Action by Nashik division of FDA against unlicensed FBOs legal: Zagade

The action taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra against 81 unlicensed or unregistered food business operators (FBOs) in Nashik district is legal as stated by Mahesh Zagade, the state FDA commissioner, who added that the agency will not give into the FBOs' illegal demands.

Chandrakant Pawar, joint commissioner, food, Nashik FDA, said, “After the February 4, 2013 deadline for licensing and registration (which has now been extended by a year), we started a drive to crackdown on all the unlicensed and unregistered eateries in the district, and have collected fines amounting to Rs 2.10 lakh so far.”

When quizzed about the pulling up of FBOs despite the extension to the deadline to February 4, 2014, Pawar said, “We have given them sufficient time to the food business operators to register or obtain licenses, but they continue to be disobedient. Therefore, we will continue to take stringent action against them.

Dinamalar

No more Moreh sunflower seeds

It is strange that a government notification on certain food items entering into the state from Myanmar being banned from being sold has not been publicized enough. It’s been some time since there have been stringent moves to contain manufacturers and sellers from withholding information about the quantity, quality of ingredients including their nutrient value in the country since consumers have every right to be informed of what they are consuming. The strict watch over the information of food products is such in the country that even advertisements that are seen as misleading consumers into believing that certain food items are healthier or tastier have had action taken against advertisement agencies while the advertisements are themselves pulled off from air or print. The movement to regulate food ingredients and their nutritive values has come after a long process and efforts put in by health experts and advocates and other civil society group members who have been concerned over how the larger public are ‘co-erced’ by beautiful packaging, glossy advertisements and certain projections that may not be entirely true.
As mentioned in an IFP report, Section 23 of the Food Safety and standards Act, 2006 stipulates that no person can manufacture, distribute, sell or expose for sale or dispatch or deliver to any agent or broker for the purpose of sale, any packaged food products which are not marked and labeled in the manner as may be specified by regulations. Regulation No. 22 lays down norms for labelling of food products and packages: the label would have to include detailed information, the name of food including the trade name or description of food contained in the package and the list of ingredients, names of ingredients used in the product in descending order of their composition by weight or volume, as the case may be, at the time of manufacture etc. Section 25 of the food safety and standards Act, 2006,  is binding on people who sell or facilitate the sale of food items. Under this, no person can import into India any unsafe or misbranded or sub-standard food or food containing extraneous matter, any article of food for the import of which a license is required under any Act or Rules or regulations, except in accordance with the conditions of the license. In the light of these rules and stipulations, the ban on food products from Myanmar was in fact over due. It is common knowledge that food items being brought in from Myanmar ranging from the popular sunflower seeds to a host of bakery and milk products and preserved food matter including fruit pickles and tined fish do not mention anything about what ingredients are used, what preservatives are put in much less include information about the time frame in which the product needs to be consumed. Now that the Government has woken up to take a stand against not allowing such products to be available to the public, it ought to have ensured too that the public are sensitized and made aware of why it is necessary for such items to have its constituent information in display. It ought to have first of all, informed the public about the ban and why it is being put into place. Till the time, the public is convinced about the ban and the harmful effects of what unknown food ingredient constituents can do to one’s physiology and health, there will be no real meaning of the ban.
The next logical step would also be to ensure that there are strict measures to put the ban into effect. But more than anything, it could help if the authorities reach out to its neighbour to ensure that their food products display all information and details are required. If Myanmar were to follow suit and display product information, all that the authorities would have to do this side of the border would be to take up quality checks from time to time to assess the truth of the information being given. On the other hand, if an official notification is all that the Government is interested in, there would be no real term change in the nature of consumption. Rather, it would be much like just another ban that will lead to more value being added to the products and creating more demand, given the intrinsic nature of our society to hanker for what is not allowed.

Edibles banned

IMPHAL, Feb 27: Commissioner Food Safety of Health Department, Manipur on Wednesday issued an order under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging & Labelling) Regulation, 2011 to ban four packaged food items importing from neighbouring Myanmar into India with immediate effect.
The four packaged food items namely Mikko Nutritious Cereal (High Calcium)-25 g, Mikko (3 in 1 instant Coffeemix), Snacks (Bakery items) and Milk and Milk Product and Pickles/Achar items (fruits &fishes), etc have been banned with immediate effect, an order issued by Ram Muivah, Principal Secretary (Health &Family Welfare) and Commissioner of Food Safety, Manipur, said.
It said the above packaged food items are reportedly imported from Myanmar for selling in Manipur without labelling and import license and without indicating the name of the manufacturer, batch number, date of expiry.
Such imported food items are selling in the state in violation of Section 23 & 25 of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 and Regulation No-22 of the Food and Standards (packaging & Labelling) Regulation, 2011, the order said.
It also said violation of this order will be liable for punishment and fine as per the provisions of the Act.

Meals withdrawn after horsemeat test

 

Welsh Bros said a sample had ‘potentially’ tested positive

Cardiff council has followed Pembrokeshire in withdrawing some meat products from schools and care homes amid fears of horsemeat contamination.

Meat supplied by Welsh Bros Ltd to a consortium of 16 authorities including the two councils is suspected to have horsemeat present after tests.
Welsh Bros said it was shocked but believed it was an isolated incident.
Pembrokeshire council said it had received assurances from its other suppliers that meats were traceable.
Pembrokeshire withdrew all mince products from schools, care homes and day centres.
Cardiff council said it had decided to withdraw all beef food products sourced from Welsh Bros from all its schools, leisure centres, care homes and other council catering outlets.
Alan Heycock, managing director of the company based in Newport, south Wales, said: “We do our best to promote quality British products”.
He said they had been let down by a non-Welsh company, adding: “We received an e-mail about this last night. A test came back positive. We haven’t seen the certificate yet.
“This is all under investigation with trading standards now and we are waiting for further information”.
The meat involved was distributed in December 2012.
“We’re very busy contacting our customers now and letting them know,” added Mr Heycock.

