GNDU girls hostel in a ‘mess’

Algae infested cucumber, flour meant for chapattis covered with dirty cloth, cooked dal kept in unhygienic conditions alongside utensils lying for cleaning, cooks without any headgear or gloves, stinking vegetables in the refrigerators and inadequate and dirty water supplied from a tank without being purified.

Welcome to the girls hostel to the premier Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar.
In what raises serious question marks over the functioning of girls hostel at GNDU, Assistant Commissioner, Grievances, Amritsar, Lovejeet Kalsi observed the listed irregularities in the mess section of two blocks she inspected in the Mata Nanki Girls Hostel.
Overflowing and stinking dustbins added to the list among other things.
The inspection came after Amritsar Deputy Commissioner was sent an e-mail by the girl students about the prevailing sorry scenario in the hostel.
"The complaint was marked to me on Wednesday. And today I conducted a raid along with officers from the departments of food, safety and public health," Lovejeet said.
"Algae covered cucumbers meant to be served in lunch in salad to the students, rotten vegetables...everything was unhygienic," she added.
"They had fixed an RO plant near the water cooler. But, when we inspected in detail, the water was coming directly from the water tank without any purification. The RO system, apparently not working, was there just for show. Also, one water cooler is not enough for more than 400 girls who live on four floors in that particular hostel block," Lovejeet said.
"There was also this complaint that washrooms were dirty," Lovejeet added.
She said a number of samples had been taken and will be sent for testing and report expected in a fortnight's time.
Lovejeet also said that a hostel warden and Dean Student Welfare gave contrasting statements about a proposal sent for getting another water cooler for Block A. "While hostel warden said the proposal has been sent, Dean Student Welfare maintained that no formal proposal was in place so far," she said.
Lovejeet said administration would wait till the reports of samples come to initiate action in the case.

Algae infested cucumber, flour meant for chapattis covered with dirty cloth, cooked dal kept in unhygienic conditions alongside utensils lying for cleaning, cooks without any headgear or gloves, stinking vegetables in the refrigerators and inadequate and dirty water supplied from a tank without being purified. Welcome to the girls hostel to the premier Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar.
In what raises serious question marks over the functioning of girls hostel at GNDU, Assistant Commissioner, Grievances, Amritsar, Lovejeet Kalsi observed the listed irregularities in the mess section of two blocks she inspected in the Mata Nanki Girls Hostel.
Overflowing and stinking dustbins added to the list among other things.
The inspection came after Amritsar Deputy Commissioner was sent an e-mail by the girl students about the prevailing sorry scenario in the hostel.
"The complaint was marked to me on Wednesday. And today I conducted a raid along with officers from the departments of food, safety and public health," Lovejeet said.
"Algae covered cucumbers meant to be served in lunch in salad to the students, rotten vegetables...everything was unhygienic," she added.
"They had fixed an RO plant near the water cooler. But, when we inspected in detail, the water was coming directly from the water tank without any purification. The RO system, apparently not working, was there just for show. Also, one water cooler is not enough for more than 400 girls who live on four floors in that particular hostel block," Lovejeet said.
"There was also this complaint that washrooms were dirty," Lovejeet added.
She said a number of samples had been taken and will be sent for testing and report expected in a fortnight's time.
Lovejeet also said that a hostel warden and Dean Student Welfare gave contrasting statements about a proposal sent for getting another water cooler for Block A. "While hostel warden said the proposal has been sent, Dean Student Welfare maintained that no formal proposal was in place so far," she said.
Lovejeet said administration would wait till the reports of samples come to initiate action in the case.
- See more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gndu-girls-hostel-in-a--mess-/1120406/0#sthash.9XQuHmEc.dpuf

