With Onam – Kerala's harvestfestival – round the corner, Biju
Prabhakar, the southern state's food safetycommissioner issued a notice
to the food safety officers (FSOs) of all itsdistricts, instructing them
to form squads and conduct raids on the premises offood business
operators (FBOs) to check the quality of the wheat, rice, sugar,jaggery,
spices, cardamom, ghee, fruit and vegetables used by them to preparethe
festive delicacies.
Confirming the development, K Anil Kumar, Kerala's joint food commissioner,said, “The process of collecting the samples of these items has already begun.The samples have been sent to the regional analytical laboratory in Kakkanad(in Kochi), but owing to the inadequacy of infrastructure at the facility, wehave also sent the samples to laboratories accredited by the government fortesting.
Testing procedure
The procedure for sending thesamples for testing is compliant with the prescribed format. Since they are sentto more than one facility, the FSOs collect twice the quantity prescribed inthe Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011, and send both samples foranalysis. Upon dividing the same into two, the analyst then sends one pack tothe government-accredited lab.
The food analysts ensure that theresults of the tests are declared in a time-bound manner, and if there is anunusual result, they bring it to the notice of the food safety commissioner immediately.He is also notified if there is a delay in obtaining the results for anyreason, be it the shortage of staff or inadequate equipment.
Sub-standard ghee
During a recent raid, Kumar saidKerala's food safety department collected the samples of A1 SKG Ghee andAmritham Pure Ghee, which are manufactured by Tripunithura and Muvattupuzha,companies based in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. He said, “They weresent to the laboratory for a test, and were found to be of a sub-standardquality. Prabhakar ordered a ban on them.”
“Any food business operator found stocking and/or selling the aforementionedbrands would either be imprisoned for upto six months or have to pay a fine ofupto Rs 2 lakh. Owing to the huge demand for these articles during Onam, foodsafety operators would be conducting routine checks and collecting the samplesuntil the end of the festival,” the state's joint food commissioner informed.
S Venkatesan, managing director, Sri Kannan and Company, a Tamil Nadu-basedfirm which manufactures A1 SKC ghee, said, “A1 SKG Ghee is a brand thatimitates ours. They claim to provide a better quality of ghee than ours inorder to compete with us, but in the process they offer a product of asub-standard quality. I am happy that Kerala's food safety department hasbanned their brand.”
Confirming the development, K Anil Kumar, Kerala's joint food commissioner,said, “The process of collecting the samples of these items has already begun.The samples have been sent to the regional analytical laboratory in Kakkanad(in Kochi), but owing to the inadequacy of infrastructure at the facility, wehave also sent the samples to laboratories accredited by the government fortesting.
Testing procedure
The procedure for sending thesamples for testing is compliant with the prescribed format. Since they are sentto more than one facility, the FSOs collect twice the quantity prescribed inthe Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011, and send both samples foranalysis. Upon dividing the same into two, the analyst then sends one pack tothe government-accredited lab.
The food analysts ensure that theresults of the tests are declared in a time-bound manner, and if there is anunusual result, they bring it to the notice of the food safety commissioner immediately.He is also notified if there is a delay in obtaining the results for anyreason, be it the shortage of staff or inadequate equipment.
Sub-standard ghee
During a recent raid, Kumar saidKerala's food safety department collected the samples of A1 SKG Ghee andAmritham Pure Ghee, which are manufactured by Tripunithura and Muvattupuzha,companies based in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. He said, “They weresent to the laboratory for a test, and were found to be of a sub-standardquality. Prabhakar ordered a ban on them.”
“Any food business operator found stocking and/or selling the aforementionedbrands would either be imprisoned for upto six months or have to pay a fine ofupto Rs 2 lakh. Owing to the huge demand for these articles during Onam, foodsafety operators would be conducting routine checks and collecting the samplesuntil the end of the festival,” the state's joint food commissioner informed.
S Venkatesan, managing director, Sri Kannan and Company, a Tamil Nadu-basedfirm which manufactures A1 SKC ghee, said, “A1 SKG Ghee is a brand thatimitates ours. They claim to provide a better quality of ghee than ours inorder to compete with us, but in the process they offer a product of asub-standard quality. I am happy that Kerala's food safety department hasbanned their brand.”
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