Jordan Davies reports on the latest developments

The company later issued a formal statement saying a sample of meat had “potentially” tested positive for horsemeat but the company had taken the decision to inform customers and withdraw the product immediately.
The statement said: “The batch affected was produced nearly three months ago. Welsh Bros Foods did have a clear test result for frozen free flow minced beef on 17.01.13. We submitted these samples when the horse meat scandal first broke in January.
“We have since submitted further samples which we are still awaiting test results for.
“Welsh Bros has been provided with test results from other authorities who have tested more recent batches of our free flow minced beef and these have been reported as being clear.
“We therefore believe at this stage that this is an isolated incident.
“We have today issued a withdraw notice with the Food Standards Agency for frozen free flow minced beef produced between 13.12.12 which was the pack date of the suspect test and 17.01.13 which is the date we achieved our clear test result.”
Food safety visits
Pembrokeshire council said the mince in question may have been supplied to schools and council-run residential homes and day centres within the county.
In a separate development, the council said it had also been made aware that frozen beef products supplied to Sodexho, which provides catering services to a private finance initiative school in Pembroke Dock, had also tested positive for horsemeat.
Sodexho has had a private catering contract with the school since it opened. Its meat was not bought through the Welsh Purchasing Consortium (WPC) which comprises the 16 local authorities in south, mid and west Wales, including Pembrokeshire.

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It is absolutely vital that the government responds to this swiftly and works closely with council officials and the FSA”

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Antoinette Sandbach AM
Conservative rural affairs spokeswoman
Sodexho has withdrawn all frozen beef products from its UK catering operations.
Meanwhile the council said officers from Pembrokeshire’s food safety and standards team were prioritising visits to all cold stores, approved meat products and meat processing premises which had not been inspected in the last 12 months to check relevant documentation, labelling and traceability in line with Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice.
Caerphilly council, which manages purchasing for the WPC, said it was contacting the other councils to see if they were affected by the horsemeat discovery.
Ceredigion council, although a member of the consortium, said it had never purchased any meat products from Welsh Bros of Newport. The authority said Castell Howell Ltd supplied all council establishments with fresh meat.
Conservative rural affairs spokeswoman Antoinette Sandbach AM called for quicker action by ministers to reassure the public.
“It is absolutely vital that the government responds to this swiftly and works closely with council officials and the FSA,” she said.
“Labour’s minister for food has been slow to react to the horsemeat scandal and now is the time to put that right.
“With consumer confidence taking another knock, it is more important than ever for the government to ensure promotion of the local supply chain and local butchers.”

TN coconut oil under lens in Kerala over adulteration charges

Kochi, Feb 26:  

Kerala Food Safety authorities have commenced inspection of coconut oil arriving from Tamil Nadu following the reports of adulteration with palm kernel oil.

Thalath Mahamood, former President, Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA), told Business Line that the officials had started collecting coconut oil samples for a random inspection from traders in Ernakulam on Tuesday in the backdrop of complaints that spurious coconut oil mixed with palm kernel are landing in various parts of the State.

However, he said that this is happening notwithstanding the fact that Kerala was also receiving good quality oil from Tamil Nadu and only a few players were involved in the adulteration.

He said that around 30-40 tankers each are coming to the State from Tamil Nadu every day and traders are complaining on the inferior quality of oil.When contacted, a senior official in the Food Safety Authority said that they have set up separate teams in Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram based on a complaints from Kerafed on coconut oil adulteration.

The team, he said, has collected samples from traders and they will be sent for further inspection. Since the labs in Kerala are not equipped to test the level of adulteration, the samples will be sent to labs accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

Meanwhile, the coconut oil market in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is witnessing a weak trend with the commencement of copra season. Prices in Kerala declined to Rs 63 a kg (Rs 65), while rates quoted in Tamil Nadu were Rs 60 against last week’s Rs 63.

Simultaneously, copra prices dropped to Rs 4,500 a quintal in Kerala (Rs 4,700) and Rs 4,350 in Tamil Nadu (Rs 4,600).

Prakash B.Rao, Vice-President, COMA, said that the market is witnessing a selling trend and this coupled with lack of industrial demand is affecting the market badly.

Prices are expected to drop in the coming weeks due to heavy arrivals of copra, especially from Kannur, Kasargod and Malappuram districts.

Other edible oils such as palm oil and palm kernel oil remained at the same level quoted last week at Rs 52 and Rs 53 a kg respectively, he added.

Meat and poultry sectors urged to adopt SOP for hygiene and sanitation

The meat and poultry industry has been urged to adopt standard operating procedures (SOP) regarding hygiene, sanitation, slaughtering and processing of meat and poultry products. It was suggested that the SOPs would help the industry in terms of quality, health and value addition for both domestic and overseas markets. The meat and poultry sector lacks standard procedures across the country and is largely an unorganised sector.

The department is also coming up with a production manual for goat meat. Sanjay Bhoosreddy, joint secretary, department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, ministry of agriculture, said it would soon be released for the industry to follow, adding that goat meat production in India has gone up 800 times. He also stated that several organisations are currently working in isolation and they need to come together to help the sector grow.

“The industry approaches me with individual cases with mere suggestions. There should be more involvement in terms of analysis, details in proposals and clarity, so that I can discuss them with other decision-making bodies,” Bhoosreddy said. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – which organised the recently-concluded meat and poultry summit – stated that it would form an expert group to facilitate the sector.

At the concluding session of the meet, Ravi Mathur, chairperson, CII Expert Group on Food Safety, said the group would provide a platform for the industry to deliberate on such issues as food safety, animal health, feed and fodder availability, lack of skills, research, technology transfer and export opportunities, and suggest recommendations, which would be sent to the concerned ministry.

Trader fined for selling misbranded salt

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Kishtwar Feb 26: Tightening its noose against the adulterators in Kishtwar, the food safety officers have lifted another sample of “Sugar Gold premium iodized salt” which has been declared misbranded by the food analyst laboratory Jammu.
The sample was lifted from the shop of Ajaiz Hussain son of Atta Mohammad resident of Piyakal Saroor and accordingly sent for testing at NABL accredited laboratory Jammu.
The food analysts found it misbranded and accordingly the challan was produce before the court of Additional District Magistrate Kishtwar (Adjudicating Officer)  under Food Safety and Standard Act 2006, an official spokesman said.
He added that the adjudicating officer Rajesh Kumar Shavan after hearing both the parties found the seller guilty and imposed a fine of Rs 2100 which was deposited by the offender on the spot Adjudicating Officer also directed that the seller will return whole lot of the salt to the distributor.

