Selling Street Food? Don’t Pick Your Nose

Delhi’s eclectic range of street food is known and loved for many things. Hygiene is not among them. The capital where thousands of vendors sell snacks and meals from carts, stalls and the back of bicycles, lends its name to the stomach upset known to travelers as Delhi Belly and has a reputation for requiring diners to have a strong digestive system.

Now, government officials and a group representing the street vendors themselves want to change that.

On Monday, the Food Safety and Standards Authority, a statutory body administered by the Ministry of Health, and the National Association of Street Vendors of India, a New Delhi-based self-governed organization, gathered 500 of the men and women who serve food on Delhi’s streets for a day of training in basic food safety and hygiene.

Each vendor was handed a small kit containing an apron, a pair of disposable gloves, a plastic head covering, a small bar of soap and a long list of the do’s and don’ts of personal hygiene when serving food.

Number one on the list: Do not pick your nose.

The training program is designed to help vendors improve standards and diners know where it’s safe to eat out in Delhi. It’s the outcome of a survey conducted by NASVI in eight of the most popular areas for street food in the city, which found more than 90% of the 139 street food vendors interviewed, admitted to lack of personal hygiene and unkempt surroundings at their outlet.

“The food you serve is tasty, it’s irresistible. The only thing the customer needs to be assured of is that it’s hygienic,” said K. Chandramouli, FSSAI’s chairperson, in his address to the street food sellers.

Left to right: Satish, a gol gappa seller, Indu Mishra and Madhu, who sell momos and Dilip Kumar, before they took stage to demonstrate the basics of hygienic preparation and service.

NASVI representatives chose one vendor with the most hygienic practice from each of the eight areas. These vendors sold food ranging from omelets to tea, gol gappas (hollow pastry balls filled with potato and tamarind water), momos (dumplings) and chicken curry in different parts of the city.

Earlier this month, they were trained by a professional from the hospitality industry for three days and have been appointed as ambassadors for hygienic food preparation on the city’s streets.  The areas will then be designated as ‘Safe Street Food Zones.’

“If I don’t want street food to make me or my family fall sick, how could I prepare food that makes people fall ill?” said Dilip Kumar, one of those chosen as an ambassador.

The 31-year-old fresh fruit juice vendor, set shop on the stage Monday and made the audience identify what he was doing wrong as he prepared fruit juice without gloves on and used a trashcan with no lid for waste disposal.

While some in the audience immediately recognized these flaws, there were others who thought the time required for hygienic preparation would delay service and in fact drive customers away.

“You might think this is lengthy, but it’s actually only healthy,” said Mr. Kumar in response to the criticism.

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates almost three million people in India are involved in the unorganized food industry with most of them operating without a license.

A street food seller took off jewelry before she began preparation. The list of don’ts advises street food vendors to avoid wearing jewelry while preparing or serving food.

In an attempt to combat issues related to food safety, a new set of rules came into effect in 2011 to ensure hygiene is prioritized in the manufacture and sale of street food.

These rules, issued by the FSSAI, made it mandatory for street vendors to register with state health departments, which monitor hygiene and sanitation.

Two years later, the process of registration hasn’t gained momentum in Delhi.

Suniti Gupta, who works with Delhi’s food safety department, said that since it is impossible to register every mobile and stationery street food vendor manually, a computerized mechanism is being put in place.

“Also it is next to impossible to check each and every food vendor,” he added.

A large majority of the audience on Monday, said the training was useful, though others said it taught them nothing new.

“Had I known this was a training on hygiene, I wouldn’t have come all the way. But now that I am here, I might as well stay for lunch,” said Sonu, an 18-year-old who goes by one name and sells kachodis (lentil-based puffed pastries served along with a portion of spiced potato curry) from his cart in east Delhi. He added that his standards of preparation already complied with food hygiene regulations.

In India’s 11^th five-year plan, which ended in 2012, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries formulated a program to upgrade the quality of street food available in India by improving training and infrastructure.

According to a government review, it was not implemented beyond a pilot program.

