35-40 per cent FBOs licensed/ registered in M’rashtra; Kerala on track

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set February 4, 2014, as the final deadline for food business operators (FBOs) to obtain licences or get their establishments registered and many states seem to be on track thanks to methods such as creation of awareness over the issue, introduction of online licensing and registration, and impartation of training for the same.

However some states like Delhi and Punjab are still struggling to find solutions for problems such as lack of manpower thus putting a question mark on what would happen here if the process is not completed on time.
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, home to approximately 15 lakh FBOs, about 3.5 lakh FBOs have either registered their establishments or obtained licences, either online or offline, according to Mahesh Zagade, the state FDA commissioner.
“The process is about 35-40 per cent complete,” he said, adding that the remainder would be completed on time, because food safety officers (FSOs) across the state are not only creating awareness about the importance of registration and licensing, but also imparting training on the process of applying for the same online.
Kerala
K Anil Kumar, joint commissioner, food, FDA Kerala, said, “The estimated number of FBOs is 5 lakh. We have already completed the registration and licensing of about 1,80,000 FBOs. Most of it has been offline so far, but we have recently started the online registration and licensing process. We are imparting training to the FBOs on the online licensing and registration process, and they are now comfortable applying online. We are sure that the process would be complete before February 4, 2014. If any of them failed to comply with the norms, they would be fined and imprisoned.”
Hitches in northern states
A regulatory source from the north, however, was not very optimistic, primarily due to the shortage of manpower. According to him, this was particularly the case in Delhi and Punjab. K J R Burman, Delhi’s food commissioner, said that the state had over 15 lakh FBOs, but to date, only 645 of them have acquired licences, because the state food regulator has been grappling with a shortage of manpower and inadequate infrastructure.
Burman explained, “We are lagging behind other states, because we have just started the process. We were not able to focus on the registration and licensing earlier, but now we have started the process online, and are confident that we would complete the registration and licensing of FBOs well before the deadline. Most FBOs in Delhi acquired their licences online.”
FDA Punjab’s food commissioner Hussan Lal said about 70,000 FBOs in the state have already registered or acquired licences, and efforts are on to get the rest to comply. He added there was no data about the number of FBOs in the state.
A state-wise statistical summary
In Maharashtra, 2,29,296 FBOs have registered and 1,21,484 have acquired licences. Tamil Nadu (with 2,03,869 registrations and 29,121 licences) is second, and Kerala (with 1,48,639 registrations and 26,910 licences) is third. Dr H G Koshia, food commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, said, “Till date, we have registered 87,316 and licensed 31,266 FBOs. We would able to complete the process well on time. Since we were one of the first states to start the online registration and licensing process, FBOs have been cooperating with us.”

State	FBO licensed	FBO registered
Maharashtra	1,21,484	2,29,296
Tamil Nadu	29,121	2,03,869
Kerala	26,910	1,48,639
Gujarat	31,266	87,316
Punjab	8,931	57.263
Rajasthan	55,382	1,52,649
Uttar Pradesh	30,957	1,29,619
Andhra Pradesh	22778	51,657
Bihar	6,965	14,815
Goa	1,751	12,691
Madhya Pradesh	17,352	61,456
West Bengal	8,788	26,476
Delhi	645	Nil

Tobacco ban across India

Gutkha and similar other food products containing nicotine and tobacco have been banned across the country as per Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 dated 1st August 2011, issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The laid down regulation 2.3.4 states that-- “Product not to contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products”.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday, union minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, so far 33 States/UT’s have issued orders for implementation of the Food Safety Regulations banning manufacture, sale and storage of Gutka and Pan Masala containing tobacco or nicotine. 

The states are-- Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Assam , West Bengal, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Puducherry.

Enforcement and implementation of the regulation lies with the commissioners of Food Safety under the state governments, as per the provisions of Food Safety & Standards Act 2006.

SC had earlier directed all health secretaries of 28 States/UT’s who had till then issued orders for implementation of the Food Safety Regulations, to file affidavits on the issue of compliance of ban imposed on manufacturing and sale of gutkha and pan masala with tobacco and/or nicotine.

