Aug 23, 2016
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India launches colour coded food safety display boards for food businesses involved in Milk, Meat, Retail Restaurants, fruits and Vegetable. This will ensure consumers connect easily with #FSSAI. Food Safety Display Boards are being displayed at about 1,300 outlets pan India, by 12 volunteering food businesses.
FSSAI announces initiatives to promote safe food culture
Aiming to create a culture of food safety in the country, regulator FSSAI today announced a host of initiatives to promote safe food at homes, schools, offices, eateries and religious places, besides a national survey for assessing milk quality.
Commemorating the 10th anniversary of enactment of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the FSSAI said it will launch ten new initiatives that seek to connect people of all age groups for ensuring safe food through an integrated approach.
"This bouquet of 10 initiatives focused on safe and nutritious food at home, school, workplace, religious places, in trains and railway stations, in restaurants and other places," Health Ministry said in a statement.
FSSAI will provide a green book to every household and create a dedicated website for safe and nutritious food at home.
Similarly for schools, it will prepare a negative list of high fat, sugar and salt foods (commonly referred as junk food), seeking to ensure food safety and nutrition in and around schools, including lunch box and canteens.
It plans to make licence from FSSAI compulsory for food businesses involved in mid-day meal scheme.
For offices, FSSAI said the canteens and cafeterias should be registered/licenced with the food regulator. The establishment should also ensure monthly testing of kitchens, water and equipment.
As far as religious places are concerned, FSSAI said it is engaging with the management of places of worships to help them implement the Food Safety Management System (FSMS).
Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai has already adopted FSMS, while Saibaba temple in Shirdi is in the process of doing so for their kitchens.
Noting that food safety is an important health and economic issue, Health Minister J P Nadda said, "Provisions of safe food should become a part of ingrained culture in our country."
He said the adoption of global food safety standards would boost exports of agro-products and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce.
Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said all these 10 initiatives have been developed collaboratively over the past few months along with other stakeholders and partners.
"States would be facilitated to implement them on pilot basis over the next few months and thereafter national roll out of these initiatives would be done possibly by next year," Agarwal said.
Apart from these initiatives, FSSAI also announced plans to conduct national milk quality survey and frame standards for food fortification, organic food. It will also simplify the registration and licencing regulations.
FSSAI will also take steps to bridge standards divide from farm to trade and to rediscover the rich culinary heritage of India.
It also launched food safety display board that would help connect consumers directly with food safety officers. Twelve corporates including Mother Dairy, Haldiram, StarBucks, BurgerKing, among others, have already volunteered to display this board at their 1,300 outlets.
Addressing a FSSAI conference late last evening, Health Minister J P Nadda had said the Centre will support the state governments in capacity building and setting up high quality labs for proper enforcement of food safety standards.
"We are all for capacity building not only at the national level...We are working to have high quality labs. We are working to support states (in setting up) high quality laboratories," Nadda said.
The government will finetune the food safety standards to make it more meaningful, Nadda said. "It is (finetuning) a continuous process. We will be doing it," the Minister said.
He emphasised on more awareness programmes to promote safe food at home, schools, offices and eateries.
Nadda said the food standards act is a paradigm shift from regulatory regime under the provisions of Food Adulteration Act to self-regulatory and facilitatory regime.
"Now, basic groundwork is done. We are ready for a big leap forward," Nadda said.
The minister emphasised upon two-way communication between the food businesses and the regulator. He advised that the authority should be fully aware of the need and concerns of small food businesses as well in its work of standard formulation and compliance.
FSSAI Chairperson Ashish Bahuguna said, "We have completed 10 formative years of this act and are now striving to work towards a collective approach for building safe food culture in India because food safety cannot be ensured by enforcement alone".
Safe food provisions should become part of ingrained culture: Nadda
NEW DELHI: Appreciating the unrelenting efforts of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in upholding food safety standards in India, Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda has called for making safe food provisions a part of the country’s ingrained culture.
Speaking at the function organised by the FSSAI to commemorate 10 years of the enactment of the FSSAI Act, here recently, the minister said, ”Food safety is a very important health and economic issue. It has high employment potential, can boost exports of agro-products out of the country, and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce. Provisions of safe food should become a part of ingrained culture in our country.”
Describing the FSSAI Act as a paradigm shift from regulatory regime under the provisions of Food Adulteration Act to self-regulatory and facilitatory regime, he pointed out that ”now, basic ground work is done. We are ready for big leap forward.”
Commemorating a decade of integrated food law in the country, and marking ten years of FSSAI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his congratulatory message underscored the ‘need for the Authority to focus on empowering the consumers so that the manufacturers and suppliers of food products become responsive to consumer needs, demands and expectations.’ He added that ”safe and wholesome and hygienic food will create a ‘Swasth Bharat’. And this has to be cornerstone of the efforts of FSSAI.”
In his address, the minister emphasised upon ‘two-way communication’ between the food businesses and the regulator. He advised that the Authority should be fully aware of the need and concerns of small food businesses as well in its work of standard formulation and compliance.
