How can restaurants and food safety body work together to ensure safe food?

And in order to meet basic necessities food safety body FSSAI is working together with the representatives of food business operators to provide healthy and hygienic food to the masses

Food hygiene and food safety forms an integral part of every catering industry and high standards are needed to protect health of consumers. When a food service opens its doors, a responsibility to serve “safe food” is incurred. According to the food business operator to assure long term success, it is imperative to value quality of the food and service being provided to the customers. And, in order to meet basic necessities, food safety body FSSAI is working together with the representatives of food business operators to provide healthy and hygienic food to the masses.

Ensuring food safety

To make the scene more accessible, food safety watchdog is bringing guidelines for all the food operators wherein they need to abide by certain parameters to serve health food under a hygienic and neat environment. In a recently held meeting where FSSAI has called food operators to discuss the way forward to deliver best foods to customers.

There are two major documents that need to be shown once a customer visit a restaurant or has asked owners to show it.

FSSAI license: the government is planning to make it mandatory to show the food safety license given to a restaurant by the safety body to make sure people are satisfied with what they are eating.

Customer Feedback: Customer feedback is always welcomed by the top restaurants in the country. Top brands that are running under the lines of global parameters are already taking care of certain feedback.

New Endeavours to Overcome These Challenges

And, with growing business food safety is becoming a major concern in the society. With lack of awareness about health and hygienic food, lack of adequate workforce, India being one of the top most countries in terms of food business is facing the hygienic issue. And, to overcome the lacunae, FSSAI is aiming to revise standards providing detailed requirements of food hygiene and safety in the food for various categories of FBOs. The hygiene standards will be classified into three categories.

Basic: These standards will cover the minimal basic food hygiene and food safety requirements that are mandatory for anyone working in the arena of food. These requirements will be suffice for FBOs such as retailers, storekeepers, transporters, petty business operators, etc.

“We can co-create the process wherein every food operator should come and abide by it,” shared Prakul Kumar, Secretary General NRAI which represents over 1400 restaurants in India.

Advanced: These standards will provide a detailed specification of food hygiene and food safety standards and GHP’s for the small restaurants and FBO’s involved in food manufacture/ preparation. Also, retailers, storekeepers, transport systems, etc. handling perishable food items frequently.

Adding to the same lines, Shivan Khanna of Taj Hotels shared,” We are already ISO 2200 certified hotels. We have regular internal as well as external audits on food safety hygiene training.”

Global: These standards will be at power with the international standards. These will be more detailed and stringent than other two groups. These standards will be mandatory for star rated restaurants and hotels, bigger chains of restaurants, FBO’s into export. Also, small restaurants and FBO’s can voluntarily opt for these standards to improve their overall hygiene and food safety.

Sharing his view on the food safety, Khurshid Alam Khan of ITC shared that ITC was one of the few hotels in India which followed all the global parameters in meeting the needs of food safety in India. “We are 5 per cent ahead of global average of food safety,” shared Khan who looks after the food safety issues at ITC.

Going forward, FSSAI is also planning to have one person at all restaurants and food outlets that are trained by FSSAI on meeting the best practices when it comes to food safety and hygiene.

No formal intimation about milk adulteration: Govt

No formal intimation has been received regarding adulteration of any major brand of packaged milk in the recent past, Government today told the Rajya Sabha even as it listed out a number of measures to check the sale of spurious milk across the country. 

"The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has informed that it has not received any formal intimation regarding adulteration of any major brand of packaged milk in recent past," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shripad Yesso Naik said. 

He was responding to a question whether recently some top brands of packaged milk have been found to be adulterated and steps being taken by the government to check packaged milk adulteration. 

Naik said the government has launched a pilot project in three states to check spurious milk by providing them an advanced machine, which can check 90 to 100 samples per hour. 

"This machine has so far been given only to three states (Delhi, UP and Chandigarh) on pilot basis. If it gives good result, we will consider to give it to all states," the minister said. 

He was apparently referring to the Advanced Electronic Milk Adulteration Tester (EMAT), which can test fat, protein content, SNF (solid not fat), water content, presence of glucose and electrodes in milk. 

