Ramzan will see more raids on hotels

With the beginning of the Ramzan season, the Corporation is planning to intensify their raids and inspections on hotels and restaurants in the city.
A majority of the floating population and bachelors depend mainly on restaurants in the city to break the day-long fast. And the civic body is keen on making sure that the busy hours are not exploited by the hoteliers.
It was last week that the health wing officials of the Corporation launched raids on restaurants and eateries in the city. It also issued orders to close down the restaurants found to be functioning in unhygienic conditions.
Though the massive raids conducted by the Corporation invited strong protests from the Hotel and Restaurants Association, the authorities are of the opinion that they would go ahead with inspections to make sure that only healthy food is served by the hotels.
“The Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association has come up with a new argument that the municipalties and Corporations are not the authorised bodies to conduct the raids.
They are citing the Food Safety Act to substantiate their argument. But we are conducting raids under the clause included in the Kerala Municipal Act. As per the clause, any officer appointed by the Corporation secretary can conduct the raids to ensure that quality food is supplied to the public,” said Corporation health standing committee chairman T K Ashraf.
Ashraf stated that in a majority of cases where the closure notice was issued to hotels, the problem was related to hygiene.
“The preparation of food under hygienic conditions is equally important as the quality of the materials used for cooking. A majority of hotels that were served with closure notice were unhygienic and stinking. In some hotels, the drainage system was faulty and food was kept uncovered in the kitchen while in some other hotels the gutter and the sink were  overflowing with dirty water. We cannot allow this,” he said.
Iftar squads
Ashraf further added that considering that public in-flow will be high in these hotels during the evenings during Ramzan, the Corporation will entrust a special squad to conduct raids after 7 pm in the evening.

CAIT writes to FSSAI chairman, demanding extension to August 5 deadline

In a letter addressed to the chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), titled, "Registration/Licensing of Food Business Operators before August 4, 2012: Extension thereof," Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has enumerated the issues that CAIT seeks to be redressed by the government or FSSAI.

"None of the food testing laboratories in the public sector are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The online licensing system was introduced to ensure uniformity, easy accessibility and transparency. However, it hasn't been effectively implemented in a number of states, including Delhi," he said.

Khandelwal added, "Public laboratories functioning in states require attention. The 'upgradation' of public laboratories is still not up to the mark. It is necessary to have a larger network of laboratories which are conforming to minimum standards in the public sector."

"Training for different categories of regulatory staff needs to be looked into. The regulatory staff needs advanced training on the subject. Though efforts are being taken to train the staff, it still needs intensive training," he said.

"Awareness generation amongst food business operators (FBOs) is the need of the hour. After all, this (the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 - which came into force from August 5, 2011, replacing the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954) is a new law. A lot of promotional activities need to be undertaken to make people aware of the Act," Khandelwal said.

He explained, "There are many parameters in starting food business, people have to be made aware of these and clarifications with respect to the online and manual licensing and registration system. All the material concerning the Food Act has to be translated into various regional languages."

"In fact, a number of states, including Delhi, Nagaland, Odisha and Tripura, are yet to start licensing and registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. And then there are others, where the percentage of FBOs holding valid licences and registrations is very low," informed Khandelwal.

Commenting on the extension to the August 4, 2012, deadline for licensing and registration, Khandelwal said, "Even after almost a year since the Act was brought into effect, the teething troubles are far from over. In fact, there are huge gaps in licensing and registration and the transition period between conversion of the licences from the preceding Act to the current one."

"Many FBOs are still unaware of the procedures and the requirements for food safety and standard licenses/registrations. A number of court cases are pending in High Courts across the country. Due to this, far fewer licences have actually been issued than the expected number. Keeping these facts in mind, CAIT urged FSSAI to consider extending the deadline," he said.

Inspection triggers power struggle between agencies

KOCHI: The continuing raids on restaurants across the state have triggered a power struggle between two agencies.

The raids conducted by the local bodies have angered the commissionerate of food safety, which maintained that it was the only agency empowered to conduct the inspection.

The raids were necessitated following an incident of food poisoning in Thiruvananthapuram, which claimed the life of a youth. Following the incident, the authorities, including local civic bodies, have been conducting raids on restaurants. Several eateries were closed down after they were found offering stale food.

With the authorities seemingly competing with each other in conducting raids, food safety officials, citing the implementation of the Food Safety and Standard Act(FSSA), 2006, claimed that the local bodies were stripped off powers to seize stale food and order restaurants to shut shop. The officials claimed that only they have power to ensure hygiene and good sanitary conditions in hotels and restaurants.