During the past decade, considerable ground has been covered in terms of achieving the goals of laying down scientific standards and regulating the manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and import of food items for the people of India.
On the occasion, Mr Nadda released the special commemorative volume a compilation of the history and more than 50 invited articles from scientists, experts, industry people and consumer organisations. Health Secretary C K Mishra, who was the special guest, also addressed the audience with inspiring messages on the need for collaborative efforts towards setting up of food standards.
FSSAI should be fully aware of need and concerns of small food businesses: J P Nadda
FSSAI should be fully aware of need and concerns of small food businesses: J P Nadda
New Delhi, Aug 23 (KNN) J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare has advised that the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) should be fully aware of the need and concerns of small food businesses as well in its work of standard formulation and compliance.
He also said that during the last 10 years, considerable ground has been covered in terms of achieving the goals of laying down scientific standards and regulating the manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and import of food items for the people of India.
FSSAI stands for trust and compliance and the synergy between the industry and the authority will ensure that this trust is well placed.”
Speaking at the function organised by FSSAI to commemorate 10 years of the enactment of Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSAI Act), here on Monday, Nadda, stated that “Food safety is a very important health and economic issue. It has high employment potential, can boost exports of agro-products out of the country, and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce. Provisions of safe food should become a part of ingrained culture in our country.”
He further added that the FSSAI Act is a paradigm shift from regulatory regime under the provisions of Food Adulteration Act to self-regulatory and facilitatory regime.
“Now, basic ground work is done. We are ready for big leap forward,” Nadda said.
Nadda appreciated the unrelenting efforts of FSSAI towards food safety in India. In his address, he emphasized upon ‘two-way communication’ between the food businesses and the regulator.
Commemorating this milestone, FSSAI announced 10@10 – 10th anniversary with 10 initiatives. The primary focus of the 10@10 initiative is to engage with stakeholders and consumers to create food safety culture in the country.
This bouquet of 10 initiatives focused on safe and nutritious food at home, school, workplace, religious places, in trains and railway stations, in restaurants and other places. The event also saw launch of Food Safety Display Boards that would help to connect the consumers directly to food safety officers. Under the Corporates4FoodSafety initiative, the corporates committed themselves to collaborate, educate and inspire other stakeholders towards food safety as responsible food businesses.
Referring to the 10@10 initiatives, CEO, FSSAI, Pawan Agarwal said that all these initiatives have been developed collaboratively over the past few months along with other stakeholders and partners.
He informed that States would be facilitated to implement them on pilot basis over the next few months and thereafter national roll out of these initiatives would be done possibly by next year.
He also referred to other initiatives of the FSSAI such as on national milk quality survey, food fortification, farm to trade - bridging the standards divide, rediscovering the rich culinary heritage of India, standards for organic food, eLearning Portal and simplification of registration and licensing regulations.
There were two panel discussions prior to the main event. One on “Food Safety in unorganized sector – Challenges & Opportunities” focused around mass training programme for small and petty food businesses like street food vendors, fruits and vegetable vendors and other in partnership with Skill India and sustaining these efforts with corporate participation. The second panel discussion on “Food Safety a shared responsibility” dealt with need for taking joint responsibility by all stakeholders in assuring food safety.
Govt wants visible, readable details on packed food items
Changes on the anvil
- The government plans to adopt the US system of using 1.6 mm font size to specify name, address, weight, date of manufacturing and retail price on packaged food
- The size may increase from current 1 mm to 1.5 mm for 200 grams/ml pack. For 200-500 grams/ml packs, it will be 4 mm and for 500 grams/ml or bigger packs, the size will be 8 mm
- Bar-code or a similar mark to identify the country of origin on food products may be introduced
- The maximum quantity of packaged food items may be increased up to 50 kg/litres from the existing 25 kg/litres
New Delhi, August 22
The government is planning to amend the 2011 commodities packaging rules to ensure the details on the packaged food items are more visible and readable and also wants to incorporate barcode-kind of system to protect consumers from spurious products.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry has held several rounds of discussions to amend the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 in the interest of consumers. Even the industry and public have demanded changes to the rules.
“Rule 7 specifies about the font size of the declaration but most companies do not follow strictly. In smaller packs, the font size is too small for consumers to read. So, we have decided to adopt the US standard on font size,” a senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official told PTI.
Right now, the font size of the declaration such as name, address, net commodity, date of manufacturing and retail price is less than 1 mm. “The US follows 1.6 mm size. But we are planning to keep 1.5 mm for a pack of 200 grams/ml.”
The font size for a packed food item containing more than 200 grams/ml up to 500 grams/ml would be increased from 2 mm to 4 mm and for above 500 grams/ml, the font size would be doubled to 8 mm, he said. Besides, the ministry is considering introducing bar-code or any such mark to identify food products are made in India or other country to curb sale of fake food items in the country. That apart, the ministry is considering increasing maximum quantity of packaged food items up to 50 kg/litres from the existing 25 kg/litres.
