Jun 21, 2012

Chamber holds seminar on Food Safety Act

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a seminar on Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and its impact on food industry here.
Inaugurating the seminar, Dr G.S. Rajorhia, principal consultant of Indian Registrar of Quality Systems, New Delhi, said that lack of awareness about various provisions of the Act is a major hurdle faced by the constituents in the food supply chain.
He pointed out that understanding the Act has become inevitable for the consumers as well as for the food business operators (FBO). It is imperative that they register or get licence for their trade under the Act before August 4.
All FBO’s from transporters to sellers will need to comply with the rules under the Act by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a single reference point for all matters relating to Food Safety and Standards, Regulations and Enforcement.
Under the FSS Act, it is mandatory for all FBOs including big hoteliers, small canteens, road side hawkers, wholesalers, retailers, stockists and food item sellers including grocers to obtain licenses, he said.
With the implementation of the Act, he said, the quality of the food items is expected to be enhanced and accountability will be set to the FBOs. Under the new provisions of the Act, an application for registration or for license will have to be acted upon within two months, pointing out deficiencies if any.
Mr Prakash James, president of the Chamber, said that a help centre would be opened soon at the Chamber office for the benefit of the trade.

China launches five-year food safety plan

China released a five-year plan last week, upgrading its food safety regulations, Food Safety News reports.
The new plan, developed by the country's Ministry of Health, sets out to update existing standards, write new ones, and in general close loopholes and abolish ambiguities. The framework was announced on the heels of China's Food Safety Week.
Despite the spate of China food scandals in recent years, the country has more than 2,000 national food regulations and more than 2,900 industry-based regulations.
"Many of the regulations are overlapping or contradict each other, since multiple government agencies were given the responsibility of compiling their own standards years ago," said the government in a statement.
The plan calls for coordination between 14 different government departments, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture, to complete reviewing and revamping the existing standards by 2015.
"The government will prioritize safety standards for dairy products, infant food, meat, alcohol, vegetable oil, seasoning, health products and food additives so as to specify limits for dangerous ingredients in these foods," according to the release. "Moreover, the government will make special efforts to set standards for testing various contaminants, food additives, microorganisms, pesticide and animal drug residue in food production by 2015."

KALAIKATHIR NEWS


How hygienic is the TASMAC bar in your neighbourhood? - THE HINDU


TASMAC runs 305 liquor retail outlets and has let on contract 278 bars in the district. File photo: A. Muralitharan

The Hindu TASMAC runs 305 liquor retail outlets and has let on contract 278 bars in the district. File photo: A. Muralitharan 
Food safety authority to make sure the premises are healthy and user-friendly
Cheers! There’s good news for tipplers from the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department.
The department has planned to ask owners of bars attached to the State-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) to clean the premises so that they are healthy and user-friendly.
According to R. Kathiravan, Designated Officer, Coimbatore, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the office will soon write to the authority concerned in TASMAC in Coimbatore in this regard.
The FSSAI’s clean-up operation is likely to begin soon after the TASMAC authorities float tenders and issue orders to contractors to run bars for the next licence period of one year. This is likely to happen in the next couple of months.
“The FSSAI is working in association with the TASMAC to ensure that the contractors abide by the hygiene norms just as they confirm to the contract conditions,” he says.
TASMAC runs 305 liquor retail outlets and has let on contract 278 bars in the district.

Registration

The bars are bound to come under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India as per the new Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2011. Establishments that deal with food will have to register with the FSSAI if their annual turnover is less than Rs. 12 lakh, or obtain a licence if their turnover is above Rs. 12 lakh.
Dr. Kathiravan says that as per the Regulation the bars should have floors and walls that are easily washable, adequate ventilation and lighting, sufficient space for free movement, separate smoking area, spittoons, washbasins and toilets, pest control measures, safe storage space for raw materials and disinfected floors.
Further, the bars should serve food (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) that is free of colouring agents, provision for proper disposal of solid and liquid wastes, provide disposable plates and tumblers, supply safe drinking water, which if packed should bear ISI label, store prepared food in covered containers and serve packed foods that follow labelling rules as per FSSAI standards, Dr. Kathiravan said.

Regulation

The move by FSSAI to regulate bars are part of its strategy to bring into its fold government-run establishments that deal with food and these include fair price shops run by both the Cooperative and Civil Supplies Departments.
Dr. Kathiravan says that the FSSAI has also written to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to register temples that provide annadhanam.

‘Ban surrogate advertisements of tobacco products’

An anti-tobacco organisation has approached the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to ban advertisements promoting tobacco products. It alleged that tobacco products are being promoted indirectly in the country.

