8 of 12 PMC employees promoted to food safety officers will not join FDA

Fearing transfers within state every three years, they choose to remain with civic body

Food inspectors with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) were promoted to food safety officers (FSOs) and asked to report to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following changes to the Food Safety and Standardisation Act, but two-third of them have declined to do so.
Realising that by accepting service in the FDA they will be under the state government and can be transferred anywhere in the state, eight of the 12 officers have decided to stay back in the PMC.
These officers also claim that there was an order that had given them the choice between the PMC and the FDA and that they have chosen to remain with the PMC. According to these FSOs, they are not interested in joining the FDA as they do not want to be transferred to another city.
FSOs working with the FDA get transferred every three years within the state. “We don’t want to move to the FDA as we are happy doing our work here,” Ajit Bhujbal, an FSO with the PMC, said. “We are not ready to the join FDA and we have filed an application to stay in the PMC.”
Of the 12 PMC food inspectors gazzetted as FSOs, only four have decided to work with the FDA. “They had an option between the PMC and the FDA, and four people chose to go for FDA,” PMC Health Officer Somnath Pardeshi said. “The remaining eight have shown willingness to stay in the PMC. Though we can not issue licence through these FIs who are now FSOs, we have given other work to them.”
According to the state government gazette dated August 1, 2011, in pursuance of sub section (1) of section 37 of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the Commissioner of Food Safety appointed the food inspectors from various municipal corporations as FSOs for the respective area.
Joint Commissioner, FDA (food), S R Kekare said: “Eight of the employees concerned have chosen to stay with the PMC and only four will be in the FDA now. Also, the decision must have been taken or may be in process at the commissioner and state level. Yes, we have less manpower, but instead of cribbing about it we are doing our work effectively.”
The eight who have opted to remain with the PMC will now not continue as FSOs. Pardeshi said: “We have given them posts in the PMC according to their education and they will not be FSOs as their names will be omitted from the new gazette.”
Kekare said: “People who do not join FDA will not be FSOs in future. There will a finalisation of names, and after that those who haven’t joined FDA will not continue as a FSOs.”

Parle Biscuits knocks on Bombay HC doors over recall of Kachha Mango Bite

On 14 Oct, the Maharashtra unit of FDA had ordered recall of entire stock of Kachha Mango Bite from the marketplace
Parle Biscuits, the maker of candies Mango Bite and Kachha Mango Bite, has approached the Bombay High Court over the issue pertaining to the recall of the latter by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
On 14 October, the Maharashtra unit of the FDA had ordered the recall of the entire stock of Kachha Mango Bite from the marketplace following a series of raids conducted at Nasik, Raigadh and Bhiwandi.
FDA officials had said that the company was using buffered lactic acid, an ingredient which is not permitted under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, in Kachha Mango Bite, hence the decision to order a recall of the product.

In a statement, Parle Biscuits has said that lactic acid is safe for human consumption and that it is widely used in several items including bread, processed cheese, milk powder, tomato ketchup, squashes, garlic, onion and ginger paste.

But FDA officials say that the use of lactic acid has been banned in foodstuff after a bench found it not good for consumption for its tooth decaying side effects.

Mahesh Zagde, the Maharashtra FDA commissioner had said in a conversation with Business Standard that the body would continue carrying out state-wide raids to ascertain whether the company was making Kachha Mango Bite using buffered lactic acid. "So far, stocks of the candy have been seized in Nashik and Konkan. All the food safety inspectors across the state have been alerted to carry out similar raids in their respective areas," he said.