Food Safety Guidelines for thawing Food Prior to Cooking or Consumption

Frozen Corn
Dogs
To thaw the food means to bring food products from a freezing point to room temperature. Another name for thawing is defrosting. Food is frozen so that microorganisms do not grow and so no degradation or contamination takes place as long as the food remains frozen. However, bacteria begin to multiply when the temperature of food is above 4°C. Therefore when defrosting frozen food it is important to maintain temperatures even while it is thawing.
Food Business Operators must maintain a defrosting chart in their kitchens which states the time a particular quantity of food or a particular food may take to completely thawed. This will help to begin the defrosting process well in time so foods can be thawed at the right time for either cooking or consumption.
FSSAI guidelines for thawing foods so food safety is maintained:
FBOs must label all food packets being thawed with defrost date and time to indicate 2nd shelf life. Secondary shelf life is the time limit within which the food can be used safely once the original packaging is opened.
Temperature of thawed foods that have to be cooked should not be warmer than 5°C
Only thaw that much portion of food that is required
After thawing, food products must be used within 12 hours
Thawed food products should not be refrozen or kept in the chiller for use beyond 12 hours
DO NOT thaw foods in hot water
Meat, poultry and fish should be thawed in controlled temperatures of 5°C
Thawing containers must be marked green for vegetarian food and red for non vegetarian foods
The following methods can be used for thawing or defrosting food:
Refrigerator: Thawing in the fridge may be the easiest and the safest as there is minimum handling. Refrigeration thawing takes long and time varies, depending on the temperature inside the fridge.
Cold water: Sealed packets of food are easy to thaw in cold water. Place the package in covered water in a bowl or sink and change the water every 30 minutes till the food is thawed.
Running cold water Temperature of the cold water must be 15°C or less. Defrosting by this method should not be for more than 90 minutes. There must be an air break between tap and water. Food must be placed only in sanitised food grade utensil. Do not use kitchen sink for any other purpose while food is being thawed in the sink. This method is good for thawing shellfish and other sea foods.
Microwave thawing should be used if the thawed food is going to be cooked or consumed immediately or microorganisms could multiply. This is not recommended for meats as it leaves the food unevenly thawed.

