Jan 31, 2019

FSSAI bans staple pins in tea bags from June 30

Food regulator FSSAI on Wednesday issued a notification seeking a ban on the use of pins in tea bags by the food business operators (FBOs) by June 30.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked the FBOs to discontinue manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of stapled tea bags by June 30.
Last year, it had decided to ban the stapler pins in tea bags from January 2019 as it poses potential hazard to consumers since any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a serious health hazard.
Earlier, FBOs had raised the issue of cost involved in changing over staple-less machines and presence of a few manufacturers of such machines globally.
The FSSAI ruled out the possibility of "blanket extension".
However, it said extension may be given on a case-to-case basis depending on firm commitment from the FBOs with proper proof to change over within a specified time.
The food authority has also directed the tea bag manufacturing units to submit their plan to switch to new system by procuring the new machines or modifying the existing machines.

One tonne of banned plastic products seized from Chennai restaurant

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu food safety department officials on Wednesday seized one tonne of banned plastic products from the Vadapalani branch of Saravana Bhavan chain of restaurants.
Officials said they had received many complaints from customers and from officials about the restaurant using banned plastic products. The Chennai district collector had also complained to the department regarding this. 
A team of officials conducted a search at the restaurant around 7am. They found 3,200 plastic trays, 1,200 plastic cups, 1,565 plastic carry bags, 1,650 plastic tumblers, 55 plastic rolls, 300 plastic straws and other plastic items that have been banned. The search continued till 10am. 
“They had stored these materials here and planned to supply them to parties. We had already received many complaints in the past and raided their restaurants on January 3. Again, we received complaints on Tuesday and so we acted upon it,” said a food safety officer.
The restaurant employees were warned and asked not to use the banned items. “Since penalties have not been worked out yet, we cannot impose any fine. But we have warned them,” said an official. 
An employee of the hotel told TOI that they had stored the old stock at the branch.
The food safety department has so far seized about seven tonne of banned plastic products since the day the ban came into force on January 1.

Jan 30, 2019

How Safe Is The Street Food World?

Is the mouth-watering street food in your locality cooked with bare hands? Does the cook cover his head while cooking it? Are you served filtered water after you have had your fill of spicy street food? If not, then you are exposing yourself to grave health hazards.
Several small joints, carts and moving mini-vans are spread across Bhubaneswar, wooing customers with their mouth-watering delicacies. But unless hygiene is factored in by these street food sellers, the consumers could fall in trouble.
With fast food and Chinese becoming a favourite with the younger generation, many food stalls are mushrooming all over the place.
Some of these stalls maintain hygiene standards, with the cooks wearing hand gloves and covering their hair. But many smaller stalls often shun this practice.
Doctors warn that consuming food from unsafe food joints could expose one to many communicable diseases.
“Use of dirty hands by the cook, unsafe handling of food can pose a threat to consumers,” informs Dr Pooja Shah, a physician. “Several communicable diseases, like typhoid and gastro infections spread from germ-laden hands, saliva and uncovered food items.”
Shah says consumers must consume food from stalls that are cleaner and where the cook handles food in a healthy way, where the raw or prepared food items are covered. Not only this, she says consumers must be careful not to drink the non-filtered water they offer. That can expose consumers to water-borne diseases like typhoid, fever and diarrhoea.
Though several malls and bigger eateries have surfaced in Bhubaneswar, many still violate minimum standards while delivering food items. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corportion (BMC), entrusted with ensuring public health, is reportedly undertaking special drives to check on food safety norms for eateries and also imposing fines on erring eatery joints.
“BMC squads often come to check if eateries in our area are ensuring proper hygiene in cooking and delivery food,” says Kaushal Ali Khan, who owns a moving eatery cart behind Ram Mandir. “They also check the material we use in cooking. Many use plastic hand gloves and hair masks but some shun them. The BMC fines many erring units but the violations have not come to an end.”
Vinod Mahto, another vendor, says the area has become a hotpot for street food in the city. “Around 150 customers order food from almost every stall here. The size swells during weekends. Most of our customers are 16-40 years of age,” Mahtoadds.
He says 15 carts converge every day in the evening to do brisk business, but sometimes BMC squads conduct sudden checks and fine erring units around Rs 500. Some make amends thereafter but there are others who continue to avoid hygienic practices.
During a survey in the city, this correspondent found several vendors openly flouting basic hygiene norms. They were either openly cooking food with bare hands, shunning hand gloves, or without covering their hair. Also, the bottles in which they served drinking water to customers were rarely cleaned.
Many ‘golgappa’ and ‘dahibada’ vendors were not using hand gloves while serving their ware.The few areas where eateries seemed to be adhering to norms were near premier colleges.
“In our area, those selling sandwich, golgappa and other items are found using plastic hand gloves, keeping tissue papers at hand and ensuring basic hygiene,” says Akriti Sinha, an engineering student from KIIT. “As a result, people from most areas throng to fast food joints here.”
Many consumers even say that they are forced to eat whatever vendors sell as there aren’t many options when it comes to hygiene. “Most golgappa and dahi-vada sellers are small vendors and do not use hand gloves,” says Sangeeta Panda, a resident of Jharpada. “But with the passage of time, there is increase in awareness levels and many have begun mending their ways. But we cannot go around looking for such people to get our food. Many a time, we eat from shops where food is prepared with bare hands.”Several others complain that water was an important issue often ignored by food joints. “Only restaurants with permanent structures manage to provide filtered water,” says Aman Satpathy, a student from Palasuni. “Most small vendors offer tap water. Many are forced to drink that to quench their thirst after having spicy food.”
Many customers feel that the state government should work towards creating awareness among vendors so that they use hygienic methods to handle and serve food.
ADULTERATION, MISBRANDING AND OTHER ISSUES
The Food Safety Act, 2006, mandates for equipping states with food safety officers, designated officers and food safety commissioners to take care of food safety issue and also take cognizance against food safety violators on the recommendations of competent authorities.
Besides, the issue of hygiene in handling and offering food, other issues that also affect overall health of consumers often get compromised because of adulteration and misbranding.
According to a written reply tabled by the Ministry of Health And Family Welfare in the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session last year, the number of cases filed in Odisha against erring food adulterators is on the rise. Statistics show that merely two cases were filed against erring food units for adulteration/misbranding in 2015-16. The number rose to 64 in 2016-17 and 54 in 2017-18.
Another problem for consumers is the use of artificial colours and other ingredients beyond permissible limits. Food dyes are used by many restaurants or street eateries to make food look more attractive. Similarly, vegetables are also affected because of the use of colours and dyes.
Food dyes are chemical substances developed to enhance food appearance by giving it an artificial colour. Such colours are mixed to dishes like biryani and Chinese food like chilly paneer and chilly veg. It is also mixed to many sweets and health drinks.Artificial dyes cause serious side effects, such as hyperactivity in children and cancer. Over time, use of artificial food dyes is increasing.
The Health Ministry claims it is the job of the state governments to act against such adulteration. According to a same reply on food adulteration tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Health Ministry said: “Cases of adulteration, use of chemicals and pesticides in excess of the prescribed tolerance limits in various food products come to the notice of FSSAI. As the enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder primarily lies with the State/UT Governments, regular surveillance, inspection and sampling of food products are being done by the Food Safety Officials in the States/UTs to check the compliance of the provisions of FSS Act, 2006.”
FSSAI has laid down maximum limits of chemicals such as preservatives, additives, including permitted colours etc. in Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011, but poor monitoring, lack of food testing labs and inadequate staff in the state food safety department seem to be taking a toll on public health.
As per information accessed by MyCityLinks from the office of the State Food Commission, the most common food/beverages that were found to be adulterated/misbranded during tests in the last few years were toned milk packets, besan, drinking water, moong dal, all types of cooking oil, curd, paneer, pre-cooked noodle packets among others.
Milk packets that were found adulterated included Omfed as well products of other noted private milk brands.
An RTI response reveals cities that acted toughest in terms of testing maximum samples and filing cases against food safety violators in 2017 included-Gajapati (40 samples tested, case filed against 5), Sambalpur (35 samples tested, cases filed against 4) and Bhubaneswar (117 tested and cases filed against 8).
On the other hand, districts that tested the maximum samples included Bhubaneswar (117), Rourkela (79), Koraput (46), Puri (44) and Keonjhar (37). However, districts like Rourkela, Puri and Koraput, despite testing a good number of samples, found nothing objectionable in them.
According to Section 59 of the Food and Safety Bill, a person found to be involved in food adulteration, misbranding or misleading advertisement can be jailed from 6 months-10 years and even face life imprisonment in cases of deaths and be imposed fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh-10 lakh. However, lesser cases against those flouting norms, lesser convictions and lack of regular scrutiny of food samples can hardly deter adulterators who often play with people’s health.
According to the Food Safety Act of 2006, the Food Commissioner’s Office should conduct or organise training programmes for the personnel of the office of the Commissioner of Food Safety and, on a wider scale, for different segments of food chain to generate awareness on food safety, ensure efficient and uniform implementation of standards and other requirements as specified and also ensure a high standard of objectivity, accountability, practicability, transparency and credibility and sanction prosecution for offences punishable with imprisonment under this Act.
However, despite laws and provisions at hand, many erring food vendors and eatery joints engage in unhygienic food practices, adulteration, misbranding and use food colours and other products beyond permissible limits with impunity. Strict monitoring is likely to pave the way for a food-safe world.

