Jul 14, 2014

நிஜாமுதீன் எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரயிலில் 5 லட்சம் புகையிலை பொருள் கடத்தல் - பாதுகாப்பு படை பறிமுதல்



செங்கல்பட்டு, ஜூலை 14 :
நிஜாமுதீனில் இருந்து சென்னை வழியாக மதுரை செல்லும் எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரயிலில் போதை பொருள் கடத்தப்படுவதாக செங்கல்பட்டு ரயில்வே பாதுகாப்பு படை போலீசாருக்கு தகவல் கிடைத்தது.
நேற்று முன்தினம் இரவு நிஜாமுதீன் எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் செங்கல்பட்டை அடைந் தது. அங்கு ரயில்வே பாதுகாப்பு படை போலீஸ் இன்ஸ்பெக்டர் ரமேஷ், எஸ்.ஐ சுனில்குமார் உள்பட போலீசார் அந்த ரயிலில் சோதனையில் ஈடுபட்டனர்.
அப்போது இன்ஜினுக்கு பக்கத்து பெட்டியில் ஏராளமான மூட்டைகள் அடுக்கி வைக்கப்பட்டு இருந்ததை கண் டனர். அவற்றை சோதனை செய்து பார்த்தனர். 24 மூட்டைகளில் தலா 40 கிலோ எடை கொண்ட தடை செய்யப்பட்ட போதை பொருளான ஹன்ஸ் பாக்கெட்கள் சிக்கியது. இதன் மதிப்பு 5 லட்சம். அவற்றை பறிமுதல் செய்த போலீசார், செங்கல்பட்டு நகராட்சி குப்பை கிடங்குக்கு கொண்டு சென்றனர். அங்கு நகராட்சி ஆணையர் முத்து வெங்கடேஷ் முன்னிலையில், நகர் நல அலுவலர் செந்தில்குமார் மற்றும் நகராட்சி ஊழியர்கள் அதனை தீயிட்டு அழித்தனர்.

Carbide-ripened mango sellers will have a taste of penal action

Health Secretary says penalty of Rs. 5 lakh will be imposed
GALORE ARE PLAINTS TOO:Consumers are advised to consume mangoes only after thorough washing in potable water. A pile-up of fruits kept for sale at a market in Puducherry on Saturday
Just as mangoes are overwhelming the street-sides, so are complaints of people taking ill after consuming fruits laced with artificial ripeners.
In spite of repeated warnings, raids and seizures, chemically ripened fruits are flooding the market, reports say.
So much so that Health Secretary and Food Safety Commissioner G. Ragesh Chandra, is forced to issue a warning to impose a stiff penalty of up to Rs. 5 lakh against those who store or sell calcium carbide ripened mangoes.
“All food business enterprises dealing with mangoes are strictly warned not to store or sell calcium carbide- ripened mangoes,” Mr. Chandra said in a notification.
The Food Safety Commissioner’s statement said: “It has been observed in the recent past that most of the mangoes sold in the markets across the Puducherry region are artificially ripened using calcium carbide stones. Many complaints, both oral and written, were received by this department over the sale of artificially ripened mangoes. The food safety officers also raided mango godowns and wholesale dealers in the month of May and seized about three tons of carbide ripened mangoes in Puducherry and about 1.5 tonnes of mangoes in Karaikal in June and destroyed them. Sustained efforts are being taken to prevent the sale of artificially ripened mangoes.”
According to health officials, the harmful effects of consuming carbide ripened mangoes will include stomach upset, vomiting, diarrhoea, burning sensation of chest and abdomen, weakness, difficulty in swallowing and sometimes permanent eye damage. In some people, intake of these spurious mangoes could produce ulcers on the skin, sore throat, cough and shortness of breath.
Generally, carbide treated mangoes are inferior in taste and flavour. They also have a shorter shelf-life. The fruit ripened with calcium carbide may develop uniform attractive surface colour, but the tissue inside would not be ripe or may remain green or raw. Hence the fruits become tasteless as well as toxic.
On the other hand, naturally ripened fruit will have good aroma, attractive texture but not uniformly coloured.
Consumers have been advised by health officials to wash the mangoes thoroughly at least twice in water after soaking for about 30 minutes. It is also suggested that they slice off the fruit skin before consuming the fleshy portions. One can access the websitewww.fssai.gov.into know more about the ill effects of artificially ripened mangoes using calcium carbide, said the notification.
Sale of carbide ripened mango fruits is strictly prohibited as per Food Safety Standards Regulations, 2011, Section 2.3.5 of Food Safety Standards Regulations (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) 2011.
“A penalty of not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh shall be imposed for selling such carbide ripened fruits. Imprisonment of six months is liable to be imposed under provisions of Food Safety Standards Act 2006,” said Mr. Chandra.
He added the traders are encouraged to use permitted ripening agents such as ‘Ethion’ chemical. But even in ‘Ethion’ treated mangoes consumers are advised to consume only after thorough washing in potable water.