Minutes concerning lecithin amended at 15th authority meeting of FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, convened its fifteenth authority meeting recently. It adopted the minutes of the 14th meeting after amending the minutes which respect to supplementary agenda number one, which concerns the use of lecithin and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate in biscuits.
Confirming the development, Pradip Chakraborty, director (zone/training), FSSAI, said, “The authority considered and approved the recommendation of the scientific committee and its subsequent draft amendment notification with respect to the use of lecithin in biscuits.”
K Chandramouli, chairman, FSSAI, chaired the meeting. Welcoming those present, he said, “After the last meeting, a number of scientific panel and expert group meetings were held, so that several important scientific matters regarding standard setting could be brought to this meeting.”
He drew the attention of the members of the authority to the various scientific panel, expert group and scientific committee meetings being held on a continuous basis to strengthen the process of standard-setting, and placed on record his appreciation for the work being undertaken by these bodies.
Chandramouli said, “The number of proposals for standardisation going to panels has increased. This would ultimately help in the effective implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and provide safety to the consumers as laid down in Section 16 of the Act.”
He stated that the proposed amendment to the Act, which was approved by the Cabinet for simplification in the notification process, was introduced in Rajya Sabha in February 2014. “That would help simplify the process, so that standard-setting is faster,” he added. D K Samantaray, FSSAI’s then chief executive officer, conducted the proceedings.
Item I: Disclosure of interest by members
All the members present during the meeting signed the Specific Declaration of Interest in respect of the agenda items to be considered in the meeting, before the proceedings of the meeting.
Item II: Confirmation of the minutes of the meeting held on January 31, 2014
FSSAI confirmed the minutes of its 13th meeting, held on January 31, 2014, While adopting the meeting, Vinod Kotwal, director, Codex, FSSAI, informed that the papers related to areca nut, submitted by two members of the authority, have been forwarded for considered to the concerned director.
With regard to the agenda item pertaining to the product approval process, it was informed that the issues raised by the joint secretary, ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI), were replied to by FSSAI in a letter dated May 2014.
Regarding agenda item number 12 of the 13th Authority meeting, it was informed Agmark was denotifying their standards, and the Bureau of Indian Standards was in the process of adopting them. Thereafter, the issue would be taken up.
Further, it was informed that the comments regarding degumming would be referred to the concerned expert group for oils and fats.
Item III: Action taken report - 13th authority meeting
As decided and recorded in the minutes of FSSAI’s 13th authority meeting, the action taken report on the agenda items of the meeting was enclosed as information to the authority’s members. The action taken reports of the previous meetings were also circulated.
Item IV: Chief executive officer’s report
Samantaray briefed those present about the activities undertaken by FSSAI after the last authority meeting with respect to:
Enforcement activities, including the number of Central licences and state registration/licences issued by the states;
Surveillance activities;
Training and capacity-building;
Information, education and communication (IEC) activities;
Scientific committees’/scientific panels’ meetings and the progress in the work of standard setting;
Harmonisation of standards with Codex, and
Codex activities and financeIt was informed that around 30 meetings of the scientific panels, expert groups and scientific committees have been held since the last authority meeting. FSSAI’s chief executive officer thanked the chairs and the members of the committees, panels and expert groups.
The details of participation in various Codex Committee meetings was given, and it was also informed that the first meeting of the Codex Committee meeting on spices and culinary herbs was held in Kochi in February 2014.
Samantaray also drew the attention of all the members towards important cases going on in the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court.
In the case of Virender Kumar Yadav versus the Union of India, which is pending before Lucknow High Court and is on the appointment of whole-time designated officers in Uttar Pradesh, FSSAI has initiated the process to amend Rule 2.1.2 (b) of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011, wherein it has been proposed that the period for appointment of designated officers has been amended from one year to five years.
Further, as per the High Court order dated April 25, 2013, FSSAI appointed Lucknow’s State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) as the training institute under the provisions of Rule 2.1.3 of FSSR, 2011.
