FOOD SAFETY LATEST: Jun 9, 2015

Jun 9, 2015

Maggi tests by bonafide lab: Regulator

The food safety regulator on Tuesday said there was no issue over the bonafides of the institution that conducted the tests on Maggi noodles in Kolkata and that the prescribed norms were followed.

The issue cropped up after reports that the lab that purportedly conducted the Maggi tests in Kolkata did not have the necessary accreditation when it gave its report to the regulator.

"Yes, I agree that Central Food Laboratory (CFL) in Kolkata conducted the tests. But there were others as well," Yudhvir Singh Malik, chief exective officer at Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) told IANS.

"But I cannot disclose anything more," Malik added.

In the gazette notification issued by the authority on Dec 2 last year, CFL was among the laboratories accredited with it. But the laboratory's name did not figure in the subsequent notification of April 1, 2015.

Accordingly, as per reports, if the tests results were handed over to the regulator after April 1 this year, then it would have been done so by an agency that did not have the requisite sanction.

Asked for his response, Malik said: "The tests were performed as per the norms. That's all I can say."

The issue of food safety has been in the news since late last month, following which the food safety regulator on June 5 ordered the recall of all the nine variants of Maggi noodles with tastemaker after receiving adverse lab reports.

Some laboratories to which the Maggi samples were sent to not only found higher-than-permissible levels of lead, but also high amounts of mono-sodium glutamate.

Nestle, during its presentation before the regulator on June 4, had faulted the testing protocols followed by the labs and contended that they also had not been interpreted properly.

It also said the packets tested by the Kolkata lab were open for a long time.

Maggi Noodles comes under international scanner

Nestle India's Maggi, after been declared unfit by FSSAI, has come under the scanner of international regulators in US, UK and Canada.

Nestle India ’s Maggi Noodles are now under the scanner of international regulators. After the Singapore food regulator gave a clean chit to Maggi Noodles, other foreign food regulators including those from US, UK and Canada have started testing samples of Maggi Noodles.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that total of six states in the US including Delaware, North Carolina, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado and California have started tests on Maggi samples.

Meanwhile, Nestle has not only opened up doors to the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSCI) that has termed Maggi as unsafe and hazardous, but are working on an internal investigation plan in the Maggi issue.

The company is working on two key priorities. One is to check the root cause of the problem and second is to iron out issues with the government. The internal investigation will be done across all the five rural manufacturing facilities.

Testing of Maggi sample is happening at nine international and three external labs, said the sources.

Singapore resumes sale of India-made Maggi noodles

Nestle late last week instructed its distributors and stockists to stop Maggi sales immediately. The packets will be brought back to be destroyed.

Singapore has allowed the sale of Maggi noodles manufactured in India after safety tests by food authorities in Singapore found that the popular instant snack does not pose any health risk to consumers.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) informed local importers that sale of the brand's noodles from India may be resumed, The Straits Times reported.

AVA had last week advised importers to withhold sales while it conducted laboratory tests, following concerns over higher-than-permissible levels of lead in the product.

Results from AVA's laboratory tests, which cover "a wide range of hazards associated with food" showed that the India-made Maggi instant noodles meet local food safety standards, the report said.

The AVA had cleared the India-made Maggi noodles on Monday night.

The authorities also tested Maggi instant noodles produced in other countries and results revealed that these meet the food safety requirements too, the report added.

Food products that fail tests will not be allowed for sale, the AVA had earlier said.

Singapore has imported "a small amount" of the brand's noodles manufactured in India.

On June 3, India temporarily banned the sale of the popular instant noodles after excess levels of lead were found in samples tested in New Delhi and in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Lead content in 14 of 27 samples in India was found to be 2.8 PPM to 5 PPM (particle per million), which is above the prescribed limit of 2.5 PPM. Presence of excess lead is harmful for health.

Switzerland-based food group Nestle had said in a statement on June 5 that its noodles are completely safe but it had decided to take the products off the shelves.

The Nestle statement said the popular Maggi noodles will make a comeback "as soon as the current situation is clarified".

Vegetable Vendors Told to Secure Food Safety Licence

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The food safety commissioner has asked fruits and vegetable vendors in the state to secure food safety licence or registration within a month.

Vehicles transporting fruits and vegetables, including those arriving from other states, should possess registration certificates as per the food safety law. From July 15, vehicles without valid registration will not be allowed to enter the state. The department has asked fruit and vegetable traders to avail of the licence and registration melas which will begin at its district offices on June 15.

Raid on Restaurants

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob here on Monday.

