Aug 21, 2016
மஞ்சள் நிறத்தில் ஜவ்வரிசி 18 ஆயிரம் மூட்டை பறிமுதல் 2 குடோன்களுக்கு `சீல்’
சேலம், ஆக.21:
சேலம் மார மங் க லத் துப் பட் டி யில் தர மற்ற நிலை யில் பதுக்கி வைக் கப் பட் டி ருந்த 18,108 ஜவ் வ ரிசி மூட் டை களை பறி மு தல் செய்த அதி கா ரி கள், 2 குடோன் க ளுக்கு `சீல்’ வைத் த னர்.
சேலம் மார மங் க லத் து பட் டி யில் உள்ள 3 குடோன் க ளில் ஜவ் வ ரிசி பதுக்கி வைக் கப் பட் டி ருப் ப தாக மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை அதி கா ரி க ளுக்கு ரக சிய தக வல் கிடைத் தது. இதன் பே ரில், மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா தலை மை யி லான உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை ஆய் வா ளர் கள் அப் ப கு திக்கு விரைந்து சென்று, அங் குள்ள 2 குடோன் க ளில் சோதனை நடத் தி னர். இதில், அங்கு
18,108 ஜவ் வ ரிசி மூட் டை கள்(தலா 90 கிலோ எடை கொண் டது) பதுக்கி வைத் தி ருந் தது கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட் டது. விசா ர ணை யில் தர மற்ற அந்த ஜவ் வ ரிசி மூட் டை கள் அதே பகு தி யைச் சேர்ந்த பர ம சி வம் என் ப வ ருக்கு சொந் த மா னது என் பது தெிரய வந் தது. இதை ய டுத்து, மஞ்சள் நிறத்தில் மாறிய ஜவ்வாிசிகள் கொண்ட மூட் டை களை பறி மு தல் செய்த அதி கா ரி கள், 2 குடோன் க ளுக் கும் `சீல்’ வைத் த னர்.
இது கு றித்து மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா கூறி ய தா வது:
மார மங் க லத் துப் பட் டி யில் பதுக்கி வைக் கப் பட் டி ருந்த தர மற்ற 18,108 ஜவ் வ ரிசி மூட் டை களை பறி மு தல் செய்து, 2 குடோன் க ளுக் கும் `சீல்’ வைக் கப் பட் டது. கைப் பற் றப் பட்ட ஜவ் வ ரி சி யின் மாதிரி எடுத்து, உணவு பகுப் பாய்வு கூடத் திற்கு சோத னைக் காக அனுப்பி வைக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. ஜவ் வ ரிசி எப் போது தயா ரிக் கப் பட் ட து? என் பது உள் ளிட்ட விவ ரங் கள் இல்லை. இது தொ டர் பாக ஜவ் வ ரிசி மூட் டை க ளின் உரி மை யா ள ருக்கு நோட் டீஸ் கொடுக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. மற் றொரு குடோ னை யும் திறந்து பார்த்து ஆய்வு செய்ய உள் ளோம். இவ் வாறு மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா தெரி வித் தார்.
FSSAI looking for ways to regulate online food biz
New Delhi, 20 August
Recent modifications in the Food Safety and Standards Act have opened the market for over 2,200 products that were awaiting approvals since 2014. While some 2,500 products were awaiting premarket approval from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI) for the past two years, the recent regulatory changes have done away with the requirement for such approval by about 90 per cent of the product categories, said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI. This means that these items can be launched in the market without any regulatory hassle.
New guidelines on proprietary foods and change in the approval norms — from product- based to ingredient- based — have liberalised the sector. Earlier, it used to take nearly a year to obtain an approval from the FSSAI before launching any food product. Agarwal said, “Only 10 per cent ( of pending applications) will now require pre- market approvals. We are carefully looking at the new set of product approval guidelines that shall be hassle- free for manufacturers.” The FSS Act, which came into being in 2006, has been amended a number of times since Agarwal took charge last December. The FSSAI has prepared a list of permissible ingredients and additives that include some 11,000 items. Now, manufacturers are not required to obtain approvals separately from the regulator as long as their products, including proprietary food items, are prepared using FSSAI approved ingredients. However, it is working on a new set of guidelines for food items and ingredients that are imported into the country.
Regulating e- commerce
To regulate the e- commerce companies that offer food items, the FSSAI is working on a separate set of guidelines. While the regulator has already held a meeting with all major e- commerce firms, it is looking for more clarity on the matter.
