The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will train one lakh street food vendors over the next year on food safety and hygiene practices under the FoSTaC programme. The Health Ministry has also directed the Authority to waive the registration fee for street food vendors.
Union Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday, chaired a training and awareness program for 1,000 street food vendors conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Vigyan Bhawan.
Emphasising the importance of street food in India, Nadda directed the FSSAI to waive the registration fee of ₹100 for street food vendors. He said this move would encourage vendors and promote more registrations. At present, the FSSAI charges ₹100 per annum as a registration fee for petty food business operators, including street food vendors, having a turnover of up to ₹12 lakh annually.
The Minister also said that the ‘Street Safe’ Rapid Testing Kit should be provided to all vendors attending the Food Safety and Certification (FoSTaC) training to ensure that safe food is used by street food vendors across the country.” “In addition, we should focus on empowering the street food vendors by enrolling them on food delivery platforms to increase their reach to the consumers. I urge these platforms to support street food vendors by providing user-friendly technology solutions without imposing a financial burden,” Nadda stated at the event.
“It is my firm belief that if vendors apply safe practices and cleanliness, they will also see growth in their businesses. The certificates that trained vendors receive from FSSAI will also boost their business as it will provide a source of reliability and trust among consumers,” he stated.
The Union Health Minister emphasized the importance of training and re-orientation programs for street food vendors. He also encouraged them to take advantage of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi) program to enhance their business further, an official statement added.