Oct 20, 2019
Probe on milk contamination to be ordered
The Food Safety Department will order a detailed enquiry and analysis to find out the extent and cause of contamination of milk in the State. This follows a study by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that found aflatoxin-M1, a contaminant from cattle feed caused by fungus, in 88 of the 562 samples it lifted across Tamil Nadu.
Commissioner, Food Safety, Beela Rajesh said the Department would upscale surveillance and enforcement actions, and would cross-check safety aspects and publish the details in the shortest possible time. “We have also asked Food Safety officials to do a thorough check on all brands, including Aavin. Tamil Nadu is completely compliant on other tested parameters,” she added.
Tamil Nadu topped the list of States with the highest levels of aflatoxin residues, and the problem was more dominant in processed milk rather than raw milk, the FSSAI study said.
Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association general secretary M.G. Rajendran said: “The Food Safety Department should create awareness among farmers about how the feed should be stored.”
Aavin managing director C. Kamaraj said Aavin’s milk conformed to standards.
Diwali: Food safety officials go into overdrive
Health secretary Beela Rajesh, who is also the commissioner of food safety, has issued orders directing designated food safety officials of all districts to send samples for testing. Samples of oil, ghee, sweets and savouries have to be lifted as per prescribed format and sent to lab for checks, the letters said. In the past two weeks officials have been testing samples and meeting with manufacturers.
“We have asked them (manufacturers) to avoid synthetic colours in sweets and maintain proper hygiene during bulk preparation on their premises. They have been asked to check the labels of ghee and oil used and buy only from trusted sources with proper bills/ invoices,” said food safety deputy director K Vanaja. “Manufacturers have been warned that violation of food safety standards will lead to convictions. We will track the quality of ingredients and will book their suppliers if the raw material is adulterated,” she said.
In September, food inspectors in the city had picked up samples of ghee and butter from manufacturing units in T Nagar and Saidapet along with a red dye. The dye was found to be cancer-causing, oil-soluble colour that is not permitted to be used in food. Samples of butter and ghee picked from these units also failed food safety standards. Government food analysts reported that as much as 50% of fat in the samples tested was not exclusively dairy fat.
Staff in the manufacturing units told officials that the dye, a combination of red powder and mustard oil, was used as it gave the butter texture and odour. These products cost Rs 200 a kg compared to Rs 435 per kg of ghee charged by brands such as Aavin of the state-run milk cooperative. Similarly, some oils meant for lighting lamps in temples are used for cooking as well.
AMC health teams raid snacks sellers, dairies
Ahmedabad: Food safety and hygiene wing of the municipal health department took samples of snacks preparations at 54 locations in the city on Saturday. Apart from this, the special health wing went to four milk dairies for inspections in Naroda GIDC, Dehgam road and found milk based sweets be prepared under unhygienic conditions. In total, Rs 5.3 lakh in fines was collected from these dairies.
Apart from them local provisions stores in the city which have put up extra counters for selling sweets and snacks were also visited by the staff for food samples. In Bapunagar, two cottage units manufacturing and packing food items were inspected for poor hygiene and have been sealed.
In all, the health authorities destroyed some 4,861 kg of raw food material suspected unfit for consumption and some Rs 6.5 lakh was collected in fines.
Uttarakhand govt bans gutka, pan masala for one year
The order was issued by Food Safety Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Jha on Friday.
This decision is taken by the Trivendra Singh Rawat government after seeing the ill effects on the health of people habitual of chewing tobacco and nicotine-based products.
Dehradun: The Uttrakhand government has imposed a total ban on the storage, distribution, manufacture and sale of pan masala and gutka which contains high content if nicotine and tobacco in them.
The order was issued by Food Safety Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Jha on Friday.
The ban comes into effect immediately and has been imposed for a period of one year.
This decision is taken by the Trivendra Singh Rawat government after seeing the ill effects on the health of people habitual of chewing tobacco and nicotine-based products.
The order cites the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which gives power to the state governments to put a ban on any food product for a year in the public interest.
In its notice, the state government has explained the reason for taking such a move stating that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has prohibited the use of tobacco and nicotine as an ingredient in any product meant for the consumption of the humans but it has been found that pan masala, gutka in the state are being sold under different name which continues to have a high content of both- tobacco and nicotine.
National Milk Sample Safety Quality Survey
News:Food Safety and Standard Authority of India(FSSAI) has released the National Milk Sample Safety Quality Survey.
Facts:
Key takeaways from the survey:
- The survey has found that milk samples from Telangana followed by Madhya Pradesh and Kerala has shown the highest number of cases of adulteration.
- The problem of Aflatoxin-M1 is more dominant in processed milk than that of raw milk.
- Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Kerala were the top states where the Aflatoxin-M1 was found maximum.
- In terms of quality, 7% of the total sample of processed milk did not comply with quality parameters because the presence of contaminants such as fats, Maltodextrin and sugar were above permissible limits.
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Additional information:
About Aflatoxin-M1:
- Aflatoxins are toxins produced by certain fungi which are generally found in agricultural crops like maize, peanuts, cotton seed and others.They are carcinogenic in nature.
- It comes in the milk through feed and fodder that are currently not regulated in the country.
- There is no proper lab to test this residue in the country.
Testing and sampling Scheme:
- To address the issue of testing,the government is instituting a scheme for testing and sampling for organised dairy players.It will be implemented from January 1,2020,
- The scheme stipulates sampling points during various stages of milk processing, test methods and frequency of sampling.
- Organised players which include dairy co-operatives and private players, will need to have a well-equipped in house lab for testing and also will need to keep records of all tests conducted.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory autonomous body under Food Safety and Standards Act,2006.It comes under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
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