Are the Esteemed Universities of India falling short on guaranteeing Safe Food for their own Students?

India’s leading universities and institutes are a beacon of hope - not just to the aspiring students looking to secure admissions, but to the country itself, in the wait of discoveries that can turn the tables for the country. Lakhs of students get into such prestigious colleges to make their dreams turn into reality. While there are hostels to ensure students from faraway places have minimum difficulties in traveling, what’s not considered as an emergency is the quality of food served in their canteens.

It is sad that Hostel food has always reminded of being bland and unsafe. Films and tv shows have depicted them in poor light as well, with pests and unhygienic practices on a rampant. However, the scenes are no different in real life; when FSSAI conducted audits in 11 prestigious institutes, the results were shocking.

Out of 11, 7 failed the audits, while 4 needed improvements. This is an alarming number - more than half of the institutes are serving unhygienic and unsafe food, being one of the leading causes of making children and employees sick.

FSSAI has always emphasized on healthy and safe food manufacturing practices. Section 31(1) of the FSS Act makes it mandatory to enter into commerce with a Food Business having a valid FSSAI License, while FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 makes it mandatory for every food business (including those catering to students in hostels) to have a license and comply with all the conditions prescribed therein, while displaying the true copy of the same in the premises. Not just that, from adept ventilation, lighting and air quality to hygiene practices of the personnel, kitchen hygiene, waste disposal, procurement of raw materials, etc. have to be considered as specified by FSSAI.

Audits and Inspections form another mandatory component of Food Safety - these have to be periodically conducted to ensure the FSSAI norms and regulations are followed and whether the identified loopholes (if any) are dealt with immediately. However, the scenario remains far from what’s expected; poor hygiene conditions, lack of information on personal hygiene, improperly planned infrastructure designs have all lead to risking the health of students by compromising on the food safety and hygiene.

FoSTaC  Programme - a training initiative by FSSAI has now become mandatory for all Food Business Operators. Caterers have to register for this training since there should be 1 Food Safety Supervisor for every 25 food handlers. Ashwin Bhadri, CEO - Equinox Labs thinks of this programme in high regards. “FoSTaC training will pave the way of communicating the exhaustive information that FSSAI has made mandatory for consumers to only eat safe food. Compulsory training will highlight those parts which were considered not important, like the use of aprons and using separate boards and knives for different food products. This will drastically change the Food Safety and Hygiene scenario in our country.”

Corrupt food caterers and contractors have paid no heed to the cries of the students and their countless complaints. With FSSAI’s audits and stringent policies being laid down, all of this will soon see the end of the day. Policies and Punishments will now go hand - in- hand to ensure that food safety is not compromised in any possible way, and those doing it are punished.

Hostel Managers and the Management of the Institutes have to be particularly careful in this regard - get on board only those caterers who comply with FSSAI’s regulations. They shall get all help from FSSAI Consultancies - they guide in Vendor Management for associating with only the best-suited caterers. Only with safe food will students stay healthy to create revolutions in their fields.