d) building awareness among the individuals in the campus to make the right food choices. A detailed checklist has been created based on these parameters, outlining the best practices to be followed by the campus.
- Identification of campus and submission of enrolment form.
- Self-assessment/Pre-audit on a clearly defined checklist to identify gaps.
- Food Safety Training & Certification through FSSAI empanelled Training Partners.
- Rectification of gaps by campus authority.
- Final audit by FSSAI empanelled third party auditing agency for certification & rating of the campus. The certificate will be valid for 2 years.
Sustenance: Designate a staff/student as ERC Fellow, who will be trained for periodic internal audits. Local FSO will draw sample randomly as per the risk involved.
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Partners
- Auditing agency And www.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Food_Safety_Auditing_Agencies_Lists_13_11_2019.pdf
- Training partners
D. Supplementary Resources
- The Pink Book: A guide to eating safe, healthy and sustainable food at home.
- Brochure
- AV film
- Posters, Standee
- For more details, contact
D2. Eat Right School
Eat Right School is designed to help school children inculcate the habit of eating safe, eating healthy and eating sustainably through an interactive learning model. The Yellow Books I & II that have been developed specifically for school children from grades 1-8 with age appropriate and scientifically credible content on healthy habits. Teachers may refer to these books and incorporate the activities suggested in them while teaching related topics from school textbooks in the class. Schools may also create Health and Wellness Teams, certified by FSSAI, to drive this programme in the school. Further, a comprehensive matrix has been created for schools that include curricular and extracurricular activities based on which points are awarded. Based on the score received on the matrix, a school may be certified as an Eat Right School.
- A School can register online on the School Portal: www.fssai.gov.in/eatrightschool – A user-friendly and comprehensive online portal has been created for school registration, creation of Health & Wellness teams, and access to many activities under Eat Right School.
- Create and Certify Health and Wellness Ambassadors (HWA): School teachers and/or parents can be nominated as Health and Wellness Ambassadors /Health and Wellness teams. They would be certified by FSSAI by undertaking an online certification program at www.fssai.gov.in/eatrightschool. and drive the Eat Right School programme.
- Conduct Eat Right Activities: Schools will create an activity calendar and conduct activities around eating right such as organizing ‘Eat Right Carnival’ and ‘Healthy Recipe Day’, include eating safe and healthy food as a part of SUPW activities, organise sessions with mothers for healthy & tasty snacks, identify ‘Master & Miss Sehat’ from each class on a weekly/monthly basis, create school kitchen gardens, paint a wall, participate in theatre, puppet activities based on Eat Right Themes etc. The evidence of these activities must be uploaded on the school website.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Schools will use the Eat Right Matrix available on the website www.fssai.gov.in/eatrightschool to monitor and evaluate the programme.
- Eat Right School Certification: Suitable reward and recognition will be given to the schools on the basis of their performance.
A. Guidance Documents:
- Yellow Books: These are available in 11 languages (English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali & Assamese on www.fssai.gov.in/eatrightschool.The English version also available on DIKSHA - National Teacher’s Platform, created by MHRD for teachers across India.
- Activity Book - A fun-filled activity book has been designed to teach and reinforce the message of safe and nutritious food.
- Training Manual - A teacher training manual has also been developed to give an in-depth understanding of the concepts on food safety and nutrition.
B. Website
D. Supplementary Resources
D3. Fortification - Demonstration Project for fortified rice, wheat flour and milk
Demonstration Projects for fortified rice, wheatflour and milkcan be organised at the District level so that citizens can taste fortified foods and understand that there is no difference in taste, colour, odour or preparation methods. These can be organised in association with FFRC team and Development Partners who are working in various States/ UTs.
For more queries about demonstration project, districts can email at: fortification@fssai.gov.in vivek.fortification@gmail.com
D4. Demonstration of Millets Based Recipe
Demonstration of Millet based recipes can be organized to promote consumption of millets. For such demonstrations, Districts should make sure that atleast 50 to 75 people attend these demonstrations camps and taste these recipes based of various millets such as buckwheat, foxtail, sorghum, ragi etc
E. Behaviour Change Campaigns
E1. Digital Media Outreach (TV/Cinemas/Radio jingles)
Undertaking Media Promotion (Different mediums to promote Eat Safe, Eat Healthy, Eat Sustainably).
