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Food safety regulator looking at stricter penalty for offenders

The FSSAI is looking to amend the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The penalty and punishments that will be given to offenders will be significantly stricter than they are at present.

India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Association of India, is looking to amend the standards for food items to tightening the noose around offending food business operators, including manufacturers, sellers and distributors, sources said.

The FSSAI is looking to amend the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, in order to revise the penalty structure, meaning the penalty and punishments that will be given to offenders will be significantly stricter than they are at present.

For instance, under the current structure, the penalty for selling misbranded or sub-standard food stands at between Rs 3-5 lakh.

Penalty in this bracket is likely to be hiked significantly. There are some changes that the authority is working on with regards to punishment as well. Businesses caught selling unsafe food resulting in both death-like situation and death could receive life imprisonment and an increase in fine.

At present, the punishment for unsafe food resulting in death is life imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh fine and the punishment for unsafe food resulting in grievous injury or death-like situation is imprisonment of 6 years and Rs 5 lakh fine.

This revision in penalty structure comes at a time when food adulteration rates in India are still significantly high.

Data sourced from FSSAI annual reports shows that, food adulteration rate in India has almost doubled over the last 5 years. Food adulteration rate in India stood at 23% in 2016-17 compared to 13% in 2011-12.The final contours of the penalty & punishment structure are still being finalised at this point. These changes proposed by the FSSAI could take about 4-6 months to come into effect.

State wants ‘khaini’ covered under food safety Act

PATNA: The Bihar health department plans to write to the Union health ministry, requesting it to include ‘khaini’ as a food product under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

‘Khaini’ is said to be a pure form of tobacco. Tobacco per se is not banned. Pure tobacco is not covered by the food safety wing.

Confirming the state health department’s move, department’s principal secretary Sanjay Kumar said on Thursday there was also a need to create awareness through different mediums about the harmful effects of tobacco.

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS), an organisation collaborating in the state government’s effort to control tobacco use, on Thursday wrote to the state health department to include ‘khaini’ as a food product under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

“Khaini is the most prevalent form of smokeless tobacco used in Bihar. As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2 of 2016-17, 25.9% of the state’s population use tobacco in different forms and 20.4% of them are addicted to ‘khaini’,” SEEDS executive director Deepak Mishra told this reporter.

The Centre had formed a Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force earlier this year. The first meeting of the task force chaired by Union health ministry secretary Preeti Sudan was held in Delhi on Thursday.

“Three civil societies, including SEEDS, have been roped in to support the task force. I presented a similar motion against ‘khaini’ at the meeting. The secretary asked FSSAI officials to look into the possibility of accepting ‘khaini’ as a food product,” Mishra said.

The state health department’s food safety wing on May 21 this year banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of guthka and pan masala (with tobacco and nicotine) for the next one year.

Earlier, the State Health Society Bihar, in order to curb consumption of tobacco by minors at hookah bars and sheesha lounges, had issued a letter to all the DMs and civil surgeons to shut down all the illegal lounges in the state. It had also asked the authorities concerned in the districts to remove hoardings and banners advertising tobacco products.

Food safety goes for a toss as adulterated oil trading thrives

The recent raids conducted by the food safety department at food processing units have brought to light the trend of adulterated, inferior quality food items, edible oil and artificially ripened fruits being supplied to the city markets on a large-scale. The latest being the seizure of 15,000 litres of adulterer edible oil from a large-scale manufacturing unit in Madurai city on Wednesday night. The officials have closed down the unit, which was functioning at Hunuman Nagar in Chinthamani and samples collected are send to Chennai for testing.

This is the second such seizure in Madurai. Earlier, more than 4,000 litres of adulterated oil was seized at Alwarpuram near Goripalayam. According to officials, the seizures could be just the tip of the iceberg. They believe that the quantity seized on Wednesday could be just a day’s production and the product could have been in use for long, as the unit has been functioning for many years. Officials said that thousands of litres of adulterated oil could still be in retail stores.

Probably for the first time in Madurai the officials have seized the flavours used to ‘convert’ palmolein into groundnut and gingili oils. The seizure includes 10 litres of essence imported from Malaysia.

A team of food safety officials led by designated officer for food safety, Madurai district, Dr M Somasundaram conducted a search in the unit, which has been silently functioning in a 5,000 square feet space amid various other factories. "Everybody knows adulteration takes place in oil and sold at cheaper price. This is the first time that we could find essences used for adulteration. They were hidden inside a godown in a house belongs to the manufacturer," said Somasundaram.