Sivakumar said that all noodle brands in the market would be examined.

Inspections would be conducted at restaurants to prevent the use of harmful flavour enhancers like Monosodium Glutamate. The food safety commissioner was asked to submit reports on the inspections on a daily basis.

The health secretary was asked to conduct a discussion with the High Court registrar general for the speedy settlement of food poisoning cases.

Health Secretary Dr K Elangovan, Food and Civil Supplies Secretw ary G Kamalavardhana Rao, Food Safety Joint Commissioner K Anilkumar, Enforcement Wing Joint Commissioner D Ashraf and Assistant Food Safety Commissioner D Sivakumar attended the meeting.

Insects found inside Glucon-D packet in Uttar Pradesh

BULANDSHAHR(UP): After Maggi — the two-minute noodle snack, it was the turn of Glucon-D — an energy drink, to land in a soup.

A packet of 500gm of the energy drink was found with insects in Bulandshahr district of west Uttar Pradesh.

Following the discovery of insects, the packet was sent for further examination by the officials.

Confirming the development, food safety officer of Bulandshahr Shiv Dass told TOI, "A packet of the energy drink Glucon-D was purchased by Bablu from the Chowk Bazaar area of the district. After opening it, he found insects in the pack, and alerted us." The food safety officer further stated that 5 packets of the same batch were immediately confiscated from the said shop in Bulandshahr, and all of them have been sent for testing in the Lucknow laboratory.

"The report of the Lucknow laboratory is expected to be out in one month's time," said Shiv Dass Singh.

Citing Bablu, the food safety officer also informed that Bablu along with his family members started vomiting after consuming the product, which was purchased almost two days back. "On subsequent examination, insects were found in the packet," said Shiv Dass Singh.

Glucon-D is manufactured by the American pharmaceutical giant, HJ Heinz company, headquartered in Pennyslyvania.

All you wanted to know about product recalls

The transformation of Maggi — from being staple food for students and bachelors to being declared unfit for consumption — has been quite instant. The ‘Taste bhi, health bhi’ noodles were banned across states after samples of it were found to contain excess amounts of lead and MSG — a flavour enhancer. But, even as Nestle India continued to deny these charges, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ordered the company to recall Maggi from the market.

What is it?

Product recalls can be voluntary or insisted upon by regulators. When a company discovers that a product already sold by it is defective or harmful, it makes a product recall. It asks its customers to return the defective product for replacement or compensation. But manufacturers may not always be honest enough to voluntarily recall a product, which is why countries have laws governing product recalls.

India has laws governing food product recalls but not other consumer products. According to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, if a manufacturer discovers that the food items sold by him are unsafe, he must immediately withdraw them from the market. He must also inform the State food regulator. Those found guilty can also be fined.

In the US, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) overseas product recalls. If the FDA’s inspections reveal that a company’s products do not meet the expected quality standards, these have to be recalled. Indian pharmaceutical companies, for instance, have had to recall from the US market medicines not meeting certain quality and hygiene standards. But it is not just food companies that make product recalls, auto companies have, in fact, been recalling defective vehicles one after the other. Recently, Toyota made a global recall of its cars fitted with faulty airbags made by another car-parts maker.

When it comes to automobiles, India does not have a mandatory recall policy as do the developed countries such as the US and the UK. So, when Maruti announced a recall of its Alto cars this year, it was a voluntary action. But this is set to change once the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014, is passed, which, among other things, proposes a regulatory body that can order a recall.

Why is it important?

Consumer safety is not something to be taken lightly. A product recall ensures corrective action by a company and protects consumers.

For a company, a product recall brings negative publicity and could dent brand image. But failure to recall a product could land the company in even bigger trouble as happened with General Motors. The carmaker had to cough up $35 million in fine last year after it failed to inform authorities about a defective ignition switch and conduct a recall.

Why should I care?

If it wasn’t for product recalls, you would continue driving defective cars or sipping adulterated drinks as you always have, with no inkling of the risks you are exposed to. Also, recalls can create awareness about safety issues not just with one brand but with an entire category, as is the case with packaged food after the Maggi debacle. Product recall laws ensure that companies, particularly those with dominant market shares, don’t take consumers for granted.

The bottomline

A company may not, as the adage goes, eat its own dog food. But if there’s a problem, the least it can do is recall it.

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Food Safety Licence a Must

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The food safety commissioner has asked fruits and vegetable vendors in the state to secure food safety licence or registration within a month.