"Under the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006, the responsibility of FSSAI mainly concerns laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availablity of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 

"The implementation of enforcement of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and regulations thereunder primarily rests with the state and union territory governments," he said.

(Reopen PAR29) 

Naik said that the FSSAI regularly takes up the issue of enforcement of provisions of the Act and regulations thereunder the state/UT authorities. 

"A surveillance plan for states has been prepared by a Working Group of Food Safety Commissioners taking into account various parameters including consumption pattern for cultural and festival occassions," the minister said. 

In order to pay focussed attention to the adulteration of milk and milk products, a special cell has been created in the FSSAI, he said. 

He informed the House that the FSSAI has recently organized an interface between wholesale consumers of milk and producers of milk products. 

"In pursuance of such initiatives, FSSAI in April this year distributed EMAT to three states---Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh on pilot basis," Naik said. 

The minister also told the House that Secretary of Health Department had on February 13 written to Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories requesting them to issue instructions to administrative and police authorities to extend all cooperation to the food safety authorities in carrying out surveillance activities to check food adulteration and manufacture or sale of substandard food items.

Duty-free shops outside food safety ambit: FSSAI

Regulator overrules internal view on ensuring protection against bio-terrorism and food safety

Ignoring internal warnings about the potential threat of bio-terrorism and general safety of consumers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to stop regulating imported food and beverages sold at duty-free shops across the country.

Business Standard reviewed internal FSSAI documents, dated between January and April 2016, showing the authority’s chairperson overruling his subordinate officials’ opinion that the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) Act, 2006, requires the authority to regulate imported food, regardless of whether it is sold at duty-free stores or in other parts of the country. The internal advice made a persistent case for continued regulatory oversight of duty-free shops to ensure imported food products are generally safe for consumption and particularly to address potential bio-terrorism.

The internal decision comes at a time when FSSAI faces a case in the Delhi High Court, filed by Hyderabad Duty Free Retail, a 100% subsidiary of GMR. The firm, which runs the duty-free operations at Hyderabad International Airport, has contended that FSSAI has no power to regulate the food and beverage products being sold at different international airports. So far, FSSAI had argued in court that it did.

FSSAI did not respond to detailed queries sent by Business Standard. But the Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI, Pawan Kumar Agarwal, said: “The issue that you mentioned has been resolved in favour of what people wanted.”

When asked if duty free shops would be outside the purview of FSSAI and the FSSA Act now, he said: “Yes, because you cannot regulate what has not come in to the country. It’s taking something for personal consumption, whether you buy it from duty free shop here or abroad it does not really matter. If they (food and beverage products) do not come out of the custom bounded area then technically they have not come in to the country.”

The market for duty-free goods sold in India was estimated at $215 million annually in 2012 by the CAPA Centre for Aviation. According to industry experts, more than 70% of the food and beverages that comes under the purview of FSSAI regulations. The total business of retail, food and beverages at duty-free shops in India was estimated to have a potential of $3.5 billion by 2021.

Now, FSSAI chairperson Ashish Bahuguna has ordered that the Authority lay off regulating this industry entirely.

“I’m not sure whether pursuance of this matter would be judicious deployment of our resources, given that this affects only a minuscule number of people (who are, in any case, carrying similar food articles purchased from abroad in their personal luggage),” he wrote in January.

FSSAI’s legal experts and officials objected to the chairperson’s recommendations.

Its legal advisor wrote: “To fulfill our legal obligation under the Act, we cannot afford to bypass any group of food business operators under the legal boundary of India. If such food is brought into the country, even if it is at duty-free shops, it could pose a risk to the life of millions (even minuscule quantities if they have trace levels of the above bacterial and viral agents), if we don’t even bring it in our ambit and follow the basic procedures of inspection and sampling. It is appreciated that our resources are limited at present, but the same will need to be provided to ensure all areas concerning food are addressed as per enacted legislation.”

The advice came appended with an 11-page note on the threat of bio-terrorism from even small quantities of virus and bacterial agents could be used through food to cause grievous injuries to many.

The note said the FSSA Act is concerned with any food within the geographical territory of India and if any untoward event occurs at the duty-free shops, it is also covered by the laws of the country. “In the developed world, every imported food consignment is subject to careful scrutiny, especially addressing the capability of food as a tool for bio-terrorism,” said the advisor.

