Take bad food off shelf on your own: T V Anupama

CCI to promote Kerala as safe-to-eat destination.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Manufacturers should take out their food products voluntarily whenever a quality issue comes to their notice, says food safety commissioner T.V. Anupama. The industry should keep itself updated on the norms.

She was addressing the officials of prominent food product brands including oil, rice and curry powder at an interaction the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised to promote Kerala as a safe-to-eat destination here on Monday.

Paul Francis, the managing partner of KLF Oil Industries, stressed the need to blacklist manufacturers who compromise on the quality of coconut oil, which is prone to adulterants.

“Each time an action is taken, they change the brand name and re-register. So we need to blacklist them,” he said pointing out the similarities in brand names that bring general disrepute to other players. Officials of Saras Spices said the Agmark certification should be strengthened by getting more genuine manufacturers under it.

Curry powder manufacturers stated that they were finding it hard to find pesticide-free raw materials adhering to the standards. Kalady Rice Millers Consortium general manager K. Rajendran, who represented Pavizham rice, pointed out that there should be a control on unbranded food products sold in local markets.

“Caterers who serve them to the public should be bridled," he said.

Ms Anupama answered that majority of those come under her ambit were small-time manufacturers. At least 917 cases of adulteration or quality issues are under consideration now.

Legal and standard training have been given to 20,000-30,000 manufacturers.

The state government is in the process of capacity building for its laboratories. Presently, there are only two Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) accredited laboratories in the state, both located in Kochi.

The state has given a representation to accredit more labs across Kerala, she said. The food processing industry has been one of the fast growing sectors in Kerala that contributes to state’s foreign exchange earnings in a big way, said CII convener Vinod Manjila said.