சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், தீபாவளி பண்டிகையொட்டி உரிமம் இல்லாமல் இனிப்பு, காரம் விற்றால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரி எச்சரிக்கை

சேலம்,

தீபாவளி பண்டிகையொட்டி சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், உரிமம் இல்லாமல் இனிப்பு, காரம் விற்றால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும் என்று உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரி எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.

தீபாவளி பண்டிகை

இதுகுறித்து உணவு பாதுகாப்பு நியமன அலுவலர் அனுராதா கூறியதாவது:–

தீபாவளி பண்டிகை மற்றும் இதர பண்டிகை நாட்களில் சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில் அனைத்து பகுதிகளிலும் பலகார சீட்டுகள் என்று நடத்தி மக்களிடம் இருந்து குறிப்பிட்ட தொகையை வசூல் செய்யப்படும்.

பின்னர் அவர்களுக்கு இனிப்பு, கார வகைகள் செய்து விநியோகம் செய்யப்படுவது வழக்கம். இந்த இனிப்பு, கார வகைகளை வீட்டிலோ அல்லது திருமண மண்டபத்திலோ வைத்து மொத்தமாக தயார் செய்து கொடுக்கின்றனர்.

நடவடிக்கை

அப்படி செய்யப்படும் பண்டங்கள் தரமானதாகவும், கலப்படம் இல்லாததாகவும் இருக்க வேண்டும். மேலும் வண்ணங்கள் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட அளவுக்கு மேல் இருக்க கூடாது. எல்லாவற்றுக்கும் மேலாக பண்டிகை காலங்களில் பலகாரம் செய்பவர்கள் கண்டிப்பாக உணவு பாதுகாப்பு துறையில் வழங்கப்படும் உரிமம் மற்றும் பதிவு சான்றிதழ் அவசியம் பெற வேண்டும்.

உரிமம் இல்லாமல் பண்டிகை கால இனிப்பு, கார வகைகள் தயார் செய்தால் அவர்கள் மீது உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் தரங்கள் சட்டம் 2006–ன் படி சட்டப்படி நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளப்படும். இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

A glass of water for Re. 1

When the demand for protected drinking water is high in the city, a tea shop near Vennangudi Muniyappan Temple on Salem — Bangalore National Highway is selling a glass of water for Re. 1.

The shopkeeper has been doing so for the last two years. He said that there was huge demand for drinking water in the area as devotees throng the temple regularly.

But officials of Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that according to The Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, a packed drinking water cannot be sold in retail as only sachets are allowed.

T. Anuradha, District Designated Officer, Food Safety and Drug Administrative Department told The Hindu that drinking water was allowed to be sold in sachets and should not be sold in retail.

She said that facility would be dismantled and the shop keeper would be warned of the consequences.

Food safety officials to charge-sheet Coimbatore private hospital

COIMBATORE: The food safety and drug administration department (Coimbatore) has decided to initiate action and start procedures for filing a charge sheet against a multi speciality private hospital here in the city after the sample of a health supplement sold by its pharmacy to a resident was confirmed to be unwholesome and not fit for human consumption. The confirmation report was sent from the Referral Lab of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) in Kolkata where the sample was sent for a detailed analysis to confirm the report issued by the government approved laboratory in Chennai.
"We received the lab report on Tuesday and it has confirmed the findings of the previous report in which the product was found to be unsafe and not fit for human consumption. We are now proceeding to file a charge-sheet against the hospital and the manufacturers of the product," said R Kathiravan, Designated Officer(DO), Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Coimbatore).
The sample lifted and submitted to the department was sent to Kolkata for final analysis after a sample of the health supplement Slim and Trim, for ensuring weight loss was purchased by D Kumar, a city based resident from the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital pharmacy. The supplement was prescribed to his wife Kasthuri by Dr Tamilselvi Periyasamy, a doctor at the hospital who coincidentally is also the registered owner of the Slim and Trim diet supplement manufacturing unit.
"We will be initiating proceedings against KMCH pharmacy and also the Slim and Trim product manufacturers for making and selling an unsafe and misbranded product to the public," Kathiravan added.
The sample was sent for testing at the Kolkata laboratory on July 30. Meanwhile, a PIL has been filed at the Madras HC by Kasthuri against the private hospital, doctor and food safety and drug administration officials. Department officials claimed that they were asked to respond on October 3 and have already filed a counter before the high court.

Raids begin on Chennai sweet shops

  

Food safety officers took various samples of sweets for testing.

Ahead of Deepavali, the food safety and drug administration department on Thursday began raids on outlets selling sweets.

A number of samples were taken for testing of shelf life, use of colouring agents, quality and for growth of micro-organisms such as E. Coli, coliform, salmonella, clostridium, yeast and mould count.

More than 1,000 shops in the city are likely to be screened for unhygienic conditions this month, and improvement notices will be issued to shops that function in unsanitary conditions, department officials said.

Starting Friday, all shops selling sweets for Deepavali will be given instructions on food safety and hygiene by food safety officers. At least seven per cent of the 22,000 food business operators in Chennai district sell sweets, an official said

“Most packed sweets sold by food business operators do not have a date of manufacturing. We intend to create awareness about this and other aspects over the weekend,” said Lakshmi Narayanan, designated officer for the district.

Consumers often face problems with the sweets they buy, but many of these cases go unreported. Residents must report cases of unhygienic or unsafe products to the department, he said.

G. Marimuthu, a consultant with the National Insurance Company, who reported a case of food poisoning to the Chennai Corporation, said he suffered from vomiting after eating some sweets at his office.

“Initially, I did not know that my illness had been caused by the sweets. After others at my workplace shared similar experiences after eating those sweets, I lodged a complaint with the Corporation. They directed us to inform the food safety department. The department assured us that they would test the sweets and take action,” said Mr. Marimuthu.

