The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recognised Mithun as a food animal, paving the way for promotion of its consumption and commercial rearing, the Deccan Herald has reported.

Mithun is a semi-domesticated bovine animal found at altitudes ranging between 300 to 3000 meters in the north-eastern states.

Girish Patil, director of the National Research Center on Mithun (NRCM), said that in order to celebrate FSSAI’s recognition, the NRCM celebrated the first National Mithun Day on September 1.

Nagaland’s Minister of Higher Education and Tourism, Temjen Imna Along, and advisor of naimal husbandry and veterinary Kazheto Kinimi, among others, attended the celebrations.

The National Research Center on Mithun (NRCM) is located in Medziphema, Nagaland.