TN slips to third rank in Food Safety Index
The food safety index was launched last week by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
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CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu slips to the third spot in the Food Safety Index this year after scoring 57 points this year.
The State had a score of 82 last year and stood first in the 20 larger States category.
Kerala stood first with 63 points this year and Punjab is on second spot with 58 points.
The food safety index was launched last week by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
The index ranks are released every year based on several parameters including Human Resources and Institutional Data, Food Testing Infrastructure, Compliance, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment.
The ranks are listed for 20 larger States, eight smaller States and eight Union Territories every year.
While the overall ranking of Tamil Nadu dropped this year and the scores have also dropped, Coimbatore topped among the 260 participating districts in the Eat Right Challenge for districts in the Phase II of the challenge for outstanding efforts in implementing plans to improve the food environment and raise awareness about food safety.
A designated officer from the food safety department said that the measures to improve food safety standards in the State continue as usual and the number of districts in the top 75 has increased from 13 last year to 22 this year.
In the State ranking, Coimbatore stood first, followed by Dindigul and Madurai.
"We are continuing to focus on the eat right campaign in all the districts. The awareness campaigns on the food safety standards and guidelines are also being conducted. The department is also undertaking inspections on food establishments to ensure that food safety is not compromised, " said the food safety officer.