Food operators told to discontinue stapled tea bags

Use of stapler pins in tea bags poses potential hazard to consumers since loose staple consumed inadvertently with tea may cause serious health hazard, says FSSAI

Hyderabad: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Tuesday, issued an order directing food business operators to discontinue manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of stapled tea bags by end of this June.
The use of stapler pins in tea bags poses potential hazard to consumers since loose staple consumed inadvertently with tea may cause serious health hazard, the FSSAI said. The regulatory body has also urged the State Food Safety Commissioner to take action to prevent use of unsafe packaging materials by companies and take up measures to enforce its order.
Earlier, several food business operators had approached the FSSAI and raised the issue of cost involved in changing over to staple-less machines and presence of very few manufactures of such machines globally.
The food business associations had maintained that existing technology used for tea bags through staple pins was widely prevalent in the country. The associations said that it would take a lot of time to migrate from existing technology to another for manufacturing tea bags.
The FSSAI has also directed the local tea bag manufacturing units to submit their plan to migrate or change over to new system by procuring the new machines or modifying the existing machines.

T.N. bags Best State Award for Swasth Bharat Yatra

Madurai and Sivakasi the best performing districts
Tamil Nadu has bagged the Best State Award for its active participation in the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a pan-India cyclothon aimed at promoting the concept of ‘eating right for a healthy life’.
Madurai and Sivakasi won the awards for the best performing districts, while the State also bagged 17 awards in various other categories.
Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar received the award from Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Tuesday. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan was present on the occasion.
The State also received awards in six special categories, for six organisations and for the best cyclist, Menakadevi of Salem. Under the ‘eat right creativity challenge’, three schools were awarded in the poster competition and one in the wall art competition.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had organised the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a key element of the ‘Eat Right India Movement’, to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi from October 2018 to January 2019. The objective was to promote the message of ‘Eat Healthy’ to prevent non-communicable diseases, ‘Eat Safe’ to prevent food-borne diseases and ‘Eat Fortified’ to prevent micro-nutrient deficiencies.
During the rally, cyclists visited villages, towns and cities across the country to spread awareness. Two of the six teams visited various districts in Tamil Nadu. They camped in each district for three days and organised awareness programmes.
The Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department made the arrangements to organise the events to create awareness.

Over 20 food outlets checked for hygiene in Ratri Bazaar

Vadodara: Officials of the food safety department of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) conducted an extensive checking drive of food outlets at Ratribazaar near the VUDA Circle. The night food market was started by the civic body itself and is operational till early hours.
In the first operation of its kind in the recent past, food safety officers swooped down on Ratribazaar and checked food outlets there. Till around 10pm, the officials had checked 20 food outlets and the condition in all of them was found unhygienic.
An official said that notices were issued to all the 20 outlets asking them to maintain hygienic conditions and they were warned that their food licences may be cancelled if they did not do so. VMC officials said that 150 kg of food items at the market were found unfit for consumption. These included both cooked food items as well as raw material.
According to sources, the civic body was also looking at checking food courts across the city in the coming days.

FSSAI's 'Swasth Bharat Yatra' campaign concludes in nation capital

New Delhi, Jan 29 () Food regulator FSSAI-led 'Swasth Bharat Yatra', a pan-India cyclothon to sensitise people about eating safe food and being healthy, concluded Tuesday at Connaught Place in the national capital.
In this national campaign launched on October 16 last year, Tamil Nadu bagged the best state award for its active participation. Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey gave awards to winners.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event, the minister advised people to reduce the intake of sugar, salt and cooking oils in their diets. He complemented the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for organising this big campaign under the 'Eat Right India' movement.
FSSAI's CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said the cyclothon is the first step in creating awareness about safe and nutritious food and the central regulator as well as state food enforcement agencies would sustain this movement.
"The campaign has re-energised the food safety departments at states level," he said adding that this movement would go a long way in meeting the objective of ensuring safe and nutritious food to very citizen.
The 105-day long cyclothon began from six different locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkota and Agartala - on six different tracks in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered over 20,000 km across 36 States and UTs spreading the message of 'Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Fortified'."The goal of this campaign (cyclothon) was achieved through engagement activities and events in more than 2,100 locations along the Yatra and the creation of over 21,000 local, community 'Eat Right Champions' who would sustain this movement in the future," the regulator said in a statement. 

