11-Nov-2022: Bhopal Railway Station awarded ‘Eat Right Station’ certification with a 4-star rating by FSSAI

Indian Railways’ Bhopal Railway Station has been awarded a 4- star 'Eat Right Station' certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers. This certification is granted by FSSAI to railway stations adhering to standard food storage and hygiene practices. The 'Eat Right Station' certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers. The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5. The 4-star rating indicates full compliance by the station to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.

The certification is part of the 'Eat Right India' movement- a large-scale effort by FSSAI to transform the country's food system to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians. Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is suitable both for the people and the planet.

The other railway stations with this certification include Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station; (Delhi), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus; (Mumbai), Mumbai Central Railway Station; (Mumbai), Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway Station.

19-Aug-2020: Dr Harsh Vardhan digitally addresses FSSAI’s Eat Right Challenge Orientation Workshop

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare presided over an online orientation workshop organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as part of its Eat Right Challenge. He also launched FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right India’ Handbook and the website eatrightindia.gov.in to help various stakeholders scale up ‘Eat Right India’ initiatives across the country. Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare was also present.

The ‘Eat Right India’ movement initiated by FSSAI under the aegis of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been creating awareness amongst the people about safe, healthy and sustainable dietary habits. To achieve this end and to convert the program into a people’s movement, FSSAI recently announced the Eat Right Challenge, an annual competition for 197 Districts and Cities in a unique way to strengthen the food safety and regulatory environment, build awareness among the consumers and urge them to make better food choices. The Food Safety Commissioners and district officials such as District Magistrates and Designated Officers of the cities also joined in the online workshop.

Releasing the ‘Eat Right Handbook’, a useful reference guide for officials to adopt and scale-up Eat Right India (ERI) initiatives in their respective jurisdictions, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “Food is not only about hunger or taste but about health and nourishment. The workshop is unique in that it brings big restaurant chefs to roadside eatery owners under the same umbrella to achieve a single goal.”

Addressing the officials of the 197 cities and districts present, he highlighted the pressing need for the campaign. He stated that of the 135 crore people inhabiting India “196 million are victims of chronic hunger while another 180 million suffer from obesity. 47 million children have stunted growth while another 25 million are wasted. 500 million are deficient in micro-nutrients and 100 million suffer from food-borne diseases.” This movement will sharpen our focus towards prioritising food, nutrition and awareness about out eating and dietary habits to prevent and address these challenges, he added. This will also bring into sharper focus the problem of food wastage and disposal of food.

Reminding everyone present of Prime Minister’s commitment of creating a New India by its 75th year of independence in 2022, the Union Health Minister said, “The Prime Minister initiated Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan on the 2nd of October, 2014 to rid the country of diseases arising out of poor sanitation. Through the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide potable piped water which will aid in prevention of water borne illness in the country while the Ujjwala Yojana provides access to clean fuels to tackle smoke and lung diseases.” Highlighting the importance of Poshan Abhiyaan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat and Fit India movement, he added that they are “cornerstones of Prime Minister’s New India by 2022.” The main focus of the Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness centres is on preventive, positive and promotive health, the Minister stated. The HWCs form an integral component of the Prime Minister’s vision of a healthy India, he added.

Dr Harsh Vardhan further spoke of the key role played by healthy food and nutrition in combating morbidity. Stating that diet helps in building one’s resilience and immunity towards various kinds of diseases, he emphasised “61.8% deaths from non-communicable like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular complications etc., are directly or indirectly related to faulty diet. Even communicable diseases like tuberculosis disproportionately affect people who are undernourished. People of the same household have been showing different responses to COVID based on their immunity acquired through nutrition.”

Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey highlighted “the role of age-old wisdom and traditional Ayurveda in guiding people to right eating practices by categorizing food based on the effect they had on the body.” Quoting from the Bhagwad Gita and the Upanishads, he emphasized upon the role of traditional eating habits and plant based food. He asserted that the amalgamation of healthy eating habits and active physical activity will lead to a better and healthy India.

Ms. Rita Teaotia, Chairperson, FSSAI and Shri Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI were also digitally present at the occasion.

3-Dec-2019: Mumbai Central station of Indian Railways conferred with “Eat Right Station”

To help passengers to make a healthy and right food choice, Indian Railways launched a movement “Eat Right Station” which was a part of the ‘Eat Right India’ movement launched in 2018 by the FSSAI. Under this movement, Mumbai Central Railway Station is the country’s first “Eat Right Station” as certified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Railway station has been conferred with “Eat Right Station” certification with 04 Stars rating by FSSAI on 29th November 2019.

Mumbai Central station has been judged on the basis of compliance of food safety and hygiene, availability of healthy diet, food handling at preparation, transshipment & retail/serving point, food waste management, promotion of local & seasonal food and creating awareness on food safety and healthy diet.

