Govt. asked to reply on applicability of Food Act on ‘liquor products’

The Madhya Pradesh high court today granted four weeks time to the central government to file reply on the issue of including liquor products in the Food Safety & Standards Act 2006, implemented in the state in 2011.
A bench of Justice KK Lahoti and Justice TK Kaushal today granted the time of four week, earlier the same bench issued notice to the centre on petitions filed by liquor distributors of Bhopal and Jabalpur against the inclusion of 'alcoholic drinks' under the definition of food in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The liquor distributors through the petition have sought to declare the particular section of the Act, relating to 'alcoholic liquor' as ultra vies of the Constitution. The petitioners have also sought direction from the court to the central government not to compel them to obtain licenses under section 31 of the 2006 Act.
The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 came into effect from 5 August 2011. The Act was passed in Parliament in 2006 to replace the Prevention of Adulteration Act 1954.
Assistant Solicitor General RL Gupta and SA Dharmadhikari appearing on behalf of central government sought time to file reply & the same was granted. Senior Advocate Ravindran Singh and senior advocate Naman Nagrath appeared for the petitioners.

DINAMALAR NEWS

Street plays on healthy eating habits

VARANASI: To spread awareness about healthy eating habits and precautions that are necessary to be taken while preparing and eating food, the Daksha Education Society, with cooperation from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, is organising street plays at prominent places like Lanka, Cantonment Railway Station, Dasaswamedh Ghat and Asi Ghat on Friday.
According to its spokesperson Ramesh Sharma, under its programme on 'Food Safety Life Security', the society is holding various programmes in different phases and has educated more than 5,000 children about healthy eating and cooking habits.

US applies new food safety rules

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) will officially apply the new FDA Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) from now to early 2016. A Viet Nam News Agency reporter talked with On Le Thi Bich, head of the export-import department of the Vina Commodities Co, about how the new rules will affect local firms.
As an experienced exporter to the US, could you tell me about the most important parts of the new FSMA and what businesses exporting products to this market should look out for?
Labels recorded with unadequate information are one of the main causes for products on their way into the US market being held up at the port. The new provisions in the FSMA require more specific details, especially in the labelling method. In addition, some general requirements must be met, such as product name, weight, ingredients, and the new law also has different rules for various types of products.
In particular, labelling must be in more than one language, with English being compulsory. Enterprises are also required to ensure these translations are precise. In addition to requests of the importers and general standards of the US market, enterprises will also be required to ensure the standard of their goods are checked by third parties.
The FSMA will speed up checks on the production facilities of export countries and the facilities must meet certain standards set by the FDA. Export companies may also have to pay costs for any inspections.
Food exporters to the US are also required by the FDA to list the health risks associated with their products. These documents must be available during any inspections carried out by the FDA.
Small businesses may be exempt or enjoy less strict implementation of these requirements. A small firm is defined as an enterprises with revenue of less than $500,000 per year.
To ensure that Vietnamese food, drugs and beverages are eligible to be imported into the US, the importers are required to set up programmes to confirm the safety of all shipments into the US with safety certificates for each shipment.
Starting from this year, each facility must be registered with the FDA once every two years. Re-registration has to be made in the fourth quarter every even-numbered year.
Export facilities are required to appoint a representative located in the US who the FDA can contact, under requirements in the Anti-Terrorism Act issued in 2002.
The act also allows the FDA to have the authority to order, not merely require companies to recall contaminated food.
What are the disadvantages of the new rules for exporters?
Before the act came into force, it was more convenient for us to export goods to the US. Previously, we had to register with the FDA one time only rather than periodically register every two years under the new rule. Firms often forget to do this.
Another advantage was that goods entering into ports only required adequate documents and inspection by customs officers for clearance. But now, enterprises will face additional difficulties if there are any problems related to food hygiene and safety, as all these goods will be held until the procedures are completed. It will take more time, thus there will be an impact on any type of perishable goods.
Previously, besides the requirements of the importers and the general standards of the US market, standards on goods safety certified by a third party were acceptable, but now the FDA does not recognise the results of these certification units.
Under the previous regulations, a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) was not required by the FDA, but under the new rule, commodities entering the US have to meet HACCP standards.
The US has adopted this standard on seafood and beverages. By early 2013, the US will put an additional regulation on good manufacturing practice (CGMP).
Does your company have any measures to ensure compliance with the new law?
Before exporting to the US, we must thoroughly understand the export procedures and requirements to avoid any risks. We must also modernise our facilities with advanced equipment and technologies to satisfy the requirements of customers as well as food safety standards.
We export many agricultural products, including cashew nuts, and these are exported to 25 countries around the world, including the US. We send over 100 tonnes of the goods each year to this market. However, when the law takes effect, the greatest difficulty is that we have to re-register with the FDA as each time a registration is made it takes time for them to re-evaluate and make sure that our factory satisfies food hygiene and safety standards before we are allowed to ship goods to the market. — VNS

Food safety norms set to get tougher from August

MANGALORE: All food business operators (FBO)- from transporters to sellers - will need to comply with the rules under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006 by applying for license before August 4. It will become obligatory on all FBOs including big hoteliers, small canteens, road side vendors, wholesalers, retailers, stockists' and food item sellers including grocers to obtain licences under the act.

Ujjwal Kumar, country head of CQM Quality Management Private Limited, the certification body approved by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said that non-compliance with the provisions of the act and its rules would conform to offences and would attract penalties upto Rs 10 lakh and a maximum punishment of life imprisonment depending on the nature of the offence.

Delivering a talk on the act here on Wednesday, Ujjwal said that all the eight existing acts, which control the food security and standards in the nation, would either be repealed or merged with the FSS Act after it comes to force on August 5. As per the act, FSSAI would function as a single reference point for all matters related to food safety and standards in the nation, he added.

Primary food produces of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy farming, aquaculture, genetically modified food, catering, alcoholic drinks and food additives of all kind would be covered under the act, he said. The FBOs in the government sectors too are not excluded from the purview of the act.

On usage of additives in the form chemicals in food items, Ujjwal said that manufacturers would have no freedom to procure any kind additives other than those prescribed while obtaining the licence.

