DINAMANI NEWS

FSSAI seizes 1,500 litres of edible oil on suspicion of adulteration

Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India seizing oil tins from a warehouse near Annur in Coimbatore on Monday. 

Oil samples lifted for laboratory test; warehouse near Annur sealed

Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized nearly 1,500 litres of unlabelled cooking oil from a warehouse near Annur in Coimbatore, on suspicion of adulteration.

K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore, said that the oil tins were found stocked in a warehouse belonging to a resident of Kariyagoundanur near Annur.

Food Safety officers conducted a surprise raid at the warehouse based on specific information on Monday afternoon and found that a father-son duo was selling groundnut oil, coconut oil and sunflower oil after adding refined palm olein.

“We have lifted samples of the oils, which will be tested in a Government food laboratory. Further action will be taken based on the test results,” said Dr. Tamilselvan.

According to the official, the duo bought edible oils such as groundnut oil, coconut oil and sunflower oil from wholesale markets and mixed ‘super olein’, a doubled refined olein made out of fractionation of the standard olein.

“They were mixing super olein, which costs around ₹ 70 per litre, with groundnut oil and selling the same for price ranging from ₹ 240 to ₹280 per litre. They have been selling the oil in Annur, Mettupalayam, Sirumugai and Periyanaickenpalayam for the last four years. They had not obtained licence from FSSAI and the oil tins were unlabelled,” he added.

The warehouse was sealed following the raid.

Tamil Nadu Food Safety department yet to check for mislabelling

The FSSAI also directed the authorities concerned to replace the nomenclature of Atta as ‘Wheat Flour’ Instead of ‘Whole Wheat Flour’.

CHENNAI: The State Food Safety department is yet to conduct inspections, specifically to check mislabelling on the packaging of biscuit packets, even after the July 31 deadline for the biscuit manufacturing companies to comply with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s order.

After observing that the food business operators are using the term ‘wheat flour’ as the English nomenclature for Maida on the label of the food products, which does not convey the exact nature of ingredient used for manufacturing of various food items to the consumers as well as enforcement officials, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India directed the food business operators to redefine the ingredient. 

The FSSAI also directed the authorities concerned to replace the nomenclature of Atta as ‘Wheat Flour’ Instead of ‘Whole Wheat Flour’. “Nomenclature of Atta has been re-considered and it has been decided to replace the nomenclature of Atta as ‘Wheat Flour’ instead of ‘Whole Wheat Flour’,” the FSSAI said in its order dated April 30.

The FSSAI had set July 31 as the deadline for the usage of the term Wheat Flour (Atta) and Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) on labels of food products, for food business operators to comply with the said direction. “If the food business operators don’t comply with the order, the Food Safety Commissioner of the State can initiate legal action with a fine, on operators,” said a senior official.

However, when TNIE contacted a senior Food Safety Department official, he said, "Since biscuits is one of the food items, it will be checked in routine inspection in the shops. However, we are yet to get a biscuit-specific report." Meanwhile, another food safety official said, "As far as Chennai is concerned, we have received a letter from a few biscuit manufacturing companies that they have implemented the order, but we are yet to go for inspection. We have to do it in the coming days only."

‘Processed food companies must follow FSSAI standards’

FDA commissioner says large number of eateries on e-commerce apps found to be flouting guidelines

Food and Drugs Administration commissioner Dr. Pallavi Darade on Monday stressed on the need for processed food companies to follow the standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Dr. Darade was speaking at a conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on refrigerated and frozen foods, in Mumbai on Monday.

The conclave also witnessed attendance by major players in the processed and frozen food market, and discussions on the challenges and opportunities in the industry.

“The FDA along with FSSAI is working towards the growth of the refrigerated and frozen foods market in India, but FSSAI standards need to be followed and cold storage chains need to be registered with the FDA. Consumer and food safety is the prime focus of FDA,” Dr. Darade said.

She added that in the last few months, a shockingly large number of eateries screened by the FDA were found to have violated various guidelines. “In the last few months, we have checked more than 350 food outlets which delivered food through e-commerce applications. Around 110 of these outlets were unregistered and around 200 outlets violated the hygiene policies,” she said.

