Take steps to appoint food safety officers: HC to AAP govt

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government to take necessary steps for appointment of food safety officers (FSOs) to check presence of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables available in the national Capital.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said this after the counsel appearing for the Delhi government informed it that he would file a status report on the issue pertaining to appointment of the officers.

The bench was informed that as per the affidavit filed by Delhi government in November last year, there was requirement of FSOs.

"There is requirement of food safety officers. What have you (government) done?," the bench asked.

Responding to this, the counsel said that advertisments have been published for this and report have been forwarded to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).

"You will have to fix a time for this," the bench said.

The counsel representing the government, however, sought time to file a status report in this regard.

"Let them first satisfy this court about appointment of food safety officers. Then we will see this," the bench said and fixed the matter for hearing on August 10.

Earlier, taking suo motu cognisance of a media report, the court had directed the Union Agriculture Ministry to set up a committee and frame guidelines to prevent use of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.

The move had come after some NGOs had submitted surveys that vegetables and fruits sold in the city markets contained pesticides capable of causing cancer and harming the nervous system and liver.

One of the petitioners had said the quantum of pesticides in fruits and vegetables in India, especially those sold in markets here, was as much as 750 times the European standards.

It had claimed that out of the five internationally-banned pesticides, four were found to be common in vegetables sold here. They included a central nervous system toxin endrin which caused nausea and dizziness and heptachlor (a compound used as an insecticide) that can damage the liver and decrease fertility.

Appoint food safety officers within eight weeks, HC tells Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the city government to appoint, within eight weeks, food safety officers here, to keep a tab on use of pesticides in vegetables and fruits sold across the national capital.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked the government to file an affidavit indicating what steps they have taken on appointment of food safety officers.

Posting the matter for August 10, the court asked the government to take necessary steps for appointment of food safety officers in terms of Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The court's direction came after amicus curiae Saket Sikri told it that there is scarcity of food safety officers in Delhi for collecting samples, and the Delhi government had also accepted that in its affidavit filed in November last year.

A report submitted by the amicus curiae had earlier said that in a number of vegetables and edible items, pesticide residue was found to be beyond permissible limits.

A large quantity of vegetables and fruits sold in the capital contains dangerous pesticides that can cause serious health problems, the report had said. The high court had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of an NGO report that said the amount of pesticides used by farmers in India was as much as 750 times higher than European standards.

Rajya Sabha MPs seek stringent laws to check food adulteration

Naresh Agrawal (SP) raised the issue of growing menace of adulteration in food products including essential items such as milk, as also in fruits and vegetables.

Terming rising incidents of food adulteration as a “serious matter”, Rajya Sabha members, including those from the BJP, today asked the government to make stringent laws to check the menace.

During the Zero Hour, Naresh Agrawal (SP) raised the issue of growing menace of adulteration in food products including essential items such as milk, as also in fruits and vegetables.

“It is a very serious issue. There are growing cases of liver and heart diseases as well as cancer and the reason for this is food adulteration. The current laws are not very strict to check this menace,” he added.

Agrawal said there are reports of plastic rice imported from China being mixed in rice and sold in the market as well as synthetic milk being sold in the national capital.

Several MPs, including those from the BJP, associated with Agrawal’s concerns.

Even Deputy Chairman P J Kurien supported the issue saying that there was a rise in cancer cases and the reason for this adulteration in food items.

“It is a very, very serious matter. Report it to the Minister concerned and come out with a legislation which has more teeth,” Kurien said.

In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 tabled in Parliament last month, a Parliamentary Standing Committee suggested legal teeth to advertising watchdog ASCI to curb misleading advertisements and proposing severe penalties, imprisonment and cancellation of licenses of those involved in food adulteration.

According to a report on public laboratories released by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India in December last year, every fifth sample of food items tested by public food safety labs have been found “adulterated and misbranded”, with maximum cases in UP followed by Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

Food in India untested for diabetes-linked chemical

Alloxan is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats

Alloxan, a chemical allegedly used in the manufacture of refined flour, faced the prospect of limitations on its use after a litigant approached the Madras High Court to request a ban on the mixing of alloxan in white flour. Alloxan is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats and to test the efficacy of anti-diabetic medicines but no tests have been scientifically done to detect its presence in India.

Increased risk

Global health literature suggests that its presence in flour implies that consumers of popular Indian food such as parathas and puris are at increased risk of diabetes as well as heart disease.

In a 2013 report The Hindu quoted several Madurai-based cardiologists who suggested that alloxan and other agents in flour may be associated with heart disease.

Alloxan has been banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Delhi-based central body that has the final say on what additives are permissible in food.

Independent food testing labs in Delhi say that they have yet to detect the presence of the substance. “So far we haven’t noted alloxan in our tests,” said Sunil S., a food chemist at the Shriram Institute of Industrial Research.