Algae infested cucumber, flour meant for chapattis covered with dirty cloth, cooked dal kept in unhygienic conditions alongside utensils lying for cleaning, cooks without any headgear or gloves, stinking vegetables in the refrigerators and inadequate and dirty water supplied from a tank without being purified. Welcome to the girls hostel to the premier Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar.
In what raises serious question marks over the functioning of girls hostel at GNDU, Assistant Commissioner, Grievances, Amritsar, Lovejeet Kalsi observed the listed irregularities in the mess section of two blocks she inspected in the Mata Nanki Girls Hostel.
Overflowing and stinking dustbins added to the list among other things.
The inspection came after Amritsar Deputy Commissioner was sent an e-mail by the girl students about the prevailing sorry scenario in the hostel.
"The complaint was marked to me on Wednesday. And today I conducted a raid along with officers from the departments of food, safety and public health," Lovejeet said.
"Algae covered cucumbers meant to be served in lunch in salad to the students, rotten vegetables...everything was unhygienic," she added.
"They had fixed an RO plant near the water cooler. But, when we inspected in detail, the water was coming directly from the water tank without any purification. The RO system, apparently not working, was there just for show. Also, one water cooler is not enough for more than 400 girls who live on four floors in that particular hostel block," Lovejeet said.
"There was also this complaint that washrooms were dirty," Lovejeet added.
She said a number of samples had been taken and will be sent for testing and report expected in a fortnight's time.
Lovejeet also said that a hostel warden and Dean Student Welfare gave contrasting statements about a proposal sent for getting another water cooler for Block A. "While hostel warden said the proposal has been sent, Dean Student Welfare maintained that no formal proposal was in place so far," she said.
Lovejeet said administration would wait till the reports of samples come to initiate action in the case.
- See more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gndu-girls-hostel-in-a--mess-/1120406/0#sthash.9XQuHmEc.dpuf

How Srikumar Misra's Milk Mantra fights adulteration menace

Milk the staple in the Indian diet has been in news mostly for adulteration and lack of hygiene during packaging. Srikumar Misra, 36 year old is working to change that in the name of Milky Moo brand.
Milk the staple in the Indian diet has been in news mostly for adulteration and lack of hygiene during packaging. According to a national survey in 2011 by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), 70 percent of the samples collected did not meet the required standards of food safety.
Srikumar Misra, 36 year old is working to change that. His venture Milk Mantra launched in 2009 is a consumer dairy foods venture that sells ready to drink milk under the Milky Moo brand. Srikumar claims his USP is the unique packaging format that makes the milk truly pure without the need for boiling. Milk Mantra has grossed revenues of Rs 18 crore.
From developing a strong dairy supply chain in rural Orissa to ethical sourcing from farmers and innovative packaging, Milk Mantra is attempting to give the dairy industry a makeover. Launched in 2009 by Srikumar Misra Milk Mantra collects milk from more than 10,000 enrolled dairy farmers across 300 villages in state through its 175 milk collection points. The milk collected is chilled in bulk coolers and then taken to Milk Mantra’s plant in Puri.
On one end it works closely with rural dairy farmers, their needs and the quality of their products and on the other it has innovated on the packaging format for an urban population in eastern India.
Built in collaboration with global processing and packaging technology experts, Tetra pack, Multivac and DeLaval, the Milk Mantra plant offers ready to drink packaged milk under the Milk Moo label. With a capacity to process 75000 liters of milk daily, the venture currently supplies to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and five other cities in Orissa.
Srikumar Misra believes that it is a first of its kind packaging innovation in India.  He explained that it is a three layer technology which prevents light exposure damage to milk and that is where it can credibly stand behind the whole proposition of being truly pure and no need to boil. “Consumers can take this fresh milk and just open it and have it from the packet straight. These are the differentiations and innovation in the packaging and product that we bring in consistently”, he said.
Not just milk, Srikumar has brought similar consistency to Milk Moo’s non frozen paneer that was launched in middle of 2012. With a shelve life of up to 21 days, Srikumar claims that it is not just the innovative packaging but also proper storage that helps retain the purity of this product. While setting up, raising capital and acquiring land were initial challenges, Srikumar tells us his current operational challenge is setting up cold chain infrastructure and educating retailers.
Srikumar feels that lack of cold chain that exists in the market is obviously telling. So he has to invest across the entire cold chain in terms of sales and distribution to reach the last pile. He finds it challenging. So, the company has to educate channel partners, retailers and everyone because this is a fresh dairy produce and it needs to be kept properly.
One of India's first agriculture food business start-ups to have raised venture capital, Milk Mantra has already racked in investments worth USD 5 million from angel investors in India and the UK. A major share came in from venture capital firm Aavishkaar, which has recently closed a second round of funding. Much of this investment Srikumar claims has gone into getting the plant up and running. The company is also looking to diversify its product portfolio and has recently entered the pro-biotic yogurt segment.
Srikumar has plans of developing this dairy based health drink with functional ingredients. “That is something which we have been looking at clearly developing in the next 18 months and then launching this product in major metros or other markets across India,” he said.
With an eye on getting the pricing right, Srikumar has a mark up of 10-20 percent over the prices offered by the state cooperative. He seems to be playing the right strokes with a brand generating Rs 3 crore a month. Betting high on the USD 40 billion dairy industry of which just USD 5 billion is currently organised, Srikumar is looking to increase his reach by partnering with more retailers in Orissa.

