An unpalatable truth about our food safety

Shop till you drop: The contents of some food items can be a health hazard

It appears India's food regulator has got all its priorities horribly wrong.
The regulatory body plans to spend a whopping sum of over Rs1,000 crore just on publicity during the 12th plan period.
The amount the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought from the government for publicity related activities is much more than what it plans to spend on its core activities - developing food safety standards, setting up testing labs, surveillance and so on.

Out of Rs6,548 crore for various projects and initiatives planned during the 12th plan period, as much as Rs1,019 has been earmarked just for publicity.
The meek justification being offered for this disproportionate funding for publicity is that people have to be made aware about various provisions of the Food Safety Act, 2006. While detailed rollout schedule and clear deliverables have been shown for various activities, the authority remains vague when it comes to its gigantic media spending plan.
All that the proposal says is 'awareness generation/ IEC programme would be as per well-thought-out media plan to be undertaken regularly using all forms/formats of publicity having wide reach'.
The Rs1,000 crore media blitzkrieg is expected to result in 'overall general awareness about food safety rules/ regulations and sensitisation of various stakeholders about food safety issues'.
The stated focus of the FSSAI plan is developing science-based standards for food products, standards for health supplements, nutraceuticals and proprietary foods, setting new residue limits for pesticides and antibiotics in food products, besides establishing a surveillance network to test food articles for adulteration, contamination, health claims, false labelling etc. 

But the funds being sought for different projects don't match these grand objectives.
The setting up of a national food science and risk assessment centre will get Rs155 crore, while Rs40 crore has been sought for upgrading central food laboratories including for GM testing.
For the proposed Nationwide Food Safety Surveillance Network and data collection, a sum of Rs50 crore is being set aside.
Expansion of scientific wing and facilities for imported food testing and screening would require Rs350 crore. Scaling up of 62 public food labs - which has been described as the weakest link in the surveillance network – will be done for Rs310 crore.
In contrast, Rs350 crore under the so-called media plan will be spent for undertaking a 'comprehensive campaign utilising audio and video and print media for dissemination of messages'.
An amount of Rs319 crore has been proposed for publicity utilising 'non-media vehicles' such as multi-coloured pamphlets on food safety, hygiene, prevention of food spoilage, use of potable water in cooking etc. Such material will be distributed to schools, vendors and will be displayed at bus and railway stations.
Another Rs350 crore would be disbursed to states at the rate of Rs2 crore for every state every year for publicity in local language.
K. Chandramouli, FSSAI chairperson and CEO, did not respond to queries till the time of going to the press.
This is not the first time when the authority has got its focus wrong. In August 2009,  exposed how scientific panels of FSSAI had been filled up with food industry representatives. All such members had to be purged and all scientific panels were recast.

BAN ON IMPORT OF DAIRY PRODUCTS FROM CHINA - FSSAI

DINAMANI ARTICLE

Meet looks at adulteration in milk, regulatory challenges

With food safety being the key area of concern in the food safety management systems (FSMS) today, a recently-held seminar by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) here, aptly addressed this issue.

The seminar was divided into two halves. The first session had speakers like Dr Venkateshwara Rao, director, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore; Dr Amit Sharma, Export Inspection Council of India; Vinayak Hasthak, Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry, and Dr Surya Kalyani S, scientist, BIS; addressing the delegates.

A talk delivered by Amit Sharma in good hygienic practices in food highlighted some of the hygienic practices to be followed with regard to air, water, and the environment as a whole or with regard to pesticides.

“The finished raw material has to be controlled and protected until it reaches the consumers,” Sharma said while explaining the topic. He said that the food products once detected unsuitable for consumption had to be segregated and rejected.

Sharma stressed that the equipment should be located in such a place where it was easier to clean and monitor, and that it must be located in a hygienic area to obtain a desirable temperature within a minimum period of time.

He added that water was another focus in this context whereby the new Food Safety and Standards Act had clearly mentioned or differentiated the potable water and the non-potable water.

“There should be proper storage facility for water and sufficiently protected,” said Sharma, adding that the new regulations had mentioned that the water consumed for drinking should be potable water and that non-potable water should be used for other purposes.

He said that there should be sufficient drainage and wastage proposal and that sufficient temperature control in the room where the machinery was kept.

Hasthak elaborated on good manufacturing facilities in the food sector, emphasising that the focus had to be put on personal health and hygiene; personal habits (tobacco, pan masala, etc.); hair protection; handwash and clothing and personal wear.

He stressed that the BIS had already set guidelines for these food chains, adding that the second pillar of food safety was the environment; where the plant should be located; cross-contamination and risk reduction, and regulatory compliance.

“Sections 6.3 and 6.4.3 of the BIS standards clearly talks about the pesticide,” Hasthak said.