Section 1(2) of the FSSA Act says: “It extends to the whole of India.” In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — FSSAI’s equivalent — is the regulatory agency entrusted to “take steps to protect the public from a threatened or actual terrorist attack on the US food supply and other food-related emergencies”.

The FSSAI chairperson responded to the warning from his subordinate about bio-terrorism and said: “A very interesting and informative treatise, which has little or no relevance to the case at hand. We have to address basics of food safety, not of bio-terrorism or disease control which are within the mandate of other agencies. We must recognise that the aim of our Act is to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food and cannot be the instrument to prevent acts of bio-terrorism, which, in any case will operate outside the confines of the legal system of the country. The measures adopted by us have to be no more restrictive of trade than is required to achieve an appropriate level of health protection.”

He added that passengers arriving in the country from abroad were allowed to carry food for personal consumption and these goods were not for commercial purposes and “hence cannot pose risk to public health under normal circumstances”.

“I reiterate that we should not contest this matter any further,” he concluded, referring to the court case where petitioners have contended that FSSAI does not have any powers to enforce food safety at duty-free shops.

The issue of regulating duty-free shops arose in the FSSAI as an overarching recommendation from the FSSAI chairperson that the central authority should move out of enforcement of the law and leave it to the states. Under the law, FSSAI is the sole agency in India authorised to ensure the safety of imported food and beverages.

Talking to Business Standard, the officiating secretary and member of the National Disaster Management Authority, which has guidelines on biosafety, RK Jain, said: “NDMA has no direct role in regulating food at the airports for bio-safety and bio-terrorism. If the food is coming to India at duty-free shops, for consumption in India, it is the responsibility of FSSAI.” Jain, a retired IAS officer, has earlier served in the Union health ministry, the nodal ministry for FSSAI.

The legal advisers and officials of FSSAI did not concur with the chairperson and noted that even the food sold in airlines and restaurants at airports by caterers was subject to FSSAI approval and the point was not whether outbound or inbound consumers had it but that “the plausibility remains that any person may get affected by substandard and/or unsafe food items available in duty-free shops and has no redress against erring food business operators”.

The officer said: “Is there going to be a blanket exemption for them (operators running duty-free shops)? In such cases, end-use may also go to the open market in the absence of any regulatory regime, which affects human health, no matter how small the magnitude.”

The documents record the officials also protesting when decision was taken at the highest level in the FSSAI to inform the FSSAI council not to contest the matter in the high court.

“At the cost of repetition, it is submitted that above stand is reneging on previous stand taken in this matter (also taken by the competent authority) and this stand is averse to the Delhi HC order. This may lead to adverse judicial pronouncements, including contempt of court for not complying with earlier directions ex-parte not only for FSSAI but also for Union of India.” Subsequently, a meeting of all concerned officials was held in the chamber of the CEO of FSSAI on the matter, but the decision remained to stop regulating the sale of food and beverages at duty-free shops.

The decision by the FSSAI is expected to bring relief to the duty-free retail sector, which has often lobbied against bringing its business under the purview of FSSAI. The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA), an industry body, noted on its website on April 6, 2016: “APTRA is now working alongside the International Spirits & Wine Association of India to further discuss the regulations and exemption for duty free with the FSSAI chairman. At a meeting last month with India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs, the joint secretary expressed his understanding of the industry position and said they would be taking the issue up with the FSSAI.”

It said it had ‘joined forces’ and ‘coordinated action’ on Indian food safety authority’s guidelines with other industry bodies and “has met and engaged with several foreign trade delegations in New Delhi, including the British, French, the US and the EU” on the new proposed regulations of FSSAI that impact duty-free retail sector as well as other imports.

The dispute with the GMR subsidiary over regulation of duty-free shops by FSSAI is to be heard again this month in the Delhi High Court.

Avoid this packaged Poison

The trap of trans fats

The Indian population is genetically predisposed to cardiovascular diseases. Consumption of ‘vanaspati’ compounds this risk

There is no way of verifying the presence of trans fats in street food items. 

The US food and drug administration (FDA) issued a press release in June stating that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of trans fats, are “not generally recognized as safe” for human consumption. The federal agency gave food manufacturers in the US three years to completely remove PHOs from their products.