POLICY NOTE OF H&FW DEPT., TAMIL NADU

Shops sell adulterated tea

SALEM, May 25., 2013-

Original tea powder dissolved in water (left)and water mixed with the fabric-dye tea powder (right)

Be cautious! The tea you consume from a few shops here may increase the risk of cancer in you as fabric dye is mixed with tea powder to give colour.
This was found when the health officials inspected tea shops and recovered the adulterated tea powder. “As per the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, the colour in parts per million (PPM) should be 10 ppm in dry tea dusts, but the adulterated pack contains 1,950 ppm which is very dangerous to health,” T. Anuradha, District Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, told The Hindu .
She added that just to give colour to the tea content these were widely mixed with tea powder and served to customers. “Consumers are used to ginger tea and lemon tea. Now in order to attract customers, they add the chemical substance to the tea and provide colour tea,” Ms. Anuradha added.
The officials said that after inspections were carried out in shops and adulterated tea dust were found, the traders started to adopt this new strategy.
The officials said that consumers could differentiate between good tea and the adulterated one. They said that normal tea dust changed its colour only in hot water while the fabric dye-mixed tea dust changes colour in cold water.

Water samples from closed units tested for quality

CHENNAI, May 25, 2013
For the past few days, microbiologists of the State government’s food analysis laboratory have been working round-the-clock, testing packaged drinking water samples.
The National Green Tribunal’s Southern Bench has given the laboratory time until Monday, to test samples taken by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) from 92 packaged drinking water units in and around the city.
These units were shut down 10 days ago, after TNPCB found they did not possess the required licences to operate.
The Bench took up a case about the quality of the water packaged at these units, following a report in The Hindu .
According to sources in TNPCB, around 80 samples have been given to the laboratory so far.
The samples are being tested for 30 chemical and microbiological parameters, which include the colour of the water, as well as content of nitrates, fluorides, zinc, sulphates, cyanide, sodium, lead, iron, borates and heavy metals. An aerobic microbial count will also be done.
The mere presence of cyanide could kill a person, arsenic causes arsenic poison and fluoride can lead to arthritis and mottling of teeth, say doctors.
Doctors also said the presence of salmonella in water could cause typhoid; e-coli would lead to diarrhoea, vibrio cholerae could cause cholera, and shigella would result in blood diarrhoea. These are among the eight microbiological parameters that are being tested.
“Everybody in the office has been working overtime. We have created teams so that there is no break in the testing process. We are positive that the results will be ready before the deadline,” said a source at the lab.
R.P. Ilangho, chest specialist, Apollo Breathe Easy Clinic, said that apart from infecting the digestive system, streptococci could also lead to sore throats, viral fever and rheumatic heart disease.
According to S. Elango, former State director of public health, estimates show that the packaged drinking water industry in the State has an annual turnover of Rs. 2,000 crore. But nobody monitors the industry.
“Ultimately, it is the State’s responsibility to govern these units. The government should take immediate action and set up an authority to monitor the industry. Otherwise, the government should ensure that safe, potable drinking water is supplied through the water authority to meet every resident’s needs. One person requires 3-5 litres of water for cooking and drinking daily,” he said.
Chemical and microbiological content analysed; results to be given to Tribunal

Implementation of Food Safety Act - Appoint full fledged Commissioner Food Safety: HC