Petty FBOs, whose annual business turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh need not apply for licence. They will have to register with the authority. Meanwhile, FBOs, whose annual turnover is above Rs 12 lakh will need to apply for a licence. There will be one authorized laboratory in each district in the nation to check the food security and standards.

‘Establishments dealing with food items must get registered by August'

Those transporting such goods also should get registered: Ujjwal Kumar

All establishments dealing with food items should get registered by August 2012 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Those operating without registration after August will be liable for punishment, Ujjwal Kumar, Country Head, CQM Quality Management, has said.
Mr. Kumar was speaking at a training programme on Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 organised by the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Wednesday.
He said establishments included those dealing with processed food, unprocessed food, partially processed food, genetically modified food, infant food, packaged drinking water and alcoholic drinks. “Those transporting these goods also should get registered. Even caterers should get registered,” he added.
Petty retailers, hawkers and small-scale food business with an annual turnover not above Rs. 12 lakh should get registered by paying the annual fee of Rs. 100. Medium and large-scale units involved in dairy, vegetable oil processing, meat processing, food processing and export oriented ones should operate by getting licence from the State and the Central Licensing Authorities as specified under the Act. Licenses would be given within six months from the date of application, Mr. Kumar said. The Act, Mr. Kumar said, gave powers to consumers. “He/she can go to any establishment, take samples of the food and inform the police about the need to check the samples.” Mr. Kumar said these samples would be tested in the laboratories accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. If the product was found to be bad for consumption, it would be banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The authority had powers to recall the batch of defective product, he added.

Ensure quality on canteen menu

Schools told to implement the Food Safety and Standards

The health department teams today inspected canteens of various schools in the city to check the quality to food being served to the students there. The teams also made the canteen managers aware of the Food Safety and Standards Act and directed them to serve hygienically prepared good quality food items only. During the inspections, though no samples were collected and no seizures were made but canteen owners were issued warnings.
District Health Officer Dr Pradeep Singh Kahlon said canteen owners need to be educated about the quality parameters.
He said teams had informed the staff at the canteen about the various parameters to assess the quality of food.
He said by conducting the inspections, the department has sent the signal that the next time no excuses will be heard.
“Now the canteen owners know about the quality parameters and the Food Safety and Standards Act. As such this is there duty to follow the guidelines," said Kahlon. Food Inspector Amit Joshi led the teams.
Amit Joshi said the teams had detected various shortcomings mainly regarding cleanliness in the canteens of various schools.
He said the school authorities had been immediately informed about these shortcomings.
He said they have asked school principals to intervene.
The department had chalked out a plan to check food quality in the canteens of various schools and colleges few days ago after the department received complaints about the substandard food being served to the students.

‘Everything in food supply chain is under Food Safety Act'

Everything under the food supply chain, post-farm level, till it reaches consumer, comes under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
Mr Ujjwal Kumar, Country Head, CQM Quality Management Pvt Ltd, said this at the inauguration of a training programme on the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) at the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) here on Wednesday.
CQM Quality Management Pvt Ltd is a certification body approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Giving the example of ‘chapati', he said the farmer who grows wheat and the consumer who eats chapatti are exempted from this Act. Even the transportation of wheat from farmers' field to the nearest ‘mandi' is covered under the Act.
Urging the food business operators, who come under this Act, to get registered and get licences at the earliest, he said August 4 is the cut-off date for submitting applications for licences and registrations. If a food business operator is found without licence from August 5, it will be an offence, he said.
Prior to the implementation of this Act, eight other Acts related to food items were there. These eight Acts have either been repealed or merged with the new Act.
The difference between the previous eight Acts and the FSSA is that food safety will be moved from multi-point control system to single-point control system, he said.
Stating that licensing system has been decentralised under the new Act, Mr Kumar said Central licensing system covers big business houses and licensing of sensitive items such as imported food products.
The State licensing system covers other areas such as medium business houses.
Import of food items is viewed seriously and it comes under the Central licensing system under the Act.
All imported food items will be checked at the port of entry, he said.
He clarified that petty food business operator, whose turnover is Rs 12 lakh a year or who sells up to 500 l of milk a day, is exempted from taking licences. However, such an operator will have to get registered under the Act, he added.

Are veg meals veg at non-vegetarian eateries?

Your favourite hotels including four and five stars, which serve non-vegetarian food, might not really be serving 100% vegetarian food to you as they claim. Often, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food is cooked in common vessels in a common kitchen - which should not happen. Some restaurants even fail to maintain basic hygiene. This is what health department officials of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation found out during raids at hotels and restaurants in the city last week.

The raids were conducted to find out if there were violations of Food Safety and Standard Act 2001. According to this Act, a restaurant serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian food should have separate kitchens and vessels for both. At Upper Crust Café near Vijay Char Rasta, the officials found that vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was prepared
simultaneously in the small kitchen. Not just this, common vessels were used for both cooking as well as serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.

Chief manager of Upper Crust, Arvind Johar, said, "I agree we do not have separate vessels for preparing different kinds of food. But since, we have come to know of it, we will soon have separate vessels." The kitchen had just one fire extinguisher for both the floors, which had expired long back. AMC fined the café Rs5,000 for its ignorance and carelessness and asked them to ensure that proper measures were taken soon.

The raid at Dominos at Prahladnagar, revealed that all types of pizzas were prepared in the same oven and the same vessels were used for baking of vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizzas. "Moreover, many of the cooks are not in proper uniform; they did not put on caps, gloves and aprons. Every restaurant has to maintain proper medical certificates of the staff, which was not done here," said a health department official. Shahid Sheth, the manager of Dominos, Prahladnagar, said, "There were no orders from the superiors for separate ovens.

We follow all orders that we receive, so how can it be our fault?" Dominos was fined Rs20,000.

The kitchen of McDonalds was pretty clean; however, the medical check-up licence of the staff had not been renewed. They were charged a fine of Rs3,000.

