Artificially ripened mangoes seized - THE HINDU

Calcium carbide had been used to ripen these mangoes

WAGING A WAR:Officials checking artificially ripened mangoes in Tuticorin on Thursday.— Photo: N. Rajesh

Food safety officers busted a racket and seized mangoes that had been artificially ripened in Tuticorin on Thursday.

A metric tonne of mangoes that had been stacked in a godown at market area and ripened by using calcium carbide, a prohibited substance, were destroyed by the officials. A team led by M. Jagadish Chandrabose, Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Act, Tuticorin, warned of stringent action against those who indulge in such unlawful activity.

He pointed out that the chemical residue of the carcinogenic substance can easily penetrate in to the mangoes leading to severe health disorder.

Stringent action

He warned that if any consumer was hospitalized after consuming artificially ripened mangoes, the vendor responsible for this would have to undergo five years of rigorous imprisonment besides a penalty of Rs. 10 lakh under the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.

Pointing out that many vendors use this dangerous substance also to add colour to the mangoes so that it could fetch high price, he said the unscrupulous vendors take advantage of ignorant consumers, who just look for size and colour of mangoes. The consumers should be cautious as intake of such artificially ripened mangoes can lead to ulcer, insomnia, brain dysfunction, nervous failure and also liver problem.

Mangoes with black spots or any visible abnormality should not be preferred at all.

All vendors and those in the food industry must possess a registered license otherwise they would face serious penality, Dr. Chandrabose added.

Traders asked to conform to food safety Act-THE HINDU

Designated officer, 22 food safety officers appointed for district

Traders engaged in food business in the district were oriented to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 here on Thursday.

Chairing the meeting, Collector Jayashree Muralidharan pointed out that the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 had come into force across the country from August 5, 2011 and it was essential that all traders engaged in food business conformed to the provisions of the Act.

The State government has established a Tamil Nadu Safety and Drug Administration Department to enforce the Act. A district level designated officer and 22 food safety officers have been appointed for Tiruchi district.

The functions of the department would include taking steps to ensure that food supplied to people was safe, issuing licences to micro and small traders and other commercial establishments engaged in food business, preventing sale of food products hazardous to public health, creating awareness of food safety and conducting surveillance, she said.

Hygiene

All commercial establishments and traders engaged in food business should obtain licences under the Act to start or continue their trade, she said and urged the traders to ensure quality and hygiene in the food sold by them. The premises of the food establishments should be safe and hygienic.

They should not sell food products past their expiry dates, adulterated, sub-standard or banned food products. Employees deployed by them should maintain hygiene, she said and appealed to the traders to extend their cooperation to the district administration in implementing the provisions of the Act.

Designated officer

P.Kanagarathinam, District Revenue Officer and Adjudicating Officer, A.Ramakrishnan, Designated Officer, TN Food Safety and Drug Administration (Food Wing), Annadurai, Senior Manager, Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, and M.Theerthagiri, District Supplies Officer, participated in the meeting.

Mr.Ramakrishnan told The Hindu that all food business operators with a turnover of Rs.12 lakh should obtain licences from the designated officer and those with turnover below Rs.12 lakh should register themselves with the respective food safety officer.

While five food safety officers are within the Tiruchi Corporation limits, one officer each has been appointed for the three municipalities and 14 blocks of the district. The District Revenue Officer will be the adjudicating officer for the district and pass orders on the reports sent in by the designated officer.

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State has established Tamil Nadu Safety and Drug Administration Department to enforce the Act

All establishments and traders engaged in food business should obtain licences under the Act

Canteen facilities in 4 private colleges inspected

BHOPAL: Waking up to health risk to students from contaminated food and unhygienic conditions, FDA authorities inspected canteen and hostel facilities of four private colleges in the city on Raisen road on Thursday.