Peanut to perk up


A looming harvest shortfall will likely keep prices firm
Despite being high in oil and protein content, groundnut (peanut) has lost out to other oilseeds in the complex, such as soyabean and canola in the global oilseed market in recent years.
Support in terms of policy, investment and research for this oilseed has declined. No wonder, global peanut production has been languishing at around 39-40 million tonnes in recent years, a mere 8 per cent of aggregate world oilseeds production versus, say, soyabean that accounts for a whopping 60 per cent. Foreign trade in meal is 6.5-7.0 million tonnes while that in oil is about 5.5 million tonnes. Trade in kernels is negligible at about 2.5 million tonnes.
Not just in the world market, in India too, groundnut has lost its pride of place among major oilseeds. Until the late 1990s, groundnut oil used to be the kingpin among edible oils and held a major share in the country’s vegoil basket; but not any more as its production has slipped far below that of rapeseed oil and soyabean oil.
Use of groundnut meal or de-oiled cake as animal feed has also shrunk around the world, including in our country, because of the problem of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungus that colonises the kernels.
As food safety standards tighten steadily, it is necessary for the processing and consuming sectors to be aware of aflatoxin contamination and take remedial measures such as detoxification to address the problem. Because of its high dependence on the south-west monsoon, groundnut production in kharif season has fluctuated from year to year depending on spatial and temporal distribution of rains, while rabi harvests have held fairly steady at 15-16 lakh tonnes.

College students hospitalised

Several students staying in the hostel of an engineering college located on the outskirts of the city were hospitalised on Sunday after they complained of diarrhoea and vomiting. The doctors treating them said that they suspected food poisoning as all those admitted were hostellers and had taken food in the same place.
S. Somasundaram, Deputy Director of Health Services, said that a team was sent to the college to collect samples of the food and water.
The team would also inspect the kitchen to ascertain its condition. Officials from the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing) were also taking samples separately. The samples would be sent to the Government Food Safety laboratory here for analysis. Further action would be taken based on the test results.
Notices were issued to the college seeking an explanation and directing it to improve the hostel condition.
According to G. Rajendran, Deputy Medical Director of PSG Hospital, where 14 students were brought, the students had symptoms that were typical in cases of food poisoning. Four students required administration of intravenous fluids and their condition was stable and out of danger.
Some students had taken treatment at other private hospitals located near the college.

Food stalls outside GH raise health concerns

Hawkers sell fried snacks and fruit juices on the pavement and roadside
Health authorities say they have made several efforts to remove the hawkersfrom outside GH but they return the next day
Sale of food on the pavement outside Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) has raised health concerns among authorities.
According to officials, food sold in the open, outside a hospital that receives thousands of patients and visitors every day, does not set a good example for healthy eating.
Hawkers selling various food items, including fried snacks and fruit juices, occupy the pavement and roadside outside GH’s second gate.
Health authorities say they have made several efforts to remove the hawkers from outside GH but they return the next day.
“It is not a healthy practice to have such shops located next to a hospital. These stalls sell all kinds of junk food, especially fried snacks,” says an official.
With the junction being a busy one, with constant flow of vehicles throughout the day, officials say the food stalls increase the chances of food contamination. “Food is kept in the open and there are flies and dust all around,” says the official.
There is no check on the ice used in the juice stalls, says another officer, adding the use of contaminated ice could lead to health hazards.
“The hospital has an Amma canteen, apart from the regular hospital canteen and tea stall, that provides affordable food. But many visitors to the hospital consume food at these roadside shops and there is a risk of them falling ill,” he says.
Hospital officials say the Chennai Corporation should take steps to relocate the hawkers and provide them with better amenities to carry on with their livelihood. “Sale of food in such unhygienic conditions should not be allowed,” says the official.
Hospital officials say the Chennai Corporation should relocate the hawkers and provide them with better amenities elsewhere

SafeRx- A new app for doctors to give out prescriptions

To make prescribing medicines a patient-friendly experience, leading gynaecologist and founder of NGO-Patient Safety Alliance (PSA), Dr Nikhil Datar, has come up with an app named 'Safe Rx' that will be launched soon.
With the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and government health officials emphasising on the need to have eligibly written prescriptions, Datar says that this app will not only make the doctor give legible prescription but it will also have the facility to translate the instructions in 14 Indian languages.
Explained the gynaecologist: "Doctors' illegible handwriting had been a bone of contention and a topic of debate for sometime. FDA has been stressing on the need to have legibly written prescriptions. The basic aim of 'Safe Rx' app is to provide a legibly written prescription."
Dr Datar added that the app will translate the prescription in 14 Indian languages. "We, at PSA, have made arrangement for converting the prescription into the language that the patient is comfortable with. This will ensure that the patient's compliance rate to the treatment improves. Many patients don't follow the instructions-dosage of the medicines given in the prescription."
'Safe Rx' will also help give generic name of the drugs prescribed by the doctor. "Ethics say that we should go for generic name instead of brand name of the medicines prescribed. While the doctor keys in the brand name via this app, it will automatically give the generic name of the medicine. This will give options to the patient and also ensure that the prescription is without an error," said Dr Datar.
The app will cost doctors less than Rs 10 per day. "It is a one-of-its-kind app having only pros. We are planning to launch it at a price of Rs 2,500 per year including license costs. This app is an intervention technique which will protect the doctor and prevent him from medical error," said Dr Datar.
Dr Datar addedd, the awareness on the app will be spread via medical associations like Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Association of Medical Consultants (AMC). IMA has also decided to organise a special workshop for new doctors in the state to train them in writing legible prescriptions and giving proper dosage for specific diseases. IMA has sent out a directive to all doctors that they have to write prescriptions in capital letters to prevent any confusion.