Sweet shops fined under Food Safety Regulations

Kud (Udhampur), Feb 26: The Designated Officer District Udhampur, Khaminder Choudhary along with Food Safety Officers conducted inspections of Food Business Operator especially dealing with sweets at Kud.
During the drive 15 establishments were checked and sweets worth Rs 7500 were destroyed on spot.
Two statutory samples of Khoya and Gajrella were lifted under the provisions of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 and Rules and Regulations, 2011. The samples have been sent to the Food Analyst, Food Testing Laboratory, Jammu for analysis.
The team also sensitized the food vendors regarding the provisions of enhanced penalties and imprisonment under the new food law and impressed upon them to carry out

9% kids below 14 morbidly obese

New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- More and more children are falling prey to obesity and other illnesses because of increasing consumption of junk food, experts at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have said.

They have called for a regulatory framework to monitor the sale and advertisements of junk food as well as a ban on "pizzas, colas and burgers" in schools.

At a two-day conference held by the CSE in the Capital on food safety, the experts expressed concern over more and more obese children going under the knife.

Experts said surgery, though successful on some kids, cannot be a treatment option for millions. "Emphasis really needs to be on societal changes and prevention," they said. High in transfats, salt and sugar, junk food also makes people vulnerable to hypertension, heart diseases and diabetes.

Making a presentation at the conference, obesity surgeon Ramen Goel said, "9% of children below the age of 14 are morbidly obese, while only 2% of overall population is morbidly obese." "As many as 85% of parents with children less than 5 years of age are serving fast food more than 7-10 times a month. As many as 86% households in metros prefer food on the go. No wonder the processed food industry is growing annually by 40% - 60%," he said. CSE director general Sunita Narain called for a ban on junk food in schools.

Experts said food safety regulatory structures in India were either too weak or simply ignored and a paradigm shift in its health policy was needed. They said the role of the ministry of health and family welfare should be recast and greater involvement of civil society ensured to enable this shift. The conference stressed on strengthening labelling norms specifically related to nutritional information.
CSE's experts said that in 2010, Delhi-based NGO Uday Foundation filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court to get junk food banned in schools. "In January 2012, the court ordered Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to fix guidelines within six months. Junk food in schools has not been banned yet," said an expert. Sharad Vadehra, an expert, said, "The quantum of junk food advertising targeted at children is increasing.

Govt gets 2 weeks to implement Gutka ban

Srinagar, Feb 25:  The High Court Monday granted further two weeks time to the government to comply with the orders passed by it regarding the Public Interest Litigation seeking ban on manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of Gutkha and other smokeless forms of tobacco products containing nicotine and tobacco as ingredient in the State.
A division bench of Justices Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Hasnain Masoodi granted time to the government following an application by Under Secretary Health and Medical Education department seeking eight weeks time to comply with the direction passed by the court on February 4.
In earlier directions, the court directed the government to take steps to ban use and sale of Gutkha in the State.
Jammu and Kashmir Voluntary Health and Development Association through the PIL filed by it is seeking ban on the Gutkha, smokeless tobacco products in line with the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restriction on sales) regulation 2011.
“The smokeless form of tobacco contains deadly chemicals, which are major causes of mouth as well as throat cancer. The products contain nicotine, as delineated under new regulations notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI),” the PIL reads.
Earlier, the counsel representing Jammu and Kashmir Voluntary Health Organization pleaded that the use of Gutkha in the State was detrimental to health and the products should be banned immediately.
The petitioners are seeking that regulations 2, 3 and 4 of Food Safety and Standards (FSSAI), which states that “product not to contain any substance which may be injurious to health: tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food product” be implemented.
The petitioners are also demanding banning of the manufacturing, storage, sale and distribution of Gutkha, pan masala and all other forms of chewing tobacco containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients.
The PIL said that including Delhi, 14 states banned Gutkha under provisions of FSSAI.

Ban on Gutka: HC grants 2-weeks to Govt to file compliance report

Srinagar, Feb 25: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Monday granted two more weeks to the state government to comply with the order it passed on February 4 regarding the ban on manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of gutka, panmasala and other forms of chewing tobacco containing nicotine.
 Turning down the request of the government seeking eight weeks to file compliance report with regard to the February 4 direction, a division bench comprising justices Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Hasnain Massodi however allowed the application granting it only two weeks to comply with the court directions.
 Health and Medical Education department had moved the application through senior Additional Advocate General A M Magray. 
 The High Court had on February 4 this year directed the government to take immediate necessary steps to impose ban on  manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of gutka, panmasala and other forms of chewing tobacco.
 The court had granted one week to the government to file a compliance report.
 Seeing no justification in the government’s response that it was waiting for the Finance Department’s nod to ban the manufacturing and use of the items, the Court had directed the Chief Secretary to take necessary steps to impose ban on use of said items.
 Expressing its displeasure, the Court had held that when the government was satisfied that the use of the items was damaging the health of users, there was no reason to say that it was waiting for the Finance Department’s nod. The respondents had said that before approaching the competent authority to put a ban on these products, views of the Finance Department were required to be obtained in the matter in keeping with the financial implications, saying the matter was referred to the Department in October 2012 which was under its examination.
 A Public Interest Litigation filed by Jammu and Kashmir Voluntary Health and Development Association through its counsel Sajad Geelani is seeking ban on the tobacco products in keeping with the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation 2011 in the interest of public health. According to the PIL, the smokeless form of tobacco contains deadly chemicals which are major causes of mouth as well as throat cancer.
 The products contain nicotine, as delineated under new regulations notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), says the PIL.
 The PIL states that in keeping with the health hazards of the smokeless chewable tobacco products, 14 states in India including Delhi have banned gutka under provisions of FSSAI.
 Sajjad Geelani represented the petitioners and the State was represented by Additional Advocate General M A Chashoo.

