Poisonous Prasad

Recent incidents of food-poisoning during the Lord Ganesha celebrations at Thane and Borivali have raised pertinent questions as regards to food safety. The new FDA advisory guidelines to Ganesh Mandals as regards ‘prasad’ preparations is being seen as an apt move

The arrival of the elephant-headed God brings in joy and jubilation. And in some unfortunate cases, it also spells food-poisoning, recent incidents of which have been allegedly found at Thane and Borivali. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) reportedly raided Room No. 3 of the Namdev Chawl, located at Borivali East and seized nearly 6000 kgs. of spurious “mava” worth a whopping Rs 9.11 lakh, brought in from the neighbouring Gujarat for supplying to sweet shops in the city.

The seized ‘mava’ did not meet the norms stipulated under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and the Gujarat supplier did not have any license for the preparation and sale of ‘mava’ said an FDA official, adding that the perpetrator is being interrogated. In the meanwhile, the FDA has continued with its random checks of sweet shops in the city and the drive will go on till the ensuing Diwali.

With a view to avoid incidents of food poisoning during the ongoing Ganesh Utsav, the Food and Drugs Administration has prepared an advisory for Sarvjanik Ganeshotsav Mandals as regards the preparation and distribution of “prasad” (divine food offering to God) and the food served in “bhandaras” (food served as a worship offering or community feast).

As per the advisory, the ‘prasad’ should be prepared in a clean place and the raw material for it should be procured from a licensed supplier. The vessel carrying the ‘prasad’ should be closed properly with a lid so that the ‘prasad’ is not exposed to flies etc. The fruits for the ‘prasad’ should be purchased from the licensed fruit-vendors and the ‘prasad’ should not be made of over-ripened fruits. The ‘prasad’ should be made using clean potable water and those who prepare it should be provided with hand gloves and caps. Those who distribute the ‘prasad’ should not be suffering from contagious diseases. The milk and ‘mava’ used for preparing the ‘prasad’ should be stored in a cool place. When the food is prepared in a large quantity, the organisers should ensure that the raw material or ready food is purchased from suppliers that are known to them.Speaking to Afternoon D & C, Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, Joint Commissioner (Food) said, “This advisory has been issued so that the organisers of the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals themselves take precautions from the point of food safety. The advisory is being served on the Mandals where the turn-out of devotees is very large. It is in no way an attempt to mar the festivity or put a damper on the enthusiasm of the Ganesh devotees. Even if the organisers purchase the food only from the reputed food supplier or the supplier known to them, it would go a long way in ensuing food safety.”

“The term ‘food safety’ means assurance that the food is acceptable for human consumption according to its intended use. It is also expected of the mandals organising ‘bhandaras’ to take adequate precautions while serving food to avoid any untoward incident”, he added.

Even if the food is served by social organisations like Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals, it attracts provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. which states that: “Food business” means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food, import and includes food services, catering services, sale of food or food ingredients. Besides “food business operator” means a person by whom the business is carried on or owned and is responsible for ensuring the compliance of this Act, rules and regulations.

However most of the mandals in Mumbai seemed to be unaware of the FDA advisory. Milind Gole, President of the 29-year old “Bal Gopal Mitra Mandal Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav”, Vakola, Santacruz East said, “We have not received any such communication. We do organise a “bhandara” on a small scale,but we take all the precautions.”Sudhir Shenoy, Secretary of the “Shree Swami Samarth Nagar Ganeshotsav Mandal”, Andheri West said that the Mandal has not received any such communication. But regardless of anybody’s advice, all precautions are being taken to ensure food safety while organising “Mahaprasad”.