Traders seek changes in food safety act

Traders in Tamil Nadu have sought changes to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

At a conference held here recently, the traders said that the changes in the Act and the Food Safety and Standard Rules, 2011 were necessary for realising the objectives of the Act. It was impossible for not only the traders but also those in the food business to comply with the provisions of the Act.

Until the Central Government amended the Act, it should desist from implementing the same across the country.

L-G orders more surprise checks

Summary 

26 teams inspect fair price shops, petrol pumps, LPG agencies, construction sites.

In a second series of inspections across the capital, carried out on the direction of Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung, major irregularities were found in hospitals, fair price shops, transport offices and construction sites, leading to suspension of officials in some instances. The department of food and supplies constituted 26 teams, which inspected fair price shops, petrol pumps and LPG agencies. 

Food safety officers, along with 10 police personnel, checked sweet shops in Netaji Subhas Place Market, Wazirpur and Rani Bagh. Samples of spices, besan and sweets were lifted from four shops and sent to the food testing lab for analysis. 

Food safety officials sent samples of spices, besan and sweets like colouful laddoos, yellow chilly powder, chaat masala, raskadam, cashewnuts to food testing lab for analysis during a check on sweet shops in Netaji Subhas Place Market, Wazirpur and Rani Bagh. 

Action would be taken upon receipt of the analysis which is expected in two weeks, officials said.

Define standards for gluten-free food: Experts

NEW DELHI: Imagine it's your child's birthday and s/he can't have a piece of cake. This can happen if s/he has Celiac disease (or wheat allergy), which is a type of food allergy where individuals are intolerant to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related cereals. About 1 crore people are suffering from Celiac disease in India, and about 1.5 lakh of them are in Delhi.

This was the topic of discussion at the Celiac Day organized by Celiac Support Organisation (CSO), Indian Dietetic Association (IDA) and Times Foundation at Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi on Saturday where around 500 celiac patients and their families participated.

Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and Bihar have a higher number of celiac patients. As hypersensitivity to gluten is genetically determined, there is no cure for the disease at present but it can be managed by staying off all forms of gluten in the diet, Dr S K Mittal, president of CSO, said. He stressed on the need to formulate a national standard for defining gluten-free foods.

"There is an urgent need for a national public awareness campaign on the lines of Thalassaemia. The government must ensure availability of tested, certified gluten-free foods at reasonable rates," Dr Mittal said.

"We need to have a positive thinking to fight the disease. I appreciate Times Foundation joining the cause and would like to appeal to other corporates to play a role in the fight against Celiac disease."

"Typical symptoms of the disease are loose motion, anaemia and short stature. However, almost 50% may present atypical symptoms and that's why the disease doesn't get picked up easily. There is no particular age at which the disease may present," Dr Sushma Narayan, secretary general of CSO, said.

Dr Rajarshi Bhattacharjee, National Head, Health and Wellness, Times Foundation, emphasized the need to create public awareness. "Times Foundation is happy to support the cause so that voices of people suffering from the life-long Celiac disease are heard by the government for necessary actions. This will go a long way to reduce expenses for managing the disease," he said.

Times Foundation encourages all corporates to take up the cause as part of their CSR activity. For support, please mail to csoindia@gmail.com or rajarshi.bhattacharjee@timesgroup.com.

Food and Drugs Administration recovers Rs 1.16 crore as penalty

PUNE: The Food and Drugs Administration officials have recovered over Rs 1.16 crore from food manufacturers, packers and labellers in Pune division as fine for not filing their annual returns for the fiscal 2013-14 within the stipulated time.

However, food business operators claimed that the government made little efforts to inform them about filing the annual returns and expressed dissatisfaction over the whole procedure.

For the first time, food business operators were asked to submit annual returns of their transactions made between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, since the new Food Safety and Standards Act came into force in August 2011.

The FDA had earlier directed licenced food business operators with an annual turnover of Rs 12 lakh and above to submit their returns by May 31, 2013, failing which a fine of Rs 100 a day would be levied.

"Of the total fine collected this year, Pune district has contributed Rs 88.27 lakh, which is the highest in the division. Some food manufacturers individually paid fines up to Rs 25,000," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA Pune.

The administration division of the FDA in Pune comprises Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur. "There are a total of 3,797 food manufactures in Pune division. Of them, 1,899 are from Pune, 679 from Sangli, 487 from Satara, 423 from Kolhapur and 309 from Solapur," said Dilip Sangat, assistant commissioner (food), FDA Pune

As per the Food Safety and Standards Act and Regulations 2011 (licensing and registration), the business operators have to submit the returns in the particular format (form D-1). Owners of the dairy businesses have been asked to submit the returns in a half-yearly format as given in form D-2.

"Awareness about filing the annual returns is very low among the food business operators. Besides, the state government has also not made substantial efforts to sensitize on the issue," said Raykumar Nahar, one of the board of directors of the Poona Merchant Chambers.

Nahar also pointed out that the FDA officials had no discretionary powers to waive off fine in genuine cases. "The officials are bound by the law. Besides, objectives of collecting D1 and D2 forms are not very clear. All food products are perishable goods and invariably have expiry dates. Some food products expire within 15 days or a month. There is no need for the department to collect information of such products," Nahar said.

There are over 9,000 licensed food business operators in the city with an annual turnover of Rs 12 lakh and above. They include food manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, recyclers, processors, transporters, restaurants, hotels and catering business operators.

In some reprieve to traders, restaurants and distributors, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) later decided to exclude them from filing annual returns.

About food business

Any public or private undertaking, profit or non-profit, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution, import and sale of food or food ingredients

Food business operator

A person who runs or owns the business and is responsible for ensuring the compliance of the Food Safety and Standards Act and the other rules and regulations