In two separate developments, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has announced equal opportunities for female and transgender business owners. In addition, the authority urged people to refrain from storing, serving, and packing food in newspapers.
The first instance supports DEI. FSSAI has added a special category provision to the online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal. The provision seeks to advance gender equality and equal opportunities for female and transgender business owners in the food industry.
“Under this provision, licensing and registering authorities will process Special Category applications in a balanced manner. The objective is to maintain a one-to-one ratio alongside regular applications. … until there are no pending applications in either category,” the authority said in a statement.
In the second instance, FSSAI cautioned that newspapers are prone to contamination by bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO, FSSAI, said that the ink used in newspapers contains several bioactive substances with known detrimental effects on health. Heavy metals and other chemicals found in printing inks, such as lead, have the potential to leach into food over time and pose a serious health risk.
To ensure consumer safety, the FSSAI has advised using approved food packaging materials like food-grade containers.