Misbranding a major concern

Food Safety officers in Ernakulam find dates, raisins unsafe for consumption

‘Misbranding’ of products topped the list of complaints filed by the Ernakulam wing of the Food Safety Department before the adjudicating authorities in the previous fiscal.

Sixteen complaints related to misbranding were filed before the District Revenue Officer as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act.

The collected samples were found to have not included details regarding ingredients, nutritious content, batch number, lot number, date of manufacturing and date of expiry.

“The complaints about misbranding were found in packets of toor dal, drinking water, cake, rusks, double-toned milk, cashew nut, blended vegetable oil, etc.,” said K.V. Shibu, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, Ernakulam.

Tea powder

Among the 45 complaints in which prosecution steps were initiated in the last fiscal, seven cases referred to the contamination of tea powder with iron filings. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has capped the limit of iron filings in tea powder at 250 mg/kg.

Stating that iron filings enter tea owing to either wear and tear of the processing machinery or deliberately, Mr. Shibu said tea powder having iron filings above the prescribed limit was unsafe for consumption owing to the health hazards it could trigger in human beings. Iron filings above the limits could lead to diseases such as cirrhosis, osteoporosis and heart failure.

The FSSAI has found that tea leaves could be contaminated with iron filings owing to processing methods such as sieving and crushing. In Ernakulam, samples of tea powder with iron filings were picked up from wholesale units, retailers and street vendors.

The inspections carried out by 14 food safety officers in Ernakulam found items such as dates and raisins unsafe for consumption. Dead insects were found in packets of dates and raisins. The teams also seized ice creams, curry powder and chilli powder under the category of “sub-standard” food items. The ice cream samples tested had very low quantity of milk fat revealing that it contained agents or flavours beyond the permissible limits.

The Ernakulam wing of the Food Safety Department also slapped a penalty of about ₹9 lakh on various hotels and restaurants for preparing and storing food in unhygienic conditions in the last fiscal.