Labels on packaged food products should not mislead consumer

Accepting the stand of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that there was a distinction between 'Best Before' and 'Expiry' dates related to pacakaged food products, the Madras High Court has said printing the same date for both would mislead consumers. 

The court was dismissing a petition by Amrut Distilleries Limited challenging the refusal of concerned authorities to test samples of imported active dry yeast as the 'Best Before' and 'Expiry' dates on the label of it were same. 

Noting that the company had on an earlier occasion too imported product with the same problem and gave an undetaking that it would not repeat the mistake, Justice S Vaidyanathan dismissed the petition with a cost of Rs 30,000.

The Judge made it clear that pacakaged food products which were not marked and labelled in the manner as specicified by Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006 shall not be sold or distributed. 

"The label should contain specific information by which, the consumer should not be misled. If both the dates, viz., 'best before' and 'expiry' are mentioned with same date, it would certainly mislead the consumers since they would be under impression that till the expiry date, the product will be best in all respects, which is practically unacceptable," the Judge said. 

The matter related to the import of Active Dry Yeast on September 26, 2014 by the company and the consignment was referred by the Customs Department to FSSAI Chennai for clearance. 

FSSAI refused to draw samples stating that the "Best Before" and "Expiry" date on the packages were one and the same and this was in contravention of rules and provisions of FSSA and the guidelines issued on January 24, 2013. 

The company had termed as arbitrary the refusal to draw the sample and moved the court. 

In the counter-affidavit, FSSAI submitted that there was a distinction between 'best before date' and 'expiry date', whereas, the 'best before date' signifies the duration for which the product shall remain marketable and retain its specific qualities if stored in appropriate conditions and on the other hand, 'expiry date' is the date from which it shall not remain marketable. 

A product may be best before a specific date but shall expire only on another specified date.

`Expiry date' and `best before date' are distinct: HC

Chennai:

A consumer's right to know the shelf-life of packaged food stuff got a shot in the arm, as Madras high court has held that the terms `best before date' for use and `expiry date' meant two distinct things, and hence manufacturers must clearly mention two different dates if they choose to print both details on their products.

Justice S Vaidyanathan, refusing to come to the aid of a private packaged food company which had imported goods showing the same date as `best before date' as well as `expiry date,' said: “Even after `best before' date, a product can be consumed, as safety would be still intact though it may not be as good as what it would have been if used within specified time limit. There is no confusion as regards `expiry date', which is clear-cut and once it passes, the product will lose its value and cannot be consumed.“

The court also imposed a cost of `30,000 on the company , and directed it to pay `15,000 each to Schizophrenia Research Foundation (India) in Anna Nagar, and Banyan Adaikalam in Mugappair West within a month.

Adistilleries company had imported active dry yeast as a food item in September 2014 for home consumption. Customs and Chennai seaport and airport authorities refused to lift samples for clearance saying it did not comply with food safety and standards. The product labelling was not as per norms, they said, adding that the material carried same date for both `best before date use' and `expiry date'.

The company rushed to the court to quash the October 15, 2014 rejection order saying there was no requirement to declare `use by date' or `expiry date', and that mentioning same date for both is not in violation of the regulation.

The authorities, however, cited the statutory guidelines governing wholesale packages containing `best before date' and `expiry date'. The company had committed a similar violation on an occasion, and it was allowed to continue the trade after it gave an undertaking that it would comply with norms in future consignments.

Finding nothing wrong with the rejection orders, Justice Vaidhyanathan said: “It is clear manufacturers shall not sell or distribute any packaged food products not marked and labelled in the manner as specified by regulations. The labels shall not contain any statement, claim, design, device, etc., which is false or misleading in any particular concerning the food product or quantity or nutritive value.“

The judge said the company had violated its own undertaking given on th earlier occasion, and said the present case deserved to be dismissed with `30,000 as costs.

DINAMALAR NEWS

DINAMALAR NEWS

IIT fined for low-quality chilli in hostel food

The Haridwar district court has slapped `3 lakh as fine on the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee for preparing food with sub-standard chilli powder. 200 students had fell sick after eating the food.