Street food vendors say that they want to obtain a license but are hampered by the convoluted bureaucratic process of getting one. Without a license not only do they face the threat of being shut down, but are unable to register complaints.

Some vendors said that government bodies responsible for cleaning the areas where they set up their stalls don’t do a proper job. If the vendors complain, they are ignored because they say they have no legal proof that they operate from a given location.

Hari Om Kashyap, who runs a street-side eatery in east Delhi, said “Without that license, we are unidentifiable and no one will come to our rescue.” 

Eight Areas Earmarked to Be ‘Safe Street Food Zones’   

Tilak Nagar [West Delhi]
Sarojini Nagar [South Delhi]
Krishna Nagar [East Delhi]
Karol Bagh [Central Delhi]
Chandni Chowk [Central Delhi]
Paharganj [Central Delhi]
Area around New Delhi Railway Station
Area around Nizamuddin Railway Station

List of Don’ts While Preparing/Serving Food 

Do not pick your nose

Do not clean your ears with your fingers
Do not comb your hair
Do not wipe sweat with your hands
Do not wipe your hands with your clothes
Do not use your fingers to taste the ingredients
Do not spit into the washbasin
Do not smoke
Avoid wearing jewelry

Cola makers need not reveal ingredients, Supreme Court says, but orders regular checks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ordered periodic checks of aerated soft drinks for food safety but refused to force cola makers to list their ingredients on labels.
A petition had alleged that the ingredients of carbonated drinks have "serious deleterious effects on human health" and they should be revealed on the bottle labels. It also asked the court to regulate what it called "misleading" cola advertisements targeting children.
Soft drink major Pepsi opposed the petition and argued that the Food Safety Act is enough to regulate the standards of soft drinks 

The Supreme Court had asked for a report by the government's Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which had said the ingredients don't pose any threat to health and were within the prescribed limits.
Earlier this month, the court had asked soft drink manufacturers to include a declaration on their labels that the level of pesticide residue in their drinks was within safe and permissible limits.

Conduct periodic checks of soft drinks: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to monitor and conduct periodic checks of all carbonated soft drinks as the issue relates to citizens’ fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution.

A bench of justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri passed the direction while disposing of a PIL that had sought constitution of a separate panel to regulate soft drinks to protect citizens from their “deleterious effects.”

“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will conduct periodic checks of the carbonated drinks,” the bench said, adding the matter relates to the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The apex court had on December 13, 2012, reserved its order on a PIL filed in 2004 for setting up a committee to evaluate the alleged harmful effects of soft drinks on human health and to properly label the beverages, detailing their ingredients.

The plea had alleged that the ingredients of carbonated drinks have “serious deleterious effects on human health” and no action has been taken to test and assess the risk posed by such beverages.

Soft drink major Pepsi’s counsel, however, had opposed the PIL, saying the Food Safety and Standards Act aimed at regulating the standards of beverages was “sufficient” and all the regulations were in place.

The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), in its petition filed in 2004, had also sought directions to cola firms to disclose the contents/ingredients on the label of their bottles and to regulate “misleading” advertisements targeting children.

The apex court had earlier asked FSSAI to file “records” relating to proceedings of its panels, formed following a judicial order on the PIL filed by the NGO.

The court’s direction came after Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO CPIL, had alleged that instead of an expert panel, another FSSAI panel on labelling and claims/ advertisement should consider the grievance of additives in carbonated drinks.

The apex court, on February 8, 2011, had asked FSSAI to reconstitute independent scientific panels to look into the harmful effects of chemicals in carbonated beverages.

FSSAI had passed an order after examining various ingredients of carbonated beverages such as artificial sweetener, phosphoric, malic and citric acid, carbon dioxide, colouring agents, benzoic acid and caffeine.

FSSAI’s panel had said these ingredients, under prescribed limits, would pose no health hazards.

Scientific Panel on Labelling and Claims/Advertisement of FSSAI, in its order, had said, “The expert group reviewed the scientific studies and Food Safety Standards(FSS) Regulations, 2011 and confirmed the following:

“All ingredients mentioned above are within the levels as prescribed in the FSS Regulations, 2011 as per the ‘Analytical Data on Carbonated Beverages’, produced by Food Research and Standardisation Laboratory, Ghaziabad.

