The FSSAI’s Safe and Nutritious Food (SNF) initiative has been launched to bring about social and behavioural change among citizens around food safety, hygiene and healthy diets. This initiative focuses on strengthening efforts towards safe and nutritious food for all.
The “Safe and Nutritious Food at Workplace” or SNF@Workplace is a nation-wide campaign to help people eat safe, eat healthy and eat right at their workplaces. This initiative, therefore, promotes safe and healthy diets through its resource book-‘THE ORANGE BOOK’ and through FSSAI-trained Food Safety Supervisors (FSS) and Health and Wellness Coordinators (HWC) at every workplace across India.
With the rising incidence of diet-related diseases and lifestyle disorders, there is a need to be more conscious and mindful of diets. Nowadays, most people, eat at least one meal at the workplace and on a regular basis. If there is a lack of safe and nutritious food at the workplace it could lead to various illnesses, resulting in absenteeism and eventually loss of productivity. It is important to understand that healthy and productive employees are the key to the success of any workplace. Therefore, FSSAI advises workplaces to adopt the best practices for safe and nutritious food.
To ensure safe and nutritious food at the workplace the FSSAI has built a Policy Framework which can be used at the workplace. They have created the ‘Orange Book’ which is a guidance document on regulatory compliance and best practices at the workplace to ensure safe and nutritious food. Orange Book can be viewed at https://fssai.gov.in/snfwp/#
The first step in ensuring safe and nutritious food at the workplace is to ensure
Regulatory compliance
- FSSAI registration or license is a must for all vendors
- There must be Food Safety Management System (FSMS) guidelines for in-house as well as external catering services.
- The workplace must have Food Safety Supervisors who will ensure the food safety guidelines are being followed
- There must be monthly testing and third-party audits of kitchens and premises.
Creating Employee Awareness
- Workplaces need to distribute a handbook on safe and nutritious food for employees containing practical tips for ensuring safety of food, making healthy food choices and inculcating good eating habits.
- Have an online platform for safe and nutritious food for detailed information, additional resources and interaction and collaboration
Creating and Enabling environment
- Workplaces must have a Health and Wellness Coordinators
- Provide healthy menus in the workplace canteens with at least 50% healthy options
- Use fortified wheat, flour, rice, oil, milk and salt for preparing food at workplaces
- Bring about behavioural change through communication programmes for employees
Providing Training
- Training Food Safety Supervisors
- Training health and wellness coordinators
- FSSAI based online training and certification through FoSTaC
The Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) is in-charge of food safety for the entire workplace. The FSS is responsible for implementing the general requirements on hygiene and sanitary practices in the workplace canteen, kitchen and pantry area. He/she is required to obtain the FSS Training & Certification for Catering (Advance) through FoSTaC.
The Health and Wellness Coordinator (HWC) is the designated person in any workplace to promote safe and nutritious food among the employees and ensure that the best practices recommended in the Orange Book are followed. He/she is required to undergo the ‘Health and Wellness Coordinator for the Workplace’ training by FSSAI and get certified.
Source: FSSAI
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