“Since they are warehousing, transporting and distributing food products, there has to be a different set of regulations. We have already looked for precedence in other countries but we did not get a very clear framework under which these companies can be regulated. Both the companies and us have to have clear understanding about what they are doing and what we expect from While most of the major ecommerce companies obtained licenses from the FSSAI, Agarwal said, unless there are specific regulations in place, mere registration may not be enough to ensure safety of food products. Currently, at least 20 ecommerce firms are operating in the countries which focus on selling food items, including Big Basket and Grofers. Ecommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal offer food items on their platforms too.
Changing focus Since Maggi controversy erupted in May 2015, FSSAI has identified food manufacturers as “ very important stakeholders” in the entire ecosystem.
And it is trying to engage all stakeholders such as consumer organisations, manufacturers and state authorities to streamline the regulatory framework, Agarwal said.
“At least, one lab in each state will be modernised with advanced equipment. Improving government labs and creating a more credible and advanced private lab system in the country is a thrust area now,” he adds. Currently, 72 government- owned labs are spread across India. Last year, when random testing and sampling was being conducted in the country, it was found that many of these labs did not have the equipment and/ or manpower to identify toxic and hazardous items in food.
However, according to Agarwal, going forwards food regulation will be based on engaging with the food manufacturers.
While FSSAI will continue random sampling of food products from the market, focus will be on rectifying faults at the manufacturing units. “ There will be more factory visits by our officials who will guide and advice the manufacturers, whenever required,” he said.
"Since the Advertising Standards Council of India has a mechanism in place to scrutinise ads, we are leveraging that. If prima facie they find anything objectionable, they will referitto us and we will take appropriate steps" ON E- FOOD
“Since e- commerce firms are warehousing, transporting and distributing food products, there has to be a differentset of regulations. We have already looked forprecedence in other countries butwe did notgeta very clearframeworkunderwhich these companies can be regulated” PAWAN KUMAR AGARWAL, CEO, FSSAI
Awareness programme on Food Safety Act held
SILCHAR, Aug 20: An awareness programme-cum-meeting on Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has been organized by the District Legal Services Authority, Cachar, at the ADR centre here today. The objective behind the programme was to highlight various issues related to food security, price and proper distribution of essential commodities and spread a message that consumers in trouble could take the help of DLSA.
In his inaugural speech, Dr Mahmud Hussain Barbhuiya, judicial officer and secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Cachar, said, “It is a great opportunity for us to interact with Suraj Jaman Choudhury, a designated officer of the office of the joint-director, health services. But, it is surprising to note that there is only one designated officer for the Food and Safety Office in the valley.”
Enlightening about the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, Suraj Jaman Choudhury said, “Earlier, the Act was known as Prevention of Food Adulteration which was modified in 2006. Substandard food items are injurious, harmful and can also prove to be fatal even if consumed in small quantity. In order to check selling of such items, samples are collected and sent to the food analyst and designated officers for ensuring its quality.”
He further said that there are laws pertaining to sale of poor and substandard food items and water.
He informed that at present there is shortage of food security officers which makes it difficult to survey and inspect various shops and business establishments of the valley. It has been found by many customers that the milk, tea, mineral water, ice-creams, pulses they consume, have been of low and cheap quality. Suraj Jaman Choudhury has assured to take immediate steps if reported. “But, at present the shortage in the number of officers has badly affected the proper functioning of our department. Presently, there are samples of more than 16 food items lying in our office for getting clearance. They are samples of rice, mustard oil, milk, curd and masoor dal,” he added.
Throwing more light on the Act, Biru Bora, food and civil supply officer, said, “The statute regulates the supply of essential commodities through government agencies and cooperative societies so as to reach the benefit to the people at large.”
Among other resource persons present in the meeting included, D R Singh, Rajib Das, inspectors, food and civil supply department.
Sewage farming parameters perplexed, notice issued to FSSAI
During hearing at Green Tribunal on Friday central zonal bench has decided to issue notice to the Food & Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India to submit response with regards to sewage farming.
In addition, they are also directed to submit an affidavit on the points that have been mentioned regarding contaminant in vegetables”.
The FSSAI may also submit the time frame within which they would be in a position to decide the pending issues which were mentioned in the said note with regard to the standards for heavy metal presence in various food items which are under examination.
In this behalf National Green Tribunal would also like the FSSAI to enlighten as to whether any standards have been prescribed elsewhere internationally in this behalf if so what those standards are.
Earlier, petitioner had pointed out that the water analysis report submitted by Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board is not satisfactory. Besides, human excreta other industrial effluent, chemical effluent mixture in water is dangerous for human consumption .Accordingly the Sewage treatment plant ( STP )set up may not be sufficient and to allow sewage farming may be hazardous in such case.