Govt asked to file report on infrastructure, manpower in food testing labs

SRINAGAR, May 24: Asked the government to appoint full-fledged commissioner food safety, the High Court today directed the authorities to file within two weeks, the status report on infrastructure and manpower available in food testing laboratories in the state.
A division bench of the High Court comprising of Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Husnain Masoodi that heard the matter, passed the directions. On April 6, the court had asked the Chief Secretary to constitute relevant committees who shall examine Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) suggestions with regard to slaughtering and sale of quality mutton to people in Kashmir.
In a slew of directions passed in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on implementation of Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 and Food Safety and Standard Rules, 2011, the Court had also arrayed commissioner secretary and director consumer affairs and public distribution as official respondents in the matter.
Not satisfied with the status report submitted by commissioner secretary health and medical education with regard to its various directions passed from time to time, the High Court had on April 4, asked him to file a better affidavit within three weeks indicating comprehensive proposal and explaining steps taken for strict implementation of the Food Safety Act.
On March 14, the High Court had asked the government about timeframe for finalisation of “comprehensive proposal” for making the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 (FSSA) “effective and visible on the ground.”
Earlier the Food Commissioner who is also secretary health and medical education department had submitted that a comprehensive proposal was under active consideration of the Government for the implementation of Food Safety Act, aimed to control the menace of the food adulteration in the state.
The court had asked the authorities to take samples on weekly basis from all factories and industrial units which manufacture and produce spices of all kinds. The court had also directed concerned authorities to show commitment and asked them to carry milk testing on weekly basis. “The concerned agency shall submit the report through district head wherein it shall be clearly indicated as to how many times in a week they have the milk as sold in the market and result of the tests shall also be indicated therein clearly,” the court had directed.
In his petition, Advocate Sheikh Mohammad Ayoub has submitted that adulterated milk, sub standard and misbranded food products are being sold in the market in Jammu and Kashmir without any check. “Almost all spices and edible items from A to Z sold in the market are unsafe for human consumption. In the entire state particularly in the valley the milk which is being sold in the market is 80 per cent adulterated, which has been certified by the Food safety and Standards Authority of India,” reads the PIL on Food Safety in J&K.
The petitioner has further pointed out in his petition that the designated officers or food safety officers have miserably failed to show any positive development from the date Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Food Safety and Standards Rules 2011, came into force by checking and taking the samples from the market, to impose the penalty or launch prosecution as per Food Safety Act. “There is no responsibility or accountability to the so called designated officers or food safety officers particularly in the twin cities of the state,” reads the PIL on Food Safety in J&K.

Food Adulteration: HC seeks status on infrastructure, manpower of test lab

Asks Govt to consider giving independent charge to Commissioner

Srinagar: The J&K High Court has sought within four weeks a detailed status report regarding infrastructure, machinery and manpower in food testing Laboratory Srinagar to examine adulteration in food items.
The directions were passed by a division bench of Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Hasnain Massodi while hearing a Public Interest Litigation seeking complete implementation of Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 (FSSA).
The directions by the bench followed perusal of a compliance report filed by the state government and submissions made by the counsel for the petitioners.
The bench found “no whisper” with regard to infrastructure and the technical persons to man posts in the laboratory in the compliance report. 
In their submission counsel representing the petitioner pointed out that sampling of food articles would be totally useless without a functional laboratory equipped with latest instruments to carry the tests to detect food adulteration by adopting latest techniques. 
“The steps taken to implement the (FSSA) are purely ornamental and superficial and would not impact and change the ground reality in wake of the virtually defunct laboratory,” they submitted.
They also draw the attention of the court to a letter written by Food Analyst (on January 09) to Commissioner Food Safety, Jammu and Kashmir, that food testing laboratory Srinagar may kindly be provided the service of technical staff and latest equipment at the earliest so that the analysis of the food articles can be carried out properly within prescribed time limit of 14 days.
In the compliance report, the government had submitted that two posts of Deputy Commissioner, four posts of Assistant Food Analyst, four posts of Laboratory Technician, two Assistant Food Analyst have been created and the process to fulfil up these posts is to be initiated immediately after issuance of recruitment rules either in the shape of SRO or by virtue of executive order.
To this, the court said that government can proceed to fulfil some posts according to the qualification provided in the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011, which are applicable to the state.
 The court also directed the government to consider giving independent charge of the post of Commissioner (under FSSA) so that he may prove effective in discharge of his duties rather than giving additional charge to an officer already occupied with various other functions.
The Court has already directed government to take all necessary steps by providing all basic ‘paraphernalia’ for making the provisions of the FSSA “effective and visible on the ground.”
While senior Additional Advocate General J A Kawoosa, and S A Makroo appeared for respondents in the case, the petitioner, Advocate Sheikh Ayoub appeared in person along with advocate T H Khawaja.