JMC inspects various food junctions

Jammu, Dec 9 : The team of Health and Sanitation (H&S) wing of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) inspected Jammu Club, Press Club and Amar Singh Club, and directed to them to improve their conditions of kitchen as per new Food Safety & Standard Act before 4th Feb. 2014. The team also visited the Jammu city and seized 8 Kg polythene from 12 defaulters and fined Rs. 5,000. 

A total of 617 persons were challaned in the year for violating the provisions of Municipal Act for creating nuisance or throwing garbage in the Municipal lanes / drains and the total compounding fee charged an amounting Rs. 3,03,575. In the current year 2013-14 total number of challaned produce 738 and fee charged Rs. 3,85,360. 

Please wash your hands, Mr Street food vendor

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and National Association of Street Vendors of India are giving lessons on hygiene to street food vendors across the country

Even though the city fumes over the unhygienic practices of street food vendors, some say the ones in Koramangala can set an example for the rest to follow

Remember "Emploice Muswasands" from Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator? Well, street food vendors in India have been told to do just that: must wash hands. While hard core street food lovers would agree that cheap, roadside fast food doesn't taste the same in a hygienic food court without the street dust and grime, the next-gen Indian is becoming increasingly conscious of the hygiene levels. 

India has sported a long history of street food peddlers where a weekend outing for children would be to the nearest pani puri wallah. So the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) along with National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) have begun training sessions for street food vendors in the country to help them become more hygienic. 

At the first session in New Delhi in October, vendors were asked to not pick their noses and or scratch their ears while on the job. The situation in Bangalore, though, is apparently better than Delhi and Mumbai. 

Sangeeta Singh, street food program manager, NASVI, said, "Even though Bangalore was late in catching up on the street food culture, hygiene lessons were in place. The younger generation is conditioned to look for signs of good hygiene when scouring for roadside snacks. For most, the gloves and cap are assurance enough."

Karnataka to bring legislation to control adulterated milk production

BANGALORE: The state government is all set bring in a legislation to punish the guilty dealing with adulterated milk supply. 

Following Supreme Court's observation on December 5, the law and health are meeting on Thursday to discuss the modalities and set the ball rolling for the legislation. Law minister TB Jayachandra told reporters on Monday that necessary amendments to the existing or a fresh law would be introduced. "Milk coming from other states, supplied in border areas are reported of adulteration. Government will strictly deal with this," he said. 

The SC has asked state governments to make necessary amendments to their laws to make production and marketing of adulterated milk, which is injurious to human consumption, an offence punishable with life imprisonment. 

The observation by an apex court bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice AK Sikri came after taking note of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha having made the sale of adulterated milk, contaminated with synthetic material, an offence punishable with life imprisonment. 

Asking the states to make the law to deal with production and sale of milk which is harmful to human beings more stringent, the court observed that the maximum punishment of six months for such offences under the Food Safety and Standards Act was grossly inadequate. 

The court was hearing a public suit which said samples collected by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2011 revealed large-scale sale of adulterated milk across the country.

The FSSAI survey had warned that 70% of milk sold in the country is adulterated. The survey said the milk samples collected from rural and urban areas of all states failed to meet the norms of food safety and standards (FSS). It included both packaged and lose milk. 

FDA: ‘GMOs food safe, requires no labeling’

December 8, 2013: PROPONENTS of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as safe-to-eat gained the upper-hand as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement on Friday it will not require labeling of GM products.

GMOs virtually has no difference from conventional food, is not cancer-causing, and has been proven safe for human health under numerous tests, the FDA statement said.

According to the food authority, packaged products containing GM crops like the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn and those that are not yet in the market, the Bt eggplant and the Vitamin A-rich Golden Rice, have no verifiable difference from any other conventional crops, adding that labeling is only mandatory if there are safety issues.

“These are as safe as the usual crops in the market. The nutrition contents too are substantially equivalent compared to usual farmers’ produce, so why GM food should be labeled?” Oscar Gutierrez Jr., chairman of the FDA Policy Planning Office, was quoted in the statement as saying.