"Even as the local bodies were deprived of their power to seize food from hotels with the implementation of the Food Safety and Standard Act, many local bodies have violated this in the recent days and seized samples. We can't reach the conclusion that food items kept in freezers are stale without proper examination," said Biju Prabhakar, food safety commissioner.

He added that while collecting samples from hotels, off1icials were required to follow certain guidelines. Several hoteliers had complained that officials from local bodies were collecting samples without following the stipulated norms.

Differing with the food safety commissioner, T K Devarajan, chairman of the Maradu municipality claimed that the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, empowered them to raid hotels and even issue closure orders, if necessary. "We raided hotels and fined them for serving stale food as the Municipality Act permit us to do so," he said. The Maradu municipality had conducted raids on several hotels, including up market ones.

"The provisions in the Municipality Act enable us to impose fine and take action on hotels for serving stale or adulterated food," said Dr D Sreekumar, health officer of the Thiruvananthapuram corporation.

The raids conducted by the local bodies have angered the commissionerate of food safety, which maintained that it was the only agency empowered to conduct the inspection.

Hotels issued notice after stale meat, idlis seized in raids

The HInduStale food seized from different hotels kept at the Maradu Municipality premises. 

 

During the search conducted by Maradu Municipality, five hotels were found to have violated the rules. This included four main hospitality players in the city.

Local bodies have intensified their drive against unhygienic conditions in hotels and against those serving stale food, this time netting some big players too.

During the search conducted by Maradu Municipality, five hotels were found to have violated the rules. This included four main hospitality players in the city. During checks at the Food Court of Abad Nucleus Mall, Le Meridien, BTH Sarovaram, Wyte Fort and Kitchen Castle, municipal authorities found old food refrigerated for periods longer than is allowed.

“Out of these hotels, BTH Sarovaram was found to be committing the offence repeatedly and so notice was issued for cancelling their permit. Wyte Fort was detected to have violated the rule for the second time and was fined Rs.6,010. Both Le Meridien and Kitchen Castle at Nettoor were first time offenders and were fined Rs.4,510 each. The case of Abad Nucleus Mall food court is under study and a decision will be taken on Saturday,” said S. Jayakumar, municipal secretary.

In hotels that served non-vegetarian food, the authorities detected fried chicken, fish curry, vegetable curries, noodles and other food material that was kept in cold storage past permissible amounts of time. Authorities spotted small idlis that were kept refrigerated for a long period, besides different types of chutney and dal curry among material seized and destroyed from BTH Sarovaram.

Aluva municipal authorities conducted checks at 13 different hotels within Aluva town limits and closure notices were issued to nine of them. The hotels that were served notices were Hotel Ceylon, Best Hotel, Hotel Sapphire, Hotel Navratna, Shenoy Hotel, KSRTC canteen, Vinayaka Hotel, Hotel Breeze and Kamala Vilas Hotel.

All these hotels have been given 15 days’ time to respond to closure notices issued after invoking section 447 of the Municipality Act of 1994. Most of the hotels searched were found to be reusing cooking oil beyond allowed limits. Other stale food seized from these hotels included beef, chicken, fish curry, curd, fungus-infested quail meat, sour dough for dosa, and porotta.

However, the Kochi Corporation restricted its searches to primary checking with 21 circles. “After the search was extended to the late hours on Thursday, only primary checking was done on Friday. During the search, Sannidhi Café at T.D. East Sannidhi road was found to be violating rules and was hence closed down by around 2 p.m.,” said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of standing committee for health.

The searches will continue after the hotels and restaurants reopen after the strike called Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association on Saturday, he said.