The directive followed the detection of high-level pesticide content in vegetables produced in Tamil Nadu. A team from the Food Safety Department had recently conducted inspections at vegetable production and trading centres in Tamil Nadu. Vehicles transporting fruits and vegetables, including those arriving from other states, should possess registration certificates as per the food safety law. From July 15, vehicles without valid registration will not be allowed to enter the state.

The department has asked fruit and vegetable traders to avail of the licence and registration melas which will begin at its district offices on June 15.

The district-level squads of the Food Safety Department will conduct week-long inspections to ensure the implementation of the ban on Maggi noodles by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Health Minister V S Sivakumar has said. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob here on Monday. Sivakumar said that all noodle brands in the market would be examined. Inspections would be conducted at restaurants to prevent the use of harmful flavour enhancers like Monosodium Glutamate. The food safety commissioner was asked to submit reports on the inspections on a daily basis. The health secretary was asked to conduct a discussion with the High Court registrar general for the speedy settlement of food poisoning cases.

Only 7 firms can sell instant pastas: FSSAI

Instant noodles and pastas with tastemakers of only seven companies are allowed to be sold in India, the food safety watchdog said on Monday, while also ordering tests on all approved variants and calling for the remaining "illegal" ones to be destroyed.

The seven companies that have approvals for their variants of instant noodles and pastas with tastemakers are: Ruchi International (Koka), CG Foods (Wai Wai), Glaxosmithkline (Foodles), Nestle (Maggi), AA Nutrition (Yummy), Indo Nisin (Top Ramen) and ITC (brand not specified).

"The safety of all other products in these categories has not been assessed as per the product approval procedures. As such, the same are unauthorised and illegal and cannot be intended for human consumption," said a letter from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Ordering tests on all the approved varieties, the letter written by chief executive Yudhvir Singh Malik to all the commissioners of food safety said: "As regards all the remaining food products, you are advised to ensure such products are recalled, removed from the market and destroyed."

Speaking to IANS, the top food safety officer said tests on Nestle's Maggi and some other similar products had raised serious health concerns and that it was, accordingly, thought fit to conduct tests on all similar products for which approvals had been granted.

Following tests on some samples of Maggi, the watchdog on Friday had ordered the recall of all the nine variants of Maggi pan-India and had asked Nestle to halt its production and exports. It had also issued a similar order on Nestle's oats noodles and tastemaker.

While Nestle continued to contend that its noodles were safe for human and that the levels of lead were within permissible limits - as opposed to the findings of some tests that purportedly indicated otherwise - several states also became pro-active by issuing their own ban orders.

"Overseas and local manufacturers would be treated equally. More noodle brands including pasta and macaroni products will also start getting tested this week," Malik said.

Asked if the brand ambassadors could be taken to task, he said: "As of now, we are not considering any action."

The regulator also detailed the process involved in the recall of food products.

"Ideally, consumers should be able to return the product at the retail outlet and get their money back if they have the bill with them. It is also Nestle's responsibility to let the consumers return their products, if they have kept the bill with them," he said.

The regulator also plans to post a list of all approved noodle products on its web site and advise the state authorities to test them. "We understand Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have already started testing other brands. We will list all the approved noodle products soon."

He further said that Nestle had been asked to give the regulator an update on compliance first after three days and then regularly until the end. "Because we understand that it could take 10 days or more, we will be taking regular progress reports from the company."

Nestle noodle crisis shows long road ahead for India food safety

While India has made progress on food safety, it still has a long way to go

Nestle, whose local unit has seen its shares decline about 10% this month, said it will remove all instant noodles from Indian shelves to boost trust.

New Delhi: The man who helped spark one of India’s largest food recalls—prompting Nestle SA’s top executive to rush to New Delhi last week—says government authorities lack the resources for widespread inspections.

V.K. Pandey’s team in Uttar Pradesh, randomly picked about a dozen packs of Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles for a series of tests. The results showed that lead levels breached official limits, triggering a recall across a swathe of India and import bans in Nepal and Singapore.

“We would’ve sent more samples of Maggi, but we have a manpower shortage,” Pandey, an officer with Uttar Pradesh’s Food Safety and Drug Administration in Barabanki district, said by phone. “There’s been one vacancy open for three years.”

Nestle, whose local unit has seen its shares decline about 10% this month, said it will remove all instant noodles from Indian shelves to boost trust. Global chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Bulcke told reporters that the company tested more than 1,000 batches of noodles and found the India-produced Maggi to be “safe and well within the regulatory limits.”

“With the consumer in mind, we will do everything it takes, and are fully engaged with the authorities to clarify the situation to have Maggi noodles back on the shelves at the earliest,” Bulcke told reporters in New Delhi on 5 June.