High Court pulls up govt on infrastructure facilities - Food testing labs in JK

Srinagar, May 24: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday directed the government to file within four weeks status report with regard to infrastructure including machinery and manpower of Food testing Laboratories in the state.
A division bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey after going through the latest status report directed the government to file report on infrastructure and manpower of the laboratories.
The court said there is not even a whisper with regard to infrastructure like the testing laboratories and the technical persons to man these laboratories.  In its compliance report submitted before the court, the  government has stated that 2 posts of deputy Commissioners, 4 posts of Assistant Food Analysts, 2 posts of Storekeepers and 12 posts of Junior Assistants have been created and the process to fill up these posts will be initiated after the recruitment rules are issued.
The court underscored the petitioners plea pointing out that sampling would be totally useless a functional laboratory equipped with latest instruments is in place to carry out tests for adulteration by latest techniques.
The petitioner also said that the steps taken by the government to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act in J&K are purely ornamental and superficial and would not change the ground reality.
 The Court also referred to the communication of the Food Analyst of January 9, 2013 to Commissioner Food Safety, Jammu and Kashmir stating that the Food Testing Laboratory Srinagar may be provided the Technical staff at an earliest so that the analysis of food articles can be carried out within 14 days.
The court directed the respondents to consider independent charge of the post of Commissioner Food Safety J&K so that he may prove effective in discharge of his duties.
The petitioners were represented by advocates S M Ayub and T H Khawaja while SAAG, J A Kawoosa AAG, and Standing counsel SMC, Firdous Ahmad Mir defended the state.

Risking 35,000 students' health, zero hygiene

Tucked away in one of the many non-descript, dusty bylanes of Sherpur, there are about 20 persons who cook food for 35,000 government school students in the district every morning. To ensure the food is supplied in time, the workers begin as early as 4am. However, the conditions here are deplorable - unsanitary conditions risk students, who will eat this food later in the day, to several diseases.
To begin with, the cooks don't follow any of the guidelines issued by the health department to ensure the food is contamination-free. The contractor has been directed to ensure workers remove their shoes before entering the kitchen and use another pair of shoes, but to no avail.
Most of the workers also do not wear the compulsory gloves and caps. For hygienic cooking, the deputy commissioner had directed that three teachers and a medical officer - selected on a rotational basis - would visit the centralised kitchen. But still the kitchen, with its damp walls, moist air and defunct fire extinguishers, best describes all that is wrong with mid-day meals.
Even the water used to cook the food is not filtered, though the health department had issued guidelines to the contractor to install a water purifier in March this year.
Kitchen untraceableWhen the HT team visited the centralised mid-day meal kitchen on Friday morning, none of the four government officials - three teachers and a health department officer - deputed to oversee operations were there on the spot. 
While the HT team had reached the spot at 6am, two teachers came to the kitchen at 6.15 am. Asked how they got late, the teachers said they found it difficult to trace the kitchen as there were no directions, nor was there a board outside the kitchen.
The three teachers who visit the kitchen on a rotational basis have to taste the food before it is sent to government schools. The third teacher from government school, Birmi, reached the centralised kitchen late. She, too, found it difficult to find the kitchen.
While the three schoolteachers were there, the medical officer could not be seen on the spot till the time the HT team was there till 6.45am. A worker, who did not wish to be named, said, “Medical officers usually visit the kitchen at 5 am as we start cooking the food at 4 am. But no medical officer has visited the kitchen till 7 am today. May be she was not able to locate the kitchen.”
However, when contacted, Surinder Kaur, the medical officer of the health department who had to visit the kitchen, said she had reached the mid-day meal kitchen at 6am and left at 8.30 am. “Daal, roti and rice were cooked. I have submitted the report to the civil surgeon,” she said.
COOKING ON A TIMEBOMB While the food cooked at the centralised mid-day meal kitchen continues to risk the lives of students, its building, too, reflects on the government's attitude towards the safety of its workers.
Damp walls and fire-fighting equipment that have passed the expiry date are the order of the day at the centralised kitchen. Exposed live wires add to the two-floor structure that houses the kitchen.
Sanjay Dhawan, the kitchen contractor, said he was aware that there was dampness in the building and the water purifier had not been installed. “Cooks do not remove their shoes outside the kitchen, so in March we received guidelines from the health department. We are trying our best to implement them. Further, we don't get even a single holiday in a week. So, from June 1, we will start with the repair work and work on all the discrepancies.,” he said. “We will install the water purifier as soon as possible.”
Additional deputy commissioner (development) Rishi Pal Singh said they would take the corrective steps if anybody was found negligent in carrying his or her If the food found unfit for consumption, we will take the steps required.”
The machine meant to cook rotis also breaks down often after making 20,000 chapattis. The kitchen has to make 80,000 rotis, but workers end up cooking rice, instead of chapattis.
Teachers unwilling for kitchen duty Though Government Senior Secondary School, Hambran, prepares the mid-day meal on its premises, teachers of the school are deputed on duty at the centralised kitchen at Sherpur, which is 25 km from Hambran. Teachers have to check the food by tasting it and, after dispatching the food from the kitchen, they have to wait in the kitchen only for the return receipts from the schools. After that they have to submit a report to the district education officer (elementary).  They say their work at school suffers as, when on duty, they end up missing work.
Kitchen situated near littering siteThe centralised kitchen neighbours a site used for dumping garbage, which best reflects the conditions in which the food is cooked. The road to the kitchen, too, is in bad shape. There is no signboard to locate the centralised kitchen
The mid-day meal connectTo increase enrolment, retention and to hone the learning abilities of beneficiaries, especially children belonging to poor and downtrodden sections of society, the mid-day meal scheme was started following a landmark ruling by the supremem court in November 2001. The centralised kitchen concept was adopted on November 16, 2012

