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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOST-Calabarzon promotes use of food safety self-assessment tool

DOST-Calabarzon promotes use of food safety self-assessment tool

Published Dec 27, 2021 02:41 pm

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is promoting the use of the Food Safety Self-Assessment Tool (FFSAT) among the home-based and online food sellers to promote food safety in the country.

(DOST-Calabarzon)

The DOST-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) held a virtual webinar on Basic Food Hygiene and Orientation on the Use of Food Safety Self-Assessment Tool (FSSAT) on Dec. 22.

It was participated in by more than 100 home-based and online food sellers.

During the webinar, DOST-Calabarzon Regional Director Director Emelita P. Bagsit stressed the importance of food handlers’ strict compliance to food safety standards.

In her welcome address, Bagsit cited a study conducted by Mariano Marcos State University in January 2021 showing that only 8.3 percent among the surveyed home-based food handlers met food safety standards.

“With the industry projection of 12.4 percent annual growth of food e-commerce, we should be more cautious if our favorite online food business and their partner delivery service are knowledgeable and consistently practicing compliance to food safety regulations,” she said.

In November 2020, the DOST-Calabarzon launched the FSSAT, a web application that assists persons engaged in the food industry to track their compliance to basic food hygiene.

It was Science Research Specialist I and DOST-Calabarzon Food Safety Officer Diane Z. Ulan who presented the FSSAT, which is accessible at https://fssat.dostcalabarzon.ph.

(DOST-Calabarzon)

The DOST-Calabarzon said it developed the FSSAT to ensure that food safety is practiced by local food entrepreneurs. The development of FSSAT was made amid the growing number of “career shifters” or individuals that shifted into home-based and online food selling.

The digital application provides a 46-item self-assessment checklist that covers the minimum requirements of food safety, it said.

It said its Food Safety Team, with the assistance of the regional office’s Management Information Systems Unit, “is upgrading the application to give users data analytics of their strengths and items for improvement.”

“Currently in service for 100 users representing Calabarzon-based MSMEs, the FSSAT will soon be introduced to regulatory agencies such as the Calabarzon regional and provincial offices of the Department of Health (DOH) and Local Government Units, to expand the reach of the application.”

DOST-Calabarzon Officer-in-Charge (OIC)-Assistant Regional Director for Technical Operations Engr. Francisco R. Barquilla III urged home-based and online food sellers to use FSSAT to simplify their periodic monitoring of food safety compliance.

“We are currently building an Android version of the website para mas maging accessible po sa inyong lahat. Kahit naroroon po kayo sa planta at naka-mobile phone ay magagamit n’yo po ang ating FSSAT—kahit tablet, smart phone ay ma-a-access n’yo s’ya. We plan to roll this out by the first quarter of 2022 (We are currently building an Android version of the website to make it more accessible to all. Even if you are at the plant and using a mobile phone, you can use our FSSAT —you can also access it using your tablet, smart phone. We plan to roll this out by the first quarter of 2022),” he said in his closing remarks.

Interested users were urged to visit https://tinyurl.com/FSSATAccess to request for a log-in access account to the FSSAT.

To know more about the FSSAT, and/or to request for assistance on food safety-related concerns,they may email [email protected].

Related Tags

emelita bagsit DOST CALABARZON food safety self-assessment tool
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