Review of Regulations on; FSSAI wait for full-time chairperson not over

It’s been two months and FSSAI- the apex food regulator of the country - has no full-time chairperson to oversee its functioning. And according to sources, it is unlikely that the apex body gets chairperson in the next one month at least. 

Interestingly, currently, Bhanu Pratap Sharma, who is secretary, ministry of health and family welfare, has been given additional charge of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) for a period of two months.

When asked about the post lying vacant since two months on the sidelines of a programme here recently, J P Nadda, Union minister for health and family welfare, replied that the ministry was looking into the matter. “No decision was taken on this issue (of chairmanship),” he remarked. 

It is pertinent to mention here that in a recent bureaucratic reshuffle by the Union government, Bhanu Pratap Sharma replaced Lov Verma as secretary, Union ministry of health, on February 2. 

The position of chairperson, FSSAI, was vacated upon retirement of K Chandramouli on January 23 earlier this year, while Sharma was given additional charge of the chairperson of FSSAI for a period of two months. 

Meanwhile, the ministry of health is reviewing the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations, 2011. Experts feel that a full-time chairperson may have been an asset during the deliberations as post-review, the chairperson has to take it forward when it comes to regulations, advisories and so on as per the deliberations.

With regard to the review, Sharma stated that the work was on. “Soon the Task Force will submit the report on all the aspects including product approval and we’ll examine the report and take appropriate action,” he replied. 

The health minister, in the winter session of Parliament, had announced that the ministry of health will form a Task Force to review the FSS Act and Regulations. Verma was a key person involved in the reviewing of the Act since it was first conceived during the then health minister Harshvardhan.

Private tankers checked for chlorine content

Random checks of a few private city tankers transporting drinking water on Thursday revealed zero levels of chlorination.

The chlorine level should be a minimum of 0.2 parts per million (ppm/ml), while the 20 tankers that were tested by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had zero ppm.

The team of officials began checking near Padi and tested water samples for levels of chlorination. Private tankers source water mainly from Poonamallee, Cholavaram and Athipet in Tiruvallur district, and transport them to homes, shops and other commercial establishments.

FSSAI staff did not initiate punitive measures against the tanker owners, but educated them. “We briefed them on adding chlorine to water before supplying it to customers,” said an official.

The team also conducted similar checks on tankers run by Metrowater and noticed chlorine content of over 0.3.ppm/ml.

Four teams of FSSAI officials plan to fan out across the city and conduct more such checks in the days to come. There are also plans to lift water samples from the tankers and test for other parameters such as turbidity.

DINAMALAR NEWS

Man dies after eating curry; award winning Indian restaurateur charged with manslaughter in UK

The owner of a string of award-winning Indian restaurants in the UK has been charged with manslaughter of a 38-year-old customer who died following a severe allergic reaction after eating a curry that contained peanuts.

In the first such case, the owner of a string of award-winning Indian restaurants in the UK has been charged with manslaughter of a 38-year-old customer who died following a severe allergic reaction after eating a curry that contained peanuts.

Paul Wilson was killed by anaphylactic shock after eating the curry from a takeaway which is believed to have contained the nuts, The Telegraph reported. On Wednesday, restaurant owner Mohammed Khalique Zaman, 52, was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence over the tragedy. It is the first time that a restaurant owner has faced such a charge.

Wilson, who lived near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, bought the meal from 'The Indian Garden', in nearby Easingwold, in January 2014, just months before the introduction of a law requiring food businesses to provide allergy information on all unpackaged food. The deceased, who had a six-year-old son and had recently been promoted to deputy manager at the Oak Tree pub in Helperby, was found collapsed in his bathroom.

Paramedics were unable to revive him. Although allergies are increasingly common, only around 10 people die annually in the UK from reactions to food. Trading Standards has recently begun a clamp down on restaurants who use ground peanuts instead of ground almonds, because they are cheaper, but do not disclose the ingredient.

Most consumers would be unable to tell the difference, but for those suffering from a peanut allergy, eating the mislabelled food could prove fatal. Previously Trading Standards had dealt with similar cases. In 2011, The Spice Lounge in Norfolk was ordered to pay 6,000 pounds when a diner needed emergency treatment after eating dairy despite warning of allergies.

But in December, new EU legislation came into force which compels restaurants to declare if their food contained allergens, such as nuts, milk, celery, gluten and soya. Zaman has run several restaurants across North Yorkshire and York for more than 25 years, including the Jaipur Spice chain, which won the Best In Yorkshire award at the Bangladeshi Catering Association Awards in 2012 and 2013.

But Peter Mann, head of the CPS complex casework unit, said following a 14-month investigation, it had concluded there was 'sufficient evidence', and that it was in 'public interest' to charge Zaman. Police originally arrested two men - Zaman and an unknown 38-year-old employee - in connection with the death but the younger man was released without charge.

Zaman, 52, from York, has also been charged with perverting the course of justice and an employment offence under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. He will appear before Northallerton Magistrates' on Friday.