சேலம் மாநகரில் சாலையோரங்களில் இறைச்சி, மீன் விற்க தடை: மாநகராட்சி ஆணையாளர் அசோகன் உத்தரவு

சேலம் மாநகராட்சி ஆணையாளர் அசோகன் வெளியிட்டுள்ள செய்திக்குறிப்பில் கூறி இருப்பதாவது:–

சேலம் மாநகராட்சி பகுதியில் சாலை ஓரங்களில் பல்வேறு இடங்களில் ஆட்டு இறைச்சி கடைகள் செயல்படுகிறது. பொது மக்களுக்கு இடையூறாகவும், கடையில் விற்பனை செய்யப்படும் இறைச்சி சுகாதாரமின்றி உள்ளதாகவும் பொது மக்களிடமிருந்து புகார்கள் வந்தன.

இதனை கருத்தில் கொண்டு மாநகராட்சி சாலை ஒரங்களில் விடுமுறை நாட்களில் ஆட்டு இறைச்சி, மீன் போன்றவற்றை கடைகள் வைத்து விற்பனை செய்யக் கூடாது என்று அறிவுறுத்தப்படுகிறது. மாநகராட்சி எல்லைக்குள் எங்கும் சாலையோரங்களில் இறைச்சி, மீன் விற்பனை செய்வதை தவிர்த்து விட்டு அவர்கள் நிரந்தர கடைகளில் மட்டுமே விற்பனை செய்ய வேண்டும்.

மாநகராட்சி அலுவலர்கள் ஆய்வு செய்யும் போது சாலை ஒரங்களில் இறைச்சி, மீன் விற்பனை செய்வது கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டால் அந்த கடைகள் மாநகராட்சி வாகனங்கள் மூலம் அகற்றப்பட்டு சட்டப்பூர்வமான நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளப்படும்.

இவ்வாறு அதில் அவர் கூறி உள்ளார்.

'Erect bhattis for haleem at safe spots'

HYDERABAD: The health and sanitation wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
(GHMC) held a meeting with renowned haleem makers from the city to discuss issues pertaining to maintaining safety and health standards in the ensuing month of Ramzan.
The meeting was held in the wake of Monday's tragic incident in which the City Light Hotel in Secunderabad collapsed killing 17 people. The GHMC officials instructed haleem makers to erect bhattis at safe places without causing any hindrance to pedestrians or the public in general.
Haleem makers were asked to procure meat from notified slaughterhouses and also buy good quality ingredients.
GHMC officials were instructed to periodically take haleem samples from restaurants and haleem outlets from across the city and check if adequate hygiene standards were being maintained.
Similar tabs would also be kept on traders to ensure compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. Failure to comply with health and safety standards would invite necessary action, officials said.

GHMC directives on quality and hygienic Haleem during Ramzan 2013

Hyderabad, July 9, 2013: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Tuesday issued directions to Haleem makers to provide good quality and hygienic Haleem during the month of Ramzan festival.
In a meeting attended by leading Haleem makers, the GHMC officials instructed the Haleem preparatory traders to purchase the meat from the notified slaughter house only and the spices and ingredients shall be used of good quality. The Battis shall be erected on safe places, which shall not create any nuisance to the pedestrians or the public.
The Food Safety Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers, Veterinary Officials and Asst. Medical Officers of Health were instructed to be vigilant during the entire month of Ramzan and to check the qualities being maintained by the traders in preparation of Haleem. They shall lift the samples to check the hygiene and for following the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006 norms. All the Haleem preparatory traders shall follow the above instructions without fail, failing which necessary action will be initiated.
The Haleem preparatory traders were also felt happy with this meeting and promised to maintain the hygiene and providing of quality Haleem to the customers.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of Pista House, Cafe Bahar, Hotel Sarvi, Paradise, Bawarchi, Astoria, Kabab Inn and others.

