The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has enhanced food safety education among young minds by providing 36 Food Safety ‘Magic Boxes’ to winning students of the National Science Seminar on Millets. A press release to this effect was issued on October 14th, 2023.
This collaborative initiative with the National Science Centre (NSC) in New Delhi is part of a larger effort to raise awareness about the significance of millets, promote food safety practices, and instill healthier dietary habits from an early age.
The Food Safety Magic Boxes curated by FSSAI were distributed to schools in conjunction with the National Science Seminar, which took place on October 12, 2023. This move was in response to a request from the National Science Centre and aimed to bolster the spirit of the International Year of Millets.
During the seminar, 36 outstanding students from various states and union territories of the country participated and engaged in discussions on the topic “Millet – A Superfood or a Diet Fad?”
In alignment with FSSAI’s commitment to ensuring the safety of our food, the Food Safety Magic Box serves as a valuable tool for detecting food adulteration. Detecting adulteration is a critical aspect in guaranteeing the safety of the foods we consume. While sophisticated laboratory techniques are accurate, precise, and reliable, they can be costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it is essential to develop reliable “quick screening tests” that an average person can perform at the household level, enabling a broad assessment of potential adulteration in their food in cases of doubt.
FSSAI is imparting essential knowledge and habits related to food safety to young learners. The Food Safety Magic Box is specifically designed to ignite curiosity among students and empower them to distinguish between safe and unsafe food. In keeping with FSSAI’s mission to ensure the safety of the foods we consume, the box is intended to aid in the detection of adulteration in food, addressing a critical concern in food safety.