State eyes Dubai model to ensure food safety - THE HINDU

Initiatives to be made more scientific, standardised

The State Food Safety wing is looking to the Dubai Municipality Food Control Department to help it develop food safety manuals and food inspection checklists so that the food safety initiatives here can be made more scientific and standardised.

The Dubai Municipality Food Control Department is already in talks with the Food Safety wing here on developing safety guidelines which are totally science-based and in drawing up a programme for the surveillance of food-borne illnesses.

A formal collaboration with the Dubai municipality for initiatives in improving food safety is also being contemplated, said Biju Prabhakar, Commissioner of Food Safety.

“We thought of seeking the assistance of Dubai Municipality Food Control Department because even though their food safety initiative is fairly nascent, it is fully backed by science, is well-streamlined and has found considerable acceptance in the food industry too,” Mr. Prabhakar said.

Bobby Krishna, Senior Food Studies Officer in the Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality, told The Hindu here on Saturday that food safety was a global concern and had to be approached in a larger perspective, as a crucial component of public health, and a vital element of economy, especially with Kerala exploring its tourism potential in a big way.

“Just as it happened in Kerala, in Dubai too, the food safety drive gained momentum in 2009 following the death of two young children, reportedly due to food poisoning. It gave us the impetus to drive hard — the licensing process, grading of food businesses, hygiene and safety standards, classification of food items, and the shelf life of each… everything was fully backed by evidence. We also invested quite a lot on educating those in the business about the basics of food safety, like hygienic food handling and preventing cross-contamination etc,” Mr. Krishna said.

First step

The first step in having a streamlined food safety management system is in getting everyone in the food business to take licences/registrations. There has to be a grading system for hotels/ eateries so that each works within its scope.

“You need to develop a good food safety team, which includes food safety experts, risk assessors, including bio chemistry and microbiology experts, epidemiologists, all backed with international food safety resources. Food inspectors have to undergo rigorous training and follow standard procedure,” he said.

As for street vendors, he suggested that the government create ‘safe zones’ in various parts of the city where all safe processes and infrastructure for producing safe food could be provided by the government. Vendors could be given subsidy for utilising these resources.

The approach had to be top-down and gradual.

The recent initiative of the Dubai municipality, called the Person-in-Charge (PIC) programme — an initiative that Kerala could emulate — was expected to make Dubai attain world-class standards in food safety.

“PIC programme means that in every food business there should be a responsible person who will undergo a training programme in food safety, equivalent to UK’s Ofqual –accredited food safety standards. The PICs will be responsible for ensuring that food safety norms and hygienic practices were followed by food handlers in the outlet. This is a U.S. concept, but Dubai municipality will be the first to introduce the concept, with the condition that PIC certification awarding bodies too should have ISO 17024 certification, Mr. Krishna says.

India to focus on food, drug regulation in 12th plan, says minister

The central government has been focusing on strengthening regulatory policies for food and drug sectors and the task would be taken care of in the 12th Five Year Plan, Minister of State for Health Sudip Bandyopadhyay said here Monday.
"Our current focus is to strengthen the regulatory framework... We propose to augment regulatory capacities both in drug and food sectors in the 12th Five Year Plan," Bandyopadhyay said while addressing a workshop on patient safety and drug detection technology.

