Context: Food Safety Mitra (FSM) scheme for strengthening and scaling up ‘Eat Right India’ movement launched.

What is FSM scheme?

A scheme to support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws and facilitate licensing and registration, hygiene ratings and training.

Significance of the scheme:

Apart from strengthening food safety, this scheme would also create new employment opportunities for youth, particularly with food and nutrition background.

How it works?

Food Safety Mitras will be chosen.

They undergo training and certification by FSSAI to do their work and get paid by food businesses for their services.

About Eat Right Movement:

It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The movement aims to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.

It also aims to engage and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being by making the right food choices.

Measures in place:

FSSAI has put in place robust regulatory measures under three major pillars: Eat Safe, Eat Health and Eat Sustainably for the programme.

FSSAI has prescribed a limit for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) at 25% in cooking oil to avoid the harmful effects of reused cooking oil.

Significance of the campaign:

The country is in need of a movement on preventive health for all in the backdrop of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases, widespread deficiencies of vitamins and minerals and rampant food-borne illnesses.

The Eat Right India movement acts as a crucial preventive healthcare measure to trigger social and behavioural change through a judicious mix of regulatory measures, combined with soft interventions for ensuring awareness and capacity building of food businesses and citizens alike.