The
Delhi High Court Wednesday granted more time to an experts' committee
to submit a report suggesting guidelines to prevent rampant use of
banned pesticides in vegetables and fruits.
A
division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi
was told by counsel Meera Bhatia, appearing for the central government,
that the draft report was ready and was with the panel head for
consideration.
Bhatia said the report would be filed in the court Nov 2, the next date of hearing. The court Aug 17 sought a report from the committee for framing a policy for periodic checks to detect pesticide residue in vegetables that pose health hazards. The court directed the government to constitute the committee after it took suo motu cognizance of a media report alleging use of banned pesticides. The seven-member committee includes Sandhya Kulshrestha, secretary, central insecticide board and registration committee, and Sarita Bhalla, joint director of the agriculture ministry, as the committee's chairperson. Other members are Dhir Singh, director of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, N.K. Sharma, principal scientist in the agriculture ministry, S.M. Bhardwaj, food analyst at Delhi's department of food safety, Vipin Bhatnagar, joint director at plant protection quarantine and storage, and senior advocate V.K. Rao. NGO Consumer Voice's report found that 35 varieties of vegetables and fruits, picked from Delhi markets and tested for pesticide content, had toxins beyond the permissible limits. It told the court that vegetables and fruits sold in the city's markets contained poisons capable of causing cancer and harming the nervous system and liver. The NGO said that the amount of pesticides used by farmers in India was as much as 750 times higher than European standards. | |
Oct 10, 2012
Panel gets more time for report on banned pesticides
Delhi govt to go strict against food adulteration
Delhi Health Minister A K Walia has instructed the department of food safety to go strict against the food adulteration. Keeping in view last year's incident of adulteration in kutu atta affecting number of persons, the Minister has asked the department to lift samples in ample quantity to enhance level of confidence of consumers as far as quality of the goods including eatables is concerned.
He has taken pro-active measures by taking cognizance of last year's incident and has also instructed the Department Of Food Safety to pull up its socks and get ready to lift maximum number of samples from various markets.
The department has been asked to lift samples of kutu atta, milk, cheese, khoya, ghee, oil and maida and atta from different markets.
Further it has been decided to keep a close eye on the use of colours in sweets during Dussehra and Diwali.
The market associations are being advised to avoid food adulteration. The adulteration in food items will not be tolerated and the adulterators would be booked under the Food Safety & Standards Act. Dr Walia further instructed the department to keep their laboratories in working condition. It is need to acquire all testing material and kits to meet the rush of collected samples. The results must be made available within shortest possible time. The adulterators would be fined and punished at the earliest to discourage any further adulteration in food items in all times to come, a statement said today.
Marketing of vitamins as food supplements: Ministry to amend D&C Rules
The
union health ministry will amend Item No. 1 of the Schedule K of the
Drugs and Cosmetics Rules (D&C Rules) to control marketing of
vitamin preparations as food supplements and also to ensure that the
drug substances manufactured for non-medicinal use should be with the
permission of the concerned licensing authority under the D&C Rules.
The ministry's decision in this regard stems from the fact that a fairly large number of non-pharmaceutical units have been manufacturing and selling products containing vitamins in quantities which fall either into prophylactic category or therapeutic category as specified under Schedule 'V' of the D&C Rules, 1945, but such products are being indiscriminately licensed under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as dietary supplements / nutritional supplements / nutraceuticals. Many such products carry inserts wherein medicinal claims are also being made.
The issue was discussed by the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC), which held its 44th meeting on July 20. In the meeting, members raised the issue that many of the vitamin products being manufactured and marketed under licence granted under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, contain vitamins in quantities much higher than the daily allowable quantities in gross violation of Section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FSS Act, 2006, and are according to Schedule 'V' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
The Item No. 1 of the Schedule 'K' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, provides exemption from all provisions of Chapter IV of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Rules to the drugs falling under Clause [b][i] of Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act which are not intended for medicinal use and such products are conspicuously labelled with the words 'NOT FOR MEDICINAL USE.'
The DCC, headed by drugs controller general of India (DCGI), Dr G N Singh, after deliberations agreed for the amendment of Item No. 1 of the Schedule 'K' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, to ensure that the drug substances manufactured for non-medicinal use should be with the permission of the concerned licensing authority under the D&C Rules.
The ministry's decision in this regard stems from the fact that a fairly large number of non-pharmaceutical units have been manufacturing and selling products containing vitamins in quantities which fall either into prophylactic category or therapeutic category as specified under Schedule 'V' of the D&C Rules, 1945, but such products are being indiscriminately licensed under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as dietary supplements / nutritional supplements / nutraceuticals. Many such products carry inserts wherein medicinal claims are also being made.
