Jul 20, 2012
Chennai to host RAI meet on FSSA; licensing and registration the focus
With August 5, 2012 – the deadline by which all food business operators (FBOs) across the country have to obtain a valid licence or registration for each of their establishments under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 – just around the corner, the Retailers' Association of India (RAI), in association with the Mumbai and Chennai chapters of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) [AFST(I)], is organising a one-day seminar on the Act on July 27, 2012, at Hotel GRT Grand, Chennai.
“The seminar will bring industry experts, officials from the regulatory body and other participants together under one roof. Its objective is to implement the Act and the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011,” said Gautam Jain, head, accounts and finance, RAI, and the main contact for delegate registration for the event.
Chief executive officers (CEOs), owners, legal and technical heads, operational heads of the retail sector, merchandising heads, and independent retailers and retail managers are expected to attend the event. The fee for the event is Rs 3,500 for RAI members and Rs 5,000 for non-members.
The opening session of the event, which will start at 10:30 am, will include the inauguration by FSSAI and the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration; the welcome address by RAI; a special address by AFST(I); the vote of thanks, and the keynote address, which will be delivered by S S Ghonkrokta, director (enforcement), FSSAI. He will speak on the transition from the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954, to the FSSA.
The next three sessions, to be conducted by AFST(I), are titled, ”Introduction to FSSA and Regulations and its Impact to Industry,” “New Product Approval Process,” and “Food Categorisation.” The topics for the post-lunch session are “Licensing and Registration” by FSSAI; “Regulations for Food Imports” by the National Institute for Smart Government (NISG), and “Schedule IV – Good Manufacturing Practices/Good Hygiene Practices (GMP/GHP) for FBOs – Improving Food Safety in Retail” by AFST(I).
When quizzed whether the August 5 deadline could be extended, Jain said RAI made a representation to that effect, and was expecting a six-month extension to the deadline, but this point, he would not like to elaborate on the same.
“The seminar will bring industry experts, officials from the regulatory body and other participants together under one roof. Its objective is to implement the Act and the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011,” said Gautam Jain, head, accounts and finance, RAI, and the main contact for delegate registration for the event.
Chief executive officers (CEOs), owners, legal and technical heads, operational heads of the retail sector, merchandising heads, and independent retailers and retail managers are expected to attend the event. The fee for the event is Rs 3,500 for RAI members and Rs 5,000 for non-members.
The opening session of the event, which will start at 10:30 am, will include the inauguration by FSSAI and the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration; the welcome address by RAI; a special address by AFST(I); the vote of thanks, and the keynote address, which will be delivered by S S Ghonkrokta, director (enforcement), FSSAI. He will speak on the transition from the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954, to the FSSA.
The next three sessions, to be conducted by AFST(I), are titled, ”Introduction to FSSA and Regulations and its Impact to Industry,” “New Product Approval Process,” and “Food Categorisation.” The topics for the post-lunch session are “Licensing and Registration” by FSSAI; “Regulations for Food Imports” by the National Institute for Smart Government (NISG), and “Schedule IV – Good Manufacturing Practices/Good Hygiene Practices (GMP/GHP) for FBOs – Improving Food Safety in Retail” by AFST(I).
When quizzed whether the August 5 deadline could be extended, Jain said RAI made a representation to that effect, and was expecting a six-month extension to the deadline, but this point, he would not like to elaborate on the same.
Drive continues, more hotels down shutters
- The Hindu Health officials of the Kochi corporation inspecting the kitchen of a city hotel
on Thursday. Photo:Vipin Chandran -
Food Safety authorities, district health officials serve closure notices on 36 hotels in district
Different agencies are on an all-out offensive against hotels that do not keep their backyards tidy. On their part, the hoteliers are complaining that they struggle to keep their hearths burning.
Food Safety authorities and district health officials served closure notices to 36 hotels in different parts of the district, including eight hotels in the Goshree area alone. While official communications said that rotten food was seized from all these centres and their premises were shockingly unhygienic, the hoteliers have a different version to tell.
