Maharashtra govt. makes gutka manufacture and sale a non-bailable offence in state

Maharashtra govt. to make gutka sale a non-bailable offence in state

Maharashtra state government, on March 24, 2015, said that those found involved in the sale of gutka in the state would be booked under non-bailable sections regarding the offence. 

Due to no such restrictions in the neighbouring states, the ban on the manufacture and sale of gutka has not been implemented effectively in Maharashtra. Also, as per the reports, the tobacco-laced chewing products are smuggled in to the state because of the same reason. 

Reportedly, State Food and Drug Minister Girish Bapat stated that gutka worth 32 crore rupees has been seized after searching around 72,000 shops as the state police received directives to book offenders under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 328.

In 2012, Maharashtra Government had banned sale and manufacturing of Gutka and Pan Masala under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

State government also had imposed punishment of six months to three years imprisonment. However, it was bailable offence that time. 

About the IPC Section 328:

Causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence. As per the Section, whoever administers to or causes to be taken by any person any poison or any stupefying, intoxicating or unwholesome drug or other thing with intent to cause hurt to such person or with intent to commit or to facilitate the commission of an offence or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

Non-bailable offence:

As per the IPC, When a person is detained for a non-bailable offence, he cannot demand to be released on bail as a matter of right. He can, however, request the court to grant bail.

Gutka ban will be stricter now: FDA

PUNE: The state government's decision to make the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutka a non-bailable offence will make the enforcement of its ban more effective and stringent, said officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

The move will bring uniformity in punishment, curb habitual offenders and keep a check on the entry of new offenders in the black market, they said. Gutka has been banned in Maharashtra since July 2012. 

"Currently, if a person is found selling gutka, he is arrested after we file a police complaint. However, offenders get bail within two to three days and go back to selling gutka. This will change once the sale of gutka becomes a non-bailable offence," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune division. 

"Moreover, from a hawker selling a small amount of gutka to a businessman dealing with huge amounts of gutka, every offender will get the same punishment. The FDA makes inquiries of the sale and purchase of gutka at all levels. When we make inquiries at the manufacturer level to trace the origin of the confiscated gutka, we have to struggle a lot to prove the offence. But if the police are involved in the investigations, then it becomes easier to solve the cases with their vast network and manpower," he added. 

After the ban on gutka came into force, the FDA officials have seized gutka worth Rs 6.64 crore in Pune district. 

"We have conducted raids on 269 establishments and lodged 200 FIRs against the offenders since 2012. We raided godowns from where the maximum amount of gutka was seized, followed by shops, paan stalls and residential premises," said Shivkumar Kodgire, assistant commissioner (food), FDA, Pune. 

The modus operandi used in selling gutka keeps changing. "We have to be vigilant constantly to nab the offenders," Kodgire said. 

One of the ingenious methods of selling gutka that emerged following the ban was the 'supari mix'. The main ingredients in gutka are supari (betelnut) and jarda (flavoured tobacco). These are being sold in separate pouches as 'supari mix', which when mixed together becomes gutka. 

This is the third consecutive year when the state government has banned gutka and paan masala. Through a notification on July 20, 2014, the state government has empowered the food safety commissioner to prohibit manufacturing, distribution, stocking and sale of gutka and paan masala in the state under Section 30 (2) (a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Red-hot Food Safety Dept for Probe into Chilli Fraud

Test result of the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kochi

THRISSUR: After testing the samples of dry chillies supplied by the government undertaking Supplyco to BPL families during last Onam season, food safety assistant commissioner here has recommended for an adjudication process against officers concerned for supplying sub-standard grocery.

In the complaint filed by RTI activist P B Satheesh of Mannuthy, it was pointed out that the free Onam kits distributed at the Supplyco Unit at Mannuthy last year contained only stalk (njatti) of chillies along with dry leaves, pieces of stone and wood etc.

There were media reports over the issue then, he noted. The complainant had brought to the notice of the officials in Food Safety Department that it was very difficult to find a piece of dry red chilly in the 200g-pack given to BPL cardholders and strangely, the dry chilly found in the pack was yellow in colour.

Assistant Food Safety Commissioner in Thrissur B Jayachandran told ‘Express’ that the samples collected were tested at the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kochi and was found to be sub-standard.

“The Food Safety Officer will submit all documents in connection with the complaint and test conducted before the Revenue Divisional Office (RDO) for adjudication and action will be taken against the Supplyco officials who had erred in their duties after the hearing,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources in the Supplyco said that the dry red chilly (‘Chillies Whole’) found as sub-standard after testing would not be of a great concern for the corporation and the Revenue

Divisional Office would at the most impose a small token as fine.

Manager of the Supplyco Unit at Mannuthy said that even though the packaging was done in his unit, the consignment came from Kochi. The quality controllers of the corporation had tested it before it reached the unit for packing. “We conducted an inquiry with the packing employees here and they told us that they have packed what they received after the inspection conducted by QC,” he said.

Meanwhile, Satheesh said the estimated cost of one free kit that included 2 kg of rice and 50 grams of tea dust along with the dry chilly was `70 and his organisation ‘Nerkazhcha’ had already filed a complaint with Vigilance to find out whether there was any financial misappropriation.

Restaurants fined for over Rs 36 lakh, food safety commissioner tells HC

KOCHI: A total of Rs 36.75 lakh was collected as fine following inspections conducted at hotels and restaurants, food safety commissioner has informed the Kerala High Court. 