“Based on updated scientific reviews, if these ingredients are consumed within the prescribed levels, no health hazard would be caused in humans,”

Earlier, counsel appearing for FSSAI, had said the PIL be disposed of as all reliefs claimed by CPIL “stand satisfied.”

He had said that the Food Safety and Standards Act which came into effect in 2006 took care of all the issues raised in the petition.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had also said that its study concluded that no health hazard would be caused if the ingredients are within prescribed limits.

SC directs FSSAI to conduct periodic checks of soft drinks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to monitor and conduct periodic checks of all carbonated soft drinks as the issue relates to citizens' fundamental right to life guaranteed under the Constitution.
A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri passed the direction while disposing of a PIL that had sought constitution of a separate panel to regulate soft drinks to protect citizens from their "deleterious effects".
 

"The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will conduct periodic checks of the carbonated drinks," the bench said, adding the matter relates to the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The apex court had on 13 December, 2012, reserved its order on a PIL filed in 2004 for setting up a committee to evaluate the alleged harmful effects of soft drinks on human health and to properly label the beverages, detailing their ingredients.
The plea had alleged that the ingredients of carbonated drinks have "serious deleterious effects on human health" and no action has been taken to test and assess the risk posed by such beverages.
Soft drink major Pepsi's counsel, however, had opposed the PIL, saying the Food Safety and Standards Act aimed at regulating the standards of beverages was "sufficient" and all the regulations were in place.
The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), in its petition filed in 2004, had also sought directions to cola firms to disclose the contents/ingredients on the label of their bottles and to regulate "misleading" advertisements targeting children.
The apex court had earlier asked FSSAI to file "records" relating to proceedings of its panels, formed following a judicial order on the PIL filed by the NGO.
The court's direction came after Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO CPIL, had alleged that instead of an expert panel, another FSSAI panel on labelling and claims/advertisement should consider the grievance of additives in carbonated drinks.
The apex court, on 8 February, 2011, had asked FSSAI to reconstitute independent scientific panels to look into the harmful effects of chemicals in carbonated beverages.
FSSAI had passed an order after examining various ingredients of carbonated beverages such as artificial sweetener, phosphoric, malic and citric acid, carbon dioxide, colouring agents, benzoic acid and caffeine.
FSSAI's panel had said these ingredients, under prescribed limits, would pose no health hazards.
Scientific Panel on Labelling and Claims/Advertisement of FSSAI, in its order, had said, "The expert group reviewed the scientific studies and Food Safety Standards(FSS) Regulations, 2011 and confirmed the following:
"All ingredients mentioned above are within the levels as prescribed in the FSS Regulations, 2011 as per the 'Analytical Data on Carbonated Beverages', produced by Food Research and Standardisation Laboratory, Ghaziabad.
"Based on updated scientific reviews, if these ingredients are consumed within the prescribed levels, no health hazard would be caused in humans."
Earlier, counsel appearing for FSSAI, had said the PIL be disposed of as all reliefs claimed by CPIL "stand satisfied."
He had said that the Food Safety and Standards Act which came into effect in 2006 took care of all the issues raised in the petition.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had also said that its study concluded that no health hazard would be caused if the ingredients are within prescribed limits.

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DINAMALAR NEWS

2 packaged water units sealed

Two packaged water units that reportedly neither got ISI nor product approval from Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) have been sealed in Vellore on Monday.

Food Safety Officer J. Kolanji sealed the two units namely, Seagull in Viruthampattu and JS Aqua in Tharapadavedu on Monday.

According to sources National Green Tribunal has ordered making it mandatory for packaged water companies either to get ISI or product approval from FSSAI.

Out of 54 packaged water companies in Vellore district, 19 are yet get either of the approval.

Hence the crackdown started with two companies on Monday.

