DIMAPUR — 'Project Serve Safe Food: Training of Street Food Vendors,' which is being organised by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) and supported by the Food Safety Authority (FSA), Nagaland, was launched on Wednesday at the DC conference hall in Kohima.
Subrata Banerjee, head of branch corporate affairs at Nestlé India, speaking at the event and welcoming state government officials from various departments as well as Kohima district food vendors, said that Nestlé India joined hands with NASVI and local food authorities in 2016 to ensure proper training for street food vendors.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]A DIPR report mentioned that Bannerjee on the occasion said that Nestlé India felt the need to train the street food vendors on ‘food safety’ and ‘hygiene’, which not only ensure healthy food for consumers but also enable the vendors to sustain and improve their livelihoods.
The training programme modules include 'health and hygiene that includes personal hygiene and cart hygiene’, 'food handling and food safety', 'cleaning and pest control', and 'waste management—garbage disposal'.
Nokchasashi, joint secretary, Health and Family Welfare, speaking on behalf of the department, stated that with the mushrooming of street food vendors in the state capital and Dimapur, safe hygiene practices should become an integral part of the vendors' operations because people of all ages will consume the product, many of whom may be vulnerable to poor quality food.
He therefore asked the vendors to fully grasp the opportunity of the training, which will make them confident and competent in their business.
Lanusenla L Peseyie, administrator, Kohima Municipal Council, also encouraged vendors to be fully equipped with all necessary information on food safety and hygiene practices and to obtain the Food Safety Training and Certificate (FoSTaC) from the training, which she said is very important for vendors to run their stalls.
Speaking on food safety, assistant food safety commissioner Sendong Jamir emphasised three practical points that vendors must follow: vendors should be registered under FACCI and keep the registration paper in the stall, vendors should serve the food items in proper utensils, and vendors should avoid the re-use of oil, which is harmful to the health.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1M K Jingru, EAC Kohima, also spoke about the importance of food safety measures and maintaining standard health hygiene. At the same time, the designated officer of Kohima district, Peterson Ao, pointed out that the main objectives of the vendors should be to maintain good management practice (GMP), good health practice (GHP), and two bins (dry and wet) in the stalls.
The inaugural programme was chaired by Surojit Mukherjee, senior manager, branch corporate affairs, Nestlé India.
The programme also included the unveiling of a mannequin, a training session, and the presentation of the FoSTaC and hygiene kits. Street food vendors from Kohima town took part in the training.