FDA sees red after eatery adds colour to chicken lollypop

A Byculla eatery recently had to cough up a penalty of Rs. 50,000 to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for using colour in its chicken lollypop.

According to the FDA officials, this is the first time an eatery in the city had to pay such a big amount under the new Food Safety and Standards Authority Act of India (FSSAI) for using colour additives to food items.

Before the enactment of the FSSAI, such cases of food adulteration were sent to the courts. FDA officials had to press charges against the eatery and wait for the judicial outcome.

But under the new act, officials can directly impose a fine on eateries. “We had collected a sample of the food and sent it for laboratory examination, which proved the presence of colouring agents,” said an FDA official.

Rakesh Shetty, owner of the penalised Renault restaurant and bar at Byculla, said: “We were unaware that colour can’t be allowed. Now we have switched to natural colours.”

According to FSSAI, most food items cannot be cooked in colours. “Only a few items such as cakes, ice creams and sweets can be prepared using colouring agents. There are prescribed limits for these too,” said Suresh Deshmukh, assistant commissioner (food), FDA.

“Edible food colour if used in wrong quantities and in food that is cooked at high temperatures can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Many eateries, tend to add colouring agents to enhance the appearance of a dish,” said Kamlesh Barot, immediate past president, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI).

“Owners and chefs, who do not have technical education, tend to indulge in this as they are not aware that it is illegal to use food colours,” he added

The FHRAI is now planning to conduct workshops to create awareness among restaurant owners about the act and discourage use of colouring agents.

Ice-makers plan lockdown as 4 more asked to shut shop

Even as the Kerala State Ice Manufacturers’ Association has called for an indefinite lockdown of ice plants from May 2 to protest the forced closure of several units by the Food Safety authorities, the Ernakulam district food safety officer on Tuesday ordered closure of four more.
Three ice plants at Pallippuram and one at Njarackal, which supplied ice blocks mainly to fishing boats, were ordered to be closed by the food safety officer, K. Ajith Kumar, on Tuesday. So far, ten ice plants catering to the fishing industry have been ordered shut.
Mr. Ajith Kumar told The Hindu that samples collected from these plants had traces of formalin and ammonium. The plants were shut down by invoking the emergency prohibition powers under the Food Safety and Standards Act, he said. Samples from 24 ice plants had been collected and so far lab results of ten were received. All of them tested positive for formalin and ammonium.
The ice manufacturers’ association, representing 460 ice plants across the State, has announced a lockdown from May 2 to protest what they call the ‘illegal and dictatorial’ closure of their plants. General secretary of the association K. Uthaman told The Hindu that nearly 20 ice plants in the State had been shut down. Of these, ten were in Ernakulam district, home to the largest number of ice plants in the State —roughly 100.
Mr. Uthaman denied that formalin was being used by ice-makers. He claimed that the ice made by the association members was not a ‘food item’ but an industrial product used as a preservative by the fishing industry. “We are selling our ice to the sea-going fishing boats and not to the fruit juice shops or bars,” Mr. Uthaman said. “If anybody is using our ice for a purpose other than as a preservative, it is not our fault.”
Mr. Ajith Kumar, rubbishing the association claim, said the harmful chemicals used in the ice to increase the shelf life of fish naturally got into the fish flesh and passed on to humans who ate it.
Use of formalin and ammonium in ice was illegal, he said.

TNFS Dept News - Sivaganga District