Haryana Health Minister calls for intensified food safety surveillance

Chandigarh: Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao has directed officials to intensify the food safety surveillance campaign across the state in view of the festive season. She instructed the Food and Drug Administration to collect 100-150 surveillance samples of food items in each district. Rao also appealed to the public to remain vigilant while purchasing food items, buy food products only from reliable sources, and report any suspected food adulteration or food safety-related activity to the concerned authorities.

Dr Manoj Kumar, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said on Wednesday that the Health Minister has issued directions to further strengthen the food safety surveillance campaign across the state.

The primary objective is to ensure that the public has access to safe, pure, high-quality and unadulterated food products. Special emphasis is being placed on ensuring the quality and safety of food items, particularly in view of the increased consumption of sweets, milk and dairy products during the festive season of Diwali and Chhath Puja, he said.

He stated that, under this special campaign, letters have been sent to all Deputy Commissioners in Haryana, asking them to constitute district-level special food surveillance teams under the supervision of the district administration, in coordination with the concerned Designated Officers (Food Safety) and Food Safety Officers.

These teams will conduct inspections and collect surveillance samples from major markets, sweet shops, dairies, milk vendors and other food business establishments to identify substandard, adulterated and unsafe food products.

The district-level special surveillance teams have been assigned a target of collecting 100-150 additional food surveillance samples per district, separate from the samples routinely collected by Food

Safety Officers.