Food safety not in unsafe hands

NEW DELHI: Despite their doubtful hygiene, it is hard to resist the golgappas, aloo tikkis, ram laddoos, momos, etc., sold on the roadside. Though Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has formulated guidelines to regulate this unorganized sector, Delhi government has failed to effectively implement them. Now, the street vendors, themselves, are coming together to ensure acceptable standards of food quality and hygiene.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, National Association of Street Vendors of India has launched a catering service to be run and managed by street vendors. "If street vendors want to be taken serious, they will have to stand united. This initiative will give street vendors an opportunity to expand their base. Through this, we can keep a check on the quality of food served and hygiene standards maintained by street vendors," NASVI president Arbind Singh said.
On Monday, NASVI organized a large scale workshop on hygiene and food safety for street vendors. Street vendors from across the city were taught ways to maintain food quality and also informed about how this will help boost their income. "There is a need to create awareness about food safety among public and street vendors. If customers demand it, they will be forced to maintain hygiene. This will result in increase in their monthly income as they can charge more for providing good quality food," said K Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI, who inaugurated the workshop.
Delhi was one of the first states to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. But sources in FSSAI claim it has failed to deliver the goods. "There are many states which have done a lot of work to streamline street food vendors. But Delhi has not done much," said a senior official.
NASVI members were disappointed that officials did not attend the launch even though the government has not been able to register street vendors and streamline the system. "We had invited officials from Delhi government and civic agencies, but none came. These people are harassed by police. The government is doing little to streamline the system. Now, we have decided to put a system in place. Our catering service will help thousands of street vendors," Singh said.
As per the plan, NASVI will send out street vendors, who adhere to the food safety and standards rules, to set up stalls at functions based on customer demand. "Our vendors are spread across the city. Depending on the place and requirement of customers, we will send our vendors," Ranjit Abhigyan, programme manager, NASVI, said.
NASVI has also started an initiative to check food safety in markets. "We have appointed peer leaders in all important markets. These people will ensure that all the food vendors in the market adhere to norms. We have put up banners in markets on this," Ranjit said.
For street food vendors, this is an excellent opportunity to work in an organized manner. While some feel that hygiene standards can't be maintained all the time, most are ready to experiment. "It is a good initiative. We get to learn a lot. Over the years, disposable cups have replaced glass or porcelain cups at the roadside tea stall. Most street vendors use disposable plates and spoons. I'm sure that if we try we can change the way street food is served," said Rajkumar Jain, a street food vendor from Shahdara.
It is time for the state government to take note of the growing population of street food vendors in the city and take appropriate measures to ensure food safety.

