4 Reason why Quality is more important than Quantity in Food Safety

1. Safe Food Handling

Food Safety

Today’s lifestyles are vastly different from those of the past. The fast pace of modern lifestyles and the increase in single-person households, one-parent families and working women have lead to changes in the food preparation and consumption habits. A positive outcome of this has been rapid advances in food technology, processing and packaging techniques to help ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the food supply as more convenient food.

2. Food Contaminants

Foodborne illness: its origins and how to avoid it

Safety is a priority at every stage of the food chain from farm to fork, and the foods available to European consumers are usually perfectly safe to eat. However, they may occasionally become contaminated to a level which spoils the food or causes illness if eaten. The home is an area where improved consumer awareness of food safety issues can reap rewards in terms of risk reduction.

3. Food allergy & intolerance

Food allergens

For a small percentage of people, specific foods or components of food may cause adverse reactions. These are typically classified as food allergies (i.e. reactions which involve the immune system) or food intolerances (i.e. reactions which do not involve the immune system). Allergen terminology has been published by the World Allergy Organization and is based on terminology originally proposed by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

4. Food additives

Despite modern-day associations food additives have been used for centuries. Food preservation began when man first learned to safeguard food from one harvest to the next and by the salting and smoking of meat and fish. The Egyptians used colours and flavourings, and the Romans used saltpetre (potassium nitrate), spices and colours for preservation and to improve the appearance of foods.

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Task Force submits report; dietary supplements & nutra guidelines soon

The Task Force constituted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to regulate special food items like nutraceuticals and dietary supplements submitted its recommendations to the apex food authority last week.

The recommendations basically comprise guidelines for the approval of dietary supplements and nutraceutical products that are manufactured and marketed throughout the country.

It is understood that the 17-member team had submitted the recommendations based on a detailed study conducted on the market in consultation with all the stakeholders. It basically highlights the key regulatory requirements that need to be implemented to regulate this huge market. Once these recommendations get the nod from FSSAI, all the manufacturers in the country falling under this category will have to get a no objection certificate (NOC) and approval from the Centre prior to manufacturing and marketing the products.

Dr H G Koshia, commissioner, FDCA, Gujarat, who was part of the Task Force informed that the aim behind coming out with these recommendations was to bring in a regulatory semblance to this highly unregulated segment, especially considering the adverse health implications it might have on people if left unchecked.

At present, India does not have any kind of regulatory guidelines for the approval or monitoring of the products under this segment. Interestingly, a lot of Ayurvedic products in the country, are sold as nutraceuticals or dietary supplements. According to experts, though there are currently no fixed statistics to show the size of the market, the scope of the same is huge as it is basically a direct-to-consumer segment. 

“Implementing these guidelines will not only help in effectively regulating the market but also maintain a proper data on the same, which is not the case today. In the recent past, there has been an increase in the incidents of misuse or improper manufacturing conditions. Considering the huge health risks it can pose to the consumers it is high time to concentrate on having an ideal approval policy that will ensure proper compliance of manufacturing of all the products that are available in the market,” informed Dr Koshia. It was in this light that the Centre constituted the Task Force over two-and-a-half months back.

Meanwhile, sources from the Centre informed that this move would help in checking a lot of activities that go unaccounted in the country as of now. It has been observed that a lot of Ayush (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) products are currently sold under the segment directly to consumers.

Further, certain products especially those that claim to aid health benefits to the consumers, having ingredients which usually need to undergo stringent approval process under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, are easily available in the market as a dietary or nutraceutical product.

DINAMALAR NEWS

FSO Postings: PSC-Health Dept Tiff Causing Delay

KOLLAM:For thousands of youth in the state, taking up the job of a Food Safety Officer (FSO) is turning out to be a daunting task.

Those who pin their hopes on this field-level job at the Food Safety Commissionerate are slowly realising that their dream is fading day-by- day as the tug of war between PSC and the Health Department is slowing down the recruitment process. The Commissionerate, since its inception, is yet to recruit field-level officers through PSC.

According to sources, there are around 82 FSO posts to be filled through PSC. Though the Commissionerate submitted papers with the PSC for reporting the vacancies on September 2014, it was returned by the latter mentioning that confusion prevails over the educational qualification of candidates. Express, which reported about the matter then, was told by the officials that it was an ‘infinitesimal error’ and would be resolved soon.

It seems that the imbroglio is not going to end soon as the file regarding eligibility, age and experience for FSO posts was returned by the PSC for the second time, seeking clarification regarding ‘training’.

A word in this regard came into light through an RTI filed by a member of the Kerala Food Technologists Association (KEFTA), an organisation which persistently works towards pressurising the government for notifying the FSO posts. In reply to the RTI filed on February 12, the PSC informed that it had demanded a clarification from the government regarding ‘training’ which is listed under the head of ‘qualification’ on the GO (MS) No. 287/2014, H & FWD, dated September 26, 2014. It also added that once it is received the notification process would be speeded up.

When Express inquired about this matter with the PSC’s recruitment wing, they said that they were yet to receive clarification from the government. They also added that the matter is now pending with the Health Department. 

Murky Deal

Meanwhile, the repeated mistakes and confusions which crept into the file regarding appointment of FSO posts is being viewed suspiciously by a section of officers within the Food Safety Commissionerate. One of the officers, who requested anonymity, told Express that some quarters within the Commissionerate are against reporting vacancies to PSC and the unwanted delay could be their brainwork. “It seems that a nexus is there in function, which continuously blocks the plan of new appointments. They favour deputation from the Health Department. The chances of sneaking is high if delay continues,” said the official.

The official also said that though it was Kerala which first established the Commissionerate of Food Safety to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), it still staggers behind other states when it comes to enforcement. Youth who aspire to become FSO allege that each time the recruitment-related papers enter the final lap, there is something which pulls it back from the finishing point. They also added that it could be the delaying tactics of government to appease a minority.

“It’s a disheartening factor that the government compromises with the implementation of the Act. Often the enforcement is limited to checking at eateries. A larger part is yet to be monitored. A number of field level officers are not well-versed In the areas which come under the FSSA, such as packaging.

This could only be overcome through fresh faces as they are technically and educationally sound than the existing ones,” said Jaffar, state general secretary of KEFTA. The organisation also alleges that the assurance of Health Minister V S Sivakumar in the Assembly, in June 2014, that Food Safety Offices would be made functional at 140 Assembly constituencies in the state turns out to be a false one as majority of these offices are yet to function owing to lack of FSOs.

At a time when the state market is being flooded with vegetables having high pesticide residues and where grave health risk is guaranteed, these youth point out that action is needed more than lip service. Otherwise, the delay would cost the state dearly.