Tamil Nadu emerged as the winner in the large states category in the State Food Safety Index awards announced by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday. Andhra Pradesh ranked the last.
In three categories of large states, small states and Union Territories, the State Food Safety Index assesses five parameters of food safety – human resources and institutional data, compliance, food-testing infrastructure and surveillance, training and capacity building, and consumer empowerment.
The rating is done by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
This year, Tamil Nadu topped the index among 17 large states with 82 points, followed by Gujarat at 77.5 points and Maharashtra at 70 points. Last year, Gujarat had ranked first with 72 points, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Andhra Pradesh performed the worst this year with 26 points. Telangana and Bihar were also among the bottom three states.
In the small states category, Goa topped the list, followed by Manipur and Sikkim. Arunachal Pradesh was at the bottom of the list.
Among union territories, Jammu and Kashmir scored highest with 68.5 points, followed by Delhi with 66 and Chandigarh.
The Centre noted that there was a significant improvement in rankings of Uttarakhand, Tripura and Ladakh. Mandaviya said that the government is dedicated to ensure health security for all the citizens of the country.
“It is important to note that states have an important role in ensuring food safety and healthy food practices,” he said. “It is the need of the hour that we come together to ensure a healthy nation.”
The award ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the World Food Safety Day.
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