The kitchens of a large number of popular new eateries in the Prahladnagar area proved to be the biggest disappointment as far as cleanliness andsegregation of food is concerned.
One of the popular take-away cooks non vegetarian and vegetarian food in the same kitchen and in the same vessels. A health official said, "Children were employed to wash utensils, which is not allowed. The workers were not dressed in proper uniforms and the kitchen was messy."Its manager claimed ignorance of the rule and the restaurant got away with a fine of Rs10,000.

A surprise visit was also made to a recently opened specialitiy non-vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant did not have a health licence; the workers were not in uniform; and food that was to be stored at an appropriate temperature was kept on display in the open. The kitchen was unhygienic and stinking. Leftovers of non-vegetarian food were found strewn carelessly on the ground.

The drainage system was faulty and food was kept uncovered in the kitchen. There was neither any ventilation in the place nor any fire extinguisher. The stench from the kitchen had spread to the dining area. The restaurant was fined Rs20,000. Some of the kitchens where straight from the hell. The officials came across a really unclean kitchen opposite the garden. "Serving vessels were common for both types of food. The gutter and the sink were overflowing with dirty water. The restaurant had also employed children," stated AMC health officials.

Its not that the small eateries were the only violators feigning ignorance of the rules. At some of the popular star and chain hotels on the Ashram road, which claimed that they had separate kitchens for vegetarian and non vegetarian food, there were cases of only one kitchen being used. But their kitchens were certainly not as filthy as those of their counterparts in Prahladnagar. Immediately, the hotel staff ordered the cook to take the food to the respective kitchen.

When DNA asked hotel authorities if they were aware of regulations, manager stated, "Yes, we are aware that vegetarian and non-vegetarian food has to be prepared separately. But, the kitchen on the upper floor might have been closed. It was just a mistake. Otherwise, even utensils are washed separately. Copper vessels are used for non-vegetarian food and steel for vegetarian."

The restaurant did not have separate fire extinguishers for separate floors in the kitchen. The hotel was fined Rs10,000 for preparing vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in the same kitchen. Deputy health officer of west zone Dr Bhavin Solanki stated, "When a restaurant serves both kinds of food, utmost care should be taken. The hotels can at least have separate vessels for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food to maintain hygiene.

We understand that a separate kitchen is difficult for many restaurants, but a partition can be created in the existing kitchen." Dr Milan Naik, deputy health officer of new west zone which includes areas like Prahladnagar, Vastrapur, Bodakdev etc, said, "These raids and the fines are just to warn erring parties. In future we will take stricter action."

Naturally, these mangoes are healthy

Here’s some good news for Bangaloreans. This season, in an attempt to dole out all that’s natural, the Horticultural Producers Cooperative Marketing and Processing Societies (Hopcoms) has ensured that it will only sell those mangoes that have been ripened naturally. What’s more? The king of fruits is being sold at half the market price at Hopcoms.

The advantage of eating naturally ripened mangoes are aplenty. First, the method does not involve the use of any carcinogenic chemicals. According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, chemicals like calcium carbide/ethephon and oxytocin are reportedly being used in fruit and vegetable farms for artificial ripening and for increasing the size of fruits
and vegetables. Calcium carbide, more commonly known as ‘masala,’ is a carcinogenic agent and banned under Rule 44-AA of PFA Rules, 1955. The chemical, if consumed in large quantities, damages internal organs.

Greedy vendors try to sell artificially ripened mangoes, which use calcium carbide. “The artificially ripened mangoes do not contain proteins. If the carbide level in the body exceeds, it will lead to stomach problems. It’s extremely harmful for children,” said Ayurveda expert Vasundhara Bhoopathi. But at Hopcoms, only those mangoes that have been ripened the natural way are being sold. Hopcoms managing director Shanmugappa explained that mangoes are being sold at highly affordable price in 272 Hopcoms outlets. Mangoes at
Hopcoms are sold at half the price when compared with those sold in other shops in the city. Mangoes—alphonso, badami, rasapuri, sindhoora, totapuri—are grown in Channapattana, Ramnagar and Kanakapura and sent to Hopcoms. So far, Hopcoms has sold 250 tonnes of mangoes.

Natural way of ripening
About 40 kg of mangoes are placed in a box. About 300 ml of ethanol and 5 ml of sodium are kept in plastic bowls besides these boxes. Later, these boxes are covered with tarpaulins and kept aside for three days. While most mangoes will become ripe in three days, alphonso mangoes take four days to ripe.

Frozen desserts by Kwality Walls, Vadilal, Lazza, Cream Bell grab 40% share in ice-cream market

Ahmedabad: Frozen desserts, which look and taste like ice cream but are made out of vegetable fat, have silently grabbed a 40% share in India's 1,800-crore organised ice-cream market without most consumers realizing they are not ice cream.
Led by Hindustan Unilever's Kwality Walls, Vadilal, Lazza Ice Creams and Cream Bell, frozen desserts- served in identical cups, cones and sticks as ice cream-have found a strong foothold in the country in less than two decades since Kwality Walls introduced them.
But food authority officials and original ice-cream makers such as Amul and Mother Dairy feel these companies are misleading consumers by masquerading frozen dessert as ice cream. While real ice cream is made with milk fat, frozen dessert is made with vegetable fat, which is almost 80% cheaper.
"The clandestine manner in which the labelling (of frozen desserts) is done and the way they are marketed in television commercials are a matter of concern," says H G Koshiya, commissioner of Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration.
He says the state authority plans to bring the issue to the notice of the Central Advisory Committee of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. "Let consumers know what frozen dessert is all about and then if they consume it, it is a matter of choice," Koshiya says.
ICE CRIME
Ice-cream makers such as Amul and Mother Dairy that use only dairy fat say frozen dessert makers have been misleading consumers by passing them on as ice cream.
"Consumers have been eating frozen desserts presuming them to be ice creams," says Munish Soni, head (dairy product division) at Mother Dairy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board.
Amul, the category leader in ice creams with 40% market share, says companies are misleading consumers by not mentioning upfront they are frozen desserts and pricing them as much as ice cream despite lower costs.
"Consumers are fooled into buying frozen desserts. It is a lookalike category. Most brands mention frozen desserts in small letters and push the category instead of advertising it as dessert," says R S Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which owns Amul brand. He says dairy fat costs 300/kg, while vegetable fat is 50-60 a kilo. "Frozen desserts play with huge margins and cheat consumers."
Consumer rights activist Pritee Shah says frozen dessert is masquerading itself as ice cream. "They must mention frozen dessert upfront in their advertisements and the products in lieu of which it amounts to cheating the consumer," says Shah, who is the chief general manager at Ahmedabad-based consumer group Consumer Education and Research Centre.