SHGs cooking midday meals without licence to face action

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will take action against the self-help groups (SHGs) which do not have licence from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide midday meals in schools run by the civic body.
"We have come to know that some groups have not followed the procedure before starting the mid-day meal schemes in schools. The civic body will serve show-cause notices to them and action will be taken accordingly," said Shivaji Daundkar, education officer of the PMC, on Tuesday.
The PMC officials said that 14 SHGs are engaged in preparing food under the scheme, which was initiated by the state government in 2007 for students from std I to VIII.
As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, these groups are required to register themselves and seek licences from the FDA, which checks various factors such as hygiene, material used for cooking and quality before giving its consent.
More than 150 women from various SHGs prepare food under the scheme daily, which is served to 31,000 students in schools run by the civic body.
A proposal by the civic body to extend the scheme to nursery school students was approved by the standing committee in 2008.
The PMC runs nearly 300 nursery schools with more than 12,000 students from weaker sections of the society enrolled.
In the past, experts and activists have always questioned the quality of food served to the students.
Last year, 78 students of municipal primary school number 5, located at Janata Vasahat in Parvati, suffered from food poisoning after they ate stale food served under the midday meal scheme.
Their condition stablised after undergoing treatment 0at three private hospitals.

Ban on guthka a huge government joke!

GUWAHATI, July 9: Amar Gohain (name changed) continues to enjoy his regular dose of gutkha. The supply is done by a friendly shopkeeper in his neighbourhood.
Strange, is it not? Well, the State Government had banned gutkha and other forms of smokeless tobacco on March 8 this year with immediate effect.
Now, gutkha, as such, is not available in the markets of the State, but practically, a consumer is enjoying his daily dose of gutkha in the forms of pan masala and zarda which are separately available in the markets of the State.
Some tobacco companies are making mockery of the government’s directives and have started packaging and marketing their products separately as the tobacco–less pan masala variety of their popular brands like Sikhar Pan Masala, Sikhar Zarda (tobacco), Rajanigandha (pan masala) and Tusli (zarda).
Ironically, the law–enforcing agencies are saying that the order to ban gutkha was issued under the clauses of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, but the Act only allows a ban of gutkha and not on non–smoking tobacco products like zarda.
Taking advantage of the Act’s loopholes, gutkha companies are continuing their business in the State and selling their popular brands by making some adjustments.
The Commissioner of Food Safety, Assam, Marmee Hagjer Barman, on March 8 last, had prohibited selling of gutkha by whatever name and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients by whatsoever name it is available in the market under Clause (a) of Sub–Section 2 of Section 30 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 in the interest of public health.
Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction of Sales) Regulations, 2011 made by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India prohibits articles of food in which tobacco and nicotine are used as ingredients, as they are injurious to health.
State Nodal Officer of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) Dr Arundhati Deka told The Sentinel that the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 had some serious loopholes due to which the law–enforcing agencies were finding it difficult to eradicate health hazards arising out of gutkha consumption.
“There are some technical problems in the State Government’s March 8 order. After the order has been passed, gutkha packets which contain both pan masala and zarda in the same pack vanished from the market, but practically they remained in the market, as the companies introduced separate packs of pan masala and zarda. The Public Health Engineering (PHE) technicians, after testing the present samples of pan masala available in the market, found tobacco in it. As the Act does not have any provisions to ban zarda available in the market, the end result remained the same and gutkha can be easily found in the market,” Dr Deka explained.
Dr Deka also informed this reporter that in the recent review meeting of the NTCP, they had suggested that adequate pressure should be generated on the government to amend the Food Safety Act. She also said that the government might soon make some amendments into the Act to help eradicate health hazards arising out of gutkha consumption.
According to a survey, 3.20 lakh packets of tobacco products, including cigarettes and gutkha, are sold every day in the State. Assam earns close to Rs 7.98 crore as tax from sale of tobacco products in the State.
Is this tax important or the health of the younger generation? Let the State government decide.

Sale of beverage banned

The Tiruvallur district administration has banned the sale of a locally-prepared beverage concentrate in Tiruvallur district.

