Zagade transferred before end of stint as Maharashtra FDA commissioner

Weeks before the end of his tenure as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra commissioner, Mahesh Zagade has been transferred.

This development was preceded by a reshuffle of the state Cabinet, wherein Amit Vilasrao Deshmukh succeeded Satej D (Bunty) Patil as minister of state for food and drug administration. According to sources, Patil’s departure was the main reason why Zagade’s tenure was not extended further.

Purshottam Bhapkar, former director, municipal administration, Government of Maharashtra, has succeeded Zagade as chief of the state regulator. He was Aurangabad’s municipal commissioner until 2012. Y P Yajurvedi Rao, president, Society for Awareness of Civil Rights, hoped he would use his experience and expertise to keep up the good work.

Rao stated, “It is sad that Zagade was transferred before the end of his tenure. He was one of the few officers who spoke about regulations and enforcement. He banned gutkha and other tobacco products across Maharashtra, and did the state proud by bagging a World Health Organisation (WHO) accolade for the same.”

Commenting on Zagade’s transfer, an FDA Maharashtra source, on the condition of anonymity, said, “He was an honest and strict officer, whose agenda was regulations and their enforcement. He was transferred hurriedly - while his three-year term would have come to an end on August 29, 2014.”

65,000 U’khand food businesses have one sample test lab

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand has a thriving hotel industry, but there is only one food sample testing laboratory in all of the 13 districts of the state. The Food and Drug Testing Laboratory at Rudrapur caters to nearly 65,000 food business operators (FBO) in the state. 

As Union health minister Harsh Vardhan recently visited the state, the Uttarakhand government sought that another food testing laboratory be set up, to offer better facilities to those operating in the food business. The union minister approved the proposal, and gave a go-ahead for the setting up of a new laboratory in Garhwal region. 

With Raksha Bandhan on August 10, the state food safety department is flooded with complaints of adulteration of milk and other food products. 

"The number of samples for testing increases at the time of festivals as the department tries to control adulteration," said Rajendra Singh Rawat, food security officer of Dehradun. 

On an average, over 150 food product samples land at the laboratory each day. During festive seasons, that number goes up to 200. At present, barring random inspections of shops and hotels by food security officers, the state does not have a proper system to monitor quality of food served at hotels and cooked by those in the business. 

"In case of any complaint, food samples are picked up. We have to wait for a long time for getting the report. If a new facility is set up in Garhwal, it would help better monitor hotels and other food business operators," a state government official said. 

In order to rein in food stall owners and hotels, the state food safety department has recently launched an online registration, the first such effort. Nearly 40,000 businesses have registered already. After registration, these business units can get their food samples tested and verified under established rules. This process will be expedited, once the second laboratory is functional. 

At the district level, the food security officer (FSO) conducts inspections in the market and food samples are collected from doubtful FBOs. "To streamline the system we have launched an online mandatory registration for all the FBOs. This will help keep tabs on the numbers, location and scale of business units," the official said. 

Next time you guzzle beer, check the expiry date

Ensure the expiry date on the bottle next time you purchase beer, as showing scant regard for safety of consumers, liquor vends have been found selling expired beer.

In a recent inspection at a liquor shop in Transport Nagar, the health department found two samples expired and unsafe for consumption.

Dr Kulwinder Singh, district health officer (DHO), said, “Samples were taken in July and sent to Chandigarh for checking. The results revealed that one beer had expired, while the other was found unfit for consumption as suspended particles were found in the bottle.”

“A show-cause notice will be served to the liquor vend owner and further action will be taken as per norms,” said Dr Kulwinder, adding that the expired beer sample would invite fine for the owner, while the substandard sample would go to the additional deputy commissioner’s court, where a fine from Rs. 3 lakh toRs. 5 lakh could be imposed on the owner.

It’s pertinent to mention that not many liquor samples have been collected by the health department in the past. Thus, the quality of liquor being sold goes un-checked. Besides, though liquor falls under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, no liquor vend in the city has got itself registered, even as the last date for registration was August 4.

Organic products within reach of common man, thanks to PGS

Products with PGS Organic Council certification in Puducherry

Children in Puducherry are taking a fancy to a dates-based toffee over traditional chocolates to celebrate their birthdays.

The toffee is among the many organic products available at the local ‘uzhavar sandhai’ (farmers’shandy ). While ‘organic’ products are nothing new to Puducherry, thanks to the influence of the Ashram and Auroville, this is the first time the toffee and a range of other products such as millets, vegetables, fruits and rice grains have been certified here.

Unlike Tamil Nadu which has a government certification department for organic products, organic farmers in Puducherry had to depend on third party certification or sell without certification so far. This has changed with the introduction of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in Puducherry.

PGS is a process in which a group of five or more small producers assess, inspect and verify the production practices of each other and collectively declare their produce organic. PGS involves the stakeholders on a direct level and holds them accountable. This means that even if one of the farmers violates the procedures set down by the PGS Organic Council India, the certification of the entire group is cancelled.

