Apr 13, 2019
Rs 7.5L worth gutka products seized from truck
Trichy: An election flying squad seized banned gutka products worth Rs 7.5 lakh from a mini container truck near old Palpannai here on Friday.
The team led by Tahsildar Renuga intercepted a vehicle during a vehicle check as a part of the model code of conduct for the general elections. The team searched inside the container and found Gutkha items packed in 50 bags. All of them were banned stuffs in Tamil Nadu. The driver of the truck was identified as Kalidass, 33, from Tiruppur. The team handed over the truck loaded with Gutkha and the driver to Gandhi market police. The preliminary investigation brought to light the Gutkha was transported from Bengaluru. The total weight of the consignment was 30 kg.
The driver feigned ignorance on the place of delivery of the consignment. He told police that he was asked to follow a motorcyclist to reach the place to deliver them. As the biker sped away as he noticed the vehicle being searched.
The food safety department officials took up the enquiry to get a clue about the network behind illegal trade as the department has the major role in combating against the invasion of banned Gutkha into the state. Designated officer (DO) of food safety department, Trichy R Chithra visited the police station. “The police told me that they will take care of the case and the investigation,” Chithra told ToI in the evening.
The police sources said that the driver maintained that he had no idea about the sender of the consignment. He told them that he took the vehicle from Hosur only before which it was driven by someone else from Bengaluru to Hosur. As the police could not ferret out anything about the network, they registered a case against him and arrested him.
Tea Board goes for food safety push to uplift quality
Kolkata: The Tea Board of India has issued a circular, directing all tea manufacturing units in the country “to strictly comply with the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) norms and get their end product tested in any NABL-accredited lab” to ensure that the quality of brew sold in India and exported abroad is never compromised.
The Tea Board circular adds: “The test reports should also be submitted to the Board’s zonal office for our information...however, all manufacturing units (both estate factories and bought-leaf factories) are hereby informed that Tea Board Quality Control Laboratory has received NABL accreditation…”
A top Tea Board official reasoned that the circular is needed owing to the continuous revision of the FSSAI Act, 2006, and its amendments in 2018. “As more chemicals and new parameters have been included under the FSSAI Act, our duty was to inform and educate the existing as well as new players in the tea production business,” added the Board official. The FSSAI test for the tea sector includes pesticide residue and heavy metal analysis.
Though small tea growers, who are always criticized for low quality control of their produce, do not come under the purview of FSSAI as primary producers.
The small tea growers’ (STG) body, Cista, welcomed the latest Tea Board circular for compulsory testing of tea for twice a year. Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, president, Cista, said: “STGs should also strictly follow FSSAI and Plant Protection Code (PPC). We have to ensure our customers that we are producing clean, pure and environment-friendly tea. We have already requested Tea Board to reach out to everybody for training-cum-awareness campaign at the grassroot level.”
The Indian Tea Association (ITA), the premier tea producers’ body, claimed that all its member-producers have always complied with FSSAI testing norms. “However, the Tea Board’s initiative is commendable as it would make the buyers more confident about Indian tea.”
The Tea Board is also organizing a ‘Young Entrepreneurs’ Meet’ for drawing a future roadmap for the morning beverage on April 24. The meet will discuss the steps “needed to be taken to bring quality produce to the market and discouraging the rampant production, sales, export and marketing of low quality tea.
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