A communication is being addressed to the governments of all the states and Union Territories for the appointment of full-time designated officers.
The expenditure finance committee (EFC) meetings were held on January 3, 2014 and March 24, 2014 to discuss the Central sector and centrally-sponsored schemes.
Agenda items
Approval for revised standards for salted fish or dried salted fish
Approval of revised list of fish species having potential to cause histamine fish poisoning
Approval for revision of limits oof histamine level for fish and fishery products
Approval for revised pharmacologically active substances prohibited for fish and fishery products
Approval for revised heavy metals in fish and fishery products
Approval for limits of biotoxins in fish and fishery products
Approval for limits of contaminants: Polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds in fish and fishery products
Approval of microbiological standards for milk and milk products
Approval of microbial standards for fruit and vegetable products
Approval of microbial standards for meat and meat products
Approval for standards for water used into food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment (water as an ingredient in food)
Approval for standards of lactic acid - food grade
Approval for standards of malt extract
Approval for adoption of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)/Department of Biotechnology (DBT) guidelines for probiotics
Adoption of ICMR guidelines for the safety assessment of foods derived from genetically-engineered plantsDraft amendment to Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011 with respect to the fixation of maximum residue limits of 24 pesticides recommended by the scientific panel on pesticides and antibiotic residues of FSSAI and approved by the scientific committee in its eleventh meeting, held on March 25, 2014.
Final approval of the following draft notifications - (a) Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2013 (No 1-83/Sci Pan - Noti/FSSAI-2012 dated May 16, 2013) and (b) Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Second Amendment Regulations, 2013 dated September 10, 2013 (No 1-83/Sci Pan - Noti/FSSAI-2012 dated May 16, 2013)
Ingredients approved in the meetings of the scientific panel on functional foods, nutraceuticals and dietetic products and other similar products and the scientific committee
Draft regulation on gluten-free and low gluten-food products
Status note on harmonisation of India’s food standards with Codex standards and other international best practices
Manuals on adjudicating officer, designated officer and food safety officer
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for microbiological contamination (mycotoxins) in food
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for microbiological contamination (mycotoxins) in food
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for microbiological contamination (mycotoxins) in food
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for microbiological contamination (mycotoxins) in food
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for heavy metals for all food product categories
Harmonisation of horizontal standards for naturally-occurring toxins (NOT) for all food product categories
Agenda arises from authority meeting held on January 31, 2014Supplementary agendas
Use of lecithin and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate in biscuits
Use of synthetic colour in thermally-processed bell pepper, okra and spinach
Approval of sodium alginate as a food additive in ice cream
Finalisation and adoption of draft FSSAI manuals on method of analysis of foodBesides Chandramouli and Samantaray, the following members of the authority participated in it:
Dr Arun Kumar Panda, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Utpal Kumar Singh, joint secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC)
Anuradha Prasad, joint secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Dr Lalitha Ramakrishna Gowda, chief scientist, Department of Protein Chemistry and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Mysore, Karnataka
Salim A Veljee, commissioner, food safety, Goa, and director, Food and Drug Administration, Goa
K S Rana, designated officer, Food Safety Cell, Chandigarh
Dr A R Sharma, chairman and managing director, Ricelaa Health Foods Ltd, Sangrur, Punjab
Vasudev K Thakkar, president, V Care Right and Duty non-government organisation, Vadodara
Shreya Pandey, All India Food Processors’ Association
Meetu Kapur, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
Thanglura, Mizoram Consumers’ Union, Aizawl
Abukalam, Madina Munavara Coffee Estate, Chikmagalur, KarnatakaBesides Chakraborty and Kotwal (who is also FSSAI’s establishment and IEC director and financial advisor), it was attended by the following FSSAI officers:
Sanjay Dave, advisor
Sandhya Kabra, director, quality assurance, product approval and imports
Dr Meenakshi Singh, scientist, standards
Dr Bimal Kumar Dubey, director, enforcement and surveillance
Rakesh Kulshreshtha, joint director, management
Anil Mehta, designated officer, northern region
P K Karthikeyan, assistant director, regulation
Sanjay Gupta, assistant director, enforcement
B G Pandian, assistant director, imports
Dr Rajesh Kumar, scientist IV (1)