Dinamalar

Costs keep people away from checking food quality

Of 800 cases handled by BBMP lab, only 15 came from citizens

Though the menace of food adulteration appears to have increased in the recent past, lack of awareness and prohibitive costs for testing seems to be keeping Bangaloreans away from getting their suspicious food products analysed in laboratories.
Sample this. If the food testing laboratory in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) handled around 800 cases last year, only about 15 cases were brought to it directly by the citizens while the rest came through its officials. Further, enquiries with some leading private laboratories revealed that they received fewer cases in a whole of last year.
This comes even as food products such as chilli powder, spices, ghee, butter, honey, flour, coffee and tea powder, beverages and chocolates among many others, being adulterated by unscrupulous traders and companies.
“Consumers are not even aware of what tests should be conducted since a range of chemical tests are on the offer and each of the tests are expensive. In fact, they do not even know what to look for in food products when they are suspecting that they have got an adulterated product,” said Deepa Vishwanathan, chief executive officer of Pristine Laboratories, a certified AGMARK Lab in the City. According to her, they receive about 4 or 5 cases in a year.
“Most of those tests conducted are prescriptive analysis that the companies come forward to before the product is made available in the market. However, investigative analysis that can come afterwards are very few,” she said.
If nutritional analysis is cumbersome and has a wide range of tests, pesticidal analysis is expensive while microbial and water analysis are for cooked food. The cost of these tests range from Rs. 80 to Rs. 10,000, and some times even more.
“The process at BBMP is a little cumbersome. Either you have to pay Rs. 300 along with the sample for testing or give a written complaint to the Chief Health Officer following which food inspectors would be sent and samples collected,” a source in BBMP said and added that generally people do not come voluntarily with a complaint. “Things could change when the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 will be implemented.”
Acknowledging that the awareness about food safety is poor, K.J. Balasubramani, assistant director of Shriram Institute for Industrial Reseach, a NABL accredited laboratory, said that there is an urgent need to create awareness on food safety. “On an average we get about 2 cases a month. Government should take the lead in creating the awareness.”

FSSAI frames strategy for harmonising Indian food standards with Codex

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country's apex food regulator, has formulated a strategy – comprising four annexures – to take up the task of harmonising India's food standards with those laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, established by the United Nations' World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Sanjay Dave, chairman, Codex Alimentarius Commission – who is also the advisor to FSSAI – said, “The objective of the FSSAI, which aims at food safety as a nationwide movement, is to lay down science-based standards for food articles and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.”

“To meet this objective, FSSAI must follow an inclusive approach by utilising the wisdom of all stakeholders in the country and discuss all relevant issues through a transparent process of consultation and iron out all conflicting opinions on the basis of scientific evidence. One of the immediate tasks in hand is to review the food safety standards situation in the country,” he stated.

Many standards in the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, have been drawn from the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. However, there is a demand for the review of these standards, taking into account the latest developments in food science across the globe, food consumption pattern, new specifications, the presence of new contaminants and toxins and the use of new food additives and ingredients required by food producers.

“We also need to consider the development of new standards and texts wherever necessary while taking cognisance of the developments in an environment of open market in India. Needless to say that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) encourages harmonisation of the national standards, guidelines and best practices with those of the Codex and provide an equal opportunity to all stakeholders in the food business,” Dave said.

Annexure-I is the strategy paper for harmonisation. Being a huge task, it requires the participation of all experts in the fields of food regulatory affairs, scientific research, food and nutrition, food technology, policy or academia. They must be identified on the basis of their interest in contributing and experience in the subject matter as they would utilise the available scientific and regulatory information for the expected outcome.

To facilitate the process, it is necessary to identify the current areas and volumes of work involved and explain the strategy, scope of work, guidelines for working groups, timelines, format and procedure for forwarding nominations, selection criteria, etc. Detailed documents have been prepared and shown as icons in Annexure-II, titled Guidance Document on Vertical Standards. These icons are numbered as Attachments 1-12.

FSSAI recommends that those who wish to participate in the process of harmonisation study Annexure-III (Guidance to the Nominees), which explains their contribution to the process. This would enable them to decide what role they would like to play in the country's food standards development process. They should fill the nomination form (Annexure-IV) and forward the same to FSSAI via e-mail (fssaiharmonisation@gmail.com) by March 20, 2013.

Delhiites love street food over health, reveals study

A majority of people surveyed said they consume street food despite being aware of its ill effects.

Few can tide over love to see the flaws. That explains Delhi's bond with its street food . It's not easy to hold back when your taste buds crave for some chatpate chhole bhathure, crispy kachouris or steamy momos. The burnt oil or adulterated spices that go into in their making are hardly a put off or so has a research team at Institute of Home Economics (IHE) found.

As part of a study - Ensuring Access to Safe Street Food - the research team, including faculty and students of the institute, surveyed 500 consumers and 250 street food vendors across the city.

The consumers were mostly university students aged between 18 and 23, for whom street food meant a yummy meal with friends at low costs. Around 74 per cent of them gorged on street food simply for its unmatched taste. A little over half of them admitted to have fallen ill after consuming street food and around 43 per cent of the students who were surveyed said they had to take medication to get better, but despite that they did not lose their appetite for roadside delights.

Matter of choice

A majority of respondents (62.8 per cent) reported that they were aware of adulterated ingredients and food-borne diseases, though 56 per cent consumers said they did not know about the source of contamination. A majority of them agreed that they ate street food for its taste while 42 per cent were simply floored with the variety on offer by the road.

"We found a lot of adulteration when we tested the food samples collected from vendors from different parts of the city. Even the oil samples tested were rancid," said Dr Parveen Pannu, principal investigator of the project and associate professor, department of communication and extension at IHE. She further said, "At many locations we found that vendors kept a bucket of water as the only source for preparing food.""And they also washed their hands with that water many times during the day," said.

Pannu, who started surveying the street foodies and vendors last June along with Dr Sunita Aggarwal, associate professor from department of microbiology and Deepshikha Kataria, who is an assistant professor from the department of food and nutrition.

The collection and testing of samples continued till this January for the project sponsored by Delhi University. The team laid its hands on all possible snacks popular among college students, including samosa, tikki, bread pakora, kachori, moong dal laddoo, chowmein, momos, fried rice, bhallepapri, bhelpuri, chhole bhature, pao bhaji, chhole kulche, rajma chawal and beverages such as lemonade.

Out of 10 fat samples tested, eight were found to have high acid value. All 10 oil samples had high peroxide value. Pannu said peroxides and free fatty acids can form free radicals in the body causing ill effects on health.

