Aizawl: Health and Family Welfare Minister Lalrinpuii convened a meeting with food safety officials at her office chamber in MINECO, aiming to address health concerns linked to food quality in Mizoram.
Highlighting the health issues prevalent among Mizoram’s population—such as nerve problems and cancer, often attributed to unhealthy food consumption—Lalrinpuii emphasized the need to provide safer and healthier food options.
Minister Lalrinpuii stated that an application has been submitted to the General Administration Department (GAD) to establish a Food Testing Laboratory in Mizoram. She assured officials of her commitment to securing the necessary funding from the government, adding that addressing the shortage of food safety staff is also among her priorities. She urged officials to ensure that the public has access to Mobile Food Testing Vans and laboratory equipment for efficient food safety monitoring.
Food safety officials shared their operational challenges, including insufficient staff and the absence of standardized testing facilities. These challenges, they noted, have contributed to Mizoram’s low ranking on the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) index. The state ranks the lowest among Indian states, with a score of 14.5, while neighboring states Meghalaya and Manipur scored 30.5 and 40, respectively.
The FSSAI index considers factors such as Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing Infrastructure, Consumer Empowerment, Training and Capacity Building, and improvements in rank. Mizoram scored low across several parameters, including Food Testing Infrastructure (0.5), Improvement in Rank (0), and Training and Capacity Building (1). The state’s Consumer Empowerment also scored a mere 1.
In response to the ranking, the Mizoram Food & Drug Administration (FDA), under the Health & Family Welfare Department, had earlier clarified that the FSSAI’s Safety and Food Safety Index (SFSI) does not primarily assess cleanliness. The FDA defended Mizoram’s hygiene standards, citing a visit by an FSSAI Food Safety Auditor who awarded many Aizawl restaurants high hygiene ratings. The FDA also noted that Mizoram has avoided significant food-related incidents, apart from an isolated case involving fermented soybeans.
Officials attributed the low score to several systemic issues, including a severe shortage of manpower in food safety, which remains far below FSSAI requirements. Mizoram currently has only two Food Safety Officers (FSOs), with district Drug Inspectors often asked to manage additional responsibilities due to limited staffing. While outsourcing has added seven FSOs in 2024, the state still lacks adequate personnel for comprehensive food safety coverage.
Other factors affecting the state’s ranking include a lack of representation in Central Advisory Committee meetings, delays in securing funds for essential initiatives, and an absence of state-level and district-level meetings over the past year. Officials mentioned that delays in funding have hampered efforts in food sample testing, licensing camps, and “Eat Right” initiatives, such as Eat Right Campus and Clean Street Food campaigns.
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