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New Delhi : Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on August 7, 2020, presided the signing of MoU between Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) under Ministry of Science & Technology, in the presence of Ashwini K. Choubey Minister of State (HFW), here. The MOU aims at collaborative research and information dissemination in the area of food and nutrition.
Congratulating both FSSAI and CSIR for this innovative step that will merge the potential and faculties of both the premier organisations, Dr Vardhan stated that this MoU will enable identification of technologies and programmes to be developed in the area of food safety and nutrition research, along with recognition of innovative technologies available with CSIR for deployment by the Indian businesses and/or for regulating compliances.
It will also seek collection of data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, identification of emerging risks, their mitigation strategies, and introduction of rapid alert system. The two organisations will collaborate in strengthening the quality assurance of laboratory network across the country aimed at development and validation of methods for reliable reporting on quality and safety of food products, Dr Vardhan stated.
Speaking on the MoU signed between FSSAI and CSIR, Dr Vardhan said, “The MoU is a very significant step that will create a brighter future for India seeking collaborative research and information dissemination in the area of food & nutrition, and food and consumer safety solutions in India. The collaboration between these two premier institutions of India will contribute in fulfilling the vision of New Food System 2050.”
Dr Vardhan also congratulated FSSAI on being selected as one of the ten global organisations for the award by Rockefeller Foundation, SecondMuse, and OpenIDEO for the ‘Eat Right India’ movement. The award recognises organisations that have developed an inspiring vision of the regenerative and nourishing food system that they aspire to create by the year 2050. Dr Vardhan stated that the award is a strong recognition of FSSAI’s holistic and path breaking approach towards food safety and nutrition. It also provides the vision for its growth path, he added, according to a PIB release.
Choubey congratulated the recipients of the highly respected Rockefeller Award. He said, “The movement envisioned by India will lead to a revival of traditional Ayurvedic wisdom in ancient food practices, a variety of new employment opportunities to bring these measures into practice and support local and rural economies, particularly for women bringing about economic growth and gender equity.” Shekhar C Mande, DG-CSIR,. Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI, and other senior officials of FSSAI and CSIR were also present at the occasion.