"The aim of our project was not to suggest that people should stop eating street food. Many of these vendors are illiterate and do not understand the concept of hygiene and food safety. They need to be made aware," said Pannu. For the purpose of the survey, the city was divided into five zones - north, south, east, west, central - and consumers and vendors were asked if they followed any hygiene standards.

The regulation

To make sure foodies do not end up sick, the government enforced the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006 on August 5, 2011 across the country. According to the new rules, every food business with an annual turnover below Rs.12 lakh will have to register with the state health department. Those earning more will need a licence to operate.

A penalty of up to Rs.10 lakh can be imposed for sale of unhygienic and adulterated food. The penalty earlier was anything between Rs.500 and Rs.5,000.

There are nearly 60,000 to 80,000 street food vendors in the city, according to the National Association of Street Food Vendors of India (NASVI).

However, the process of their registration hasn't yet begun.

"We need proper infrastructure to initiate such a huge task. Our only office at Lawrence Road is not adequate for the purpose. We are planning to open offices in different zones to carry out the registration process area-wise. It will take at least two more months," said a senior government official.

Questions About Meat Content in Ireland Causing International Scare

From coast to coast in the United States, questions are beginning to rise from both the meat and non-meat eating communities in light of recent events in Ireland. And whether a person is vegetarian, vegan or a meat eater, the recent Irish horsemeat scandal has raised questions abroad about the content of the beef people consume these days. A recent article posted on BeWellBuzz.com addresses this international meat crisis and discovers several startling truths about the actual meat being consumed by millions of unsuspecting consumers.
A January 2013 probe launched by the Food Authority of Ireland analyzed 27 hamburgers and the meat content which each contained. What they found was distressing – 10 out of the 27 hamburgers had the presence of horse DNA. To make matters worse, 23 were found to have traces of pig DNA as well. This alarming discovery proved that the concerns of many meat consumers across the planet have questioned for years – what exactly is in the meat they eat each day?
The scandal in Ireland spread to its neighbor in the United Kingdom Britain; when the largest grocery chain in the United Kingdom conducted similar testing for their ‘beef’ products. They discovered that nearly 29% of all the ground ‘beef’ in the test sample contained large traces of Horse meat instead of the certified beef which providers had claimed it has contained for year.
The ripples of the horse meat scandal have spread to other European countries as well including Sweden; where the Food Standards Agency in Britain declared that Swedish food company Findus’ contained nearly 60% horse meat in their meat lasagna products. Included in testing were the countries of France, Germany and the Netherlands. This raises the question about potential horse meat concerns in the United States; especially in light of recent discovery of horse meat being found in several Nestlé food products.
“Nestlé U.S.A. does not use meat sourced from Europe,” a company statement said in a press release. “Additionally, U.S.D.A. meat inspectors are in all processing plants and also have responsibility to oversee any imported meat. We have also requested and received confirmation from all our meat suppliers that they do not provide Nestlé U.S.A. with any meat from the affected countries and companies.”
According to Nestlé U.S.A. the company uses beef from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the company spokesperson stated. As the debate lingers and consumers question the actual content of alleged ‘beef’ consumed across the globe, more questions remained asked with limited answers being provided. To learn more about this growing story, and to read more cases of horse meat discoveries as found and printed by Health and Wellness portal BeWellBuzz.com, please click the link to the article posted below.

Sub-standard sugar and packaged water impounded

IMPHAL, February 23: A team of the officials of the Directorate of Food Safety led by the Food Safety Deputy Commissioner, T Brojendro Khaba Meitei have seized several bags of substandard sugar from Kamal grocery at Dharmashala, Thangal Bazar today.
This was informed by the Deputy Commissioner, during a press conference held at the directorate office today.
He said, during the inspection which was conducted since this morning, the team had also found several packaged water without the mandatory ISI mark. The bottles were impounded from shops located at Palace Gate, Thangmeiband and Khuyathong.
Elaborating further on the impounding of the sugar bags, the official said that sugar is a crystallised substance and it should be clear and non-sticky. "However the sugar in the impounded bags were found to be sticky and foreign particles like rice, stones, flour, woods etc. were present," he said while adding that the sale of sub-standard food items is against the law and is a punishable act under The Food Safety Standard Act, 2006.
Brojendro  further elaborated that there are certain sellers who add iron dust to weigh it down before selling it to the customers which creates risk for the customers and is punishable if caught in the act.
He said the first step that the authorities can take up is to nab all such owners and make checking of the godowns used in storing commodities by the concerned department compulsory.
He continued that the sugar bags should have the code numbers, date of packaging, expiry date etc properly labelled on the outside.
Elaborating further on the impounded packaged water bottles, he said the bottles were labelled ‘Yes’ and manufactured by M/S Lairikyengbam Enterprises, opposite Yairipok PS.
He continued that the water bottle without the ISI mark could mean that it is using unhygienic and un preserved water without the approval or checking by the Food Safety Department.

Dinakaran

Energy drinks can have more caffeine

PUNE: The country's food safety and standards regulator has allowed use of higher levels of caffeine in energy drinks. The set standard of 145 parts per million (ppm) of caffeine has been relaxed up to 320 ppm for energy drinks, said Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials on Thursday.

The regulator, however, has stipulated that manufacturers infusing energy drinks with higher amounts of caffeine will have to print warnings such as-'caffeinated beverage', 'use not more than two cans a day', 'ingredients of this product consumed through other sources may also be kept in view', 'not recommended for children, pregnant and lactating women', 'not for persons sensitive to caffeine,' and 'caffeine consumed through this and other sources not to exceed 160 mg per day'-prominently on the label of the energy drink products. Energy drinks are usually targeted at youth and health enthusiasts.

"Food Safety and Standards Authority of India i.e. FSSAI has given no-objection certificates to manufacturers for use of caffeine up to 320 PPM in energy drinks, which was earlier restricted to not more than 145 ppm. The permission is meant only for energy drinks and not for other carbonated stuff drinks

like cold drinks and similar other beverages where caffeine is used but is below 145 ppm only," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA.

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act had a ceiling of 145 parts per million (ppm) of caffeine in carbonated beverages. But energy drink manufacturers wanted a 320 ppm cap, Kekare added.

