FSSAI Technical Officer and Central

Food Safety Officer

EXAM STUDY MATERIAL 2021-CBT STAGE-1

Syllabus Covered:

Chapter I: Indian and International Food Laws (An Overview)

Chapter II: FSSAI - Role, Functions, Initiatives (A General Understanding)
Chapter III: Principles of Food Preservation, Processing and Packaging

Chapter IV: Principles and Basics of Food Chemistry and their role in
Human Nutrition

Chapter V: Food Microbiology & General principles of Food Hygiene

Chapter VI: General concepts of Food Analysis and Testing

FSM EDUCATION

www.foodsafetyofficerexam.com
SYLLABUS COVERED:

Chapter I: Indian and International Food Laws (An Overview)

Unit 1: Food Safety and Standards Act of India, 2006: Provision, definitions and different sections of the Act and
Implementation.
Unit 2: FSS Rules and Regulations
Unit 3: Overview of other relevant national bodies (e.g. APEDA, BIS EIC, MPEDA, Spice Board etc.)
Unit 4: International Food Control Systems/Laws, Regulations and Standards/Guidelines with regard to Food
Safety – (i) Overview of CODEX Alimentarius Commission (History, Members, Standard setting and
Advisory mechanisms: JECFA, JEMRA JMPR): WTO agreements (SPS/TBT):
Unit 5: Important national and international accreditation bodies

Chapter II: FSSAI - Role, Functions, Initiatives ( A General Understanding)

Unit1: Genesis and Evolution of FSSAI

Unit2: Structure and Functions of Food Authority
Unit3: Overview of systems and processes in Standards, Enforcement, Laboratory ecosystem, Imports,
Third Party Audit etc.
Unit4: Promoting safe and wholesome Food (Eat Right India, Food Fortification, snf, Clean Street Food
Hub, RUCO and various other social and behavioural change initiatives)
Unit5: Training and capacity building
Unit6: Role of State Food Authorities

Chapter III: Principles of Food Preservation, Processing and Packaging

Unit1: Food Processing Operations, Principles, Good Manufacturing Practices

Unit2: Overview of food preservation methods and their underlying principles including novel and emerging
methods/principles
Unit3: Overview of food packaging methods and principles including novel packaging materials/techniques

Chapter IV: Principles and Basics of Food Chemistry and their role in Human Nutrition

Unit 1: Structure and functions of macro-and micro nutrients

Unit2: Role of macro and micronutrients in human nutrition
Unit3: Overview of food additives with respect to their technological functions
Unit4: Overview of anti-nutritional factors and their removal from foods
Unit5: Overview of enzymes as food processing aids
Unit6: Overview of nutraceuticals and functions foods
Unit7: Overview of food contaminants and adulterants and their effects on human health
Unit8: Food allergens and allergenicity
Unit9: Importance of diet in alleviating health risks, especially non-communicable diseases
Chapter V: Food Microbiology & General principles of Food Hygiene

Unit1: General principles of food microbiology and overview of food borne pathogens
Unit2: Overview of sources of microorganisms in food chain (raw materials, water, air, equipment etc.) and
microbiological quality of foods
Unit3: Microbial food spoilage and Food borne diseases
Unit4: General principles and techniques in microbiological examination of foods
Unit5: Overview of beneficial microorganisms and their role in food processing and human nutrition
Unit6: General principles of food safety management systems including traceability and recall – sanitation, HACCP,
Good production and processing practices (GMP, GAP, GHP, GLP, BAP, etc)

Chapter VI: General concepts of Food Analysis and Testing

Unit1: Fundamentals of field level and laboratory sampling with reference to importance of statistical tools.
Unit2: Overview of basic/classical methods of food analysis
Unit3: Overview of modern analytical techniques including mass spectrometry and molecular techniques.
Unit4: Principles of Quality assurance and Quality control with reference to food analysis and testing.
Chapter I: Indian and International Food Laws (An Overview)

Unit 1: Food Safety and Standards Act of India, 2006: Provision, definitions and
different sections of the Act and Implementation.