Adulteration in Food Items

The primary responsibility of the enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act lies with the State / UT Governments. As per the information received from the State/UT Governments, 46283 food samples including milk/milk products, edible vegetable Oil, spice etc. were analysed. Out of these, 9265 food samples were found to be adulterated and misbranded during the year 2013-14. The State wise details showing the number of cases registered / challenged and cases in which prosecution has been launched and the number of convictions for the last three years is given below:

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT REGARDING NUMBER PROSECUTION LAUNCHED AND CONVICTIONS/PENALTIES DURING LAST THREE YEARS
S. No.
Name of the State/U.T
2011-12
2012-2013
2013-2014

No. of Prosecution
Launched (Criminal/
Civil)

No. of Convictions/ Penalties

No. of Prosecution
Launched (Criminal/
Civil)

No. of Convictions/ Penalties

No. of Prosecution
Launched (Criminal/
Civil)

No. of Convictions/ Penalties

1
Andhra Pradesh
342
56
286
49/Rs.5,50,000
0
18/ Rs. 14500
2
A & N Islands
0
0
0
0
617
39,94,385
3
Arunachal Pradesh
6
4
11
2/ Rs 3100
9
9/Rs. 6,33,000
4
Assam
N.A
N.A
31
16/ Rs.2,45,000
26
0
5
Bihar
251
0
249
3
90
14/Rs. 2,26,000
6
Chandigarh
64 (PFA)
124 (PFA)
7
0
11
3
7
Chhattisgarh
39
15
111
41
56
7/ Rs. 3,49,000
8
Dadra & N.H.
0
0
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A.
9
Daman & Diu
4
0
0
2
N.A
N.A
10
Delhi
70
0
PFA- 6
FSSA- 44
62
61
15,73,000
11
Goa
13
0
14
1/Rs. 20,000
15
2/Rs. 27000
12
Gujarat
92 (PFA)
0 (FSSA)
13 (PFA)
0 (FSSA)
46
7/Rs. 97500
N.A
N.A.
13
Haryana
N.A
N.A
131
60
260
166/ Rs.26,61,800
14
Himachal Pradesh
437
25
53
13
23
7/ Rs 7 lakh
15
Jammu & Kashmir
126
12
488
288/ Rs. 1.82,47,685
N.A
N.A.
16
Jharkhand
53
0
91
0
99
8/Rs 22,07,000
17
Karnataka
35
3
29
85
N.A
N.A.
18
Kerala
N.A
N.A
0
Rs. 1,63,280
5
43/ Rs. 4,89,500
19
Lakshadweep
0
0
N.A
N.A.
N.A
N.A.
20
Madhya Pradesh
1948
415
1183
844
N.A
N.A.
21
Maharashtra
677
74
114
888/Rs. 82,99,485
2557
66/Rs. 4176500
22
Manipur
N.A
N.A
N.A.
0
N.A
N.A.
23
Meghalaya
0
0
N.A.
N.A.
6
N.A.
24
Mizoram
There is no Food Laboratory
25
Nagaland
N.A
N.A
0
0
N.A
N.A.
26
Orissa
N.A
N.A
0
0
N.A
N.A.
27
Puducherry
0
0
N.A
N.A.
N.A
N.A.
28
Punjab
N.A
N.A
304
92
203
80
29
Rajasthan
N.A
N.A
0
295
N.A
N.A.
30
Sikkim
FSO is not appointed to collect the samples.
31
Tamil Nadu
0
0
48
2
48
16/ Rs. 659800
32
Tripura
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A.
N.A
N.A.
33
Uttar Pradesh
5026
453
2551
1010/Rs 3,70,96,600
2930
1919/ Rs.4,47,84, 400
34
Uttarakhand
53
14
134
55/Rs. 22,44,001
122
Rs. 5,06,489
35
West Bengal
0
0
N.A.
N.A.
N.A
N.A
36
Telangana
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
 Source: State/UT Governments N. A= Not Available
Some cases of food- borne disease out- breaks have been detected. The Government of India has initiated Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) with the aim to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. Further, the regular surveillance, monitoring & sampling of food products is undertaken by State /UT Governments under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to curb the problem of food adultretation. Instructions in this regard are issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India from time to time. Random Samples of food items are drawn by the State Food Safety Officers and sent to the laboratories recognised by FSSAI for analysis. In cases where samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the Act and the Rules & Regulations made thereunder, penal action is initiated against of offender.
The Health Minister was replying to a question in the Lok Sabha here today.