Antibiotics in the chicken we eat

APTHE THREAT: The antibiotics used in poultry are the same as the ones used for humans and will lead to resistant strains of bacteria.

It is imperative that the government takes urgent steps to deal with the growing misuse of antibiotics in the poultry industry

The road from Hyderabad to Bangalore is full of history. On the way is Banganapalli in Rayalaseema, a place with legendary history. Until the late 1700s it was a major area for diamonds. Quarried from there, diamonds were brought over to the Nizam’s Hyderabad, where thousands of merchants marketed it across the world. Strip-mined to the last carat by the late 1800s, we lost out to South Africa and South America both in production and sales of this king of gems.

Banganapalli has also been known for another king, mango — the king of fruits. Even today the Banganapalli mangoes (also called Benishan or spotless) give the much overrated Alphonso a run for the money. But alas, over the last decades, traders’ greed has led to a crisis. In their bid to ripen the fruit quickly and in the godown, they have resorted to using calcium carbide, which generates the fruit ripening gas ethylene, to do so. Result, the fruit is unevenly ripe and not as sweet as the tree-ripened ones. The residual carbide poses health hazards as well. The government appears to have finally woken up but has only issued warnings to the fruit sellers so far.

These days, as we drive from Hyderabad to Bangalore, what hits the eye is row after row of poultry farms. These are the chicken factories owned and operated not by the villager who may breed a few in his home, but by industrial hatcheries. These and similar ones elsewhere across the country have led to a “chicken and egg” revolution in India, somewhat similar to the green and white revolutions. The midday meal scheme in Tamil Nadu has introduced eggs as an occasional part of the meal for school children, with the admirable idea of better nutrition.

But there is a danger here. Just as with chemicals in the mango, or oxytocin in milk (a hormone that supposedly increases milk output in cows and buffalos), we now have a health hazard looming large in commercially produced chicken. The hazard here is the use of antibiotics in the feed given to the chicken for faster growth and to prevent any infection during hatching. Famous hatcheries such as Venky’s, Vetline India and Skylark Hatcheries regularly use antibiotics in order to reduce feed conversion ratios.

The environmental science journal Down to Earth, in its 1-15 August, 2014 issue, has highlighted the problem by analysing the antibiotic content in the chicken meat obtained from various markets in its labs, and the results are alarming. Typical antibiotics found in the chicken liver, muscles and kidney are the tetracyclines (such as doxycycline), fluoroquinolones (such as enrofloxacin) and aminoglycosides (such as neomycin).

Why are these dangerous? Repeated and prolonged exposure will lead to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. And these resistant strains will be passed on to the humans who consume them. Even the un-mutated bacteria in the meat can directly unleash an assault on the microbes in our guts. And note too that the antibiotics used in poultry are the same as the ones used for humans.

What about the inedible parts of the chicken that we throw away or bury in the ground? Resistant strains from the feather, bone and such are now transferred to soil, ground water, ponds and streams. In effect, as Down to Earth points out as a microbe becomes resistant, it influences other microbes present in the gut of the chicken and then those in the environment, making them resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.

It is thus imperative that government takes urgent steps to deal with this growing misuse of antibiotics in the poultry industry. Dr Chandra Bhushan of Down to Earth has come up with a set of recommendations. Some of these are: (i) Ban the use of antibiotics for growth promotion, (2) Do not allow the use of antibiotics in feed and improve the regulations of the Bureau of Industrial security (BIS) accordingly, (3) Do not allow the use of antibiotics critical for humans in animals, (4) Train veterinarians on the judicious use of antibiotics, (5) Set pollution standards and install pollution control systems to limit transfer of resistant bacteria and antibiotics from poultry farms to the environments, (6) Encourage development, production and use of alternative antibiotic-free growth promoters such as herbal supplements and better farm management practices, and (7) Develop an integrated surveillance system to monitor antibiotic-resistant trends in humans, animals and the food chain.

In all this, time is of the essence. Why? Microbes grow fast. Their generation time is in minutes and hours. The chances of mutation, and the time involved in generating newer strains are thus far, far lesser than in animals. In fighting microbes with newer and newer antibiotics, we are fighting a hard-to-win battle, rather reminiscent of the myth of the Corinthian king Sisiphus. His punishment for his deceitfulness was to roll a boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down, and repeat it. Shall we therefore be wiser, since win we must?

D. BALASUBRAMANIAN

Stringent label rules choke city's sushi-to-Swiss chocolate supplies

Pune: 

Italian restaurant Dario's in the city has run out of ricotta salata, pecorino and goat cheese from France, and is having to adapt and substitute them in the cooking to keep patrons happy .

Like Dario's, several other fine-dining restaurants and their patrons are experiencing adearth of imported food products and upmarket food stores have almost no stocks of Swiss chocolates, cookies, canned fish, sushi ingredients, wasabi or Thai curry paste.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules on product labeling has led to a shortage of imported food products from canned fish to condiments, sauces, vinegars, cheese, honey, pastas, and many other products.

Sources from the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), a national body of food product importers, said the shortage across the country is over 50%, with close to 450 imported food products out-ofstock in Pune alone.