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS ACT, 2006

No. 34 OF 2006 [23rd August, 2006]

An Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their
manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome
food for human consumption and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as

follows:-
CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act
and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a
reference to the coming into force of that provision.

2. Declaration as to expediency of control by the Union.

It is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its
control the food industry.

3. Definitions.

(a) “adulterant” means any material which is or could be employed for making the food
unsafe or sub-standard or mis-branded or containing extraneous matter;

(b) “advertisement” means any audio or visual publicity, representation or pronouncement

made by means of any light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website
and includes through any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or other documents;

(c) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Food Authority;

(d) “claim” means any representation which states, suggests, or implies that a food has
particular qualities relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature, processing,
composition or otherwise;

(e) “Commissioner of Food Safety” means the Commissioner of Food Safety appointed
under section 30;

(f) “consumer” means persons and families purchasing and receiving food in order to meet
their personal needs;

(g) “contaminant” means any substance, whether or not added to food, but which is present
in such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry,
animal husbandry or veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment,
packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food or as a result of environmental
contamination and does not include insect fragments, rodent hairs and other extraneous
matter;

(h) “Designated Officer” means the officer appointed under section 36;

(i) “extraneous matter” means any matter contained in an article of food which may be
carried from the raw materials, packaging materials or process systems used for its
manufacture or which is added to it, but such matter does not render such article of food
unsafe;

(j) “Food” means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed,
which is intended for human consumption and includes primary food to the extent defined in
clause (zk), genetically modified or engineered food or food containing such ingredients,
infant food, packaged drinking water, alcoholic drink, chewing gum, and any substance,
including water used into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but does
not include any animal feed, live animals unless they are prepared or processed for placing
on the market for human consumption, plants, prior to harvesting, drugs and medicinal
products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances :
 Provided that the Central Government may declare, by notification in the Official
Gazette, any other article as food for the purposes of this Act having regards to its use,
nature, substance or quality;

(k) “food additive” means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself or used
as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional
addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the
manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of
such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its
by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such food
but does not include “contaminants” or substances added to food for maintaining or
improving nutritional qualities;

(l) “Food Analyst” means an analyst appointed under section45;

(m) “Food Authority” means the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India established
under section 4;

(n) “Food business” means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or
private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of manufacture, processing,
packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food, import and includes food services,
catering services, sale of food or food ingredients;

(o) “food business operator” in relation to food business means a person by whom the business
is carried on or owned and is responsible for ensuring the compliance of this Act, rules and
regulations made thereunder;

(p) “food laboratory” means any food laboratory or institute established by the Central or a State
Government or any other agency and accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing
and Calibration Laboratories or an equivalent accreditation agency and recognised by the
Food Authority under section 43;

(q) “food safety” means assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption according
to its intended use;

(r) “food safety audit” means a systematic and functionally independent examination of food
safety measures adopted by manufacturing units to determine whether such measures and
related results meet with objectives of food safety and the claims madein that behalf;
 (s) “Food Safety Management System” means the adoption Good Manufacturing Practices,
Good Hygienic Practices, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and such other
practices as may be specified by regulation, for the food business;
(t) “Food Safety Officer” means an officer appointed under section 37;

(u) “hazard” means a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the
potential to cause an adverse health effect;
(v) “import” means bringing into India any article of food by land, sea or air;

THE SECOND SCHEDULE

[See Section 97]

1. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954).

2. The Fruit Products Order, 1955.
3. The Meat Food Products Order, 1973.
4. The Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947.
5. The Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998.
6. The Solvent Extracted Oil, De oiled Meal, and Edible Flour (Control)
Order, 1967.
7. The Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992.
8. Any other order issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955
(10 of 1955) relating to food.
Unit 2: FSS Rules and Regulations

Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011

CHAPTER 1
GENERAL
1.1: Title and commencement
1.1.1: These rules may be called the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011.
1.1.2: They shall come into force after three months from the date of their publication in the official
Gazette.
1.2: Definitions
1.2.1: In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,
1. “Act” means the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Act 34 of 2006) ;
2. “Adjudicating Officer” means the Adjudicating Officer appointed under sub-section (1) of section 68 of
the
Act.
3. “Advocate” means a person who is entitled to practice the profession of law under the Advocates Act,
1961
(25 of 1961)
4. “Appellate Tribunal” means the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 70 of the Act.
5. “Authorised Officer” means an officer authorized by the Food Authority referred in the sub-section (5)
of
section 47 of the Act.
6. “Inquiry” means the inquiry referred to in section 68.
7. “Licensing Authority” means the Designated Officer appointed under section 36 of the Act for the local
area
and includes any other officer so appointed for the purpose of granting license by the Commissioner of
Food Safety.
8. “Notified laboratory” means any of the laboratories notified by the Food Authority under sub-sections
(1)
and (2) of section 43 of the Act.
9. “Presiding Officer” means a person appointed as Presiding Officer of the Appellate Tribunal under
section
70 of the Act.
10. “Referral laboratory” means any of the laboratories established and/or recognized by the Food
Authority
by notification under sub section (2) of section 43 of the Act.

11. “Registrar” means the Registrar of the Appellate Tribunal and includes an officer of such Appellate
Tribunal who is authorized by the Presiding Officer to function as Registrar
12. “Registry” means the registry of the Appellate Tribunal
13. “Rules” means the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011.

CHAPTER 2
 ENFORCEMENT STRUCTURE AND PROCEDURES

2.1 - Qualification and duties

2.1.1: Commissioner of Food Safety:
1. Qualification: No person below the rank of “Commissioner and Secretary” to State Government shall
be
eligible to be appointed as the Commissioner of Food Safety.
2. Powers and Duties: Powers and duties of the Commissioner of Food Safety shall be as provided in the
section 30 (2) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

2.1.2: Designated Officer

1. Qualification
(i) The Designated Officer shall be a whole time Officer, not below the rank of Sub-Divisional Officer or
equivalent and shall possess a minimum of bachelors’ degree in Science with chemistry as one of the
subjects
or at least one of the educational qualifications prescribed for the Food Safety Officer under these Rules.
(ii) He shall Undergo training as may be specified by the Food Authority, within a period of six months
from the date of his appointment as Designated Officer.
(iii) (a) persons having been appointed as food Inspector having qualification prescribed under
the PFA Rules, 1955 or as Local Health Authority shall be eligible for appointment as Designated Officer,
subject to fulfilling such other conditions as may be prescribed for the post of Designated Officer by the
State Government.
(b) At the time of commencement of these rules, the post of designated Officer is held by any other
officer of equivalent rank as additional charge basis such other officer shall continue to hold such
additional charge till such time a whole time Designated Officer is appointed or for a period of one year
whichever is earlier.

2.1.3: Food Safety Officer

1. Qualification: Food Safety Officer shall be a whole time officer and shall, on the date on which he is so
appointed possesses the following:
(i) a degree in Food Technology or Dairy Technology or Biotechnology or Oil Technology or Agricultural
Science or Veterinary Sciences or Bio-Chemistry or Microbiology or Masters Degree in Chemistry or
degree in medicine from a recognized University, or
(ii) any other equivalent/recognized qualification notified by the Central Government, and
(iii) has successfully completed training as specified by the Food Authority in a recognized institute or
Institution approved for the purpose.
Provided that no person who has any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of any article of
food shall be appointed to be a Food Safety Officer under this rule

2. On the date of commencement of these Rules, a person who has already been appointed as a Food
Inspector under the provisions of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, may perform the duties of the
Food
Safety Officer if notified by the state/Central government if the officer fulfils such other conditions as may
be prescribed for the post of Food Safety Officer by the State Government.
3. State Government may, in cases where a Medical Officer of health administration of local area has been
performing the function of food Inspector under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, assign the
powers and duties of Food Safety Officer to such Medical Officer in charge of health administration of that
area.

Provided further that the persons appointed under clauses 2 and 3 above, shall undergo a specialized
training laid down by the Food Authority within a period of two years from the commencement of these
rules.