Alloxan’s chemical existence has been known since the 19th century, when it was discovered in human excretions, indicating that it could be synthesised in the body.

Alloxan’s structure mimics that of glucose, which allows it to be absorbed by the pancreas and once inside the organ, it destroys insulin-producing beta cells.

However, according to the American Chemical Society, it cannot be taken up by the human pancreas, though it has been shown to be associated with liver and kidney toxicity.

No known studies have yet specifically discovered alloxan in Indian foods. However other bleaching agents that are used to make flour white, such as benzoyl peroxide and chlorine oxide — and also named in the petition before the Madras High Court — are permitted by the FSSAI provided they appear below specified limits, according to a notification on the agency’s website.

There have been no studies that examine the issue of alloxan in street food, said an official with Delhi’s Food Safety department, who did not want to be identified. The United States Food and Drugs Administration has also not issued specific notifications on alloxan.

Centre mulls Amending Act to prescribe life imprisonment for Milk Adulteration

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has formed a high level committee to consider amendment of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 to make the offence of milk adulteration punishable by life imprisonment. 

The apex court has said the menace has become rampant especially in North Indian states. 

The submission, during the hearing of a PIL which has sought stringent punishment for milk adulteration as the present provision of a maximum of six months in jail had “hardly proved to be a deterrent” comes a month after union minister for science and technology Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha that two out of three Indians drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint. 

Vardhan had said over 68% of the milk sold did not conform to standards laid down by India’s food regulator FSSAI, quoting figures from a nationwide survey conducted by the agency in 2011. 

The centre has agreed to the view of the court that the present penalty of six months in jails “was hardly a deterrent” for the menace, which is most common in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. 

An affidavit in the court by Rakesh Nayal, a senior official in the Union Health Ministry said the panel, headed by R.K. Jain, secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority, and representatives from Food Safety and Standard Authority of India will take a decision within three months. 

The court had on December 12, 2014 taken serious exception to the Centre’s refusal to amend the law to make the offence punishable with life term. 

Yesterday however the court said: “You are asking for life imprisonment for milk adulterators. But we would say even the present maximum term of six months jail would be sufficient if the violators are caught promptly, booked and prosecuted. It can create a fear. If they are not caught and prosecuted what do we do? These are enforcement issues. We are not saying adulteration is not going on. It is rampant. But what do we do? Stop sale of Urea? If the centre has some plans, let us wait for it”. 

The bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur made this remark to Anurag Tomar, the lawyer for petitioner in a PIL on the issue.

The court had on December 12, 2014 taken serious exception to the Centre’s refusal to amend the law to make the offence punishable with life term. 

“What are you doing about it? In March we had given an ultimatum to the Centre to inform us if you are amending the law and we are now in December,” the Bench said when Tomar pointed out the delay. “After perusing the reports submitted by various states, prima-facie we are of the opinion that milk is being laced with white paint, caustic soda, detergent, shampoo, urea, starch and blotting paper and the practice is going unabated. 

“The Centre must come out with necessary amendment to the Act with all seriousness to curb adulteration. We hope the Government will take appropriate decision during the winter session of Parliament,” the court had said. The Bench had earlier said it would be foolish to go lightly on adulterators just because no grievous illness or death has been reported immediately after someone drinks milk laced with such poisonous substances. 

“The poisoning in the body is gradual and once it happens people think they are afflicted with cancer and nobody blames milk. Are you waiting for them to add cyanide in milk? Only then instant death will be caused for you to take action,” the court had said during the earlier hearing. 

The Bench suggested an amendment to the law after the Uttar Pradesh government said they faced a hurdle in prosecuting adulterators under the IPC and seeking their life imprisonment after the Allahabad High Court ruled in 2010 that the IPC cannot be invoked when the FSSA should prevail.

State fails to act against ‘powerful’ companies: HC

‘CS's application rejected, people fed poison’

Srinagar, May 4: The State High Court today observed that Food processing companies are so powerful that State is unable to proceed against them and it rejected the application of the Chief Secretary of the State seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court.

The Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice MH Attar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey today made these observations and passed the directions while hearing a PIL on Food Safety in the State.

Court during the proceedings of the case pointed towards Advocate General of the State that on one side the health of the people is involved and on the other side, companies are so powerful that State is unable to act against them. “Today it is we; tomorrow it would be our children. Our children would be born deformed because of this adulterated food. “They (offenders, like Khyber) have become so powerful that State is unable to proceed against them, money power is now in action”, court observed.

Court took serious note of the functioning of Food Testing Laboratories and observed to the Advocate General: “Do you think 1960’s model labs would cope with the requirements of 2016 and health of public is involved. They are literally being fed poison. There won’t be any compromise with the health of the people. Court is aware of its Constitutional obligation. Court would make the system work even if the Government forgets its duties. Mr. AG it is unfortunate you are defending them.”

