NAGPUR: It is not just gutkha that has been banned by the state government but also its constituents that can be combined to make gutkha or pan masala. However, the ban on such ingredients seems to have got buried in the fine print of notification of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Enforcing the ban on such material could take some more time as the matter is in court and everyone is awaiting its decision.
Food Safety Commissioner and Commissioner of FDA in the state Mahesh Zagade preferred not to answer questions on this subject here on Monday. He was in city to inaugurate a training programme on the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA) that came into force last year. He also dodged questions on ban on tobacco.
Food Safety Commissioner and Commissioner of FDA in the state Mahesh Zagade preferred not to answer questions on this subject here on Monday. He was in city to inaugurate a training programme on the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA) that came into force last year. He also dodged questions on ban on tobacco.
However, Zagade told reporters after the inaugural function that the FDA had till now seized gutkha worth Rs5-7 crore. He also stated that the FDA was making efforts to convince neighbouring states also to ban gutkha so that its smuggling could be controlled. On FSSA, Zagade said implementation of the Act in the state had already fetched Rs45 crore revenue to the state as licence fees from the food joints. He explained that the Act had provision for compensation to a person claiming any disease or damage to body through consumption from unhygienic and contaminated food. It also had provision of recall system of a batch of any food item that violated the Act.
"The Act is more of a preventive measure than penal one. It has provisions for control of anything unhealthy being consumed by people. It is targeted at improving quality of foodgrains, vegetables, fruit and cooked and packed foods," he said. Zagade informed that the FDA had prepared a proposal of Rs800 crore for setting up of seven stationary and 37 mobile food testing laboratories for better and faster implementation of the Act.
The FDA commissioner also suggested his own administration and staff were not doing their job as desired. In his one and half-hour presentation in the inaugural session, he pointed out that the staff was not proactive, not working in mission mode, not delivering fully what was expected of it. Zagade said the administration lacked the visibility. "Our job is to prevent damage to human body due to consumption of any contaminated food. There is nothing more precious than human life and FDA should be its biggest guardian, even more than doctors," he told his officers.
"The Act is more of a preventive measure than penal one. It has provisions for control of anything unhealthy being consumed by people. It is targeted at improving quality of foodgrains, vegetables, fruit and cooked and packed foods," he said. Zagade informed that the FDA had prepared a proposal of Rs800 crore for setting up of seven stationary and 37 mobile food testing laboratories for better and faster implementation of the Act.
The FDA commissioner also suggested his own administration and staff were not doing their job as desired. In his one and half-hour presentation in the inaugural session, he pointed out that the staff was not proactive, not working in mission mode, not delivering fully what was expected of it. Zagade said the administration lacked the visibility. "Our job is to prevent damage to human body due to consumption of any contaminated food. There is nothing more precious than human life and FDA should be its biggest guardian, even more than doctors," he told his officers.
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