Over 4,000 containers are stuck at ports following the restrictions on labeling and may not arrive in time for the festive season (Diwali and Christmas). By this time, items like chocolates and biscuits used for gifting will be out of stock completely .

The forum has 127 corporate members, 45 associate members and 11,265 retailers.Amit Lohani, FIFI's national convenor, said, “The containers are stuck at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata ports because of labeling deficiencies or because the imported food product labels do not match FSSAI rules. For instance, the green or red dot on labels to declare whether the item is vegetarian or non-vegetarian is not mandatory in other countries, but food products in India must have it.“ In addition, India has not updated its food standard procedures. “Officials do not have any standards to test an imported product. Food safety officials do not know what wasabi sauce is, and therefore do not accept the product. They also insist on labels in English, and do not allow stickers on labels either. But changing the entire label on the product is difficult for manufacturers for just one destination,“ said Lohani.

Industry sources said dairy products, sea food, meats, sauces, chocolates, fresh fruits, biscuits, olives, canola oil, canned fish, glutenfree products, apple cider vinegar and other products are out of stock or in short supply.

City-based restaurants cater to Italian, Chinese, southeast Asian, middle-eastern cuisines and are currently providing patrons with the nextbest substitutes to the missing ingredients.

The shortage has affected the clientele. A high-end res taurant in the city , specializing in sushi, said it has been out of tuna (from Norway) for days.

“Clients are not happy, but we are helpless,“ said a chef.

“Italian cuisine needs va riety, which under the circum stances, is tough to get. Each cheese has a typical flavour and substitution isn't a long term option. Ultimately , it af fects us as customers want their preferred flavours,“ said Rebecca Dezio, company di rector of Dario's.

The owner of another Ital ian restaurant in the city said they are dealing with a short age of meat, cheese, imported alcohol and sauces. “Quite a few dishes are off the menu be cause we do not have the ingre dients. We have had to compro mise on recipes too,“ she said. Praful Chandawarkar, owner of Malaka Spice, said they have been stocking up on the imported sauces. “Ready made sauces such as soy and fish sauce are scarce, so we pick them up in bulk when they come. Otherwise, there is no hope,“ he said.

Puru Gupta, chief execu tive officer and co-founder of healthyworld.in, a wellness so lution company , said, “A signif icant proportion of our portfo lio comprises imported health brands. But clearance from the Customs and the FSSAI for these health products faces a bottleneck. We have travelled to and shortlisted health prod ucts from ASEAN countries, but clearances at the port are an intimidating part for any brand to enter India.“

Label rules choke Pune’s sushi-to-Swiss chocolate supplies

PUNE: Italian restaurant Dario's in the city has run out of ricotta salata, pecorino and goat cheese from France, and is having to adapt and substitute them in the cooking to keep patrons happy. 

Like Dario's, several other fine-dine restaurants and their patrons are experiencing a dearth of imported food products. Upmarket food stores have almost no stocks of Swiss chocolates, cookies, canned fish, sushi ingredients, wasabi sauce or Thai curry paste. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules on product labeling has led to a shortage of imported food products from canned fish to condiments, sauces, vinegars, cheese, honey, pastas, and many other products. 

Sources from the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), a national body of food product importers, said the shortage across the country is over 50%, with close to 450 imported food products out-of-stock in Pune alone. 

Over 4,000 containers are stuck at ports following the restrictions on labeling and may not arrive in time for the festive season (Diwali and Christmas). By this time, items like chocolates and biscuits used for gifting will be out of stock completely. 

The forum has 127 corporate members, 45 associate members and 11,265 retailers. Amit Lohani, FIFI's national convenor, said, "The containers are stuck at the Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata ports because of labeling deficiencies or because the imported food product labels do not match FSSAI rules. For instance, the green or red dot on labels to declare whether the item is vegetarian or non-vegetarian is not mandatory in other countries, but food products in India must have it." 

