Jan 25, 2019
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)