According to the food safety department, Haridwar-based additional district magistrate (ADM) Ravneet Chima penalised the IIT-R on March 12.

On September 10, 2013 around 200 students, living in Rajendra Bhawan hostel, complained of stomach ache and vomiting after consuming meals cooked at the hostel mess.

The food safety department took notice of the incident and made a surprise inspection of the hostel’s canteen on September 19.

“We gathered samples of edible items from the canteen and after inspection, it was found that the food items were unhygienic. We then served a show-cause notice to the institute authorities asking why they had not taken a licence from the food safety department,” said food safety officer Dilip Jain.

The chilli powder, one of the collected food samples, was later sent to the food and drug testing laboratory at Rudrapur on March 10, 2014 where it was found to be of sub-standard quality.

It was again sent to the Pune-based national food and drug testing laboratory that said in its report that the chilli powder sample was not pure and harmful if consumed.

“On the basis of the Pune laboratory’s report we registered a case before the ADM court on August 23, 2014 against three different authorities of the institute under various sections of the food safety and safety act (FSSA), 2006,” added Jain.

The authorities who were penalised include the chairman of the coordinating committee of hostels, chairman of the central purchase committee of the institute and chairman and chief warden of the mess working committee.

“The court slapped a fine of `1 lakh each on them,” said Jain.

Norms issued for running juice shops

The Commissioner of Food Safety has issued a set of guidelines to be followed by all food business operators running juice shops across the State.

The Commissioner said that guidelines were issued in the wake of increasing cases of food poisoning being reported centred around juice shops. Majority of these shops were using milk, ice, and water, the quality of which was highly suspect.

All juice shops should have FSSA licence or registration, which should be displayed prominently. The water and ice being used in these shops should be safe and of the prescribed quality.

The fruits, sugar, nuts, and other additives used to make juices or milk shakes should be bought only from shops or outlets or traders who have a FSSA licence and the purchase bills should be kept. All packed food items should have the necessary label information. The details of purchase — name of the shop/trader, quantity, price, etc — should be entered in a register systematically and should be produced whenever officials come for inspection.

The water being used in juice-making should be from a source of impeccable quality and the quality of the water source should be tested every six months at a government-approved analytical laboratory. These reports should be kept for perusal in the shop.

All food items, including water, in the shops should be stored in proper food containers of food-grade quality and these should be kept covered.

The fruits should be of good quality, and there should not be any trace of fungus in these.

The fruits should be washed and stored in refrigerated condition. Ice should not be stored in thermocol boxes, but should be stored in the freezer or in proper ice boxes. Prepared juice should not be stored for long in refrigerators.

Food poisoning: Barpeta bans sale of grams, moong

Guwahati: The Barpeta district administration on Thursday issued prohibitory orders regarding the sale and distribution of different varieties of grams and moong beans across the district following Wednesday's food poisoning incident that claimed three lives, including that of a 10-year-old girl.

On Thursday, postmortems were conducted on the deceased.

Over 500 people, including women and children, fell ill after consuming adulterated prasad at a religious ceremony in Nasattra, a village in the district, on Monday evening. Most people who attended the ceremony complained of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach ailments and dehydration.

On Thursday, the shops from which the grams, moong beans and other food items for the ceremony were purchased were raided and the remainder of the supplies was seized by the district administration. The actual source from which the items were purchased is yet to be identified. Officials on Thursday said the ceremony was a public one and many people from outside the district also brought food items as offerings.

Barpeta DC Varnali Deka on Wednesday ordered an inquiry and constituted a committee, comprising the district joint director of health, the circle officer and food safety officer, among others.

"Section 144 has been imposed and there can be no sale and distribution of grams and moong beans across the district till further notice. This has been issued in view of public health and safety. Grams and moong beans have been seized from the concerned shops," Deka said.

"It is difficult to trace the original source of the items. People brought edible offerings from Bongaigaon and Nalbari districts also. We believe the contaminated food came from multiple sources," added Deka.

On Wednesday evening, close to 80 patients were referred to Gauhati Medical College Hospital for further treatment. On Thursday, the joint director of health said most of the patients admitted in Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College Hospital were responding to treatment and had stabilized.