During the inspections, 12 eateries were ordered to be closed and 223 outlets were served with improvement notices. Two tanker lorries carrying adulterated coconut oil was confiscated, an affidavit filed by food safety commissioner Anupama TV said. 

These would show that strict action is being taken against erring food business operators, including hotels and restaurants, the food safety commissioner claimed. The affidavit was filed in response to a contempt of court petition filed by Basil Attipetty alleging inaction on the part of the commissioner. 

Following a high court order issued in February 2012, special drives were ordered across the state. Inspections are conducted through inter-district squads frequently in addition to inspections during festivals and special occasions. During Onam, special drive was conducted all over the state with emphasis on ghee, pickle, payasam mix, spices and condiments, cooked meat, bakery food, chips, milk and milk products, and oil. Surveillance at check posts were intensified with the assistance of mobile analytical labs during Onam, the affidavit filed through senior government pleader Joe Kalliyath said. 

The same strategy was repeated during Christmas, Sabarimala season, National Games, and Attukal Pongala. Day and night special squads were ordered to inspect all eateries in the state, including bakeries and 'thattukadas', the court was told.

DINAMALAR NEWS

DINAMALAR NEWS

4 years on, 40% eateries in Kapurthala to register under food safety norms

Even as the health department claims to have made concerted efforts and repeatedly postponed the deadline since the state government implemented the Food Safety and Standards Act in August 2011, only 60 per cent of the total eateries and food vendors in the district have got registered under the Act so far.

Under the Food Safety aAnd Standards Act, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatory for all food business operators, including producers, processors, transporters or traders of food items, to get license and registration certificates.

Only 700 of a total of 1,200 estimated eateries have got licences in the district, while 6,000 of a total of 10,000 vendors have got registered with the department.

Health officials are of the opinion that since the government postponed the deadline repeatedly, people have started taking the Act lightly. This is the fourth or fifth time that government postponed the deadline to August 4 this year to get registered.

“The delay in deadline is also the reason that the department could not take strict action against defaulters who are apparently benefitting from violating the rules,” an official said.

It has been learnt that the eateries which have recently registered under this act did so due pressure exerted by officials.

Food sellers with an annual turnover of up to Rs 12 lakh has to pay an annual fee of Rs 100 to get registered, while food business owners having an annual turnover of over Rs 12 lakh have to get licence by paying Rs 2000 a year.

District health officer Dr Guriqbal Singh said they are strictly implementing the act to get 100 per cent registrations. “Strict action will be taken against defaulters who fail to get registered under the act by August 4. We have started issuing notices to defaulters,” Dr Singh said.

Meanwhile, applicants can login to the website www.foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in to get registered.

CEPCI meet on quality & safety of food told to be strict in FSSA norms

A one-day seminar on quality and safety of food and water was held at CEPCI, Kollam, Kerala, recently. The seminar was held in tune with the National Science Day celebrations.

Around 50 people including hotel owners, food processing professionals, food inspectors and health inspectors were present at the meet.

Delivering the welcome address, C B Mayarani, head, Microbiology division, spoke about the technologies and high-end instruments available at CEPCI (Cashew Export Promotion Council of India) laboratory. She informed about the change in the mandate of the laboratory and said that its services were now open for all food samples, water and water used for cooking purposes, fish, meat, oil, fats and any material for analysis. 

A K Mini, assistant food safety commissioner (Kollam), who was present as the chief guest, delivered a detailed account on Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, and its implication in future and advised those who were present to be particular about following the guidelines.

Stating that much of the organic foods available in the markets were fake, Mini observed, “Marketers of most organic products are cheating customers by charging more through false claims and this sector is now growing into one of the biggest ways through which people are cheated.”

“This situation calls for stringent and flawless methods to certify organic food products,” she added.

Mini pointed out, “Overdose of permitted colours in food is rampant in the state, and this is harmful to human health.” She stated that only 100 mg of permitted colour was the upper limit for one kg of pastry product. “But many bakeries do not have any measuring standards.”

According to her, adding even permitted colours to meals in restaurants is an offence. She stated, “Earlier food safety authorities looked only for unpermitted colours. But now, detection comprises quantitative analysis to find out whether permitted colours have been added in excess of the permitted levels.”

Mini informed, “All food supplements could be marketed only after obtaining mandatory approval from Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Such imported food should comply with domestic regulations in force in the country. This is the reason why some food products from China have been denied import permission recently.” “Our food products exported should mandatorily comply with the food safety standards of the importing country.”

She explained that while cigarettes were not banned, pan masala was banned under the Food Safety and Standards Act because it was a consumable product. More than 2 tonne of such tobacco products were seized from the district during raids. The High Court has now given permission to destroy the entire seized quantity.

Mini observed that during drives in the past, the use of hazardous chemical erythrocin in watermelons was detected in Kollam district, hence, with the start of the watermelon season, surveillance had resumed.

Speaking on the occasion, T K S H Musaliar, chairman, CEPCI, requested the public to utilise the facility at CEPCI laboratory in regard to quality and safety of food and water.

Meanwhile, P Sundaran, VC, CEPCI, stressed on the importance of Food Safety & StandardsAct, 2006, and how it had to be followed.

Dr V P Potty, principal scientist, CEPCI, made a brief speech on the activities of CEPCI laboratory and requested all to avail the services of the lab.