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FSSAI Surveillance Training
Read in detail about FSSAI FoSTaC training courses for businesses and food safety officers.
Contains detailed information about the core components of surveillance training and the role of the food safety officer.
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Overview of FSSAI Surveillance Training
- Food Safety Training is critical for all individuals involved in the food industry to ensure the production and handling of safe and high-quality food products. Food Business Operators (FBOs) and their employees can improve their food safety knowledge and capabilities through the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) initiative. This training covers various aspects of food safety, including hygiene practices, sanitation, food handling, and regulatory compliance.
- FSSAI specifically tailors its FoSTaC Training for Catering Business to address catering establishments' unique challenges and requirements, emphasizing best practices and compliance with food safety regulations. Training programmes also extend to Food Safety Officers and Designated Officers appointed by FSSAI to oversee food safety standards and enforcement. These programmes equip officers with the necessary skills to conduct inspections, monitor compliance, and take appropriate enforcement actions as needed.
- Beyond individual initiatives, FSSAI also oversees the implementation of food safety surveillance systems to monitor the safety and quality of food products circulating in the market. Initiatives like the Food Incident Surveillance System and Food and Nutrition Surveillance Systems enable to safeguard public health. These systems are part of a comprehensive approach that includes risk management, traceability, and stakeholder collaboration to enhance food safety and promote health promotion.the timely detection of potential risks and facilitate prompt interventions
Introduction to FSSAI Surveillance Training
- The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 ensures availability of safe food for consumption in India. It plays a crucial role in setting a well defined regulatory framework to make sure all the food business owners comply with the rules and regulations of FSSAI.
- A ‘food safety surveillance’ collects information about various pollutants found in food. The surveillance is conducted in a structured and well planned manner with a proper outline to understand the overall spectrum of food safety, timely identification of food safety hazards and provide the relevant data for food safety monitoring. It is also useful in risk assessment and standard setting.
Core Components of FSSAI Surveillance Training
The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006's Section 29(3) mandates that the food authority keep up a control system and other actions suitable for the situation. It consists of public outreach regarding food safety risks, food safety surveillance, and additional activities related to monitoring that encompass all phases of the food industry.
Induction Training for Food Safety Officers
The commissioner of food safety appoints Food Safety Officers (FSO’s) in accordance with Section 37 of the Food Standards and Safety Act of 2006. The FSO must successfully complete the training requirements set forth by the food authority from an accredited institution, as stated in Rule 2.1.3 of the FSS Rules 2011. They are given regulatory authority and responsibilities to make sure food industry owners comply with all FSSAI regulations.
The food safety officer receives three different kinds of training: Refreshal-based training, special/need-based training, and induction training. The food safety officers will study new Act requirements, standards, guidelines, and innovative methods of food safety monitoring in India under these training sections. The fundamentals of food safety, new rules and regulation provisions, and innovative methods of food safety monitoring throughout India will all be covered in the training.
Particularly, the induction training for FSOs is for a time period of 40 working days. This will be comprehensive and in-depth training and will be conducted as outlined below:
- Classroom training: This 14-day program will be held at any location that the State or UT government and the FSSAI mutually agree upon, or at any of the institutions that the organisation has empaneled throughout all of the States and UTs.
- On-the-job training: This is a 26-day program that is broken up into six sections. During each section, FSOs will be assigned to different offices, such as DOs, FBOs, laboratories, etc., where they will gain personal experience and be able to connect what they have learned in the classroom with what they have learned while working on the job.
- Assessment: Following the induction training, an assessment will be conducted. Assessment involves a 90-minute written test with 100 multiple-choice questions, and subsequently, the food safety officers will be mapped under on-the-job training. A report from the FSO should be sent to the DO, who will review and assess it.
For both assessments, the qualifying mark is 60%.
Advanced Training for Designated Officers
According to Section 36, the Commissioner appoints the Designated Officer, who must hold a rank not lower than that of a Sub-Divisional Officer, to oversee food safety administration in a designated region. Additionally, the Designated Officer serves as the licensing authority, responsible for granting or revoking licenses for FBOs. Therefore, training for the designated officer is essential. It is divided into three phases as an induction, refresher and special needs-based training.
Special training for DOs is conducted as required by the FSSAI to train the officers and provide the latest information with new initiatives. This is dependent upon what each state or union territory in a given area requires. The topics covered will determine how long the training takes. Advance training typically lasts for three days.
The Role of Food Safety Officers in FSSAI Surveillance
Gathering, analysing, and summarising pertinent scientific and technical data about food consumption and the exposure of specific contaminants in food intake is the main goal of surveillance. It also focuses on incidences and prevalences of biological risk in the food industry. Searching, compiling, gathering, analysing, and summarising pertinent scientific and technological data about food consumption and the exposure of individual elements to food intake reduces a number of factors in the analysis of pollutants and food.
It also focuses on incidences and prevalences of biological risk in the food industry, the analysis of contaminants in food, the reduction of various contaminants, and the identification of emerging risks. Its objectives include promoting, coordinating, and issuing guidelines for the development of risk assessment methodologies, governing and conducting them, and creating awareness about food safety among state governments and commissioners.