Controversies

ON May 17, the Special 13th Division of the Court of Appeals issued a ruling to permanently stop confined field trials of Bt eggplant because these allegedly pose risks to human health and the environment.

The appellate court said the field trials of Bt talong (Bt eggplant) are unsafe to humans and environment and that the government of Philippines has failed to adopt sufficient biosafety protocols, as well as feasibility studies on GMOs to protect the environment and people’s health.

The groups Masipag (Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development), Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and other advocates against GMOs contend that Bt eggplant is genetically modified to produce its own toxin to kill the eggplant fruit and shoot borer.

According to these groups, genetic engineering disrupts the precise sequence of genetic codes, disturbing the functions of neighboring genes, and that when consumed; GM foods may give rise to potentially toxic or allergenic molecules or even alter the nutritional value.

Concerns were also raised over genetic contamination, wherein a GMO crop reproduces once released in the open via pollination and interacts genetically with natural varieties of the same crop. Bt corn has contaminated the indigenous varieties of corn in Oaxaca, Mexico, a rich gene pool for maize varieties, according to a study published in academic science journal Nature.

In an earlier interview, Masipag said that prospects of export for Philippine organic corn, and eventually rice, might be affected once contamination is proven.

Last month the Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary for Operations Dante S. Delima said the country has already shipped out 350 metric tons of organic rice to several countries.

Biotechnology was identified by the agriculture department as one of the strategies of the government to pursue its food staples sufficiency program in improving the production of staple foods to feed the burgeoning population.

Differences

ACCORDING to the FDA, the difference between GM and non-GM crops is the presence of recombinant DNA or the protein gene that is present in GM crops.

However, in the process of cooking the GM crop, the protein is destroyed or denatured, the FDA said.

“Once cooked, it’s no longer there. The food no longer carries the verifiable recombinant DNA. So what is there to label?” Gutierrez said, adding that in processed products like corn oil or corn syrup which are by-products of both GM and non-GM crops, nutritional content is practically the same in all aspects.

Bt corn, which contains the Bt protein, cannot harm humans because it will need an alkaline environment to be activated, and human guts are acidic, Antonio A. Alfonso said in an interview.

Alfonso, director of DA’s Crop Biotechnology Center, added that the human body does not have receptors in their cells to receive the insecticidal protein.

Guidelines

IN its “Draft Guidelines on Labeling of Prepackaged Foods Derived from or Containing Ingredients from Modern Biotechnology,” the food and drug agency indicated that it will not require labeling for GM packaged foods.

“Special labeling shall not be required for prepackaged food products derived from modern biotechnology that is highly processed as to eliminate the verifiable presence of recombinant DNA [rDNA] or its resulting protein. [These] are substantially equivalent compared with its conventional counterpart or as safe,” it added.

The regulation is in accord with the food safety standards Codex Alimentarius listed in the “Compilation of Codex Texts Relevant to Labelling of Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology.”

Special labels will only be required when there is safety concern about food, according to the guidelines, and this only in instances that “significant change in composition, level of toxin, toxicity, allergenicity, nutritional value, or intended use of the food product as compared to its comparator.”

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization in 1963 to develop harmonized international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair trade practices. The commission also promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations like European Food Safety Authority and International Life Science Inc. The Sanitary Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization ensures that internationally traded food meets the standards based on the scientific principles set by the CAC.

Advisory

IN its Advisory 2013-014 on “Safety of GM Food Produced through Modern Biotechnology” dated June 24, 2013, the FDA stated that food-safety assessment of biotechnology products “is more rigorous,” compared to other conventionally bred crops.

“For the GM food crops that have undergone food-safety assessment and approval process, the consensus of scientific opinion and evidence is that the application of GM technology introduces no unique food safety concerns and up to this time there is no single case of evidence of harm in man,” the FDA said.

The FDA also said with GM crops, Filipino farmers who do not want to plant biotech crops may use conventional seeds that are widely available. Farmers planting corn have chosen to plant the GM Bt corn which as of 2012 occupied 719,446 hectares. This area was up from 685,372 hectares in 2011 and was a steady increase from around 10,000 hectares when it was first planted in 2003, it noted.