FSSAI’s new set of standards for milk may help tackle adulteration menace

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the apex food regulator, is expected to come out with a set of standards for milk soon.
The move will be in line with global best practices and help in determining the benchmarks for adulteration and fat contents amongst others. FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal revealed this information while addressing FBOs (food business operators) recently at an event hosted by All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA) in New Delhi.
The current guidelines were set in 1954, and only milk from cow, sheep, buffalo and goat fell under their purview while milk from camel and yak along with flavoured and fortified milk remained out of the ambit of the standards.
“There is a need to revisit old standards as they were based on old assumptions for fat and SNF (solid-not-fat) content,” stated Agarwal, adding that FSSAI would come up with the standards soon.
According to experts, even adding water to milk is considered as adulteration which may not be harmful for health. Further the SNF content standards vary amongst states. Also, milk fortification has been on the agenda of FSSAI for some time but the same could not take off because there were no standards for the purpose.
Industry response
In response to the proposal, Girish Chitale, partner, Chitale Dairy, said, "The milk to which water is added or diluted is not always the adulterated one but the primary concern is fat content. When milk is water-diluted it loses its fat content and quality of the milk is lost. If there is no presence of adulterants then the milk is clear but is diluted with water, which causes no harm but lacks nutrients."
Dr R S Khanna, chairman, Kwality Limited, stated, “As a socially responsible corporate touching the lives of millions, Kwality welcomes FSSAI’s move to come out with new safety standards for checking milk adulteration in India. India is the world's largest producer as well as consumer of milk and domestic demand for dairy products has been increasing consistently over the years. Milk is also the primary source of nutrition for millions in India and hence quality of milk has to be the primary concern.”
He added, “The milk industry has evolved a lot since 1954 when the existing milk safety guidelines were formed. Over the years, there have been changes in the quality of fodder and water used by cattle for consumption. Similarly, milk from camel and yak as well as flavoured and fortified milk has, so far, remained outside the ambit of safety regulations. It is imperative that milk safety regulations are in sync with the changing socio-economic dynamics of the country and benchmarks are designed to capture changes in technology and other safety parameters. It is also necessary to have uniformity in safety standards across states and it is heartening to see that FSSAI has addressed all these concerns.”
Further, with regard to fat content, there were certain demands from FBOs using camel milk. While FSSAI emphasises on 3 per cent milk fat in camel milk and 6.5 per cent solid-not-fat as standard, FBOs have been seeking reduction of mandatory fat content requirement to 2.5 per cent, according to Valamjibhai Humbal, chairman, Sarhad Dairy, Gujarat.
Humbal pointed out, "Here in the western regions of Kutch and Rajasthan, we have a huge population which depends on camel as a source of milk. In these terrains, camel can sustain well than cattle."

FSSAI to invest Rs500 crore to upgrade labs, will partner with private firms

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is planning to partner with private companies to upgrade the infrastructure of its laboratories and run them

While two central laboratories in Kolkata and Ghaziabad are owned by FSSAI, state governments own 82 laboratories.

New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is planning to partner with private companies to upgrade the infrastructure of its laboratories and run them.

Besides, the country’s food regulator has allocated `500 crore for the upgradation and modernization of state government-owned laboratories over the next 2-3 years, FSSAI chief executive Pawan Kumar Agarwal said.

While two central laboratories in Kolkata and Ghaziabad are owned by FSSAI, state governments own 82 laboratories.

“We are now trying to revive our Ghaziabad laboratory, which is almost defunct, through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement,” said Agarwal.

Under PPP, the government will provide the private companies full “capital support” to upgrade infrastructure and the private partner will be responsible for operations and maintenance, he added.

“We will ensure that the private partner gets business so that the lab is viable… we’ll soon float an expression of interest,” Agarwal said.

Initial estimates suggest that the regulator will have to spend about `20-25 crore for each of its laboratories for upgradation of infrastructure. However, certain functions at these laboratories, such as food analysts, will continue to be handled by government-appointed people. These people will be paid by the government.

Barring critical functions, employees for the remaining tasks will be hired by private partners. The government has already relocated some of its employees from the Ghaziabad laboratory to other departments.

The sum of `500 crore, which has been allocated to state government-owned laboratories, will be invested in their upgradation and modernization. “Building laboratory infrastructure is easy. Running them professionally is not,” Agarwal said.

To make the laboratories viable, the regulator also recently revised the testing charges, which were “abysmally low”. FSSAI formally notified the revised charges on 12 April.

Although the number of government-approved testing labs are limited, Agarwal said there was no need for more laboratories. “But we need to increase the number of tests we do. That’s far from adequate in terms of enforcement, surveillance and risk assessment,” he added.

A study by economic research organisation Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals, released on 30 March, noted that the absence of FSSAI laboratories at ports is one of the major hurdles that has been affecting business by delaying entry and exit of products, besides increasing the cost of logistics.

