Sweet sellers gets warning

The health department has directed all sweet sellers of the district to strictly adhere to the Food Safety Act and maintain good quality of food items and during the coming festive season.

The health department has geared up with surprise check at the sweet shops to ensure the quality of food items served ahead of festive season.

Dr. RL Bassan, civil surgeon said that the sweet sellers had been asked to avoid selling coloured sweets and prepare sweets that can be consumed within a day.

"The sweets sellers should not use artificial 'khoya' and ghee and should not indulge in adulteration in view of the coming festive season. The sweets and other food items should be covered and the sellers should maintain hygienic conditions where the sweets are being prepared. Also the cooks should cut their nails before making sweets", he added.

"The sellers have also been directed to ensure that sweets kept on display are guarded against houseflies and mosquitoes," said Dr Bassan.

He added that according to the Food Safety and Central Act 2006 if the sweet seller prepares 100kg of sweets, they could add just 20gm of artificial colour to it because excess of artificial colours could lead to cancer.

"They should use artificial colour of standard companies", said Dr Balwinder Singh, district health officer.

He said the raids have been initiated to check adulteration of food items.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the department had seized 95 kg spurious ghee contained in a big plastic drum. The food safety officer Dr. Harjotpal along with ASI Surjit Singh Rurka Kalan, Goraya raided tailor's shop of Paramjit Singh Pamma of village Mithra when they found that he was providing desi ghee on reasonable rates.

The material was recovered from his tailor shop at village Pasla. The samples of the ghee have been sent to the laboratory.

"We got the information that the accused was selling ghee at low cost to the customers. The further action will be taken as per the report of the food analyst expected to come in two weeks", Dr. Harjotpal added.

Supreme Court declines to ban Coca-Cola Co. beverages

Containers carrying the beverages may have to carry a declaration that the level of pesticide residue is well within applicable standards

Granting a breather to Coca-Cola Co., the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the statutory authority regulating aerated drinks but cleared the decks for mandating a declaration on containers that the level of pesticide residue in the drinks was as per permissible limits.

“In light of the legal regime, we are satisfied that...nothing more can be done by us in the matter,” said justice R.M. Lodha, heading the two-judge bench hearing the matter. The court said “soft drink bottles packaged or containers” may be ordered to have a declaration that “level of pesticide residue is well within the applicable standards”, as suggested by the Union government.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation by Sunil Mittal, originally filed in the Rajasthan high court, seeking a ban on the sale of Coca-Cola drinks citing such contamination.

Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the largest bottling partner of Coca-Cola Co. in India, had argued that the level of pesticide residue in the drinks was within permissible limits under India’s food safety and standards regulation.

“It does contain pesticide residue. It (pesticide) is permitted by law,” argued advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the bottler.

Responding to the judges’ query on the source of such residue, Singhvi said pesticides are present in the water used in the manufacturing and, hence, form a component of the drinks.

Coca-Cola India declined to comment on the matter.

Presence of pesticide residue in food and beverages is not prohibited as per the current standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminant, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011. Permissible quantity of pesticides such as arsenic and D.D.T are mentioned in the regulation. The rules currently permit pesticide to the tune of 1 part per billion (ppb) in edible products.

“These are norms that most large beverage makers are following so it does not make sense (to) say that permissible levels are already present in a given product,” an industry expert said on condition of anonymity.

It is now up to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Union government to decide on requiring soft drink companies to add information on pesticide levels on their containers, he added.

The Union government made a submission to the Supreme Court that it will take up the issue of printed declarations with FSSAI, the statutory authority to decide on standards of food and related matters such as its manufacture, storage and distribution.

Referring to the gamut of laws and regulations for food products, the apex court bench refrained form interfering with FSSAI’s authority.

“We do not want to undertake a dexercise that is to be undertaken by the statutory authority,” said Lodha. The bench said FSSAI may make a provision that “additional declaration, (printed) in blocks stating that ‘pesticides are within permissible limits’ be carried on every pack of carbonated drinks”.

The Rajasthan high court had earlier directed Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages and PepsiCo India Ltd to include on each bottle, package or container of soft drinks a declaration that the drink did not contain pesticide residue or that it is safe.

The issue pertaining to presence of pesticides in aerated beverages was first raised by non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2003 when a lab report on soft drinks sold in India revealed high levels of pesticides and insecticides in them.

Market leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi, CSE claims on its website, had almost similar concentrations of pesticide residue in their drinks.

This forced the government to constitute a joint parliamentary committee to find whether CSE’s claims were valid. CSE says on its website the panel vindicated its findings and said in a report that it was prudent to seek complete freedom from pesticides and residuals from carbonated beverages.

Following this, the health ministry notified standards for pesticides in carbonated water in India. “The health ministry has established standards for pesticides that can be allowed in colas and that has been made mandatory. Hence, the (court) proceedings are infructuous,” said Sunita Narain, director general at CSE, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision.

ACAUT reacts to NSCN (I-M) ban on inorganic mushrooms

Action Committee Against Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) through its media cell, has reacted to the ban imposed by the NSCN (I-M) on the sale of “inorganic, non-branded and loose unsealed mushrooms” in “Dimapur and other parts of Nagalim” as “an anti-Naga economic policy”. 

ACAUT said in the first place, the NSCN (I-M) was not the competent authority to decide which product was hygienic and which was not. 

It reiterated that only the directorate of health & family welfare with its trained professionals, was responsible on food safety matters, with Food Safety Officers (FSOs) under CMOs of all districts as implementing authorities.