Food Safety Act cannot include alcohol, claims petition; Notice issued

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought response from the central government on a bunch of petitions challenging the inclusion of liquor products in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, implemented in the state in 2011.
A bench of Justice KK Lahoti and Justice TK Kaushal issued the notice to the centre on petitions filed by liquor distributors of Bhopal and Jabalpur against the inclusion of 'alcoholic drinks' under the definition of food in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Senior Advocate Naman Nagrath appearing for the petitioners, pointed out that the power to frame law relating to alcoholic liquor is a subject matter of State List and that its inclusion in the Food Safety Act 2006 is against the applicable Schedule of the Constitution.
He added that there is already a law governing\ alcoholic products in the state - Madhya Pradesh Excise Act - and that the implementation of the Act will lead to overlapping of powers.
"It is needless to emphasis here that the State government has enacted the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act which regulates the manufacturing, production possession, transport, purchase and sale of intoxicating liquor and the same is still in force in the entire State of Madhya Pradesh," the petition stated.
The liquor distributors through the petition have sought to declare the particular section of the Act, relating to 'alcoholic liquor' as ultra vies of the Constitution. The petitioners have also sought direction from the court to the central government not to compel them to obtain licenses under section 31 of the 2006 Act.
The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on 17 May 2012.
The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 came into effect from 5 August 2011. The Act was passed in Parliament in 2006 to replace the Prevention of Adulteration Act 1954.

Major upgradation of food & drug testing labs at a cost of Rs 850 cr in Maharashtra

A proposal to set up 9 food testing labs, five drug testing labs and 35 mobile labs in different parts of the state has been submitted to state government by the Food & Drug Administration,Mahrashtra. The total cost of establishing these laboratories is estimated at Rs.850 crores.

According to R R Pol, assistant drug controller, FDA, Maharashtra currently there are only two laboratories in the state, one in Mumbai and another in Aurangabad, hence it would be difficult to carry the tests or to check the samples there. He said that the proposal was sent keeping in view the consumers' safety and to ensure availability of hygienic and good quality food.

He then said that it would be great challenge for the state to set up and carry the tests for which they would have to recruit more food safety officers and that around 500 food safety officers (FSOs) would be appointed for the task of checking estimated 60,000 food and drug samples per annum.

"Our FSOs will collect the samples from across the state on a regular basis and an annual report would be sent to the FDA," said Pol, adding that the mobile labs would also help the FSOs to immediately act on the emergency cases such as food poisoning in the region that currently the country lacked.

The FSOs would then punish the illegal proprietors and also take stringent action against them as per the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, he said.

Surprisingly, in terms of registration and issue of licences to food operators, it is reported that out of the 45 lakh food operators in Maharashtra, only 1.6 lakh possessed valid licences or were registered with FDA.

According to media reports, FDA has started a special drive to ensure that all food operators with an annual turnover of above Rs 12 lakh possess a licence and those who earn less than Rs 12 lakh a year get a registration certificate as per FSSA, 2006.

The reports stated that more than 16,000 food licences in the state had been issued and only 37,000-odd licenses had been issued outside Maharashtra.

On the other hand, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) also informed through its website that the body had given accreditation to a number of food labs, in this regard.

Speaking on the same, Prabodh Halde, vice-president, Associaton of Food Scientists and Technologists of India (AFSTi), confirmed that around 32 labs have been accredited and the process was still going on.

DINAMALAR NEWS

Rs 1.6 lakh penality imposed under Food Safety Act

KATHUA :  Jagdev Singh Manhas, Adjudicating Officer, District Kathua appointed under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 for the purpose of adjudication of offences alleged to have been committed under the Act has decided eight cases of food articles declared misbranded/sub standard by food analyst Jammu on Monday.
A fine of Rs 1,65,000 have been imposed on different food business operators.  The Challan in the above said cases were filed before Adjudicating Officer Kathua by Food Safety Officers,  District   Kathua namely Hans Raj Andotra and Charanjeet Kumar.  The sanction for prosecution in the instant cases has been accorded by Pankaj Soni, Designated Officer Kathua. 
The Commissioner of Food Safety has made an appealed to the Food Business Operators to manufacture/distribute the food articles strictly in compliance with the various provisions laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Rules and Regulations 2011 and further ensure that wholesome and safe food is made available to  consumers.

AMC raids malls, hotels for food samples

A team from health department destroys 130 kg of unhygienic food; issues notices to 18 hotels and six malls

In a major food safety drive, a flying squad from Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department took samples from 16 hotels, including five- and four-star ones, as well as 10 malls frequented by Amdavadis. The samples have been sent to Public Health Laboratory in Navrangpura. If these are found to be unsafe, AMC will take further action.

Hotels and malls from where the samples were taken are Taj Ummed, Comfort Inn, Hotel Pride, Grand Bhagwati, Le Meridian, Inder Residency, Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar and National Handloom Corporation. The department has also issued notices to 18 other hotels and six other malls.

“The squad conducted the drive on Thursday and Friday to check the quality of food under Food Safety and Standard Act 2006. This is a regular exercise. We get results from the
laboratory in 15 days.

“The respective party will be informed about the standard of sample taken from their premises,” said Bhavin Joshi, in-charge medical health officer.

“Party whose samples are found unfit can then send their samples to the food laboratory in Ghaziabad through us. They just have to issue a demand draft of Rs 1,000 in the name of the laboratory. If the results from Ghaziabad matches AMC’s, we will write to the executing officer of Food Safety Department in Gandhinagar to take action against the offender,” Joshi further added.