The FDA has also launched a drive to ensure hygienic street food at sea faces like the Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Beach.

The Indian frozen foods market has reached a value of around ₹74 billion in 2018. It is further projected to reach a value of ₹188 billion by 2024, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 17%, whereas the global frozen and refrigerated food market is growing 5-6% annually.

Frozen foods market

Kashmira Mewawala, chairman of CII Maharashtra State Council, said, “The demand for frozen and refrigerated food has increased, but the retail market just contributes 24% to 26% of the total business, which is expected to grow soon. The agriculture sector plays huge part in the government’s target of a five trillion dollar economy. With the expansion of the frozen food market, farmers will get enough value for their product without any waste.”

Arabind Das, chairman of the CII national committee on allied sectors in agriculture, said, “To fulfil the demand for frozen food, cold storage chains must be developed further. We look forward to use Railways and waterways for efficient transport of such food products.”

Food regulator engages with stakeholders to ensure safe surplus food distribution

India, despite being the second largest food producer in world, is ranked 103rd out of 119 hungriest countries on the Global Hunger Index 2014.

Country’s top food regulator—Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)— conducted the second round of meeting with 20 Surplus Food Distribution Agencies from various parts of the country, to discuss the steps taken by government to ensure safe distribution of surplus food.

The country’s top food regulator—Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)— conducted the second round of meeting with 20 Surplus Food Distribution Agencies from various parts of the country, to discuss the steps taken by government to ensure safe distribution of surplus food.

India, despite being the second largest food producer in world, is ranked 103rd out of 119 hungriest countries on the Global Hunger Index 2014.

Prevention of food waste and promotion of surplus food distribution is a global concern, and FSSAI has been taking steps to address the concern.

The first meeting was held on July 30 that was attended by 13 Surplus Food Distribution Agencies.

The FSSAI had Gazette notified Food Safety and Standards (Recovery of Surplus Food) Regulations, 2018 on August 4, 2019 to establish a uniform national regulation to protect organizations and individuals when they donate food in good faith.

“This will further encourage big food businesses to come forward and donate food to these Surplus Food Distribution Agencies. These regulations will be enforced with effect from 1st July 2020,” said FSSAI in a statement.

The food regulator has also started an initiative called ‘Save Food Share Food Share Joy’ to create a food recovery ecosystem, an initiative that aims to bridge the gap between food companies, surplus food distribution agencies and beneficiaries.

One of the key features is creation of Indian Food Sharing Alliance (IFSA) - A network of food collection/recovery agencies in India, to create a pan India network of these agencies. This network will serve as a common platform for this cause wherein all of them will be equally benefited with regulatory support, food safety training and capacity building efforts.

“The meeting was targeted to apprise these agencies about their roles and responsibilities in ensuring safe food collection and distribution as well as prevention of food waste. They were also trained on hygiene practices during food collection and distribution under Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC),” the FSSAI statement further read.

It will be mandatory for the surplus food distribution agencies to register with FSSAI on food licensing portal. At present, 20 such agencies have been registered on FSSAI licensing portal.

“Integrated efforts from government, food businesses and surplus food distribution organizations are necessary to create an ecosystem for prevention of surplus food waste and the initiative is a beginning in this direction,” said Pawan Aggarwal, CEO, FSSAI.

FSSAI to send notice to Amul for ‘disparaging’ fortified milk category

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is set to take dairy major Amul to task for “disparaging” the fortified milk category.

The food safety authority soon plans to issue a notice to Amul for its comments on fortified milk category, for which standards have been finalised by the FSSAI’s Scientific Panel.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI told BusinessLine, “We will be issuing a notice to Amul for disparaging the fortified milk category as this can send wrong signal to the public... as if there is something wrong with fortified milk.”

He said the dairy major has been making disparaging comments about fortified milk despite being given an opportunity to present its views to FSSAI’s scientific panel. Agarwal stated that the food fortification regulations have been finalised by the scientific panel after careful deliberations and a due consultation process.

