Jan 8, 2018
Food poisoning, a common outbreak in 2017
Incidence high in areas where food is cooked in bulk
Recent data put out by the Union Health Ministry’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) has indicated that food poisoning is one of the commonest outbreaks reported in 2017. This is apart from acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD).
According to the data, 312 of the 1,649 outbreaks reported till the third week of December 2017 were due to ADD and 242 were due to food poisoning.
The IDSP has interpreted that the incidence of ADD and food poisoning is high in places where food is cooked in bulk, such as canteens, hostels and wedding venues.
Same trend
A.C. Dhariwal, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the nodal agency under the Union Health Ministry that documents outbreaks and brings out data under its disease surveillance programme, told The Hindu that the trend had been the same over many years.
“It is not just this year. Acute diarrhoeal disease and food poisoning have been common outbreaks since 2008. This is followed by chickenpox and measles,” Dr. Dhariwal said.
Food poisoning, also called food-borne illness, is caused by eating contaminated food. Infectious organisms including bacteria, viruses and parasites or their toxins are the most common causes.
Dr. Dhariwal said it was important to follow safety measures and maintain hygiene while handling food. “It is a matter of concern for all as food poisoning outbreaks have increased from 50 in 2008 to 242 in 2017. Similarly, ADD cases have increased from 228 in 2008 to 312 in 2017,” he said, quoting the IDSP data.
Overall mortality
Pointing out that the increase in the number of cases was due to better and increased reporting of cases, he said the good thing was that the overall mortality was not alarming.
K.K. Aggarwal, who recently stepped down as the national president of the Indian Medical Association, said infectious organisms or their toxins could contaminate food at any point of processing or production.
“Contamination can also occur at home if food is incorrectly handled or cooked,” he said.
“While it is known that raw meat, poultry and eggs can also harbour diseases, in recent years most outbreaks of food-borne illnesses have been due to contaminated fresh fruits and vegetables,” he said.
Prasadams from TN temples to be exhibited in Delhi
Residents of New Delhi will get an opportunity to savour the mouthwatering prasadams from famous temples of Tamil Nadu at the food exhibition conducted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The prasadams would be showcased for its quality and hygiene way it is prepared as prescribed by FSSAI.
The prasadams include panchamirtham from Palani Murugan temple and ghee wafting laddu, murukku, appam and puttu from Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple. Thenkuzhal and adhirasam from Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple would also be sent from Trichy. The famous milagu vadai from Tiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar temple could also be in the list, if things fall in place.
"While the prasadams from Srirangam and Madurai will be airlifted, panchamirtham would be carried in train since the latter's shelf like is longer. Hundred pieces of each items sent to expo, which is to be held at January 12, in New Delhi. A separate stall for the prasadams has been allotted," said a higher official from Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) from Chennai.
The prasadams would be sold at the same price at which they are sold in the temples. For instance, a laddu weighing 60 grams in Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, which is known for its quality and taste, would be sold for the same Rs 10 in New Delhi too. Similarly, murukku and appam also would be sold at the same price.
"All prasadams are being prepared using the best quality ingredients procured from cooperative societies and it is being checked by a team regularly. For making laddu, the ghee is procured only from Aavin," said an official from Meenakshi Amman temple.
Officials said that a team of eight officials from HR and CE temple would attend the workshop conducted by FSSAI on the previous day of exhibition. A communication with this regard has been sent to Tiruvannamalai temple. The temple authorities are expected to take a call in a day or two.
Officials also said that around 40 prominent temples took part in the workshop conducted by FSSAI in 2016 which focused on serving prasadam made in a hygienic manner. Many of them have now got certifications from the food quality ensuring body after they implemented the recommendations made by FSSAI.
This would be the first time prasadams from Tamil Nadu are exhibited. FSSAI had requested the HR& CE officials for this arrangement. It is to sensitise on the quality of prasadams being served in temples.
All alcohol outlets now under food safety ambit
Summary: Under these guidelines, alcoholic drinks are classified as food, too.An official in the excise department said while only bars and restaurants have been obtaining a licence from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) so far, all kinds of alcohol licences have now been brought under the ambit of the FSSAI.Around 11,000 liquor licences have been issued in Goa. Panaji: The excise department has directed all businesses engaged in the manufacture and sale of alcohol to obtain Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) licences from the designated state licensing authority immediately.In a circular issued last week, excise commissioner Amit Satija stated that it was mandatory for all manufacturers, importers, marketers, suppliers and retailers to obtain FSSAI licences under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006/ Rules and Regulations 2011.
Panaji: The excise department has directed all businesses engaged in the manufacture and sale of alcohol to obtain Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) licences from the designated state licensing authority immediately.In a circular issued last week, excise commissioner Amit Satija stated that it was mandatory for all manufacturers, importers, marketers, suppliers and retailers to obtain FSSAI licences under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006/ Rules and Regulations 2011. Under these guidelines, alcoholic drinks are classified as food, too.An official in the excise department said while only bars and restaurants have been obtaining a licence from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) so far, all kinds of alcohol licences have now been brought under the ambit of the FSSAI.Around 11,000 liquor licences have been issued in Goa.