Unhygienic mess of GNDU's girls' hostel

District administration has directed the authorities of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) to pay serious attention in providing hygienic food to hostel students.

AMRITSAR: District administration has directed the authorities of Guru NanakDev University (GNDU) to pay serious attention in providing hygienic food to hostel students after finding gross irregularities and insanitation in Mata Nanaki Girls Hostel of GNDU, during a surprise check on Friday.

The raid was conducted following a complaint of poor and unhygienic food served in the hostel by girl students through an email to deputy commissioner Rajat Aggarwal. Assistant commissioner, complaints, Lavjeet Kaur along with sanitary inspector Gobind Mehta, food safety inspector Ashwani Kumar, SDO public health Bhupinderpal Singh inspected the mess and hostel number 1 and 2 of Mata Nanaki Girls Hostel and found various discrepancies with regard to hygiene conditions in the hostels.

Kaur informed that the team took 5 samples of vegetables, drinking water etc, the report of which would be available in 15 to 20 days time. She said that in the mess of hostel number 1, the team found cooks without gloves or uniform, the vegetables were not cleaned, stale vegetables were found from the fridge, there was no RO, no sanitation and heaps of debris was lying around. Similarly, she informed that in mess of hostel number 2, fungus was found on cucumbers used for salad for serving to girls which were destroyed at the same place.

She informed that the dean students welfare of GNDU PK Sahizpal was told about the insanitation in the girls hostel. As many as 450 and 665 girl students live in hostel number 1 and 2 respectively. She said that the hostel staff was not able to give any satisfactory reply about unhygienic conditions in the hostel.

Kellogg India investigating possible bug contamination

Cereal Maker Says It’s Confident Problem With ‘Nut Delight’ Is Isolated  

Chennai/Mumbai: MNC breakfast cereal maker Kellogg India is investigating a possible bug contamination in a particular variant of its muesli range, something which routinely impacts processed food products worth several billions of dollars in the country.
    According to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the issue came to light following a complaint from a Mumbai-based MNC investment broking firm which served the cereal at their staff canteen for breakfast.
    When contacted by TOI, the company confirmed the complaint and said an investigation was in progress. “We received a few complaints indicating that one particular variant of muesli (Nut Delight) did not meet our strict quality requirements,” said a statement from the company’s official spokesperson. “As part of the standard global complaint handling procedure at the company, we checked our control samples and they were found to conform to our stringent quality parameters. We are confident that this quality concern is isolated, and we are investigating all potential causes including investigating the distribution chain. As part of this process, we have collected samples from across the supply chain,” the statement added.
    “As a responsible organization, we try and understand the root cause of all consumer complaints, irrespective of the source of such complaints whether in the supply chain or inappropriate storage in consumer homes, so that we can take adequate remedial measures to correct or educate,” the statement said. “At Kellogg India, quality of our foods is our number one priority and we will continue to work closely with all our partners to uphold our strict quality standards,” the statement further added.
    Bug contamination isn’t new in India’s fast-growing packaged food market which, experts say, is set to touch $30 billion by 2015. According to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Assocham), the industry will double itself in the next two-three years from $15 billion in 2012 on the back of a healthy 15-20% growth rate annually.
    Ten years ago, Cadbury India faced a similar problem of a few instances of worm contamination in its Dairy Milk chocolate bars and the company used a big ticket celebrity endorser — Amitabh Bachchan — and a high-decibel campaign for a new, improved packaging to drive home the point that it had investigated the issue and taken corrective measures. On occasions, contamination has also been found in soft drink bottles.
    In February this year, Kellogg had a US recall when it took back 36,000 boxes of its Special K Red Berries cereal for possible glass fragments. This is the first time that Kellogg has received complaints of this nature in India, say sources.