Joshi said that the team also destroyed 130 kg of unhygenic food and collected Rs 96,000 from the vendors as administrative charges. We will continue this drive in coming days as well, Joshi told Mirror.

Drive against malls and hotels will continue in the coming days, said AMC

Traders to meet MPs in New Delhi

Food Safety Act: delegation will seek cooperation from political parties

To continue their protest against Food Safety and Standards Act and seek amendments in the same, traders from Indore and other parts of the state will visit the national capital on Wednesday to seek support from various political parties. The 30-member delegation will have traders from Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur and several other places.

"The delegation would meet members of Parliament and officials from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to seek support for amendments in the act," said Sushil Sureka , former president Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The traders have made CDs containing contentious provisions of the act and set of suggestions to bring about changes in it. Sureka said that the chief minister had also assured the traders that no punitive action would be taken against them till the matter was not resolved.

The traders had gone on a strike from April 9 to 11 against the implementation of the act, paralyisng normal life in the city. The traders' protracted show of strength had led to the cumulative loss of at least Rs.2,200 crore in Indore alone. Although Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed solidarity with the agitating traders and had even written a letter to the Prime Minister on their behalf, the Centre had given no indication of amending the contentious provision in the Food Safety Act which provides for fine up to Rs.1 lakh for selling unmarked edible products.

MADURAI COLLECTOR SEIZED ADULTERATED TEA

Government plans a crackdown on pharma firms selling drugs as dietary supplements

NEW DELHI: The government is planning a crackdown on drug companies selling medicines under the garb of dietary supplements, which are not regulated.

Senior officials in the department of pharmaceuticals and the health ministry said several drug makers have secured approval for drugs as dietary supplements under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, where price and other regulations on drugs do not apply.

This not only allows them to sell the product at a price more than the maximum retail price fixed by the government for the ingredient drug but also helps them avoid inspection by the authorities.

"In addition to higher cost, there is also a health issue as they are being advertised aggressively as normal health products and there can be side effects if people use them indiscriminately," a senior health ministry official said. Popular among the dietary supplements available in India are Ranbaxy's Revital, Piramal Healthcare's Supractive, Dabur India's Nutrigo and Modicare's Well multi-vitamin.

The nutraceuticals segment in India is expected to touch $5 billion by 2015, from $2 billion at present.

Dietary supplements are big revenue earners for drug makers. For instance, Revital rakes in over 180 crore a year for Ranbaxy Laboratories and is also the company's best-selling product in India.




Some experts say that while the chances of harmful side effects of dietary supplements are minimal-as they contain drugs in sub-therapeutic levels-a bigger problem is that these products and their manufacturing processes are not inspected for efficacy or quality.

"They are registered as food products and there is no inspection at all. Under Indian laws, they should be medicines. After all, they contain several drugs," said C M Gulati, a Delhi-based drug expert. In India, the government fixes the retail price of medicines that contain ingredients under price control.

According to Piramal Healthcare director Swati Piramal, the quantity of drugs in Supractive is less than the dosage recommended for therapy and, therefore, worries over harmful side effects due to overuse are unfounded.

Piramal said that price control and advertisement ban should be removed for dietary supplements and drugs that are used to treat illnesses caused due to deficiency, such as anaemia. "A large section of the population suffers from deficiency of key vitamins and nutrients," she said.Ranbaxy declined o comment on the matter.

Most food and health supplements contain vitamins A, B1, B2, C and E, which are among the 74 drugs whose prices are fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the drug price regulator.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals and the NPPA have now taken up the matter with the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and food regulatory bodies to plug this loophole.

According to an official of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, experts will examine whether such products are being used as drugs or supplements, and those qualifying as drug will be brought under price control.

Guide to Check adulterated Milk

IndiaVision Exclusive -Since you will not stop drinking milk – and since 70 -100% of the milk has been adulterated with very dangerous adulterants according to Food Safety Standards Authority of India FSSAI, you should learn how to make out real milk from synthetic. Milk samples from all over the country were checked for fat (%), SNF (%), neutralizers, acidity, hydrogen peroxide, sugar, starch, glucose , urea, salt, detergents, skimmed milk powder, formalin and vegetable fat. Most of the samples were found to be adulterated.

This is how synthetic milk is made: Vegetable refined oil is taken in a wide mouthed container along with a suitable emulsifier and thoroughly mixed till it becomes a thick white paste. Water is slowly added to the paste until the density of the liquid is similar to that of milk. Then is added urea or sodium sulphate or glucose or maltose or sometimes any one of the commonly available fertilizers after dissolving in hot water. The refined oil in synthetic milk acts as a source of fat whereas the hot solution of any one of the substances above mentioned acts as a source of solids not fat (SNF). The ingredients that go in to the making of synthetic milk are calculated in such a way that the fat and SNF percentage is similar to mixed milk. Hence it easily passes the tests carried out at the village level dairy co-operative society (fat and lactometer reading etc.) This is the difference between real and synthetic milk. The colour of both is white. But while on storage real milk remains white, synthetic milk or adulterated milk turns pale yellow. If rubbed on the palm, synthetic milk becomes foamy. Real milk does not.

 Real milk does not change colour on heating. Synthetic milk turns yellow on boiling. The pH value of real milk is 6.6 – 6.8 and of synthetic milk 10-11 (extremely alkaline). The fat content is the same in both: 4.5 – 5 %, the SNF (Solid Not Fat) is also the same 8-9%.
Here are some methods to detect adulteration: 
1. Detection of Neutralizers in milk-  Rosalic acid test (Soda Test). Neutralizers like hydrated lime, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate are added to milk. Take 5 ml of milk in a test tube and add 5 ml alcohol followed by 4-5 drops of rosalic acid. If the colour of milk changes to pinkish red, then the milk is adulterated with sodium carbonate / sodium bicarbonate and unfit for human consumption.
2. The alkaline condition of the milk for the presence of soda ash. Take 20 ml of milk in a silica crucible. Evaporate the water and burn the contents in a muffle furnace.