The adulterated oil is packed in various quantities from 50 ml to 5 litres. While one litre of palmolein costs around Rs 70, the repacked oil after adding the essence is sold for more than Rs 100. It was found in two brands – Amutham and Maan. Officials said that the manufacturer has tried to play it safe by mentioning on the sachet of Amutham brand that the oil is for external use only. But the letters are very small to notice and it is not in Tamil. But in the Maan brand there is no such ‘warning’.

Talking about the health hazards of the oil, Dr Somasundaram said that while a litre of good quality groundnut oil is sold at Rs 200 and gingili oil at Rs 300, they have priced them around just Rs 100. People tend to be misguided and purchase them. When the price is just the half, they tend to use more oil in cooking, which will result in heart problems, stroke, obesity and diabetes. High consumption of a quantity of adulterated oil can also cause infertility, if used for a longer period of time.

Somasundaram said that they have warned retailers to be wary of these brands and have urged them to take it off the shelf. "Stringent action would be taken against the retailers also if they found to be selling adulterated oil. It is their duty to ensure quality," he warned.

Exercise prudence in choosing oil’

While a range of edible oil used for cooking is available in the market at various prices, experts urge the public to exercise prudence in choosing better products in terms quality. Since oil being one of the important ingredients in our food preparation, the quality of the oil cannot be compromised at any cost.

Agappai Muthukumar from the city, who has been into sensitising the health benefits of millets, says that good quality of oil cannot be purchased at a price lower than that of the raw materials required to produce the oil and people should be wary of adulterated oil. It takes at least 2kg of groundnut to get one litre of oil. At present 1kg of groundnut costs between Rs 80 and Rs 85. A simple maths can tell that good quality of groundnut oil cannot be sold anything less than Rs 200. But many brands are sold in the market between Rs 100 to Rs 160 a litre.

Food safety officials also warned the public to be wary of the cheap oils available in the market. At the same time, one cannot believe that those packed nicely and priced premium are of good quality. "There are many oil brands being sold in the name of cold pressed oil and priced over Rs 300 a litre. But in reality, their quality is similar to the ones sold in the market at half the price," a food safety official said.

Agappai Muthukumar added that many families on a tight budget cannot afford expensive oil all of a sudden. They can bring down the price to an extent if a group of families come together to produce the oil required for their families. All required ingredients are available in the market, which can be processed and taken to a cold press unit to get quality oil, he said.

Are you gorging on meat that’s illegal?

The holy month of Ramzanalso means feasting at the food hubs in the evenings, where kebabs and the choicest of meats are on display. The iftar hotspots also end up serving some exotic fare like emu, teetar and camel meats. The availability of these meats does get the foodies excited, but did you know there are only six kinds of meat that are legally permissable in the country. Previously, Dr Manilal Valliyate of PETA India, had told us, “The killing of animals other than these six broad groups are prohibited in India as per The Food Safety and Standards Act and Regulations.” According to the FSS Act and Regulations, only six kinds of meat are permissable in the country. These include ovines (sheep), caprines (goat), suillines (pigs), bovines (buffaloes), poultry (mainly chicken) and fish.

Mice-squirrel hair and stool: Do you know that all this is in your food?

Cinnamon, red chili, oregano, oregano, sesame, fennel, ginger, and other spices are often found in insects or animal stools.

Whenever I eat chocolate I only think about his calorie. Never thought of the presence of hair or stool in the rodent (rodents, rods, squirrels, etc.). But it seems that maybe I should think. In the United States, the American Food and Drug Authority (FDA), which decides the scale for food items, has released a booklet called 'Defensive Levels Handbook'. There is an acceptable scale in it. 

According to this, 'the limits of natural and inevitable deficiencies in food items were fixed, which are not dangerous for humans.' The motivation behind the exemption from 

'this natural and indispensable' fault is probably to provide protection from the lawsuits. 

The FDA handbook gives approval for getting a hair of a rodent in a chocolate bar (about 100 grams). In this 100 grams 60 pieces of insects are also approved. Legally insects-regardless of any part of their body, larvae or anything on the body of the animal can be anything, they are allowed in 71 foods. You can find these peanut butter, red chilli, oregano, cinnamon, cassia and many other food items. Oregono can contain 300 pieces of insects, while 1250 pieces of insects are allowed in the ground Oregono. Tomato juice can be up to 10 grams of fly ages or a worm per 100 grams. 15 grams of dry mushrooms can have 20 insects or 75 pots. A box of cherries can contain 5 percent insects. 

interesting thing is that the FDA has allowed the presence of the head of the insects in only one thing. . This is fig There are 13 heads in 100g of fig paste. But why only the head? God knows (probably the reason FDA is not even aware). However, what FDA well knows is how to make Rodant's ideal hair mix of food.