“The authorities are evoking laws framed way back in 1950s, which are not practical in modern times. For example, these laws prohibit refrigeration and this is allowed in the new Food Safety and Standards Act. Similarly, no hotel can operate by strictly complying to the Pollution Control Board norms, as it would require nearly an acre to run a small eatery,” said M.P. Shiju, district president of the Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association.
The Health authorities, in an official communication released here, said that the drive against hotels found failing to implement public health norms would continue in full throttle during these days. Different teams of Health officials walked into hotels in different parts of the district between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Cooked meat, appam, porotta, iddlies, fish curry, vegetable curry, boiled egg, fungus-infested pickles, and rotten vegetables kept in refrigerator were seized during the drive and destroyed.
“There is no scientific examination of food materials seized from hotels. We are not against the checking, but we demand that it should be done in a scientific manner,” hoteliers said.
They are complaining that authorities, aided by overcharged media, are destroying the industry. If they are to be relied, what appears in the media as rotten are meat and fish kept out of refrigeration for more than 5 hours. “There might be cases of lapses and some hoteliers may be erring in ensuring hygienic practices. We have been conducting awareness classes; 28 such sessions were held in the district itself for hoteliers,” Mr. Shiju said.
These attempts proved to be too little and a bit too late. With public being alarmed at the news about hotels that took them for ride, the authorities could not sit and wait any longer. District Collector P.I. Shiekh Pareed had asked the Health authorities to go strict against hotels where hygiene was the missing ingredient.
Now it remains to be seen whether this knee-jerk reaction is sustained. One death after consuming shawarma bought from Thiruvananthapuram, and it is banned across the district here.
“This is ridiculous, as shawarma cannot be made using stale meat. This, I believe, might have been an odd case of poisoned meat. I challenge any of these authorities to make shawarma out of meat kept refrigerated overnight. The stench will knock you out the moment it is placed on the flame,” said Manoj Thomas, manager of a leading hotel in the city.
Government crackdown on Kerala eateries
After a youth died of food poisoning last week, the Kerala government has initiated a crackdown on the sale of stale and adulterated food at eateries. Stale stuff has been recovered even from star hotels in the state.
Several hotels have been asked to down shutters in the state, while scores of others have been served notices to improve hygiene standards. In Kochi, the district administration has banned the sale of “shawarma”, asking hoteliers to ensure the delicacy is prepared in closed chambers.
Sachin Mathew from Kerala was found dead in Bangalore on July 14. Initial reports said Mathew died of food poisoning after eating shawarma at a city eatery in Kerala. Several others, who bought shawarma from the same eatery, too had complained about health problems.The hotel owner was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association has protested the raids. Its General Secretary M P Shiju said that hotels had to be served notices before taking action as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Several hotels have been asked to down shutters in the state, while scores of others have been served notices to improve hygiene standards. In Kochi, the district administration has banned the sale of “shawarma”, asking hoteliers to ensure the delicacy is prepared in closed chambers.
Sachin Mathew from Kerala was found dead in Bangalore on July 14. Initial reports said Mathew died of food poisoning after eating shawarma at a city eatery in Kerala. Several others, who bought shawarma from the same eatery, too had complained about health problems.The hotel owner was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association has protested the raids. Its General Secretary M P Shiju said that hotels had to be served notices before taking action as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Odisha tops list of tobacco chewers: Survey
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has the highest percentage of tobacco chewers among nine surveyed states, according to the latest annual health survey (AHS).
Odisha with 38 per cent tobacco chewers in the above-15 age group is ahead of Assam (36.6%), Chhattisgarh (32.5%), Jharkhand (24.1%), Bihar (22.5%), Uttar Pradesh (21%), Madhya Pradesh (18.9%), Uttarakhand (8.8%) and Rajasthan (6.9%), the AHS released by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner earlier this week said.
Among the districts, the number of smokeless-tobacco users is highest in Malkangiri where 58.4 per cent consume gutkha, khaini or paan masala, followed by Mayurbhanj (51.4%). Tobacco chewing population is more than 40 per cent in Balangir, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Sambalpur districts. Gajapati with 13 per cent tobacco chewers is the only district where less then 20 per cent people consume smokeless-tobacco.
While 40.6 per cent of state's rural population consume edible tobacco, their population in urban areas is 25.6 per cent. Among males, 45.8 per cent use smokeless tobacco while 30.3 per cent females chew tobacco.
