FSSAI sets 12,000 standards for food additives, ingredients

NEW DELHI, JUL 12: 

Food Safety regulator FSSAI has finalised 12,000 standards for food additives and ingredients in line with global safety standards Codex, in order to do away with lengthy process of product approval.

The move is expected to benefit food companies as they would not require to seek product approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) if they comply with these standards.

At present, there are 375 FSSAI safety standards for food items but none for food additives and ingredients.

“FSSAI has approved 12,000 standards for food additives and ingredients. The Law Ministry is vetting the standards and a notification will be issued soon,” a senior Health Ministry official told PTI.

The new FSSAI standards are in harmony with the global food standards of Codex Alimentarius Commission, established by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation, the official said.

FSSAI, under the aegis of Health Ministry, has fixed maximum limit for use of food additives in various food groups to ensure that the intake of additives does not exceed the acceptable daily intake. Similarly, it has set norms for use of ingredients in preparation of processed food items.

After the Maggi controversy, the FSSAI has stepped up measures to strengthen the quality standards for food products. It is reviewing the existing standards set for caffeine content, metal and toxic contaminants and other residues in the food products.

The regulator is also in the process of setting standards for imported food items to ensure safe products are sold in the domestic market.

Ban companies making hazardous food: RSS affiliate

New Delhi: After the controversy over Maggi noodles and subsequent ban on the two-minute snack, a key RSS affiliate has demanded that companies making hazardous food items be not just penalised but completely prohibited from doing business in the country.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS outfit, has also demanded that the government frame proper standards for "ready to eat" food and make provisions for rigorous imprisonment for violations.

"The Government should penalize the companies who indulge in the production and sale of such hazardous food items and also completely prohibit them from doing business in the country," the Manch resolution adopted at its recent National Council meeting at Vijaywada said.

Stressing on the need to effectively check consumption of food items hazardous to health, the Manch has also urged people to boycott products of such companies and create awareness in society.

The Manch has alleged "mis-representation" of product contents by various companies and said if a product is genetically-modified it should be mentioned on the label itself.

"Despite continuous demand for the draft bill for making it mandatory to clearly mention 'GM Food' on the labels of food materials containing genetically modified products it has been pending since last one-and-a-half decades. It is noteworthy here that GM foods are banned in several European countries," the resolution said.

Manch's national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told PTI, "We demand that strict safety norms and standards be fixed for all foreign companies in the business of food products and drinks. We clearly feel that foreign companies are disrespecting the country's standards and laws and are indulging in unethical business practices."

He also demanded a "thorough probe" into all food products sold in India by Chinese companies.

Mahajan accused Swiss multi-national Nestle, the makers of Maggi, of engaging in "inhumane" business practices and "playing with lives of people" after its instant noodles was found flouting food safety norms.

The RSS affiliate's resolution said there are several examples of "mis-describing the products which makes a mockery of the prescribed standards".

It cited the example of use of the term "frozen dessert" instead of ice-cream for substituting cream with hydrogenated vegetable oil, which normally people avoid to use in food, or using the term "beauty soap" in place of "toilet soap" to reduce the Total Fat Matter (TFM) from 75 pc (prescribed for toilet soap) to 65 pc to reduce costs.

Criticising the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for turning a "blind eye for a long time" to production and sale of food items with "poisonous substances", the Manch said despite court orders on the issue, "a lot many shortcomings have been deliberately left" out in regulatory provisions framed to stop sale of unhealthy junk food with high transfat, sugar and salt levels in schools and colleges.

"The callous inaction of Competition Commission of India with regard to monopoly and acquisitions by only a handful of MNCs in the canned food industry is worrisome.

"The manner in which monopolistic companies are trying to mislead the consumers through heavy advertising of their products containing poisonous substances such as lead and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) which cause extensive damage to liver, kidneys and brain; using celebrity endorsements to make irrational claims need decisive action," the resolution said.

It said several studies done on ill-effects of junk food with high levels of transfat, sugar and salt indicate that they cause high blood pressure, cardiac problems, depression and kidney failure.

It said it is imperative to effectively control manufacture and sale of such food and also make it mandatory to put appropriate warning(s) on the label.

Such products, the Manch said, must be kept out of the reach of children. Besides, it stressed on testing and time- bound sampling of such food items at regular intervals on the basis of stringent standards.

DINATHANTHI ARTICLE

DINAKARAN NEWS

Maggi row: Nestle says tests done at non-accredited labs

MUMBAI: Nestle India has hit back at Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) for its June 5 ban on the popular 2-minute Maggi noodles by stating that the laboratories where noodle samples tested positive for excessive lead content "lacked accreditation, and are thus inconsistent and unreliable". It also questioned the grounds of "emergency" for a pan-India ban.

The company, which has now filed its rejoinder in the Bombay high court to the affidavit filed by the FSSAI, a central government authority governing food items, attacked the validity of the government lab test results. "The FSSAI and its CEO wrongly claim in their affidavits that reports of analysis, before passing the June 5 ban on all nine variants of Maggi noodles, were on the basis of an analysis conducted in accredited and notified laboratories," it said, highlighting the importance of accreditation of a lab by NABL — National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories — in the context of the complex testing for lead, which requires "highly proficient, clean labs, special equipment and highly trained analysts". 

"All equipment for sampling, water, all reagents are also potential sources of lead," said Nestle, adding that the Kolkata referral lab where the UP samples were sent and showed an "absurd 17 PPM leaded content" was also stripped off its accreditation. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 itself requires labs to be NABL-accredited. 

"The FSSAI order to ban Maggi on the basis of tests conducted in non-accredited labs is arbitrary, illegal and liable to be set aside," Nestle said. It added, "The very fact the results were inconsistent should have been sufficient to suggest that results are suspicious..." 

