State Food Safety Index

State Food Safety Index

News: Recently Food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) published its fifth consecutive State Food Safety Index.

About:
• The Index is an annual assessment released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• It was started in 2018-19 to create a competitive and positive change in the food safety ecosystem in the country. The index will help in providing safe and nutritious food to our citizens.
• This index is based on the performance of the State/ UT on five significant parameters, namely, Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing, Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment
• In the 2023 index, a new parameter called ‘Improvement in SFSI Rank’ was added.

Key Findings:
• After adjusting for a new parameter included in the 2023 index, 15 out of 20 states recorded lower 2023 scores compared to 2019.
• 19 out of 20 large states — including Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — recorded a drop in their 2023 scores from 2019.
• The worst drop has been recorded in the ‘Food Testing Infrastructure’ parameter, where the average score for all large states dropped to 7 points out of 17 in 2023 from 13 points out of 20 in 2019.
• Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, meanwhile, recorded lower scores for the ‘Compliance’ parameter.
• The ‘Human Resources and Institutional Data’ parameter, was given the third highest weightage of 18 per cent in 2023 (20 per cent in previous years).
• The only parameter that recorded significant improvement was ‘Training and Capacity Building’, which was given the least weightage of 8 per cent in 2023 (10 per cent in previous years).