Ministry in tizzy over who will crack whip

Even as the gutkha manufacturers have launched a media blitzkrieg claiming that chewing tobacco is safe, the Union Health Ministry is still scratching its head to determine which of its agencies is empowered to impose penalties against the defaulters for violation of court directions as well as food safety laws.
“We are contemplating legal action against the smokeless tobacco firms for spreading false and misleading information through ads about food safety aspects of the gutkha in violation of the Food and Safety Standards Act 2006. The Act prohibits sale and advertisements of tobacco products.
“But we are yet to decide which department is empowered to take action against such violation,” said Director of National Tobacco Control Programme in the Ministry, Amal Pushp. He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by anti-tobacco groups to counter misinformation by the gutkha firms through ads by questioning the legality of gutkha ban by 14 States.
Initiating contempt of court proceedings against the gutkha lobby including Smokeless Tobacco Association, All India Kattha Factories Association and the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative is another option that the Ministry is planning. It says that the “misleading” advertisements violate the High Courts’ and Supreme Court directions which have both ruled that gutkha is a food product as it is consumed.
“As per the amended FSSA 2006, misleading information against the food products such as gutkha invites penalty between `5 lakh and `10 lakh. We have to see if the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) can take action against the misleading ads information,” Pushp said.
The ban on the smokeless tobacco products came on the directions of the Supreme Court which had taken cognizance of a Health Ministry’s report on the ill-effects of chewing tobacco which contains 3095 hazardous chemicals including 28 cancerous one causing oral cancer.
So far, at least 14 States/UTs have banned the manufacture, sale, distribution and storage of gutkha and other such products containing tobacco or nicotine under the FSS Act.
Maharashtra has taken a step further by not only banning gutkha and related products but also arecanut, an ingredient in gutkha and paan masala. “All States must ban them as they are being used at dangerously epidemic levels by many including children and women in the country,” said Mahesh Jagde, Food Commissioner, Maharashtra.

Food safety experts find adulterants like detergent, urea and soda in 68% of milk

The glass of milk that you consider to be the epitome of nutrition and good health may not be all that pure. In fact it can be harmful when unscrupulous vendor s use adulterants like detergent, urea and soda.

The government has made the shocking admission that the bulk of milk supplied by vendors across the country is either contaminated or adulterated. Even packaged milk in some parts of the country is below standard. The admission comes in an affidavit filed by the Centre in an ongoing public interest litigation in the Supreme Court. Over 68 per cent of the samples of milk available across the country examined by food safety authorities have been found to be of substandard quality.

The admission comes in an affidavit filed by the Centre in an ongoing public interest litigation in the Supreme Court. Over 68 per cent of the samples of milk available across the country examined by food safety authorities have been found to be of substandard quality.

These samples did not conform to standards fixed for different types of milk such as skimmed, toned and double toned.

The analysis by the authorities revealed traces of detergent in some samples. This was apart from the use of water, glucose and skimmed milk powder, the most commonly used adulterants. Experts said dilution took away from the nutritive value of milk.

"While packaged milk producers are governed by government standards, there is practically no check on non-packaged milk sold by vendors," said Dr Vinod Kansal, a leading dairy expert who was formerly with the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal.

The study was conducted across India

Usually, he said, milk is collected by vendors in unhygienic conditions and then stored for long durations. "All this increases the chances of lowering milk quality and results in bacterial contamination," Kansal said. In order to prevent milk from getting spoiled in summer season, milkmen add urea or soda, which are very harmful for humans.

Dejon Mishra, consumer rights activist, said: "The food safety authority must mandate a system for tracking all milk products so that contaminated products could be traced. In the long run, steps should be taken to see that all milk sold in the country is packaged."

The government analysis revealed that over 66 per cent of samples not conforming to standards were non-packaged samples while 33 per cent were packaged milk.

The government said in its affidavit to the court that water was the most common adulterant and the addition of water reduced the nutritional value and posed a danger to health if water was contaminated. "Milk with detergent is unsafe for drinking," the government added.

There is a better chance of getting quality milk if one buys packaged milk than nonpackaged milk available in the market.

The study was conducted across India. It was found that the worst place to buy milk is Uttar Pradesh where 88 per cent of 136 samples collected were found to be not conforming to standards. The situation in Delhi, however, was not as bad.

The affidavit, filed on behalf of the Centre by the assistant director of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Kamal Kumar, stated that the government had fixed standards for different types of milk under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations of 2011 and had taken a total of 1,791 samples from all over the country for the snap shot survey.

Of the 1,791 samples, only 565 were found conforming to the standards fixed by it and 1,226 samples failed the test. The government said the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 permitted the public to take samples for testing in laboratories. Based on the result of the test, prosecution can be launched by the food safety officer.

The FSSAI study has only confirmed the findings of earlier studies in different parts of the country which point to milk contamination, including coliform bacteria.

An insurance against adulterated milk is the common Indian habit of boiling milk before consumption. "All bacteria are killed once milk is thoroughly boiled", Kansal said.

The affidavit had been filed in response to a notice on a petition alleging rampant milk adulteration with harmful substances. Swami Achyutanand Tirth had filed a PIL earlier this year alleging that the government had failed to check adulteration in milk which was prepared with materials like urea, detergent, refined oil and caustic soda.

The Supreme Court had on May 9 issued notice to the Centre and several state governments on the PIL highlighting the need for putting an end to the malpractice by formulating a comprehensive policy on the production, supply and sale of milk.

The petitioners had claimed that a recent survey by the FSSAI had revealed that harmful adulterated milk was being sold in various parts of the country.

Health department to check for spurious food items

JAIPUR: To keep a check on sale of adulterated and spurious food items ahead of festive season, the medical health and family welfare department would soon launch a special drive in the city.
Generally during festive season, the demand for diary food items increase and to cash in on the increasing demand, some traders offer substandard food items which cause health-related problems to the consumers. During Diwali, the sale of sweets peaks.
Keeping in mind the health related issues, the department has decided to constitute teams to collect samples of food items especially dairy products including sweets.
Till last year, the district administration was responsible to collect samples of food items but since the state government has implemented the Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) 2006 replacing the old Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954, the medical health and family welfare department has become the authority for ensuring implementation of FSSA.
Chief medical health officer (Jaipur I) Dr O P Thankan said, "We will launch a special campaign to ensure that only safe-to-eat food items are sold in the city." He said the department would take serious action against traders who violate the FSSA or offer adulterated food items to earn quick money.
The department would collect samples of ghee, oil, mawa, sweets and paneer from shops and send them for testing to the laboratory. If the sample of the food items fails at the laboratory, the department would take strict action against the trader concerned. Also, it would keep a check on milk supply as the demand of milk increases during Diwali, which push up the possibilities of sale of adulterated milk.
Doctors claimed that consuming sweets made up of adulterated mawa cause stomach-related problems.