People’s love for food is visible from the overcrowded eating joints and restaurants. It's not easy to manage large crowds and feed them all!
It’s a huge task and a lot of hard work goes behind the scenes to ensure that people get good, safe, and healthy food. After all the food industry at large plays a very crucial role in ensuring food safety that goes a long way to maintain good public health.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) certificate is responsible for ensuring that you are in good hands, literally!
The FSSAI health check-up is a mandatory requirement, where the food handlers undergo health check-ups once a year.
So, what is the FSSAI Health Checkup?
FSSAI is a statutory body of the Government of India, that falls under the Ministry of health and Family Welfare. The FSSAI aims to maintain high standards of food safety to protect the well-being of the people. A FSSAI health check-up is a mandatory medical examination of everyone who handles the food in some way. This is to assess their fitness to work in the food industry and handle food. The FSSAI has mandates which need to be followed by all food joints, restaurants, and all food production and packaging units. It is necessary to ensure that the handlers are free from infections, communicable diseases, or related health issues to keep the food from getting contaminated and that the food quality is not compromised in any way.
Why is the FSSAI Health Checkup important?
- To keep the kitchen germ-free. This is to prevent foodborne diseases, like typhoid, hepatitis, and other gastrointestinal disorders. Food handlers are tested and can be identified and treated before affecting the public.
- To ensure good hygiene standards. By the virtue of work, food handlers are in close contact with your food, poor hygiene affects food quality. Regular health screenings ensure that the oral hygiene, and personal hygiene of the food handlers in maintained. It also checks for any skin issues or respiratory disorders that could hamper the quality of food.
- It’s the Law. The government has strict rules and regulations when it comes to food. All big and small food joint owners need to comply with the Food Safety and Standards Act. All workers must get regular health check-ups. Noncompliance can lead to fines or penalties.
- To ensure the well-being of the workforce. A regular FSSAI check-up not only helps in reducing the risk of spreading infections but also helps improve the quality of life of the workforce. It educates them on the importance of hygiene measures and the need for standard operating procedures.
The Process
So, what is required to get the FSSAI certificate? Let us walk through the easy process.
The first step is basic registration. The food business owners need to register their food handlers for health check-ups. Each food handler is then required to submit proof of identification, employment details, and job description. This helps in generating a personalized record with the FSSAI for each food handler. It also helps to link the food handler’s role in the stage of the food chain.
The second step is the lifestyle assessment and medical history. Each food handler is asked to fill out a medical form that helps the doctors to understand the medical history, and general condition and also gives an idea of any known illness and ongoing medications. This is essential to assess the overall well-being of the workers. The food handlers also need to answer some non-invasive questions about their lifestyle, like alcohol consumption routine, smoking habits, and such lifestyle factors that give an idea about any potential risk factors, especially those that could affect their role in their ability to handle food.
Next up is the physical examination of the food handlers. An assessment of the overall health and basic vital signs like BMI, blood pressure measurement, heart rate, etc. is carried out. After this more specific evaluations like skin tests and signs of infectious diseases are carried out. Skin infections like rashes and sores could lead to contamination of food, similarly, any infections like colds, and cough can be easily communicable and result in contamination of food. Hence these checks are crucial.
We then come to the most critical part of the checks, the testing for communicable diseases. Communicable diseases like viral or bacterial infections are a major concern because they can be easily transmitted. The tests that are included in this are typhoid, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, and Hepatitis A. These tests ensure that the food going to the consumers is safe.
The next step is the ear and eye examination. That’s correct! Might sound strange, but good vision and hearing are important while working in and around the kitchen. Listening to warnings and reading food labels is a primary job of the food handler, hence these two tests are very vital. Poor vision and hearing could lead to cross-contamination or any mistakes or using expired or wrong products. Missing out on the safety cues is not accepted so it's best to be prepared at all times!
Most health check-ups include a refresher course on hygiene practices and safety issues. This is helpful to remind the food handlers of the importance of washing hands, wearing gloves, using hairnets, reading safety cues, and avoiding cross-contamination. As they say, knowledge is power! Although not a ‘test’ per se, food and safety training are the key aspect of the food handler tests.
The FSSAI recommends these checkups regularly, after all the health of the public at large is at stake. Health depends on a lot of factors and can change over time, new illnesses can develop and spread anytime, hence these FSSAI health checkups are recommended typically once or twice a year.
Regular check-ups help detect health issues early on, ensuring the environment is safe, thus, keeping the entire food chain safe and healthy!
So, the next time you grab a bite at your favourite restaurant or street vendor, remember to thank the FSSAI.