Soon, FSSAI norms for temple offerings

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The commissionerate of food safety has made it mandatory for places of worship to take food safety licence or registration to distribute 'prasadam' and offerings. 
Under the 'Blissful Hygienic Offering to God' (BHOG) initiative of the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI), which was launched last year, licence or registration is mandatory for all places of worship where prasadam is distributed. 
Food safety commissioner Rathan U Kelkar has sent notices to all district collectors to convene a meeting at all worship centres to make temple authorities aware of the rules. "Considering the complexity of operations involved, the quantity of food prepared and the lack of awareness of the food handlers, the process of food preparation in places of worship can be categorized as high-risk activity since a lapse in food safety measures will directly impact a large section of population," the notice said.
It said all places of worship will have to obtain a food safety licence of registration and fulfil all responsibilities of a food business operator as stipulated in Section 23 of Food Safety and Standard's Act.
Kelkar said that the FSSAI had asked the state to urge around 10-15 major temples to take licence. "We have met representatives of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, Guruvayur and Sabarimala temple. All these temples were happy to take registration as they too believe in delivering safe and hygienic food to devotees. In the meantime, we have also taken steps to make all temples in the state take registration by March 1. The district collectors were asked to convene meeting of temple representatives by January 31. We have offered to provide training to temple staff about safe food practices within their premises or at food safety offices, whichever is convenient for them," he said.
Kelkar said that the department has no intention to take any penal provisions or fine on delay in taking registration. Only those temples which have a turnover of around Rs 12 lakh will have to take licence and those below it should take registration. "The entire process is online and details are available in the FSSAI website," the food safety commissioner said. He added that the entire process is to avoid issues like the one happened at a Karnataka temple, where people died after consuming prasadam.
The state is aiming to become the first to get 100% coverage under BHOG. Already Kollam district has achieved around 90% coverage.

Govt all set to tighten noose around organic food manufacturers not adhering to norms

  • The FBOs have to comply with various regulations notified under the FSS Act, 2006, said an official
  • The FSSAI decided that its organic logo (Jaivik Bharat) has to be used from 1 April 2019

NEW DELHI: The government is all set to tighten the noose around manufacturers of organic food products. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the food regulator of the country, last week wrote to all food safety commissioners, authorised officers and its central designated officers to ensure that food business operators (FBOs), involved in the organic food business, should adhere to the regulations pertaining to organic food.
“The FBOs are required to ensure compliance of their products with all provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017. FBOs will also have to comply with various regulations notified under the FSS Act, 2006," said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI.
The FSSAI decided that its organic logo (Jaivik Bharat) has to be used from 1 April 2019. This was based on representations by stakeholders and a review of the preparedness of the implementation of regulations concerning organic food.
“Retailers dealing with organic foods may also be required to get their licences endorsed during the renewal process. We are also monitoring the sale of organic foods on retail web portals," said Agarwal.
Mint had on 14 January 2019 reported how fake organic food products have entered the market and how people were ready to pay high prices for food that was ‘deemed’ healthy and safe without any guarantee of them being organic.
The 2017 regulations on safety and standards of organic foods recognize two systems of certification—the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), implemented by the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare and the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), implemented by the ministry of commerce and industry. The regulations state the labelling on the package of organic food should convey full and accurate information on the organic status of the product. Such products may carry a certification or government quality assurance mark.
Industry experts said that better surveillance and monitoring can help ensure the authenticity of organic foods.
A 2018 report of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, a trade association, estimates the Indian organic foods market at ₹40,000 million, a figure that is likely to increase to ₹100,000-120,000 million by 2020, similar increase in exports. The highest growth is observed in the organic food segment, followed by textile, beauty and personal care.

Jan 29, 2019

Tamil Nadu named best state for active participation in Swasth Bharat Yatra

A pan-Indian cycle rally was organised under 'Swasth Bharat Yatra' to sensitize people about eating safe food and being healthy.
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu has been declared as the best state for its active participation in the national campaign 'Swasth Bharat Yatra', which was launched on October 16 last year under which a pan-India cycle rally was organised to sensitize people about eating safe food and being healthy, food regulator FSSAI said Monday.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the 105-day cyclothon will culminate in a grand finale scheduled at Connaught Place in the central Delhi.
The cyclothon began from six different locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkota and Agartala on six different tracks in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered over 20,000 km across 36 States and UTs spreading the message of 'Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Fortified', he added. "The campaign has re-energized the food safety departments at States level," Agarwal said, adding that this movement would go a long way in meeting the objective of ensuring safe and nutritious food to every citizen.
The relay cycling is a part of the 'Eat Right India' movement, a one-of-a-kind, pan-India, public health revolution to create a sustainable culture and habit of safe and healthy diets. "The goal of this campaign (cyclothon) was achieved through engagement activities and events in more than 2,100 locations along the Yatra and the creation of over 21,000 local, community 'Eat Right Champions' who would sustain this movement in the future," the regulator said in a statement.
With more than 10 lakh participants and 2.5 crore people reached, the yatra has made 'Eat Right India' a people's movement, it added. Agarwal said about 250 awards and certificates will be distributed to recognize the tremendous effort of states. Tamil Nadu has been declared the 'Best State Overall' for its exemplary participation.
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were adjudged the best states with a population above 3 crores. Punjab, Goa and Delhi have been recognised as the best states having a population less than 3 crores, the statement said. Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand were given special awards for their participation despite their hilly and difficult terrain.
Several associations will be recognised for their commendable effort in spreading the message of 'Eat Right'. NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra would be honoured for their enthusiastic participation and commendable efforts throughout the yatra.

Tamil Nadu named best state for active participation in Swath Bharat Yatra: FSSAI

Tamil Nadu has been declared as the best state for its active participation in the national campaign 'Swasth Bharat Yatra', which was launched on October 16 last year under which a pan-India cycle rally was organised to sensitise people about eating safe food and being healthy, food regulator FSSAI said Monday.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the 105-day cyclothon will culminate in a grand finale scheduled at Connaught Place in the central Delhi.
The cyclothon began from six different locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkota and Agartala on six different tracks in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered over 20,000 km across 36 States and UTs spreading the message of 'Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Fortified', he added.
"The campaign has re-energised the food safety departments at States level," Agarwal said, adding that this movement would go a long way in meeting the objective of ensuring safe and nutritious food to very citizen.
The relay cycling is a part of the 'Eat Right India' movement, a one-of-a-kind, pan-India, public health revolution to create a sustainable culture and habit of safe and healthy diets.
"The goal of this campaign (cyclothon) was achieved through engagement activities and events in more than 2,100 locations along the Yatra and the creation of over 21,000 local, community 'Eat Right Champions' who would sustain this movement in the future," the regulator said in a statement.
With more than 10 lakh participants and 2.5 crore people reached, the yatra has made 'Eat Right India' a people's movement, it added.
Agarwal said about 250 awards and certificates will be distributed to recognise the tremendous effort of states.
Tamil Nadu has been declared the the 'Best State Overall' for its exemplary participation. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were adjudged the best states with population above 3 crore. Punjab, Goa and Delhi have been recognised as the best states having population less than 3 crore, the statement said.
Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand were given special awards for their participation despite their hilly and difficult terrain.
Several associations will be recognised for their commendable effort in spreading the message of 'Eat Right'. NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra would be honoured for their enthusiastic participation and commendable efforts throughout the yatra.

