Panaji: To ensure handling of food in a hygienic manner, the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) will train 1,000 street food vendors across the state, this year.
The training would be imparted by the FDA, in association with National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), and after completion of the training they would be provided Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) certificates.
“They would be trained in maintaining hygiene and cleanliness at their food carts and surrounding areas, as well as maintaining personal hygiene,” said FDA director Shweta Dessai, adding that 100 street vendors have already been trained.
The street food vendors would be advised to use raw materials of good quality, and also to wear caps and clean clothes too to maintain personal hygiene.
“Since street food vendors form an essential part of India’s food culture their training is of paramount importance. Food can be prone to microbial and chemical contamination. Hence food safety needs to be taken seriously,” she said.
Nestlé trains 1,000 street vendors in food safety
Panaji: Nestlé India has trained 1,000 street food vendors in Goa under its Serve Safe Food project, bringing the total number of vendors trained by it in the state to 4,000. The training, in collaboration with the Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) Goa and the National Association of Street Food Vendors of India (NASVI), focuses on hygiene, safe food handling, waste disposal, and entrepreneurship. The project has benefited over 92,800 street food vendors across 26 states and four union territories, a company statement said.
Head of sustainability and societal initiatives at Nestlé India Taruna Saxena said, “We are scaling up the project and are confident it will bring about positive behavioural change and contribute to the growth and sustainability of their businesses.” she said.
Nestlé launched the Serve Safe Food project in 2016.
