LoginBehaviour Change Campaigns
Food Adulteration
About
A series of innovative tools including mobile testing labs, portable testing kits and guidance booklets to empower consumers to deal with adulteration have been created by FSSAI and are available for wide dissemination across the country.
Taking testing facilities to remote areas is a challenge. To address the issue of lack of food testing infrastructure in remote areas and cater to basic analytical needs of consumers, FSSAI has set up mobile food-testing laboratories called Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) that are being provided to States/UTs on a first-come-first-served basis, depending upon their readiness.
Food Safety on Wheels performs three key functions – Testing, Training and Awareness generation. The mobile labs are equipped with basic testing infrastructure plus training facilities including an LED screen and awareness material in the form of videos/audios/flyers and manuals. FSWs are also being used for cold chain logistics for movement of regulatory/surveillance samples, as off-site wings of Labs, a handy tool for training street food vendors, providing information and support for licensing and registration, training and/or awareness programs for plantation workers about food safety, as a module for communicating IEC materials in vernacular languages and as a tool for creating awareness during any pandemic or epidemic.
Information related to FSW and the soft copy of manuals is available on the website of FSSAI and can be freely downloaded and printed without changes by any individual or company or publisher for individual use or widespread dissemination.
For more details on Mobile lab- https://fssai.gov.in/cms/mobile-labs.php
To tackle economically driven adulteration, a booklet titled “Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) has been co-created with domain experts. DART is a compilation of common quick tests that consumers can conduct themselves at home, to detect common food adulterants. The booklet depicts differences between pure and adulterated food products through pictorial representations. It covers more than 50 quick tests that can be performed easily for detection of food adulterants with the help of water and simple solutions like tincture of iodine in various food products like Milk & Milk Products, Oils and Fats, Sugar & Confectionary, Food Grains and its products, Spices & Condiments, etc. These tests also include sensory evaluation of food for establishing authentication of food product.
The soft copy of DART booklet is available on the website of FSSAI. The Food Safety Department of States/UTs are using this booklet as a tool to spread awareness for combating adulteration by downloading and printing, free of cost, in regional languages. Some States/UTs are making videos based on DART for demonstration purposes to public. Schools/colleges use DART for demonstrating these simple tests and teaching students in their labs. This booklet is available in the form of a pocket-sized booklet, keychain and in a smaller size for better distribution and wider dissemination of information.
Food Fortification
About
While a balanced diet and dietary diversification is always the primary source for fulfilling nutritional requirements, food fortification is a useful complementary strategy to address the widespread micronutrient deficiencies in our country. It involves adding small amounts of vital micronutrients to staple foods, for which FSSAI has defined standards of fortification. Fortification fills the gaps in nutrition without any change in taste, texture or flavour of food, thereby making it easy to adopt without calling for behaviour change.
FSSAI is promoting food fortification throughout the country. First, Regulations on five fortified staples have been notified- Edible oil, Milk, Rice, Wheat flour and Salt. The +F logo has been created specially for fortified foods to make them easily recognizable by consumers.
Resources
- Website
- FFRC brochures
- Training videos
- Danglers/Posters/Standees
- TVC and other videos
- Radio spots
- Social media - – Twitter@ffrc_fssai, Facebook@ffrc.fssai, LinkedIn: Food Fortification Resource Centre
Contact
Success Stories
A campaign called +F Dekha Kya? Starring Sakshi Tanwar in a TVC has been launched on various Doordarshan channels and has reached people across the country. This campaign urges citizens to consume fortified foods for their health benefits and look for the +F logo
Reduction of Salt, Sugar and Fat
About
The exponential increase in the consumption of High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) foods is leading to grave consequences in the form of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases etc. Children are particularly vulnerable, with childhood obesity increasingly co-existing with micronutrient deficiencies, causing irreversible harm to their physical, cognitive and mental health. Unfortunately, the extent of damage to health by excessive consumption of such foods is not widely understood by consumers.
As food habits (dietary behaviour) cannot change overnight, FSSAI has initiated a nation-wide media campaign “Aaj Se Thoda Kam” to encourage consumers to make dietary modifications by gradually decreasing the consumption of fat, sugar and salt has been launched. The renowned bollywood actor Mr Rajkummar Rao is the face of the campaign, and a series of short videos (with subtitles in 12 languages) have been created along with with flyers, banners, audio clips as well as an Eat Right India website with useful inputs on gradually reducing HFSS foods consumption.
Resources
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Videos
- Aaj Se ThodaKam, featuring Rajkummar Rao
- Plus-Minus rule, featuring Virat Kohli
- Eat Right Quick Tips
D. Supplementary Resources
Contact
Success Stories
The Aaj Se ThodaKam campaign was run in cinema halls, social media platforms like PVRs, TV channels (Doordarshan and Food Food), Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Additionally, NetProFaN through its 22 chapters disseminated the messages of the campaign to various stakeholders by means of conferences, workshops, trainings, etc. Around two lakh posters, tent cards and piano folds have been circulated for sensitizing doctors and patients; restaurants and hotel staff and customers; airlines staff and travellers.FSSAI organized a 'Salt Challenge' for medical and nutrition professionals, students, chefs etc. across India in November 2019 inviting simple, practical and easy to use suggestions/tips for reducing salt content in home cooked and restaurant prepared meals/snacks. Overwhelming response was received from all over the country and 45 winners were awarded certificates.
Trans fat Free India@75 by 2022
About
Poor lifestyle and diet along with consumption of trans fats; especially industrially produced (IP) trans fats has emerged as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Trans fats are usually found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs)-vanaspati, margarine, bakery shortening and food products that are prepared using PHVOs like bakery products (biscuits, fan, cakes), fried foods (bhatura, samosa), etc. A small amount of trans fats also gets generated when the same cooking oil is used for repeated frying.