Manufacturers of energy drinks claim that these drinks help increase alertness of the mind and improve concentration, stamina and athletic performance. But in reality, the caffeine in them can impact health severely when consumed in excess.

Caffeine is present in many foods and drugs - in coffee, tea, energy and soft drinks, candy bars, and over-the-counter cold remedies and analgesics. It is consumed daily by approximately 80% of the world's population. Small doses of caffeine increase alertness, but there are serious health risks from consuming large quantities and from long term use of caffeine.

Commenting on the ill effects of excessive caffeine consumption, internal medicine expert Abhijeet Joshi said, "Caffeine is the most widely consumed stimulant drug

in the world. When caffeine is ingested chronically in excessive amounts, it produces a specific toxidrome (caffeinism), affecting primarily the central nervous system (CNS) and causing cardiovascular and gastrointestinal hyper stimulation."

The symptoms include headache, lightheadedness, anxiety and agitation, tremulousness, tingling in extremities, confusion and seizures. Heart related ill effects include palpitations and chest pain. Stomach related ill effects include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and anorexia, Joshi said.

The health risks from consuming large quantities and from long term use of caffeine are serious. The increased alertness and energy derived from caffeine are not worth the negative health risks. A safe, natural way to increase alertness and energy needs to be substituted for ingesting caffeine.

Caffeine is an additive drug and must be treated as such, say doctors.

Dealers, vendors will be answerable

Many of the major national and multi-national food and beverage companies have started asking their local distributors and wholesale dealers to obtain licenses under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006.

Because, under the Act, vendors and distributors can be held liable for selling products after its date of expiry, misbranding, and storing in unsafe conditions rather than the manufacturer.

The Act was notified on August 5, 2011. The process becomes mandatory only by February 4, 2014, as the duration has been extended.

The Act (www.fssai.gov.in) states that food business operators functioning without license can be imprisoned for six months and fined up to Rs. 5 lakh.

Dealers found selling substandard products are liable to be fined up to Rs. 5 lakh and those selling misbranded products, up to Rs. 3 lakh.

Some of these penal provisions, however, have been challenged in various courts.

Obtaining these licenses will make the dealer conform to the stringent norms on storage, transporting, and distributing food products.

The dealer must know the entire supply chain right up to the manufacturer.

In the district around 1,750 dealers had obtained licenses and 6,500 had registered themselves.

Conforming to the Act will ensure that high food safety standards are maintained, said R. Kathiravan, Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing), here on Thursday.

Dr. Kathiravan said that the distributors must provide the vendors information regarding the product, its code, and especially the batch number, which was vital in case of a recall being necessitated.

“A couple of months back, a food item had to recalled from a chain of pharmacy stores in Coimbatore and Erode because of fungus formation. Since the company had provided the batch number, we were able to recall the entire shipments quickly.”

All food business operators with an annual turnover in excess of Rs. 12 lakh must obtain licence under the FSSA by paying Rs.2,000.

Those with an annual turnover less than this threshold need only to register themselves by paying Rs. 100.

The licences have to be renewed annually.

In Coimbatore district, the total target was 22,000, of which 14,000 had an annual turnover of less than Rs. 12 lakh, said Dr. Kathiravan.

National workshop on ‘Wellness Convention: Nutrition, Health and Fitness’ organized by Faculty of Applied Sciences, MRIU, Faridabad

Faridabad, October 17, 2012: The department of Nutrition and Dietetics under the Faculty of Applied
Sciences at Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad organized a 2 daylong conference
(16 – 17th October 2012) on ‘‘Wellness Convention: Nutrition, Health and Fitness’ at the university
campus. The conference was inaugurated by Honorable Chief Guest, Ms. Anita Chowdhary, IAS (Retd.)
along with other eminent guests, Dr. Anuja Agarwala, President IDA, Delhi chapter, Dr. O. P. Bhalla,
Chancellor, MRIU, Dr. N. C. Wadhwa, Vice Chancellor, MRIU and Dr. G. L. Khanna, Dean, FAS .
The aim of the conference was to explore the global databases on the world’s major forms of
malnutrition, the effectiveness of nutrition programs and progress towards achieving sustainable health and nutritional wellbeing of all the people, thereby reinforcing and accelerating human and national development
Dr. O. P. Bhalla, Chancellor, MRIU enforced, many lifestyles and environmental factors, in addition
to nutrition, influence health and well-being, but nutrition is a major, modifiable and powerful factor
in promoting health, preventing and treating disease and improving quality of life. The relationship
between food, nutrition and health is thus one of the global challenges that we are facing today.
Ms. Anita Chowdhary, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India
in her keynote address on 16th October said, “The food you eat today is walking and talking tomorrow.
Your diet is the foundation to optimal fitness, which is needed to minimize the risks for diseases and
help you perform your daily activities without excessive fatigue.”
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Anuja Agarwala, President IDA, Delhi chapter, highlighted, there is a
connection between fitness and nutrition, which is to follow a good nutritional routine which helps to
encourage a regular fitness program and ultimately imparting one a good health. When considered
together nutrition and fitness can have a large positive impact on one’s life. Following a good nutrition program which includes a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean proteins can help to maintain a healthy weight, prevent diseases such as, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes and also boost energy levels throughout the day. A regular fitness routine in conjunction with the healthy diet can help one to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, sleep better at night, improve mood and help with overall strength and cardiovascular endurance.
Dr. G. L. Khanna, Dean, FAS revealed that Health and wellness are often used interchangeably, but they have slightly different meanings. Health is more of a medical term and describes the physical and mental state of a person. It usually denotes a lack of disease or abnormality. Wellness, on the other hand, is defined as the overall process of maintaining a general state of good health. Wellness involves conscious decisions on the part of the individual, whereas health simply describes a person’s condition. Higher rates of heart diseases, increases in the incidence of cancers, record numbers of clinically obese people, and various other health scares have all drawn attention to the need for healthy lifestyle choices.
Dr. Mohit D Gupta, Assistant Professor, Department of cardiology, G. B. Pant Hospital highlighted that stress is related to 99% illness Stress is a major problem for many people — a hectic, stressful job, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress. Stress is a major problem for many people — a hectic, stressful job, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress. He also revealed research has shown that following a healthy eating plan can both reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and lower an already elevated blood pressure.
Dr. N. C. Wadhwa, Vice Chancellor, MRIU addressed that Good nutrition is essential to both current
health and wellbeing, and health and wellbeing in later life. Eating a healthy diet can help reduce the
risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure,
osteoporosis.
Third session with theme “Nutrition for Women and Child” consisted of eminent speakers Dr. Vinita
Narula, Vice President, HSAI, Ms. Swapna Chaturvedi, Sr. Dietician, AIIMS, Ms. Nilanjana Singh, Chief Dietician, PSRI focused on the various issues and health challenges faced by women and child who are considered as important vulnerable sections of society in India.
Dr. Alka Beotra, Scientific, National Dope Testing Laboratory, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,
New Delhi and Ms. Shruti Sharma, Technical Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India,
bring out that FSSAI has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. And highlighted Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006; Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, Fruit Products Order, 1955, Meat Food Products Order, 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006. The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command.
The conference was concluded with a beautiful cultural evening performed by students of Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and Valedictory Function took place in the presence of Guest of Honor, Dr. P. C. Kashyap, Executive Director, SAI, whose existence made the event a great success.

