Apr 17, 2017
RTI: 1,707 abattoirs registered under FSSA; most in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh, in news recently over closure of illegal slaughterhouses, has only 58 which are registered under the Act.
A query under the Right to Information has revealed that only 1,707 slaughterhouses in the country are registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.
There are no abattoirs registered under the 2006 Act in Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Further, these states/Union Territories do not have a single slaughterhouse which has a license issued by either the state or the Central authority.
Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP government is clamping down on illegal slaughterhouses, is not in the top three states where the highest number of slaughterhouses registered under FSSA are located.
These top three states are Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Chandrashekhar Gaud, an RTI activist, obtained this information under RTI from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
“These figures show that there are large number of illegal slaughterhouses in the country,” he said.
FSSAI data showed that Tamil Nadu has the highest number of slaughterhouses registered under the Act (425), followed by Madhya Pradesh (262) and Maharashtra (249).
In other words, 55 per cent of abattoirs registered under FSSA are located in these three states.
Uttar Pradesh, in news recently over closure of illegal slaughterhouses, has only 58 which are registered under the Act.
Meanwhile, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a press release here has said that there are an estimated 30,000 unlicensed slaughterhouses in the country.
Leather industry has no system in place to ensure that the skins used as raw material are not sourced from illegal slaughterhouses, it said, and appealed for closure of all unlicensed slaughterhouses.
No way out, meat sellers open shops sans licence
LUCKNOW: Several muttonand chicken retail shops in the city were found to be open even after expiry of licences on Sunday. Meat sellers said they had no other option because shops were their only source of livelihood.
Licences of all meat shops in the city had expired on March 31. They had a grace period of 15 days during which licences were to be renewed. However, Lucknow Municiapal Corporation (LMC) refused to renew licences saying they would act only after receiving guidelines from the state government. The 15-day grace period expired on Saturday midnight. As a result, now all the raw meat shops in the city selling meat are 'illegal'.
With no way out, many meat sellers have opted to work without licences. A reality check by TOI found that meat shops were running in Aliganj, Mahanagar, Indiranagar, Chowk, Nakkhas, Maulviganj and Thakurganj. Sellers said they had opened shops to sell stored stocks, hoping that licences will be renewed.
"I opened my shop today to exhaust the stock. I will shut it from Monday," said Halim Quereshi, a meat seller on Victoria Street. A seller in Nishatganj said he needed money for admission of his child and the shop was his only source of income.
Lucknow Bakra-Gosht Vyapar Mandal has said it will organise a protest march on Monday from Shaheed Smarak to Vidhan Bhawan.
Meat sellers are struggling since March 20 when the state government ordered crackdown on unlicensed slaughterhouses and meat retail shops. They approached the high court which asked LMC to submit its action plan on renewal of licences and construction of modern slaughterhouses.
The next hearing is on April 19.
Meat shop prohibition around mosques too: FSDA
BAREILLY: One of the 17 points in the guideline issued by the Uttar Pradeshgovernment to meat sellers mentions that such shops are prohibited within a 50-metre radius of religious places and should be at least 100 metres from the main entrance of these places. Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) department officials have now clarified that a 'religious place' includes a mosque as well. The restriction is despite the fact that caretakers of mosques have not objected to meat shops in the vicinity.
The designated officer of FSDA for Bareilly, Mamta Kumari, said that as a mosque was also a religious place, following the directions issued by the government no one would be given licence to run a meat shop near any mosque. This rule, she said, would be enforced even if mosque caretakers had given permission to the shops to be run in the area.
"Approximately 1,340 persons have submitted the licence fee at government treasury so far to run meat shops while several hundred are still in queue. Among them around 250 applicants have shops near mosques. All of them have brought no-objection letters from the respective caretakers of the mosques. However, unless the government decides otherwise, these people can't be issued licences," Kumari said.
Members of a social service organisation, Aman Committee, have met FSDA officials seeking relaxation of this rule. They have also said that there were several examples from the city of meat shops running in rooms given on rent by mosques.
Responding to them, FSDA officials clarified that any change in the rule could come only from the government and they were authorized only to execute instructions, not make changes in them.
Qadir Ahmed, member of Aman Committee, said, "It is quite unfair to prohibit one from running a meat shop close to a mosque. Like someone running a dairy shop near a temple, it is not considered objectionable to run a meat shop near a mosque. Moreover, if the locals as well as the caretaker of the mosque don't have any objection to the meat shop, there should be no hurdle to issuing licence to the applicant."
Meanwhile, the FSDA officials also clarified that there was no restriction to transporting meat in bulk for weddings. One can purchase as much meat as required from a slaughterhouse after taking prior permission from the department, officials said.