Trans fats are noxious for heart health and this single action by the FDA is likely to reduce both the incidence of heart disease and the number of heart attacks by the thousands in the US.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), however, is yet to issue any directive on this issue.

The reason trans fats have been used traditionally by the food industry in India and abroad is because they increase taste, add texture, increase the shelf life of regular food products and reduce the cost of production. Medical research, however, shows that consuming trans fats significantly increase the risk of heart disease.

A review of the medical literature, titled Health Effects Of Trans-fatty Acids: Experimental And Observational Evidence, on the effects of trans fats on heart health—published in the European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition in 2009—found that “among dietary fats, trans fats leave a unique cardio-metabolic imprint”, contributing significantly to an increased risk of heart disease. The review by cardiologist D. Mozaffarian and his colleagues shows that trans fats produce the cardio-toxic effect in a number of ways: They increase the blood levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides, while reducing blood levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Trans fats also increase the amount of C-reactive protein in the blood, increasing the inflammation of the arteries while interfering with the proper functioning of the immune system. 

Ram Rajasekharan, director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysuru, says in an email interview: “The Indian population is already identified as genetically predisposed to cardiovascular diseases. In addition, epidemiological data points to greater risk of coronary heart disease from an increase in dietary trans fats. Hence, consumption of  vanaspati (a source of trans fats) compounds the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the Indian population.”

Trans fats are found in many popular foods, including cakes, biscuits, cookies, potato chips, French fries and fried food. In the US, food manufacturers are required to state the amount of trans fat in their food product if the level exceeds 0.5mg per serving—as prescribed by the FDA. This isn’t required of the Indian food manufacturer.

Only one Indian brand, a bakery, issued a press release in 2009 saying that it was removing trans fats from its baked products. And though an industry source says that more branded Indian food manufacturers are following suit, the only way of knowing that a processed food product doesn’t have trans fats, or has minimal trans fats, is when the manufacturer voluntarily puts such information on the label.

In India, the uncertainty is even greater in street food. One can at least find out if trans fats are being used or not in labelled products, but there is no way to verify its presence in the food that one eats outside.

While there is no question that trans fats are best avoided, one also needs to understand that dietary fats are important for good health. Dietary fats are a major source of energy for the body, keep us feeling full longer and aid in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. So choose to cook and bake with liquid oils like canola and olive (that are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids) while using sources of saturated fat like ghee and butter sparingly, and eliminate vanaspati from your diet.

The good news is that the Indian government, too, is moving to mandate a reduction. “In 2015, the FSSAI had issued a notification to reduce the maximum permitted amount of trans fats to 5% in hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine and fat spreads and interesterified vegetable fat. This regulation will be effective on and from 27 August this year,” says Rajasekharan.

In other words, the amount of trans fats in PHOs will soon be reduced by the Indian oil industry.

Sujata Kelkar Shetty, PhD, is a wellness expert and a certified life coach. She has formerly worked as a clinical scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, US.

1.5 tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes seized

Officials from the Food Safety and Standards Department on Monday seized 1.5 tonnes of mangoes that were artificially ripened using carbide stones.

Complaint

The seizure was based on a complaint received by Designated Officer (for Coimbatore District), of the department O.L.S. Vijay three days ago.

Food Safety Officer K. Suruli, who conducted the raid, said that the persons who had complained over phone alleged that wholesale and retail fruit traders, at Karuppanna Gowder Street and Pavizham Street were artificially ripening the fruits.

Despite their visit to the places the officers could not find such incidents till Sunday.

On Monday morning, the officers after conducting a surprise check at nearly 15 shops spotted racks of mangoes in boxes with carbide stones in them, being sold to consumers in a retail outlet and in a godown.

Three varieties of mangoes worth Rs. 60,000 was seized and sent to the Corporation’s dump yard at Vellalore.

This is the first crackdown on artificially ripened fruits (using carbide) this summer.

Department personnel said that they were unable to conduct such drives earlier this year as have been deputed for election duty.

Officers said that some of the shops in that locality were closed and that such raids will continue in the coming days.