Alert officials on food adulteration; win prize

Awareness campaign on safe food begins in city

Are you fed up with sub-standard foods, expired products sold at shops? Alert officials concerned and win prizes up to Rs. 5,00,00.

With this message the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s first major Information, Education, Communication (IEC) campaign has reached Coimbatore.

‘Food Safety Express,’ operated by Consumer Association of India roped in for the campaign will spend 45 days in the city.

The association project manager Kalyani Rajaraman told The Hindu over phone from Chennai that the Food Safety Express, launched at the State capital on January 17, was targeting to cover 620 locations in the five districts of Chennai, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchi. The campaign would conclude on May 20.

She said that according to a research food and waterborne diseases constituted up to 70 per cent of all diseases in the country. Besides causing large numbers of mortality and morbidity, many households went deep into debt because of preventable diseases.

The Food Safety Express visited CMC Colony at Ukkadam, Karumbukadai, Townhall, and R.S.Puram, on Thursday. The staff at the express said that they were conducting demonstrations for consumers to easily find out if products had been adulterated.

The general public could bring instances of violations such as mislabelling to the notice of the authority. The national toll-free number is 1800 112 100.

Prizes were distributed for people who participated in various programmes organised by the express staff. Short films on food safety were shown on a television mounted on the vehicle. Pamphlets and handbills containing messages about the food safety in regional language was distributed. Equitas Development Initiative Trust, which works with women SHGs, was assisting the authority in the safety campaign.

Many stakeholders have come together to spread the message of safe food. They include the authority, Civil Supplies and Consumers Association of Tamil Nadu, Food Safety Commission – Tamil Nadu, Citizen Consumer Clubs in schools and colleges and voluntary consumer organisations besides food business operators.

Established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the authority is an independent statutory body created for laying down scientific standards for food articles and regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

Food safety norms, nutrition must be linked; Organic farming should be subsidised

Food safety norms should be linked to nutrition and likelihoods, and organic farming should be given subsidies, according to the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) director general Sunita Narain. At a conference, it was suggested that food safety should come under the health ministry’s purview.

Addressing the concluding session of the conference on Food as Toxin held in New Delhi recently, Narain pointed out that food safety had changed from preventing adulteration to testing for additive and pesticide residues. She added a lot of money is being wasted on pesticides and fertilisers, which would eventually be checked by the authorities.

Keeping in mind their adverse impact on the environment, it was also recommended that pesticide regulations should either be framed by the health or environment ministry instead of the agriculture ministry, which currently regulates them. Members of the civil society should also be roped in to ensure transparency while framing policies.

Another suggestion was that toxic and obsolete pesticides be banned, and that a report on the use and effects of the use of fertilisers and pesticides should be prepared every year. State universities should be contacted to advise farmers on pesticide use, and organic farming should be promoted, both at the production and the trading level.

Policies
It was also suggested that the policies should be framed keeping in mind that most farmers in the country have small land holdings, and emphasis should be on training. Bio-monitoring should be done to check pollution, and before making an action plan, there should be comprehensive studies regarding the use of antibiotics for the growth of crops.

Labelling
Another recommendation made at the conference was that the regulations concerned with labelling should be made stricter, because the consumers are generally unable to make informed choices. It was also suggested that advertisements featuring children should be banned.

Street food
The event emphasised the need to keep in the mind consumers’ preferences and food habits while making street food a safer alternative.

The two-day conference was attended by K Chandramouli, chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India; Sri Ram Khanna, managing trustee, Voluntary Organisation in the Interest of Consumer Education; Sanjay Dave, chairman, Codex Alimentarius, and Rakesh Kacker, secretary, Ministry of Food and Processing Industries, amongst others.

Regulatory hurdles in nutraceuticals market as trend shifts to preventive

The nutraceuticals market is one of the most booming markets today as the trend for treatment is gradually shifting from curative to preventive. Also, an increasing number of young people are becoming aware of the problems individuals face from the changing lifestyle. This is one of the major reasons why they wish to turn towards nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals include a number of segments such as functional foods, dietary supplements and functional beverages.

The global nutraceuticals market was estimated at US$142.1 billion in 2011 and likely to grow at a rate of 6.3% to reach $204.8 billion by 2018, according to a report by Transparency Market Research. The report states that Asia-Pacific is most likely to have the second-largest share of the market by 2017, behind only North America. This huge demand in the nutraceutical market has also caught the attention of pharmaceutical companies world over which are keen on grabbing a piece of this big pie. A number of pharma companies are partnering with different nutra companies or launching their own nutraceutical products. It is important to point out, at this juncture, that one of the major hurdles faced by companies in launching nutraceuticals is that of ‘regulatory’ affairs. Would nutraceuticals be governed by drug regulations or would they be governed by other specific regulations?  This article throws light on this critical issue.

Regulations in the past (pre-2005 era)
In the pre-2005 era, nutraceuticals were considered as foods under the ‘food & drug’ regulations, and governed by a plethora of legislations, predominant among which was the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules (PFA). Currently, regulations for food and beverages are in a transition phase from Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules (PFA) to Food Safety and Standards Bill (FSSB).

