Jul 30, 2018
New rules to make milk safe
The milk was adulterated with water after removing the cream, adding milk powder and churning the milk in a machine.
Hyderabad: The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) set out new regulations in 2017 to ensure quality standards for milk and milk products. Despite a regulatory policy in place, there are still instances where milk is adulterated and sold.
The detection of such scams is paramount as dairy owners or scamsters often inject cattle with drugs or dilute milk using substandard milk powder, water or sometimes urea, to earn an extra buck. The effects of such practices on consumers of this adulterated milk are perceptible, especially among young children.
Recently, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Malkajgiri arrested one Shekar Rao while he was selling adulterated milk on the roadside. Another six members were arrested in connection with the incident and handed over to the Bibinagar police for further investigation.
The accused had set up well-orchestrated operation of selling hazardous adulterated milk to the public. The milk was adulterated with water after removing the cream, adding milk powder and churning the milk in a machine. In order to make the milk frothy, Surf, a detergent, was added to the mixture.
The milk was then filled in big cans and sold to hotels and the public. Officials claim that they caught the milk when it was being transported in vehicles.
It also came to light that the gang was injecting a drug called oxytocin to the cows. This drug works to make the cows provide more milk than normal but can lead to a number of health concerns among consumers.
Malkajgiri SOT inspector Naveen Kumar, said Shekar Rao did not repackage the milk and maintained the selling price at `47 per litre to ensure that no one suspected him.
“As it was coming from the outskirts of the city, it could have been easily passed off as healthy milk.”
He said the police was quick in taking action once they were tipped off. “It is very important to reach out to the police and lodge a complaint if there are suspicions of milk adulteration,” Mr Naveen Kumar said.
FSSAI to notify claim regulations on health supplements and nutraceuticals
According to country’s apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, health supplements and nutraceutical industry is a rapidly growing market in India, poised to be worth ~10 billion by 2025
In 2016, the regulator began the process of reigning in the sale of these products by way of rules under eight categories of foods.
The government is in the process of notifying claim regulations on health supplements and nutraceuticals — a mix of nutritional and pharmaceutical products — keeping in mind global practices.
According to country’s apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, health supplements and nutraceutical industry is a rapidly growing market in India, poised to be worth ~10 billion by 2025.
A mere combination of vitamins and minerals formulated into tablets, capsules or syrup is not food unless vitamins and minerals are added to an article of food. “As this sector grows, we have to put stringent regulatory mechanism in place as people tend to manufacture and sell just anything in the name of health supplements,” said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI.
In 2016, the regulator began the process of reigning in the sale of these products by way of rules under eight categories of foods.
The categories involved were health supplements, nutraceuticals, foods for special dietary use, food for special medical purpose, speciality food containing plants or botanicals, foods containing probiotics, foods containing prebiotics and the novel foods.
These foods are not permitted to contain hormones, steroids or psychotropic ingredients but may use approved colours and additives as permitted under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
The quantity of nutrients add- ed to the articles of food shall not exceed the recommended daily allowance as specified by the Ind- ian Council of Medical Research and accepted by the FSSAI. The rules came into effect from January 1, 2018. With the market growing, the regulations have been reworked based on what other countries are following.
The FSSAI roped in The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to establish a ‘Resource Centre for Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals (ReCHaN) in partnership with International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA).
“Health supplement sector is very important for the country not only from the industry growth perspective but also from public health point of view... The new regulations will help the industry to grow further while at the same time safeguard consumer interest,” said Agarwal.
Formal water bug complaint urged
Ranchi: The state health department has threatened punitive action against Shuddha Neera for allegedly selling contaminated bottled water in jars, the move coming a day after International Master (IM) and FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) trainer Neeraj Kumar Mishra found worms inside a sealed 20-litre jar supplied by the firm.
Assistant chief medical officer (ACMO) Neelam Choudhary said Mishra needed to lodge a complaint before the department could initiate action on the water supplier.
"Supply of contaminated water is a serious crime and attracts severe punishment under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. If proven guilty, the supplier may be jailed for up to seven years. Please request the consumer to file a complaint before me on Monday."
Explaining the process, Choudhary said, "After a complaint is lodged, we will collect water samples and send it to the food testing laboratory at Namkum. Once the report is out, we will write to the health department to take action. Once the department okays our request, a case will be filed before the chief judicial magistrate. The entire process takes around two months."
Mishra (49) welcomed the health department's assurance and said he would do the needful.
"Customers pay Rs 35 for a 20-litre can believing the water is safe for consumption. But unknowingly, they drink polluted water laced with worms and insects which could lead to various ailments. Many people ignore it and remain silent. But I want to pursue it in public interest. I will definitely knock on the doors of the assistant medical officer on Monday," Mishra, a resident of Ashutosh Residential Complex on Old HB Road, said.
He had shifted to the state capital from Jamshedpur in January to set up a chess cradle for youngsters.
Bipin Shaw, the manager of Suddha Neera bottling plant at Chuna Bhatta in Kokar, said he had warned his staff for the lapse.
"The staff might have refilled the bottle without cleaning it properly. I have more than 1,000 permanent customers in the city. I have been supplying water to a number of banks and police stations for the last five years but no one has ever complained," Shaw claimed.
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