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) also needs to respond to the pending issue with regard to upgradation of STPs on account of the domestic sewage been contaminated by hazardous /chemical substances which were agreed to in the report submitted before us and it was also submitted that the matter for upgradation of such STPs (Sewage Treatment Plant) to the level of ETP or otherwise is under consideration.
For that MoEF needs to respond as to what are the directions issued by the MoEF to the various State bodies in this behalf and whether any decision taken in this behalf or not. This needs to be expedited particularly as most of the State Municipal Authorities had been directed to install STPs or upgrade the same. Next hearing of the matter is scheduled for September 21.
Animal Welfare Board to FSSAI: Rabbit is threatened species not hygienic and legal meat
The Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India has written a letter to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India saying that rabbits are a threatened species and its meat cannot be consumed.
Protesting against plans to include 'rabbit' in the list of 'hygienic and legal meats,' the Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has written a strong letter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
PROTECTED SPECIES
In a letter dated August 9, Major General RM Kharb of AWBI has informed FSSAI that 'Leporids' (rabbits and hare) are, in fact, protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. He has also stated that two of its existing species in India are categorised under the 'IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List' of threatened species.
Mail Today had reported on July 27 the government's decision to name 'Leporids' as the fifth category of meat that can be legally consumed in India. The existing four are: Ovines (sheep), caprines (goat), suillines (pig) and bovines (the cattle family, including buffalo and bison). The move came, apparently, after pressure from the 'rabbit farm' lobby in Kerala, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir. The small mammal is reared in these states for meat and fur.
The changes would be made in law in the form of an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
Inspections in cinema eateries
The Legal Metrology wing has begun inspection of eateries functioning at cinemas following the intervention of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).
SHRC chairperson J.B. Koshy directed the food safety wing to act following a complaint from Kochi Corporation councillor and human rights activist Thambi Subramanian that canteens in cinemas were charging twice as much for food products.
More such inspections would be held in days to come, according to officials.
Is organic food that you eat free of synthetic pesticides & chemical fertilisers?
On her 60-acre farm off Kanakpura Road, around 30 kilometres outside Bengaluru, Sunita Prabhakar, director of Gopalan Organics, is overseeing the packaging of vegetables before they are sent off to stores in the city before noon. "We are not able to keep up with the demand," says Prabhakar, who began by exporting dry herbs in 2004 and added vegetables for the domestic market in 2009, a category they are looking to ramp up 10-fold next year. At present, domestic sales make up 40% of the Rs 80 lakh monthly revenue. The vegetables are sold in plastic bags with the logo of Gopalan Organics through stores in her family's real estate firm, Gopalan Enterprises, and also online grocery stores like Big Basket.
"Our farm is certified organic by Lacon — the German agency that certifies organic production of agricultural products — which is a must since we export most of our produce. They do inspections every three months, including random checks.And the entire farm is certified, not just what is meant for export," explains Prabhakar, when asked how customers are assured that the produce is organic.
Though individual packets do not carry certification labels, the certificates are displayed in stores and on the website, she says, adding that to export organic items, international norms are stringent and violations can invite penalties, including a ban for six years.
The produce of Gopalan Organics, being primarily driven by the export market, might be certified organic to meet international standards. But in India the term organic is yet to be defined by law, despite growing interest in the segment."In Europe and the US, the word organic is protected by law but here anybody can use that term. Nobody can be punished for violations," says Narayana Upadhyaya, managing director of Aditi, one of the 24 organic certification bodies accredited by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which are authorised to certify farms according to the government's National Programme for Organic Production of 2001.
The Norms Now
"When you say something is organic, there has to be a guarantee. It can't be the producer alone claiming it is organic," says Manoj Menon, executive director of International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA), set up in 2004 to promote organic farming. While thirdparty certification by APEDA-accredited agencies is mandatory for exports, still the target market for the bulk of India's organic produce, certification for the domestic market has been voluntary, in a sense.
There are discussions for Agmark and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to step in and oversee the domestic organic market but any legislation is yet to be passed, says Menon. According to ICCOA data, the domestic market for organic produce has gone up to Rs 600 crore in 2014, from nearly zero ten years ago.
The other option for domestic farmers is to become part of a participatory guarantee system (PGS). Here, an audit of the farm is done by a peer group of farmers overseen by a regional council, but the standards will be those laid down in the government's National Programme for Organic Production.
