The twelfth authority meeting of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was held in New Delhi recently. It was chaired by K Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI, and D K Samantaray, chief executive officer of the country's apex food regulator, was the member secretary at the meeting. Other FSSAI officials who attended it included Sanjay Dave, advisor; Vinod Kotwal, director, Codex, financial advisor and establishment; Pradip Chakraborty, director, zone, IEC and administration; C R Dalal, director, surveillance and enforcement; Meenakshi Singh, scientist, standards; Sandhya Kabra, director, quality assurance; Anil Mehta, deputy director (northern region); Rakesh Kulshrestha, deputy director, GA; Sanjay Gupta, assistant director, enforcement; B G Pandian, assistant director (imports), and P K Karthikeyan, assistant director, quality assurance.
The meeting was also attended by A K Srivastava, director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Karnal; Lalitha Ramakrishna Gowda, chief scientist, Department of Protein Chemistry and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Mysore; Shreya Pandey, All India Food Processors' Association (AIFPA); Meetu Kapur, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Thanglura, Mizoram Consumers' Union, Aizawl; Vasudev K Thakkar, president, V Care Right and Duty non-governmental organisation (NGO), Vadodara; Abukalam, Madina Munavara Coffee Estate, Chikmagalur; A R Sharma, chairman and managing director, Ricelaa Health Foods Ltd, Sangrur; Anuradha Prasad, joint secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI); G Narayan Raju, joint secretary, Ministry of Law; Utpal Kumar Singh, joint secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC); Asit Tripathi, joint secretary, Department of Commerce; Surekha Chopra, state nodal officer for food authority, Government of Himachal Pradesh, and M P Singh, additional development commissioner, ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
Chandramouli welcomed all the members of the recently-reconstituted authority to its first meeting, and apprised them about the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 and the operationalisation of the Act with the notification of Regulations with effect from August 5, 2011. He also drew their attention to the procedures followed by the Authority and its functioning. It was also informed that it convened eleven meetings prior to this one, and put in place physical infrastructure; created a framework for setting science-based standards by way of scientific panels, scientific committees and expert groups, and rolled out the Act throughout the country. FSSAI's chairperson stated that looking at the amount of food being produced, manufactured, imported and consumed in India, ensuring food safety was a challenge. He informed members that the regulatory authority's officials would put in their best efforts to help achieve its goals and objectives, and requested Samantaray to conduct the further proceedings of the meeting.
Oath by new members
The new members took the oath of office and secrecy in terms of Section 7 (3) of the Act and Rule 16 of the FSSAI Rules, 2008, and also signed the Annual Declaration of Interest.
Disclosure of interest by members
All the members present during the meeting signed the Specific Declaration of Interest in respect of the agenda items to be considered in the meeting, before the start of the proceedings.
Noting appointment of CEO
FSSAI noted Samantaray's appointment as chief executive officer.
Confirmation of minutes of 11th meeting
The authority confirmed the minutes of its eleventh meeting.
CEO's report
The authority took note of the chief executive officer's report, which stated that the members of the newly-constituted authority would, over the next three years, guide it to accomplish the task of ensuring safe food for all across India. It was briefed about the activities undertaken by the regulator between November 2012 and August 2013.
The report focussed on such areas as the enforcement process; training and capacity-building; IEC activities; scientific committee/scientific panel meetings and work on standard-setting; harmonisation of the standards with those laid down by Codex; Codex activities, including the setting up of the Codex Committee on spices and culinary herbs (which will be hosted by India); the food safety surveillance system; the food safety management system (FSMS); product approval; laboratory upgradation; financial and budgetary support; accounts of the authority, human resource management and international cooperation.
Presentation on the way ahead for FSSAI
A presentation was made covering the salient features of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, that led to the creation of FSSAI. It also covered the important provision of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011, its current activities and the way ahead.
It was indicated in the presentation that the building blocks on which the future work is proposed are as follows:
? Science-based quality and safety standards;
? Having effective enforcement and risk-based surveillance;
? Integrated food quality testing infrastructure;
? Capacity-building;
? Training;
? Awareness campaigns, and
? Strengthening of FSSAI by way of manpower as well as infrastructure
It was also informed that the proposed activities that cover both the central sector scheme and the centrally-sponsored schemes have been designed keeping in view the outlay of Rs 2,350 crore, which is subject to the approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee and the Cabinet.
The presentation was followed by a discussion, during which the following points emerged:
? According to a member, there is a need for training and human resource development, awareness programmes for food business operators (FBOs) and recognition of more referral laboratories across the country
? It was also requested that the possibility of a separate scientific panel for dairy and dairy products be explored, because the country is the largest producer of milk in the world. There is also a need to revisit the standards for milk and milk products, in view of the cross-breeding and changing feed and fodder patterns
? It also pointed out that concerted efforts through awareness-generating activities should be undertaken to bust the myths related to certain aspects of milk production (e.g. the use of oxytocin injection for milk production)
? A member stressed upon the need to have food testing laboratories at international airports, and also making the customs authorities aware about the Act, and Regulations therein, for imported foods
? Another brought to the authority's notice the fact that food testing laboratory infrastructure needs to be strengthened in the north-eastern part of the country (and particularly in Mizoram) where there is no food testing laboratory. Even the food testing laboratory in Guwahati was not adequately equipped
? Chandramouli informed that during the Twelfth Five-year Plan, there is an emphasis on the upgradation of 72 public food testing laboratories and also setting up of one food testing laboratory in a cluster of 20 districts, with the capability to undertake the basic tests
? It was also informed that FSSAI was in touch with such as institutions as CSIR, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and ICAR for twinning arrangements in the areas of research and development (R&D), standard-setting, training and capacity-building, etc.
? Prasad asked, “Are private laboratories also recognised by FSSAI?” It was informed that 68 laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) have been recognised by the regulator, and it is a dynamic process.
Agenda items
? Approval of the standards for various products/ingredients/microbial standards approved by the scientific committees and various panels
? Use of isomaltulose as a food ingredients under the FSS Regulations
The food regulator noted and approved the recommendations of the scientific committee on the use of isomaltulose as a food ingredient in confectionery products only, not exceeding 50 per cent of the total sugar without adversely affecting the stability of the product.
? Use of high-fibre dextrin (soluble dietary fibre) in various food products
The food authority has approved the recommendation of the scientific committee for the use of high-fibre dextrin (soluble dietary fibre) prepared from maize or wheat as a substrate in such food products as flakes and ready-to-eat dry breakfast cereals, noodles, pasta, salad dressings, toppings and spreads, table-top fibres as fillers or carriers, cereals and other snack foods/savouries, and bakery products, including bread, biscuits, cookies, cake mix and pastries.
Products containing added high-fibre dextrin be labelled accordingly along with the source of the same in the ingredients panel of such products and the source of the ingredients (wheat/maize) should be non-genetically-modified (GM).
In case of products containing added high-fibre dextrin if it is intended to make claims, such claims shall comply with Codex guidelines and RDA guidelines of India.