In a press release, collector, K. Veera Raghava Rao said Richwell Goldstar Beverage Concentrate, manufactured by Mahaveer Foods and Beverages, Ayanavaram, was found to be of substandard quality after a sample was tested at the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata.

A fine of Rs. 3 lakh was levied on the company under section 51 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the sale of Richwell Goldstar Beverage Concentrate was banned.

UN's rolls out new food safety and nutrition standards

Food can become contaminated by heavy metals, fungal toxins or bacteria and viruses.
The UN food standards body Codex Alimentarius has agreed on new standards to protect the health of consumers worldwide. These include standards on fruit, vegetables, fish and fishery products and animal feed.

Codex also adopted codes on the prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A, a carcinogenic contaminant, in cocoa, guidance on how to avoid microbiological contamination of berries and on use of claims for food that is labeled "non-addition of sodium salts" including "no added salt" on food packages, to assist consumers in choosing a healthy diet.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly run by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), sets international food safety and quality standards to promote safer and more nutritious food for consumers worldwide. Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation, and provide the food safety benchmarks for international food trade.

At its annual meeting last week, Codex celebrated its 50th anniversary. The session was attended by 620 delegates from 128 member countries and one member organization, one observer country and 41 international governmental and non-governmental organizations, including UN agencies.

Safe limits on contamination
One of the important work areas for Codex is setting safe limits and giving guidance along the food chain on prevention or reduction of contamination. Food can become contaminated by heavy metals, fungal toxins or bacteria and viruses.

The Commission adopted two important codes: prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A (a carcinogenic contaminant) in cocoa and of hydrocyanic acid in cassava, both important products for developing countries.

Fresh berries can be a healthy part of the diet but are also prone to microbiological contamination and have been associated with several foodborne illness outbreaks caused by viruses (Hepatitis A, Norovirus), bacteria (E.coli) and protozoa. The new Codex text gives advice to producers and consumers on how to prevent this contamination.

Fair practice in food trade and protecting consumers' health

The Commission adopted a number of commodity standards that will protect consumers from fraud and ensure fair practices in the food trade: fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (e.g. avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, table olives, date paste, and tempe) and fish and fishery products (smoked fish, abalone). The standards help buyers and sellers establish contracts based on Codex specifications and make sure that the consumers get from the products what they expect.

The Commission also adopted the nutrient reference values on sodium and saturated fatty acids, which are nutrients associated with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), to be included in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling. This is part of Codex's on-going efforts to promote healthy dietary practices and address the increasing public health problem of diet-related NCDs.

The Commission also adopted the revised and updated guidelines on formulated supplementary foods for older infants and young children to ensure the health and nutrition of the vulnerable population group. Furthermore, the Commission adopted hundreds of safe maximum limits for pesticide residues and veterinary drugs and provisions for food additives.

Guidance on control for food and animal feed
As animal feed can cause contamination in eggs, meat and milk products, the Commission adopted guidance to countries on how to control animal feed and assess the risk of contamination. The Commission also adopted guidelines for National Food Control Systems to assist countries in implementing food control.

Into the future

Because of the volume of trade and need to harmonize national standards, the Commission agreed to create a new Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs, which will be hosted and chaired by India.

The Commission approved its Strategic Plan 2014-2019, which will guide the work on protecting consumers' health and ensure fair practices in the food trade over the next six years.

Govt bans food imports from Japan over radiation fears

NEW DELHI: India has imposed a three-month ban on import of food articles from Japan, a government statement said on Tuesday, saying the ban could be extended until radiation fears subside.
India mainly imports small volume of processed food items, fruits and vegetable from the disaster hit country.
"After detailed discussions it was concluded that since the radiation is spreading/expanding horizontally in other parts of Japan, it may result in further radioactive contamination in the supply chain of foodexports from Japan," the statement said.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will review status of radiation hazards on food articles coming from Japan on a weekly basis, it said.