LAST DATE FOR LICENSE & REGISTRATION - FSSAI ADVT.

CAIT demands extension of date in Food Safety Act

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded the Government to extend the last date of obtaining Registration and License under The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The said Act was enforced in the Country on 5th August, 2011 and a one year time was given to the food business operators in the Country to obtain Registration under the new Act and therefore the last date 4th August, 2012 is approaching very fast whereas so far the Government has not able to built required infrastructure. In a communication sent to the Chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority, the CAIT has demanded the extension of the date till the infrastructure is made available.
CAIT National President B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that so far none of the laboratories in public sector are NABL accredited. The online licensing system was introduced to have uniformity, easy accessibility and transparency.
The up-gradation of public laboratories is still not up to the mark. It is necessary to have larger network of laboratories which are confirming to minimum standards in public sectors.Training for different category of regulatory staff needs to be looked into since the regulatory staff needs advanced training on the subject.
They further said that the awareness generation amongst food business operators is need of the hour. This is a new law. Lot of promotional activities need to be organized to make people aware of the essentials of the act, mandatory parameters in starting a food business, clarifications with respect to online and manual licensing and registration system.

Implications of food safety Act

The Office of the Commissioner of Food Safety has been created to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and to lay down scientific standards for the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food. This is expected to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food, which is safe for human consumption.

The Prevention of Food Adulteration wing and the Analytical Laboratories, under the Director of Health Services, have been brought under the Commissioner of Food Safety. The designated officers will be the licensing authority for the State and Food Safety Officers will be the registering authority for the areas under their jurisdiction.

The Chief Food Safety Officers of three mobile vigilance squads of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode have been notified as the registering authorities for the respective Corporations.

Various Central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; Fruit Products Order, 1955; Meat Food Products Order, 1973; Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947; Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1988; Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967; and Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 have been repealed after the commencement of the FSS Act, 2006.

The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving to a single line of command. To this effect, the Act establishes an independent statutory Authority — the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India with its head office in New Delhi.

6 hotels shut in raids across State

Youth dies after eating shawarma from food joint in capital city

Food safety authorities have launched widespread raids across all districts in the State after a youth died and several persons fell ill following a food-borne illness they are believed to have contracted from an eatery, Salwa Café, in the capital city last week.

By 4 p.m. on Tuesday, they inspected 187 hotels and locked out six, four in Thiruvananthapuram and one each in Kozhikode and Kannur. As many as 90 hotels have been served improvement notice.

The Food Safety Commissioner issued orders that raids be conducted in all eateries in the State to ensure food safety and hygiene in the interest of public health. Squads have been formed in every district to conduct raids.

On July 10, at least 10 persons who ate shawarma (a dish of Arabic origin, with thin slices of meat and a sauce spread, wrapped in a flat bread) from the eatery at Vazhuthacaud were taken ill a few hours after they consumed the food and were hospitalised. However, food safety officials were informed of the incident only on July 12.

Youth’s death

It later transpired that Sachin Mathew Roy (21), a student of Hotel Management in Bangalore and a native of Veeyapuram near Mavelikara, who had been visiting relatives in the city, had reportedly bought three rolls of shawarma from the same eatery, while on his way back by bus to Bangalore. He had called his mother to inform her that he was unwell but the family could not contact him again.

He was found dead by the police on July 14 at a lodge in Bangalore. (According to an Alappuzha report, the body of Sachin was buried at the Veeyapuram St. George Orthodox church at Erathodu on Tuesday afternoon.)

Food safety officials said that though they immediately sealed the eatery and its sister concern in another part of the city, they were unable to get any samples of the incriminating food item. They also found that the eatery had been functioning without licence or other necessary documents

“We are however building a strong prosecution case on the basis of the statements from those who had taken ill as well as the doctors who treated them. Unsafe food resulting in death can earn the person running the food business imprisonment for life and up to Rs.10 lakh as fine under Sections 59 and 65 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” Anilkumar, Joint Commissioner of Food Safety, said.

Mr. Anilkumar is on his way to Bangalore to collect the medical records of Sachin which can be used as evidence to build up the case.

Case registered

The police have registered a case of administering poison with the intention to cause hurt under Section 328 of the Indian Penal Code against the owner and employees of the eatery. This is the first case in the State under the Act.

He said that action would be taken against those food businesses found to be operating without a licence or registration and those found selling unclean or unsafe food will have to pay the penalty as well as other legal measures specified under the Act.