Samples of the adulterated food have been sent to the food safety department laboratory in the city. Vomit and stool samples from the patients have also been collected for tests. The samples have also been sent to the forensic department to determine the presence of toxins.

The pushback against junk food gains momentum

The demand for junk food has to come down so that the demand for refined sugar also comes down 

Here are some unrelated issues in the food and agriculture business. Please join the dots. 

First, the Delhi High Court has delivered a judgement on the issue of junk food being sold in and around schools. The salient features are -

• Most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar such as chips, fried foods, sugar sweetened carbonated beverages, sugar sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato fries and confectionery items should be restricted in schools and 50 meters nearby.

• Advertisement and promotion of such foods targeted at children is to be regulated through a framework that includes all types of media, celebrity endorsements and promotional activities.

• A canteen policy should be implemented based on colour coding. Green category foods -- the healthy food options -- should constitute about 80 per cent of available foods. Red category of select most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar should not be sold or served in schools. Suggested, healthy menu options should include fruit salad, fruits, paneer / vegetable cutlets, khandvi, poha, uthappam, upma, idlis and kathi rolls, low fat milk shakes with seasonal fruits and no added sugar, fresh fruit juice and smoothies with fruits, fresh lime soda, badam milk, lassi etc.

• The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) should fix limits of unhealthy ingredients such as transfats to 5% at the earliest. 

• Schools should promote nutrition education and awareness for children. A well-structured curriculum on balanced diet and its health impacts should be introduced.

• Labelling regulations must be strengthened by the FSSAI to enable complete and transparent information on the amount of fat, salt and sugar with reference to recommended daily allowed limits. 

Second, the sugar industry is once again apparently in the doldrums and seeking handouts from the taxpayer. In the bargain, farmers have not been paid for the last 2 or even 3 years and have therefore, in some cases shifted to cash crops of shorter growth cycles, also because of rapid and drastic climate change. One of the largest customers for the refined sugar industry is the junk food industry, be it carbonated sweetened colas and other soft drinks, bakery products or even simple buns and pizza bases-and they do not like this shift away from sugarcane by the farmers.

This junk food industry is by default, therefore, demanding that the taxpayer subsidise its insatiable appetite for sugar. While the incentive to grow more useful seasonal cash crops, vegetables and lentils is either removed or farmers are simply not allowed to grow and sell them further. You have to understand the economies and pressures of rural India to appreciate this - where poor farmers or large land-holders alike are forced to grow sugarcane and sell it only to the sugar mills in their areas. 

Sugarcane is a strange crop-traditionally associated with slavery. Mainly because it does not provide anything of value to the people growing it other than cash in lumpsum. That cash in lumpsum is not happening and landowners are rapidly, therefore, becoming enslaved and dispossessed of their own lands because of debt. Meanwhile, they are economically weakened and unable to resist the demand to grow even more sugarcane.

Sugarcane farming is where the term "indentured labour", a polite word for bonded labour or slavery, was coined.

General Sales Tax to permit free and easy movement of fresh produce between States is still not in position. Meanwhile, small but very important indicators like the delayed or even non-arrival of butterflies because of the unseasonal heavy rains in India this year have caused major worry on subjects as diverse as the spread of swine-flu to lack of pollination.

In turn, the cost of seasonal vegetables and other cash crops is likely to go shooting through the roof, as farmers are stuck between growing more sugar-cane in the hope that previous debts will be cleared and growing more vegetables as well as cash crops including fast-growing lentils to meet the demand.

This is going to impact your and my home budgets in a way that we cannot even begin to imagine right now.

One part of the solution lies in our hands as responsible citizens as well as in the larger interest of our own health. The rampaging demand for junk food of all sorts - from colas to fast foods to other unhealthy consumption - has to come down so that the demand for refined sugar also comes down.

The High Court judgement addresses one part. Making young people aware is the bigger part.

Just like there was a "Say no to fire-crackers" movement, we need to start working on a "Say no to Junk Food" movement and awareness programme aimed at young people. The Delhi High Court judgement is already covering the schools. We now need to also cover the weekends and holidays.

