The latest State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for the period of 2022-2023, released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), provides crucial insights into how Indian states are performing in terms of ensuring food safety. The index introduces a new parameter, ‘Improvement in SFSI Rank’, which evaluates a state’s progress compared to the previous year. Adjustments were made to other parameters to accommodate this change.
Understanding the State Food Safety Index (SFSI)
The SFSI, initiated in 2018-19, is an annual assessment that gauges the performance of different Indian states and union territories when it comes to food safety. The index employs a dynamic, objective benchmarking model that is both quantitative and qualitative to rate food safety across all States/UTs. The aim of the SFSI is to spur competitive and positive changes in the food safety ecosystem within the country.
Key Findings of the State Food Safety Index 2022-2023
Notably, 19 out of 20 large Indian states, including Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, experienced reduced SFSI scores in 2022-2023 compared to 2019. After adjusting for a newly introduced parameter in 2022-2023, 15 out of 20 states witnessed lower SFSI scores compared to those in 2019.
Observations on Specific Parameters
One of the parameters to experience a steep fall is ‘Food Testing Infrastructure’. This parameter assesses the availability of adequate testing infrastructure and trained personnel for testing food samples in each state. The average score for all major states plummeted from 13 out of 20 in 2019 to 7 out of 17 in 2022-2023. Gujarat and Kerala excelled in this parameter, while Andhra Pradesh lagged behind.
There was also a decline in ‘Compliance’ scores, which measure tasks such as licensing and registration of food businesses, inspections, organizing special drives and camps, among others. Punjab and Himachal Pradesh scored the highest, while Jharkhand received the lowest score.
A discrepancy was observed in the ‘Consumer Empowerment’ parameter. It measures a state’s performance in various consumer empowering initiatives of FSSAI. Tamil Nadu was the top performer in this category, followed by Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. However, despite this, the average score in 2022-2023 is just 8 points out of 19, a slight increase from 2019’s 7.6 points out of 20.
The ‘Human Resources and Institutional Data’ parameter, which evaluates the availability of human resources including number of Food Safety Officers, Designated Officers, and facility of adjudications and appellate tribunals in each state, also saw a decrease in average scores.
Positive Outcomes
On a positive note, the average score for the ‘Training and Capacity Building’ parameter saw an increase from 3.5 out of 10 in 2019 to 5 out of 8 in 2022-2023. Furthermore, in the newly introduced ‘Improvement in SFSI Rank’ parameter, only Punjab showed commendable improvement.
Clearly, the findings of the State Food Safety Index 2022-2023 offer crucial insights into the state of food safety across India and serves as a reminder of the continuous efforts required to improve the food safety environment in the country.