A threat to the favourite toxin on the menu

Benoy is a worried man these days. The trouble started last week when one of his favourite dishes, shawarma, was swept off the menu. He could empathise with a hapless youth for taking a liking for the Arabic food item though he thought it was a cruel fate that decreed the youth pay with his life for eating a dish, however unhygienic. Over the business part of the week began those raids on restaurants across the state that ended in restauranteers hitting back by voluntarily downing shutters. As some of his favourite joints began closing shop, Benoy swore at the media for throwing light on dead lizards and mice in refrigerators.
“How many of us have actually taken an inventory on the insects that are dead in refrigerators at home?” he was heard asking a friend in a plaintive tone. Benoy had another reason to be unhappy as his folks, like many in Kerala, had as good as abdicated the need for home cooking, day in and day out. When his wife Rani said, “Think how dreary it is to remain cooped up in the kitchen seven days a week,” Benoy couldn’t have agreed more.
He was prodded into action when he visited some of his elderly neighbours and found one old couple a nervous wreck. The reason — they were afraid that marauding food safety inspectors would start a scrutiny of one food item which in their opinion no Keralite can live without. After a hot debate on what the ‘national’ food of Kerala was, Benoy decided to find the answer himself.
He started off by posing questions to a cross section of his acquaintances. The choice drink of most varied from chaaya and kaapi to butter milk and bonjie (a sherbet peculiar to southern part of the state). True, he could arrive at this mix of Kerala’s favourite beverages only by studiously ignoring the spontaneous and common answers that came thick and fast — rum, brandy and toddy.
When probed on their choice food item and the answers, he found to his surprise, mostly had one uniform element. Stoutly stated along with a smattering of rice, tapioca, fish curry and beef-olathiyatu was the undeniable king of the Malayali palate — parotta, a take-away that is rumoured to have caught the attention of burger and pizza makers in the US.
As more and more kitchens pack up their once onerous duty it is the unassuming parotta that rules the roost. Such is the popularity of this roti-like contraption (it has ingredient dollops of animal fat of untraceable lineage) that hundreds of units have sprung up across the state to manufacture this unique food item for instant takeaways. The vegetarians frown at those who gobble down parottas dipped in oily meat curries, opting to close their eyes and taste buds to the animal fat that lends that ever-so-inviting smell and flavour to the bread of their choice.
On behalf of his elderly neighbours who represent a cross-section of the Malayali household, Benoy is now praying hard that the food inspectors spare the good old parotta, and thus keep Kerala off instant starvation.

Slow peddling on licences

Even while health concerns of Kochiites over the unhygienic food has reached breaking point with the recent raids, a majority of the restaurants and hotels in the city have failed to obtain their licences under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2011. As per the official count, less than one third of the joints have gone in for the registration.
With barely half a month to go for the deadline of the registration for the licences (August 5, 2012), most of the food joints in the city now face the threat of penal action against them. “As per our estimates there are over 30,000 food joints in the city with an annual  turnover of more than 12 lakhs. All of these must obtain their licences before August 5. But as of now only 9000 restaurants have registered for the licences,” said the Ernakulam District designated Food Safety officer, K Ajith.
The Food Safety and Standards Act 2011 came into force in August last year. But the central government had given a relaxation of one year for the food joints concerned to obtain their licences. While small scale way side eateries could obtain the licences after submitting the necessary details and a sum of Rs  100, larger food joints with a turn over of more than 12 lakhs are supposed to produce the concerned documents and pay an amount of Rs  2000. It is this latter section that has mainly failed to submit their registration papers.
The officers allege that the reluctance to obtain the licences is mainly die to the pressure from the unions. “The Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi has even put up circulars asking their members not to go in for the registration. They have been spreading rumours that the Act will get repealed and hence there is no need to go for the licence. But the Food Safety Wing will take strict action against all the food joints which fail to send in their applications for registrations before August 5,” said the Food Safety officer. The failure to get the license can invite a penalty of upto 6 months imprisonment and a sum of Rs  5 lakhs.
Meanwhile the Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi denied the charges. “We have not prevented our members from taking licences. It is due to the endless procedures and absence of adequate staff in the Food Safety that the process is getting delayed. There are not even registration papers to give in the applications. Besides there are some 12 documents that we have to obtain including test reports of food samples. All this is delying the process,” said the State President of the Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, T Nazeerudin.

NHRC closes the can on milk adulteration

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has closed the case of milk adulteration across the country after receiving reports from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the Department of Prevention of Food Adulteration, Government of Delhi, stating that appropriate steps have already been taken by both the departments to curb the rampant milk adulteration.
Earlier, the NHRC asked for an action taken report (ATR) from the Chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India over the issue on a petition filed by Supreme Court advocate and human rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy as to what sort of action has the authority taken to ensure the quality of milk across the country.
The NHRC has also issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Delhi government over another petition filed by R H Bansal with regard to the quality of milk sold in Delhi.
The petitioners urged the NHRC to urgently intervene in this matter as the country’s food safety regulator found most samples collected either diluted or adulterated with products including fertiliser, bleach and detergent. The study, conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, found the milk adulterated with skimmed milk powder and glucose or more shockingly with hydrogen peroxide, urea and detergent.
Hydrogen peroxide is used in bleach, while urea is commonly used in fertiliser. Consumption of milk with detergent may cause health hazards and indicates lack of hygiene and sanitation in the milk handling, Tripathy pointed out. In its report dated February 27, 2012 the Prevention of Food Adulteration Department, Government of Delhi, informed the NHRC that it had collected 446 samples of milk between 2009-2011.
And, of the 446 samples, 379 samples were found fit for human consumption and 67 samples below the quality for consumption. However, no urea or detergent was found in the samples. It had also informed the NHRC that a strict vigil has been kept over the issue.
On the other hand, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India informed the NHRC that it had made an exercise in 2010-11 and taken 1,791 samples of milk across the country and found the objectionable materials as mentioned in the samples. The main aim is to make the consumer aware about milk consumption across the country, it stated.
Subsequent to the findings of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, directives have been issued to the Commissioner of Prevention of Food Adulteration of all the states to be alert over the issue. While this is the case with the NHRC, the Supreme Court had issued notices in the month of May this year on identical petition filed over the same issue and the case is pending.