Before the FSSA came into existence in 2006, nutraceuticals were regulated under PFA but the laws in 2005 were still very different.

Before 2005, food and food processing were governed by multiple laws and ministries such as

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; The Fruit Products Order, 1955; The Meat Food Products Order, 1973; The Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947; The Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998; The Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967; The Milk and Milk Products Order, 1990; and Essential Commodities Act, 1955 pertaining to food.

The standards for food under all of these laws with regard to manufacturing, processing, packaging, and so on were different. At the time, food was classified into two kinds, either proprietary or fortified.

This governance by multiple Acts and Laws led to a great deal of confusion and a clear cut need was felt to bring all the present laws under one law; which was stressed upon by the Standing Committee of Parliament on Agriculture in its 12th Report that it submitted in April 2005. The Government of India appointed a Group of Ministers (GoM) for proposing an integrated food law. Thus, the Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005, was introduced into Parliament and referred based on the recommendations made by the standing committee.

Current regulations
On August 23, 2006, Parliament passed the FSSB and it was signed by the president. It was believed to have a major impact on the Indian food processing industry. The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) works at assimilating the food and safety laws in the country such that they develop the food processing industry in a scientific and systematic manner; bringing about a major shift from a regulatory to a self-compliance regime. The Act’s two major objectives are

•  To introduce a single statute relating to food
• To ensure scientific development of the food processing industry

The Act is designed with the intent to create a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards by changing from the multi-level, multi-departmental control to a single line of command. In the FSSA, food was categorised under the following heads: novel foods, genetically- modified food, propriety food, standardised food, foods for special dietary use and functional foods/ nutraceuticals/ health supplements.

Subsequently, in 2011, the Food Safety and Standard Regulations, 2011, were enforced from August 5. These regulations were for control on the manufacture, distribution and sale of nutraceuticals, functional foods and dietary supplements in India.  The increased regulations have been designed to urge manufacturers to come up with long-term market strategies and get rid of any deceitful players or products from the market.

Challenges following the new law
Approval of a product: This is a major cause of concern for a company that wishes to enter the nutraceutical market. Before the FSSAI came into existence, the company had to procure a licence from the PFA to manufacture a product. But now, for obtaining a licence from FSSAI, product approval certificate is mandatory.

To gain this much-needed product approval, the company would have to give an application in the stated format along with a non-refundable initial payment of Rs 25,000. This is certainly something to worry about for the manufacturer/ supplier as it creates technical snags while increasing the cost incurred at the same time.

Different food licence for packed food items:  To ensure that misrepresentation of health claims does not happen, the FSSAI had sent notices to manufacturers of Bournvita, NutriChoice and Pediasure. The notices ask them to give scientific basis of their claims. The Act has thus made it mandatory to procure a different licence for such products.

Labelling and advertising norms: The claims made on the product labels and advertisements need to be scientifically proven and not simply to attract the consumers. The FSSAI approval has prohibited the companies from making any health claims that are false or deceptive in any way on proprietary/ functional/ novel foods.

Conclusion
Although the nutraceutical market is on the rise, the regulations and rules put hurdles in its path. So, it is essential that the government takes appropriate steps which facilitate the growth of the nutraceutical market. The registration process for any product is certainly a complex one. To ensure complete transparency, it should include these five elements: registration, claims, labelling, packaging and quality. This is crucial if more and more people have to opt for these nutra products along with their daily diet to fulfil all their dietary needs. India is moving slowly but swiftly on the path to create a proper and systematic regulatory method which makes it convenient not only for the consumers but also the stakeholders.

Nestle discovers horse meat in food items

Biggest Food Co Latest To Find Traces Of Horse DNA In Beef Products In Italy, France & Spain

London: The horse meat scandal in Europe is only getting worse with the world’s biggest food company now saying that tests have found traces of horse DNA in their packed products made from beef in Italy, France and Spain.
    Nestle on Tuesday said, “Our tests have found traces of horse DNA in two products made from beef. The levels found are above the 1% threshold the UK’s Food Safety Agency uses to indicate likely adulteration or gross negligence.” It added, “When reports first emerged in the UK about the fraudulent mislabeling of beef, we enhanced testing of our products and the raw materials we use across Europe. We are now suspending deliveries of all our finished products produced using beef supplied by a German firm.”
    Nestle added that there was no food safety issue “but the mislabeling of products means they fail to meet the very high standards consumers expect from us. We are also enhancing our existing comprehensive quality assurance programme by adding new tests on beef for horse DNA prior to production in Europe. We want to apologize to consumers and reassure them that the actions being taken to deal with this issue will result in higher standards and enhanced traceablity.”
    An update on test results from throughout the food industry will be published by the Food Standards Agency of UK next Friday with a further update to be published on March 1. After that, food businesses will update the FSA on their tests results every three months.
    UK’s environment secretary Owen Paterson meanwhile met representatives of food businesses including retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and trade associations asking them to conduct tests on all their products.
    At the meeting, food businesses right through the supply chain agreed to do their level best to report back as many testing results as possible to the FSA by Friday.
    Latest revelations on the horse meat scandal shows that FSA had written a letter to the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) in April 2011 warning that horse meat was being passed off as beef.
    The letter also warned Defra that packaged food was also being contaminated with horse meat, but the warnings were ignored. Paterson has now asked FSA to investigate the claims that the govenment was indeed warned .
    John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service write a letter to former minister Sir Jim Paice on behalf of Britain’s largest horse meat exporter, High Peak Meat Exports warning that its effort to stop meat containing the anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, known as bute, getting into the food chain was a “debacle”. “I have discussed it with the chief executive of the FSA and she is going to go back through the records and see exactly what was said at the time,” he said.
    The FSA meanwhile has submitted a full file and evidence on this scandal to Europol. The data submitted is now being analysed by both Europol and law enforcement agencies in 35 countries across Europe and elsewhere. Latest data shows horse meat has been consumed by millions of children and hospital patients across Europe.
Another victim: Top Brazil beef producer
    The world’s top beef producer, JBS of Brazil, was on Tuesday the latest firm to be embroiled in Europe’s horse meat scandal. JBS which used HJ Schypke as a subcontractor, said its Belgian branch would stop buying European meat. It added, “Schypke, a German manufacturer of processed meat products, is not in any way part of the JBS Group.”