Nestle said in contrast, 90 samples it had tested in its own and external laboratories abroad showed Maggi was safe to consume, with lead only around 0.016 ppm to 0.074 ppm. It said "food authorities in UK, Canada and Singapore found Maggi noodles to be safe". 

The company's challenge against the ban, which the HC has not stayed, will be heard on July 14.

Monsoon effect: FDA to check eateries for hygiene

AURANGABAD: In a bid to control spread of bacterial infections during monsoon, the Aurangabad Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to intensify its vigilance at eateries from this month. During the monsoon season, hygiene levels in eateries, especially the ones on the roadsides, deteriorate significantly. 

The FDA had conducted a similar drive in the city in December last year during which food samples of three hotels were found to be of sub-standard quality. The administration also served improvement notices to around 18 hotels as their kitchens were found unclean and they had no bills of the raw material procured. 

"The FDA is planning to conduct a fresh drive to inspect hotels and eateries from this month to ensure that the quality of food served is as per the requisite standards and the food operators are complying with food safety management regulations," said Chandrakant Pawar, joint commissioner of FDA (Aurangabad division), who assumed charge a fortnight ago. 

A V Pardhi, assistant commissioner of Aurangabad FDA, said, "The food inspectors would conduct surprise inspection drives at roadside food stalls. The aim is to check whether the food stalls and small restaurants are following standard norms of the FDA on cooked food quality and maintaining hygiene." 

"With the onset of rainfall activity in the city, there are chances of spread of bacterial infections causing fever, diarrhoea, indigestion, throat problems, typhoid and cholera. As contaminated and unhygienic food as well as water are the major reasons for the spread of bacterial infections, the FDA carries out inspections as a control measure," he said. 

"We would inspect the food quality, standard of raw material used, storage of food and medical condition of workers at food stalls and small roadside restaurants. As many as 584 hotels and 88 restaurants are registered with the FDA in the district, while 779 hotels and 591 restaurants are licence holders," he said. 

"Inspections would be carried out across the city and the main focus would be on the street vendors. Majority of the unhygienic and contaminated food samples are found in Chinese food corners and pav bhaji centres on the roadsides," the FDA official said, adding that food stall owners have been asked to use good food quality to prevent the spread of diseases. 

During the drive conducted in December last, the FDA officials had observed that food safety norms such as wearing gloves, using clean vessels to prepare food and clean premises as well as drinking water served to the customers were not followed at these establishments.

"As per the guidelines, the hoteliers and stall vendors have to follow norms and use unadulterated items to prepare food. However, during the raids conducted by our food safety officers, we found that 85 owners or operators had been flouting the norms. Hence, we have issued notices to these establishments," said food safety officer G W Gore. 

"Owners and operators to whom notices have been issued should undertake food safety measures to improve the quality of food or face penalties. Later, they may even face criminal charges," Pardhi said. 

Shaikh Aziz 

The FDA had conducted a similar drive in the city in December last year during which food samples of three hotels were found to be of sub-standard quality. The administration also served improvement notices to around 18 hotels.

Food regulator needs an institutional upgrade

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has rightly drawn attention to the urgent improvements needed at the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Referring to how the regulator's actions against Nestlé India in May panicked other manufacturers who have since pulled off the shelves some of their own packaged food stocks, the Minister said that, “Fssai has created an environment of fear” and that “it needs to streamline its regulations”.

It is debatable if a toothless tiger like Fssai could have terrorised the industry but there’s no doubt that last month's crackdown on Maggi did create quite a stir. It also highlighted Fssai's crucial role in protecting public health (irrespective of how the specific case against Maggi plays out) and how woefully ill-prepared it remains to carry this huge responsibility. Fssai suffers from a host of problems, many of which are typical of state agencies, such as a chronic shortage of funds and bureaucratic lethargy.

It also does not have the infrastructure necessary to have an effective nation-wide presence. For example, while Fssai has only just four referral laboratories and 72 local laboratories, its American counterpart has 13 laboratories, 223 field offices and offices abroad including one in India. Lack of personnel is also a major drawback at Fssai. Reportedly, 60 per cent of food inspector posts and 70 per cent of food analyst posts at Fssai have been lying vacant for almost a year. The agency's skeletal staff is not trained properly or evaluated regularly.

At higher levels, there are many bureaucrats but not enough scientists. Yet, scientists are required at every level, from setting the standards, deciding sampling protocols to ensuring implementation. Then there is the question of the regulatory framework itself. The existing framework is a rudimentary one. Yes, it is being updated but it's still very much a work-in-progress. Meanwhile, food manufacturers are left confused about the latest rules and standards.

At the administrative level, there is not much clarity about if, how and when Fssai's approval should be sought. Products from reputed brands even have been launched without Fssai's permission. Manufacturers have also complained that the approvals process is not just opaque but also slow (meaning, huge revenue losses). Fssai also has only limited enforcement powers. For example, if it orders a total recall of a particular product, it has no way to ensure that every single tainted unit is in fact removed from the stores. That Fssai's organisational links with its State-level counterparts, which are equally if not more ill-equipped than the central body, are also weak, does not help matters either.

A large-scale institutional upgrade is needed. Only functional since 2011, Fssai is a young agency. Its establishment, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, in itself was big step towards protecting public health. Up until then, a variety of rules and regulatory bodies determined quality and health standards in different sectors. Fssai helped consolidate matters. Also, in recent years, Fssai has taken some steps to improve its situation. It now charges a fee for product approval and is collecting data on the different kinds of foods in the Indian market. These are promising steps but a lot more needs to be done.