Do-at-home tests can ensure purity of oil, ghee

Govt, public should work together to deal with problem
The authorities concerned should collect oil and ghee samples from the market and examine them at regular intervals. 
The authorities concerned should collect samples from the market and examine them at regular intervals for quality and purity. Samples which are not up to the mark should be immediately banned. Sale of such adulterated ghee and oil should be stopped and strict action should be taken so as to teach those guilty a lesson for playing with the lives of others. Shopkeepers selling adulterated ghee and oil should be punished by cancelling their licences.
Ekroop Kaur
Strict rules must
Adulteration not only in milk and ghee but in every commodity has become common. To prevent consumption of such adulterated goods, strict rules and laws must be formed to regulate and to monitor activities in the market. It should be treated as criminal offence and guilty must be pushed behind the bars. To earn a few extra bucks, they are playing with the life of others. A nodal agency must be formed to ensure purity and quality of ghee and milk being supplied to the public. Each milk vendor and trader must seek permission from this agency for selling products. If anyone becomes victim to any sort of health problem after consuming anything edible, he/she must claim compensation from supplier.
Farzana Khan
Food inspectors should be vigilant
All needed steps must be taken to make sure that adulterated ghee and oil do not reach consumers. The first step required is to check that such adulterated ghee and oil are neither available in the market nor sold. For this, food inspectors must be vigilant and keep checking shopkeepers dealing in these commodities by collecting samples, getting them tested and confiscating the adulterated bulks on sale and punish the guilty. The delay in testing must be stopped to control the availability and sale of such food stuff in the market. The Food Department must know a number of quick methods for detecting adulteration in ghee and oil. These methods must be repeatedly published in local newspapers for public use. The public in turn must also learn these testing methods and use them for checking the purity of food stuff and inform the authorities about the details of defaulters. Also, the Food Department must support research to find new quick methods for testing ghee and oil.
Dr G Dev
Need for joint efforts
Food adulteration is a burning issue these days. It goes on with impunity and the culprits are least bothered about laws. Even the government authorities have turned a blind eye to such malpractices. The problem can only be solved through joint efforts of consumers, producers and the government. The first and the foremost step is an aware consumer. Just for the sake of saving some money, a majority of consumers are ready to buy low-quality food products. The consumers should be educated about not compromising on quality and producers need to realise their moral duty to supply good quality food products to consumers. The final authority is with the government. It should never ever ignore such malpractices rather they should deal with them with severity. They should adopt a zero-tolerance towards such activities. But the root cause of all problems in India is corruption. Even if some food inspector or any other authority dares to take action against these adulterators, muscle power suppresses his /her sincere efforts. Therefore, consumers, producer and the government have to work together to curb the menace.
Bir Devinder Singh Bedi
Establish monitoring agency for checking
Ethics are the basis of running any business or providing society with services. But in today’s world, each person is in a race to reap maximum profits by hook or by crook. The easiest way from the view point of those who in the business is adulteration — whether it is oil, milk or ghee — and the victims of such foul practices are consumers. A curb can be put on these practices and loss to consumers may be avoided by establishing a controlling and monitoring agency by the local government. There must be periodical inspection of those who are dealing in the business. Heavy fine should be imposed on those who are guilty. A certificate must be issued by the agency on defaulters. The government should assign the duties for the distribution of ghee and milk to its staff and producer should supply their goods only to the government.
Dr Mohd Saleem farooqui
Home tests useful
Ghee is a regularly-used ingredient in an Indian kitchen and is considered to be a symbol of prosperity. However, there have been several cases of adulteration of ghee. Adulteration of ghee can be checked in several ways at home and these tests need chemicals which may not be readily available at home, but can be bought at chemists. There are other tests that need to be conducted in a laboratory environment. Though the laboratory tests are more accurate in determining adulteration, some home tests are also useful.
BISMANPREET KAUR CHAWLA
Frame quality standards
Adulteration is an addition of another substance to a food item to increase its quantity, which may result in the loss of actual quality of the item. Adulteration of oil and ghee will not reach the unsuspecting consumers only if the government would take strict action in this regard. The government needs to organise awareness programmes for consumers to buy FSSAI-approved ghee and oil. People who buy loose edible oil across the country run the risk of cancer, paralysis, liver damage and cardiac arrest. The FSSAI have to frame standards and to take strict action against those not complying with those standards. There is need to develop such techniques or devices by which consumers can check adulteration levels of ghee and oils on their own.
Ravleen Kaur
Buy packaged products
Food items of daily use — ghee, butter and oil — are prone to adulteration and contamination. So the consumer must be aware before buying the product and they should buy packed and labeled products because they are more likely to be genuine and packaged in hygienic conditions. They should also check the seal and expiry date of oil and ghee. Look for a quality mark of FPO or AGMARK. They should also make sure that the lid is dent-free or bulge-free.
Devna Munjal, Model town
Raid manufacturers on regular basis
With the changing times, methods of making ghee and oil have also changed. So, it is essential to keep a check on its production methods. Ghee and oil production centres should be raided regularly and ways to ensure purity of ghee and oil should be introduced to manufacturers. They need to be introduced to equipment and trained labour.
Laveena Sharma
Check for quality marks
Adulteration can be in the form of animal fat, crushed bones or palm oil. We should take only packed items from reliable retail shops and outlets. ISI mark or AGMARK should be checked before buying. There should be awareness on the part of consumer.
Sakshi Verma, Manpreet Kaur
Awareness the only solution
Awareness is the primary solution for dealing with adulteration. People should make safe choices and should know how to check the quality of ghee, oil and other products at home. Government should take necessary steps weed out the problem. ‘Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954’ was enacted, the objective of which was to ensure pure and wholesome food for consumers and preventing fraud or deception.
KAMALDEEP KAUR
Regular checking of samples required
Edible oils should be checked for iodine value and refractive index to confirm if it is genuine or adulterated. The provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, should be properly implemented so that those guilty are penalised. Awareness programmes on health safety should be organised. Regular raids should be conducted and samples should be drawn by the Health Departments regularly.
Jasdeep Kaur
Impose penalty
Adulteration is now a part of every edible item, especially ghee and oil. Awareness should be generated among people regarding this and steps should be taken to ensure purity of milk products. The authorities should take measures and impose heavy fines on those playing with the lives of others for the sake of money.
Deepnayan Kaur
Form policies, regulations
Due to lack of effective implementation of graded penalties, regular surveillance, monitoring and sampling of food products by the state/UT governments, under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) and Consumer Protection Bill, India is still fighting against food adulteration. This practice (a gross violation of various human rights) reveals the plight of the country. It has become difficult to find safe food in the pile of adulterated foods such as milk/milk products, edible vegetable oils, spices, pulses and vegetables. Besides this, a large quantity of spurious drugs is also being sold in the market. To keep a tab on adulterated food items, the food industry (public or private) should be subjected to regular scanning in terms of manufacturing, packaging, processing, wholesale and distribution. The menace of food adulteration can only be curbed by strengthening food safety structures and effective implementation of policy and regulations to deal with it. In addition, increasing public awareness is imperative to protect an unsuspected consumer’s right.
RAVI CHANDER GARG
Launch mobile vans for checking food
The best way to make sure that adulterated ghee and oil are prevented from reaching the unsuspecting customers is holding awareness camps in rural and slum areas. Also, mobile vans must be designed in a way that adulteration could be checked easily and accurately. Vigilant control and checking must be done by food and nutrition departments.
Sanskriti Verma
Raise awareness through advertisements
It is the duty of the government to ensure fair practices in trading and FSSAI should make stringent laws. Advertisement on mass scale should be made so that awareness can be created among consumers. Authorities should raid factories. Moreover, consumers should purchase products which are authenticated by the FSSAI.
Ritu Priya
OPEN HOUSE COMMENT
Adopt zero-tolerance approach
Food adulteration, according to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, is an act of deliberately debasing the quality of food offered for sale either by admixture of inferior substances or by removal of some valuable ingredient. Adulterated food is dangerous because it may be toxic and can affect health and could deprive the consumers of nutrients essential for growth and development. The worst part is that the consumers are often caught unawares. They are oblivious to the fact that they may be consuming adulterated ghee and oil. The only solution in such cases is creating awareness among the masses and having a zero tolerance for adulteration in food. Any act of food adulteration should invite social censure and legal action against the offenders. — Minna Zutshi

