Sugandha Garway, director, Anacon Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Nagpur, has
been appointed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) – the country's apex food regulator – as one of the members of
the food standards harmonisation and development panel. Her role
includes drafting food safety standards and submitting it to FSSAI by
July 31, 2013.
She has been working in the field of food standards for ten years. She said, “It is good to be selected and be a part of the national panel for food safety standards, which is awaiting the assessment and approval of the higher authorities (which are mandatory for it to be implemented as an Act). This is matter of pride for me."
Garway, who holds a doctorate in chemical engineering, has a number of years of experience in the field of food safety. She would focus on drafting food safety standards for the non-alcoholic beverage segment, which includes water-based beverages (such as milk, flavoured milk, juices, sports drinks, carbonated drinks, etc.) and powder-based drinks (such as milk powder, juice, energy powder, etc.) The points drafted would mainly concentrate on three basic aspects of safety standards – hygiene, contamination and adulteration of products. The safety draft made are for each step of the process, from farm to fork (i.e. from raw material to finished product). According to Garway, efforts have been made for the formulation of standards that would match the international standard set by CODEX.
She said, “The most important thing is the implementation of these acts, in which consumers play an important role. It is consumers who should be aware of this malpractices and should be able to detect any flaws in the product.” Giving an example, she added that the half-litre milk pouch consumed in most households offers a great deal of scope for adulteration and contamination.
Usually, the person opens the disposal pouch by diagonally cutting one of its ends. This pack is recycled and resold in the market. Thus, the consumer should also be aware of such malpractices happening. Commenting on the current safety regulations, Garway said India has standards which are not concise in form and are scattered.
There are laws, but it is not necessarily implemented, because consumers and manufacturers still give money a higher priority. So, she believes that the implementation of the revised Act, which is based on safety standards for contamination, microbial activity and adulteration, will make major change to beverage industry.
She has been working in the field of food standards for ten years. She said, “It is good to be selected and be a part of the national panel for food safety standards, which is awaiting the assessment and approval of the higher authorities (which are mandatory for it to be implemented as an Act). This is matter of pride for me."
Garway, who holds a doctorate in chemical engineering, has a number of years of experience in the field of food safety. She would focus on drafting food safety standards for the non-alcoholic beverage segment, which includes water-based beverages (such as milk, flavoured milk, juices, sports drinks, carbonated drinks, etc.) and powder-based drinks (such as milk powder, juice, energy powder, etc.) The points drafted would mainly concentrate on three basic aspects of safety standards – hygiene, contamination and adulteration of products. The safety draft made are for each step of the process, from farm to fork (i.e. from raw material to finished product). According to Garway, efforts have been made for the formulation of standards that would match the international standard set by CODEX.
She said, “The most important thing is the implementation of these acts, in which consumers play an important role. It is consumers who should be aware of this malpractices and should be able to detect any flaws in the product.” Giving an example, she added that the half-litre milk pouch consumed in most households offers a great deal of scope for adulteration and contamination.
Usually, the person opens the disposal pouch by diagonally cutting one of its ends. This pack is recycled and resold in the market. Thus, the consumer should also be aware of such malpractices happening. Commenting on the current safety regulations, Garway said India has standards which are not concise in form and are scattered.
There are laws, but it is not necessarily implemented, because consumers and manufacturers still give money a higher priority. So, she believes that the implementation of the revised Act, which is based on safety standards for contamination, microbial activity and adulteration, will make major change to beverage industry.
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