Soft drink to oil, state food monitors find 9 products of top firms ‘substandard’
In a number of cases, the companies have either questioned the test procedure or have asked for re-analysis of the samples.
The RTI replies show that Herbalife’s energy drink, Murugappa group’s Parry packaged drinking water and Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia are among the products reported to have failed the quality tests during this period.
THE FOOD regulators of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Assam have reportedly found nine products of major companies to be “substandard” after they failed quality tests conducted between April 2016 and January 2017.
According to information accessed by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, these products include Pepsico’s Mirinda, Nestle’s Cerelac Wheat, Adani’s Fortune oil, Marico India’s Saffola oil, Parle Agro’s Frooti and a cheese spread used by the Subway chain.
The RTI replies show that Herbalife’s energy drink, Murugappa group’s Parry packaged drinking water and Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia are among the products reported to have failed the quality tests during this period.
In a number of cases, the companies have either questioned the test procedure or have asked for re-analysis of the samples.
* Mirinda, soft drink, Pepsico India Holdings Private Ltd
Five reports found Mirinda to be “substandard”. In the first report dated January 12, 2017, the food safety officer of Gurgaon found batches of Mirinda to be “unsafe as well as substandard”. Asked about the action taken against the company, the officer stated in an RTI reply: “Letter (has been) sent for permission for prosecution to commissioner of FDA (Food and Drug Administration of Haryana).” In three probe reports — April, May and October last year — the state food lab of FDA Haryana found “Mirinda” to be “misbranded”. In the fifth probe report of October 2016, the lab found “Mirinda” to be “misbranded, substandard and unsafe”. According to an RTI reply, the lab did not have the information regarding the action taken in last four cases because the matter was “not related” to its “office”.
A PepsiCo India spokesperson said: “PepsiCo operates in the state of Haryana through its franchisee. The franchisee has received only one of the reports (18th May 2016) referred to by you and have requested for a reanalysis of the sample mentioned in that report. No other notice referred by you has been received by our franchisee… All products, including Mirinda, comply with the food regulations and are completely safe and hence pulling out Mirinda is unwarranted.”
* Cerelac Wheat (Infant Food), Nestle India Ltd
In a report dated October 14, 2016, this product was found to be substandard by Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Rajasmand district in Rajasthan. In one RTI reply, the CMHO told The Indian Express that Cerelac failed at the quality parameter of “total protein”. Asked what action has been taken against the company, the officer’s RTI reply stated: “Anusandhan jaari (Investigation is ongoing)”. The company did not respond to requests from The Indian Express seeking comment.
* Fortune, refined rice brand oil, Adani Wilmar Ltd
The test results were received by the CMHO of Bundi at Rajasthan on July 15, 2016. “Acid value (of Fortune oil) was found to be 0.67, which must not be higher than 0.5,” the officer stated in an RTI reply. Asked about action taken against Adani Wilmar, the officer’s RTI reply stated: “Anusandhanrat (Under investigation)”. An Adani spokesperson said: “So far we have not received a notice on Refined Rice Bran Oil from Bundi, CMO. As regards the acid value on Rice Bran Oil, the permitted limit is 0.50, However due to the faulty procedure (wrong indicator) adopted by many public analysts, the result may show acid value on higher side….There is no question of withdrawing the product from Indian Market as Rice Bran Oil is one of the healthiest oils available in the market and our product meets the standards as provided under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.”
* Saffola Gold, blended edible vegetable oil, Marico Ltd
This product sample was picked up on May 9 last year by food safety officer Naresh Kumar Chenjara in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The probe results came on May 27, 2016, wherein the product was declared substandard as its acid value was 1.12 instead of the permitted limit of 0.50. “The sample of Blended Edible Vegetable Oil (Saffola Gold) Loose bearing code number and serial number H-875 of designated officer cum the CMHO of Sawai Madhopur is substandard as it does not conform to the prescribed provisions of food safety and standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additive) Regulation, 2011,” said the probe report.
In an RTI reply, Umesh Sharma, CMHO, Sawai Madhopur, told the newspaper: “Under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, (we are) submitting chargesheets in court against the firms/manufacturers.” Marico Limited did not respond to requests seeking comment.
* Processed cheese spread, Subway Systems Indian Private Ltd
On July 21, 2016, the food safety officer of Faridabad picked up the sample of “processed cheese spread” from “Subway, SCF-78, Sector -15, Faridabad”. The product has been found to be substandard as it was “misbranded”. Asked about the action taken, the food safety officer, in a RTI reply, said: “Case pending to launch”. The company did not respond to requests seeking comment.