4. Powers and Duties:

(i) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on him under section 38 of the Act, where the Food Safety
Officer is of the opinion or he has reason(s) to be recorded in writing that in the given situation it is not
possible to comply with the provision of section 38 (1) (c) or the proviso to section 38(1) for reasons like
non availability of the Food Business Operator, the Food Safety Officer may seize the adulterant or food
which is unsafe or sub-standard or mis-branded or containing extraneous matter, may seal the premises for
investigation after taking a sample of such adulterant or food for analysis.

Unit 3: Overview of other relevant national bodies (e.g. APEDA, BIS EIC, MPEDA,
Spice Board etc.)

APEDA:

Introduction:

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established
by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985. The Authority, with its headquarters at New
Delhi, is headed by a Chairperson. APEDA has been serving the agri-export community for 27 years. In
order to reach out to the exporters in different parts of the Country, APEDA has set up 5 Regional offices
at Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata & Guwhati and 13 Virtual Offices at Thiruvananthapuram
(Kerala), Bhubaneshwar (Orissa), Srinagar (J&K), Chandigarh, Imphal (Manipur), Agartala (Tripura),
Kohima (Nagaland), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Raipur (Chattisgarh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bhopal
(Madhya Pradesh), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Panaji (Goa). APEDA has been entrusted with the
responsibility of export promotion and development of 14 agricultural and processed food product groups
listed in the Schedule to the APEDA Act. In addition to this, APEDA has been entrusted with the
responsibility to monitor the import of sugar as well.

FUNCTIONS

• In accordance with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
Act, 1985, (2 of 1986) the following functions have been assigned to the Authority.
 • Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of providing
financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participation in
enquiry capital through joint ventures and other reliefs and subsidy schemes;

APEDA'S PRESENCE

APEDA has marked its presence in almost all agro potential states of India and has been providing services
to agri-export community through its head office, 12 Regional offices.

HEAD OFFICE

New delhi

BIS:

Introduction :

BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious
development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the
national economy in a number of ways – providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards
to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through
standardization, certification and testing.

BIS is involved in various activities as given below:

• Standards Formulation
• Product Certification Scheme

Food Products with mandatory BIS Certification as per Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and
Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011 are as under :

• Infant formula (IS 14433)

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)

The Marine Products Export Development Authority(MPEDA) was set up under Section (4) of MPEDA
Act, 1972 and became functional from 20th April, 1972. It is a statutory body functioning under the
Department of Commerce. The MPEDA, a statutory body, is responsible for development of the marine
products industry with special reference to exports. It is headed by a Chairman. It has its headquarters at
Kochi and has a number of Regional and Sub- Regional Offices.
Unit 4: International Food Control Systems/Laws, Regulations and
Standards/Guidelines with regard to Food Safety – (i) Overview of CODEX
Alimentarius Commission (History, Members, Standard setting and Advisory
mechanisms: JECFA, JEMRA JMPR): WTO agreements (SPS/TBT):

CODEX Alimentarius Commission

CODEX Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, established
jointly by FAO and WHO in 1963. The CODEX Alimentarius Commission functions with the help of a
Chairperson and 3 ViceChairpersons. The CODEX Secretariat is located in Rome. CODEX Alimentarius
Commission develops harmonised international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect
the health of the consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade. These standards are based on science
and scientific opinion provided by the independent international risk assessment bodies of FAO and WHO.
These food standards and related texts aim at protecting consumers' health and ensuring fair
practices in the food trade.

The current list of active CODEX Committees/Task Force functioning under the CAC is:-

1. Executive Committee of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC)

2. General Subject Committees / Task Force

• CODEX Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF)

• CODEX Committee on Food Additives (CCFA)
• CODEX Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH)
• CODEX Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS)
• CODEX Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL)
• CODEX Committee on General Principles (CCGP)
• CODEX Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS)
• CODEX Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU)
• CODEX Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR)
• CODEX Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF)

3. Commodity Committees
 • CODEX Committee on Cereals, Pulses and Legumes(CCCPL)
• CODEX Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV)
• CODEX Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO)
• CODEX Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV)
• CODEX Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)

SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR CODEX WORK

Since CODEX standards are science based, the CODEX committees apply Risk Analysis principles in the
process of development of standards and accordingly rely, where required, on the independent scientific
advice provided by expert bodies organized by FAO/WHO. Risk Analysis is fundamental to the scientific
basis of CODEX Standards. These bodies also give direct scientific advice to Member Governments. There
are four FAO/WHO Expert Committees, serving as independent scientific bodies which performs risk
assessments and provide advice to FAO, WHO and the member countries of both organizations on the
subject areas viz. food additives, pesticide residues, veterinary drugs residues, contaminants, hygiene and
nutrition to the respective committees. Namely, these are:

1. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) which provides scientific
support to CCFA, CCCF and CCRVDF;
2. Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) which provides scientific support to
CCPR;
3. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) which
provides scientific support to CCFH;
4. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Nutrition (JEMNU) providing scientific support to
CCNFSDU.

WTO agreements (SPS/TBT):

Under the WTO agreement, the SPS agreement has two-fold mandate, namely,
• Countries have a right to protect the life and health of its plants, animals and human beings; and
• While doing so, member countries should ensure that they do not create unnecessary barriers to
trade.

Chapter II: FSSAI - Role, Functions, Initiatives ( A General Understanding)

Unit1: Genesis and Evolution of FSSAI

GENESIS OF THE FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS ACT 2006

Prior to the enactment of Food Standards and Safety Act in 2006, there were a number of food related
legislation administered by different Ministries of Government of India. No less than eight legislation
prescribed the minimum regulatory standards for various type of food and food products prior to FSS Act.
Over a period of time, this led to a state of multiplicity of food standards (often overlapping and sometimes
contradictory to one another) and enforcement agencies. This created confusion among food businesses,
consumers, traders, manufacturers and investors and hampered the growth of a modern food processing
sector in the country as well as fixation of safety standards. Further the existing laws on food had failed to
match the rapid evolution of food related technologies and advancements in the production, distribution &
marketing of the food.

The Second Schedule of the Act contains all the earlier food related legislations which are as follows.

1. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 (Act No 37 of 1954)

2. Food Product's Order 1955
3. The Meat Food Product's Order 1973
4. The Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order 1947
5. The edible oil's packaging (Regulation) Order 1998
6. The Solvent Extracted Oil, de-oiled meal, & edible flour (Control) Order 1967
7. Milk & Milk Product's Order 1992
8. Any Other Order issued under the essential commodities Act 1955 (10 of 1955) relating to
food Under Section 99 of the Act, Milk & Milk Product's Order 1992 shall be deemed to be
Regulation issued by the Authority under this Act.

Unit2: Structure and Functions of Food Authority

Unit3: Overview of systems and processes in Standards, Enforcement,
Laboratory ecosystem, Imports, Third Party Audit etc.

STANDARDIZATION (VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL)

FSSAI notified standards are mandatory standards and compulsorily to be followed by the food businesses,
there are other organizations and agencies that frame food standards which are voluntary standards.
However, some of these are considered as a basic requirement for the FBO to obtain FSSAI licenses which
include the BIS certification for manufacturing of packaged drinking water and” AGMARK” label for sale
of some agricultural products.

Horizontal Standards cut across various food categories and primarily relate to food safety covering
limits for various contaminants (chemical and biological), toxins in food and also requirements for
packaging, labelling and claims. These are covered under FSS (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues)
Regulations, 2011, under Appendix B of FSS (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations,
2011 and FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011.

THIRD PARTY AUDIT

To strengthen the food safety surveillance system, FSSAI has envisaged audits of Food Business Operators
through Private Auditing Agencies. In order to cultivate and foster the growth of compliance culture,
FSSAI is enabling compliance through private recognized Auditing Agencies.

The Food Safety Audits reduce the regulatory Food Safety Inspections conducted by Central or State
Licensing Authorities. Satisfactory Audits will lead to less frequent regulatory inspections by Central or
State Licensing Authority except the regulatory sampling. This will strengthen food safety surveillance
system and encourage self-compliance while at the same time assuring safe food to the consumers.

