Gujarat tops food joints’ hygiene rating, Tamil Nadu comes second

NEW DELHI: Gujarat tops the list of food establishments that have been given the highest number of hygiene rating certificates in 2021-22, followed by Tamil Nadu, according to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which has awarded till March this year over 16,000 such rating certificates, which is compulsory for food businesses before commencement.

According to officials at FSSAI — a statutory body for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and regulating the manufacturing, processing, distribution, sale, and import — more and more food establishments, like restaurants, cafeterias, bakeries, sweet shops and meat retail shops in India are coming forward to get the ratings as it helps drawing customers to their joints.

In 2020, 1,837 such establishments were awarded the certificates, while in 2019, the figure stood at 867. Moreover, officials said, smaller food business operators (FBO), such as dhabhas, food trucks and even mid-day meal kitchens are being covered under the Hygiene Rating Scheme (HRS), which was first initiated in December 2018 in Maharashtra on a pilot basis, and was later launched across the country.

Till March this year, 16,059 food establishments in the country got the coveted rating. In Gujarat, the figure stood at 4,340, followed by 2,532 such food joints in Tamil Nadu. Haryana stood third, with 2,210 establishments getting the rating.

In Karnataka, 973 such food establishments were part of the scheme. While in Kerala, 114 food joints got the certificates, in Telangana, only 47 food establishments went for the scheme. “This score encourages businesses to ensure hygiene standards and empowers consumers to make an informed choice when they eat out,” the official told this newspaper.

Hygiene rating is a user-friendly, technology-driven scheme under which food service establishments are rated on their hygiene and food safety compliance with a score from five, which is the highest rating, to one, which is the lowest. “The number of such food establishments obtaining hygiene rating certification is increasing steadily. This gradual increase indicates increasing awareness of the scheme,” the official said.