Officials to launch drive against artificial ripening of mangoes

With the summer season having set in and mangoes slowly flooding the market, Food Safety Wing officials in the district are gearing up to launch a drive against the practice of artificial ripening of mangos.

The demand during peak season is estimated to exceed 10 tonnes every day in the district.

Supply

With the supply not always keeping up with the demand and given the high profit margins involved, some food businesses operators resort to artificial ripening, a senior Food Safety Wing official told The Hindu here on Wednesday.

Artificial ripening can be detected upon close examination of the mangos. Such mangoes will have uniform yellow colour across their surface with no traces of green.

The mangoes that ripe naturally will have traces of green and yellow and will not be uniform in colour.

Further, all mangoes in a batch will have the uniform colour.

Despite having yellow skin, the mango will be hard and not have the softness of ripe mangoes, the official said.

Artificial ripening was mostly done using calcium carbide, which was widely available at low costs and was predominantly used in arc welding.

When mixed with water, it emitted acetylene gas which caused the chlorophyll (green pigment) to change colour. However, none of the other processes involved in ripening takes place.

As calcium carbide was an industrial grade product, it contained arsenic and lead participles.

These toxic impurities affect the neurological system and reduce the oxygen supply to the brain. Consuming artificially ripened mangoes could result in sleeping disorders and headaches, memory loss, seizures, mouth ulcers, skin rashes, renal problems and possibly, even cancer, the official warned.

List

A list of the fruit shops had already been prepared. Inspections would be taken up soon in all the 12 blocks of Coimbatore district and the three municipalities, besides the Corporation limits.

South Goa chilly powder manufacturer fined

PANAJI: The adjudicating officer, South Goa, appointed and notified under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, imposed a punishment penalty fine of 25,000 on Sahyas Spice, Benaulim, for manufacturing, distributing and selling misbranded chilly powder.

Anthony K D Kunnapally of Sahyas Spice has been penalized under the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulation, 2011.

The chilly powder packets for sale did not contain the stipulated label declaration which was in contravention of Section 26(2)(ii), Section 26(2)(v) and Section 27(1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 52 of the said Act with penalty only.

Samples of misbranded food articles were drawn by food safety officer Shivdas Naik of the Food and Drugs Administration, on April 9, 2012.

Thereafter, civil proceedings were filed by him before the district collector/adjudicating officer, South Goa.

Junk food high in fat, sugar and salt: panel

An expert group has suggested restricting the availability and consumption of junk food or food high in fat, sugar and salt in schools and in a 50 metre radius around them. It has also called for increasing the availability of wholesome food to schoolchildren across the country.

The committee has identified chips, fried foods, sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages, sugar-sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato fries and confectionery items as the common foods containing fat, sugar and salt in high quantities.

It gave this suggestion in draft guidelines for making available quality and safe foods in schools. A copy of the guidelines was on Wednesday submitted to the Delhi High Court.

The Court has been hearing a petition by non-government organisation Uday Foundation in the matter. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had set up the expert committee on a direction by the Court to advise the Central Advisory Committee to develop guidelines for making available quality and safe food in schools.

The guidelines further state that steps should be initiated to develop a nationwide programme for identification of more foods based on the criterion and inform the schools accordingly.

Another category of concern is the non-standardised deep fried foods such as samosa, chana-bhatura, etc that are available in school canteens and nearby areas. The guidelines state that the school managements must ensure regulation of such foods through canteen policies that promote consumption of healthy, wholesome and nutritious foods alone.

Canteen in schools should not be treated as commercial outlets; they carry a social responsibility towards inculcating healthy eating behaviour, the guidelines noted. The canteens can be used to motivate children to consume healthy and hygienic food.

The guidelines also stress the need to regulate `the exposure and power of advertisements and promotional activities’ that are targeted at children.

``It is recommended that the government may advise the Advertising Standards Council of India or any other relevant body to consider developing such a framework for (1) regulating advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (2) limiting reach of such advertisements in the electronic media where the school children are the key audience (3) restricting celebrity endorsements for such foods and (4) regulating promotional activities of such foods targeted at the children,’’ the guidelines pointed out.

It has also been stated that FSSAI should ensure that the labels on all food packets should carry information on the type and quantity of various nutrients and how much the serving size contributes to the total daily requirement.

