Label tobacco has 'food' to ban it: Delhi HC to Centre

The 2011 Food Safety Act prohibits the consumption of any substance which contains tobacco or nicotine as an additive substance.
Delhi government's health department has urged the Centre to amend the definition of 'Food' and label 'tobacco' as a food item in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 to tackle the menace of chewable tobacco in India.
"It is mentionable that no government will allow to put anything inside the mouth which is a poison or a toxic substance. If we modify the definition of 'food' by saying that 'a substance which is put into the mouth for the purpose of consumption fully or partially, by methods like chewing, sucking or any other method may be labelled as a 'Food Item," said S K Arora, Additional Director, Health, Government of Delhi, in a letter to the Union Health Ministry.
Referring to the 2011 regulation of Food Safety Act which prohibits consumption of any substance as food which contains tobacco or nicotine as an additive substance, Arora said,
"Thus, all kinds of chewable tobacco whether raw, scented, flavoured or any other will automatically get banned permanently through a Central Act for which no state will have to issue repeated notifications and which usually lands up in the court because of the tobacco industry's interference." Arora said consumption of chewable tobacco is increasing in Delhi because of surrogate advertisements of pan masala, especially by Bollywood celebrities.
Immediately after coming to power in February 2015, the AAP government had issued a notification banning chewable tobacco but some manufacturing companies filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court on account of which it could not implemented.
"The previous notification lapsed its 1 year term but the court could not give a concrete decision on this matter.
"However, Delhi Government on its commitment to public health revised the notification on April 13, 2016 after the lapse of the previous notification. But this time also this notification has been challenged in the High Court and is due for hearing on May 3," Arora said.
According to Arora, tobacco manufacturers were creating hurdles in the way of Delhi government's efforts to tackle the menace of chewable tobacco products like gutkha, khaini and zarda.
Moreover, this notification also needs to be repeated on yearly basis. Hence is not a permanent solution. The permanent solution lies in the modification of the definition of Food by introducing some provisions in the central Food Safety Act," Arora said.
Provisions to section 3(j) of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 clearly states that the Central Government may declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, any other article as food for the purposes of this Act having regards to its use, nature, substance or quality.
As per the Act, food means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, which is intended for human consumption and includes primary food genetically modified or engineered food or food containing such ingredients.
It also includes, infant food, packaged drinking water, alcoholic drink, chewing gum, and any substance, including water used in the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but excludes animal feed, live animals unless they are prepared or processed for placing on the market for human consumption, plants, prior to harvesting, drugs and medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances.

Label tobacco as food item to ban it, suggests Delhi govt to

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Delhi governments health department has urged the Centre to amend the definition of Food and label tobacco as a food item in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 to tackle the menace of chewable tobacco in India.
"It is mentionable that no government will allow to put anything inside the mouth which is a poison or a toxic substance. If we modify the definition of food by saying that a substance which is put into the mouth for the purpose of consumption fully or partially, by methods like chewing, sucking or any other method may be labelled as a Food Item," said S K Arora, Additional Director, Health, Government of Delhi, in a letter to the Union Health Ministry.
Referring to the 2011 regulation of Food Safety Act which prohibits consumption of any substance as food which contains tobacco or nicotine as an additive substance, Arora said, "Thus, all kinds of chewable tobacco whether raw, scented, flavoured or any other will automatically get banned permanently through a Central Act for which no state will have to issue repeated notifications and which usually lands up in the court because of the tobacco industrys interference."
Arora said consumption of chewable tobacco is increasing in Delhi because of surrogate advertisements of pan masala, especially by Bollywood celebrities.
Immediately after coming to power in February 2015, the AAP government had issued a notification banning chewable tobacco but some manufacturing companies filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court on account of which it could not implemented.
"The previous notification lapsed its 1 year term but the court could not give a concrete decision on this matter.
"However, Delhi Government on its commitment to public health revised the notification on April 13, 2016 after the lapse of the previous notification. But this time also this notification has been challenged in the High Court and is due for hearing on May 3," Arora said.

Checking your fridge before shopping can curb food waste

There is no single solution to the problem of food waste, but a variety of practically feasible steps at the micro-level can go a long way towards ensuring greater sustainability.
 

Up to 30 per cent of household food ends in the bin, often due to factors such as cultural norms that prescribe offering plenty of food to guests, misperceptions about food safety and exaggerated disgust.
If you want to contribute towards curbing food waste, something as simple as checking the fridge prior to shopping can have a large impact, suggests a Danish expert on the food sector.
Overall, one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted, and this has serious environmental implications while contributing directly to global warming, Jessica Aschemann-Witzel from Aarhus University in Denmark pointed out in an article published in the journal Science.
“We know more or less the extent of the problem, and what are the causes of food waste – the next step is action, and here research is needed to help identify what is most effective, so that policymakers know what to focus on,” Aschemann-Witzel said.
But food waste has different causes in different parts of the world. In relatively poor countries, it is an upstream problem, and most waste takes place in the production phase due to, for example, sup-optimal methods of harvesting and transportation. The solution in these cases includes building better infrastructure through transfer of knowledge and technology.
In the developed countries, downstream factors are more relevant, and consumer choices are much more important. Up to 30 per cent of household food ends in the bin, often due to factors such as cultural norms that prescribe offering plenty of food to guests, misperceptions about food safety and exaggerated disgust.
At the same time, however, there is a widespread feeling that throwing away food is wrong, giving cause for hope. “The fact that consumers and stakeholders alike perceive food waste as obviously unethical makes it a good starting point for individual consumers to become engaged in sustainability,” Aschemann-Witzel said.
There is no single solution to the problem of food waste, but a variety of practically feasible steps at the micro-level can go a long way towards ensuring greater sustainability.
For example, something as simple as checking the fridge prior to shopping can have a large impact in the aggregate, she noted. In addition, governments can contribute by changing overly strict food safety laws, while producers can introduce innovative packaging solutions that allow the withdrawal of small amounts of food while the rest remains fresh, Aschemann-Witzel noted.
Changes designed for the developed world are likely to have an even bigger impact in future, as countries such as Brazil, India and China become more urbanised and dietary preferences change. In such countries, Aschemann-Witzel argued, food waste volumes are likely to increasingly shift to the consumption stage.