Unit4: Promoting safe and wholesome Food (Eat Right India, Food Fortification,
snf, Clean Street Food Hub, RUCO and various other social and behavioural
change initiatives)

EAT RIGHT INDIA MOVEMENT

In the preamble to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI is expected to ensure availability of
safe and wholesome food for the people in India. Inspired by the focus on preventive and promotive
healthcare in the National Health Policy 2017 and flagship programmes like Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN
Abhiyaan and Swacch Bharat Mission, FSSAI has embarked on a large-scale effort to transform the
country's food system in order to provide people safe, healthy and sustainable food through the “Eat Right
India” movement.

The Eat Right India Movement is based on three key themes/pillars - Eat Safe, Eat Healthy, and Eat
Sustainably.

Eat Safe : Ensuring personal and surrounding hygiene, hygienic and sanitary practices through the food
supply chain, combating adulteration, reducing toxins and contaminants in food and controlling food
hazards in processing and manufacturing processes.

Eat Healthy : Promoting diet diversity and balanced diets, eliminating toxic industrial trans-fats from food,
reducing consumption of salt, sugar and saturated fats and promoting large-scale fortification of staples to
address micronutrient deficiencies.

Eat Sustainable : Promote local and seasonal foods, prevent food loss and food waste, conserve water in
food value chains, reduce use of chemicals in food production and presentation and use of safe and
sustainable packaging.

These key themes are operationalised through six strategic priorities viz.

1) Robust standards and codes of practices

2) Credible food testing and effective surveillance

3) Strengthened compliance, enforcement and emergency response

4) Strong culture of self-compliance

5) Promoting healthy diets and sustainability

6) Empowered consumers

BUILDING CONSUMER AWARENESS

Nudging consumers to eat right calls for a slew of measures that not only create awareness, but constantly
reiterate the importance of 'mindful' eating to ensure a sustainable change in habits. Since food is consumed
not only at home, but also at the workplace, in schools/colleges etc, there are opportunities in every space
to promote safe and wholesome food habits. Home food choices can be influenced by targeting consumers
directly through various IEC and awareness campaigns. Food choices in schools, workplaces or other
campuses can be influenced by creating visible symbols/logos/ratings for a campus, based on compliance
to a set of well-defined benchmarks that go beyond mere safety and hygiene, to include aspects of healthy
and responsible food consumption.
Unit5: Training and capacity building

FOOD SAFETY TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME OR 'FOSTAC’

Safety can be endangered at any point in the food value chain, from manufacture to storage to transport.
FSSAI has specified procedures and practices to be followed by food businesses for actively controlling
hazards throughout the food value chain. Every food business operator is required to have a documented
FSMS plan and comply with good hygiene and manufacturing practices as laid down under Schedule 4 of
FSS Regulation 2011.

Objective : To help FBOs understand and comply with Schedule 4 requirements, a “Food Safety Training
and Certification” programme or 'FoSTaC' has been put in place, whereby Schedule 4 requirements have
been simplified to deliver training.

While FoSTaC training is voluntary at present, the Food Authority has approved in-principle a decision to
make the training mandatory. So every food business establishment will soon be required to have at least
one trained & certified Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) through FoSTAC for every 25 food-handlers in
their premises.

Unit6: Role of State Food Authorities

STATE FOOD AUTHORITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

The enforcement of the Act in states is carried out through the State/UT Commissioner of Food Safety
(CFS) and Designated Officer, Food Safety Officer, Food Analyst and Panchayat Raj/Municipal bodies.

Important Acronyms
Chapter III: Principles of Food Preservation, Processing and Packaging

Unit1: Food Processing Operations, Principles, Good Manufacturing Practices

Sorting and grading

Sorting and grading are terms which are frequently used interchangeably in the food processing industry,
but strictly speaking they are distinct operations. Sorting is a separation based on a individual physical
properties of raw materials such as weight, size, shape, density, photometric property, etc. while grading is
classification on the basis of quality incorporating commercial value, end use and official standards. The
selection of fruits and vegetables is important from processing point of view for the manufacture a
particular end product. The fruit should be ripe, but firm and evenly matured while vegetable should be
tender and reasonably free from soil, dirt, etc. They should be free from blemishes, insect damage and
malformation. Over ripe fruit is generally infected with microorganisms and would yield a poor quality
finished product. After this preliminary sorting, the fruits and vegetables are graded. This is necessary to
obtain a pack of uniform quality as regards size, colour, etc. It is done manually or with the help of grading
machines.