A toll free number, 1800 425 1125, has been set up at the State level for the public to put up complaints regarding eateries selling unsafe food. The public should ask for a bill and keep it safe, if they are eating from outside. Stringent action will be taken against outlets that refuse to issue a bill to customers.

The food scene’s sour tang

Concern over quality of food served by city-based outlets

The death of a student on account of suspected food poisoning after consuming ‘shawarma’ (wrapped meat rolls) from a restaurant in Thiruvananthapuram has raised safety concerns over street food and wayside cafes in Kozhikode city.

The health officials attached to the State government and the City Corporation have been apathetic to the repeated pleas to ensure the quality of food sold at such outlets, residents say. “Complaints given to health authorities fall on deaf ears. The Heath Inspectors should carry out checks at regular intervals and cancel the licences of hotels if they violated rules. But routine examination of food sample tests have not taken place for a long time,” says P.A. Jaiprakash, a resident of West Hill.

Most of these restaurants do a brisk business in the name of serving Persian and Arabian cuisines. Hotels and restaurants refrigerate leftover food which could be stale and then recycle it using with fresh meat and fish, he says.

Ruksana Gafoor, who was hospitalised after consuming a ‘shawarma’ roll recently, says portions of stale meat resulted in food poisoning. “Sometimes, the garnishing, including salted cucumber and chillies, cause stomach upset,” she says.

Hotel owners say Food Inspectors are reluctant to conduct routine inspections. No checks have been carried out for the last one year, they say.

Health Inspectors are supposed to collect samples of food and water samples from hotels and restaurants but this stopped after State government envisaged the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 from this August. “Unfortunately, we have no powers to initiate legal action against the offenders,” officials say.

Incidentally, the shortage of staff has been impeding the civic body and the district administration in taking action. Only two employees in the health squad are deputed to check food quality in the city, an area of 120 sq.km. Only three personnel are attached to the district-level Chief Food Inspector’s Office. They are expected to cover the district.

Previously, the district-level food advisory committee had formed a squad to check the quality of food and introduce a system to grade hotels in the city. But the pan had to be dropped following stiff opposition from the hotels and restaurant owners association. It had then representatives from the Consumer Protection Council; State Consumer Vedi; City Rationing Office; Kozhikode Corporation; and the Departments of Legal Metrology and Commercial Taxes.

Mr. Jaiprakash says small-scale units (engaged in preparing and distributing snacks) and unauthorised kitchens operate without licence in the city. Some of these units, functioning in unhygienic conditions, supply foodstuff to these restaurants and hotels, he adds.

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Residents seek frequent quality checks

Authorities cite poor staff strength

Shawarma at joints yummy not

Health officials inspect a shawarma stall in Kochi on Tuesday. Inspections were held elsewhere in Kerala —DC

