The Food Safety department is set to grade anganwadis in the district on the basis of their food safety compliance.
Four anganwadis under each of the 14 food safety circles in the district will be selected for the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) grading as part of the second phase of ‘Eat Right Challenge’, a competition among districts in the country to recognise their efforts in implementing initiatives under the Eat Right India movement.
The anganwadis will be given five-star rating based on aspects such as storage of food, personal hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness of premises, quality of food given to target groups, water quality, and so on. The performance audits will be conducted by agencies approved by the FSSAI, say food safety officials.
The anganwadi selection will be done by food safety officers in consultation with local bodies.
Most anganwadis in the district have got FSSAI licences. Five-day training on healthy food practices too has been provided to nearly 1,000 anganwadi staff last year using ₹5 lakh sanctioned by the FSSAI. Food samples will now be tested to check if various parameters are met. This pre-audit will be conducted by food safety officers. Once this is done, the final audit on hygiene standards in anganwadis will be conducted by the FSSAI-empanelled agencies. Their report will be uploaded online and only then will the certificate be sent to the anganwadis. Five-star rating will be given to anganwadis that score in the 81-100 range in the audit. Those who score in the 61-80 range will get a four-star rating.
The anganwadi grading is part of an initiative to improve hygiene standards. The effectiveness of the training provided to the anganwadi staff will be gauged during the pre-audit.
The anganwadis identified for the grading will be finalised in a few days, and the grading process is expected to kick off in the second fortnight of the month, say the officials.
