Tirupati: FSSAI to ensure safe food for devotees

Tirupati : The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will take steps to provide quality and healthy food to the multitude of devotees visiting Tirumala daily for darshan.

The 41st Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting was held on Thursday at a hotel here under the aegis of FSSAI and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

At the request of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive officer A V Dharma Reddy, FSSAI officials visited Tirumala.

During the visit, FSSAI chief executive officer G Kamala Vardhana Rao, AP Food Safety Commissioner J Nivas and others discussed necessary steps to be taken to improve the quality of food and drinking water supply and enhance management of laddu making unit and anna prasadam centre where TTD provides free food daily to a large number of devotees, with EO Dharma Reddy.

The FSSAI officials expressed willingness to establish a state-of-the-art food quality testing lab in Tirupati for ensuring quality and healthy food supply in the pilgrim city.

Also, managers and staff of hotels in Tirupati will be trained in collaboration with TTD to provide healthy and quality food to devotees arriving daily from various places on pilgrimage to Tirumala.

The Central and state governments and TTD will work together to provide quality food to the devotees.

In the CAC 41st meeting, the CEO Kamala Vardhana Rao said the responsibility of implementing the rules and regulations for the public health lies on the FSSAI officials who should strive to ensure the food safety standards.

Food safety commissioners, secretaries and experts from various states participated in the CAC meeting which discussed various subjects, including promotion of millet, keeping in view that this year 2023 was declared as International Millet Year, the precautionary measures to be followed by railway catering, students, sports and other categories for healthy and safe food, etc.,

The meet also congratulated ISRO chairman, scientists and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Chandrayaan-3 successful soft landing on south pole of moon.

FSSAI executive director Inoshi Sharma, quality and assurance wing advisor Satyan Kumar Panda and others were present.