Theme 1: Juhi Chawla - Importance of the right nutrition for awareness for maternal health 1000 Days of Nutrition (Hindi, English)
Theme 2: Virat Kohli & Sakshi Tanwar- on reduced consumption of HFSS foods, including fortified staples, reduction of trans-fat and avoiding reuse of used cooking oil.
- ViratKohli - Eat Right, Stay Fit, Tabhi India Superhit
- RUCO Initiative (avoiding the use of reused cooking oil for heart health)
- Fortified (+F logo) SakshiTanwar (60 seconds) - Hindi Oriya Tamil Assamese Kannada Garo Bangla Khasi Manipuri Malayalam Nagamese
Theme 3: Rajkumar Rao - reduced consumption of HFSS
B. Website
C. Partners
- Auditing agency And www.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Food_Safety_Auditing_Agencies_Lists_13_11_2019.pdf
- Training partners
D. Supplementary Resources
- The Pink Book: A guide to eating safe, healthy and sustainable food at home.
- Brochure
- AV film
- Posters, Standee
- For more details, contact
E2. Promotion in Public Places (Hoardings/Pole Kiosk/ Bus Shelters/LEDs etc)
As a traditional way of spreading awareness, visual ways of advertising the campaign can be adopted. Posters can be put up on walls in allocated areas. Some of the wall can be painted as per the Eat right artworks provided. Having a poster and wall paintings at public places gets noticed by everyone passing by without having to make hard core efforts. This medium will also help speak to an audience that may not be well versed with digital platforms as well. Additionally, backlit scroller boards may be put up around prominent places for Eat Right messaging.
- Allocate at least 20 public spaces for advert as per space available and location preference for each medium. The places can be government offices, panchayat officers, DC office, transport office, police station, stadiums, temples, malls, cinema homes, food courts, railway stations, bus stations, grocery stores etc.
- Prominently display the messaging around the public spaces and share pictures of the same.
- The resources materials are available at eatrightindia.gov.in
E3. Social Media Outreach
Social media is an important medium to reach out to the audience. Digital outreach will help us to reach our audience in a low-cost, impactful, and effective way. Social media is a good way for engaging and interacting with the audience for any future campaigns help and to create awareness of the activities place. People may not be present on all platforms but will be present in at least one of the platforms and that can help achieve a wider audience. The aim is to have at least 50,000 impressions for an effective campaign so this needs to be published on all social media channels used by the committee.
- Ensure that all social media channels like – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are active for your district/city
- Posting : Click pictures of the campaign initiatives /event and upload it on social media channel. Write a brief description of the event/movement along with relevant hashtags and tag fssai and other stakeholders
- Character Limit : Twitter: 280 characters, Instagram: 2,200 characters , Facebook: No character limit.
- Amplifying : To amplify this activity, share the post by reposting on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Measuring Impact : Impact can be measured by checking on number of likes received and an increased number in followers on the social media profile
- Images and artwork
- Hashtags: #fssai #eatrightindia #aajsethodakam and #EatRightChallenge
- Tags: Instagram- @fssai_safefood | Facebook- @fssai | Twitter - @fssaiindia
F. Innovative Activities
F. Innovative Activities
In addition to activities mentioned above, you may identify innovative activities along with targets to be achieved in 6 months and 1 year. These activities can assist and support activities pertaining to FSS Act 2006, FSSAI and other Eat Right Initiatives. The innovative activities have a separate seed funding that is allocated and districts/cities will be eligible once they submit a proposal on the same.
In addition to activities mentioned above, you may identify innovative activities that can assist and support activities pertaining to FSS Act 2006, FSSAI and other Eat Right Initiatives.
- Use best practices as examples and innovate ideas to implement the activities.
- Prepare a detailed overview of the innovative activities and upload on the portal.
- On review, the districts will get additional marks on a scale of 1 – 10.