In a 100 gram peanut butter, 30 pieces of worm body and one hair of the rodent are allowed, making an ideal combination. 50 grams of cinnamon is allowed to add 400 pieces of insects and 10 hair of the rodent. 25 grams of capsicum is allowed in 75 pieces of body and 11 rodent hair. 

Cinnamon, red chilli, oregano, oregano, sesame, fennel, ginger, and other spices are often found in insects or animal stools. FDA grants its 20 mg of cocoa beans in 1 kg. Nine Ladies are allowed in every kilogram of wheat. Even a lion is allowed in a sub-sample of a Ken's popcorn. However the size of the sub-sample in FDA's booklet has not been defined. 

Know-how unknowingly you eat fungus 

Fungi is also an acceptable flavor in most fruits, vegetables, butter and jam. Freshwater is acceptable for red pepper by about 20 percent. Freshwater is allowed to be 5% in Sharp leaf pack and 3% in frozen peach cane. 

74% with the permission of fungus, Blackcurrent Jam is at the top of this list. Low-level fungus is also approved in tomato catchip, tomato juice and canned tomato. 

If this is not enough, then the FDA handbook has approved the presence of 'Foreign Matter' in certain selected foods. is. It included stones, trays, jute fibers and cigarettes too! This is the 'natural or inevitable flaws in food, which do not threaten human health'. 

If you are shocked by the low demand of American packaged food of poor quality, then pay attention to your own country. The Indian incarnation of the FDA is FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). It also adheres to similar standards, but they are so misleading that no one bothers to read them. Rather than publishing them together in the handbook, it hides them under the guise of separate food for different foods. 

When it comes to permissible food spoilers, FSSAI uses a terminology called 'external element'. It has been defined by defining it, 'Any element contained in any food item that comes from raw materials, packaging material or the processing system used in preparing it, but it does not make food harmful.' 

FSSAI does not define a toxic element 

FSSAI does not clearly define toxic elements in a handbook or document. Although it clearly shows in its various rules. 

For example, the condition of FSSAI is just that the peanut can not be just 'practically' pebbles, dust, soil etc. in the roasted peanut. Apart from this, 5 percent of the total packet can be broken. In the case of most dry fruits and seeds, 2 percent can be 'swollen and broken', which also includes spoilage by insects. In the case of 

Dukhi Aphani, FSSAI says that there should not be live insects in it, but 'logical' amounts can be a pile of insects, parts of vegetation and other objectionable things. Up to 3 percent the betel nut may be bad with fungi and insects. 

Flour can be ashes up to 2% in packets. Nutritious dough, which is rich in nutrients or nutrients, can be as much as 2.75% ash. All types of grains, which include wheat, maize, jowar, millet, rice and most of the pulses of pulses, rajma, moong, lentils, urad etc, they have 1 percent foreign elements. It includes 0.1 percent impurity from animals. These essential things, which are eaten every day in every home in our country, contain pieces of some metals, sand, dust, pebbles, sand, sand and animals, and hair. 

Do you know what you are eating? 

In sugar, refined sugar and turmeric, 0.1% of external ingredients can be added, but in jaggery cases it can be up to 2%. If you are impressed with this exact assessment, on the other hand, in the case of the city, it is necessary to see only the eyes that there is no fungus, dust, garbage, flies and insects.

Likewise, India's favorite beverage- tea-only wants FSSI to stay alive insects, dead insects, insect fragments, moisture or 'remains of the roadway visible from the naked eye'. FSSI allows external elements of 1-2% in many types of salt and spices such as cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and red chilli, turmeric, black pepper, coriander, fenugreek etc. It includes dust, dirt, stones, and parts of land, sheds. 

An officer told me that when India needed pulses a few years ago, it was imported from Burma. There were too many stones in the pulse. FSSI then talked to his Ministry instead of raising this issue and changed the rules to allow more stones. In this way food quality is determined by corporations and regulatory bodies, which are set up to protect them. Then who will protect the consumers?