Chandigarh Model Jail India’s first ‘Eat Right Campus’

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 9

The Model Jail, Chandigarh, has been declared as India’s first “Eat Right Jail Campus”.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated the “Eat Right Campus” to promote safe, healthy and sustainable food in campuses such as universities, colleges, hospitals, jail premises, etc, across the country.

The objective is to improve health of people and promote social and economic development of the country. “Eat Right India” aims at transforming India’s food safety and nutritious environment through a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative and enforcement approaches, thereby protecting and advancing public health and improving the quality of life across all walks of life. As part of “Eat Right India”, the “Eat Right Campus” initiative has been launched for institutions, hospitals, jails, etc, to support them to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for people who spent a majority of their time in these campuses.

The FSSAI has created a benchmark on four different parameters on which the campuses are evaluated and certified as “Eat Right Campuses”. These parameters include food safety measures, steps to ensure provision of healthy and environmentally sustainable food and building awareness among individuals on the campus to make the right food choices.

The Department of Food Safety and Standards, UT, with the Model Jail authorities enrolled the Model Jail, Chandigarh Campus, under the “Eat Right Campus” initiative by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Under the said programme, a joint team of the Food Safety Department with the jail authorities conducted pre-assessment of food safety and hygiene of the premises and identified the gaps and areas of improvement. The jail administration took the steps to address these gaps. Training under the food safety programme was provided to the inmates working in the kitchen and canteen area. Thereafter, an audit was conducted by the FSSAI-empanelled third party auditing agency and the report of the same was forwarded to the FSSAI for the final outcome. The Model Jail, on the basis of the audit, has been declared as India’s first “Eat Right Jail Campus”.