Experts shy from ban on junk food

NEW DELHI: A report submitted by an expert group on junk food has recommended regulation of such food items in school canteens but shied away from pushing for a total ban. 

The expert group, formed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, on Wednesday informed HC about the guidelines on the subject of "making available quality and safe food in schools" and suggested food high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) be restricted in schools and "within 50 metres" radius as opposed to the demand for a total ban within 500 yards made by the petitioner. 

On being told that the guidelines have been framed, a bench comprising acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice S Mridul asked FSSAI to file them within two days with advance copies to the petitioner NGO Uday Foundation and the amicus curiae (senior advocate N K Kaul) who can then come up with their response. The report argues children are not "the best judge of their food choice" and admits that schools are not the right place for promoting HFSS foods. 

It termed "chips, fried foods, sugar sweetened carbonated beverages" etc as HFSS foods and suggested "the school management must ensure regulation of such foods through canteen policies that promote healthy, wholesome and nutritious foods". The panel has also suggested a canteen policy to provide nutritious food in school be developed to ensure that such canteens are not treated as "commercial outlets". 

"A school health team or a similar unit could be set up in each school comprising teachers, parents and school canteen operators which will coordinate, implement and monitor the canteen policy to make available quality and nutritious food to students in schools," the report, says. 

TOI, which published extracts of the report, had on Wednesday highlighted how the panel is split on the need to ban junk food completely from school premises. HC is hearing the PIL filed by Uday Foundation seeking an immediate ban on junk food and carbonated drinks in all unaided and private schools. The NGO has also sought a direction to initiate measures to discourage availability of fast food within 500 yards of schools in Delhi, apart from a canteen policy.

HC asks FSSAI to file guidelines on junk food in schools

The Delhi High Court today asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to file the draft guidelines on regulation of sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around school premises in the country. 

The expert group, formed by FSSAI, has come out with a slew of guidelines on the subject of "making available quality and safe food in schools" and suggested the availability of food high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) be restricted in schools and area "within 50 meters". 

The report said the kids are not "the best judge of their food choice" and moreover, the schools are not the right place for promoting HFSS foods. 

It termed "chips, fried foods, sugar sweetened carbonated beverageas" etc as HFSS foods and suggested "the school management must ensure regulation of such foods through canteen policies that promote healthy, wholesome and nutritious foods...". 

It also suggested there are food items such as 'samosa' and other fried food and a nationwide propgramme can be started to find out as to which can be termed as HFSS food. 

The panel has also suggested a canteen policy to provide nutritious food in school be developed to ensure that such canteens are not treated as "commercial outlets". 

"A school health team or a similar unit could be set up in each school comprising teachers, parents and school canteen operators which will coordinate, implement and monitor the canteen policy to make available quality and nutritious food to students in schools," the report said. 

On being told that the guidelines have been framed, the bench, headed by acting Chiief Justice B D Ahmed, asked FSSAI to file them within two days with advance copies to the petitioner and the amicus curiae. 

The court is hearing the PIL filed by Uday Foundation seeking an immediate ban on junk food and carbonated drinks in all unaided and private schools. 

The NGO has also sought a direction to initiate measures to discourage availability of fast food within 500 yards of schools in Delhi, apart from a canteen policy.

Registration, licensing under FSSAI go online

Bathinda, March 12

The Health Department today started the online registration of food business operators under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act. 

Under the project, the department issued the first licence to Kewal Chand Sharma, a shopkeeper at Bhagu Road. District Health Officer and Nodal Officer under the FSSAI Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa said the online facility will limit food operator’s visit to the health authorities.

“From the time of applying for registration or licence, till the inspections are conducted, the business operators will have to visit our office just once to give a hard copy and collect his licence or registration number,” he said.

Dr Randhawa said the business operator will have to register online through the website www.foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in Thereafter, he would be given a self-generated password and a login account using which he can see the status of his application. Within 15 days of applying online, hard copies will have to be submitted at the nodal officer’s office.

In the meantime, the district nodal officer will be informed about the application filed through the online system.

For the issuance of registration number, the food safety officer will conduct inspection and issue the number. However, for issuing licence, the inspection report will be verified by the nodal officer.

Since its introduction around two years ago, 620 licences and 4,000 registration numbers have been issued in the district.