Expanding the geographical footprints of Project ‘Serve Safe Food’ in Jharkhand, Nestlé India has collaborated with FDA, Jharkhand, and National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) to train over 1500 street food vendors in Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Deoghar and Chas Bokaro on food safety and hygiene. In 2022 more than 1000 street food vendors were trained in Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and West Singhbhum districts of Jharkhand. Since its inception in 2016, Project ‘Serve Safe Food’ has benefitted over 41,000 street food vendors across 25 states/UTs by raising awareness amongst food vendors on hygiene, safe food handling and waste disposal. The project has also added a module on COVID-19 safety measures and digital payments in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Mr. Sanjay Khajuria, Head, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Nestlé India further added, “At Nestlé India, we are committed to improving the food safety environment in India by going beyond the quality and safety of our own products. Project Serve Safe Food empowers street food vendors by upgrading their skills through relevant trainings on hygiene and food safety practices. This helps to improve their awareness on the importance of raising the standards for food safety and hygiene.’’
Mr. Arbind Singh, National Coordinator, NASVI said, “We aim to empower street food vendors across India by enabling them to enter strategic employment opportunities by training them on food hygiene and safety. Project Serve Safe Food has helped several thousand street food vendors across the country and with the expansion of the Project in Jharkhand, we hope to improve the livelihoods of more street food vendors in the state.’’
Nestlé India launched Project Serve Safe Food in 2016 and has trained street food vendors across states including Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.