Worms in chicken, KFC outlet in Kerala shut

Food safety officials shut the KFC outlet at MG Road Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening after a customer found worms in the fried chicken served at the outlet.
When A Shiju, a resident of Palode and his family came to the KFC outlet he was in for a ‘wiggly’ shocker.
“We had ordered fried chicken. As my wife opened the cover to give chicken piece to our 18-month-old baby, we were shocked to see worms creeping inside. When we examined the chicken closely, we found more worms,” he told DC.
When Shiju told KFC staff about worms, the latter immediately promised to give fresh chicken. “I rejected the offer and told them that I will complain to food safety officials. The staff requested us not to complain. But I called up the officials on toll free number. In the meanwhile, two staff members tried to snatch our plate but I resisted the attempt,” Shiju said.
The staff behaved rudely when Shiju refused to budge. They threatened to throw his family out. But, by the time, other customers intervened and prevented them from tampering with the samples, he said.
D. Sivakumar, designated officer of food safety, who led a team to the outlet, said, “Initially one of our officers went there and found the complaint was genuine. Later I led a team and examined the food which was served. We spotted worms.''
The food safety officials collected samples of food products including raw chicken which were packed in April. “They are allowed to keep the raw chicken for longer periods provided it is refrigerated in proper temperature.
They can keep such products in freezer for nine months if the temperature is maintained at 18 degree Celsius,” he said.
He said the raw chicken came to the outlet from Chennai. Subsequently, KFC outlets in Kochi and Koz-hikode were also inspected.
Officials ordered the closure of the outlet till further orders and collected samples of food for laboratory examination.
KFC spokesperson said, “There has been an inspection conducted by the local authorities at our restaurant in Trivandrum.
We are providing full cooperation to the authorities. We are committed to serving the highest quality products to all our customers across all our restaurants.”
Following the incident, the food safety officials inspected KFC outlets in Kochi, Kozhikode and Trivandrum.
Penalties for Offence According to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006:
The government of India passed the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to ensure quality of food and deal with matters relating to it.
Guidelines Acccording to the Act:
1)      Any person, who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption which is sub-standard, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to Rs.5 lakh.
2)      Any person whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption containing extraneous matter, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to Rs.1 lakh.
3)      If a food business operator or importer without reasonable ground, fails to comply with the  requirements of this Act (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) or the rules or regulations or orders as directed by the Food Safety Officer, he shall be liable to a penalty  which may extend to Rs.2 lakh.

Facilitation counter at ICCI from October 12 onwards

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) will set up a facilitation counter for licensing for its members and constituents on October 12 at chamber premises.
Senior officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), including G Srinivasan, deputy director, FSSAI Chennai, and consultants will be at the venue to give clarification on licensing procedures and formalities.
For registration and details contact the chamber office before October 10.

Closure notice issued to KFC restaurant

Live worms found in fried chicken served at outlet

Food safety officials issued closure notice to the outlet of the multinational Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) at Pulimood in the city on Monday evening following a complaint about live worms inside the chicken served to a family.

Food safety officials said they had received a call on the toll-free line set up for the public to file complaints.

Family’s complaint

“A family which had come to eat at the KFC outlet had called saying that there were live worms in the fried chicken they had been served. They said that they had torn a piece of chicken apart to feed their toddler when they spotted scores of wriggly worms inside the meat. We were sceptical at first about finding live worms inside chicken which had been fried. But it turned out to be true,” a senior food safety official said.

A squad of officials, led by District Designated Food Safety Officer D. Sivakumar, reached the outlet and collected the samples of the incriminating food.

Scuffle

There was a scuffle at the outlet as the media were prevented from going inside the restaurant.

Storage suspect

Officials said the frozen chicken was brought in bulk from Coimbatore by the food chain, but obviously the cold-chain maintenance must have been poor, leading to the spoilage of the meat and worms starting to fester inside.

They said the method of frying adopted – quick frying in extremely hot oil – did not kill the worms as the heat had not penetrated inside.

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Food safety officials seize samples of incriminating food

Say frozen chicken brought in bulk from Coimbatore

Formalin found, sale of 3 milk brands banned

Commissioner asks Tamil Nadu to inspect dairy plants

The Food Safety Commissioner has banned the sale of three brands of milk brought into the State from Tamil Nadu for a month, after formalin or formaldehyde, a chemical preservative, was detected in the milk samples analysed at the Government Analysts Lab here.

The Food Safety Commissioner has written to his counterpart in Chennai to immediately inspect the dairy plants concerned and take “punitive action against the offenders as the public health of both States are involved”.

The milk brands which were found to contain formalin are Heritage-Padmanabha, pasteurised, homogenised, standardised milk from Heritage Food (India) Ltd. in Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu; Jeshma Milk, from Sofia Raja Milk, Vadakkankulam, Tirunelveli; and Maima, from Maima Milk Plant at Arulvaimozhi, Kanyakumari.

Formalin, a chemical used to preserve tissues for biological and histopathological examinations, is added to milk to retain its freshness and prevent it from spoiling. It is a human carcinogen listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The chemical was detected in the milk samples which were collected by the food safety officers from the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border check-posts, as part of an intensive drive by the food safety special squads to ensure the safety of various food items being brought into the State from Tamil Nadu during the festival season.

Public cautioned

The Food Safety Commissioner cautioned the public against using other milk products in the same brand names, without testing these properly.