Food industry agrees to cut trans fat

World Bank to offer appropriate technology to State government
The food industry, especially the bakers’ association and manufacturers of pickles and condiments, has expressed its willingness to hold hands with the Health Department and the State Food Safety wing, in the latter’s efforts to reduce the high content of trans fatty acids (TFAs), salt and sugar in commercially available foods in the State.
At a meeting called by the Health Department here on Monday, industry stakeholders said they were willing to join the State’s safe food initiative, if the technology to reduce trans fat, sugar and salt content in foods were made available to them.
While the details of the action plan are yet to be finalised, the World Bank has expressed its willingness to transfer alternative technologies to the State.
Bakers’ association representatives said they would move to trans fat-free alternatives in baked goods, if they did not affect the taste and consistency of their products. Pricing of products was another concern.
The top-end bakers had already switched to margarine, which was either low in trans fat or was trans fat-free, in baked goods but this option was unaffordable to most small-scale operators.
Representatives of the pickle and papad manufacturers said the high salt content in these foods was to prevent contamination and enhance shelf life. However, good manufacturing practices and hygiene practices can bring down salt content in pickles by 8-10 %.
Self-regulation now
Commissioner of Food Safety Rathan Kelkar said the State wanted the food industry to self-regulate. Enforcement would only come later.
The Health Department has launched the trans fat-free drive as part of the non communicable diseases (NCD) control project as there is ample evidence now that unhealthy diet is a major factor pushing up metabolic syndrome and premature deaths due to lifestyle diseases among Keralites.

Students throw up after consuming midday meals

Taken to hospital; doctors have said there is no cause for concern
Nine students of Government Lower Primary School, Nimbekaipura vomited allegedly after consuming midday meals in the school on Monday.
The teacher in the school rushed all the 25 students to a private hospital. Doctors have said that all the children are fine and there is no cause for concern.
The midday meals are supplied by International Society for Krishna Consciousness’s subsidiary Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF). The students were served puliyogere and rava payasa on Monday.
Officials of the Department of Public Instruction said six students vomited twice. They were kept under observation before being discharged in the evening.
"After lunch, the students were playing on the ground. One child vomited, followed by the other children. However, doctors have told us that there is no reason to panic," an official said.
The department has initiated an inquiry.
APF has run into loggerheads with the government after refusing to include onion and garlic in the meals. The State government has not yet signed the Memorandum of Understanding to continue the programme with APF that supplies food to 4.49 lakh students in government and aided schools.
Officials from the APF stated that the food is cooked in batches, and students from surrounding schools who were given food from the same batch did not have any complaints.
The Foundation, in a press statement, said samples of the food had been sent for testing as part of the investigation. “We have not received any complaint of children taking ill after consuming the food supplied by us from other schools on the same route, or any of the 1,002 beneficiary schools in the city. The meals served to this school were cooked at our centralised unit at Vasanthapura. All our centralised kitchens follow high standards of hygiene, food safety and quality to ensure that nutritious food is cooked and delivered to the beneficiaries.”

Jan 27, 2019

DINAKARAN NEWS



Two dead, twelve in hospital after prasadam intake


Big brands to try reuseable packing


Gopi Talav food plaza declared clean street food hub

SURAT: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has declared Gopi Talav food street as a clean street food hub in the city. Kankaria and Urban Chowk in Ahmedabad were earlier declared clean street food hubs by FSSAI, an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. 
FSSAI officials conducted spot audits of Gopi Talav located in the walled city area of Gopipura on November 21, 2018 and January 07, 2019. Gopi Talav has undergone a major makeover in the past two years.
Dr Aashish Naik, deputy commissioner of health, Surat Municipal Corporation, said an area is declared clean food street hub only when it is clean and covered, has sitting space and also toilets.

Jan 25, 2019

DINAKARAN NEWS


Fried chicken and fish up risk of early death


Students get awareness lessons in testing food quality at home



MADURAI: The food safety officials on Wednesday gave the higher secondary school students in the district a taste of ‘rapid’ tests that can be used at home to verify the quality of ingredients in their everyday meals. 
Hundreds of students from across the district attended the two-day awareness camp titled Detect adulteration with rapid test (DART) beginning on Tuesday, with a view to sensitising them on simple tests to ensure food quality.
Split into eight sessions, the programme was held in four places like Usilampattti, Thirumangalam and a few schools in Madurai, with the rules allowing only a team of four students with a teacher from each school in the camp. They will then hold sessions in their respective schools and spread the word. Among the practical sessions are those explaining the tests that can be conducted to detect adulteration in milk, oil, honey, tea powder and dhal, and detect artificial colours to shine vegetables and fruits.
A session saw the official let a drop of milk fall on polished slanting surface and checked whether it either stayed or flowed slowly leaving a white trail behind. While adulterated milk will flow out immediately without leaving a mark on this surface, the pure one would either stay or move only slow.
The official said using similar tests on various food materials at home, one could determine their quality of the food they take every day. District food safety designated officer Dr M Somasundaram said awareness was also given on checking the ingredients of a product, expiry date and approval from food safety department before purchasing food materials.

Fast food kiosks in UP to display FSDA officers’ contact numbers

Bareilly: The food safety and drugs administration (FSDA) department has ordered all fast food kiosk owners across Uttar Pradesh to display the mobile number of food safety officer concerned of their respective districts to ensure quality food being served to the customers and making the area of their service litter-free.
According to FSDA designated officer Dharmraj Mishra, during the drive, the kiosks will also be checked for registration and licences.
Issuing letters to all assistant commissioners (food safety) and designated officers in all UP districts, FSDA state additional commissioner Ministhy S directed them “to ensure all roadside vendors selling food items are keeping covered dustbin and displaying mobile numbers of food safety officer concerned of the district”.
Ministhy also directed the officials to conduct random visits to kiosks to check raw food material and sanitation arrangements, and “take strict action if lapses are found”.
According to FSDA officials, a large number of food joints running on the roadsides are yet to register themselves with the department.
“We have 7,600 registered kiosks selling foods on the roadsides in the district. Similarly, 1,600 odd traders running restaurants and food joints have been issued licences. But, we believe the actual number of traders in food business are higher than the people registered with us,” said Mishra.
Obtaining FSDA licences is must for those whose annual turnover is higher than Rs 12 lakh, while small traders only need to get themselves registered with the department.

Nine eateries operating without licence

Rajkot: The health department of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) raided food joints on Thursday and found nine well-known eateries operating without a valid food licence. 
During the raid, officers found that London Curry, Crispy Barns, Maraki Denis Coffee Bar and Pizza Hut on Kalawad road were functioning without licence. The Food Smith on Kalawad had obtained licence earlier but it had expired. The officers found that food joints in other areas like Freni Food product, Balaji Foods, Dhaval Gruh Udhyog, in Vavdi and Rasiya Restaurant on Jyotinagar main road too were operating without licence.
RMC health officer Dr Pankaj Rathod said that under the Food Safety Act every establishment serving food including hotels and restaurants must have valid licence under FSSAI. “We gave seven days to the food joints to obtain licence or face action,” he added.