The PGS was launched in the country in 2011 through the National Centre of Organic Farming. The certification and use of logo is valid for a period of three years before it has to be renewed.

In Puducherry, NABARD, in association with the Keystone Foundation, conducted training for organic farmers through the NGO, Ekoventure, which is now the facilitator for the PGS certification. So far, two groups, the Balaraman Iyarkai Velanmai Kuzhu and the Thiruvalluvar Iyarkai Velanmai Kuzhu, have received certification.

“Normally, certification is a long process and an individual organic farmer would have to spend between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000 and group certification could cost around Rs. 3 lakh. Under PGS, it is free and the paperwork is minimal and in the local language,” says S. Manimaran, coordinator at Ekoventure. “Certification cost is responsible for driving up the price of organic products and PGS would help bring it down,” says R. Chandrapurani, facilitator, Ekoventure. The peer appraisal system helps keep checks, she adds.

“There is a definite increase in demand for organic products with increased health awareness. There is a certain value attached to the term ‘organic.’ With the PGS, organic products can now reach the common man as product prices decrease,” says Uma Gurumurthy, assistant general manager of NABARD, Puducherry.

“Just as an ISI mark or AGMARK gives products a separate value, PGS will also bring about quality. PGS has also helped to bring traditional millets like kudiraivali and cumbu and products like gooseberry juice back on our dining table,” she says.

How Safe is Your Canned ‘Mineral’ Water?

VIJAYAWADA: Mineral water cans have, of late, become household items and are being delivered just a call away. But, if you are under the impression that the water in these cans is really mineralised and that all the suppliers are authorised, then you are in for a shock.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), there are only 30 authorised packaged drinking water suppliers in Krishna district of which most of the agencies supply only ‘purified water’ but not mineral water.

The latest report compiled by the FSSAI shows that there are about 300 unauthorised packaged drinking water plants in the district, mostly concentrated in Vijayawada. It may be mentioned here that most of the people are switching to mineral water cans due to the impurities in municipal water being supplied to their areas and a few of them are simply ordering the cans, following the trend.

“I have been purchasing the mineral water cans for the last two years since the municipal water lacks quality. The municipal water often has dirt particles and stench, sometimes. I tried different water purifying systems available in the market, but none of them were effective. Hence, I started using the mineral water cans,” said K Lokesh of Vasavi Nagar. A resident of an apartment in Gurunanak Colony said that he started using the cans as everyone in his apartment were ordering for one.

Meanwhile, designated FSSAI officer of the district M Srinivasa Rao said that most of the registered plants just purify the water by RO process and sell them. He says, “Water is called mineral water only after the process of mineralisation, i.e., adding minerals to the water is completed.

But then, almost all the registered water packaging plants in the district are just reverse osmosis (RO) plants, which purify the water and supply after packaging.” The water packaging plant should meet the parameters set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to become an authorised water packaging agency, and the district has only 30 such plants. The department conducts inspections once every six months to check whether or not the packaged water is meeting the prescribed standards.

A team of food safety officers collected samples from various water packaging plants across the district in May and sent them for analysis. “We sent water samples collected from various places to our lab and found that six plants were manufacturing sub-standard packaged drinking water.

Majority of these six plants are located in Vijayawada followed by Gudivada and Challapalli. Besides, there are 300 unauthorised packaged water units,” he pointed out and added that the cases were registered against the six plants and the verdict was awaited.

Raw treatment

300 Unauthorised packaged drinking water plants identified in Krishna, most of them concentrated in Vijayawada, says FSSAI report

Only 30 RO plants meet the BIS standards in dist

Traders' body welcomes food Act registration deferment

The Chandigarh chapter of the Confederation of All India Traders, hailed Health Minister Harshvardhan's decision to defer the last date of obtaining registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, till February 4, 2015. CAIT National Secretary and Chandigarh-based entrepreneur Harish Garg and trade leaders suggested constituting a panel of senior government officials and CAIT representatives to study the Act and recommend necessary amendments to make the Act universally accepted.

Trade leaders said under the Act any food business operator which means, an institution with either profit motive or not, from the public or private sector engaged in food manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, import, and distribution will be treated as food business operators who are bound to obtain registration and license from the concerned department.

Commenting on the statement issued by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Garg said, "It is certainly a big relief for traders as the Act includes various anomalies and disparities. CAIT has been opposing the Act since its rules allow multinational corporations to control and dominate the food business in India.

There are various provisions which cannot be met by domestic food business operators in the country. CAIT has been lobbying for deferring the Act since last more than two months which have been fruitful, but our fight does not end here and will continue till the end , pointed Garg.

Harish Garg said, "Under the provisions of the Act, persons engaging in food distribution will be required to obtain registration."