Love your street food? It can kill you

KOLKATA: How safe is that mouth-watering biryani sold in Dalhousie or the delicious cutlets at the roadside eateries? A sample test done by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) reveals an alarming result. It says most street food contains hazardous chemical ingredients.
KMC's food and adulteration department officials said 255 food samples have been tested in the last one year. Poisonous chemical ingredients were found in 51 of them, which is more than 20% of all samples tested. These chemical substances are being used by vendors to give a colour coat on vegetables and other street food to make them look more attractive to the customers.
For example, tests on cutlets sold in places like Dalhousie and Esplanade revealed that they contain high quantity of metanil yellow, a dangerous chemical substance. This chemical can even cause cancer if consumed for a long period of time, say experts.
Samples of biryani were found with a chemical substance known as Tartrazine, which can cause liver cirrhosis and cancer if consumed excessively.
In sweets like bonde, danadar and laddu, metanil yellow has been found in very high quantity. The sauce used in rolls or chowmein contains rhodamine that can also cause liver cirrhosis.
It has also been found that the fat on cottage cheese should have being stored sucked up to be used later in other sweets. A case was lodged against a reputable confectionary shop for resorting to this method.
It was also found that pepper is poured in a bucket full of kerosene to keep it fresh for a longer time.
The findings also show that the vegetables that we buy from the markets are not safe either. Vegetables like 'potol' contains copper sulphate and diamond green, which if consumed in excess can hit the nervous system and liver. The colour used to mix these chemical substances can't be removed even after a wash. In haldi too, lead chromade is used. Red potatoes were found containing congored rhodamine, which can even lead to blindness if had in excess. Auramine and tartrazine are being used in adhar dal.
Vegetables and street food apart, even fish we eat is not free from dangerous chemicals. Congored rhodamine is used to ensure ears of fish remain bright red, which means the fish is fresh. In late eighties, over 125 people were paralyzed after taking adulterated oil in Behala. Buyers normally look out for this redness to see if the fish is fresh. But little are they aware that the redness is actually engineered to fool them.
Officials of KMC's food and adulteration department said that in most cases, nothing much could be done against offenders even if cases are being registered against them.
Member, mayor-in-council (food and adulteration), Partha Pratim Hazari, said: "We cannot do much on this with the existing rules. From August, a new Food Standard and Safety Act has been introduced on Tuesday. We can now take some action as it will have some provisions, which are not there in the existing act," he said.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said that a new food inspector will be appointed to revamp the entire food and adulteration department and a decision has been taken to modernize the laboratory. "Officers have been told to increase vigil," he said.

Dead rat found in school midday meal

FAZILKA: A dead rat found in the midday meal served to students of S D Senior Secondary School's elementary wing on Friday has exposed the blatant carelessness of the authorities in keeping up with the primary objective of the scheme - to provide a healthy diet. The rodent was spotted by a staffer at the time the students began to eat and the food was being distributed, thus aggravating any possible risk of an ailment.
The matter was brought to the notice of the school management though the distribution of food was instantly put to an end. The vendor was summoned and the food returned. Vipin Kumar, who is the vendor at an NGO 'Istri Shakti' and given the task of supplying food to schools in the district claimed that freshly-prepared "kadi chawal" had been sent to the institution in the morning and the management had accepted the material after inspection.
When questioned about the presence of a dead rodent, Vipin said tersely: "This could have happened in the school wherever they store the midday meal till its served. We thoroughly check the meals beforehand and carefully package the dishes. The entire stock was called back after the complaint." Fazilka district education officer Sandip Dhria had sought a detailed report from the school principal.
On coming to know of the happening, a number of parents gathered outside the school protesting and demanding a stern action. "Seems they want to kill our kids. What do talk of standards, they do not even ensure the minimum hygiene," rued a parent.
This has not been an isolated case of adulteration in midday meals. Earlier, reports came in of the presence of worms in food.

'Gutka' ban: What will happen to tobacco farmers, street vendors?