Have home-cooked food to your heart’s content

On FoodBuddy, consumers can choose their own choice of cuisine. 
FoodBuddy delivers meals of your choice, all cooked in home kitchens
The aroma and taste of home-cooked food, for many, is irreplaceable and inimitable. This is the idea that drives city startup FoodBuddy. A few taps on your smart phone and you are a few minutes away from that ghar ka khaana.
Founded by Anup Gopinath, an IIM-A product, Rachna Rao from IIM-B, and Akil Sethuraman, FoodBuddy has reached the city now.
“While the company was founded in 2015, it was in 2017 that we ran pilots,” Mr. Gopinath says. Thus far, the platform has clocked 20,000 meals cooked in home kitchens and has reached 1,500 homes in the city.
The company claims that its network comprises gated societies from where buyers can either pick up or get meals dropped at their respective locations. One can find food from one’s own region, which includes a mughlai, Rajasthani, Gujarati and Andhra cuisine, and anything in between.
It’s easy for sellers or home chefs to register on the platform. All they have to do is submit relevant documents such as ID proof and address proof. The company then runs its internal checks for authenticity. Once that is done, the home chef is good to go. Buyers, on the other hand, can choose their preferred dish and cuisine. But since the platform is for home kitchens and not restaurants, how does the company ensure standards in terms of quality and hygiene? The consumer gets to decide it as the platform is largely feedback-based.
According to Mr. Gopinath, home chefs and kitchens do not require permissions from civic authorities as those with less than ₹12 lakh income can get a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India registration.
The company has thus far raised ₹6 crore and its operations are live in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Jan 24, 2019

FSSAI direction regarding use of Jaivik Bharat Logo


Industry fears about new labelling regulations unfounded: FSSAI CEO

After a hectic year of notifying nearly 28 new regulations, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is gearing up for the more challenging task of implementing these laws. FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal told BusinessLine in an interview that building consumer confidence in the food available in the marketplace is most crucial. Excerpts:
After a year of notifying many new regulations, what will be FSSAI’s focus in 2019?
As a regulator, finalising regulations is just the beginning, not the end. Now that the regulations are in place, the bigger challenge is ensuring implementation. We are adopting various strategies to ensure that businesses comply with these regulations. Ultimately, citizens need to have confidence in the food they get in the marketplace — they should not think twice before buying a food product or eating out.
Inspections of food businesses so far have been fairly ad hoc. But now we will focus on a mechanism of risk-based inspections, which means food businesses or products where the risks are higher will get inspected more often. Since there is limited manpower, these inspections will be done in collaboration with third-party audit agencies. The focus will be to ensure compliance of food safety regulations across the entire value chain. This is a paradigm shift from the time when the focus was only on the safety of the final product.
Focus will also be on testing food products through surveillance, sampling and testing. Through strategic surveillance activities such as large-scale food surveys, we can identify hot-spots or areas where there are bigger concerns and understand the nature of these concerns. Training and capacity building within food businesses through the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme is another focus area.
Have you identified sectors where such strategic surveillance and large-scale surveys are required?
Milk was a big area and we conducted a large-scale survey last year to understand the issues there. Similarly, value-added dairy products, spices, meat and meat products are segments where we plan to take up large-scale surveys. Some work has already begun on testing of honey and edible oil products for a survey.
There has been a lot of debate around the proposed new labelling regulations...
The idea behind the new labelling regulations is to enable citizens to know more about the composition of food products, so that they can make informed choices. Bringing in any labelling regulations without making citizens aware about eating healthier food products — and the consequences of eating food which is high in salt, sugar, saturated fats and trans-fats — will not cut much ice.
Our societal behavioural change initiatives such as the Eat Right Movement are in this direction and we plan to scale them up. Once the foundation for healthy eating habits is laid, the labelling regulations will have a greater impact.
I think there is more interest in the industry than among consumers over the new regulations and this interest is largely driven by a fear that we might be unreasonable. The fact that we have taken a lot of time to discuss and deliberate on these regulations suggests that many of their fears may be unfounded. We are trying to see that while the labelling laws provide useful information to consumers, it does not hit the industry.
Are you working towards setting up a mechanism to handle the issue of fake videos regarding food safety after discussions with the IT Ministry?
They have connected us to various platforms. Players such a Twitter, Facebook and Google have a grievance redress mechanism in India. Once a particular post is identified, we can inform them; they have agreed to co-operate with us. We are also engaging with WhatsApp to find a solution to this issue.
How about plans for a hygiene rating scheme for restaurants ?
We are in discussions with restaurants for the implementation of the Hygiene Rating Scheme. Soon, several thousand restaurants will be rated under this scheme and these ratings will become more and more visible across outlets.
Will the government’s nod to FSSAI to create additional posts add a new dimension?
We are currently engaged with external consultants to do two kinds of reviews. One is to focus on benchmarking our practices and processes with global standards. The second review is focussing on the internal working system of FSSAI and involves a review of our HR practices such as performance management. Soon, the hiring of over 800 people will begin in a phased manner. We would like to be seen as a modern organisation with a positive work ethos and culture that values its people .

TN may ban sachets, biscuit wrappers

Cos Put On Notice Over Multilayered Plastic Material
Chennai:
Three weeks after the ban on 14 single-use plastic items kicked in across Tamil Nadu, the government has cracked down on all multilayered plastic material used to pack items like biscuits, creams and shampoo. Ninetyfive companies have been issued notice, saying they will not be able to market their products packaged with such material in the state until they regsieter with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and comply with clause 13 (2) of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, within a month.
The order, issued by TNPCB chairman Shambhu Kallolikar on January 22, has set the companies the near-impossible task of owning responsibility for after-use collection and disposal of the packaging material in coordination with the urban local bodies concerned.
The rules mandate the manufacturer and the brand owner to register with the state pollution control board if operating in less than two states and with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) if operating in more than two states.
The CPCB defines multilayered packaging as any material used, or to be used, for packaging and having at least one layer of plastic as the main ingredient in combination with one or more layers of material such as paper, paper board, polymeric material and metalized layers or aluminum foil, either in laminate form or a coextruded structure.
‘Notices issued to cos violating norms’
In general terms, it means polyethylene, aluminum foil and other copolymers of polyethylene combined with paper, plastic and other items. A TNPCB official said, “As per the rules for selling and marketing, they need to get valid registration. All these companies are violating that norm. We have issued notices even to companies using tetrapacks and PET bottles as they have also been brought into this ambit. Apart from these 95 companies, we will issue notices to others as well using multi layered plastic.”
The companies issued notice include Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Dabur India, Bikaji Foods, Bisleri International, Britannia Industries, Pepsico India Holdings, Reliance Industries, Britannia and Co, Aachi Masala, Sakthi Masala, Amul Dairy, Everest Limited, Parle products, MTR Foods, AAVIN and Cadbury India. The 95 companies, which have been directed to apply and obtain registration from the CPCB or TNPCB in a month, should furnish the TNPCB with details of suppliers/sellers of multi-layered plastic products. They should coordinate with the United National Development Programme India to work out the Extended Producer’s Responsibility (EPR) in line with the Tamil Nadu model. “This model was discussed with associations of brand owners at a three-day meeting from January 7 to 10. The minutes of the meeting have been sent to the secretary for further orders,” said an official. Under the EPR, producers will be responsible for introduction of plastic in the market and managing it until the end of its life. B Swaminathan, chairman of environmental committee, Tamil Nadu Plastic Manufacturers Association, said, “How can EPR be framed without urban local bodies involvement? The municipal administration and water supply department should provide infrastructure and cooperate with the brand owners. Industry cannot be part of it unless it is discussed and all the departments are involved. It is very premature to discuss all this and ban all these products,” he said.

