Shri Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI

 Launched in March 2021, the EatSmart Cities Challenge aims to motivate ‘Smart Cities’ to develop and execute a plan that supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food environment through adoption of various Eat Right India initiatives. The cities were required to implement an action under each of five action areas – Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses and Surveillance Drives; Benchmarking and Certification; Changing settings in schools and campuses; Creating a Sustainable Food Environment; Behaviour Change Campaigns, over a five-month implementation phase. A total of 108 cities had registered in the challenge out of which 20 cities were shortlisted for evaluation by an external jury panel comprising of national and international experts. Upon evaluation, 11 cities were selected as winners for the next phase of scale up.

In the pilot stage of the Challenge, significant improvements were made in the overall food ecosystem across the cities. Some of the key highlights include:

• At least 10% increase in licensing and registration of food businesses across cities.
• Banning use of plastics and replacing with nature-based alternatives such as ‘patravali’ or leaf-based cutlery/ utensils.
• Use of technology-based solutions for food safety initiatives.
• Campaigns featuring cartoon/comic characters and video games to encourage young people to make healthy food choices.
• Incorporating food policy into the city urban development plan.
• Healthier food campaigns highlighting the nutrition value of traditional food versus fast/ultra-processed food.
• Supporting citizen volunteers to distribute surplus food from businesses to vulnerable communities.
• Progressing the trans-fat free @75 campaign.
• Training citizens in key nutrition messages to cascade across community settings.
• Involving the medical community in various campaigns to raise awareness of nutrition, food and health among citizens.
• Focusing on household food safety as well as business food safety and targeting small/micro businesses.
• Establishing school nutrition action groups, involving parents, to support a transition to nutritionally diverse menus.
• Citizen engagement during food festivals and food safety/health guidance for festivals attracting millions of people.

According to the CEO, FSSAI, Shri Arun Singhal, “The EatSmart Cities Challenge will have a positive impact on the lives of urban population by motivating them to eat right. This Challenge will support a large-scale effort to transform our Country’s food ecosystem to one that is safer, healthier and climate friendly. The world is seeking inspiration and innovation from the 11 chosen cities which are the front-runners of this challenge. I appreciate efforts displayed by all the participating cities and hopeful that this will be a game changer in creating massive social and behavioural change towards right eating practices in the years to come.”

In the scale up stage, cities will adopt an aggressive approach through food systems approach in implementation of various Eat Right India programs at a larger scale. They will also work towards making their interventions sustainable and to scale it up across wider network. To support the cities, FSSAI along with Food Foundation, UK will organize a series of activities and deliberation sessions to provide technical assistance and showcase their efforts at international forums. This will be a 3-month incubator programme where the winning cities will learn and develop strategy and policies to refine their food vision and integrate them with the overall smart cities structure. Food Foundation will also work with the cities and help them prepare to showcase their efforts at various international forums including the Food Cities 2022.

Summers are here, and accordingly we must make some dietary changes in this season to adapt to the heat. Summer calls for a diet which helps us to cool down our body temperatures. As temperature rise, we tend to sweat more in summers therefore keeping ourselves hydrated is very important. Also, it is important to watch the intake of the foods that ought to produce heat. Read this article to know more about keeping yourself healthy in this summer season.

                                                                                                                                Richa Pande

 Some Tips to keep you Fresh and Healthy

• Going light

Take light and frequent meals instead of heavy meals rich in fats and carbohydrates as they tend to increase temperature of your body.

• Think fruits & veggies

Try to include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Eat tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, berries, and avocado. You can have them as salads or juices.

• Stay hydrated!

Keep drinking fluids. Drink at least 2-3 litres of water in a day. If you don’t like drinking plain water, then try infused water. It adds a flavour to plain water. Some common infused water choices can be-

• Cucumber and lemon infused water
• Water infused with mint and lemon
• Kiwi and strawberry infused water
• Strawberry, lemon and mint infused water
• Orange and lemon infused water
• Lemon, mint, ginger and cucumber infused water

Take plenty of juices, soups, and shakes. Hydration is not just about taking fluids but also maintaining the electrolyte balance in the body. It’s advisable to have electral to maintain the electrolytes and fluid balance. If you are indulging in a sport or any physical activity like trekking, be mindful about the timings i.e., choose early morning or evenings and keep yourself properly hydrated.

• Mind your cool treats

We are likely to eat more ice creams in summer as it makes us feel cool, but always choose ice-creams that are natural. Ensure that they contain no preservatives and pick the one with less amounts of sugar. Also, mind the portion sizes.

• Avoid Alcohol/caffeine/sugary drinks

These drinks tend to dehydrate the tissues.

• Avoid street food

 Food-borne illness episodes tend to increase during summers. Street vendors might not have proper sources to maintain the temperature of food, which may increase the risk of food borne illnesses.

• Storing food, the right way

During summers, the risk of food getting spoiled increases as compared to other seasons. Store leftovers in refrigerator if there are any. Try to consume more of freshly cooked food. Cook in small quantity and avoid eating stale or leftover food as it increases the chances of food poisoning. Raw foods and cooked foods must be separated when stored in the refrigerator. Store raw meat and fish in the freezer, keep raw fruits and vegetables in the basket below, and raw milk usually goes into the chiller.

• Probiotics can be your saviour

Taking probiotics such as curd can help you improve your immune system, protect against infection, and improve your digestion and absorption of food and nutrients, including water.

• Avoid foods that produces heat

 Onion, garlic, black pepper, ginger, some root vegetables, and spicy foods are best avoided in the summer.

Some Other Health Tips for the Summer

Avoid getting out during daytime. Prefer going out during morning or evening time. Ultraviolet rays are harmful for your skin. So, take necessary precautions to avoid sunburns. Always wear sunscreen. Heat strokes are very common in summers. Wear light colour clothes and light fabrics such as cotton. Avoid dark colour clothes (as they absorbs heat) or heavy fabrics such as silk as they tend to increase the body temperatures. Cover your body with clothes and try not to expose it much to sun as it’s not good for your skin. Always cover your eyes with sunglasses as ultra-violet rays are not good for your eyes as well.