The death of hotel management graduate Sachin Roy Mathew in Bengaluru on Monday, after taking food from a city joint here, throws up searing questions over the quality of food sold at eateries and systemic deficiencies that aid rampant violation of food safety norms in Kerala.
The Centre has given time till August 4 to officials to brief owners of shops, restaurants and hotels on stringent provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act. But the Act has been set in motion already.
Under the Act, it is mandatory for the-more-than 5 lakh-odd shops, including hotels and restaurants, to obtain license after furnishing their establishment details. However, most shops have not obtained the license on the pretext that the grace period goes up to August.
Official sources said the business of licensing under the previous Food Adulteration Act used to be sham. Local bodies used to issue licences, based official routine inspections.
The system is being overhauled. Apart from fielding food safety commissioners in the state, zones and districts, the Government has appointed 14 district food safety officers and 96 food inspectors. But there is still a shortage of 100 food inspectors.
Officials point out that violations could be checked effectively only by the strict enforcement of the Act. Under the new law, proprietors of unlicensed hotels or restaurants are liable to pay Rs 1 lakh fine or face jail up to six months.
Even for offences like selling substandard goods, eatables (not injurious to health), the shop owner is liable to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Those selling food that causes minor injury are liable to 3 years imprisonment and major injury up to 7 years imprisonment. In the case of death, the violator is liable for a lifer.
But a major handicap has been the shortage of analytical labs for testing food samples. There are only three such labs though authorities promise new ones in each district soon.
For now, there's nothing much happening on the ground that suggests strict enforcement of law. But authorities have claimed the opposite, saying screws have been tightened despite the grace period till August.
Confirmation only after getting reports from Bengaluru
A food safety vigilance squad left for Bengaluru on Tuesday to collect more details regarding the death of Sachin Roy Mathew.
The Commissioner of Food Safety is yet to confirm that the death was caused by food poisoning. "We’ll confirm only after getting details from Bengaluru," the Joint Food Safety Commissioner, Mr K Anil Kumar, said.
“We’re trying to find out if Sachin disclosed anything about the food or the shop to anyone after his condition deteriorated,” he said.
A food safety vigilance squad visited Sachin's family in Mavelikara on Tuesday.
When asked about food samples, Mr Kumar said the complaint was received two days after the incident, making it difficult to get samples. “We’ve sought the pathology report from the hospital where other victims were treated”, he said.
All other persons down with food poisoning have been discharged from hospitals. “They (the hotel) had not taken the license from the designated food safety officer and they’ve not produced the license from the corporation”, said Mr Kumar.
‘White/ Yellow paste may have toxins’
Food poisoning is a common, usually mild, but sometimes fatal illness.
According to doctors, the youth might have had shawarma contaminated with toxins produced by staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
Sachin probably died as he did not get hydrated well and went into a shock after blood volume came down and there was a huge fluid loss.
“In this case symptoms were visible 57 hours after consuming the food. The toxin caused abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. The toxin was in the white paste used with shawarma or yellow oily paste applied on the meat,’’ said gastroenterologist, Dr K T Shenoy.
Typical food poisoning symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever, chills and diarrhea that occur suddenly (within 48 hours) after consuming contaminated food or drink. The severity depends on the contaminant.
Lunch turns sour for techies at Kochi
A merry lunch hosted by a prominent Infopark company turned sour for 45 of its staffers on Thursday barely hours after they had left the hotel, located 100 meters from Infopark in Kakkanad.
“We had buffet lunch but within hours some felt terrible body pain and headache while others developed fever and began to vomit.”
“We realized it was food poisoning only on Monday after the weekend”, said an employee of the company.
The hotel in question is one frequented by techies and companies. “We’ve complained (e-mail) to high-ups against the food-poisoning and a probe is on at the HR Level,” he said.
About 15 of the staff are still on leave and five among them had to take injections. When questioned, the restaurant authorities denied it was food-poisoning.
“They claim that it’s not due to the food but possibly water we’d taken elsewhere. But that’s unlikely,” the techie said.
What to watch out for
* Call Doc in case of any signs: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea that lasts more than two days. Abdominal symptoms with fever, can’t take medicines due to vomiting, slurred speech, muscle weakness, double vision, swallowing difficulty. Reach nearest casualty in conditions like dizziness, light-headed feeling, vision problem, sharp cramping pain that lasts more than 10 to 15 minutes.
* Food poisoning self care at home: Do not eat solid food but drink plenty of fluids, take small frequent sips of clear liquid to stay hydrated. Avoid alcoholic, caffeinated or sugary drinks. Home remedies: Tea with lemon and ginger for symptom relief. Initially consider eating rice, wheat bread and potato. Main treatment for food poisoning is replenishing fluids by rehydration intravenously / drinking plenty of water.
* Food poisoning prevention: Safe steps in food handling, cooking and storage essential to avoid food-borne diseases. Bacteria cannot be seen smelled or treated and they maybe on any food.
Kerala helpline: 1800-4251125
The office of the Commissioner of Food Safety has set up a helpline - 1800-4251125 for all food-related complaints. It is a toll-free number for complaints, which will be forwarded to district
officers concerned. After officer hours and on Sundays, only complaint recording facility is available.

One dies of food poisoning; stale food racket busted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The food poisoning episode that had led to the closure of two leading restaurants in the city claimed its first victim. Sachin Roy Mathew (21) a hotel management student, died in Bangalore as a result of food poisoning.

Sachin, who is a native of Veeyapuram near Haripad, was staying in a hotel room near Kalasipayalam following severe fever and vomiting since July 11. It is learnt that he breathed his last two days ago and the relatives identified the body on Monday. Sachin is the son of Roy Mathew and Sucy Roy of Attumalil Velpadam house. His body was taken to Haripad on Monday night.

According to Sachin's relatives, he bought shawarma from Salwa Cafe, Vazhuthacaud, on July 10 evening and boarded a bus to Bangalore. On the way, he ate the shawarma. He telephoned his home and told that he was unwell that night itself.

The incident would provide the food safety commissionerate an opportunity to reign in the unhygienic food joints in the state. The food safety commissioner who has registered the first case in Kerala under the Food Safety Act against a shawarma joint in the city for selling stale food can now evoke stringent clauses in the act as it has claimed a life.

It was following the incident of about 20 customers who had food from the Salva Cafe near Vazhuthacadu were hospitalized due to food poisoning on July 10. The food safety commissionerate, which was notified about this on July 12, conducted an inspection and shut down the joint immediately. Its sister concern, Salwa Dine at Vellayamablam, was also ordered to shut down.