The crisis marks the highest profile case for India’s seven-year-old national food regulator and the patchwork of local agencies responsible for ensuring food is safe across the world’s second most populous country. While India has made progress on food safety, it has a long way to go.

No manpower

“The government should have a pan-India monitoring system across food categories, but it doesn’t,” said Amit Khurana, programme manager for the food safety team at the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “We hear it every time in the field: The state doesn’t have appropriate resources, there are a lot of vacancies, there’s no manpower, the infrastructure and labs need to be upgraded. The system is still evolving.”

Establishing a credible regulator is key for India to attract investment into food processing as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to spur a manufacturing boom. The food services market alone is growing at nearly 12% each year and will be worth $175 billion by 2018, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said in a 2013 report.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered a recall on 5 June, calling samples of Maggi tested by various states “unsafe and hazardous for human consumption.” More than half of India’s 29 states have banned Maggi, according to reports from theTimes of India newspaper over the past few days.

Weak enforcement

Multiple calls in the past few days to the office of Yudhvir Singh Malik, the FSSAI’s CEO, weren’t answered. Neither were calls and an email to Rakesh Chandra Sharma, the food authority’s head of enforcement.

The FSSAI was established in 2008 after law makers streamlined a mishmash of laws dealing with adulteration, meat, fruit, oil and milk. Apart from framing rules and certifying laboratories, it advises on food safety and nutrition.

Enforcement of the rules is left to local authorities in states. There’s no real-time monitoring system such as that in the US, where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) helps to quickly identify, analyse and take action on any violation relating to food or medicines.

India is the seventh-largest provider of food to the US, according to the FDA. In March, the US regulator signed an agreement with India to cooperate more on food safety.

FDA collaboration

“We left our meeting with FSSAI assured that we are on the same page with our Indian colleagues about our food safety goals, as well as the amount of work—and collaboration—needed to achieve them,” FDA officials wrote in a March blog post.

The Maggi incident started when Pandey’s team sent packs of the Nestle’s Maggi noodles for a routine lab test 14 months ago. The test came back positive for monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a chemical used to enhance savoury flavours. Subsequent tests 750 miles away in Kolkata confirmed the MSG and reported excessive amounts of lead, about seven times the prescribed maximum.

Pandey said his department filed a court case with information about the lead and MSG content to force the company to take action. Nestle disputed the findings in August, citing previous cases in other states as precedent, he said.

After continued tests, Pandey said state officials asked Nestle in April to pull Maggi from stores. That sparked widespread media coverage, criminal complaints against Maggi and criticism of its celebrity brand ambassadors.

Past incidents

“We are making all possible efforts to clarify matters,” Nestle India spokesman Himanshu Manglik said in a text message after receiving emailed questions regarding the timeline of the tests and India’s ability to ensure food safety.

Past food safety incidents in India involving Mondelez International Inc.’s Cadbury’s chocolates, Pepsico Inc. and Coca Cola Co. show that Nestle can recover. Those companies bounced back in a few years after initially seeing a drop in sales and profits, according to BNP Paribas.

“A scandal like this in some sense brings the problem to light,” Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, a Mumbai-based company that helps companies comply with food safety regulations. “If this hadn’t happened, nobody would be talking about food safety.”

Four tonnes of Maggi products to be destroyed in Goa

PANAJI: Over four tonnes of Maggi products have been collected by Nestle in Goa and will now be destroyed in the presence of officials of the state food drugs authority, chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Monday.

"All stock is being withdrawn. Stocks amounting to something like 4,000-odd kg have been collected by them (Nestle). I have instructed that it is to be destroyed in the presence of FDA officials," Parsekar told reporters on the sidelines of an education department event in Porvorim, near the state capital.

The chief minister has already ordered a ban on Nestle's Maggi products from Monday until further notice.

Goa last week conducted two tests, both of which said the levels of MSG and lead were below permissible levels and therefore the product was safe for consumption.

However, both were rejected by the central government's Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which called the tests "inappropriate".

The FDA has now sent a fresh sample of Maggi manufactured in a local unit to a Karnataka-based government laboratory for tests on the directions of the FSSAI.

‘Ban all harmful food items’

Members of the Social Awareness Movement petitioned the District Collector here on Monday asking him to direct the food safety authorities concerned to test all types of packaged food items, and to impose a ban on them if found harmful to consumers. They came to the Collectorate carrying packets of some snacks stating that the manufacturers were advertising the product healthy food.

