
FSSAI has issued an advisory dated 30 September, 2021 regarding the disposal of food products unfit for human consumption.
The FSSAI has stated in the advisory that considerable quantities of food products are disposed of after expiry or after recall as these products become unfit for human consumption. It is also a common practice to remove food products from the supply chain prior to end of shelf life of these products. FSSAI has advised that such food products, if safe for human consumption should be donated, in a timely manner to prevent food wastage.
However, if the food products have expired or are recalled and are unfit for human consumption, then the Food Business Operator shall ensure timely removal of such products from the food supply chain to prevent distribution and consumption.
Such products should be disposed off by handing them to the authorised agencies managing waste in accordance with waste management guidelines issued by the Central/State Pollution Control Board.
About Food Wastage
Food waste is an issue that has not been fully addressed because the true scale of food waste and its impacts have only recently been fully understood. Since the impact of reducing food waste is still something new, so it requires to be handled seriously by creating reliable data. Reliable data is required to tackle the level of food waste both at the consumer and retail level. What is fully understood however, is that reducing food waste can to a certain degree reduce food hunger and conserve nature.
Reducing food waste has several benefits for people and also the planet as it helps to improve food security, which is important as a large percentage of human population goes hungry. Food waste management will also address some issues of climate change like reduction in greenhouse gases and will reduce pressure on land and water as well as pressure on waste management. This is why the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 is now aiming to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030
Reference
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/food-waste-index-report-2021-unep
SOURCE: FSSAI
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