Eat Right Campus: CUK gets 5-star rating

In the Eat Right Campus programme by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Central University of Kerala has been given a five-star rating. The university has the highest rating of 98 out of 100.

With this, The Central University of Kerala has become the first Government University in the country to achieve a five-star rating. Eat Right India is a project launched to promote safe and healthy eating habits. As part of this, the Eat Right Campus program was launched for colleges, universities, institutions and hospitals etc.

The rating was obtained after various stages of testing and evaluation. It is based on various criteria such as food safety, hygiene, healthy food, sustainable food, and awareness of safe and healthy eating on and off-campus. Under the direction of Vice-Chancellor Prof. H. Venkateshwarlu, Registrar Dr. N. Santosh Kumar, the Campus Development Committee (CDC) took up the project on a wartime basis to secure the position.

Hostel kitchens, guest house, roadside cafe and Milma cafe were inspected several times by food safety officials. As a part of this, all kitchens and cafes were registered under FSSAI and all staff involved have completed FSSAI's Food Safety Training and Certification Program. This was followed by a third-party audit on December 28 by an agency, which was empanelled by FSSAI. An 'Eat Right Campus' is certified if it gets three or more stars. The certification is valid for two years.

Expressing his happiness, Vice-Chancellor Pro. H. Venkateshwarlu said that within a short span of time, the University could upgrade and achieve a five-star rating. He congratulated everyone who worked behind the achievement and said that, as a large percentage of university students stay in hostels, the University is committed to ensuring healthy eating.