Why Do Kids Prefer French Fries Over Apple?

Keeping children away from junk food is a difficult task for almost every parent. It is important to feed children with the healthiest possible diet so that they grow up to become healthy adults. But, children prefer fries at restaurants and red meat at buffets over the regular healthy diet.

Researchers have recommended a way to keep children away from junk foods. Placing healthy food more visible and conveniently can help children eat it and stay healthy. 

‘Providing a smaller portion of the less healthy food and a larger serving of fruits and vegetables could be a realistic solution to prevent children eating junk foods.’

The findings of the study showed that most of the children chose French fries over apples when apples were presented as the default option. 

"We guessed that children would opt out of a healthier default when much-loved fries were an option," said David Just from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in the US.

"We were surprised that this was the case even for a relatively attractive healthy option like apple slices," added Just.

The researchers analyzed 15 children aged from six to eight. Chicken nuggets were ordered from a fast food restaurant to see if children would opt out of the healthy option. 

Half of the children were given fries with their meal and told they could exchange them for apples. The other half were given apples and said that they could exchange them for fries. 

The findings showed that 86.7 % of the children who were given apples opted to swap for fries.

"A more realistic solution would be to offer a smaller portion of fries with apples and in this way, children aren't forfeiting their favorite food; they are just eating less of it," said another researcher Brian Wansink.

New food regulations to ban sale of junk food in Delhi's school canteens

The Delhi Food Safety Department and the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) will soon chalk out a policy on what kind of food is best suited for the city's school students.

Schools will be given strict guidelines to promote nutritious and healthy food in their canteens, and to completely avoid the sale of junk food.

In a meeting held recently, officials from the Food Safety Department and the FSSAI discussed the need to serve nutritious food to children as the issue of students' health was a high priority.

Strict new regulations could soon ban junk food from Delhi's school canteens 

“We will be working on a policy regarding the food served in school canteens. The health of the students will be kept on high priority. Food items with high nutritional value will be majorly served to the students,” said Dr Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner, Department of Food Safety, Delhi Government. 

The Food and Drug Department monitors the food policy in the city through random surprise inspections, and by raiding "suspicious" food establishments.

It also collects samples of food items that could be adulterated, sub-standard, or unbranded. On average, it receives 125 food samples in a month for testing. 

The department also carries out consumer awareness campaigns, and works to educate those in the food business about food safety management systems as prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

“We will also speak to the nutrition experts to understand the requirement of students and will work on a policy accordingly,” added Darswal. 

In October 2015, the Food authorities had issued guidelines to schools, making it compulsory to serve only wholesome and nutritious food in their canteens.

This guidance will be converted into a regulation in due course, after the prescribed process of inviting comments and suggestions from various stakeholders.

Officials said these guidelines will help control junk food consumption among pupils in India.

Prepared by an expert committee constituted by FSSAI, the guidelines give details of how consumption of junk food, which is high in fat, salt, and sugar, is linked with increasing cases of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension among school children.

The guidelines include the following principles: 

a) The benefits of balanced, fresh, and traditional food cannot be replaced.

b) Schools are not the right place to sell foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. 

c) Children are not the best judges of their food choices.

Obesity, diabetes and hypertension are rising alarmingly among school students, as they find it tempting to pick up packets of junk food in their canteens instead of eating the healthy, home-cooked food that might be packed in their lunch boxes.

Pulse import: FSSAI sets foreign matter limit at 3% by weight

FSSAI issues draft quality regulations.

In a bid to ensure quality of imported pulses, food safety watchdog FSSAI has issued draft quality regulations and fixed the foreign matter limit at a maximum 3% by weight.

"The limits for foreign matter (extraneous matter) shall be maximum 3% by weight, of which the maximum 0.5% by weight may be the inorganic matter and impurities of animal origin," Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in a notification.

The food regulator has also invited suggestions from all stakeholders.

Foreign matter means anything extraneous other than food grains. It can be inorganic matter like metallic pieces, sand, stones and organic matter consisting of husk, straws, weed seeds and other inedible grains.

The presence of foreign matter in food grains is considered as adulteration and the grains could be found unsuitable for human consumption.

The move has come at a time when the government is turning to imports to keep pulse prices in check.