The FDA action came for the first time after the enactment of the new Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006. All hostels and canteens on campus will now have to register under the FSSA.
Taking no chance, health authorities have begun to take notice of health risks to students from contaminated food and unhygienic conditions on campus canteen. Food and drug administration (FDA) inspectors raided hostels in three colleges - Oriental Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Lakshmi Narain College of Technology (LNCT), Trinity College of Engineering and Bansal Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
FDA inspectors found 4 kg of besan or gram flour at OSIT and vegetables at LNCT not fit for human consumption. "Stale edibles were destroyed," said FDA inspector Arunresh Patel.
"The colleges were told to adhere to the FSAA norms. We have not sent any sample for laboratory test," said Patel. "The condition of a refrigerator in one of the hostels looked bad as if it was not cleaned for long time," he added.
The raids came close on the heels of the incident on March 29, wherein about a dozen hostel inmates of the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) had fallen sick with viral Hepatitis after reportedly consuming contaminated water at hostel No.4.
"MANIT incident was an eye opener. If students can fall ill after drinking contaminated water in a premier institute, what about other engineering colleges? We have taken an initiative to check the situation in other colleges and private hostels of the city," said District chief medical and health officer Dr Pankaj Shukla.
In many cases reported in private and government-run hospitals, lack of hygiene on campus and hostels was observed. "Gastrointestinal and skin infections are common among students. It can be attributed to lack of hygiene," said JP hospital superintendent Dr Veena Sinha.
More raids are likely in coming days.

Madurai HC issues injunction in first food licensing case filed by TN traders

The Madurai High Court has issued an injunction in the first of two food licensing and registration cases filed by the Tamil Nadu All Traders' United Confederation. The hearing of the second case has been postponed to next week.

S V S S Velshankar, honorary secretary, Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants' Association, told F&B News, "We have just returned from Dindigul, where we discussed how to proceed with the protest. We haven't read the court order yet."

As of now, going on strike has been ruled out. However, Velshankar seemed confident that the traders' body's talks with agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials in New Delhi next week will be fruitful.

RIPENING OF FRUITS - MADURAI DINAMALAR NEWS

Food and Drugs Administration justifies drive as eatery owners cry foul

NAGPUR: Although many restaurant owners and their associations are calling the ongoing drive by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) illegal and meant to harass, FDA officials said the drive was well within the purview of the new Food Safety and Standards Act ( FSSA) 2006 and Food Safety and Standards Regulation (FSSR) 2011. They said it was targeted at creating awareness among the hawkers and eatery owners that they had to register or seek licence for their business from FDA.
The acting Joint Commissioner of FDA Nagpur division Ashok Giri told TOI that the administration was only doing its job. As per the FSSR-2011 both petty food business operators (with annual turnover up to Rs 12 lakh) and food business operators (with a turnover of over Rs 12 lakh) have to register themselves with FDA. "There was a grace period of one year (from August 5, 2010, when the regulation came into being till August 4, 2011) for those who already possess a registration or a licence for registering with FDA under section 2.1.2 -Licence for food business section. Those whose licence had expired or those who started a new eatery after December 31, 2011, when the Nagpur Municipal Corporation ( NMC) registration ended, have to register and obtain a licence otherwise they are liable for prosecution. FDA has the authority to close down the eating joints under section 31(2) until they register," said Giri.
FDA claimed it had held a number of awareness drives to share the provisions under the new act with the owners as well as their associations. The drive became necessary since many had not bothered to register. Talking about provisions in the Act that restaurant and hotel owners were finding impractical, Giri said that the FDA was just an implementing agency and could not comment on the law.
FDA started raiding the hawkers and restaurants from Tuesday beginning with eateries in and around the VCA complex. It was followed by traffic park area on Wednesday and Ambedkar garden near Chhapru Nagar chowk and eateries in front of Big Bazar in Wardhman nagar on Thursday. Tejinder Singh Renu, secretary of Nagpur Residential Association claimed the FDA had no authority to close a food joint without a licence. "It can only issue a notice," he said.
Association's lawyer Harnish Gadhia maintained that as per the Act, FDA had to give breathing time till August 4, 2011, to even eateries whose licences had expired. "FDA is forcing units to register immediately," he said.