Most of milk brands in Kolkata selling adulterated product

KOLKATA: How good is the milk you give your child, mix with your muesli or simply make tea with? Most of the milk samples tested by Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) on the request of Times of India were found to contain 'adulterants' such as cane sugar, cellulose and sodium chloride (salt).
Tests were conducted for specific gravity and presence of adulterants - like formalin, cane sugar, starch, cellulose, urea, ammonium sulphate, sodium chloride, saccharin, dulcin (a chemical 250 times sweeter than sucrose), foreign fat, carbonates or bicarbonates, neutralizers and hydrogen peroxide. The test was done over a seven-day period in the Besu laboratories after which the report was given to TOI.
The milk samples picked from Kolkata's markets at random were found to have cane sugar, cellulose and sodium chloride. While the state government-run milk brands - Haringhata and Mother Dairy - had adulterants, a milk sample from Amul, one of the largest dairies in the country, contained cellulose, say the report. The Besu test found Metro dairy samples free from any adulterant.
The Besu findings come in the wake of a report on milk tabled in Parliament, which says that an analysis by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India found neutralizers, detergent and pathogens like e-Coli. The report found adulterants in all four brands that TOI and Besu tested.
Industry insiders say that the adulteration usually happens before raw milk reaches a dairy. Milk suppliers use cheap adulterants like rice starch, raw sugar and salt for adulteration, they say. While starch increases cellulose content, cane sugar increases the solid non-fat (SNF) content.
The milk you buy off shelves has two main ingredients - skimmed milk powder (SMP) and SNF. "Most of the adulteration is done to increase the SNF content of the milk," said an expert. When dairies buy raw milk from suppliers, they pay around Rs 150 for a kg of SNF. The proportion of SNF determines the price a milk supplier gets. "Therefore, there is a tendency among suppliers to add adulterants like sugar, salt and starch to increase the SNF content," said Sumit Deb, managing director of Metro Dairy. "This is a common practice among suppliers, but laboratories can detect the presence of such adulterants," said Narayan Majumdar, a dairy technologist and director of Red Cow Dairy.
Two of the dairies in the state use a milk analyzer called Milkoscan - one of the advanced machines available for such tests. Other dairies use a traditional method called gravimetric test. "Both these processes can detect the presence of adulterants," said Deb, adding that while Milkoscan gives results in a minute, the second method takes 30-40 minutes. So it is left to the laboratory assistants to determine whether the milk sold by a supplier is adulterated.
"We try to maintain every possible check against adulteration. From laboratory tests to processing, chilling and packaging we maintain automated processes to ensure zero adulteration," said Dibakar Mukhopadhyay, milk commissioner of the state.
Despite claims by the state government, samples from the Haringhata dairy were found to contain 4.6% cane sugar and 1.82% sodium chloride. Samples from Mother Dairy contained cellulose. When asked about this, Mother Dairy chief general manager Udaybhanu Gangopadhyay questioned the test procedure. Mother Dairy refused to comment, but a top official of the West Bengal Cooperative Milk Producer's Federation said that they are "looking into it".
RS Sodhi, managing director of Amul, said: "There should not be any aberration in any packet of milk we sell across the country. We will surely look into what caused such a result." A top official of Amul found that the specific gravity of the sample was quite low. "The method used for cellulose detection is subjective. It would have been perfect if thin-layer chromatography were used for the detection," he said.
According to the Milk Federation report for the month of 'Bhadra' (August 18-September 17), of the 5.4 lakh kg milk rejected by four major dairies in the state, 4.8 lakh kg was rejected by a private-run dairy. "It gets milk from the same sources that supply to other dairies. It shows that big dairies are accepting milk, which is not up-to-the mark," said an industry insider.
According to Sodhi, some dairies in Bengal buy SMP from north Indian companies. "Many of these companies are not careful about the quality of SMP. Adulteration in milk can also be attributed to SMP manufacturers," he said.

Sale of ‘kulukki sarbath’ to be curbed in city

 

A large number of street vendors operate in Kochi without the approval of the Kochi Corporation.

As carts selling “kulukki sarbath” have popped up in the city after a hiatus, the health wing of the Kochi Corporation is planning to crack down on them.

The civic body had earlier banned the sale of the beverage in the city after it was found that vendors were using poor quality ice. The authorities had also tracked the source of ice to an ice plant at Chullikkal. Raids by the civic body revealed that ice was manufactured using contaminated water, said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the health standing committee of the Kochi Corporation.

Sale of such drinks, which can cause health hazards, will be curbed. He said squads of the Health Department would soon be pressed into action.

The drink, prepared using crushed ice, sarbath and lemon, had been a hit in the city during summer months.

The civic body had also banned the sale of badam milk in the city after it was found that the drink was made in unhygienic conditions. The ban on badam milk would stay, he said.

This time, the civic authorities plan to act against vendors selling poor quality food together with the Food Safety officials as they are legally entitled to collect food samples, said Mr. Ashraf. Street vendors selling pani puri and bhel puri have also proliferated in the city and most of them have not registered themselves with the local body.

According to the Kerala Municipal Act, these mobile shops have to gain a licence from the corporation. He said the civic body had plans to act against food vendors operating in unhygienic conditions.

