How the FSSAI is empowering food safety using technology

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Its primary responsibility is to regulate and ensure the safety and quality of food products in India. FSSAI plays a crucial role in safeguarding public health by setting standards for food products, regulating their manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale, and import.

Technology has played a significant role in modernizing and streamlining FSSAI’s operations, enhancing food safety, and ensuring effective enforcement of food regulations. One prime example is the FLRS (Food Licensing and Registration system), an online system launched by FSSAI to facilitate food based businesses in India to apply for license or registration with the ability to track applications during the course of processing. All central licenses are issued online pan India through the FLRS system with minimum documentation. The system has reduced the need for physical interaction between applicants and Licensing Authorities. FSSAI has also created a ‘Food Safety Connect’ App that offers valuable insights into eligibility criteria, frequently asked questions about licensing and registration procedures, as well as regulations and compliance requirements.

Similarly, citizens can explore an array of informational videos, myth-busters, educational books, and guidance documents, all geared towards promoting safe and healthy eating practices. Further, the app offers a unique feature allowing consumers to conveniently verify FSSAI licenses or registrations on any food product, ensuring transparency and trust in their choices.

Says Lily Prasad, CTO, FSSAI, “We are now enhancing the technology foundation through a series of initiatives. We moved our database from on-premises to the Government community cloud. Our storage is optimized and we have better security and performance. We also have created an integrated dashboard where the users can on their own perform their queries instead of sending their queries to the IT team. This has saved a lot of time.”

The move towards the cloud has reduced vulnerabilities and helped the IT team focus their time on strategic issues instead of managing the IT infrastructure. FSSAI has also invested in creating AI-led capabilities. For example, FSSAI receives close to 15 to 20,000 applications for licenses every week. An AI-led inspection system allocates the inspection activity to personnel automatically which has improved transparency and efficiencies significantly.

Understanding the need for improved security, FSSAI will also invest significantly in enhancing its security posture. Lily Prasad says, “The data we deal with is sensitive in nature. Our focus will be on raising the level of security through audits and upgradation in security infrastructure.”