In October 2016, FSSAI had operationalised the regulations for fortification of five categories of staples which includes wheat flour and rice (with iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid) , milk and edible oil (with Vitamins A and D) and double fortified salt (with iodine and iron). After consultation with stakeholders, the food safety authority finalised these regulations last year. It is not mandatory for companies to fortify their food products. The regulator believes this will help the country tackle high burden of micro-nutrient malnutrition in India. The regulator has been engaging with both private and public milk processors to scale up milk fortification voluntarily over the past two years. It had said that notification of fortification regulations will create an enabling environment and encourage food businesses to adopt food fortification.

However, Amul has kept out of the milk fortification initiative reportedly stating that it does not want to go for synthetic or artificial fortification. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has also been pushing for milk fortification. In the past two years, 25 milk federations/producer companies or milk unions across 20 States in the country have been fortifying about 55 lakh litres of milk per day, according to NDDB’s estimates.

Food Regulator Frames Law to Promote Food Donation, Reduce Wastage

The purpose of these regulations is to establish a uniform national regulation to protect organizations and individuals when they donate food in good faith.

New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI has framed a regulation to promote food donation by businesses and reduce wastage.

"Food Authority has come up with the Food Safety and Standards (Recovery and Distribution of surplus food) Regulations, 2019, so as to provide a legitimate back up to the food donation in India," the regulator said in a statement.

The purpose of these regulations is to establish a uniform national regulation to protect organizations and individuals when they donate food in good faith.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seeks to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals.

These regulations will be enforced with effect from July 1, 2020.

"India is the second-largest food producer in the world but on Global Hunger Index 2014, India ranked 103rd out of the world's 119th hungriest countries. Due to some protocols, food businesses also destroy food with smaller shelf life. Prevention of food waste and promotion of surplus food distribution is a global concern," FSSAI said.

To address the same, the FSSAI held a second round of meeting with 20 Surplus Food Distribution Agencies from various parts of the country to discuss the steps taken by the government to ensure the safe distribution of surplus food. The first meeting was organised on July 30 which was attended by 13 agencies.

The FSSAI has started an initiative called Save Food Share Joy' to create a food recovery ecosystem. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between food companies, surplus food distribution agencies and beneficiaries.

One of the key features is the creation of Indian Food Sharing Alliance (IFSA) - a network of food collection/recovery agencies in India, to create a pan India network of these agencies.

This network will serve as a common platform for this cause wherein all of them will be equally benefitted with regulatory support, food safety training and capacity building efforts.

"It will be mandatory for surplus food distribution agencies to register with the FSSAI on food licensing portal," the statement said.

FSSAI frames law to promote food donation

New Delhi, Aug 26 () Food regulator FSSAI has framed a regulation to promote food donation by businesses and reduce wastage.

"Food Authority has come up with the Food Safety and Standards (Recovery and Distribution of surplus food) Regulations, 2019, so as to provide a legitimate backup to the food donation in India," the regulator said in a statement.

The purpose of these regulations is to establish a uniform national regulation to protect organizations and individuals when they donate food in good faith.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seeks to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals.

These regulations will be enforced with effect from July 1, 2020.

"India is the second largest food producer in world but on Global Hunger Index 2014, India ranked 103rd out of the world's 119th hungriest countries. Due to some protocols, food businesses also destroy food with smaller shelf life. Prevention of food waste and promotion of surplus food distribution is a global concern," FSSAI said.

To address the same, the FSSAI held a second round of meeting with 20 Surplus Food Distribution Agencies from various parts of the country to discuss the steps taken by the government to ensure safe distribution of surplus food. The first meeting was organised on July 30 which was attended by 13 agencies.

The FSSAI has started an initiative called 'Save Food Share Food Share Joy' to create a food recovery ecosystem. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between food companies, surplus food distribution agencies and beneficiaries.

One of the key features is creation of Indian Food Sharing Alliance (IFSA) - a network of food collection/recovery agencies in India, to create a pan India network of these agencies.