“People should be careful when they buy milk sweets. The high protein and fat content in them facilitates the growth of mould and yeast. This causes throat infections, diarrhoea and fever,” said a food analyst. “We allow a total plate count agar of 1,500 per gram. People who have low immunity levels are usually affected when they eat sweets that have a higher count,” he said.

Are you consuming adulterated paneer, sweets?

PATNA: Kaju roll, kaju barfi, kalakand, paneer cutlet, paneer chilly, shahi paneer.....the list is long. They all look so attractive and taste even better, but they are not always the healthiest as khoya and paneer, the two basic ingredients used to prepare them, are often found adulterated.
With Diwali a fortnight away, the food safety wing of the health department is conducting raids as and when needed to check adulteration. Ashish Kumar Singh, designated officer, headquarters, food and safety wing, said, "We embarked on sample collection drive of khoya and paneer. Many posh hotels and big sweetmeat shops were found selling adulterated paneer (cottage cheese), which contains corn starch in place of milk extract. Sometimes, harmful chemicals and urea are mixed in it. Most of the shopowners purchase paneer at Rs 40 to Rs 50 a kg and sell it anything between Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg. Any paneer dish is sold for over Rs100 a plate and customers are only consuming substandard product after paying such a heavy price. It is always advisable to consume branded paneer."
It is indeed easy to check adulteration in paneer. All one needs to do is to put a drop or two of iodine solution on raw paneer and if it changes colour to blue-black, it is adulterated and full of starch.
"Though starch is not directly harmful, but often adulterated products lead to food poisoning, stomach aches and allergies as they also contain hazardous chemicals. Hence, milk products must be avoided in festive seasons," said physician Dr Ajay Kumar.
"Collecting food samples two or three days before Diwali will not prevent people from consuming adulterated food as laboratory test reports of the sample collected comes after 15 or 20 days, when the festival will be long over. So, we are already on the job," said health department sources.
However, a health department official on the condition of anonymity said, "This happens every year and it is indeed difficult to check this menace. Often laboratory reports come only when adulterated items are already consumed during festivals."
"Once we start collecting food samples, shopowners become wary and stop selling adulterated items immediately as they know that if they are caught selling the same an FIR will be lodged against them and they may go behind bars. Last year, many shopowners, who were caught selling adulterated food items after laboratory test, were booked," said Singh.
"The ingredients including permitted food colour, refined flour (maida), khoya, paneer and spices are also tested. The idea is to find whether any chemical contamination or bacterial contamination has occurred in the food or not," he said.

Claims fall flat for Trivandrum's 'organic' products

Study finds high levels of pesticide residue in vegetables sold as organic in the city

“Organically grown” is the watchword these days. The scare created by the high levels of pesticides in vegetables available in the market has people scampering to buy anything with the ‘organic’ label. Unfortunately, in many instances, the label ‘organic’ might not even worth the paper on which it is printed.

A sample study of the ‘organic’ vegetables collected from a few shops selling organically grown produce in the city, by the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Lab of the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, has found many ‘organic’ vegetables are as contaminated with pesticide residues as the ones in the general market.

The latest findings from samples collected in August-September were revealed at a seminar on Safe Food Business Practices organised by the Commissionerate of Food Safety here on Wednesday.

“We had identified 14 items of vegetables in the general market as heavily contaminated. Some – curry leaves, mint and coriander leaves, green chilli, okra (lady’s finger), capsicum, carrots, snake gourd – with the organic label were found to be contaminated with the same pesticides, indicating that these are also probably sourced from the same producer or agent,” says Thomas Biju Mathew, professor, KAU, who has taken up the periodical analysis of vegetable sample as part of a project funded by the Agriculture Department.

The pesticide contaminants found in the ‘organic’ vegetables were Profenaphos and Bifethrin, for both of which, no maximum residue limit (MRL) has been fixed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Hence the samples were compared with the MRL fixed by the European Union for these pesticides.

Dr. Mathew said there was no point in blaming shopkeepers because there was no sure-fire way of identifying pure organically grown vegetables. It was difficult and not viable for farmers to produce vegetables for mass consumption without using pesticides at all. Creating more awareness among farmers on the judicious use of pesticides and giving adequate withdrawal period for pesticide residues to vanish before harvesting the produce might be the only practical solutions.

Case of cardamom

Thomas George, Associate Professor, KAU, in his presentation on pesticide residues said that cardamom was one of the most highly contaminated produce in the State. Every farmer seemed to use at least at least four pesticides for the crop. The levels of pesticide residues in cardamom had been going up in recent years and in some samples tested by KAU, a cocktail of residues of 12 pesticides had been found. Quinalphos, belonging to the organophosphates group, was the biggest contaminant in cardamom, followed by profenophos, methyl parathion and triazophos.

However, almost 80 per cent of the pesticide residues in cardamom were limited to the outer pod of the spice. Using just the seeds was a safer option. The seminar discussed the safety of meat and dairy products, trans fat content in bakery goods, and the microbial quality of various ready-to-eat food items in the market.

Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar inaugurated the seminar. Commissioner of Food Safety Biju Prabhakar; Joint Commissioner K. Anilkumar; and Mayor K. Chandrika spoke.

Tobacco products seized

Imphal, October 17 2013: A combined team of City Police and commando bazar unit seized several tobacco products like Khaini, Talab, Zarda and Gutkha worth around Rs 4.91 lakh from Masjid Road yesterday.
The tobacco products seized from nine dealers/shopkeepers were produced before reporters at City Police today before they were handed over to relevant CMO/Food Security Officer.
One police officer said that the tobacco products were seized under the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006