In addition, India has not updated its food standard procedures. "Officials do not have any standards to test an imported product. Food safety officials do not know what wasabi sauce is, and therefore do not accept the product. They also insist on labels in English, and do not allow stickers on labels either. But changing the entire label on the product is difficult for manufacturers for just one destination," said Lohani. 

Industry sources said dairy products, sea food, meats, sauces, chocolates, fresh fruits, biscuits, olives, canola oil, canned fish, gluten-free products, apple cider vinegar and other products are out of stock or in short supply. 

City-based restaurants cater to Italian, Chinese, south-east Asian, middle-eastern cuisines and are currently providing patrons with the next-best substitutes to the missing ingredients. 

The shortage has affected the clientele. A high-end restaurant in the city, specializing in sushi, said it has been out of tuna (from Norway) for days. "Clients are not happy, but we are helpless," said a chef. 

"Italian cuisine needs variety, which under the circumstances, is tough to get. Each cheese has a typical flavour and substitution isn't a long-term option. Ultimately, it affects us as customers want their preferred flavours," said Rebecca Dezio, company director of Dario's. 

The owner of another Italian restaurant in the city said they are dealing with a shortage of meat, cheese, imported alcohol and sauces. "Quite a few dishes are off the menu because we do not have the ingredients. We have had to compromise on recipes too," she said. 

Praful Chandawarkar, owner of Malaka Spice, said they have been stocking up on the imported sauces. "Ready-made sauces such as soy and fish sauce are scarce, so we pick them up in bulk when they come. Otherwise, there is no hope," he said. 

Puru Gupta, chief executive officer and co-founder of healthyworld.in, a wellness solution company, said, "A significant proportion of our portfolio comprises imported health brands. But clearance from the Customs and the FSSAI for these health products faces a bottleneck. We have travelled to and shortlisted health products from ASEAN countries, but clearances at the port are an intimidating part for any brand to enter India." 

Going by the rules 

* Products must have a customized label just for India 

* All labels should bear the MRP, but this cannot be done separately for products coming to India 

* Labels must have the information in English, mention the manufacturer's name and ingredients

* Nutraceuticals and food products that do not meet India's standards cannot enter 

Out of stock 

Pasta sauces 

Gourmet sauces 

Quinoa flour 

Peanut butter 

Sushi ingredients 

Canned fish 

Sushi rice 

Thai curry paste

Regulatory Excess in Food Standards

Scant respect for the essential goal of regulation

Large consignments of premium whisky , wine, chocolates and other gourmet foods are stuck at ports, thanks to the efforts of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which says these do not conform to its labelling requirements. It is ridiculous that the food regulator insists that Indian consumers cannot feel secure till they know the precise ingredients of Johnnie Walker whisky , Château Latour wine and Lindt chocolate, never mind what goes into the making of mass-consumed varieties of local food and drink. Several sections of the food business have got together to challenge the appointment of the head of the FSSAI while the FSSAI threatens serious loss of revenue to the industry in the forthcoming festival season, with its obduracy and arbitrariness.

The most striking proof of the regulator's arbitrariness is its objection to use of the trade name canola for imports of this edible oil. It wants the trade to label imported canola packs `rape seed oil -low erucic acid', whi le the trade wants to call it canola oil, just as domestic bottlers of the oil imported in bulk do. The regulator's justification for its stance is that the Food and Agricultural Organisation's standards-setting Codex Alimentarius calls the oil by this name while listing canola as a synonym. The tra de points out that the same Codex has arachis oil as the main entry for groundnut oil but the regulator is happy to live with groundnut oil.

Clear and detailed labelling is desirable. But the trade needs to be given time to phase it in. Globally respected brands will not corrode the innards of Indians if they continue to come into the country bearing descriptions that satisfy, say, the US and the EU, till new labelling arrangements are complete. The larger point is about regulatory philosophy . The purpose of regulation is enlightened, sustainable growth of the sector. In food, this goal has given way to arbitrary assertion of the civil servant's power to cause damage. This is not acceptable. Both sides must abandon their mutual hostility between the regulator and the regulated, and work together.

