FSSAI to train 20,000 street vendors in Delhi

As part of its project to promote clean food, food safety regulator FSSAI will train about 20,000 street food vendors in the nation capital over the next four weeks. 

The decision to launch 'Project Clean Strategy Food' was today announced at an event to connect with corporates, media specialists and food experts to promote food safety. 

The event was co-organised with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. 

Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has partnered the government's Skill India initiative and others for the project. 

"FSSAI... Announced the launch of Project Clean Strategy Food. Under the Delhi initiative of this project, FSSAI with Skill India and many other partners would train about 20,000 street food vendors in Delhi over the next four weeks," according to an official statement. 

Speaking at the same event, FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said the country faces huge burden of food-borne diseases, the food safety can be ensured if all the citizen and businesses are involved in the process. 

He added the capacity building of food businesses and advocacy with citizens is central to the working of the food regulator. 

There is no way to ensure food safety for all unless each citizen and all food businesses are involved in the process," Agarwal said.

PU keeping no tab on quality of food at hostels, eateries

In an RTI reply received by the NYA, from the office of Dean Students Welfare (DSW), it is stated there is no in-house testing of foods, thus no food samples are collected. 

Highlighting the fact that students of Panjab University (PU) are facing health problems due to the prevalence of unhygienic food and water across the campus, National Youth Association (NYA) has written to the health department of UT administration demanding the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) act in the University campus.

The association has alleged about the absence of proper mechanism or lab testing system for the food and water on the campus which can ensure its quality for human consumption.

The spokesperson of the association has quoted Food and Safety Standards (Licensing and registration of food business) regulation, 2011, which mentions the medical examination of the food handlers/employees once a year by registered medical practitioner to ensure they are free from infectious, contagious and other communicable diseases and the record keeping of it.

However, compliance to this standard is not adhered, compromising the health of the students. The association has also written that although the FSSAI regulation asks to ensure the testing of relevant chemical and/or microbiological contaminants in food products and if there is no laboratory, it asks testing through NABL accredited/FSSA notified labs once in six months, no testing has been done in last many years on the campus.

RTI reply

In an RTI reply received by the association from the office of Dean Students Welfare (DSW), it is stated there is no in-house testing of foods, thus no food samples are collected. The RTI reply also mentioned the working hours are 9 am to 5 pm with 1:30 pm to 2 pm as lunch break; however hostels are visited beyond this period as per requirement for the checking.

Gagandeep Singh Lubana, campus president of NYA said “food and water quality in the hostel messes, canteens, market and student centre is not good. There are approximately 17 hostels which are home to thousands of students. Moreover, large number of students and visitors also visit Student Centre daily. Thus I believe, there should be regular testing of food.”

Sahil Jain, PU campus hosteller said, “Many hostellers have suffered due to the poor quality of food, not only in the hostels but at the students’ centre as well. The fact is that hostellers do not raise their voice against it and only student leaders keep submitting memorandums against the quality of food provided on the campus. But the authorities never take an initiative to check if the food is tested ever or not.

Another hosteller, Sarika Sharma said, “If the authorities would check the place where the food is cooked, they would not buy anything from there. Similar is the case in our hostels, no cleanliness is maintained and many a times hostellers complain of upset stomach.”

Experts brainstorm to promote wholesome, healthy food

In an unique initiative to ensure food safety and promote wholesome food in the country, corporates, media specialists and food experts brainstormed here on Saturday to develop an action plan on the way forward.

The session was organized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which aims to reach out to about 130 crore citizens/consumers and over three crore food businesses in the country across the entire food value chain.

Around 70 experts from a fields, including branding experts, theatre, print media, food and nutrition experts, consumer organizations gathered together for the session, co-organized with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

The Indian Dietetic Association, officers of Food Safety Commissioner and FSSAI were present, as well as major corporates like Nestle, Dabur, GSK, Cargill, HUL and Pepsi, said an official statement.

Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI said that India faces a huge burden of food-borne diseases and ensuring food safety is a shared responsibility of all. He said there is no way to ensure food safety unless each citizen and all food businesses are involved in the process.