 The ash is dispersed in 10 ml distilled water and it is titrated against decinormal (N/10) hydrochloric acid using phenolphthalein as an indicator. If the titre value exceeds 1.2 ml, then it is construed that the milk is adulterated with neutralizers.
 3. Detection of hydrogen peroxide. Take 5 ml milk in a test tube and then add 5 drops of paraphenylene diamine and shake it well. Change of the colour of milk to blue confirms that the milk is added with hydrogen peroxide.
 4. Test for detection of formalin. Formalin (40%) is poisonous. It is added because it can preserve milk .Take 10 ml of milk in test tube and add 5 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid on the sides of the test tube without shaking. If a violet or blue ring appears at the intersection of the two layers, then it shows the presence of formalin.
5. Test for detection of sugar in milk. Sugar is mixed in milk to increase the solids not fat content of milk. It increases the lactometer reading of water diluted milk. Take 10 ml of milk in a test tube and add 5 ml of hydrochloric acid along with 0.1 g of resorcinol. Shake the test tube well and place it in boiling water for 5 min. Appearance of red colour indicates the presence of added sugar in milk.
6. Test for detection of starch. Addition of starch also increases the SNF content of milk.

Apart from the starch, wheat flour, arrowroot, rice flour are also added. Take 3 ml milk in a test tube and boil it thoroughly. Cool the milk to room temperature and add 2 to 3 drops of 1% iodine solution. Change of colour to blue indicates that the milk is adulterated with starch.
7. Test for detection of glucose. Usually poor quality glucose is added to milk to increase the lactometer reading. There are two tests available to detect the adulteration of milk with glucose. Take 3 ml of milk in a test tube and add 3 ml Barford’s reagent and mix it thoroughly. Keep it in boiling water for 3 min and cool for 2 min by immersing in tap water. Add 1 ml of phosphomolybdic acid and shake. If blue colour is visible, then glucose is present. Take a strip of diacetic and dip it in the milk for 30 sec to 1 min. If the strip changes colour, then it shows that the sample of milk contains glucose. If there is no change in the colour of the strip, then glucose is absent. 
8. Test for detection of urea. Urea is added to raise the SNF value. Five ml of milk is mixed well with 5 ml paradimethyl amino benzaldehyde (16%). If the solution turns yellow in colour, then the milk is contaminated. Take 5 ml of milk in a test tube and add 0.2 ml of urease (20 mg / ml). Shake well at room temperature and then add 0.1 ml of bromothymol blue solution (0.5%). Appearance of blue colour after 10-15 min indicates adulteration.
9. Test for detection of ammonium sulphate. Sulphate in milk increases the lactometer reading. Put 5 ml of hot milk in a test tube and add citric acid . The whey will separate. Collect the whey in another test tube and add 0.5 ml of 5% barium chloride. A precipitate indicates the presence of ammonium sulphate.
10. Test for detection of salt. Addition of salt increases the lactometer reading. Take Five ml of silver nitrate (0.8%) in a test tube and add 2 to 3 drops of 1% potassium dichromate and 1 ml of milk and mix. If the contents turn yellow in colour, then milk contains salt in it. If it is chocolate coloured, then the milk is free from salt.
11. Test for detection of pulverized soap. Take 10 ml of milk in a test tube and dilute it with equal quantity of hot water and then add 1 – 2 drops of phenolphthalein indicator. A pink colour indicates soap.
12. Detection of detergents in milk. Take 5 ml of milk in a test tube and add 0.1 ml of bromocresol purple solution. A violet colour indicates detergent in milk. Unadulterated milk samples show a faint violet.
13. Detection of skim milk powder in milk.

If the addition of nitric acid drop by drop in to the milk sample results in an orange colour, it indicates skim milk powder. Pure milk shows yellow colour.
14. Detection of benzoic and salicylic acid in milk. Five ml of milk is taken in a test tube and acidified with concentrated sulphuric acid. 0.5% ferric chloride solution is added drop by drop and mixed well. A buff colour indicates benzoic acid and violet colour indicates salicylic acid.
15. Detection of borax and boric acid in milk. Add 1 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid to five ml of milk in a test tube and mix well. Dip the tip of a turmeric paper into the acidified milk and dry in a watch glass at 100°C or over a small flame. If the turmeric paper turns red, it indicates the presence of borax or boric acid. Or add a drop of ammonia solution on the turmeric paper. If the red colour changes to green, it shows boric acid.  If I were a business person, I would start marketing home chemical kits for milk testing: chemicals, lactometer, test tubes, droppers, gas burner, measuring cylinders, beakers and bottles. If I were a school chemistry teacher, I would make my students bring milk from home and test once a week. As a householder I would – and have – simply ban milk from the house.

INSPECTION FORM FOR SOLVENT EXTRACTING & OIL REFINING PLANT

INSPECTION FORM FOR CATERING/FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT

INSPECTION FORM FOR STORAGE UNIT

INSPECTION FORM FOR RETAILER

INSPECTION FORM TRANSPORTER OF FOOD

INSPECTION FORM FOR PETTY FBO

INSPECTION REPORT FORM FOR HEAD OFFICE / CORPORATE OFFICE OF FBO

MINUTES OF NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON REGULATORY & ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES

Health scare!

The Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 made it mandatory for all vendors and eating joints to obtain licenses.But nor the registration of footpath vendors and eating joints is being done and neither the health department is collecting samples from them. Taking advantage of this, these people are selling adulterated food without any fear.
The repercussions of this are being borne by the common people. By eating the adulterated food items, these days, and a number of people are falling victims to cholera and diarrhoea.
The department is busy registering restaurants and big eating joints and new hotels, but so far not a single road side vendor's and small eating joints registration has been done. The work had to finish by August 4.
According to the doctors, the food items are sold in open without any impunity. These are prone to flies and dust. It is quite possible that people can fall sick after eating such food. Dr Ashwani, physician of a civil hospital said, "The water and food sold by these eating joints and foot path vendors has no guarantee about the purity. By eating this type of food, people can fall sick. This summer the number of patients suffering from intestinal diseases is on the increase. Daily 10 to 15 patients suffering from diarrhoea are coming to us. It is necessary for people to take precaution. The health inspectors should get all vendors and eating joints registered."
A month ago, four food safety officers with a team were given the responsibility to take care of the health of people in Gurgaon. And they were appointed to keep eyes on the quality of food materials sold at these places.
They were also given the responsibility to collect the samples of the food material from different parts of Gurgaon and make the test report available with 14 days and found adulterated food stringent action to be taken against people indulging in selling adulterated items.
On this the Deputy Commissioner V S Huda, told Cityplus, "The health officers are appointed and they are also making raids but as the number of small eating joints and road side vendors have increased in manifold so it becomes difficult to keep a tab on all of them and these people also can't be thrown out of the town as majority of people coming to Gurgaon to work depends on these joints."
Food Safety Officer Ajay Yadav said, "These days adulteration has been noticed in most of the places we visit and especially the vendors on the road side selling food items. As we have taken numerous samples and soon when found adulterated action will be taken." The Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 made it mandatory for all vendors and eating joints to obtain licenses.But nor the registration of footpath vendors and eating joints is being done and neither the health department is collecting samples from them. Taking advantage of this, these people are selling adulterated food without any fear.
The repercussions of this are being borne by the common people. By eating the adulterated food items, these days, and a number of people are falling victims to cholera and diarrhoea.
The department is busy registering restaurants and big eating joints and new hotels, but so far not a single road side vendor's and small eating joints registration has been done. The work had to finish by August 4.
According to the doctors, the food items are sold in open without any impunity. These are prone to flies and dust. It is quite possible that people can fall sick after eating such food. Dr Ashwani, physician of a civil hospital said, "The water and food sold by these eating joints and foot path vendors has no guarantee about the purity. By eating this type of food, people can fall sick. This summer the number of patients suffering from intestinal diseases is on the increase. Daily 10 to 15 patients suffering from diarrhoea are coming to us. It is necessary for people to take precaution. The health inspectors should get all vendors and eating joints registered."
A month ago, four food safety officers with a team were given the responsibility to take care of the health of people in Gurgaon. And they were appointed to keep eyes on the quality of food materials sold at these places.
They were also given the responsibility to collect the samples of the food material from different parts of Gurgaon and make the test report available with 14 days and found adulterated food stringent action to be taken against people indulging in selling adulterated items.
On this the Deputy Commissioner V S Huda, told Cityplus, "The health officers are appointed and they are also making raids but as the number of small eating joints and road side vendors have increased in manifold so it becomes difficult to keep a tab on all of them and these people also can't be thrown out of the town as majority of people coming to Gurgaon to work depends on these joints."
Food Safety Officer Ajay Yadav said, "These days adulteration has been noticed in most of the places we visit and especially the vendors on the road side selling food items. As we have taken numerous samples and soon when found adulterated action will be taken."

DINAMALAR NEWS

Label it right

“We can consider brown labelling on cola drinks,” says Dr B Sesikeran, chairperson of the labelling and claims advertisement panel of The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in an email interview to Radhika Sachdev

There are market reports that fast-food chains McDonald’s and KFC, and packaged food brands like Lay’s chips and Maggi noodles reported normal sales after The Centre for Science and Environment come out with another damning study against these brands last month. What does this indicate? Consumer indifference, a saturation point in brand penetration? How would you react to the study findings?
Any food that has high level of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) and trans fatty acids (TFA), salt or sugar as well as high total fat is undesirable whether branded or not.

The FSSAI is working on a new set of labelling and packaging norms that have been put in public domain for comments and feedback. However manufacturers and marketers have always been able to exploit the grey areas and regulation that lag one step behind industry practices. How can this problem be tackled?
It can be tackled by educating the consumer, which is what we do.

One section of experts feel that food and safety laws in our country are fool-proof. What is lacking is enforcement. Do the new laws have stringent, penal clauses for non-compliance?
The FSSAI is implementing the new regulation very actively; the punishment for non-compliance is covered in the FSSAI 2006 Act.

Under a California state law, drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens are required to bear a cancer warning — caramel colour on their labels, thus putting pressure on the cola companies to change their chemical formula to avoid the cancer labelling. Is such a measure feasible in India, where cola companies are still a growing category?
The FSSAI can have a consultation with the industry and decide upon mutually acceptable way to address this problem.

Has any food manufacturer ever been convicted in India for misleading, non-scientific labelling? At worst, they are directed to pull out the ad. Without a precedent of class action suits and convictions, will the new labelling norms work in this country?
I don’t think any food manufacturer has been convicted but FSSAI does view false claims seriously and do take appropriate step against the Food Business Operator.

There are examples galore of such exaggerated claims — candy is promoted as fat-free, but no one bothers to inform the consumer that it’s also loaded with empty calories in the form of sugar. Breakfast cereal may promise the goodness of wholegrain, fibre and other nutrients, but they could be potentially dangerous for diabetic with their high level of sugar, fructose and corn syrup. What can be done to increase consumer awareness about these new categories of products?
Information, education and communication strategies can help. However, all that is packaged need not be viewed suspiciously.

Last but not least, how can labelling be simplified for the lay consumer? Most of the text is in English and almost none is medical jargon-free. The font size, the colour of the text also needs to be complied with. If not, where should the consumer complaint? Is there a single touch point with FSSAI’s complaint redressal window?
FSSAI has a scientific panel for Food Labelling and they discuss these points. Complaints can be addressed to CP, FSSAI or CEO, FSSAI. One can also complain to the State Food Commissioner.

CAIT organises national traders' meet; FSSA, FDI in retail discussed

The two-day national convention of trade leaders, organised by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), commenced on May 10, 2012 in New Delhi. According to Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT, “A nationwide campaign was launched to address issues pertaining to the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006; foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail; single-point goods and service tax (GST) in India and delivery-based trading in forward exchanges.” An eleven-member national committee was formed to conduct the campaign.

Those who attended the conference also agreed to start a signature campaign to tackle the aforementioned issues. Once a sizeable number of signatures are collected from all over the country, the same will be submitted to the prime minister. Memorandums will also be submitted to members of local self-governments; Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and chief ministers (CMs) at the state level and the senior leaders of every political party.