Now, retrain your brain to crave healthy food

6-Month Diet Helps To Reverse Junk Food Addiction

Do you worry you're stuck craving chips even when you know you should be eating healthily? Fear not: new research has shown that it's possible to `retrain' the brain to be addicted to lowcalorie fare instead of junk food.

“We don't start out in life loving French fries and hating, for example, whole wheat pasta,“ said Susan BRoberts, co-corresponding author of the study published on Monday in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes.

“This conditioning happens over time in response to eating -repeatedly! -what is out there in the toxic food environment.“

The study put a group of obese volunteers through a six-month weight loss programme while gauging reactions to different foods, scanning the areas of the brain associated with learning and addiction using magnetic resonance imaging The researchers found that after a strict diet the participants' brains responded more actively to healthier food cues and showed a “decreased sensitivity to the unhealthy higher-calorie foods“.

“The weight loss program is specifically designed to change how people react to different foods, and our study shows those who participated in it had an increased desire for healthier foods along with a decreased preference for unhealthy foods, the combined effects of which are probably critical for sustainable weight control,” co-author Sai Krupa said in a press release.

“To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of this important switch.” Details of the weight-loss regime are scarce but the researchers suggest that sev eral factors were key to `reversing' addiction including not only “highfiber, low glycemic“ foods but also “behaviour change education“. Coauthor Dr Thilo Deckersbach said: “Although other studies have shown surgical procedures can decrease how much people enjoy food generally , this is not very satisfactory as it takes away food enjoyment rather than making healthier foods more appealing.“

Unlicenced abattoirs in city stay put, Ambattur is top of the list with 90

The city is notorious for illegal slaughterhouses. Ambattur the list, with more illegal abattoirs than any other zone in Chennai, according to an actiontaken report on illegal meat shops, submitted to the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal.

According to the report, Ambattur zone is followed by Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar, Valasaravakkam, Sholinganallur and Adyar. Since March 2014, of 133 illegal shops closed, 51 were closed in Ambattur 25 in alsaravakkam and 15 in Adyar. Most applications for licences were from Sholinganallur, Valasaravakkam and Kodambakkam zones.

Meat shops in Ambattur, Alandur and Thiru-Vi-KaNagar received the largest number of licences. Prosecution was initiated against 37 shops in Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar and 11 each in Ambattur and Anna Nagar.

The deputy commissioner (health), who submitted the affidavit on behalf of the corporation commissioner, said: “Out of 421 unlicenced shops, we have closed 133 and issued licences to 179. Fifty shops have applied for licence and prosecution has started against 59 shops.“

Last year, People for Cattle in India (PFCI), a welfare organisation for animals, had moved the tribunal seeking a ban on illegal slaughterhouses in the city and suburbs.

In March 2014, the corporation's chief veterinary officer said there were 1,245 licensed and 421 unlicensed shops in the city and outskirts. Those without licences had been issued notices, he said.

When the matter came up for hearing last week, the civic body said it had “taken intensive public health measures to control illegal slaughter and sale of meat.“ It also “initiated constant surveillance“ through its 15 public health officers and 15 veterinary officials.

The PFCI counsel said 50 shops that had applied for licences, were carrying on business as usual. Also, according to a 1980 GO, meat shops and slaughterhouses across the state had to close on Mahaveer Jayanti, Vallalar day, Mahaveer Nirvan day and Thiruvallur Day .This is not being followed, he said.

A bench of judicial member M Chockalingam and expert member R Nagendran directed the civic body to “strictly comply with the GO“ and also ensure that meat shops are not open on October 5, Vallalar Day . “The tribunal fervently hopes to stop the functioning of unlicenced meat shops in the city,“ the bench said, posting the matter to November 11.