New Delhi: Ten states have banned a popular form of chewing tobacco in a major policy shift that may save millions of lives and strike a blow at the global tobacco industry, already reeling from new anti-smoking laws around the world.
But an estimated 65 million Indians use "gutka" - a heady form of chewing tobacco made of crushed betel nut, nicotine and laced with thousands of chemicals - and furious manufacturers are fighting to have the bans overturned.
Companies such as Delhi-based DS Group are dragging states to courts, complaining that the billion-dollar industry should be regulated as tobacco and not as food and that the bans threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers and street vendors scattered from Bangalore to New Delhi.
"Nobody understands the bigger picture. What will happen to those poor farmers? No one thinks of them," said a company official on condition of anonymity.
Last week, Punjab became the tenth of 28 states to ban the sale of gutka after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reclassified it as a foodstuff, prohibiting the use of tobacco and nicotine as "ingredients in any food product".
Gutka making is controlled by family-run Indian firms, with no international tobacco companies in the business. Several other forms of chewing tobacco considered less harmful have not been reclassified as foodstuffs and are not banned.
Some 482 million people live in the 10 states which have enforced the bans. Delhi, Gujarat and Chandigarh, with a combined population of 77 million, are due to follow suit - Delhi this week.
More Indians, including children, chew gutka than smoke, making the trend of outlawing the cheap, colourful packets a more effective health policy in the world's second most populous nation than anti-smoking laws like Australia's ban on cigarette pack logos.
"We're using all kinds of means to persuade the rest (of the states) to enforce the ban. It's a central legislation. States have no option but to abide now," said Amal Pushp, director of the health ministry's National Tobacco Control Programme.
Gutka is popular with the young and old alike, many of whom are blase about the nation's leading cause of oral cancer. Some of the chemicals in some brands of gutka are also used in tile cleaners and battery acids.
"PATH TO DEATH"
"If I knew it would land me here, in this condition, I wouldn't have laid my eyes on it," said Abdul Kayum, 62, sitting on a hospital bed, his face bandaged after doctors cut out part of his jaw, gums and teeth to stop the cancer spreading.
"This is a path to death," said Abdul, who sold his land in Bihar to pay for the $9,000 treatment.
Asia's third-largest economy battles almost 80,000 new cases of oral cancer yearly. The treatment of tobacco-related diseases cost more than $5 billion in 2002-2003, according to the most recent data available cited in a health ministry and WHO report.
That compares to about $1.4 billion that the government earns in excise revenue from tobacco.
Tobacco has been chewed in India for centuries, dating back to the Mughal era when nawabs had a concoction known as "paan" - a betel leaf wrapped around a mixture of areca nut, pastes, spices and tobacco - to refresh their palates and aid digestion.
Gutka and paan masala are products of recent decades, available as dry, portable and readymade variants of the traditional paan, to cater for a fast-paced, modern life.
"Eating chocolate is an addiction, eating burgers is an addiction. They are also 'food'. Will the government ban those too?" asked Sanjay Bechan, executive director of the Smokeless Tobacco Federation, adding that the gutka industry was already reporting losses.
"Are we being ruled by Hitler? This is supposed to be a democracy. People make their own choices - gutka or no gutka."
Madhya Pradesh was the first to ban the product, and Kerala, Bihar and seven others hopped on the bandwagon.
"We received several complaints from the police that schoolboys are taking these products and that hit me," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told Reuters.
"We had to do this for the welfare of the state, no other reason."
Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala went a step further by banning all smokeless forms of tobacco, including "paan masala", usually sold as a mouth freshener.
But it remains to be seen how well the bans are enforced. It will be an uphill battle to keep gutka away from children like 16-year-old Arun Bhati, who has been using it since ninth grade.
"If it gets banned here, I'll still manage to get my fix," said Arun confidently, tearing open a pouch of gutka with his teeth. "You can get it on the sly."

Adulteration drops with gutka ban

The ban on gutka and pan masala in Maharashtra is having another positive fallout. Officials say, thanks to the embargo, the food adulteration problem here is diminishing.

Tests carried out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 11,000 gutka and pan masala samples over the last few years had found 98% of them adulterated with calcium or magnesium carbonate. The substances gave extra texture and flow to gutka and pan masala while adding considerably their harmful effects. Gutka and pan masala were banned in the state in July.

FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade confirmed that food adulteration cases have come down of late in the city but, at the same time, cautioned against buyers dropping their guard or officials easing vigilance. "Buyers must know what ingredients are present in the food they purchase ," said Zagade. "This is possible only if they make an effort to test the food items to check for the presence of adulterants."