“We demanded that retail trade in India should become a topic of priority for the Centre and the state governments. Over 5 crore trading establishments are conducting their business activities in the retail industry, and more than 22 crore people earn their livelihood from it,” Khandelwal told, adding the trade leaders expressed their unhappiness about the neglect of the retail sector by the governments.

CAIT challenged the merits of the FSSA and its rules and were dismayed about the provisions stipulating that such entities as places of worship (such as temples and gurudwaras); transporters; warehouse-keepers; landlords and people delivering food and other items by distribution vehicles must also obtain licences.

“We have sought necessary clarifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in this regard, and drew the government's attention towards the turnover limit of Rs 12 lakh for the cottage and small industries, which contravenes the definition of cottage and small industries under the Small-scale Industries (SSI) Act,” stated Khandelwal, adding that a number of provisions of the Rules and Regulations supersede those of the Act, which is a legal infirmity. CAIT stressed on the need for a careful study and reconsideration of these.

Misbranded food products flood markets in Indore

INDORE: The problem of misbranding is on the rise in the city, especially when it comes to food products. For starters, misbranding means wrong packing number and dates on the product. This problem is as dangerous in nature as the adulteration was.

Out of a total of 80 samples of various products as collected by the food department based on complaints since the coming into force of the food safety Act, 2006, nearly half of them were found to be misbranded.
The manufacturers normally involve themselves in such illegal acts to cheat the customers so as to keep their cash register ringing, say experts. First, by not mentioning the batch number and date of manufacturing of the product, they can simply keep selling the product even beyond the expiry date, add they.
Talking to ToI, Manish Swamy, food safety officer, said that we have started working according to the provision of the new Food Safety Act. Forget adulteration, the misbranding of the products by the manufacturers has become a big problem in the city, said Swamy. It is why we have issued only 130 fresh licences as against 1000 applications received by us from the prospective food traders, said he.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Madhya Pradesh Food Product Manufacturers and Sellers Association is planning to call on the opposition party parliamentarians in New Delhi shortly to urge them to raise voice against the Food safety Act in Parliament. It was confirmed by the president of the federation, Ramesh Khandelwal.
The federation has already sent its suggestions on the act to the food authority of India for its perusal. Still, Khandelwal made it clear that the Federation was also against the menaces like adulteration and misbranding in the food products.

DINAMALAR NEWS

FBO REPLY TO FSO STAUTORY NOTICE

FDA orders 8 eateries, 2 bakeries to stop activities

PANAJI: The director of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Mr Salim Veljee, has said that eight eating houses and two bakeries have been directed to stop activities till the deficiencies related to hygiene, sanitation, health cards, etc noted by the officials of his department during inspection of these places were rectified.
Mr Veljee further stated that 30 eateries, restaurants, bakeries, etc in the coastal belt (in North and South Goa) were inspected by his department officials and 53 of them have been issued improvement notices on noting shortcomings during the inspections.
He said that the inspections were part of the pre-monsoon checks and hotels, restaurants, bakeries, etc located in Panaji, Mapusa, Vasco, Margao, Ponda and coastal areas were checked by food safety officers during the inspections which began from April 15.
Meanwhile, Mr Veljee has further stated that under the new Food safety and Standards Act 2006 and rules and regulations 2011 compounding of offences with fine have been prescribed for serving/selling substandard food, misbranded food, misleading/false advertisement, etc and district collector and additional district collector have been notified as adjudicating officers.
He said that as per the rules all proceedings before adjudicating officers should be completed within 90 days of the first hearing. The fine and penalty for misbranded food is upto Rs 2 lakh while that for substandard food, the penalty is as high as Rs 5 lakh. The first case under the new law was filed by food safety officer of the FDA, Mr Rajiv Korde on Thursday.

Supply of unsafe water high in EG

Supply of unsafe packaged drinking water has become rampant in East Godavari, given the fact that food control authorities booked nine cases out of 21 water samples lifted in the last two months.

Supply of unsafe packaged drinking water has become rampant in East Godavari, given the fact that food control authorities booked nine cases out of 21 water samples lifted in the last two months.

As day temperatures are soaring, more travellers depend upon packaged drinking water sachets or bottles. This has become handy for unscrupulous elements to set up water plants without authorisation and release packaged water into the market.
Food control authorities maintain that out of the 21 water samples collected and sent for analysis recently, they received results for only a few samples from the state food laboratory located in Hyderabad.
Of the nine cases booked as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations, 2011, food control authorities found that several water plants were set up without obtaining the mandatory certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The authorities also appealed to the general public to purchase packaged drinking water sachets or bottles only after verifying BIS certification and details related to date of manufacture and also address of the manufacturer to ensure that they do not drink unsafe water.
They are also going to raid hotels, restaurants, food joints and roadside eateries to lift samples and send them for analysis to ensure that people do not eat unsafe food.
They maintain that for minor offences, cases will be taken up by the joint collector who serves as an adjudicating officer and in case, there is grave violation of food safety norms, the food business operator will be booked and cases will be filed in the court where penalty will be imposed and also imprisonment, depending upon the severity of the offence.

Hotel menus to carry info on salt, fat content

With neutraceutical firms and other energy food firms making tall claims and misleading public, the Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI) will notify additional norms in a month to keep tabs on advertisements by such firms.
After considering public opinion, these norms would be made part of the Food Safety and Standards (packaging and labelling) regulations, 2011.
“They need to support their claims with scientific evidence. The Authority will make it mandatory for firms to indicate details on the packages. If they do not live up to the claims, they have to change the ads,” Mr B Sesikeran, Chairman of Scientific Panel on food Labelling and Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Importance of agricultural technology in India' here on Wednesday, he said that hotels would be asked to carry details of important parameters such as salt, iron and saturated fat contents in the food items they serve. “It, however, is voluntary initially. It may be made mandatory after a few years,” he said.
Earlier addressing the workshop organised by IndoAsiancommodities.com, he said that more European companies were taking to genetically modified crops. “There is no adverse evidence of ill-effects of GM foods in the countries where they are consumed,” he said.

MINUTES OF THE 7TH CAC MEETING OF FSSAI