In UP's Farrukhabad, 'jail ka khana' gets 5-star FSSAI rating

KANPUR: "Jail ka khana" is an oft-repeated phrase to trash a plate of food. This jail in Farrukhabad, however, has turned the phrase on its head. The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a five-star rating to Fatehgarh central jail, Farrukhabad, for the quality of food it serves its inmates.
A third-party audit, empanelled by the FSSAI, provided the five-star "Eat Right Certificate" to the jail. "It is a recognition of food quality and hygiene, which means the inmates are getting quality food items prepared in jail," officials added.
On Thursday, district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh told TOI that the FSSAI's "Eat Right" accreditation indicated that 1,100 inmates were fed clean and nutritious meals. "We got the licence from FSSAI in March 2022. According to its parameters, arrangements with regard to food and hygiene were improved," the DM said, adding that the jail is the first in the state to receive such recognition.
Jail superintendent Bheem Sen Mukund said, "We followed all FSSAI guidelines properly. The pre-audit report has been created after detailed recommendations and observations to improve sanitation, hygiene and food safety processes." He added, "Not only this, 1,100 inmates, besides jail staff, underwent training in cleanliness, food safety and sanitation."
Mukund said the process of making food has been automated to a large extent. "Earlier, the help of prisoners was taken in preparing rotis, vegetables and pulses. But, being a manual process, it took a lot of time. About 50 prisoners were mobilised to prepare food for each shift. Now the jail administration has modernised it by installing big roti-maker machines, a dough-kneading machine, and machine-cutters for vegetables," he said.