Now, prasadam to get quality check: Licences of kitchens to be reviewed

COIMBATORE: Food and offerings prepared in temples in Coimbatore district will soon come under the food safety department's scanner. The department has been instructed to collect samples of prasadam prepared in temples regularly and check if they are fit for consumption. The licences of temple kitchens will also be reviewed over the next few months. 

At the health steering committee meeting at the district collectorate on Tuesday morning, collector Archana Patnaik told food safety department officials to monitor closely food prepared in temples. 

"Since large numbers of people congregate at temples, we have been told to keep an eye on the food and prasadam served there," said designated food safety officer Dr R Kathiravan. The department has not received any complaints about temple prasadam. "This is purely a safety precaution," he said. 

Most of the temples run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department in the state as well as by private trusts hold licences for their kitchens, said the official. "The kitchens are hygienic and well-maintained but some of them do not follow our rules when it comes to packaging of prasadam and serving it on clean banana fibre plates and cups," said Kathiravan. 

Across the state, the HR&CE department says it keeps a tight rein on temple kitchens to ensure hygiene. The department has officials in charge of quality checks so that the prasadam as well as the food served in the annadanam halls is clean and fresh. An official of the HR&CE department said most kitchens had been automated to prevent contamination of food and only the best ingredients were procured. Packaging too has been improved so that the prasadam can stay fresh and withstand travel. 

At the Palani Murugan temple, for instance, the entire process of making the panchamirtham prasadam, is mechanized from the peeling of bananas to the packaging. Previously, people would stamp bananas to pulp but the process has been automated to ensure cleanliness as well as meet the huge demand, said an official. 

Kitchens in other large temples such as Tiruchendur are also automated, while smaller temples like Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane in Chennai and the Srirangam temple have separate kitchens with trained staff. The prasadam is prepared following traditional recipes and specific ingredients have to be procured. 

The department makes all efforts to ensure that the taste is authentic though it now has to mass produce most of these offerings, said an official. 

The Coimbatore administration, however, is taking no chances. "We will be reinforcing our rules and advisories," said Kathiravan.

FDA inspectors to make the rounds for New Year's eve

MUMBAI: The state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will deploy 200 food safety inspectors to check the quality of food served at restaurants and bars at New Year parties. It said food samples collected on December 31 will be tested within 24 hours.

The food safety officers will visit eateries and act on patrons' complaints. "They will have to collect at least two samples each from restaurants, bars and dhabas. We are expecting 300 or more samples," said FDA commissioner Purushottam Bhapkar. "We will initiate strict action against eateries serving poor quality food," he said.

Bhapkar said FDA offices will be open so that people can walk in with complaints or bring in food samples for testing. Mumbaikars can call 022-26591249 with their complaints.

Food Safety Act: Rs1.75 lakh fine on Mandi hotel

Mandi, December 30

The Court of ADM-cum-Adjudicating Officer has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.75 lakh on a hotel under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.

A case was registered under Sections 56 and 58 of the FSS Act against the owner and the manager of Hotel Partap Palace here on January 20, 2012, on the complaint of Food Safety Officer (FSO) LD Thakur.

During an inspection of the hotel, the FSO found that sanitary conditions of the kitchen was not good, washing arrangement for utensils was not proper, four persons were engaged as food handlers but they were not medically examined, domestic cooking cylinders were being used for food preparations and the food licence for 2011-12 was not produced on demand. The FSO said the hotel was not complying with the provisions of the FSS Act.

After hearing the arguments of the respondents and the complainant, the court observed that the act of the business operators was irresponsible, unfair, callous and against the interests of the public at large.

“As they have not taken reasonable care as required from prudent businessmen while conducting business and, therefore, under the given circumstances, they do not warrant any sympathetic consideration as they failed to discharge their legal, moral, social and commercial obligations,” the court said.

The court held that the matter in question involved the public at large, punishment should be imposed upon the respondents so that on one hand, the ignorant and simpleton persons of society may not badly suffer on account of misdeeds of such law-breakers and on the other, it should also act as a deterrent to other persons who are involved in such kind of activities.

UP bust: Animal bones to make biscuits crunchier?

A raid on a food factory in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad unearthed mounds of animal bones on Tuesday, officials said, raising fears that the cattle remains were used to adulterate biscuits.

Sources in the food department suspected that the factory could have been using animal bones as powder or in other forms to make the biscuits "more crispy and tasty".

The discovery comes days after the Centre announced setting up of a task force to recommend changes in the Food Safety and Standards Act, the legislation which regulates food quality in the country. Lawmakers had also raised the issue in Parliament earlier this month, terming food adulteration as a "slow poison."

Moradabad designated officer of food security and drug administration Umesh Pratap suspended the license of the factory located in the Katghar area of Moradabad, around 300 km from capital Lucknow.