Menon describes this as a less bureaucratic way of certification that is internationally accepted. "One has to realise that not all organic produce is meant for export, so why should we adhere to international rules," he asks.
Small farmers prefer PGS also because it works out a little more economical. "Certification is too expensive at Rs 30,000 a year. And those who are part of the ecosystem know even certification is no guarantee that it is 100% organic," says Meera Rajesh, who quit her career in the IT industry in Bengaluru and took up organic farming with her husband.
The couple now grow coffee and some other crops on an 8-acre farm certified through the PGS. Laxminarayan, another software engineer who has taken up organic farming, says he and his friends have also given up the idea of pursuing thirdparty certification.
"How do you know what is certified is organic? There have been incidents where something that was labelled as organic was not," says Laxminarayan, who grows ragi and other crops on an 18-acre plot of land he owns with ten friends. Legislation alone might not be the answer, he says. "It would need to be backed by constant monitoring and testing, which is where a regulatory authority needs to step in."
The lack of legally enforceable standards for organic food also affects those who market produce from certified organic farms. "We feel we are being discriminated against," says CMN Shastry, chairman and managing director of Phalada Agro Research Foundation, at his office off Magadi road, some 25 kilometres away from Bengaluru. As the head of a Rs 32-crore organic food concern which exports most of its produce, Shastry does not fit into the stereotype of a victim. But his grievance may be genuine enough.
Phalada gets its over 150 organic products from 1,400 farms across the country and sells it under the "Pure and Sure" label certified by the Indian arms of certifying bodies such as Germany's Lacon and Dutch agency Control Union, so that it meets the criteria set by the export market, from which the company gets 90% of its revenue.
"Without domestic regulation, there is no way to distinguish between a genuine player and someone who is not," he says.
The implication: his certified organic produce, which sells at a premium partly because of the high cost of certification, ends up competing with products that carry the organic label, but which may not be certified. With Phalada's revenue share from the domestic market expected to go up to 25% this year, Shastry is concerned.
One of the most vocal proponents for domestic certification of organic food is Crop Care Federation of India, an association representing pesticide manufacturers and formulators, which has sent a legal notice to FSSAI and the joint secretary in the ministry of agriculture.
The federation alleges that there were "flagrant labelling violations" in organic products sold in the retail market and holds the weak implementation of the FSSAI Act partly responsible. Last December, it made public the results of a study by Indian Agricultural Research Institute which found that a third of samples of organic vegetables from Delhi had pesticide residue above the maximum permissible level.
"I am not against organic farming but the monitoring mechanism is practically non-existent and people are being taken for a ride. Today, it's blasphemy to ask questions about anything labelled organic," says S Ganesan, an advisor to Crop Care Federation. But when a pesticide manufacturers' association takes on the organic farming sector, one could be forgiven for thinking the crusade is not entirely altruistic.
"The organic lobby in India creates their market by blaming pesticides and not talking about their virtues — that's where I come into the picture. I cannot introduce any pesticide unless I submit all required data so that the recommended use does not cause any adverse human or environmental effect but where is the regulatory compliance for organic produce?" counters Ganesan.
While adding that one has to see the issue of pesticide residue in totality, KK Sharma, the scientist at the New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute who led the study quoted by Crop Care Federation, says there needs to be a more robust mechanism monitoring organic produce.
"If you can grow organic food, well and good, but if it contains pesticides, you shouldn't label it as organic," says Sharma, who says the institute has shared their findings with APEDA and FSSAI and will be sharing the whole report with them. "The certification needs to be done by regulatory authorities," he adds.
Proactive Retailers
In the wake of the recent Maggi imbroglio and concerns over contamination of food, more retailers have begun asking for documentation about organic certification, says Phalada's Shastry. "But they don't seem to know precisely what to ask for either," he adds.
Seshu Kumar, head of merchandising at online grocer Big Basket, says the company checks whether the produce they source is certified organic; and for fruit and vegetables it has also tied up with farmers from whom they buy directly and sell under their private label Fresho. Fresho, the company estimates, will contribute half of its total sale of fruit and vegetables, from 15% currently.
"The market is still very nascent but there needs to be clarity on what is organic and what is not. There is definitely a case for bringing in uniform standards, if not legislation," says Retailers Association of India CEO Kumar Rajagopalan.
But until legislation is adopted, customers might do well to either check whether the organic produce has been certified by an accredited agency or the PGS, in the case of packaged goods, or whether it is from a store they trust. At the end of the day, organic farming is about maintaining the trust between the producer and the consumer; as Menon says, "The consumer should not be shortchanged."
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