Expecting the junk food industry to voluntarily scale down consumption on weekends and holidays is like a pipe dream, not likely to happen, in fact heavy resistance can be expected. The only way to do it is by ourselves.

SAY NO TO JUNK FOOD TODAY, ESPECIALLY ON A HOLIDAY!

People are encouraged to get this message across to the purveyors of junk food by whatever legitimate means available at their disposal. Start today!

Food safety licence must for tankers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The food safety department has reissue guidelines making food safety licence mandatory for all tanker trucks supplying drinking water in the state.

Under the Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2011, tankers should carry the licence-bearing the registration number-besides displaying 'drinking water' or 'not for drinking purposes' in both English and Malayalam.

The department has also asked all trucks to use protective and permissible coating to prevent corrosion of water tanks.

"Water sources other than that of Kerala Water Authority must have licences. Water must be tested in NABL accredited labs every six months," food safety commissioner T V Anupama said.

The tankers supplying water must at all times have all documents, such as licence, lab reports of water, capacity of tanker, coating, etc.

The department has also asked consumers to buy water only from licensed suppliers. "Hotels, restaurants, hospitals, etc must keep a register containing the details of water supply. Details such as source of water, copy of the report of water quality analysis, details of licence, etc., must be included in the register," the guidelines said.

The guideline was originally issued in January 2013. It was reissued considering the possibility of spread of water-borne diseases during summer.

Would you like camel milk with your breakfast?

Mumbai: Drinking milk fads have ranged from coconut to soya milk and even almond milk, but a new alternative is going to be added to supermarket shelves by diary giant Amul — camel milk. This offering comes with significant health benefits since they are higher in Vitamin C and Calcium and lower in lactose and cholestrol than cows milk.

According to a report in Business Standard, Amul camel milk is awaiting a nod from the Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) and the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation’s (GCMMF) Sarhad Dairy, based in Kutch is thinking of processing it.

Milk from the 'ship of the desert' however has a salty taste and its shelf life is low. Reportedly. Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF) had ground-tested by launching camel milk under the Saras brand a few years earlier. The milk is expected to be lapped by health-conscious urban dwellers, as well as patients of chronic ailments.

Milk purists might swear by cows milk and point our camels spit, kick, smell and grunt, but wait till camel milk become the health trend and flood the supermarket shelves!

Can food be safe at 2022 Olympics, if held in Beijing?

Beijing, March 19 (IANS) The idiom 'Bread is the staff of life' holds especially true for China -- a country with infinite love for food.

As a candidate for the 2022 Winter Olympics, China's capital city Beijing is eager to show off a wide variety of cuisines to visitors from all over the world. But wait before being served -- what about the safety of your food?

A recent survey by China Youth Daily showed that food safety has become one of the public worries as well as one of the government's major concerns, reports Xinhua.

In its report on China's economic, social development plan, the government listed improving food supervision system as one of the 'major tasks for economic and social development in 2015'.

Besides, a 22-month crackdown on food and drug, and environmental crimes will be launched by China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) to keep the momentum from an eight-month campaign of the sort last year.

As the Chinese government is making more efforts, food safety for the general public, hopefully, can be removed from the list of concerns in the years to come. And for athletes who have higher standards for food, Beijing already has a lot of experience from hosting the 2008 Olympics to make sure their needs are met.

Back in 2008, the Olympic Food Safety Action Plan was in place and Beijing also mapped out a preparedness plan to cope with any possible emergencies in food safety during the Games.

Food for athletes was produced in compliance with strict standards, delivered in a unified way and carried electronic labels recording the whole process from the producer to the eaters. Even white mice were said to be used to test food including milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil, salt and seasonings, 24 hours before they were used in cooking or served to athletes.

As Beijing's bid committee pledged an "athletes-centred" Winter Olympics, the hosts would exert themselves to ensure food safety for athletes, coaches, officials and visitors from all over the world should they win the bid.

Zhangjiakou, co-host city some 200 km northwest of Beijing, has already started to raise the level of supervision in food safety.