FDA to launch drive against food caterers without licences

NASHIK: After food caterers across the city responded poorly to acquire licences to carry out their businesses, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to launch an inspection drive against them after Diwali. As part of the drive, legal action will be taken against food caterers, who have not taken licences from the FDA.
As per the new Food Safety and Standard Act, acquiring licence is mandatory for food caterers with a turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh. However, those having a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh need not get a licence, but are required to get themselves registered.
The food businesses, which have been included under the act with effect from August 5, 2011, include pan stalls, fruit/vegetable vendors, those selling food items on hand carts, grocery shops, bakeries, food makers, professionals in packaging foods, caterers, inns, dhabas, tea stalls, onion/potato traders, meat shops and other such businesses.
Speaking to TOI, Chandrakant Pawar, joint commissioner (food), Nashik division of FDA, said, "Our major objective is to register all food businesses and issue them licences. Accordingly, we are also focusing on food caterers and have already appealed them to get licences from us. We have not yet received good response for the past six months from food caterers. Only 15 of the total 300 food caterers across the city, who serve food at weddings and other social and household functions, have taken licences so far. We conducted a meeting with food caterers and appealed them to get licences six month ago."
"We are planning to take legal action against food caterers, who are serving food without licences, once Diwali is over. We will raid wedding halls, lawns and social functions where food is being served by caterers. Food items will be seized if they are served by the caterers without licences," he added.

Foods that help you sleep better

(Foods that help you sleep…)

Sleep deficiency is one of the most common problems faced by people of all ages these days. Popping pills is dangerous, so why not try something natural and healthy? Go from being a nocturnal creature to a sound sleeper by making some small changes in your diet
Bananas
Bananas contain potassium, which relax the muscles. Vitamin B6, which bananas are loaded with, increases your body's melatonin levels, thereby helping treat chronic insomnia
CherryDrinking cherry juice in the morning aids in sleeping as it contains large amounts of melatonin, which helps regulate the body's sleep and energy cycles. Grape is another fruit that has high levels of melatonin.
Cereal
Snacking on a bowl of low-sugar, whole-grain cereal is a good idea. Complex carbohydrate-rich foods up the amounts of tryptophan in the bloodstream, which in turn helps you sleep.
Almonds
Almonds, which are high in magnesium, promote sleep and relax the muscles. They also supply proteins that help maintain a stable blood sugar level while one is asleep, and promote sleep by switching from an alert adrenaline cycle to the rest-and-digest cycle.
Sweet potatoes
High in potassium and complex proteins, sweet potatoes relax muscles and induce sleep. Consuming them on a daily basis has shown to lead to better sleep.
Warm milk
A good ol' glass of warm milk actually does work wonders. Research has found that combining milk with a carbohydrate-rich food like oatmeal, granola or toast makes it much more effective. It's also high in calcium and other minerals, known to have a relaxing effect.
Honey
Glucose, which is found aplenty in honey, tells your brain to shut off orexin, which is a chemical that is known to trigger alertness. But, don't overdo it; just one tablespoon of honey is enough for a good night's sleep. Dark chocolate
Ditch milk chocolate and nibble on some dark chocolate instead, as it contains serotonin, which relaxes your body and mind, and induces sleep.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India collects suspected spurious food samples

LUCKNOW: A bitter fact for people with sweet tooth. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has collected more than 35 suspected spurious food samples in past five days from sweetshops, restaurants, general stores and khoya-mandi in the city.
Besides sweets, even dry fruits are under FSSAI's scanner this Diwali. Officials claim the majority of food adulteration complaints were related to khoya (condensed milk) and dry fruits.
"This time, there is a spurt in complaints pertaining to sale of infested and rotten dry fruits in various shops. Of the collected, around 7-8 were of dry fruits, suspected to be of inferior quality", said JP Singh, designated officer in FSSAI Lucknow.
The authority had started a massive drive 10 days before Diwali to keep a check on spurious sweets, khoya, gram flour, lentils, fruits, species etc. The officials raided most of the sweet-shops, restaurants, general stores, food-mandis, khoya-mandi and milk factories in the city.
Normally, FSSAI collects around 30 samples in a month, majority of which are based on individual complaints. But this year, more than 35 spurious samples were collected in five days over doubt on their quality. Since the consumption of sweets, snacks and food products increases during feativals, chances of traders selling spurious material also goes up. Out of the sweet samples collected, most were detected to be containing non-edible colours which are hazardous for health. A few packed products were reported to be violating packaging norms like complete labeling of ingredients, expiry and manufacturing date, nutritional value, company's name, manufacturing address etc.
Officials confirmed that the report of collected samples will come after two weeks after being verified by the laboratory, only then they can take some against the violators.
Meanwhile, the report of samples collected in September revealed that out of 33 samples sent, 18 were found to be spurious. Singh cautions, "This is a serious a matter, I ask people to be extra careful while purchasing sweets and food from outside. They should take care of hygiene around shops and be vigilant about food they are buying."
FSSAI had also raided few very famous super markets in the city this year over complaints about infested dry fruits and adulteration in packed products like besan etc. The authority said while presence of insects and stones are easily detectable in lentils, it is difficult to trace adulteration in grounded form.
"We have noticed that many samples of besan have been found to be mixed with pea flour which is cheaper in both price and quality. Shopkeepers mix it to earn profit margin", said Singh.
A very frequent adulteration complaint is regarding khoya. Officials say that while most samples of khoya were mixed with starch in the form of arrowroot, others were found to be too stale to consume. Some lentils were also noticed to be infested with worms.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI launched two major drives - one around Dussehra and Durga Puja and another during Dhanteras and Diwali to keep a check on rampant adulteration cases.