Doctors and anti-tobacco activists said it was high time that Odisha adopted the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011 that prohibits manufacture and sale of chewing tobacco products. Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Bihar have already banned gutkha by implementing the regulation. "Successive surveys are pointing out highest concentration of tobacco users in the state, which also establishes the reason why oral cancer is highly prevalent here. It is time Odisha should implement the regulation," said Dr Ghanashyam Biswas, an oncologist in Bhubaneswar.
Anti-tobacco activists said they were trying to persuade the government to ban gutkha products. "We have urged the government to adopt the central regulation during multiple rounds of discussion and are hopeful that the government will do so at the earliest," said Itishree Kanungo, an anti-tobacco activist.
The Food Safety and Standardization Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Union health ministry to handle food related issues, notified the new regulations on August 1, 2011. Under rule 2.3.4 of the regulation "food product will not contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products".
Director of public health Dr Upendra Kumar Sahoo said, "The habit of chewing tobacco by people of Odisha has been there for a long time. However, the government has continued creating public awareness against the practice."
Odisha with 38 per cent tobacco chewers in the above-15 age group is ahead of Assam (36.6%), Chhattisgarh (32.5%), Jharkhand (24.1%), Bihar (22.5%), Uttar Pradesh (21%), Madhya Pradesh (18.9%), Uttarakhand (8.8%) and Rajasthan (6.9%), the AHS released by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner earlier this week said.
Among the districts, the number of smokeless-tobacco users is highest in Malkangiri where 58.4 per cent consume gutkha, khaini or paan masala, followed by Mayurbhanj (51.4%). Tobacco chewing population is more than 40 per cent in Balangir, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Sambalpur districts. Gajapati with 13 per cent tobacco chewers is the only district where less then 20 per cent people consume smokeless-tobacco.
While 40.6 per cent of state's rural population consume edible tobacco, their population in urban areas is 25.6 per cent. Among males, 45.8 per cent use smokeless tobacco while 30.3 per cent females chew tobacco.
Doctors and anti-tobacco activists said it was high time that Odisha adopted the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011 that prohibits manufacture and sale of chewing tobacco products. Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Bihar have already banned gutkha by implementing the regulation. "Successive surveys are pointing out highest concentration of tobacco users in the state, which also establishes the reason why oral cancer is highly prevalent here. It is time Odisha should implement the regulation," said Dr Ghanashyam Biswas, an oncologist in Bhubaneswar.
Anti-tobacco activists said they were trying to persuade the government to ban gutkha products. "We have urged the government to adopt the central regulation during multiple rounds of discussion and are hopeful that the government will do so at the earliest," said Itishree Kanungo, an anti-tobacco activist.
The Food Safety and Standardization Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Union health ministry to handle food related issues, notified the new regulations on August 1, 2011. Under rule 2.3.4 of the regulation "food product will not contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products".
Director of public health Dr Upendra Kumar Sahoo said, "The habit of chewing tobacco by people of Odisha has been there for a long time. However, the government has continued creating public awareness against the practice."
Food panel ignorant on eateries’ licence
While it’s almost a year since Food Safety Commission (FSC) offices in the districts started accepting applications for licences – for eateries/hotels -- under the new Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the commission headquarter here is completely in the dark about the number of applications received and licences issued till date in the state.
The officials at the FSC office here said they were not keeping the records and these were being maintained at the district offices.
Joint FSC, K Anil Kumar said, “The act came into force in the state on August 5, 2011 and we have been collecting applications for licences across the state since then. The applications go to the district offices where these are processed after checking the credentials. Our staff also visit the shops to crosscheck the facilities mentioned in the application forms, before issuing the licence.”
Anil Kumar said that the commission would come out with the details of the number of licences issued, and applications pending and rejected, by August.
Meanwhile, the office of the Food Safety Commissioner conducted raids in 240 hotels across the state.
Three hotels, one in Pathanamthitta and two in Ernakulam, were closed down and improvement notices were issued to 133 hotels. In Ernakulam district alone, more than 40 eateries were closed by enforcement agencies, including the health wing of local bodies.
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