Deliberations were held in five groups covering five themes, namely - safe food for all, promotion of wholesome food, bringing food businesses under FSSAI fold, capacity building of food handlers and leveraging technology. Many out of the box ideas came up during the deliberations. Five electronic groups among the participants have been formed to carry forward these ideas to the next stage of implementation, said an official statement.

FSSAI announced the launch of Project Clean Strategy Food. Under the Delhi initiative of this Project, FSSAI along with Skill India and other partners would train about 20,000 street food vendors in Delhi over the next four weeks.

The project would be launched at New Motibagh on March 13. These initiatives place the Food Authority at the centre of food ecosystem in the country.

PROJECT - CLEAN STREET FOOD

Soft drinks and hard reality

The popular drink ‘kuluki sherbet’ is under the scanner of the Food Safety Department.

While soft drinks are a welcome respite from the searing summer heat, they are also perhaps the ones that people need to be most wary of.

There are innumerable licensed and non-licensed companies rolling out crates of soft drinks that mimic branded products available in the market.

“The Food Safety Department has no comprehensive data on the total number of people in the business, and there could be fly-by-night companies that come up during the season to make the kill,” said a senior official in the district.

The “kulukki sherbet” is a popular cool drink found on roadsides. Food Safety officials will check the quality of water used, the use of colours, and other aspects of hygiene such as the ware used to serve the drinks and the water used to clean the utensils.

In a city where groundwater is already polluted, the hot and humid climate that assists the growth of bacteria and other microbes has only worsened the situation. Water could get contaminated easily if one is not careful.

Officials of the Food Safety Department have been involved in an awareness programme for the last two weeks, and will close down any outlet that is not following norms on serving clean cool drinks.

“The issue of contaminated ice was a major issue two years ago, but regular awareness classes have been effective,” said K.V. Shibu, the Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety, Ernakulam. Most of the units manufacturing and selling soft drinks were found using edible ice.

“Migrants selling ice creams and ice candy will also come under the scanner of the Department,” Mr. Shibu said.

Over 250 imported food samples rejected: Govt

More than 250 samples of imported food consignments were rejected in 2015-16 till January, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said a decision has been taken by the government and communicated to Food Safety Authority of India (FSSAI) to introduce risk-based sampling of imported food consignments.

He said 58,920 such samples were collected in 2015-16 till January 31, 2016, while 66,065 were collected in 2014-15.

In 2015-16 period till January 1, 2016, 735 samples were rejected (at the visual inspection stage) while 256 samples were rejected (by notified laboratories).

In 2014-15, 864 samples were rejected at the visual inspection stage while 537 were rejected by notified laboratories.

He said imported food, which do not meet regulatory requirement, is not permitted to enter the market and returned to the customs for disposal.

He said the government, with a view to facilitate speedier trade across borders decided to introduce risk based sampling of import consignments covered under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

He said steps taken for speedier clearance include single window clearance system, operationalisation of pre-arrival document system at IGI Airport New Delhi, Kolkata (seaport and airport), Chennai (seaport and airport) and Mumbai airport.

He said ports where FSSAI officials are not posted as yet, customs officials have been authorised to draw samples from imported food consignments and send them for testing.

Replying to another question, Nadda said there are 168 food testing laboratories, of which 14 are referral ones. There are also 82 national accreditation board for testing and calibration laboratories, he said.

3 pc vegetable samples contain pesticide residue: Govt

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) About three per cent vegetable samples analysed by the government contained pesticide residues above the maximum limit prescribed by the country's food safety regulator, Lok Sabha was told today.

Health Minister J P Nadda said the government is aware of some reports indicating use of chemicals for ripening of fruits and presence of more than prescribed level of pesticides in fruits and vegetables.

"While no specific data on poisonous chemicals and harmful pesticides is maintained centrally by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)...

"...as per the annual report of Monitoring of Pesticides Residues at national level, 1.78 per cent and 2.88 per cent samples of all fruits and vegetables respectively analysed contained pesticide residues above the maximum residues limit prescribed by the FSSAI," Nadda said in a written reply.

He said as per available information, pesticides can have adverse effect on the nervous system.

