Hygiene training, food management for street vendors

GURUGRAM: To ensure proper food hygiene and management practices, the district health department, under the Food Safety Training and Certification programme, is conducting training on food safety for vendors in Gurugram.

According to officials, around 5,000 street food vendors, dairy shop owners, workers, and eatery owners across the district will be trained over the next few weeks. Upon completion, they will be certified. The city has around 18,000 vendors in the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s 157 street vending zones.

The training programme is mandated by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. Under the programme, food safety supervisors train vendors in 16 courses, such as the use of edible oil, fat, health supplements, eliminating trans-fats, among other topics, as detailed under Schedule 4 of the Act.

“The training is particularly targeted at street food vendors. The programme aims to bring vendors who have not applied for a food safety license under the FSSAI’s ambit. The focus is on how their food affects the health of customers,” Tarun Sharma, director of the team conducting the training, said.

Gurugram’s health department regularly inspects eateries and restaurants to check whether the products match food safety standards. On Thursday, 50 vendors were trained at the Sector 30 polyclinic, according to ND Sharma of Haryana food and drug administration.