Detained milk tankers clear adulteration test

PANJIM: None of the milk samples tested by the Directorate of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a surprise check on tankers bringing milk into the State, were found to be adulterated.

To ensure that the State receives certified quality milk from outside the State, inspectors of the FDA randomly swooped down on tankers carrying milk into the State and check the milk for urea, hydrogen peroxide, sugar, synthetic milk and starch.

“The FDA conducted a special survey on the quality of milk brought into the State of Goa by milk tankers from neighbouring states on June 22. The FDA inspectors conducted spot tests on the milk, for the presence of adulterants and none of the adulterants were detected,” Director of FDA Salim Veljee said in a statement.

The inspectors had detained three milk tankers for checking milk samples – one from Siddarth Milk Dairy carrying 8,100 litres of milk, another from Yashwant Dudh Prakaiya, Sangli carrying 13,000 litres of milk and a third from Sri Mahakali Milk Dairy Belgaum tanker carrying 10,000 litres of milk.

Goa largely depends on milk from neighbouring states with even the State’s main dairy Goa Dairy and others bringing in milk from outside to meet the demand.

The FDA is also cracking down on hookah parlours operating in eateries especially in the coastal belt.

“These hookah parlours in the garb of fruit based hookah products are pushing products containing tobacco and the nicotine content... which are not claimed on the product labels, thereby misleading the public as well as the authorities,” Veljee said.

The Director of FDA has asked all food business operators to obtain a food safety registration or licensing under the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

“The last date for switching over to the new registration or licensing system is July 31, 2012. With effect from August 2012, every such delayed application shall carry a delayed late fee penalty of Rs 100 per day,” he said.

India Removes “Energy” From Energy Drink Label

NEW DELHI, INDIA – Out of concern for public health, India’s food regulator has stripped energy drinks of their “energy” tag, Mail Online India reports. Henceforth, such drinks will be called “caffeinated beverages” and will be labeled with a safety warning.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reached its decision after considering the issue for two years. It said the name “energy drinks” is misleading because it gives the false impression that drinking an energy drink is required to boost energy.
The authority is also finalizing regulations for other caffeinated drinks, with a draft regulation placing the limit of caffeine at 320 mg per liter. Additionally, all caffeinated drinks will come with a safety warning specifying, “not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons.” The drinks must also include “high caffeine content” on their label and will not be allowed to make energy-boosting or nutritive claims.
The regulation is based on the recommendations of a committee that weighed scientific evidence, regulations in other countries, and data about caffeine consumption.

TNCCI meet on FSSA lauds Act, takes note of implementation bottlenecks

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) along with Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chennai, organised a Workshop on Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Rules and Regulations 2011, recently in Madurai.

Chamber president N Jegatheesan said that the chamber welcomed the new Act by the Central government which was intended to provide safe and quality food in hygienic conditions to the people. The chamber had submitted several memorandums to the government for removal of many irritants and procedural bottlenecks in the new legislation, which were under the consideration of the government, he pointed out.

Dr Lalithaa R Gowda, head, CFTRI, Mysore, in her address, elaborated on the various provisions and standards prescribed in the new Act and on the consequences of selling unsafe food items. She also gave a detailed account on the various tests and analyses undertaken by CFTRI.

A Sakthivel, former chairman, MPEDA, informed that abundant marine wealth was available in our country with its 8,000 km coastline. “However, with inadequate infrastructure we are unable to make use of it in full. Only 10 per cent of our marine products are exported and 90 per cent are used internally,” he said.

Dr A Savitri, manager, corporate, scientific and regulatory affairs, Britannia Industries Ltd, Bangalore, in her address, insisted that manufacturers and dealers of food products should adhere to the provisions of the new Food Act considering the well-being of the consumers. She said that those within Rs 12 lakh turnover should get themselves registered and others should obtain licences under the Act.

R Srinivasan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Hotel Association, said that so far about 58,000 licences have been issued under the new Act in Tamil Nadu and the association had submitted an elaborate 470- page memorandum to the government on various changes and amendments to be made in the Act which was under the consideration of the government.

Anshul Mishra, district collector, Madurai; Somi Hazari, executive committee member; and S Ragavan, secretary, Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry; also addressed the meet.