Continuous monitoring of targets for collecting statutory samples and surveillance, increasing efficiency of labs, prompt disposal of public grievances, and prompt online updates helped Kerala improve its rank from sixth among large States in 2021-22 to the first in 2022-23 in the national food safety index of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Food Safety Commissioner V.R. Vinod has said.
Initiatives such as rating the hygiene of hotels, bakeries, juice shops, and other eateries helped give three, four and five-star rating to the kitchens of over 1,600 such establishments that were audited. Furthermore, the Eat Right Kerala app that was released recently helped people identify such certified units from among 140 circles of the Food Safety department. It helped improve the quality of food items in a market where hitherto taste and rate mattered more, he said.
Other campaigns such as Eat Right School Kerala and the one to improve hygiene of eateries at railway stations by insisting on adherence to a checklist of points, which included the source of water, too paid dividends.