The issue was discussed by the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC), which held its 44th meeting on July 20. In the meeting, members raised the issue that many of the vitamin products being manufactured and marketed under licence granted under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, contain vitamins in quantities much higher than the daily allowable quantities in gross violation of Section 22(1)(a)(ii) of the FSS Act, 2006, and are according to Schedule 'V' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
The Item No. 1 of the Schedule 'K' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, provides exemption from all provisions of Chapter IV of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and Rules to the drugs falling under Clause [b][i] of Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act which are not intended for medicinal use and such products are conspicuously labelled with the words 'NOT FOR MEDICINAL USE.'
The DCC, headed by drugs controller general of India (DCGI), Dr G N Singh, after deliberations agreed for the amendment of Item No. 1 of the Schedule 'K' of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, to ensure that the drug substances manufactured for non-medicinal use should be with the permission of the concerned licensing authority under the D&C Rules.
Branded eateries under food safety department radar
KOCHI: Though food safety officials raided around 300 hotels over the
past two months, only one branded outlet was subjected to quality and
sanitation checks.
But the scenario changed on Monday after officials sealed a KFC outlet in Thiruvananthapuram after a customer found worms in his dish.
Department officials inspected two outlets of the firm in Kochi - one on Monday, the other on Tuesday. They even collected samples from one outlet and sent it to the regional analytical laboratory for tests. Officials said that further inspections would be conducted after receiving the lab report.
An official said that staff shortage is one reason why they are unable to inspect more branded outlets.
"Most outlets use sophisticated equipment and it takes more time to inspect them and verify quality. We do not have enough officials and it is not possible to check them often. We have only one vehicle for the entire inspection squad," he said, adding that they did not unearth any serious problems at these outlets during previous inspections.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association (KHRA) alleged that officials are not ready to inspect the outlets of prominent brands on the ground that they serve quality food.
However, district food safety officer Ajith Kumar rubbished the allegation and said: "We have inspected many such outlets. In some cases, we also examined their godowns."
And branded outlets are quick to point out that they do not compromise on quality.
"KFC products are sourced from manufacturing facilities that comply with the most stringent food safety standards. These facilities have international quality standards and are audited frequently. Our chicken is freshly prepared several times a day under hygienic conditions," said the company spokesperson in an emailed reply.
An official with Domino's Pizza said that to ensure good food, the quality assurance team has been randomly inspecting company outlets.
But the scenario changed on Monday after officials sealed a KFC outlet in Thiruvananthapuram after a customer found worms in his dish.
Department officials inspected two outlets of the firm in Kochi - one on Monday, the other on Tuesday. They even collected samples from one outlet and sent it to the regional analytical laboratory for tests. Officials said that further inspections would be conducted after receiving the lab report.
An official said that staff shortage is one reason why they are unable to inspect more branded outlets.
"Most outlets use sophisticated equipment and it takes more time to inspect them and verify quality. We do not have enough officials and it is not possible to check them often. We have only one vehicle for the entire inspection squad," he said, adding that they did not unearth any serious problems at these outlets during previous inspections.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurants Association (KHRA) alleged that officials are not ready to inspect the outlets of prominent brands on the ground that they serve quality food.
However, district food safety officer Ajith Kumar rubbished the allegation and said: "We have inspected many such outlets. In some cases, we also examined their godowns."
And branded outlets are quick to point out that they do not compromise on quality.
"KFC products are sourced from manufacturing facilities that comply with the most stringent food safety standards. These facilities have international quality standards and are audited frequently. Our chicken is freshly prepared several times a day under hygienic conditions," said the company spokesperson in an emailed reply.
An official with Domino's Pizza said that to ensure good food, the quality assurance team has been randomly inspecting company outlets.
KFC outlet in Kerala shut down on worm complaint; could impact sales
An
outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken has been shut down by the Kerala food
safety authority after worms were found in a chicken dish.
KFC, owned by Yum Brands, had to down shutters after food safety officials searched the outlet acting on a customer compliant that worms were found in a KFC 'fiery chicken' dish. The authority ordered a temporary closure of the store.
A KFC India spokesman, however, denied the presence of the worm. "All KFC chicken is sourced from the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, which comply to stringent food safety standards," he said.
If the row escalates, it could impact KFC's sales at least in the short term in the country.
"If proven, it could be in trouble," Prathish Nair, head of consulting firm Transcend Brand Consulting, said, adding that such a thing, however, would have gone unnoticed in an unorganised restaurant.
"In markets like the US, if such a thing happens, the brands risk getting sued for millions of dollars," he said.
This April, KFC was ordered to pay $8.3 million (about Rs 44 crore) to the family of an Australian girl left severely brain damaged after being poisoned by a chicken meal at a restaurant near Sydney in 2005.
In 2003, a few instances of worm-infested Cadbury chocolates led to its sales plunging. In 2003 and again in 2006, sales of cola firms PepsiCo and Coca-Cola plunged to half, following allegations of pesticide residue in their beverages by NGO Centre for Science & Environment.
KFC, which almost quit India due to protests from health and animal rights activists after its debut in 1995, has been riding on the country's increasing appetite for chicken. Yum! India plans to have 500 KFC outlets by 2015, up from about 160 currently.
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