It is also essential in offering scientific and technical counsel and support to the central and state governments in the execution of risk management protocols. In accordance with Section 37 of the FSS Act of 2006, Food Safety Officers are appointed by the Commissioner of Food Safety through notification. FSOs must complete the training requirements set forth by the Food Authority in accredited institutions, according to Rule 2.1.3 of the FSS Rules, 2011.
To effectively execute their duties, FSOs require comprehensive knowledge of regulatory provisions, including inspection procedures, sampling, licensing and registration, packaging, labelling, and standards. Training for FSOs is structured in three categories: Induction Training, Refresher Training, and special/need-based training, designed to cover essential concepts of food safety, updates in regulations, standards, and practical field experience.
Enhancing Surveillance Capabilities through Continuous Training
FSSAI establishes both mandatory vertical and horizontal science-based standards throughout the food supply chain. These standards undergo continuous development and review, incorporating the latest advancements in food science, consumption patterns, emerging products and additives, processing technologies, analytical methods, and identification of new risks. 21 Scientific Panels and a Scientific Committee made up of more than 250 renowned scientists and subject-independent experts support this development process.
The Codex unit oversees a number of topics, such as calling meetings for the Core Group, National Codex Committee, Shadow Committee, task forces, debriefings, workshops, and colloquiums. The Food Safety Management System promotes a culture of food safety for India's population of over 1.3 billion, based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. FSSAI also develops guidance documents and codes of practices to enhance food safety implementation, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) nationwide. The Risk Assessment Cell designs frameworks for conducting risk assessment studies, and the Authority has established schemes for Research & Development/Food Quality and Safety. FSSAI provides financial support through grants to research projects and proposals aligned with the objectives of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.
Regulations Division
The Food Authority is required by Sections 16, 22, and 92 of the Act to develop regulations in a number of areas in accordance with Section 92(1) of the FSS Act, 2006. As specified in the Food Safety Standards and Regulations Act, 2006, and in compliance with the Committee on Subordinate Legislation's guidelines, these regulations go through a specific approval, notification, and submission process before being approved by the Authority and sent to the legislature.
The Regulations Division is responsible for notifying regulations on food safety and amending existing ones. Additionally, it develops regulations of a more generic nature that do not fall within the purview of any specific Scientific Panel or Division. Presently, 24 principal regulations have been notified in the Gazette of India.
Quality Assurance Division (I & II)
As per Section 43 of Chapter VIII of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) enables authorised food laboratories to provide a food testing environment that guarantees adherence to food safety regulations. When a food analyst conducts sample analysis, the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-endorsed accredited food laboratories and research institutes are notified by the QA Division. It also oversees the food testing laboratories' notification procedure, which includes activities like recognition, renewal, suspension, and derecognition.
Regulatory Compliance Division
Through the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), the Regulatory Compliance Division is in charge of managing all issues related to the licensing and registration of food business operators (FBOs). This division coordinates enforcement activities of the FSS Act,2006 with states and Union Territories (UTs), conducts training for regulatory staff, manages third-party audits, handles consumer grievances, liaises with regional offices of FSSAI food safety officer, conducts hygiene ratings, and oversees the recognition of Food Safety Mitras.
Collaborations and Partnerships in Surveillance Training
Surveillance is an integral part in setting up food regulations throughout India. The food testing ecosystem has to serve the following primary functions conducting and analysing test foods are food commodities domestic as well as important against the prescribed quality and safety parameters enable enforcement of food laws and regulations assistant market surveillance activities ensure the food products or sold with regulations and compliances as outlined by the FSSAI be a part of risk assessment framework include information related to food incidences and in turn help development of food standards and guidance documents.
Contributing significantly to the network's efforts to improve and develop testing techniques and raise public knowledge of food standards and testing. All the regulatory provisions are provided to increase the network of labs across India. FSSAI collaborates with different Laboratories for effective coverage. The private sector is looped into Augmented testing facilities.
13 references at the national level In order to develop and validate methods, laboratories are identified. They are also essential for training, capacity building, and research and development. The laboratory information management system (INFoLNET) is institutionalised for managing efficient communication.
There have been 45 training sessions with 1109 individuals trained thus far. Of them, 143 received training on NABL awareness, 692 on good laboratory practices, and 274 on specialised topics including veterinary drug residues, mycotoxins, and pesticide residues, among others. The regular administration of the Food Analyst Examination (FAE) and Junior Analyst Examination (JAE) is helping to strengthen the analytical workforce. Thus far, there have been 5 FAEs, and 391 Food Analysts have received certification. 184 Junior Analysts have been certified after 2 JAEs have been conducted thus far.
Strategic and long-term investments in the laboratory ecosystem have been made by FSSAI. The National Food Laboratories run by FSSAI in Kolkata and Ghaziabad have undergone state-of-the-art renovations to become top-notch establishments. Infrastructure and technical staff have also been enhanced in state-run food laboratories.
Establishing world-class facilities for laboratory training, research and development, and support for surveillance operations is being done through partnerships and scientific cooperation. GFSP, Thermofischer, and Merck are a few of the partners that have established training centres (ITC-FSAN, Food Safety Solution Center, and C-MAT).
Frequently Asked Questions
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