According to Agarwal, the regulator undertakes 100% sampling of all food products that come in. “This is becoming a bottleneck. That causes delay. Therefore, we are trying to simplify that. We are trying to do inspections more on risk-based approach rather than doing 100% sampling of imported foods,” he added.

Commenting on the financial aid from the government, Agarwal said the regulator will seek funds on a need basis. “There’s no point in asking for money and waiting for it,” he said.

FSSAI had, in April 2013, asked the government for about `5,000 crore to scale up. In the 12th Five-year Plan (2012-17), the government allocated only `2,350 crore to it.

FIR lodged against food chain in poisoning case

MUMBAI: The food chain sent fresh food as random sample to the team, while the truck was loaded with 'stale' food for school students, claimed the organizers of Thursday's event. Around 20 students, between the age group of 13-19 years, were hospitalized and hundreds more complained of uneasiness and vomiting after consuming food served by the popular food chain, Box8, at four different venues for the conference on Friday. An FIR was filed by the Khar police against Poncho Hospitality private Limited, which runs 'Box8', for causing harm and pain to young students.

Rishabh Shah, the founder president of the Indian International Model United Nations, a students-run organization, which has arranged for the conference to discuss world issues, said that Box8 had promised to send food from four different kitchens to their venues. "But they sent food from their kitchen in Thane to all the four centres, including the one at KC College in Churchgate," said Shah. 

"We had done a careful survey of caterers who would serve food at four different venues. But the firm failed to deliver its promise and instead put the lives of several young children, aged 13-19 years, in danger," said Shah. Several parents signed a petition on Friday, seeking action against the food outlet.

The incident discouraged some parents and teachers to send their children for the second day of the conference affecting the attendance severely at one of the venues. While attendance at Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering, was down by 50% on Friday, around 75-80% students reported at KC and Lala Lajpatrai College for the second day of the conference. The attendance at Whistling Woods by and large remained unaffected. Some schools and parents decided not to send their students on day two. "We decided not to send our students for the conference on Friday. Out of the 65, one of the students had to be admitted," said Chandrakanta Pathak, principal, HVB Global Academy, Marine Drive. Similarly, a group of eight students from JB Vachha High School did not attend day two.

Some schools were, however, happy with the arrangements on day two. "We have a policy that the teachers check the food before the students consume it so we were lucky the students didn't eat. The children went for day two and the arrangements were in place," said Armaity Engineer, principal,Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School, Juhu.

Arya Jain, brother of a volunteer, who had to be admitted to the Jaslok Hospital said that his sister is discharged and is recovering. "She is feeling little weak. But we would sue Box8 if her problem persists," said Jain. Numerologist Sanjay Jumaani, whose daughter complained of uneasiness, also said that the police need to take action against the company.

Meanwhile, an official statement released by Box8, stated, "We are deeply concerned about the news report of illness caused to some students yesterday. Box8 maintains a rigourous quality process through preparation of food and delivery system, including tasting the food before serving, which too was followed yesterday without any adverse results. Matter is being inquired by the authorities and we have been fully co-operating to identify the cause. Once the cause is identified, Box8 will spare no efforts to deal with the same."

Police file FIR, collect food samples

The Mumbai Police have registered an FIR in connection with the food poisoning incident on Thursday in which an estimated 5,000 students attending a pan-Mumbai event had to be rushed to hospital after consuming food supplied by Box8.

“We have registered an FIR for causing injury or endangering life of others under the IPC in connection with the matter. No one has been named as an accused at this point. We are conducting inquiries at the kitchen in Thane from where the food was supplied for the event,” said Senior PI Ramchandra Jadhav with Khar police station.

The Khar police were the first to be informed of the incident after seven students attending the event at the Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering were rushed to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra on Thursday. The Lala Lajpatrai College in Tardeo, KC College in Churchgate and Whistling Woods Institute in Goregaon were also venues for the event.

By Thursday evening, the Tardeo police were also informed by the Jaslok Hospital authorities about a similar case, and inquiries soon confirmed that food was supplied from the same kitchen to all the venues. On Friday, it was decided to let the Khar police head the probe as they were the first respondents.

“We have handed over our paperwork pertaining to the investigation to the Khar police. We had collected some samples of the food on Thursday and sent them for forensic analysis. The reports will also be forwarded to the Khar police,” said PI Dnyanesh Devade with Tardeo police station.

The Khar police too have collected samples from the kitchen in Thane and will be sending them for analysis, officers said.

“We have begun inquiries with the Thane kitchen staff to find out who was responsible for ensuring the food supplied was safe for consumption. The entire supply chain, from the cooks to those who transported it to the venues, will be questioned,” Mr Jadhav added.

Cops are probing the Box8 kitchen in Thane to find out who is responsible for food safety