State yet to implement FSSAI licensing directive

Food distributors, traders in a fix as deadline draws near

DIMAPUR, JUL 22: Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has set August 4, 2012, as the deadline for food business operators to obtain food licenses from respective local health authorities, but with the State government yet to issue any notification or authorisation for implementation of the same, food product distributors, wholesalers and traders alike are in a fix.
Shopkeepers and dealers/distributors of food products here have reportedly been told by the office of the Local Health Authority, Dimapur, that it cannot issue the FSSAI license since the State government is yet to notify the office on the matter.
As per the directives of the central Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, all businesses related to food will become illegal without the FSSAI license after August 4.
In Nagaland, besides few cottage industries and processing units, the food business is pre-dominantly wholesalers, distributors and sellers. Those in the food supply chain told by the FSSAI to obtain the license include food importers, hotels, restaurants, clubs/canteens, caterers, transporters, storage establishments, processing units, etc. One of the objectives of the enforcement is to ensure that registration/licensing provisions are fulfilled and food items are safe, hygienic, wholesome and free of contaminants.
The Health Ministry had already notified all state governments in April 2011 for commencement of the FSSAI 2006 Act under the Second Schedule and had given a three-month room as transition period.
Sources maintained that the concerned authority in the State had been reminded of the matter time and again but said no response has been forthcoming.
Mandatory statutory authorities that need to be positioned as per the Food Safety Act include Designated Officers (DOs), Food Safety Officers (FSOs), Adjudicating Officers and Food Safety Appellate, Tribunals etc, all of which, sources say, are yet to be implemented.
Local health authorities, when contacted, admitted that they are yet to receive any notification from the higher-ups for issue of the license and that no licensing authority has been appointed either for which reason they cannot issue the license although the deadline is drawing near.
Mention may be made that, barring the PFA Act, the central government had repealed the enactment and orders in the Second Schedule of the Food Safety & Standard Act 2006 and amalgamated them under one Act. The licensing authority for most of the Food Acts is now vested upon the State health authority. Earlier, such licenses could be obtained only from the Centre.
The FSSAI, in its directive, categorically states that no person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a License under section 31 of FSS (licensing and registration of food businesses regulations 2011).
This has understandably got food dealers (distributors, exporters and traders) seriously worried as they stand to lose their businesses and investments. They say that no food company would be willing to supply their products if they (distributors) are unable to furnish the FSSAI license.
And, at the end of the day, it will be the consumers who will bear the brunt of the situation as a disruption in the supply of food products will trigger a chain of consequences leading to a steep price hike in essential food items.

Food safety authorities to intensify drive

The Hindu Hotels and restaurants across the State remained closed on Saturday in protest against the raids by officials to seize stale food. Scene in Kochi city on Saturday. Photo: K. K. Mustafah 

Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association threatens indefinite strike

Stepping up vigil against the rampant sale of stale food across the State, Food Safety Commissioner for Kerala Biju Prabhakar has said that the intensified drive will continue till the hotels and restaurants comply with the 30-point guidelines issued to ensure the quality of food items sold by them.

“We have formed ten squads and at least eight of them will be on the field at any given time after adjusting leaves and holidays of squad members. They will conduct raids everyday in eight towns across the State simultaneously. They (hoteliers) can comply with guidelines and continue with their business or else it will be a question of whether they should close down the firms on their own or we should do it for them,” Mr. Prabhakar told The Hindu on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has threatened to go on an indefinite strike by closing down eateries unless various agencies put an end to what they perceive as victimisation of the industry.

KHRA State general secretary Jose Mohan said that the association representatives will meet the Chief Minister, Health Minister, and Food Safety Commissioner next week with a three-point agenda. “The raids should be conducted in compliance with the FSS Act (Food Safety and Standards), the government should make clear the competent authority authorised to undertake raids, and stop closing down hotels without giving a notice period to rectify and improve the shortcomings,” he said.