The food quality regulator (FSSAI) along with Western Railways (WR) and Indian Railways Catering Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), trained food handlers, both in canteens and base kitchens. They inspected catering establishments at the station and certified & rated the standard of food.

The focus of the movement is on improving the health and well-being of people by ensuring they eat healthy. ‘Eat Right India’ movement is built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’. It aims to engage, excite and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being. Led by FSSAI, it is a collective effort to make both the demand and supply-side interventions through the engagement of key stakeholders. On the demand side, it focuses on social and behavioural change among citizens and nudging citizens towards making the right food choice. On the supply side, it focuses on nudging the food businesses to reformulate their products, provide better nutritional information to consumers and make investments in healthy food as responsible food businesses. It includes maintaining hygiene and sanitation, proper waste disposal and following safe food practices.

5-Sep-2019: Dr Harsh Vardhan launches the new healthy eating approach of “Eat Right India Movement”.

“Eat Right, Stay Fit, Tabhi India Super Fit”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said this as he launched the Eat Right India Movement of FSSAI, the new healthy eating approach which places citizens at the centre of a Health Revolution through food and fitness. The campaign ‘Eat Right India’ with its new logo and tagline ‘Sahi Bhojan. Behtar Jeevan’ were released by the Health Minister, at an event on the side-lines of the 5-day ‘72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia'.

This can become a country wide movement only with the active support and partnership of all sections of the society, including the media, the food producers, consumers and other stakeholders. Highlighting the critical importance of a Jan Andolan on issues around nutrition, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that it is part of the vision of the Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, that the month of September is being celebrated all across the country as “Poshan Maah” (Nutrition Month) to sensitize the public towards healthy eating, address the twin issues of malnutrition/undernutrition and problem of obesity in some sections of the population, and also intensifying the campaign towards a ‘Malnutrition-Free India’. This movement is aligned with the Government’s flagship public health programmes such as POSHAN Abhiyaan, Ayushman Bharat Yojana and Swachh Bharat Mission to lead us to the New India, which our Prime Minister wishes to deliver to all citizens by 2022.

The Eat Right India movement is a crucial trigger for the much needed social and behavioural change. This campaign along with the ‘Fit India' Movement' launched by the visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji will help us to fight lifestyle diseases like hypertension, obesity and diabetes effectively.

India is passing through an epidemiological shift from communicable to non-communicable diseases, and the burden of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity is rising rapidly. The new “food systems approach” judiciously combines the regulatory and capacity building measures with consumer empowerment initiatives.

The Government has prescribed a limit for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) at 25% in cooking oil to avoid the harmful effects of reused cooking oil. Standards for five fortified staples - wheat flour, rice, oil, milk and salt to reduce large-scale deficiencies of vitamins and minerals have been notified, in addition to standards for health supplements, nutraceuticals, prebiotics and probiotics products. To facilitate informed consumer choices Regulations on Advertising and Claims and mandatory menu labeling has been notified. In addition, labeling provisions have been made for appropriate use of sweeteners for children and pregnant women. To reach the target of Trans-fat Free India by 2022, regulations to reduce trans-fat to less than 2% in all oils, fats and food products are in place.

The preparatory work for creating awareness around mindful eating is also in place, with pilots/prototypes for clusterisation schemes such as Clean Street food Hubs, Clean and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable markets and Eat Right Campus for schools, colleges, workplaces and other campuses being successfully tested on a pan-India basis. Food businesses have participated in large-scale training and capacity building programs on ensuring food safety through the FoSTaC initiative, under which over 1.7 lakh food safety supervisors have been trained and certified. Robust material in the form of a Pink Book, Yellow Book, DART Book, informative videos etc., are in place, and can be accessed through a video library on FSSAI’s website. National Food Laboratories, a network of food testing laboratories is being established in the country to strengthen the Eat Right Movement. Such laboratories have increased to 261 from 138 during the year 2014.

The Eat Right campaign is a true example of multi-sectoral collaborative approach that WHO has been advocating for to address non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, etc. The campaign brings together people, celebrities and other influencers, food industry, public health professionals, civil society and consumer organizations. It seems to address both the demand and the supply side – by making people aware of the what it means by eating right, and the benefits of it for them to make right choices. On the supply side, it promotes food businesses to reformulate their products, provide better nutritional information to consumers and make investments in healthy food as responsible food businesses.

Keeping the Eat Right component intact, the lunch served at the media interaction after the launch event included food with less salt, less sugar and less saturated and industrially-produced trans-fats. The menu had a gamut of dishes made from locally available ingredients, and local produce and combined salads, sprouts, cereals, vegetables etc., that were cooked in minimal mustard and olive oil.

At the event, Dr Harsh Vardhan also launched the new Eat Right India logo that represents a healthy plate, a TVC by the popular cricket icon Shri Virat Kohli on eating right, an online Eat Right Quiz, the Eat Right Online Course for frontline health workers, and an Eat Right India Store featuring merchandize to nudge right eating habits.