“In the name of advertising for pan masala, tobacco companies promote products like gutkha,” said Amit Yadav, manager (legal cell) of Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth.

“If you look at the advertisements, you will find images of gutkha packet instead of pan masala. In fact, the pack of gutkha will be identical to the one advertised, while a pan masala pack will look different,” said Yadav in a letter to the authority.

The letter, addressed to the standards authority chairperson K Chandramouli, stated that the tobacco industry has been using indirect and surrogate means, such as sponsoring TV shows, cricket tournaments and award functions, to promote tobacco products through identical brand extensions.

“The use of identical or similar brand names creates confusion and incites consumers, particularly youth, to experiment with such products,” Yadav wrote.
The authority had passed a regulation banning sale of tobacco products a few months ago.

“Kerala and Maharashtra have banned tobacco products after a regulation,” said Yadav.
Yadav’s organisation has written to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, asking it to remove all indirect or surrogate advertisements of tobacco products from Metro stations and feeder bus service.

The DMRC responded that this issue should not be seen in isolation since such ads are found everywhere.

This prompted the organisation to approached the authority to ban advertisement of pan masala products as well. “We are planning to write to state governments to follow the examples of Kerala and Maharashtra,” said Yadav.

FSSA, 2006: FAFAI finds Aug 5 deadline too short for proper implementation

Although the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) set an August 5, 2012, deadline for getting the existing licences converted, it might not be long enough to convincingly answer all the petty food vendors' objections to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and certain regulations of the same Act, which came into effect last year.

This was the opinion of Ravi Mehra, chairman, flavours sub-committee, Fragrances and Flavours Association of India (FAFAI).

"Retail associations in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, have filed a number of petitions in the Madras High Court, and got all of them stayed. That is because the 2011 rules are not in consonance with the Act, and anything that is outside the purview of the Act is invalid," Mehra said, adding that different segments of the industry had their own scientific committees and the panels were not represented enough by the small, unorganised food business operators (FBOs), the section of the industry it was most likely to affect.

"There is no scientific basis for the implementation of the Act, its rules and regulations. Moreover, we are afraid of implementing it - that is where the problem lies. The regulatory approach is wrong, and from the stakeholders' point of view, it would not be incorrect to say that it isn't awareness or education, but sensitisation which is an absolute must. The law is draconian, and could promote more corruption than there is now," he said.

"Since the multinational players will obviously follow the rules prevalent overseas, the smaller stakeholders need to be taken into confidence. Only then can the Act be implemented," Mehra said.

Tamil Nadu Governor's call to BIS

Chennai, Jun 20 : With the mushrooming of food stalls and small food businesses, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) should be more vigilant to ensure food safety norms were adhered to strictly, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah said today.
Inaugurating a National Seminar on 'Food Safety : Role of Standards,' organised by the BIS here, he commended the role of BIS in ensuring food hygiene, good manufacturing practices, safety managements and systems. "Today we see mushrooming of food stalls and small food businesses.
The BIS should ensure the food safety norms are adhered to. Ensuring hygiene practices, fresh and quality food and good manufacturing practices are imperative,' he added. Stressing on the need for creating awareness among consumers on food safety, Dr Rosaiah said the consumer should be made vigilant not only about the nutrients in food but also safety and hygiene.

15,000 cases of substandard food products detected in China

BEIJING: As public concerns over food safety mounted following a spate of scandals, Chinese officials claimed to have detected 15,000 cases of substandard food in a crackdown and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses since the beginning of this year.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) told media here that the irregularities were discovered after authorities across the country launched 9.97 million inspections on food businesses, which included wholesalers and sellers at market fairs.

Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted during the inspections.

Li Yujia, deputy head of the SAIC's food bureau, said that the SAIC will continue to step up checks on sectors, including dairy products, food additives and edible oils, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The Chinese public has become increasingly concerned over food safety after a slew of scares - from melamine-tainted baby formula products to pork contaminated with clenbuterol - exposed the vulnerability of the country's food sector.

Recently, China's top baby formula food maker Yili Industrial Group recalled several of its products after quality regulators found an "unusual amount" of mercury in the some of the products.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said mercury, a metallic element that is toxic in high doses, was detected in several batches of Yili's dairy products.

Despite a well-developed dairy industry, Chinese parents continue to rely more on foreign baby food products after a series of scandals involving contaminated baby food products.

China was also shocked by a 'gutter oil' scandal in which some of the traders recycled oil discarded after usage.