Dec 13, 2019
இனிமே பானி பூரி சாப்பிடும் போதெல்லாம் இதுதான் ஞாபகம் வரும்!
காலில் மிதித்து பானி பூரி தயாரித்து, திருச்சி முழுவதும் அதை சப்ளை செய்த நிறுவனத்திற்கு 'சீல்' வைக்கப்பட்டது.
இனிமே பானி பூரி சாப்பிடும் போதெல்லாம் இதுதான் ஞாபகம் வரும்!
திருச்சி சஞ்சீவி நகர் மேல தேவதானம் பகுதியில், வடநாட்டினர் பானி பூரி தயாரிக்கும் நிறுவனம் ஒன்று செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. இந்த நிறுவனம் அந்தப் பகுதியில் உள்ள ஐந்து வீடுகளை வாடகைக்கு எடுத்து இயங்கி வருகிறது.
இந்த பானி பூரி நிறுவனத்தை, வடமாநிலத்தைச் சேர்ந்த கமல்சிங், ராஜு ஆகியோர் நடத்தி வந்துள்ளனர். இந்த நிறுவனத்தில், வடமாநிலங்களைச் சேர்ந்த 20 பேர் தங்கி, பானி பூரிகளைத் தயாரிக்க பணியில் அமர்த்தப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.
இந்த நிறுவனம் குறித்து திருச்சி மாவட்ட உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத் துறைக்குச் சமீப நாட்களாகப் புகார்கள் வந்துள்ளன. அந்த புகாரில், “சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையில், காலில் மிதித்துப் பூரி மாவைத் தயாரிக்கிறார்கள்” எனக் கூறப்பட்டிருந்தது.
புகாரையடுத்து, இந்த பானிபுரி நிறுவனம் செயல்பட்டு வந்த வீடுகளில், உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத் துறை அலுவலர்கள் அதிரடி சோதனை நடத்தினர்.
சோதனையின்போது, சுகாதாமின்றி, தரமற்ற முறையில் பானி பூரிகளைத் தயாரித்து வந்தது கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. அதேபோல் பானிபூரிகள் தயாரிக்கப்பட்ட இடத்தில், தரைகளில் ஆங்காங்கே ஓட்டைகளும், அதிக எண்ணிக்கையில் எலிகளும் சென்று வந்து கொண்டிருந்தன. மற்றொரு அறையில் அதிகாரிகள் சோதனை செய்யச் சென்றபோது, அங்கு நடந்த நிகழ்வைப் பார்த்து அதிர்ந்து போனர்.
ஆம், ஒரு அறையில் பானிபூரி தயார் செய்ய மாவைச் சிலர் கால்களால் மிதித்துத் தயாரித்து வந்தனர். இதைப் பார்த்த அதிகாரிகள் அதிர்ச்சியடைந்தனர். அதேபோல் அந்த இடம் சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையிலிருந்ததாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது. இதனால் அந்த நிறுவனத்திற்கு உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத் துறை அதிகாரிகள் சீல் வைத்தனர்.
இதற்கிடையில், திருச்சியில் உள்ள 90 சதவீத பானிபூரி கடைகளுக்கு இந்த நிறுவனத்தில் கால்களால் தயாரிக்கப்படும் பானிபூரிதான் செல்கிறது என்பது தெரியவந்துள்ளது.
Unsafe food: FSSAI urges crackdown
FSSAI is working to sharply reduce the quantity of unsafe food in India to ensure consumers can consume a healthy and safe diet.
Sounding concerns about the prevalence of unsafe food in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is seeking a sharp reduction.
FSSAI chairman Pawan Kumar Aggarwal, speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, drew attention to “very low” public confidence in Indian foodstuffs. Aggarwal drew attention to a survey of one lakh samples of food, which found 3.7 percent of the foodstuffs to be unsafe. He called on the industry to reduce this percentage to one percent or less in the next four years. In addition to the 3.7 percent of samples which were unsafe, fifteen percent were non-standard and nine percent was improperly branded.
Acknowledging food safety to be a concern, Aggarwal nonetheless expressed concern that effecting reductions in the quantities of non-standard, improperly branded and unsafe food was achievable with proper surveillance, enforcement and review of food standards, and monitoring of pollutants such as antibiotics, heavy metals, and pesticides in the country’s produce. He also highlighted the disparity between the survey’s findings and media and public perception.
“It [the lack of confidence] is partially due to perception but there is some amount of reality,” he explained. “Obviously we have to communicate well with the citizen so that gap between reality and perception is reduced. We need to take concrete actions to address this issue.” Of the targets to reduce unsafe foodstuffs, Aggarwal said “the level of 3.7 percent is low when compared to media reports of sixty to seventy percent. In [the] next four years, can we bring unsafe food level to less than one percent or negligible level…non-standard food to five percent and mis-branded food to two percent?”