Court also directed Chief Secretary of the State and other officials to remain present before the court. The application for exemption of personal appearance was moved by the authorities and court rejected it and reiterated all these authorities be present before the court on next date of hearing.

Court directed the Commissioner Food Safety to provide the full information and particulars of outsider food manufacturers and companies who supply food items to Jammu and Kashmir.

The court in order to ensure implementation of provisions of ‘Food Safety and Standards Act 2006’ practically also directed the Commissioner Food to provide the information to court about the Jammu Division as well.

“All the said authorities shall ensure publication of public notice in newspapers one each at Srinagar and Jammu, informing the aforesaid manufacturers/ processors/ suppliers/ persons/companies to comply with the directions of court passed on April 27”, directed the Division Bench.

Court also directed all the unit holders and food manufacturers to submit their undertakings before the court in terms of previous orders as various owners of food processing and manufacturing units were present before the court through their counsels.

It may be mentioned here that in view of the alarming situation of food adulteration in the State, the High Court has taken suo-moto proceedings with regard to issue of food adulteration after it was reported in media reports asserting that consumption of adulterated and carcinogenic food items in the Valley are at alarming proportion.

Court had made it clear that the stay of proceedings from the Supreme Court would not mean that these manufacturers and companies have been given license to manufacture and process of such food items which are adulterated. “The Act of 2006 is not stayed by the Supreme Court”, DB had said.

Court had summoned Chief Secretary of the State for his personal appearance before the court on next date as also impleaded all food processing and manufacturing unit holders as party respondents to the PIL.

Court had directed all those food processing unit holders to file their affidavits before next date of hearing of the matter, detailing therein as to how and in what way they are following the provisions of Act and rules.

FOOD ADULTERATION: HC puts lens on outside suppliers

‘Earn, but don’t destroy health of others’

Jammu and Kashmir High Court Wednesday directed the Government to provide full particulars of outside companies supplying food items to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Commissioner Food Safety shall provide full information and particulars of those food manufacturers, suppliers, persons, companies who originate from outside the state and supply food items to Jammu and Kashmir,” a division bench of Justices MuzaffarHussain Attar and Ali Muhammad Magrey said in its order.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation against food adulteration, the court directed the Food Commissioner to provide similar information about Jammu division.

The court directed Chief Secretary, Commissioner Secretary, Health and Food Commissioner Food Safety, Financial Commissioner/ Commissioner Secretary Finance & Planning, besides owners and MDs of food manufacturing and processing units to remain present on next hearing on May 13.

Expressing displeasure over non-appearance of these authorities in the court today, the bench on assurance of Advocate General, D C Raina accepted their applications exempting them from personal appearance for today.

“On next date of hearing all officers shall remain present before the court,” the bench said.

Extending time for owners of food manufacturing and processing units for filing affidavits indicating the manner in which they follow provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the court directed them to file the same by May 13.

On April 29, the companies had been directed by the court to file the affidavits.

Expressing displeasure over non implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act, the court observed, “Money power has taken control of everything now”.

“Few people have made empire out of food adulteration, they want quick buck and for it they can go (stoop) to any extent,” the court observed.

In response to the submissions by some counsels representing Kashmir-based food manufacturing units pleading that the government has double standards as no company supplying food stuff from outside J&K was convicted, the court said: “No one will be spared”.

“This is politics, don’t play it here. Everybody will be brought within the net of law,” the court observed.

While a counsel representing a local company pleaded that the Court cannot order closure of a business unit unless found culpable of wrong, the bench observed that in its earlier order it had used the expression “such units are liable to be closed”.

Observing that Dal lake may not live but issues relating to health of the people have to be taken seriously, the court said: “This is human life. Today it is we, tomorrow it will be our children”. The bench was apparently referring to remiss on part of government to implement its directions to save Dal lake.

“We will only implement statute in letter and spirit,” the bench said while warning the food manufacturing companies against destroying health of others.

“Earn, but don’t destroy health of others,” the court said.

Amicus Curie Bashir Ahmad Bashir (senior advocate) pleaded that DCs of all districts are supposed to monitor food items in keeping with the food safety act.”

In response to the state counsel’s argument that there are two state laboratories for carrying out food testing, the court said: “Shun the habit of subverting everything and stick to your earlier stand.”

“You have already stated before the court that the two existing laboratories are dysfunctional and outdated.”

The Advocate General, however, candidly admitted that the two laboratories were not functional to the extent of analyzing ingredients like pesticides.

“These laboratories with old equipment have to cope up with burden of 2016. Realize this, the government is in slumber,” the court observed.

Meanwhile, the court directed the authorities concerned to ensure publication of a notice in newspaper one each in Srinagar and Jammu informing the food manufacturers, suppliers, persons, companies to comply with the court direction dated April 27, 2016.

On April 27, the court had directed the owners of food processing units to file affidavits indicating that the food items they supply in the market are fit for human consumption.

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