Kerala Retains Top Spot In India's Food Safety Index For Second Consecutive Year (Photo on X@pythoroshan)
Kerala has once again secured first position in the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) 2024, marking the second consecutive year that the southern state has claimed the spot. The state had in 2023 topped the index, replacing Tamil Nadu, which slipped to third position last year while Punjab secured second.
However, in 2024, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, and Nagaland followed Kerala in the index. In 2022, Tamil Nadu secured the first rank, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra. In 2021, Gujarat topped the list while Kerala and Tamil Nadu secured second and third positions, respectively.
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The Food Safety Index evaluates the performance of states and union territories across food safety norms and their implementation. The parameters that are evaluated for the food safety includes human resources, institutional data, compliance, food testing facilities, training and capacity building, and consumer empowerment.
Expressing her delight, Kerala Health Minister Veena George thanked the dedicated employees in the food safety department for working to ensure the food safety guidelines. The minister praised the team’s “collaborative efforts” calling them instrumental in achieving esteemed rank.
The minister also noted that the state excelled in over 40 areas related to food safety, and the paramotors include food security inspections, sample collection and testing, prosecution cases, and the number of NABL-accredited laboratories. The minister also pointed out the testing excellence in labs, the functioning of mobile labs, and other training and awareness activities. “This achievement is a recognition for the excellent work done by Kerala in the field of food security,” wrote the Health Minister in a Facebook post.
The food safety index was started in 2018-19 to create a competitive and positive change in the field.
