Spot unsafe food? FSSAI wants you to report it

NEW DELHI: Spot a filthy kitchen, stale food or unsafe food handling at a restaurant or food outlet? The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is asking consumers to become its “eyes” on the ground by reporting food safety violations through its Food Safety Connect platform, which allows complaints to be lodged with a photograph.The regulator has stepped up its consumer awareness campaign, “Be the Eyes of Food Safety,” encouraging citizens to report unsafe food, unhygienic kitchens and poor food handling practices instead of ignoring them.The campaign urges consumers to convert awareness into action by using the Food Safety Connect feature available on the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) platform. According to FSSAI, a single photograph and complaint can help authorities identify food safety violations and facilitate timely regulatory action.Consumers can report unsafe or contaminated food, unhygienic kitchens and poor food handling practices by uploading photographs and details of the complaint through the platform. Complaints can be lodged by logging into the system or by using the consumer grievance option.The initiative is part of FSSAI’s broader effort to strengthen food safety surveillance by involving consumers in identifying violations at restaurants, eateries, food delivery outlets and other food business establishments. The campaign comes as the food regulator has intensified enforcement against food safety violations, misleading claims and labelling irregularities, increasingly relying on technology and public participation to improve compliance across the food sector.