Mar 13, 2020
After Mumbai, Delhi also gets a proud moment with announcement of the ‘Ist Eat Right Railway Station’. Anand Vihar Terminal Railway station (ANVT), today, was declared as the 1st Eat Right Station over Northern Region with an audit score of 92 percent, highest across Pan-India. The Eat Right Certification is an initiative of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) where detailed guidelines & norms have been established for certifying any station as an Eat Right Railway Station.
The certification process involves a series of activities including pre-audit checks, inspection, training & audit of the station complex as well as the units where the food is handled viz., Catering stalls, Kiosks, Quick Food Joints, Food Plazas etc. The process starts with registration of ‘intent for the station’ to achieve an ERC certification with FSSAI. It is followed by the collection of primary data followed by pre-audit checks. The vendors & the food handlers are given a basic level training on food safety, hygiene and sanitation practices under the Food Safety and Training Certification (FoSTaC) programme.
The audit involved various parameters to assess the practices & processes followed at the Anand Vihar station. The Broad criteria involved assessment of two (2) areas namely:
1. Station Complex
2. Individual Food Units viz., Catering stalls, Kiosks, Quick Food Joints, Food Plazas etc.
For the Station Complex, the aspects related to infrastructure, quality of drinking water for passengers, facilities of public washrooms, cleanliness etc. were covered. For the Food Units, below parameters were assessed, checked & audited:
a) Food Safety & Hygiene Check – Aspects covering infrastructure, operations control, maintenance & sanitation, personal hygiene & training etc.
b) Healthy & Local Food Monitoring – Aspects related to availability of healthy, fortified, local & seasonal food
c) Food Waste Reduction & Management
Hindustan Unilever was involved in the process as an implementation partner & RIR certification as auditors. The detailed post-audit of ANVT was undertaken by the 3rd party auditors on 15.01.2020 and ANVT was rated in the “Exemplary” category with a score of 92.08 percent with a rating of 5
While addressing the media, Chairperson FSSAI Smt. Rita Teaotia congratulated IRSDC for achieving such an exemplary score. She further highlighted “While on one hand, FSSAI has been taking several measures towards effective implementation of various regulations, targeted enforcement and compliance efforts to ensure availability of safe food. On the other hand, we are also trying to leverage partnerships across the levels to ensure safety and hygiene of food wherever it is served. FSSAI has taken a cauterization approach to ensure that the concept of Eat Right Certification (ERC) rolls-out across the country. Our partnership with Indian Railways (being one of the largest sector handling a major footfall of citizens everyday) particularly with IRSDC is really applauding and I must place on record their efforts towards implementation of this unique concept”. Recognizing the efforts of IRSDC, Ms. Teaotia highlighted “This is an example of a true partnership between Government organizations in association with the private sector involving implementation partners from the industry, training providers and third-party auditors”.
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, Managing Director & CEO, IRSDC mentioned “Eat Right Certification is a unique concept and a very good initiative by FSSAI. Anand Vihar is the third Eat Right Station after Mumbai Central and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station with the top-most ranking and we feel proud to achieve such a high score. We are glad to be associated with FSSAI and would continue to ensure that the food available across the outlets here will be prepared in the right hygiene and sanitary conditions, stored at proper temperature and served safely.”