Food safety commissioner Biju Prabhakar told that investigations revealed the presence of a racket which involves in the collection and recycling of stale food.

"The modus operandi is simple. The racket contacts the restaurants engaged in the sale of shawarma and collect the left over. After refrigerating it they mix it with fresh meat. A customer who orders the dish receives a part of the stale meat which could cause food poisoning. The culprits have been identified and stringent action would be taken. That could include imprisonment and fine up to Rs 10 lakh," said Prabhakar. While pointing out that it was the first case registered under the Act, the commissioner emphasized that Kerala would be cleansed of all such irregularities in the next three months.

Registration, licensing of food business mandatory - Aug 4 is the last date for obtaining licences, registration certificates

Bathinda, July 17
Under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations 2011, the licensing and registration of food businesses is on in the district.
As many as 120 licences and 225 registration certificates have been issued by the Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, in the district so far.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has fixed August 4 as the last date for the food business operators (producing, processing, transporting or trading in food items) for obtaining the licences and registration certificates. Registration of the food business is necessary if the annual turnover is up to `12 lakh and obtaining a licence is mandatory if the annual turnover of the business is above `12 lakh.
Talking to the Bathinda Tribune, District Health Officer (DHO) and designated officer, Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa, said 120 licences had been issued by his office to dairy operators, sweet shops, milk chilling centres, hotels, restaurants, “karyana” merchants, poultry business, slaughter houses etc.
Two hundred and twenty-five registration certificates had been issued to vegetable and fruit vendors, small shopkeepers, milk vendors, small icecream units, small sweet shops etc, he added.
Dr Randhawa said the licences were being issued after conducting inspection of the premises of food businesses to ensure that the food was being manufactured or processed in hygienic conditions. After the issuance of the licence, a food safety officer would visit the premises at least once a year, he added.
He also said the medical examination of the food handlers, like cooks and waiters, was also mandatory under the Act so as to curb the spread of contagious diseases like tuberculosis through food items. He also said if anyone was found running a food business without a licence in near future, he or she would be prosecuted and punished. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, a fine of `5 lakh or six months’ imprisonment could be imposed on the violators.
Dr Randhawa said operator of a food business with an annual turnover of up to `12 lakh could get his/her business registered by depositing a fee of `100 with the district health authorities. If the turnover is above `12 lakh, a licence can be procured by depositing `2,000. The licence would be valid for one year and would need renewal every year, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Randhawa has reportedly issued letters to about 35 associations of various food-related businesses, advising them to ask the members of their respective associations to get their businesses registered or obtain licences before July 25.

Fact file

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has fixed August 4 as the last date for the food business operators (producing, processing, transporting or trading in food items) for obtaining the licences and registration certificates.
Registration of the food business is necessary if the annual turnover is up to `12 lakh and obtaining a licence is mandatory if the annual turnover of the business is above `12 lakh.
As many as 120 licences and 225 registration certificates have been issued by the Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, in the district so far.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to reward customers on info over wrong claims of manufacturers

HYDERABAD: Any information regarding misleading or extravagant claims about a food product may earn you a reward of Rs 500. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has come up with this idea to bring about awareness among the customers and to keep a check on violations in manufacturing of packaged food products.
Under the provision of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, informants about violations by food manufacturers can be rewarded but it is only now that the FSSAI has decided to get the public into the picture - to seek information from them and reward them.
"As it is there is a lot of awareness among people about the product they buy. If one is alert and reads the details on the product packaging which could be misleading, the same can be intimated," A Sudhakar Rao, joint food controller, Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) said.
In fact, food safety authorities in the state have already started to record, take photographs or make note of advertisement relating to food products to verify their claims.
The public have been asked to attach the audio or visual publicity material of the concerned food product manufacturer and the same may be produced before the FSSAI authorities to claim the reward. representation or pronouncement made by means of any light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet, notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or other documents'.
Once the unfair trade practice is recorded, the FSSAI will take action under section 24 of the FSS Act, 2006 against the manufacturer. Specifications pertaining to labelling of a product have been defined in the Act.
It may be mentioned here that the FSSAI has been particularly concerned about the wrong nutritional claims, health claims and claims of risk reduction of products. Manufacturers will have to necessarily rely on reliable research data to make claims about their products. Claims cannot even be made in general terms. For those interested in playing policemen and informing the FSSAI about wrong claims being made by manufacturers, the authority will also keep the identity of the informants secret.