"We have collected samples of finished and semi-finished products along with other ingredients used in preparing rusk and biscuits and sent them to a laboratory for testing," said VK Rathi, chief food security officer of Moradabad.

Pratap also said that the recovery of "bone residuals inside the factory premises in itself is violation of food security norms".

He added that the owner of the factory could face a jail term and fine of Rs. five lakh "if the tests confirm adulteration or presence of ingredients which are unsafe for human health".

The factory, Armoa Foods, is owned by one Azim Iqbal who has two units in Moradabad for making biscuits.

Officials said he failed to "to give a satisfactory reply" on why such huge volume of bones were stored inside the factory premises.

Health experts said that food products adulterated with such animal remains could have adverse effect on human health.

"Their consumption could lead to infections and sometimes several chronic diseases," said Tanuraj Sirohi, former secretary of Indian Medical Association in Meerut.

City magistrate AK Srivastav said that the owner also faced charges for employing child labour as "children below 14 years were working in the factory".

Sugar, oil form the cream in your roll

Lucknow: Six of 15 samples of food items collected by food safety officials have been found to be sub-standard. According to senior officials, vegetable fat has been found to be a major adulterant and is being rampantly used in preparing various ingredients or as a cooking medium.

Commissioner food safety and drug administration Badal Chatterjee said, "Instead of using dairy cream, many city bakeries are using non-dairy cream topping, which contains hydrogenated fat and trans fatty acid, which are a source of cholesterol".

Tests of two samples of non-dairy cream from a bakery in Kaiserbagh have shown presence of vegetable fat. According to norms, this item has been categorised sub-standard. Cream samples from a bakery on Park Road and one in Aliganj have shown presence of vegetable fat. A sample of paneer from the Aliganj-based bakery shows lesser quantity of milk fat (44.8%) than what is required (50%). Samples from another bakery in Aliganj have shown presence of starch in chocolate.

According to Chatterjee, licences of these food joints would not be cancelled as of now. However, notices would be issued to them and a reply would be sought.

"Most cream roll makers mix sugar and vegetable oil in a high-speed blender. Essence is then infused into the cream formed," Chatterjee said, implying that no fresh cream is used.

The department would also initiate an awareness drive during which shop owners will have to seek a licence from the department (if their annual turnover is more than Rs 12 lakh) or register themselves with the department (if the annual turnover is up to Rs 12 lakh). Officials also said action would be taken against the bakeries and their owners under the provisions of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.

Notices served on four Lucknow bakeries for adulteration

Lucknow, Dec 30: Bakeries, sweet shops and restaurants across the state were raided Tuesday for checking adulteration in products, specially keeping in mind the festive season, officials said.

While samples have been lifted from many places, samples from four major bakeries sent for tests Dec 22 have been found to be adulterated, an official informed.

Food Safety Commissioner Badal Chatterji said four big bakeries in the state capital have been found wanting in quality of ingredients being used in dairy products, cakes and pastries, and have been served notices.

“We have taken a serious view of the reports and are taking action as per law,” he said adding that licenses of such bakeries will be revoked.

The state government has also taken note of reports that a bakery in Moradabad was mixing animal bone powder in biscuits and action has been initiated against the company and notice served to its management, officials said.

Health certificate for workers to be imposed

Corporation of Cochin and Maradu Municipality have firmed up plans to spread the reach of health certificates for workers, especially those working in hotels and catering units.

Health Standing Committee Chairman of the Corporation, T.K. Ashraf, told The Hindu recently that the Corporation’s Health wing had intensified checks on hotels and eateries with focus on health certificates for workers.

He said that the association of hotels and restaurant owners would be involved in the process of ensuring that workers in their establishments received health certificates from government doctors.

Inspection of some hotels and restaurants in the city revealed that workers’ health was a key concern, especially with a large number of workers from other parts of the country being employed in eateries and hotels, he added.

The programme to procure health certificates for workers would be undertaken in such a way that obtaining these certificates would be tied to the renewal of licences for the hotel and eatery units.

New Year deadline

Chairman of Maradu Municipality T.K. Devarajan said that the Municipal authority would insist on health certificates for migrant workers, especially those working in hotels and eateries, from January 1.

This is a process the Municipal authority had launched about a year-and-a-half ago, he said.

The programme is now being revived to ensure that all migrant workers have health cards from a doctor of medicine, preferably a doctor from a government institution, by the New Year.

The municipal authority’s intention has been conveyed to the migrant worker community through health inspectors and workers, Mr. Devarajan said.

He said that there was not much of a resistance from the workers and expected them to obtain the certificates by the deadline set by the municipal authority.

There are around 600 workers from other States working within the municipal area on a permanent basis. There is also a smaller floating group of workers, he said.