This network will serve as a common platform for this cause wherein all of them will be equally benefitted with regulatory support, food safety training and capacity building efforts."It will be mandatory for surplus food distribution agencies to register with the FSSAI on food licensing portal," the statement said.

FSSAI opens National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad

FSSAI’s National Food Laboratory, at Ghaziabad, Delhi-NCR was inaugurated by Harsh Vardhan, Union minister of health and family welfare on 23 August 2019. The minister also laid the foundation stone of the FSSAI Tower. Incidentally, 23 August 2019 also marked the 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan at the inauguration of the National Food Laboratory of FSSAI

Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for health and family welfare also participated in the event, which was attended by over 300 partners and stakeholders from the scientific community, food businesses and corporates.

The National Food Laboratory, Delhi-NCR is one of the two premier referral laboratories under the direct administrative control of FSSAI.

This national laboratory is a result of a public-private-partnership, the first-of-its-kind in the food laboratory sector. It houses state-of-the-art collaborative training centres, namely, the Food Safety Solution Centre (FSSC) and the Centre for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT).

The laboratory symbolises the synchronisation of policy-driven partnerships and collaboration with a holistic approach and a futuristic vision. The lab has a comprehensive array of equipment with the latest technologies and facilities to conduct analysis as per global accreditation standards for testing and calibration. FSSAI will also be establishing such laboratories at Mumbai and Chennai in the near future along the same lines.

In his inaugural address, Harsh Vardhan said, “For an effective regulatory food environment, a robust food testing ecosystem is important. This is essential to evaluate the quality and safety of food, their compliance to standards and also to identify any emerging risks from farm to fork.”

The FSSAI Tower, co-located at this place, has been planned to accommodate FSSAI’s growing staff numbers. The Central government has recently created 493 new posts for FSSAI, bringing the overall strength of FSSAI to 824. The new facility would also host visiting faculty and trainee officers during trainings and conferences. Other facilities include a cafeteria, day-care centre, fitness centre, conference hall and training centre. This eight-floor tower with adequate parking facilities shall further augment the capabilities of FSSAI and its National Food Laboratory.

Choubey, congratulating FSSAI in his keynote address, said, “This public-private-partnership in the food testing ecosystem will synergise the efficiency of the private sector and the regulatory control of the government in an efficient manner. I have full confidence in the success of this partnership and hope to see more such collaborations for other laboratories in the country. This advanced food-testing infrastructure will also help us fight any instances of food adulteration and will become more robust in the years to come.”

In the past few years, FSSAI has taken various steps to create and invest in an effective food-testing ecosystem in the country. With a robust system to recognise and notify laboratories in place, currently there is network of 261 food-testing laboratories, which has almost doubled from 138 in 2014. The Indian Food Laboratory Network (InFoLNet) has been created as a one-stop virtual-hub for transparent flow of laboratory information.

FSSAI has also launched ‘Food Safety on Wheels’ (FSW), a mobile food testing lab for testing, awareness and training. This first-of-its-kind, the innovative van will take food testing infrastructure to remote villages and far-flung areas, thus, instilling confidence among citizens. There are 44 FSWs currently, which are expected to cross 500 in the coming years.

FSSAI has been investing in strengthening state and referral labs with advanced equipment, microbiological testing facilities, apart from capacity building activities for all the laboratory personnel. Several of these referral laboratories have been recognised as National Reference Laboratories, 14 of which were awarded certificates of recognition at the event.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said, “This is a landmark occasion for FSSAI as today we have commemorated the 13th anniversary of FSS Act, 2006. Over the past seven-eight years, the authority has transformed the food safety ecosystem in the country with the support of our stakeholders. The National Food Laboratory, Delhi-NCR is one of the most advanced laboratories in the country and is at par with any other laboratory in advanced countries like USA. Today, India can proudly boast of one of the finest networks of laboratory systems and emerging as a hub of food testing ecosystem in Asia.” He added, “Initiatives like the Food Safety Magic Box enhance engagement and build scientific temper to unleash creative potential among students through simple and fun experiments around food. We plan to make these Magic Boxes available across Health and Wellness Centres and are hopeful for the support of the Health Ministry.”