Training on food safety held for Dimapur street food vendors

The vendors were instructed to register with FSSAI as soon as possible at the office of the CMO Dimapur

DIMAPUR — A five-day training on street food vendors under ‘Project Serve Safe Food’ was conducted from September 15 to 20 at Tourist Lodge, Dimapur.

According to a press note from the office of CMO Dimapur, the training was organised by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) and supported by Nestle India Limited and the Food Safety Authority, Nagaland.

A total of 360 street food vendors from various businesses such as fast foods, pani-puri, ice cream, chana-sattu, tea stalls, and so on were trained, with 45 vendors trained in each batch.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) empaneled partner from NASVI, Ajit Kumar from Delhi, was the trainer.

During the training, the trainees learned about the owner’s and staff’s personal hygiene, workplace hygiene in the preparation and serving of food to customers, the use of potable water in the preparation of food, and the use of food-grade materials for packaging. They were also discouraged from using newspapers and class-note books for wrapping food items.

Training was also provided on waste management and the proper dress code to be worn at all times, such as headgear, aprons, gloves, shoes with trimmed, unpainted nails, and no jewellery. It was directed that sick people should not prepare food and that all vendors obtain a medical fitness certificate.

Following each training session, participants were required to take a pledge promising to follow food safety rules in their workplace. The vendors were instructed to register with FSSAI as soon as possible at the office of the CMO Dimapur.

They were also given free hygiene kits and a food safety display board, as well as a participation certificate and Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC).

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