Inadequate infrastructure hampers Food Safety Department

Even as Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department launched a drive in the city prior to Deepavali to ascertain the quality of sweets sold for the festival season, they were unable to proceed beyond the preliminary levels.

All that the officials could do was check if the sweets were branded properly. They were unable to determine if the products were safe for consumption owing to infrastructural deficiencies.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department said that microbiological tests, done to check for growth of disease-causing bacteria in food samples, was not being performed at the Government Food Analysis Laboratory here due to lack of the necessary materials, such as testing material.

Chemical testing

Only chemical testing, done to determine the type of ingredients in foods, was performed on the samples of sweets taken ahead of Deepavali this year along with inspection of labelling. But, this is not enough to completely prove that the food was safe for consumption.

Coimbatore has one of the six food analysis laboratories in Tamil Nadu that are approved under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The microbiological tests were vital to detect growth of salmonella, a bacterium which can cause food poisoning or E.coli bacteria, which can cause acute diarrhoea.

‘Misbranded’

According to the sources, Food Safety Officers had taken samples from 25 small and major sweets outlets across the urban and rural areas of Coimbatore four days before Deepavali when the festival demand was at its peak.

The laboratory had found a majority of the samples to be ‘misbranded’ while some were classified as ‘misbranded and unsafe’ for consumption.

Very few samples were found to have conformed to all norms.

When contacted, R. Kathiravan, Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing), told The Hindu that the problem had been conveyed to their headquarters and the requisite infrastructure would be put in place at the earliest.

The post of microbiologist at Government Food Analysis Laboratory here, which was lying vacant for the past four years, was filled up only three months ago.

The laboratory would soon begin functioning fully, he added.

Colouring

A majority of the samples taken were found to be fit for consumption with only a few having excess content of colouring material. However, as most sweets were sold over the counter, very few had the required packaging material and hence were declared ‘misbranded.’

The results of this year’s testing would be used as the basis for future safety campaigns. Similar testing would now be done ahead of all festival seasons, Dr. Kathiravan said.

The other approved food analysis laboratories in Tamil Nadu are in Chennai, Salem, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Madurai.