Owners of eateries – right from leading restaurants to roadside eateries – should serve quality food prepared in a hygienic manner with quality ingredients to the customers, Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish has said.
Formally inaugurating the ‘Eat Right Challenge’ programme here on Wednesday, Ms. Shilpa said a balanced diet, the firm foundation for leading a disease-free living, should be ensured to every customer. Though the hoteliers were aware that cooking oil being used repeatedly for preparing food would cause health issues to the consumers, a section of them, with profit as the only motive, was serving substandard food prepared with oil already used for frying food.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India recently launched the ‘Eat Right Challenge’ competition in 197 districts and 150 cities across the country to create awareness among consumers of food safety. The objective is to improve public health through right choice of food to fight lifestyle diseases.
As more than 60% of the deaths in the country are attributed to lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched this programme.
The Collector also inaugurated a special training programme for roadside eatery owners on preparing and serving quality food and gave them uniforms sponsored by a private firm.
Since a special camp for registration of roadside eateries and issue of licence was organised as part of this event, Ms. Shilpa handed over permits to two applicants.
Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital Dean M. Ravichandran, Vice-principal Shantharaman, District Designated Officer for Food Safety Jagadish Chandrabose and Food Safety Officer A.R. Sankaralingam were present.