Did you just show me the finger?

Last week we were assaulted with an image of an ice cream cone with a piece of a human finger in it A 26yearold doctor from Malad Brendon Ferrao had ordered a butterscotchflavoured ice cream cone and realised that his treat had a human finger sticking out of itWhile the latest update on the case is that the ice cream manufacturing unit based out of Pune saw an accident where a worker lost a finger a parallel conversation about the role of the Food Safety and Standards Authority FSSAI in manufacturing and packaging has resurfacedGeorge CheriyanWe speak to George Cheriyan the honorary working president of the Consumers Protection Association CPA Cheriyan is also a part of an eightmember panel known as the Central Advisory Committee for the FSSAI which monitors meetings with the state food safety commissioners of all states to keep a track on developments and innovationsThe finger is said to be of an employee of the ice cream companylsquoHairnets trimmed nails no nail polish are a must in packaging unitsrsquoThe Food Safety and Standards FSS was a big game changer in the country and the act itself came into existence way back in 2006 Until then since Independence there were numerous laws and acts dealing with the food sector It also established a national regulatory body the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI to develop sciencebased standards for food and to regulatemonitor the manufacture processing storage distribution sale and import of food so as to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption in our country The FSSAI brought everything together under one umbrella and consolidated all laws related to food and initiated harmonisation of Indiarsquos food regulations as per international standards The authority shoulders a huge responsibility and is empowered to monitor packed food commodities The FSSAI also has guidelines and training programme for the street vendors including ensuring they wear hairnets and coatsWith packaged food the body identifies them asmdashFood Business Operators FBOs for both packaged and street foodIf we look at the finger in the ice cream case there are clear FSSAIguidelines as well as a handbook about how to handle food packaging Some SOPs for example are that you need to have your head covered with a hairnet as well as a dedicated uniform that is compulsory for the room where the food is stored or processed During manufacturing for example a golden rule is that your nails need to be trimmed and you cannot have any nail varnish on them There is also a restriction on the use of mobile phones in food storage areasmdashthis is because you cannot take calls and then resume your work by touching the food with the same handThe next line of quality check is that the Food Safety Officer FSO has to visit FBOs and their places and see how the food packaging is happening but here lies the challengemdashmost states are running under capacity In the state of Maharashtra there need to be at least 350 food safety officers at least but it is nowhere close to that number While the FSSAIrsquos chief executive officer position is held by an IAS officer we need a dedicated food safety commissioner in each state so that they are more proactiveThe FSSAI though has no control over the food distribution platformsapps In that case we have to go to the district consumer fora or statenational consumer dispute redressal commissions to ask for an intervention The biggest issue is that many states are showing a lack of commitment and initiative to make sure that they fill the vacancies in their food safety department and donrsquot leave them vacant for too long The state has to make it an issue that they want to talk about