FoSTaC Training
In accordance with Section 16 (3)(h) of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is responsible for providing training programs in Food Safety and Standards to individuals involved in food businesses. The largest initiative undertaken by FSSAI in this regard is the Food Safety Training & Certification (FoSTaC) program, which was launched in July 2017.
The objective of the FoSTaC program is to enhance the availability of skilled and trained manpower in the food industry, promote self-compliance to food safety regulations among food businesses, and cultivate a culture of food safety in the country. To achieve these goals, FSSAI has developed 25 certification courses (including one self-learning course) in accordance with the hygiene and sanitary requirements outlined in Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Licensing and Registration Regulations, 2011. These courses cover various aspects of the food value chain and are designed to cater to the training needs of different types of food businesses at various levels.
The training is conducted in a cascading mode, where National Resource Persons (NRPs) train the trainers, who then train food safety supervisors. These supervisors, in turn, train food handlers in their respective food business premises. An online platform, the FoSTaC Portal, has been developed to manage the entire training program, providing easy access and transparency.
Since the initiation of the FoSTaC program, over 950,000 food safety supervisors have been trained in more than 32,000 training sessions across the country. This significant growth in training capacity demonstrates the demand for such courses and signifies a major transformation in the country’s approach to food safety. It is expected that FoSTaC trainings will foster a culture of self-compliance and raise the standards of food safety and hygiene in the country.