There is indeed a clear need to reduce the quantity of unsafe food in India. It was reported last year that, of the 1,649 infectious disease outbreaks reported until December 3rd, 2017, food poisoning was responsible for 242, the second highest number behind acute diarrhoeal disease. Food poisoning is on the rise too, the number of instances of food poisoning outbreaks increasing from just fifty in 2007 to 242 a decade later – almost a fivefold increase. Such instances have repeatedly proven to be lethal.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the FSSAI would be taking major steps towards ensuring food safety in India through the appointment of inspectors. “The FSSAI has trained about 1.7 lakh food safety supervisors for capacity building under the Food Safety Training and Certification initiative. They will ask people and food vendors to comply with the food safety norms, including the hygiene aspect,” commented Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. “We not only have to provide [the] right food, but also ensure that there is strict implementation of laws and the compliance of standards to assure that citizens have safe and wholesome food.” The FSSAI’s encouragement of the removal of unsafe food from the market is another encouraging step.
Food delivery apps in hot water over hygiene, quality
HYDERABAD: Almost half of the food safety and quality-related complaints being received by food safety officials in the city are related to food ordered online, through the delivery applications. Food safety officials say that applications like Swiggy or Zomato need to strengthen their mechanism in ensuring that only quality food is delivered to their customers. Officials from the Institute of Preventive Medicine, which also houses the Telangana FSSAI office, say that more than 50 per cent of the complaints from the city are about food ordered via online delivery applications.
While action is usually taken directly against the restaurant if inquiry by GHMC reveals discrepancies, officials claim that the fault lies with the delivery service too who are bound to check and monitor the restaurants themselves. Moreover, many of the penalised restaurants continue to be listed on the food delivery applications.
Speaking to Express, Dr K Shankar, director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine said, “Every month we get 15-20 complaints from the consumers, out of which 8-10 are screen shots of their online orders through applications.”
Another senior official on condition of anonymity said, “We cannot take any direct action against the food delivery apps. But they are also supposed to have proper monitoring mechanism of the restaurants that they list. Moreover, the conditions in which these food delivery apps deliver the food also is very unhygienic. The heat insulated bags are not washed, cleaned or disinfected for days together.”
He further said “None of the restaurants that are penalised are also delisted from these delivery service apps.” As per official information, the State has a sanctioned strength of 58 Food Safety Officers but presently has only five officers.
At the district level, of sanctioned 12 District Food Safety Designated Officers, there are only nine though there is a need to increase the numbers as districts have increased to 33.
CM lays stress on food safety
‘Conduct regular inspection of food items’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stressed the need for a fool proof mechanism to ensure food safety by carrying out periodic inspections.
Addressing the annual meeting of District Collectors and heads of departments here on Thursday, he said it was important to conduct regular inspection of fish, meat, vegetables and cooking oil sold through various outlets in the State.
He directed officials to carry out inspections of wayside eateries and big hotels on a regular basis to prevent the sale of contaminated food items. The meeting decided to implement the plastic ban in the State from January 1.
An intensive participatory campaign would be organised across the State on January 25 to remove plastic and other waste from the sides of national highways and other roads. The campaign would enlist the support of voluntary workers, NSS, NCC, Green Corps and the general public.
The meeting decided to launch the second phase of the Care Kerala housing scheme taken up by the Cooperation Department. The Chief Minister would inaugurate the project in Thrissur in January next year. Officials said 2,000 houses would be completed by December and handed over to beneficiaries.
The meeting reviewed the progress of various projects implemented by the departments of Agriculture, Ports, Culture, Environment, Education, Health, Home, Housing, Industries, Local Self-Government and Sports and Youth Affairs.
Ministers E.P. Jayarajan, A.C. Moideen, Ramachandran Kadannappally, C. Raveendranath, K.T. Jaleel, K.K. Shailaja and Kadakampally Surendran, Vice Chairman of Planning Board V.K. Ramachandran, Chief Secretary Tom Jose and heads of various departments participated.
Shop owners asked to avoid spilling hot oil on pedestrians
FSSAI has instructed hotels and snacks stalls on State Bank Road in Coimbatore to keep frying pans covered to avoid spilling of hot oil on pedestrians.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has instructed those who run eateries and snacks stalls on either side of State Bank road, near railway station, to keep the large kadais (cast iron vessel) covered to avoid spilling of hot oil on pedestrians who walk along the pathway.
K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of FSSAI for Coimbatore, and his team inspected the shops and issued the instructions a few days ago. They asked the shop owners to cover the large caste iron kadais, that are kept close to the footpath, to avoid spilling of hot oil on pedestrians or keep the vessels away from pedestrian pathway.
According to people, who frequent the bus stop in front of the railway station, there were several incidents wherein pedestrians had hot oil splash from such eateries when the cook shakes the strainer or puts items like rolled dough for poori into the kadai.
“During inspections, the kadais used for deep frying were found kept in the open, close to the pathway, except in one restaurant. We instructed owners of the eateries to keep them covered with glass or metal cabin so that the oil is not splashed on pedestrians while frying. They could also keep the kadai away from the pathway,” said Dr. Tamilselvan.
He said that the shops would be inspected again without notice and action would be taken against owners who fail to obey the instructions.
Last month, The Hindu had reported on the encroachments along the pathways and oil splash from open kadais. The Coimbatore District Railways and Airways’ Passenger Welfare Association had also petitioned the Coimbatore Corporation to remove encroachments by 60-odd shops.
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