* Frooti, mango drink, Parle Agro
In three probe reports — June 13, July 14 and August 2, 2016 — the state public health laboratory of Assam found “Frooti Mango drink” to be “substandard” as it failed on the “physical” parameter. These samples, which were found substandard, were manufactured by Padmesh Beverages at its plant in Satgaon, Guwahati, Assam. Parle Agro has given a contract to Padmesh Beverages for Frooti manufacturing.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Assam said in an RTI reply: “The action against samples which have been declared substandard by the food analyst to the government of Assam are being taken and are at different stages of adjudication in the court of the adjudicating officers in the district headquarters of the state.” Parle Agro did not respond to requests seeking comment.
* Packaged drinking water, Parry Enterprises India
On July 20, 2016, the food safety wing of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu found that the aerobic microbial count in the sample of Parry packaged water was 32 colony forming units (CFU)/ml. As per food safety rules, the maximum limit of aerobic microbial count in packaged water must not be more than 20 CFU/ml. A microbial limit test checks if the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and mould in a sample is exceeding the limit or not. Asked about action taken against the company, the Kanchipuram wing stated in an RTI reply that “adjudicating process will be started against the concerned food business operators”.
The Murugappa group company said: “Please note that we are unable to refer to the Probe Report you have referred above, as we have not received this report. However, we were made aware of a test report (which reported the numbers mentioned by you above) by Kings Institute dated 20th July which was an enclosure to a letter from FSSAI dated 29th July, 2016, on a matter relating to labelling. We understood that this observation made by the Test house was in itself inaccurate and based on inadequate and perfunctory analysis as per the Act.”
* Aloo bhujia, Haldiram Foods International Private Ltd
In a probe report of July, 2016, the state food lab of FDA Haryana found “Haldiram Aloo Bhujia” to be “misbranded”. The state food lab did not comment on the action taken in this probe report and said that the matter is “not related to this office”. A product is called “misbranded” when it is not compliant with rules in Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011. The company did not responded to requests seeking comment.
* Fresh energy drink mix, Herbalife International India Private Ltd
The sample for this product was picked up from a shop in Model Town, Sonipat, Haryana. The test results from the state food lab came on May 30, 2015, which stated that the product was found to be “substandard”. Asked what action was taken against the company, the food safety officer of Sonipat stated in an RTI reply that a case has been “filed in ADC (Additional Deputy Commissioner) court, Sonipat”.
The company stated: “With respect to your queries kindly be informed that the matter is sub judice and it would not be appropriate to make any comments at this point of time.”
Steps against illegal sale of food items
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will soon start legal action against individuals and units who engage in the manufacturing and sale of food items without the mandatory food licence.
FSSAI assistant commissioner O. Sankaran Unni said they would be given time till May 15 to get the licence.
“If they fail to do so, they will be sentenced to six months in prison and fined Rs. 5 lakh,” he added.
Boy’s death: inspection of city bakeries to continue
Police officers at the bakery in mofussil bus stand area in Kozhikode from where the boy had consumed jelly candy.
4-year-old suspected to have died of food poisoning after consuming jelly candy
Food safety officials are planning to continue their inspection of sweets and savouries sold through shops and bakeries in the city throughout the week. This follows the death of a four-year-old boy due to suspected food poisoning on Friday after he consumed jelly candy from a bakery here.
O. Sankaran Unni, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the bakery in the mofussil bus stand area had been asked to close down. The jelly candy was found to be manufactured by a Coimbatore-based confectionery. “We have sent a report to the district food safety official in Coimbatore. The sale of jelly candy and pudding manufactured by the company has been banned in the district,” he said.
To check if shops in the city are selling the banned food items, the officials inspected some shops in Palayam market and mofussil bus stand on Sunday. “The raids will continue for the whole week,” he said.
The health section of the Kozhikode Corporation too has come out against the sale of such sweets. The corporation is likely to take a decision soon.
Mr. Unni said bakeries and shops wee buying such food items from wholesale shops. “Most of them don’t have any manufacturing date or expiry date. Neither do they carry details about the ingredients,” he added.
Yusef Ali, the four-year-old from Kappad near here, reportedly started vomiting after consuming the jelly candy on Thursday. Though Ali was put under intensive medical care at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, he did not survive. His mother too was found suffering from similar symptoms and was admitted to the Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.
Legal action
The FSSAI will soon start legal action against individuals and units who engage in the manufacturing and sale of food items without the mandatory food licence. Mr. Unni said they would be given time till May 15 to get the licence. “If they fail to do so, they will be sentenced to six months in prison and fined ₹5 lakh,” he added.
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