The Commissioner also issued a directive to all food safety officers to collect samples of cotton candy (also known as Bombay Sweet) from across the State immediately and to send these for analysis, after an inspection conducted on the Shanghumughom beach here revealed that cotton candy was coloured with Rhodamine B, a chemical dye.

He said prosecution, levying of fine, and other legal measures would be adopted against those who tried to sell banned food items in the State.

The public should inform the Food Safety Commissioner’s office if they came across any food item with artificial colouring being sold openly.

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Chemical found during inspection at check-posts

Directive to collect samples of cotton candy

Manufacturers told to recall products containing lactic acid

PUNE: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has asked manufacturers and distributors to recall from market confectioneries that contain lactic acid, the use of which is prohibited under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The issue came to the fore after FDA joint commissioner in Aurangabad  found the presence of the prohibited substance (DL lactic acid) in sugar boiled confectionery product 'Kaccha Mango Bite' in Nanded and Aurangabad. FDA officials across the state swung into action after the incident and seized the confectionery at manufacturing plants and from distributors across the state.
During the first raid conducted at the company's carrying and forwarding agent in Nanded, the FDA officials in Aurangabad seized confectionery worth Rs 4.90 lakh on October 1. A slew of raids and seizures followed soon after across the state.
"Two months ago, we took samples of the confectionery and sent them to the laboratory for testing. The lab report revealed the presence of DL lactic acid in sugar boiled confectionery," said Chandrashekhar Salunke, joint commissioner (Food), FDA, Aurangabad division.
Salunke raided a carrying and forwarding agent in Nanded on October 1, followed by another raid on a firm in Aurangabad and Parbhani, where he seized goods worth Rs 4.30 lakh and Rs 49,000 respectively.
"After I learnt about the use of the banned substance, I informed all FDA joint commissioners, following which a series of raids and seizures ensued across the state," Salunke said.
Nashik FDA officials confiscated confectionery worth Rs 60 lakh at an Igatpuri-based firm in Nashik district on October 4. The product was being manufactured using lactic acid.
The FDA sealed the company's godown after impounding raw material, lactic acid stock and stocks of the confectionery product samples of which have been sent to Pune for examination.
Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune, said, "We have seized confectionery worth Rs 91,000 in Pune division. We have asked all distributors of sugar boiled confectioneries to recall products containing DL lactic acid."
DL lactic acid is an acidulant. Acidulants are additive that give sharp taste to food. According to the Act, DL Lactic acid and L(+) Tartaric acid shall not be added to any food meant for children below 12 months (the lactic acid shall also conform to the specification laid down by the Indian Standards Institution).

More squads soon to ensure food safety

KOZHIKODE: Two squads formed by the food safety authorities raided several eateries here on Monday.
The squads were formed after a plus two student was hospitalized on Saturday with food poisoning after eating shawarma from a restaurant on Railway Station Link Road. The restaurant's licence was cancelled following the incident.
On a complaint by a city resident, food safety officials raided New Grill restaurant in Thadampatuthazham on Monday, and found that the eatery had flouted guidelines on hygiene. "Since no major violation of food safety norms was found, we issued a correction notice, asking the restaurant to improve its standards," an official said.
The complaint was received from a person who had consumed a non-vegetarian dish from the restaurant. The man had suffered food poisoning, which was confirmed by the food safety officials.
The two teams would continue raids on the eateries in the coming days. More squads would be formed to inspect food joints in other parts of the district.
Food safety inspector C T Anilkumar, who was part of the raiding team, said the food safety commissioner had directed them to act tough on eateries that flout safety norms.
Meanwhile, health standing committee chairperson of the city corporation Janamma Kunhunni said the civic body was yet to receive a report on Saturday's food poisoning incident.
"Once the report is received, we will take necessary action," she said.

HC notice to Centre, state on gutka ban

PATNA: The Patna high court on Monday directed the Union and state governments to give replies to a writ petition challenging the ban on sale of gutka in Bihar on the ground that when the Union government is levying 60% excise duty on sale of gutka in the entire country, its sale could not be banned in Bihar.
A single bench of Justice Jayanandan Singh issued directives to the Union cabinet secretary and finance secretary, Food Safety Authority of India (FSAI) and the state government to file counter affidavits to the petition of gutka manufacturer, Rajat Industries Limited, in four weeks.
The petitioner's counsel, Prabhat Ranjan Dwivedi, submitted that the Union government had taken a policy decision under a central law to impose central excise duty on sale of gutka, declaring this to be a tobacco product under the provision of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act, 2003. In 2012-13, excise duty on sale of gutka has been raised from 45% to 60%. Gutka is the only commodity on which excise duty is levied not on the basis of actual production but on the basis of production capacity, the counsel added.
Despite these provisions of the Union government, Bihar government had imposed a ban on production, packaging and sale of gutka in the state on the plea that it had done this on the direction of FSAI. The FSAI has declared that gutka is a not a food product. Despite this, the state government has banned the production and sale of gutka under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2003. On the other hand, the Union government treats gutka as a product containing tobacco under the provision of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act, 2006, the petitioner's counsel added.
He also submitted that the Indian Constitution does not provide for a situation under which a commodity can be produced legally in one state while its production and sale is banned in another state. This act of the state government affected the petitioner's right to do business anywhere in the country under the same condition, the counsel added.