He further said that the machines should be designed and maintained and it should be made sure that the equipment were easy to repair and maintain and designed and installed in an area where it could be cleaned easily.

He then pointed out that there was a need to infuse the validation process and that the food industry should also perceive foreign matter drive.

A detailed insight into the newly formed standards on food retail management by the BIS was revealed to the stakeholders and the food business operators by Surya Kalyani, scientist, BIS.

“To ensure safe food to the consumer it is important that the retailers play their role in the food chain as they are only reliable for safe food from a consumers’ point of view,” Kalyani said.

She said that there was a need to minimising the food damage, avoiding contamination by separating the food on time and space, and adopting a good
tracking system.

Kalyani explained that the food should be protected and the primary products should be as the value addition of the food products comes from the presentation of the products.

She said that foods must be packed following the standards mentioned by the BIS adhering to the labelling laws

The second session of the seminar covered topics on different types of adulteration of milk and the importance of the Food Safety & Standards Regulations and their role in it.

“The primary objective of the FSSA is to ensure safe and suitable food for human consumption,” Dr K U Methekar, food safety officer (FSO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, in his talk.

Methekar informed that the apex regulatory body had recently engaged advocates to defend them against different cases in different courts and that only cases related to foods which were projected as injurious to health would be taken up by these advocates in the court.

Mahesh Zagade, commissioner of food, FDA, Maharashtra, and G H Rathod, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Maharashtra, were also present on the occasion.

Further, regarding a detailed scenario on the various types of milk adulteration and different ways to detect them was elaborated by M G Haridas, project manager, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Milk is not only adulterated with water, but also with soy milk with around 5-10 per cent, and that which is difficult to detect, synthetic milk which tastes bad, has whey adulteration.

“No standards exist for antibiotic residues in milk today, which is a grey area of concern today,” he said.

He then said that India had developed a mycotoxin detection test in milk recently, which would soon be commercialised in the country.

Meanwhile Dr Sitaram Dixit, honorary chairman, Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), explained how consumers could avoid and detect artificial ripening / adulteration in different food products such as bananas (calcium carbide); mangoes (calcium carbide); honey (jaggery water), and ice cream (washing powder), were all on the rise and were harmful to health if consumed.

Found detergent in your milk? Take a sample, file a complaint

While steps are being taken to check the adulteration of food, active involvement of consumers in reporting such cases can help in controlling the menace effectively, the state authorities believe. Mahesh Zagade, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, has promised appropriate action on complaints regarding the presence of adulterants in food items and related matters. He has urged people to be more vigilant and come forward with their complaints.
Hindustan Times had, on Thursday, reported about the increasing usage of adulterants such as colour/dyes, chemicals like calcium carbide and even detergents in our daily food items such as vegetables, fruits and milk. Last month, FDA, Mumbai had seized 6,000kg mangoes that were artificially ripened using calcium carbide – a carcinogenic substance.
The FDA is a prime instrument in the state that ensures consumer protection. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which came into force on August 5, 2011, every area has food safety officers who are bound to act on complaints and carry out the requisite tests. The act consolidates the law relating to food and lays down science-based standards for food items. It also regulates its manufacture, storage and distribution.
Zagde said that the FDA carries out random tests and raids, but public should not just depend on that, and be more responsive and vigilant. Officials also advise institutions related to manufacture as well as distribution of food to undertake self-audit.
Health activists recommend that people should provide the authorities with exact information of the incident, bills and samples while filing a complaint.
Zagade said: “Whether the product is branded or not, people just need to file a complaint with the food sample, so that we can carry out the test and act accordingly.”
To reduce the health risks, activists suggest that consumers should avoid buying vegetables and fruits with spots and necrosis, or from an unknown vendor. Fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly. Also, people should refrain from buying or consuming fruits that are cut from open market.

Wrong claims on nutritional value: Report & get reward

Soon you can approach and get a monetary reward from the country’s top food regulator, Food Safety and Standard Authority (FSSAI), for exposing the food firms indulged in issuing misleading advertisements and making wrong nutritional claim.
FSSAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) SN Mohanty told The Pioneer that the authority is in the process of framing a scheme to reward up to `1,000 to the whistleblowers for giving information against the misleading ads and nutritional claims. “Within the fortnight you will see the policy in place for the public.”
“Since the full-fledged whistleblower policy aimed to reward informants exposing food adulteration will take its own time to be formulated we have decided to make the beginning in the case of the misleading advertisements and false claims made by the food firms.
“We want the people to be aware of their rights as also deter the companies from taking them for the ride,” he added. There have been several instances where the companies have been found involved in issuing deceptive ads by making claims to hide the real nutritional content and used selective information.
However, another senior official felt that the stakeholders like Consumer Affairs Ministry and associations of marketing companies should also be involved for the positive results of the scheme.