A cluster of roadside eateries and pushcarts operating at Tatabad in Coimbatore has been given Clean Street Food Hub, a certification accorded by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
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With this, the cluster near the Power House at Tatabad has become the third Clean Street Food Hub in Coimbatore. The first two Clean Street Food Hubs are located at Saravanampatti and VOC Park grounds.
Coimbatore District Collector G.S. Sameeran on Friday presented the certification to the representatives of vendors from Tatabad area.
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K. Tamilselvan, designated officer of FSSAI for Coimbatore, said the certification had raised the standards of food and service provided by vendors and hawkers at the first two hubs. The third hub was also found to be serving quality street food during the audit conducted by the FSSAI team a few months ago.
According to Dr. Tamilselvan, a cluster of 20 to 25 street vendors is required to start the certification process. They should have adequate space and a clean atmosphere to run the street food business.
As part of the certification, food handlers had to undergo Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC) to learn best practices in the making and handling of foods.
The District Collector on Friday chaired a district-level advisory committee meeting on food safety and issued various instructions to food business operators (FBO).
According to the district administration, 91 % of FBOs in Coimbatore district have obtained licence from the FSSAI and there were 1,148 defaulters. With regard to the registration certificate issued by the FSSAI, 92 % of the FBOs who fall under the category had completed the process and there were 2,691 defaulters.