Breast milk sold on internet contains dangerous bacteria: Study

Human breast milk is sold for babies on several online sites for a few dollars an ounce, but a new study says buyer beware: Testing showed it can contain potentially dangerous bacteria including salmonella.
The warning comes from researchers who bought and tested 101 breast milk samples sold by women on one popular site. Three-fourths of the samples contained high amounts of bacteria that could potentially sicken babies, the researchers found. They did not identify the website.
The results are "pretty scary," said Dr. Kenneth Boyer, pediatrics chief at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not involved in the study. "Just imagine if the donor happens to be a drug user. You don't know."
The research published in medical literature cites several cases of infants getting sick from strangers' milk.
Breast milk is also provided through milk banks, whose clients include hospitals. They also charge fees but screen donors and pasteurize donated milk to kill any germs.
With Internet sites, "you have very few ways to know for sure what you are getting is really breast milk and that it's safe to feed your baby," said Sarah Keim, the lead author and a researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "Because the consequences can be serious, it is not a good idea to obtain breast milk in this way."
The advice echoes a 2010 recommendation from the federal Food and Drug Administration.
"When human milk is obtained directly from individuals or through the Internet, the donor is unlikely to have been adequately screened for infectious disease or contamination risk," the FDA says. "In addition, it is not likely that the human milk has been collected, processed, tested or stored in a way that reduces possible safety risks to the baby."
The researchers believe theirs is the first study to test the safety of Internet-sold milk, although several others have documented bacteria in mothers' own milk or in milk bank donations. Some bacteria may not be harmful, but salmonella is among germs that could pose a threat to infants, Boyer said.
Sources for bacteria found in the study aren't known but could include donors' skin, breast pumps used to extract milk, or contamination from improper shipping methods, Keim said.
The study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
There are many milk-sharing sites online, including several that provide milk for free. Sellers or donors tend to be new mothers who produce more milk than their own babies can consume. Users include mothers who have difficulty breast-feeding and don't want to use formula and people with adopted infants.
Breanna Clemons of Dickinson is a donor who found a local woman who needed breast milk through one of the online sites where milk is offered free.
"A lot of people are like, `EHTTP://WWW , it's weird,' but they haven't been in a situation where they didn't want their child to have formula," or couldn't produce enough milk, Clemons said. She said she shared her medical history with the recipient.
Clemons is breast-feeding her 7-month-old and stores excess milk in her freezer. Every few weeks, she meets up with the recipient and gives her about 20 6-ounce bags. Clemons said the woman has a healthy 9-month-old who "loves my milk."
Keim said it's unclear if milk from sites offering donated milk would have the same risks because donors might be different from those seeking money for their milk. And in a comparison, the researchers found more bacteria in breast milk purchased online than in 20 unpasteurized samples donated to a milk bank.
Bekki Hill is a co-founder of Modern Milksharing, an online support group that offers advice on milk donation. She said there's a difference between milk sellers and donors; milk donors "don't stand to gain anything from donating so they have no reason to lie about their health."
Hill, of Red Hook, used a donor's milk for her first two children and plans to do so for her third, due in February, because she doesn't produce enough of her own.
"Breast milk is obviously the preferred food" for babies, she said.

Burton Software Food Safety Expert Shikha Singh Talks About Small Food Processors in India and World

India’s legal body, The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has kept a vigilant eye on business owners to ensure food safety. FSSAI allows business owners to avail third party certification for any globally accepted food safety standard/guideline including HACCP. Industrial journalist, TR Cutler reported recently in Automation & Controls Today.
Based in India, Shikha Singh works to improve food safety in India by automating food safety processes. She is spearheading the roll out of Burton Software Inc.'s product; Icicle, an affordable cloud-based solution designed to improve the safety of the world's food supply, and is responsible for overall operations throughout the country. She is an expert in food industry standards including ISO 22000, HACCP, FSSC and proficient in food testing.
The increasing trend of automation and computer based operations and systems in India will obviously pave way for an IT based solution for food safety; because of the cloud-based pay-as-you-go method, even the smallest food companies can avail themselves of solutions such as Icicle.
Singh noted that, “India has hugely trended as an export hub for major countries of the world because of many factors. To keep up with the food safety standards across the globe, Indian players in the food industry are diligently focusing on attaining and maintaining food safety certification, which includes HACCP.”
The safety standards for food in India are very similar to those in North America and this is driven by the customers. Exporting to US, UK and Middle East nations requires significant attention to stringent rules and regulations; an HACCP - based food safety system has become mandatory.
To read the entire article, go to: http://tinyurl.com/n89mch9.