Nestlé India launched Serve Safe Food project in Nepal in partnership with the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board and National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) on December 16. Approximately 500 street food vendors will be trained under this project on food safety and hygiene in Nepal. The project was first piloted in 2016 in India, where over a period of 4 years, 20,000 street food vendors were trained across 17 locations.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Matina Joshi Vaidhya, DG of Department of Food Technology and Quality Control Nepal, said, “Eating clean, safe and healthy food is of utmost importance for people. Our street food vendors play a very crucial role in safe delivery of food to consumers. Therefore, empowering our street food vendors with knowledge and skills will go a long way in our commitment towards food safety.”
Project Serve Safe Food focuses on educating and training street food vendors on health, hygiene, safe food handling, waste disposal, and entrepreneurship. These trainings will equip the street food vendors to undertake measures such as usage of disposable gloves and personal hygiene that prevent the spread of food-borne diseases.
Sanjay Khajuria, Director of Corporate Affairs at Nestlé India, said, “In line with Nestlé’s purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, we are delighted to launch Project Serve Safe Food in Nepal in collaboration with the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, Nepal Tourism Board and NASVI. We have seen that the training programs have brought about positive behaviour change and encouraged our street food vendors to take food safety and food hygiene seriously. Clean and safe food, brings in more customers, improves the livelihood of the vendors, which in turn helps build confidence of the vendors in their business. I am hopeful, that Project Serve Safe Food in Nepal will play an important role in the capacity building of the street food vendor community.”