Some pesticides can also cause diseases such as cancer and damage to liver, kidneys and lungs, loss of weight and appetite, irritability, insomnia, behavioral disorders and dermatological problems, Nadda said.

Nestle India Says Reports of Ash in Noodles `Misleading'

• Authorities found high ash content in Maggi product: reports
• India scandal comes amid parent's food recalls in U.S.

Nestle India Ltd. said media reports in the South Asian country about the ash content in some products under its Maggi brand are “erroneous and misleading.”

The company, whose instant noodles were the subject of India’s biggest food quality crisis last year, responded to a Press Trust of India report that said authorities in the Uttar Pradesh state found the ash content in Maggi’s Masala variant is 85 percent higher than the permissible limit, citing district chief food safety officer Manoj Kumar.

Nestle said it hasn’t received any notice from the authorities, though the complaints flagged in the media are likely because standards for other products are being applied to instant noodles.

“It is apparent from the media reports that standards for ‘macaroni products’ are being applied for ‘instant noodles with seasoning,’ which is erroneous and misleading,” the company said. “We categorically reiterate that testing of ‘instant noodles’ against norms set for ‘macaroni products’ will reflect in incorrect results and wrong interpretations.”

A safety scare about Maggi occurred in India last year, which originated when a lone food inspector reported exceptionally high lead levels in a noodle packet, and then snowballed into a controversy leading the nation’s food regulator to ban Maggi sales nationwide.

Nestle, which has repeatedly maintained Maggi products are safe, later took the food regulator to court over the decision, and won the challenge. The company has since resumed sales.

Officials at Uttar Pradesh’s Food Safety and Drug Administration and Commissioner Praveen Kumar Singh couldn’t be immediately reached. Assistant commissioner Vijay Bahadur Yadav declined to comment when reached on his cellphone. Santosh Kumar Srivastava, the top food safety official for the district where the tainted samples were found, also declined to speak.

The term “ash” used in the context of processed foods refers a substance usually made up of metals and minerals left behind after heating ingredients at more than 500 degrees Celsius, according to N. Anandavally, a consultant who’s worked in food safety for more than 30 years. Most of the organic matter vaporizes at that temperature, and so the total ash content is a proxy for the total amount of non-organic material present in the product. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India prescribes the maximum amount of ash that can be present in various kinds of processed foods.

DINAMALAR NEWS

FSSAI launches scheme of research & development studies for food quality and safety

New Delhi

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to support innovative R&D proposals with respect to food safety and quality control by providing financial assistance to institutes-organisations to undertake research proposals on food safety.

According to FSSAI, this will enable it to generate knowledge that would help in continuously updating and upgrading food safety standards which are compatible with international standards and also to carry out evidence-based studies for improving or building policies. FSSAI has already identified some 14 subjects related to various aspects of food safety. 

The subject related to hygiene, traceability, sampling and testing methods, safety aspects of novel foods, study of chemical contaminants, radiological safety of food, toxicology, risk communication, good practices, nutritional composition, food law enforcement, quick testing methods were amongst the other areas identified for research study.

The tenure of a project would be three years for R&D related projects while FSSAI will support the grantee institution for the approved project with a financial aid upto Rs 50 lakh. The projects will be reviewed by the apex food regulator every five years. 

An official privy with the development stated that it was part of FSSAI’s effort to streamline the regulatory framework which had accelerated in recent times. “The scheme would help in continuously updating and upgrading food safety standards compatible with international benchmarks and carry out studies for improving or framing policies,” informed a notice in this regard, released by FSSAI. 

The apex food regulatory body has urged the eligible organisations including academic institutions & universities, publicly-funded R&D laboratories, both in Central & state governments, in-house R&D units & Scientific and Industrial Research Organisations (SIROs) recognised by Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR) and so on to take part in this effort.

The institutions can do projects based on studies and research & development.

Explaining the projects, FSSAI stated that there would be push type projects wherein the body will identify the project based on needs while another is called pull type project wherein the body will indicate the broad areas of interest to the authority and solicit projects. 

These projects will be monitored by a three-member committee which will be selected from the scientific panels.