FSSAI conducts food safety surveillance drive across Nagaland 

As part of the National Annual Surveillance Plan (NASP), a special initiative by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), food safety officers from Kohima, Mokokchung, and Dimapur conducted a large-scale sampling of various food products to assess quality and safety standards.

According to officials, surveillance samples were lifted from fresh fruits and vegetables, food grains, organic foods, confectioneries including chocolates, packaged drinking water/mineral water, paneer and dairy analogues, jaggery, and other food items.

A total of 97 samples were collected from Kohima, Mokokchung, Dimapur, Phek, and Tuensang and sent for testing at the State Public Health Laboratory, Kohima, as well as various National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-certified facilities. According to an update from DIPR, in addition to this special surveillance drive, food samples are collected every month for both survey and enforcement purposes.

In continuation to the above, surveillance drive on dairy analogues and used cooking oil is ongoing to check and prevent food adulteration, fraud regarding the standards, labelling, and misinterpretation of dairy analogue products and also to check/prevent the re-entry of used cooking oil in the food chain.

MT