Manipur ranked third in this year's State Food Safety Index (SFSI) among India's small states behind Goa and Meghalaya, according to the data released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Union Health Ministry.
While Gujarat topped the rank among the large states with 72 points, Kerala and Tamil Nadu bagged second and third position respectively with 70 and 64 points.
The report was released by union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya for 2020-21.
The SFSI ranking is an effort to measure food safety standards across the nation. The SFSI Index is prepared for three categories- large state, small states and Union Territories to ensure comparability among similar entities, FSSAI said.
Releasing the report, the minister also felicitated nine leading states and Union Territories based on the 2020-21 ranking. Human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing- infrastructure and surveillance, training and capacity building, consumer empowerment are the criteria on which states' performances are weighed for the ranking.
The minister also flagged off 19 mobile food testing vans to supplement the food safety ecosystem across the country. The total number of such mobile testing vans has now reached 109, the ministry said.