Secondly, ACAUT said the NSCN (I-M) order, vindicated its stand that it was “ an admission of the syndicate system, patronised by the organisation”. 

Thirdly, ACAUT termed as “ridiculous” that a product should be banned just because it was inorganic. 

It pointed out that if the same criteria was applied, then “everyone would starve” as items such as tea and coffee would have to be banned including tomatoes, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. 

Since cattle feeds were also inorganic, ACAUT asked should slaughter and sale of meat not also be banned?

Fourthly, it said “unorganised sector” existed where agri and allied products including “local mushrooms” can be marketed as “non-branded, loosely and unsealed. 

ACAUT said the vast unorganised sector was the engine of India’s growth and that even “very industrialised countries” have both organised and unorganised sectors. 

ACAUT said Nagaland was “downright unorganised” and therefore, it was an “unjustified demand” by NSCN (I-M) that farmers meet standards of industrialised organised sectors which required high capital investments and technical know-how”. It said the ban was “not only naïve but economy-killing.” 

Fifthly, ACAUT said infringement of Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) was determined by FSOs under CMOs of districts under standard but the NSCN (I-M) was not equipped “with labs or trained food safety inspectors” to determine toxicity of mushrooms. 

It asked whether the “Hygienic Mushroom” of Bokajan, permitted for sale by the NSCN (I-M), was licensed and registered with FSSAI and what kind of scientific rigor and test was done by the NSCN (I-M), to determine that local mushrooms were unhygienic while “Hygienic Mushroom” from Bokajan was “hygienic and safe for consumption”? ACAUT said if “Hygienic Mushrooms” from Bokajan can be made hygienic just by branding it as such, then whether it had the license from the FSO under CMO, Medical department for sale in Nagaland? It also asked under what “expert authority” had the NSCN (I-M) claimed that loose mushrooms sold in open market contained high levels of “fungicides”, since “mushroom itself is a fungus?” 

ACAUT also asked how could NSCN (I-M) hijack the economic interests of thousands of Naga farmers for the interests of a handful in neighbouring Bokajan, Assam?.Instead of helping the growth of Naga economy, it said NSCN (I-M) was “directly destroying the livelihood of Naga farmers and women vendors”. 

ACAUT said any deviation from the core of Naga issue of economic self-reliance, was “anti-Naga” and that the NSCN (I-M) ban was “nothing but an anti-Naga economic policy”. 

It reminded NSCN (I-M), that it would do well not to belittle itself in handling “petty things for petty gains” as it was a body representing Naga aspirations. 

In the light of the above, ACAUT said the ban was only to promote the syndicate system and market monopoly and had “nothing to do with the concern for public health”.

DINAKARAN NEWS

சோதனைச்சாவடிகளில் பாராமுகம் பெங்களூரில் இருந்து தமிழகத்திற்கு புகையிலை பொருள் கடத்தல் அதிகரிப்பு போலீசார் அதிர்ச்சி

மேட்டூர், அக்.4:

பெங்களூரில் இருந்து தமிழகத்திற்கு தடை செய்யப்பட்ட குட்கா உள்ளிட்ட புகையிலை பொருட்கள் கடத்தப்படுவது அதிகரித்துள்ளது. சோதனைச்சாவடிகளில் லாரிகளை சோதனையிடாமல் அதிகாரிகள் பாராமுத்துடன் நடந்து கொள்வதாக போலீசார் அதிர்ச்சியுடன் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

இந்தியா முழுவதும் குட்கா, ஜர்தா போன்ற புகையிலை பொருட்கள் விற்பனைக்கு தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஆனால், தடை செய்யப்பட்ட புகையிலை பொருட்கள் ஹரியானா, டெல்லி போன்ற மாநிலங்களில் தொடர்ந்து உற்பத்தி செய்யப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. இவை ரயில்கள், ஆம்னி பேருந்துகள் மூலம் பெங்களூருககு வருகிறது. அங்கிருந்து லாரிகள் மூலமாக தமிழகத்தின் பல்வேறு பகுதிகளுககும் சப்ளை செய்யப்படுகிறது.

பெங்களூரிலிருந்து லாரிகளில் புகையிலை பொருட்கள் கொண்டு வரும்போது கடத்தல் கும்பலை சேர்ந்தவர்கள் லாரிககு முன்பாக காரில் வந்து சோதனைச்சாவடி அதிகாரிகளை நன்கு கவனித்து விடுவதாக குற்றச்சாட்டு எழுந்துள் ளது.

இதனால், புகையிலை பொருட்களை ஏற்றி வரும் லாரிகள் எவ்வித ஆவணங்களும் இன்றி வழியனுப்பப்படுகின்றன. ஓசூர் மற்றும் தொப்பூர் சோதனைச்சாவடிகளை நாள்தோறும் ஏராளமான புகையிலை கடத்தல் லாரிகள் கடந்து செல்வதாக பொதுமக்கள் புகார் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

கடந்த 2 நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு ரகசிய தகவலின்படி சேலம் மாவட்ட உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகளும், மேச்சேரி போலீசாரும் வாகன தணிக்கையில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தனர்.

அப்போது, சைகை செய்தும் நிற்காமல் சென்ற இரண்டு லாரிகளை சினிமா பாணியில் விரட்டிச் சென்று போலீசார் மடக்கினர். அவற்றில் 16.50 லட்சம் மதிப்பிலான புகையிலை பொருட்கள் இருந்தது. தொப்பூர் சோதனைச் சாவடியை தாண்டி புகையிலை பொருட்கள் கடத்தி வரப்படுவது போலீசாரை அதிர்ச்சி அடையச் செய்துள்ளது.

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