Blanching

Blanching refers to the mild heat treatment given to fresh produce such as vegetables to inactivate
enzymes. Polyphenol Peroxidase (PPO) is most important groups of enzymes causing browning, off-
flavour development in fruits and vegetables. PPO cause oxidation of phenolic compound namely
Catechin, Gallic acid, Chlorogenic acid and Caffeic acids. Besides PPO certain peroxidase and pectic
enzymes are also require inactivation. Pectic enzymes such as Pectin methyl esterase (PME) and
Polygalacturonase (PG) are highly meat resistance and if failed to inactivate may lead to loss of cloud in
citrus juices and serum separation in fruits and vegetables products, respectively. Their inactivation is the
index of blanching. Blanching also improves colour, flavour and nutritional quality. Usually it is done with
boiling water or steam for short periods, followed by cooling. In small scale industries, the fruit or
vegetable to be blanched is placed in a wire of perforated basket, which is first dipped in hot water (88-
99ºC) for about 2-5 minutes. Microwave treatment is also used for blanching. Blanching requirement varies
with different fruit or vegetable and depends upon relative enzyme concentration and maturity of
commodity.

GOOD MANUFACTIRING PRACTICES

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) refers to the Practices which manufacturers, processors, and
packagers should take as proactive steps to ensure that their products are safe, pure, and effective.
GMP requires a quality approach to manufacturing, enabling companies to minimize or eliminate instances
of contamination, mixups, and errors. This in turn, protects the consumer from purchasing unsafe and poor
quality products. Failure of firms to comply with GMP can result in very serious consequences including
recall, seizure, fines, and imprisonment. It addresses issues including recordkeeping, personnel
qualifications, sanitation, cleanliness, equipment verification, process validation, and complaint handling.
Most GMP requirements are very general and open-ended, allowing each manufacturer to decide
individually how to best implement the necessary controls.

Unit2: Overview of food preservation methods and their underlying principles

including novel and emerging methods/principles.

Preservation processes

Preservation processes include:

• Heating to kill or denature micro-organisms (e.g. boiling)

• Oxidation (e.g. use of sulphur dioxide)
• Toxic inhibition (e.g. smoking, use of carbon dioxide, vinegar, alcohol etc)
• Dehydration (drying)
• Osmotic inhibition ( e.g. use of syrups)
• Low temperature inactivation (e.g. freezing)
• Ultra high water pressure (e.g. fresherized, a kind of ―cold‖ pasteurization, the pressure kills
naturally occurring pathogens, which cause food deterioration and affect food safety.)
• Many combinations of these methods
• Chelation Various food preservation techniques to increase shelf-life of the products

Pulsed Electric Field Processing

Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing is a method for processing cells by means of brief pulses of a strong
electric field. PEF holds potential as a type of low temperature alternative pasteurization process for
sterilizing food products. In PEF processing, a substance is placed between two electrodes, then the pulsed
electric field is applied. The electric field enlarges the pores of the cell membranes which kills the cells and
releases their contents. PEF for food processing is a developing technology still being researched. There
have been limited industrial applications of PEF processing for the pasteurization of fruit juices.

High hydrostatic pressure

The application of high hydrostatic pressure for processing food products consists of a pressure treatment
in the range of 4000-9000 atmospheres. Hydrostatic pressure may be generated by the addition of free
energy, e.g., heating at constant volume or mechanical volume reduction. It is now technically feasible to
reach pressures up to several gigapascals and to keep it constant for a comparably long time in specially
designed vessels made from highly alloyed steel.

Unit3: Overview of food packaging methods and principles including novel

packaging materials/techniques

PACKAGING METHODS:

1. ASCEPTIC PACKAGING:

Process in which a food product, such as ultra high temperature (UHT) milk and its package is sterilized
separately and then combined and sealed under sterilized atmosphere. It increases the shelf-life.

2. VACCUM PACKAGING

It is a procedure in which air is drawn out of the package prior to sealing but no other gases are introduced.
This technique has been used for many years for products such as cured meats and cheese.

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