The organisation’s president J.D. Socrates claimed that no action has been taken against manufacturers of packed products so far despite repeated petitions submitted to the Collector. He alleged that a senior food safety officer here was colluding with companies against whom complaints were lodged on earlier occasion.

He said that action should be taken against juice, and flour manufacturers too.

Food safety squads to enforce ban on Maggi

Food safety squads have been posted in all districts in the State to ensure that there is no sale of the banned Maggi noodles in the State, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.

The squads would conduct searches at retail outlets for a week from Tuesday to ensure that there is no sale of the products, which was in a controversy after lead was found in quantities beyond permissible limits.

Noodles of all brands would also be subjected to stringent tests, Mr. Sivakumar said here on Monday.

The Minister had earlier chaired a meeting attended by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob and senior officials of the departments concerned here.

More checks

Restaurants and eateries would also be inspected. The State government had issued an order to stop the sale of Maggi noodles through over 1,000 retail outlets in the State.

The Food Safety Commissioner had been asked to submit a report to the government on a daily basis with regard to the searches, the Minister said.

Vegetables from other States would be banned if they were found to have pesticide residues above permissible limits.

Vehicles carrying vegetables would be allowed through check-posts only if they disclosed the sources and markets, he said.

The meeting also decided to take steps to ensure speedy disposal of pending cases relating to adulteration. The Health Secretary had been asked to take steps in this regard in consultation with the High Court Registrar General.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy would be convened to review the report of officials who visited farms from other States from where vegetables were being sourced to Kerala, he said.

Food Safety Officers Inspect Nestle's Maggi Plant

MYSURU: District Food Safety and Quality Control Officers visited Nestle company’s Maggi noodles production unit at Nanjangud Industrial Area to check whether the unit has stopped production.

This was in the wake of the state government temporarily banning the sale of Maggi noodles. Food Inspector Lokesh, along with Food Safety Officer Satish, visited the unit on Saturday evening and inspected the plant. The officers had also picked a few packets of Maggi from retail outlets and also at the plant and sent them for tests at authorised and government-identified laboratories in Bengaluru.

Lokesh said the higher officers had directed to personally visit the plant following the furore over the allegations of lead content in the snack being beyond the permissible limit.

He said the authorities at the factory said they have stopped production for the past three days. They also said they have recalled the stocks from retail stores and from distributors and will not start production until further orders from the competent authorities are received. Nestle, that has 700 employees at the unit, continued the production of other products.

Maggi Row: In state that exposed MSG in Maggi, no food inspector appointed since 1998

As per the officials in the department, 233 Food Safety Officers (FSOs) and 78 Chief FSOs were appointed in November 1998.

The food regulator, FSSAI, was created in 2011 to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) Department that opened the proverbial can of worms by “exposing” the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in Maggi noodles, inviting a ban on the instant snack in many states, is running woefully short of food inspectors, with state government last making any appointments in the year 1998.

As per the officials in the department, 233 Food Safety Officers (FSOs) and 78 Chief FSOs were appointed in November 1998.

Hemant Rao, principal secretary to the FDA department, said the appointments were held up in the last decade as the Food Safety Act, and then the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), were in the works. “There was an issue of new qualification and service rules being brought into place, hence no appointments were made in the interim,” Rao said.

However, even after the FSSAI was created, the appointments to the post of FSO in UP remained held up due to a court case. On Monday, about 150 persons, who have been selected for the post but are awaiting appointment for past four months, sat on a protest in Lucknow and submitted a memorandum with Food Safety commissioner, P K Singh, at his office.The food regulator, FSSAI, was created in 2011 to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The FSSAI action on Maggi has forced its manufacture Nestle to pull the product out of India.

“A list of 430 persons selected as FSOs —- after a written examination and an interview —- was issued on January 29 but we are yet to get appointment letters,” said Vivek Kumar Tiwari, 27, a Mainpuri resident and one of the protesters. “The government had issued an advertisement in 2010 for food inspectors but 10 days before the examinations in July 2011, it was withdrawn in light of the new guidelines,” he added.

“The government kept sitting on the new guidelines and woke up only after a PIL by one Virendra Kumar Yadav, wherein the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed that the appointments be made by March 2015,” added Mayank Dubey, 30, of Bhadohi.

On July 14, 2014, an advertisement was issued for 430 vacancies as FSOs and after the examinations, the results were declared on January 29. “After the written test, some candidates approached the High Court when they were not called for the interview as their degrees did not meet the guidelines,” Rao said. With the matter being sub-judice, it is still unclear as to when the 430 FSOs will finally be appointed.