Manipur ranks 3rd

IMPHAL, Sep 21: Manipur has been ranked third among small States of the country behind Goa and Meghalaya in this year’s annual State Food Safety Index (SFSI) released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) yesterday.
Gujarat topped the ranking among the large States with 72 points. Kerala scored 70 and Tamil Nadu, grabbed the third position, with 64.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday released the report for the year 2020-21.
The SFSI ranking is an effort of the Union Government to galvanize the States to work towards ensuring safe food for citizens.
The Minister felicitated nine leading States/UTs based on the ranking for the year 2020-21 for their impressive performance.
Human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing- infrastructure and surveillance, training and capacity building, consumer empowerment are the criteria for the ranking.
He also flagged off 19 Mobile Food Testing Vans (Food Safety on Wheels) to supplement the food safety ecosystem across the country taking the total number of such mobile testing vans to 109.
Mandaviya observed that food is an essential component of health in a holistic sense. "Balanced nutrition is an integral part of health," he stated.