The association, he said, will go for the extreme step of indefinite strike by closing down hotels if these demands are not met. He complained that now multiple agencies including local bodies, Health authorities, and food safety officials were conducting raids in hotels.

Mr. Prabhakar, however, clarified that Food Safety officials are the sole authority to take action related to the quality of any food items or food outlet operators. “Hoteliers can easily approach the court about their complaint of raids by multiple agencies,” he said.

Since the local bodies are a licensing authority under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, they can at best look in to aspects like hygiene while the Health inspectors have no authority whatsoever to intervene in matters related to food items.

On the association’s contention that advance notice should be served before the raid and 15-days notice period to rectify anomalies before ordering closure of hotels, Mr. Prabhakar said that such a protocol is usually followed in normal circumstances and not in extraordinary situations like the present one involving the death of a youngster attributed to low quality food. He said that food safety officials have not resorted to highhandedness during raids and have even videographed the entire operation.

Mr. Prabhakar said that the deadline for acquiring food safety license under the FSS Act cannot be extended from August 4 unless so decided by the Union government under a statute. “It’s an Act passed by the Parliament and we can do nothing about extension. Firms operating without the food safety license will be fined from August 5,” he said.

Mr. Mohan said that an extension of six months during which the authorities pointed out the deficiencies to be plugged would have been ideal for small and medium operators.

Food safety law to come into force from Aug 4

PATNA: Senior officials of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) here on Saturday informed traders, food processors and industrialists of the state that Food Safety Standards Act (FSSA) would come into force from August 4, 2012, under which everyone in the food production and supply chain has to be registered and seek license from the local area authorities, state and central government as per turnover and business.
At a programme organized by the Bihar Industries Association (BIA) on its premises, the joint director, FSSAI, Kolkata, D P Guha, said everyone in the food supply chain, including small traders, hawkers, itinerant vendors, dhaba owners, roadside snack and tea stalls, apart from other small and big producers, traders and suppliers will have to get registered under the Act before August 4.
He said the process of registration and getting license has been made simple, with the minimum registration fee for hawkers and small traders being Rs 100. The FSSA has enabled creation of self-compliance regime in which continuous correct operation and quality food supply would not invite inspection, but any complaint would lead to the FSSAI chasing the erring ones in the food supply chain, Guha said.
Before this meet, the BIA had informed its members and others about the importance of FSSA, for which awareness at the national level was being created for about a year. The BIA had invited food producers, traders and also the avid consumers for the meet.
Guha said all the Acts, Regulations and Orders for maintaining quality and standard of food items and services in the supply chain management had been amalgamated in the FSSA.
Making a power-point presentation, FSSAI's consultant, Shridhar, said the FSSA has made exhaustive safety, sanitary and hygienic conditions mandatory for registration/licensing. He said the State Food Controller can designate any local area licensing/registration office at the municipal and panchayat level for registration and licensing. He said that even the 'prasad' offered and distributed at temples must be of standard and safe for human consumption and this has also been brought under the purview of FSSA, even though it's a non-profitable activity.
He said FSSA provided for maintaining safety and standard at any stage of manufacture, processing and packaging of food products. He enumerated the provision of fees, as per the turnover of food processors and others in the food production and supply chain, to be realized as registration/licensing fees by the state and central licensing authorities. License of the food producer, supplier and others in the food supply chain would be suspended or cancelled on non-fulfilment of FSSA provisions for making the food safe and maintaining its standard, he said.
The former state food controller and presently expert, Food Analytical laboratory, J K Singh, said 38 ADMs of the state have been trained in enforcement of FSSA to ensure that registration/licensing provisions are fulfilled and food items are safe, hygienic, wholesome and free of contaminants.

Gutka, paan masala ban: 127 sachets seized on Day 1

On the day the year-long ban on the sale and consumption of gutka and paan masala in the state came into effect, authorities of the food and drug administration (FDA) started a crackdown from their own backyard.
FDA authorities began a ward-wise inspection from Bandra — where their office is situated — and Colaba on Friday. “On the first day of the crackdown, a team of six assistant commissioners and 20 food inspectors was deputed to randomly pay a visit to pre-identified roadside stalls and shops in Bandra and Colaba to inspect whether the vendors were illegally hoarding and selling gutka and paan masala,” said FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade.
Till late evening, the FDA had raided 14 shops in Bandra. A total of 127 sachets of gutka and 72 sachets of paan masala, worth over Rs1,000, were seized, said FDA joint commissioner (food) Suresh Deshmukh.
Errant vendors are being booked under sections 2.3.4 and 3.1.7 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011 and section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Over 200 food inspectors in 35 districts have been deputed to enforce the ban.