Clean street food hubs in Kerala soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: You will soon be able to taste the rich culinary treasures of the state not in five-star hotels, but at street corners. No need to worry about quality, for they will offer you food at its hygienic best.

The Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety (KCFS) is gearing up to implement the ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ — an ambitious initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to revolutionise street food. The commissionerate has tied up with the District Tourism Promotion Councils of all 14 districts in the state for finding suitable vending zones for setting up the hub.
The initiative aims at preserving the rich culinary heritage of each state. The first ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ was set up near Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad and the FSSAI awarded it a certificate recognising it as India’s first hub.

A 10-member team from FSSAI will soon visit the state to inspect the locations identified by the commissionerate for setting up the zone.

“FSSAI will approve our project only if we meet all the prerequisite set by them.  But it’s impossible to set up a hub on the lines of the one in Ahmedabad. Our culture and geography are different and they have agreed to customise the prerequisite as per the condition of our state. Identifying a cluster of vendors and the street would be a challenge for us. But it’s possible and around four DTPCs have come up with the location,” said the official.

The initiative is meant to raise hygiene standards and preserve the culinary heritage of the state giving it a global appeal. Indore and Surat are the other places which have implemented the initiative and Goa will do it soon, the official said.

“Everybody likes street food and people are hesitant because of the poor hygiene standards. The tourism industry will benefit from the scheme and hence the department is positive about it. If they have a suitable location for the hub at a prime tourism destination, they can use it for the project,” said the official.