FSSAI has adopted a multifaceted approach to make India ‘trans fat free’. Apart from regulatory steps, FSSAI has also run various campaigns to eliminate trans fats. Various resources have been put together for mass dissemination to create awareness.
Resources
A. Guidance Documents:
B. Website
C. Videos
D. Regulations
Contact
Success Stories
A campaign called “Heart Attack Rewind” was launched on 30th November 2018 in the form of a Public Service Announcement (PSA) aimed to create awareness about the harmful effects of trans fats. This 30-second video is available in 17 languages and has been disseminated through various media and social media platforms.It has reached a large audience (approx. 34,900,000) through digital/social media and radio spots
Outreach Events: Eat Right Mela
About
Various outreach events are organized regularly under Eat Right India to engage people. One such event is the Eat Right Mela.It is an infotainment model of a street food festival to engage, excite enable citizens to make the right food choices. The mela provides an opportunity to learn about safe food and healthy diets, including quick tests for adulterants, health and nutrition, benefits of fortified food, dietary advice by experts, information on Government programmes and initiatives, and much more. Pavilions displaying interesting exhibits and stalls showcasing local thalis, temple foods and organic foods are also some of the unique features of this mela
The Eat Right Mela is conducted annually by FSSAI headquarters in New Delhi. Cities may conduct these melas on their own along similar lines. A template for the Eat Right Mela has been created along with resources, stakeholders and their roles. The website for reference is https://eatrightindia.gov.in/EatRightMela/
Resources
Various resources for mass awareness have been created that range from Consumer Guidance Notes, Myth Busters to Books and Videos. These can be used for all kinds of mass awareness activities on eating safe, healthy and sustainably.
• Consumer Guidance Notes:
In order to keep citizens informed about the latest developments in food safety, nutrition, food sustainability and related areas and clarify their doubts and queries, FSSAI releases consumer guidance notes from time to time and circulates them through social media as well as through its website: https://fssai.gov.in/cms/guidance-notes.php#
The topics of these consumer guidance notes range from safety and quality of milk, concerns about pesticides in food to stickers on fruits and vegetables. These guidance notes provide credible information vetted by scientific experts associated with FSSAI. They provide complete and correct information on topics particularly about which there is a lot of misinformation.
• Myth Busters:
It has been observed time and again that various fake news articles are circulated through social media channels such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook etc which have a wide reach among masses. These fake news messages are not based on scientific facts and create panic among citizens. With all the false and misleading information propagated through these media, FSSAI, in consultation with the subject experts, issues clarification on these fake news items from time to time under the ‘Myth Busters’ section on its website and through social media. https://fssai.gov.in/cms/myth-buster.php
These myth busters serve to provide citizens with clear and correct information and reassure them of the safety of food they are consuming
• FSSAI Video Library:
A public video library, initiated by FSSAI, containing 14 series focused around messages of Eat Right India Movement has been created. This extensive and diverse collection features more than 15 hour of videos that can be watched in a self-paced manner, from anywhere, anytime, on smartphones, tablets, PCs and smart TVs. It is available at https://fssai.gov.in/fssaivideolibrary/login Users may stream videos ranging from topics of public interest viz. safe food practices, health, nutrition, adulteration, culinary heritage etc. to specialized e-learning modules for frontline workers, FBOs, students, professionals, including in-depth interviews with health & nutrition experts from across the globe.
Users may stream videos ranging from topics of public interest viz. safe food practices, health, nutrition, adulteration, culinary heritage etc. to specialized e-learning modules for frontline workers, FBOs, students, professionals, including in-depth interviews with health & nutrition experts from across the globe.
FSSAI's video Library aims to create a sustainable culture and habit of consuming safe & healthy food by promoting both individual awareness & collective action. This will not only enable consumers to make informed choices but also strengthen the institutional system to promote, propagate and sustain safe food and healthy diets. It may be used to target Central & State Government departments, members of local community, professional associations, Civil Society Organizations, Industry Associations, frontline workers, food businesses, students and consumers.
Some useful series include-Food Safety and Nutrition Educational Webinars, Detect Adulteration through Rapid Testing (DART), Eat Right Quick Tips, Experts Speak.
• FSSAI Knowledge Hub:
FSSAI has created a knowledge hub that contains useful books, reports, manuals and other print material that can be used for mass awareness. All material is available in the public domain and can been freely downloaded and printed from https://fssai.gov.in/knowledge-hub.php?hubname=Book,Report,Manuals
Some useful books include Do You Eat Right? , a simple guide for citizens on how to eat healthy and make the right food choices. The Pink Book is available as a guide for Indian kitchens on how to ensure safe and healthy food practices at home.The Orange Book is available for campuses as guidance document on ensuring safe, healthy and sustainable food practices in colleges, universities, institutions, workplaces, jails, hospitals etc
For stakeholders such as State Officials- DOs, DMs, Food Safety Department officials, Food Businesses interesting in CSR activities, the Eat Right India handbook is available as guide to implement various Eat Right initiatives
• Social Media Channels and Websites:
FSSAI has social media channels through which it directly engages with citizens to impart-up-to-date knowledge and information on food safety, food adulteration, tips on eating healthy, healthy recipes etc. Additionally, FSSAI’s You Tube channel contains various films and videos that can be freely used to generate awareness. These videos range from lectures and excerpts from events by experts to various initiatives of FSSAI.
The handles are as follows:
- Facebook@fssai
- Twitter@fssaiindia
- Instagram@fssai_safefood
- Youtube@FoodsafetyinIndia
Additionally, the FSSAI website: www.fssai.gov.in and the Eat Right India website www.eatrightindia.gov.in are a minefield of information ranging from the latest Regulations to Quizzes for citizens.