Cancer surgeon Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial Hospital explained how gutka is adulterated. "Gutka is a combination of areca nut (90%) and tobacco (10%). A popular adulterant, gambier , is routinely used in place of catechu (kattha) since the latter is expensive. Gambier is unfit for human consumption ." Dr Chaturvedi added that excessive amount of magnesium carbonate is toxic to cheek lining, kidney and heart.

For years, gutka, pan masala and milk have been adulterators' favourites products to contaminate, followed by edible oils and spices. Such has been the rampancy of the menace that carcinogenic (cancer-causing ) contaminants have been discovered in condiments as common as chilli powder and turmeric.

Experts underlined that food adulteration should not be viewed only through the prism of getting poor quality food at higher prices. It should be seen for the deleterious impact it has. A ubiquitous example of the insidious threat, they say, is milk, which is frequently found tarred with starch, detergents and other chemicals.

In July, FDA had busted a milk adulteration racket in Malad (W). The racketeers were buying milk packets from company outlets and slitting their sides to remove a third of the contents. The packets were then refilled with water and distributed to houses and hotels in Malad (W).

Vasundhara Deodhar, a consumer member of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, said citizens can verify if a milk packet has been tampered with "by pressing it in the centre between their fingers" . "If any seam on the side does not contract uniformly with the other sides, then the packet was interfered with," she said.

Water at your doorstep, but not safe to drink

• 
  The Hindu - Tankers have become the main source of water in many localities in the absence 
  of piped water supply. Photo : M. Vedhan
• 
  The Hindu - Food safety and Corporation officials pour chlorine into a private water tanker 
  at Padi junction on Saturday. Photo: K. Pichumani

Over the past few days, nearly 90 private water tankers have been caught transporting water without even a trace of chlorine

Does a private water tanker supply water to your locality? If that is the case, it is time that you checked how safe it is for drinking. A recent water quality test conducted by the Chennai Corporation and the Food Safety department showed that water transported in 90 private tankers across the city did not have even a trace of chlorine.
As many as 90 private tankers that cater largely to apartment complexes, hotels, hospitals and commercial establishments were checked over the past few days. The water samples transported by private vehicles were checked in various areas such as Koyambedu, Retteri and Padi. The exercise follows the recent death of two construction workers from West Bengal, allegedly due to acute diarrheal disease after drinking water procured from a private tanker supplier at their workplace in Pallikaranai.
These tankers are becoming indispensable as the demand for water is on the rise. While Metrowater’s supply is primarily through pipes, some localities rely on tankers for their daily needs. Chennai Metrowater operates nearly 670 tanker trips every day and charges a nominal amount for them. The remaining gap between demand and supply, especially for the suburbs and large establishments, is mainly bridged by private water lorries. While over 2,000 private tankers are said to be in the business in and around Chennai, there is no regulation or monitoring of the quality of water supplied or the number of trips operated by these private suppliers.
According to sources in the Food Safety department, the Chennai Corporation is the authority to enforce quality norms on private water lorries in the city while the Public Health department fulfils that function in the city’s fringes. None of the water samples checked had the minimum chlorine level of 0.2 parts per million (ppm), as per prevalent specifications. The water in these tankers had been extracted from borewells or open wells in agricultural areas.
“We are creating awareness of the importance of chlorination and we also add chlorine in water in some lorries. The drivers are advised to keep the tankers clean and also taught easy methods of adding chlorine,” said an official. Details of the tanker operators are recorded and officials said they would soon be served with notices to improve water quality.
Private water suppliers must be brought under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Act so that they can be regularised and provided licences to operate trips, the officials added. The random checks will continue in southern parts of the city, including Velachery. On Saturday, packaged drinking water transported in nearly 30 bubbletop containers was seized on account of being unsafe for consumption.
Meanwhile, some of the private tanker suppliers in Selaiyur said that while demand and competition has increased, sourcing water had become increasingly difficult. The owners of borewells sell water to those who pay the highest and the indiscriminate drawing of water has led to the wells drying quickly. To ensure water quality, stringent rules must be enforced on the volume to be extracted and borewell owners must also be held accountable, they said.

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