JAMMU: Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Bhupinder Kumar reviewed functioning of Drugs & Food Control Organization during a meeting of senior officers held here today.
Commissioner, Food & Drugs Administration, Director Finance, Health and Medical Education Department, Additional Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, State Drug Controller, Drug and Food Control Organization, J&K, Additional Secretary (Legal) Health and Medical Education Department, Joint Director (Planning) Health and Medical Education Department attended the meeting.
Commissioner briefed the meeting about activities being performed by the Drug and Food Control Organization besides highlighting initiatives being taken up towards transforming social behavior among the masses regarding safe, healthy and sustainable food habits under Eat Right India Initiatives.
Secretary asked the Commissioner to ensure that prosecutions are launched in all cases against the defaulters as per mandate of law. He also asked him for taking up the matter with FSSAI regarding necessary modification in Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) for inclusion of provision of deposition of online penalties by the Food Business Operators being imposed by the Adjudicating Officers.
He laid emphasis on wide publicity of particulars of Food Business Operators against whom action has been taken under the aforesaid Act for better deterrent among other Food Business Operators. He asked the department to generate awareness on low sodium besides food fortification.
Secretary also asked for effective implementation of Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food & Balanced Diets for children in School) Regulations 2020, survey of daily consumption of oil, inspection of schools and colleges covered under Eat Right School/campus to discourage use of food articles high in saturated fat or trans fat or added sugar.
Later, Secretary held departmental review meeting with the Directorate of Family Welfare, MCH and Immunization which was attended by Director General, FW, MCH and Immunity, Dr. Saleem Ur Rehman, Director Finance H&ME, Additional Secretary H&ME, Deputy Secretary H&ME, SEPIO J&K, CAO and DD Planning FW and SPO-UNDP.
Secretary stressed upon the need to increase institutional deliveries in order to safeguard the mother and child health. He asked for initiating measures to reduce Infant Mortality Rate, under 5 mortality rate and neonatal mortality with scientific and programmatic approach like increase in routine immunization coverage, increasing home-based newborn care and home-based young child programmes.
As a part of digitalization of health services, Administrative Secretary discussed the rolling out of pilot project CoWIN to U-WIN in two selected districts viz; Samba and Pulwama which would include registration and routine vaccination of pregnant woman, birth doses of newborn and subsequent routine vaccination events with features of individualized tracking of beneficiaries for vaccination status, digitization of session planning, updating and tracking of vaccination status on real time basis.
He directed the Family Welfare department to ensure the installation of temperature loggers at all the Cold Chain Points across the UT so that the potency and efficacy of vaccine is maintained at the recommended temperature which will reduce the vaccine wastage.