Jan 23, 2019

பப்ஸில் இருந்த இரண்டு இன்ச் ஆணி... கோவையில் உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத்துறையில் பகீர் புகார்!

கோவையில் பப்ஸ்க்குள் ஆணி இருந்தது தொடர்பாக உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறையில் புகார் அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இது தொடர்பாக நூர் முகமது, சண்முகம் மற்றும் தினகரன் ஆகியோர் கோவை உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறை அலுவலகத்தில் அளித்துள்ள புகாரில், ``ஆவின் பால் ஏஜென்ட் எடுப்பதற்காக, ஆர்.எஸ்.புரத்தில் உள்ள ஆவின் அலுவலகத்துக்குச் சென்றிருந்தோம். அப்போது, அருகே பப்ஸ் விற்பவரிடம் ரூ.20-க்கு 6 வெங்காய பப்ஸ் வாங்கி சாப்பிட்டோம். அதில், சண்முகம் சாப்பிட்ட பப்ஸில் 2 இன்ச் நீளமுள்ள ஆணி இருந்ததைக் கண்டு நாங்கள் அதிர்ச்சியடைந்தோம். விற்பனையாளரிடம் கேட்டதற்கு, நான் இதை வெளியில் இருந்து வாங்கி வருகிறேன் என்று கூறினார். இதுதொடர்பாக, ஆர்.எஸ்.புரம் காவல்நிலையத்தில் புகார் அளிக்கச் சென்றோம். அவர்கள் உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத்துறை அலுவலகத்தைத் தொடர்பு கொண்டபோது, மனு அளிக்கச் சொன்னார்கள். இதனால், அவர்களிடம் புகார் மனு அளித்துள்ளோம்.
எனவே, இந்தப் புகார் மனுவை ஏற்று உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும். மேலும், பொது மக்கள் மற்றும் பள்ளி மாணவர்கள் பாதிக்கப்படாமல் இருக்க, இதுபோன்ற உணவுப் பண்டகங்களைத் தயாரிக்கும் இடத்தை நேரில் சென்று கண்காணிக்க வேண்டும்" என்று கூறியுள்ளனர்.

Expedite cases related to food safety, says HC

Officials of the Food Safety Wing checking private milk selling vendors for adulteration of milk, in Vellore. 
Wants adulterators to be brought to book at the earliest
The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed all civil and criminal courts in the State to ensure that cases filed against food adulterators were taken up on an urgent basis and disposed of as early as possible.
A Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and Anita Sumanth issued the interim direction on a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate A.P. Suryaprakasam in 2017 seeking a CBI probe into Dairy Development Minister K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji’s claim that milk sold by some private dairies was unhealthy.
During the last hearing of the case on December 13, the judges grilled Food Safety Commissioner P. Amudha over the action taken against those selling adulterated milk in the State. She had expressed her inability to conduct more number of raids because of limited manpower available in her department.
Rejecting such excuses, the Bench directed her to crack down on every other adulterator and submit a comprehensive report in the court. Accordingly, the Commissioner filed a report in the court on Tuesday and the judges were surprised to see the number of raids having gone up considerably without any change in the manpower.
After recording the submission of the Commissioner that as many as 790 samples of milk were lifted from various establishments and subjected to quality checks in December alone, the judges wondered why no action had been taken though 113 of those samples were found to be sub-standard.
Cases in lower courts
On a perusal of a chart produced before them, they also found that criminal cases launched against food adulterators were pending in the lower courts for long.
A direction was issued to the lower courts to dispose of the cases at the earliest and a direction was issued to the Registrar General to obtain a list of such cases pending in the courts.
Civil proceedings pending against food adulterators before the District Revenue Officers should also be concluded speedily and details thereof must be submitted in the court by February 26, the judges ordered.
The Bench also took serious note of the Food Safety and Standards Rules, framed by the government in 2001, exempting those who sell less than 500 litres of milk per day from obtaining a licence under the Act. “Does that mean a person who sells one litre of milk each to 500 families is entitled to poison them?” the senior judge in the Bench asked and said that his Bench shall examine the issue in detail during the next hearing.

Codex committee to draft standards for a variety of spices



The fourth session of the codex committee on spices and culinary herbs (CCSCH) that got underway in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday will draft standards for oregano, basil, ginger, garlic, chilli pepper and paprika, nutmeg, saffron and cloves. They are in the form of reports of electronic working groups established by the previous session held at Chennai in February 2017. In this fourth session of the codex committee, more than 100 delegates from 30 countries are participating.

Codex committee to draft standards for a variety of spices
The agenda is two new work proposals; one is to draft standards for turmeric and small cardamom, and second is to develop harmonized standards for global trade for these two high-demand spices.
Kerala governor P Sathasivam inaugurated the fourth session of the codex committee on spices and culinary herbs established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). On this occasion, he said spice cultivators should be encouraged to think globally and make use of the latest farming technologies. He said Indian farmers should be provided with better infrastructure like better storage facilities so that they could stay up-to-date with their counterparts from other countries.
The governor also said, “Ensuring transparency and equality in fixing global quality standards for spices and herbs can strengthen the global food safeguard without compromising on safety.” He added, “Kerala has suffered a production loss of more than 25,000 tons of spices valued at Rs1,254 crore in recent floods. This session’s plan to deliberate draft standards for cardamom and turmeric is truly laudable since they are among the crops that dominate the spices cultivation in Kerala.”
Rita Teaotia, the chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said in the previous three sessions, the CCSCH succeeded in getting the approval of the CAC for three standards; black, white and green pepper; cumin and thyme.

‘Bhog’ to feed gods, devotees hygienic food

FSSAI has set specific rules for maintaining food safety and hygiene in the preparation of the offering.
The initiative mandates adoption of hygienic practices by the food handlers which requires wearing of aprons, gloves and head covers.

