650 food adulteration cases in Pb in 3 months

Chandigarh: The food-safety wing of the health department kept its guard up against unscrupulous food businesses even after the festival season was over this time. As part of the state government’s Mission Tandrust Punjab, the commisionerate of food and drug administration carried out 3,000 inspections of food items in between November 1, 2018, and January 31, 2019.

The department registered 650 cases of food adulteration. In all, the commissionerate fined 600 food business operators, with the total penalty amounting to Rs 65 lakh. It organised 270 awareness camps to raise awareness against food adulteration. The two food-safety vans of the department checked 2,400 samples of food items. When it comes to seizures, milk and dairy products were found to be the most adulterated. The department seized 2,700kg of milk and dairy products. It also seized 315kg of sub-standard fruits.

Punjab food and drug commissioner K S Pannu, also the mission director of Tandrust Punjab, warned of stricter action against those still indulging in adulterating food items. He said raids will continue and the department will request courts to impose heavy fines on those found guilty.

FSDA starts drive against adulterated food ahead of Holi

Meerut: Ahead of Holi, the Food Safety and Drugs Authority (FSDA) started their drive against adulterated food items on Monday. The drive, which will focus on adulterated food items and will continue till March 19, will for the first time see transportation of samples to Lucknow on the same day so that reports can arrive within four days. Earlier, reports took one to three months to arrive and, hence, action was delayed. The food items on which special attention will be paid include oil, ghee, besan, chips, papad, khoya, sweets and others.

“We have identified places in the city where inspections will be carried out and suspected items will be seized or their samples taken – depending on how suspected the items in question look like. For the first time, the samples collected will be sent to the Lucknow testing laboratory that day itself and will be delivered there by an official. This is being done so that the reports, which otherwise took one month to three months to arrive, can come within four days,” said Archana Dheeran designated officer of FSDA (Meerut).

The areas identified include Khiwai, Sardhana, Naglakhumba, Jainpur, Mawana and others. These areas have been identified as major manufacturers are based here – from where the city shops purchase items which they sell further. Special care will be taken for addition of colour to food items.

“Meanwhile, we are conducting surveys and awareness drives to inform shop owners that if they sell any suspected items, a case will be filed against them and they will be dealt according to the law,” Dheeran said.

Stale food new threat in online food delivery

Kochi: The spurt in demand for online food delivery among the residents of Kochi has brought to the fore a threat of stale food being given to customers. 

The food safety department said that since January they have been getting complaints of stale food being delivered to customers. “We receive at least one complaint every week over the phone,” said food safety vigilance squad official Sakkir Hussain. 

Last month, a customer from Kakkanad complained that he had to seek medical help after having a food item that was delivered online.

However, officials said it is difficult to initiate action against erring hoteliers. “The problem we face is that the food is not served as packaged products where manufacturing and expiry dates, content details, price and address of the manufacturing company are a must. These details are not available on food packets purchased online. If we register a case on the basis of stale food served online, it cannot be proved in the court. We can prove it only when the customer gets hospitalized and the doctor advises medication for food poisoning,” said Hussain.

“The life of cooked food is two hours. Hoteliers themselves say they can’t ensure the quality of the food that they cooked much earlier in the day. In some complaints, we found that there is a delay in food delivered to customers due to slew of factors, including traffic,” the official said.

Meanwhile, officials said some customers are also misusing the opportunity to threaten the hoteliers citing small issues in the food. “Some customers threaten hoteliers saying they will publish news on the issue on social media. Scared over dent on the image of the hotel, hoteliers have been forced either to cut down the price or to provide food for free. Later both parties keep this issue out of public domain,” the official said.

Kerala hotel and restaurants’association (KHRA) officials admit that hotels have been forced to compromise on the quality of food when it is delivered online at a cheap rate. “There is no mechanism available to check the quality of food delivered online. Some kinds of food such as mayonnaise and Arabic food items get sour fast. We don’t know from where the delivery boys buy the food. Besides, ordering food online also generate huge plastic waste, which endanger the nature. The online food delivery system needs intervention of the state government. The government should bring in a mechanism to control a system where no one is responsible for delivering stale or unhygienic food,” said KHRA general secretary G Jayapal.

Wardha FDA withdraws Satara infant food for violations

Nagpur: The Wardha unit of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has withdrawn the entire material of an infant food product with brand name ‘Healthy Magic Brand’ for various violations of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSA) Act. The manufacturer, M/S Anupreet Product from Karad in Satara district, has been producing the product even without the basic permission of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Food safety officer Raviraj Dhabarde, who is the investigation officer, told TOI that the product is wrongly branded. Infant foods are to be given to children above the age of six months but this brand is being sold for children below four months of age. The infant food is available in two brands — Real mix vegetable-Infant Food-Anupreet Healthy Magic Brand and real Mix Fruits again with same brand name.

Dhabarde said that the samples have been sent to adjudication officer SR Kekare, the FDA joint commissioner at Nagpur. If violation is established, the manufacturer will be liable for at least a Rs10 lakh fine. The raid was carried out under the guidance of GB Gore, the FDA additional commissioner (food) at Wardha.

As per the FSSAI regulation, the product should not carry the picture of a mother or a child whereas this product carries a photo of children.

There are also irregularities in packaging and labelling, said Dhabarde. He said that it was mandatory for the manufacturer to mention that ‘mothers milk best for your baby’, which is missing from the label. The packet should also carry a warning that the food should be used only on the advice of a health worker. It should also carry a warning that infant food is a milk substitute or it is not the sole source of nourishment for an infant.

There should also be a statement on the process of manufacture (eg spray dried) except in case of infant foods where it is replaced by warnings about the health hazards associated with improper hygiene while preparing the food for the baby. It should carry warnings like use of clean utensils, bottles and teats.

It should also say that not to use fewer scoops as it would dilute the required concentration of the food and not provide sufficient nutrients required by the baby’s body. The pack should also carry directions of use and instructions for the discarded or the leftover feed. The pack should never mention words like ‘energy food’ full protein food, complete food, health food etc.