Artificial fruit ripening centre to be set up soon
Jan 7 - Why do green bananas bought from the city markets turn bright yellow after a few hours? And later within a day, black blotches appear on the banana peel? The taste too is not that of fresh fruits. These are indications of chemical ripening, which has become a growing menace in the city, posing severe health hazards to the consumers.Besieged by the problem, the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board has planned to set up an organic fruit ripening centre in the city.
“The Central Government has approved our proposal under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. The centre will come up within this financial year. The Board has decided to set up the centre at Ulubari,” Bulbul Hussain, Joint Chief Executive Officer (Tech) of the Board, told The Assam Tribune.
The centre would be used mostly for bananas, and if required, even for papayas. It would have a capacity to ripen 20,000 bananas daily and would be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore.
“If successful, we would replicate the model in other towns of the State like Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar etc.,” Hussain said.
The centre will have chambers to store fruits. Ethylene would be injected into the chambers to ripen the fruits.
Ethylene (C2H4, also known as ethene) is a gaseous organic compound that is the simplest of the alkene chemical structures (alkenes contain a carbon-carbon double bond). It is the most commercially produced organic compound in the world and is used in many industrial applications. Early examples of human utilisation of ethylene to enhance fruit ripening include the ancient Egyptian practice of gashing figs to enhance ripening responses.
The ethylene produced by the injured fruit tissue triggers a broader ripening response. Similarly, the ancient Chinese practice of burning incense in closed rooms with stored pears (ethylene is released as an incense combustion by-product) which stimulates ripening of the fruit.
When fruits are exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions, they will initiate their respiratory climateric pattern and ripen at a relatively uniform rate.
While ensuring uniform ripening, ethylene ripening also keeps intact the quality of the fruit.
Hussain said no electricity will be used at the centre and it will be run on biomass. The model of operating the centre is yet to be worked out.
A good chunk of bananas and other fruits which are sold in the city markets are reportedly ripened using calcium carbide. Use of carbide for ripening is prohibited by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and action can be initiated under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1955 for any violation.
Calcium Carbide in fruits
3 banana vendors held for using harmful ripening agent
The lid finally blew off a long held fear about the use of carcinogenic agents for ripening fruits sold in the market. The suspicion has grown all the more compelling with the police arresting three fruit vendors in Dimapur for allegedly using an industrial chemical to speed up the process of fruit ripening.
The arrests were made on January 6 at New Market and could involve a multi-crore illicit fruit ripening trade run right under the nose of the authorities. The substance in question – Calcium Carbide- is an industrial chemical used in steelmaking and commonly in iron welding units.
It unravelled with the arrest of one Laxmi Sha, a New Market-based banana vendor on January 6 from whose shop the police also recovered approximately 3kgs of Calcium Carbide. Sha’s arrest led to the arrest of two others – Baiju Sha and Rajesh Mahdo. A huge quantity of bananas was also seized.
According to the police, Sha admitted to using the chemical agent to artificially speed up the ripening process. “The arrested accused stated that half a kilogram of Calcium Carbide (CaC2) can ripen 3 quintals of unripe bananas,” stated the police. He was further said to have told the police that fruit traders in Dimapur use the chemical to artificially ripen fruits like mangoes, watermelons, apples and bananas.
Quoting scientific reports, the police said that the chemical contains arsenic and phosphorous; ingestion of which poses serious public health concern. Stating that further investigation is on, the police said that the seized Calcium Carbide, suspected to have been procured from Bhutan, and the bananas confiscated is being sent for forensic analysis. Calcium Carbide is also available in the market here for use in industrial units and not for fruit-processing.
Asked whether the state food safety authority has been alerted, the police said that it will be coordinating with the department in concern.
While some states in India have banned the use calcium carbide by fruit vendors, many are still to follow suit.
As per the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations 2011, use of Calcium Carbide for ripening of fruits is prohibited. The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in December 2016 has also asked the state health authorities to conduct frequent inspection of fruit and vegetable markets.
FDA officials raid store, seize banned gutka worth Rs 64,000
Thane, Jan 7 (UNI) Officials of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) here on Saturday raided a store in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi and seized banned Gutka worth around Rs 64,000.
FDA Assistant Commissioner (Food) Thane, M N Chowdhary told UNI that the officials of the FDA conducted the raid on the Bamhur Cigarette and General Stores at Gaibinagar and seized a stock of Dubai Gutka and Vimal Pan Masala.
The shop owned by one Shekar Jaffar Ahmed Ali Jaffar was sealed, he said and added that an offence under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 was registered against the shop owner.
He said action had been taken against the same shop twice earlier for the same offence and this was the third time the FDA had raided the shop and found to have stocked the banned goods.
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