Thiruvananthapuram: Blissful Hygienic Offering to God or Bhog aimed at maintaining food safety and hygiene in places of worship mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will be implemented in the state by February 28.
On Tuesday, the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety held a meeting with the officials of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar Devaswom boards to enforce the project at 10 prime temples.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Mannarasala, Guruvayoor, Sabarimala, Parassinikadavu, Lokanarkavu are some of the places of worship chosen by the Commissionerate for launching the pilot project.
However, apprehensions loom large over the enforcement of Bhog which makes licensing and registration mandatory for places of worship offering ‘prasadam’ to devotees. FSSAI has set specific rules for maintaining food safety and hygiene in the preparation of the offering. 
“We have initiated discussions with Devaswom officials. The Commissionerate will be giving proper training and all technical support,” said a top official.
The initiative mandates adoption of hygienic practices by the food handlers which requires wearing of aprons, gloves and head covers. Proper cleaning and waste management facilities are a must for getting the license.
“We will sensitise them about the need for food safety regulations and health hygiene. We have pressure from the Centre to implement the project and report its progress,” said the official.
As per the guidelines, the procurement of raw materials for prasadam should be from authorised traders with FSSAI licenses.
However, Devaswom officials didn’t give a specific reply on whether they will be taking licenses and registration from the Commissionerate.
“We are very positive about the initiative, and most of our temples are maintaining high-quality standards in the preparation of prasadam,” Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar said.
However, the food safety authorities are very hopeful that regular auditing by them will improve the standards at these temples.

Eateries without licence will face legal action now

Mysuru: After finding that only around 30% of eateries in the city run without permission, the health department has taken up a massive drive to identify such establishments and bring them under the ambit of trade licence. Department officers have already started issuing notices to such eateries across the district.
In the notice, the health department stated that as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Rules 2011, it is mandatory to have trade licence for establishments with an annual turnover of over Rs 12 lakh and registration for those with less than Rs 12 lakh. The act covers all the establishments including food manufacturers, hotels, bakeries, sweet stalls, wine stores and bars, restaurants, canteens, clubs, canteens, food malls, roadside vendors, dhabas, wedding halls, fruits and vegetable vendors.
A district health department officer told TOI that some owners, especially in the rural areas, fail to apply for license due to lack of knowledge about the rules. However, there are people who deliberately avoid taking licenses.
“It is like starting from zero. We have taken up the drive to make the traders apply for license. From 2011, we are intimating the traders for license and registration. Till 2014, traders were prompt in taking license, but due to lack of strict implementation of rules, traders started to show negligence. Now, we are starting the drive from the beginning,” officers said.
Authorities stated that in the MCC limits, only 10% of the establishments possess license. “This time, we are very strict and have been issuing notices. If the trader does not respond positively, we will take legal action. We will call squad from the state and levy hefty fine or close the establishments,” officers said.
The health department has initiated the drive by deputing district surveillance officer Dr Kusuma to cover the district and district vector-borne disease control officer Dr S Chidambar the MCC limits.
Chidambar told TOI that the problem is with the hotel and bakery associations who refuse to obtain license and argue with officers.
He said that the problems regarding the hotels, bakery and street vendors have been brought to the notice of higher authorities. “Despite resistance from hotels and bakeries, we have managed to increase the percentage of license holders from 15-20% to 30%. This time, legal action will be initiated for failing to possess license,” he said.

Jan 22, 2019

Letter keep check on labelling defects on Package of Health Supplements


Over 4.5 tonnes of banned tobacco products seized

Food Safety officials and police seized banned tobacco products in Tiruchi on Monday. 

TIRUCHI
In a joint raid conducted by Food Safety officials and the city police, over 4.5 tonnes of banned tobacco products were seized from various places here on Monday. The raid was conducted involving 16 Food Safety officials all over the city, including Fort area, Gandhi Market, Airport, K.K. Nagar and Thennur lasting over five hours.
In one such case, the teams seized over 3 tonnes from a godown belonging to a person by name Tirupathi who runs a grocery shop in Khajapettai area. Tirupathi was later handed over to the police.
The team which went to the grocery shop of Tirupathi later went to his house nearby where they found a godown where the banned products were stocked. In another case, around 1.5 tonnes of tobacco products were seized from a godown functioning on Big Bazaar street - the city's prominent commercial hub. The godown owner Mangal Ram (25) was arrested on the charge of illegally stocking the banned products.
The banned substances were concealed in boxes and gunny bags. The value of the seized substances was around ₹ 4 lakh, said R. Chitra, District Designated Officer, Tiruchi.
The joint operation was carried out after holding discussions with the city police authorities earlier.
The raid was planned in a surprise manner and carried simultaneously by the Food Safety officials at the chosen areas roping in the police from around 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dr. Chitra said. Interrogation of those from whom the banned products were seized revealed that the products were brought from Bengaluru.
The seized substances were later brought to the Food Safety office here, Dr. Chitra said. Police sources said Mangal Ram was arrested by the Fort Police and a case booked against him.
Dr. Chitra said this was the first time that a huge haul had been seized from different places in the city. Police said a team seized some varieties from the office of a wholesale dealer involved in the sale of biscuits, cigarettes in Fort area on Sunday. The dealer by name Bawan Kumar was arrested and a case booked against him.

Schools to face surprise food-safety checks

AHMEDABAD: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will conduct surprise checks in schools in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Junagadh and Bhavnagar. The state education department has written to district DEOs to extend their support. 
A senior department official said that a number of schools in these districts have in-house canteens for cooking and serving food.
"It came to the notice of authorities that the students consume more fatty food with excessive salt and sugar which is detrimental for their health. Thus, the officials will now collect samples during the surprise checks and will later prepare a report on food quality and composition with recommendations," said an official. 
From every district, 10 schools will be chosen randomly and the sample collection will take place during surprise checks within a month.
Sources said that one such drive had failed earlier as the schools refused entry of FSSAI officials inside school premises.

FB & Google told to weed out ‘fake’ content on food

Such Videos Are Eroding Trust In India’s Food System: FSSAI
New Delhi:
The government has instructed Google and Facebook to take down ‘false and malicious’ videos and other content that spreads misinformation regarding safety and quality of food in India, saying that ‘fake’ information is eroding the public’s confidence in institutions tasked with food safety.
The IT ministry issued instructions to the global internet giants, asking them to immediately remove such content and block the accounts of people who are uploading the videos, sources told TOI. The order follows a complaint by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal to IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney.
“It has come to our notice that some miscreants are misusing various social media platforms for circulating fake and objectionable material, including false and malicious videos regarding safety and quality of food available in India,” an official of the IT ministry said in separate written communications to the two companies. “Such fake, false and malicious videos erode the public’s confidence about the institutions in India which are performing their job with due diligence.”
The IT ministry said that the FSSAI has pointed out instances where the internet platforms had been used by miscreants to spread misinformation about food quality. “Specific instances like creating false scare of plastic eggs, plastic rice, melamine in milk... One specific fake video, which went viral on social media, was related to the presence of melamine in milk, wherein it was maliciously projected that FSSAI had given permission for use of melamine in milk,” the IT ministry note said.
“… take immediate action of identifying and removing such content and warning such uploaders, including blocking of their accounts in the future.”
The ministry also told the companies to institute a system, as part of their due diligence, for prevention of uploading such imagery/video/text on their platforms.
In its complaint to the IT ministry, FSSAI had said that the false content on food safety had created fear in the minds of the public and eroded their confidence on food control systems in India. “… such false propaganda is neither good for citizens nor the food business. This also erodes global trust in our food system and food businesses, and potentially has far-reaching public health, social and trade implications,” FSSAI CEO said.
FSSAI also suggested that the internet and social-media companies should appoint a nodal officer so that it can directly take up such issues with them for quick remedial action.