Food Safety Index Scores Decline in most states

Barring Punjab, Kerala, and Arunachal Pradesh, most states witnessed a decline in Food Safety Index scores. The 5th State Food Safety Index for 2022-23 was released recently by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

World Food Safety Day

The United Nations introduced World Food Safety Day in 2018. Since then, 07 June has been celebrated as World Food Safety Day. ‘World Food Safety Day’ encourages everyone to adopt and expect food safety standards along the food supply chain.  Foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year.

On average, every day, 1.6 million people fall sick due to unsafe food. 340 children under 5 years of age die due to these preventable foodborne diseases. Nearly 4.2 lakh people die every year by consuming contaminated food. , children under 5 years of age constitute about 40%, with 1,25,000 deaths every year. There are also about 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhea to cancers, caused by consuming unsafe food. 

SFSI Report for 2022-23 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the 5th State Food Safety Index for the year 2022-23 recently. Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu are leading among large states while Goa, Manipur, and Sikkim lead among small states.  Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, and Chandigarh are among the union territories.

Despite Arunachal Pradesh’s improvement in score by 4.5, the state’s score is only 25.5, half of that of the top scorer in the small states category. 

Andhra Pradesh’s score dropped by 33 points, Chhattisgarh by 24 points, Assam by 21 points, Haryana by 20 points, and Uttar Pradesh by 7.5 points. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat with an average of 70 points saw a significant drop to 56.5 and 48.5 respectively.

States like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Jharkhand, which saw commendable improvement in scores in the last 3-4 years, have unfortunately reported a significant drop in the latest assessment.

SFSI Score is below 20 for Mizoram, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep

Goa’s score continues to be the highest despite a drastic drop from 84 to 51 in the five years. In Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, the scores have dropped by more than 20 points each. Mizoram’s score is the least among all states with 14.5 points. 

Jammu and Kashmir continues to be the top scorer among union territories for the third consecutive year with a score of 59.5, higher than most large states. Lakshadweep has the lowest score with a score of 4 and Puducherry has a score of 12.