“For smaller packs, consumers have to pay more. So, we are thinking of allowing some commodities like rice, atta and others to be packed up to 50 kg/litres. This will bring down the cost on consumers,” the official explained. The ministry had last amended the rule in 2015.
FSSAI readies -ve food list for kids
- The food regulator is preparing a list of food items rich in fat, salt and sugar and high in energy, but contain low amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre
- The list will have food items that are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly and not desirable for young people, said FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal
“To realise the dream of a healthy and capable India, the FSSAI is formulating regulations to promote and administer food safety at the school level to enable children to inculcate healthy eating habits that will last them a lifetime,” Food Safety and Standards Authority of India CEO Pawan Agarwal said today.
The regulator is working on the negative list of food items that are rich in fat, salt and sugar and high in energy, but contain low amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.
“The list will have those food items which are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly and not desirable for young people,” he said.
Last year, the Delhi High Court had ordered regulation of junk food consumption among schoolchildren through restrictions on the sale of foods high in fat, salt and sugar such as chips, fried foods and sugar-sweetened beverages on and around school premises.
Later, the FSSAI had come up with its draft guidelines on availability of wholesome and nutritious food in schools in order to check junk food consumption by children
Food safety law is decade old, but it’s a long road ahead
New Delhi, August 22
As the country’s food safety law completed a decade of operation today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the apex food regulator to empower consumers and work to build “Swastha Bharat” (Healthy India).
In his message to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India which was created to regulate the sector under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, the PM said: “The authority now needs to focus on empowering the consumers so that manufacturers and suppliers of food become responsive to consumer needs, demands and expectations. Safe wholesome food will create a Swastha Bharat. This has to be the cornerstone of FSSAI.”
While the PM asked the food regulator to work on consumer power, ground reality reveals the regulator is far from completing its basic goal of registering all food business operators of the country. An important mandate of the Act was to bring all food business operators under its ambit and ensure quality control.
Data, however, shows that out of India’s estimated 1.8 crore food business operators, the law has managed to cover only about 45,00000 (25 per cent) in the decade of its operation. This means it would take more than a decade more to cover the currently existing operators.
Insiders say India’s food regulator is suffering from severe shortage of trained officers with the entire country making do with just about 5000 food safety officers when food business operators are in crores.
An officer of the FSSAI says: “The estimate normally is that 4 per cent of the country’s population is into the food business. But we in India go by a conservative estimate and consider that around 3 pc are in the food business. That brings the number to 1.8 crore. We have covered only 25 pc of these.”
Health Minister JP Nadda in his address today at an event held to commemorate a decade of the integrated food law emphasised the need to improve registrations of operators to ensure safe food.
But FSSAI insiders say the sector is reeling under fund crunch and ad-hocism.
That explains several recent instances of unsafe food being sold in the country, such as nine variants of Nestle ready-to-eat foods, including Maggi and a range of breads which were found to be containing potassium bromate, a harmful additive.
“We need food safety experts to run the food safety organization but unfortunately, many critical divisions in the organization are currently headed by bureaucrats or non subject people. Professionals alone can ensure safe food. This has to be understood sooner than later,” an FSSAI official said.
புகையிலை பொà®°ுட்கள் விà®±்பனை ஜோà®°்
வேலூà®°், ஆக.23:
வேலூ à®°ில் தடையை à®®ீà®±ி தொட à®°ுà®®் புகை யிலை பொà®°ுட் கள் விà®±் பனை ஜோà®°ாக நடந்து வரு கி றது. இதை கட் டுப் ப டுத்த பொது மக் கள் கோà®°ிக்கை விடுத் துள் ள னர்.
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வேலூ à®°ில் புதிய பஸ் நிலை யம், பழைய பஸ் நிலை யம், சுண் ணாà®®் பு காà®° தெà®°ு, à®®ெயின் பஜாà®°், காந் தி à®°ோடு உள் ளிட்ட பல இடங் க ளில் உள்ள கடை க ளில் இன் னுà®®் புகை யிலை பொà®°ுட் கள் மறை à®®ு க à®®ாக விà®±் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. இதனை கட் டுப் ப டுத்த à®®ுடி யா மல் உணவு பாது காப்பு துà®±ை அலு வ லர் கள் தவிக் கின் à®± னர்.இந் நி லை யில் கடந்த 19à®®் தேதி காந்தி à®°ோட் டில் உள்ள 12 கடை க ளில் நடத் திய திடீà®°் சோத னை யில் விà®±் ப னைக் காக மறைத்து வைத் தி à®°ுந்த ₹15 ஆயி à®°à®®் மதிப் புள்ள புகை யிலை பொà®°ுட் களை பறி à®®ு தல் செய்து à®…à®´ித் த னர்.
தொடர்ந்து கடை க ளில் தடையை à®®ீà®±ி புகை யிலை பொà®°ுட் கள் விà®±் ப னைக்கு வைக் கப் பட் டி à®°ுந் தால் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டுà®®் என்à®±ு அதி கா à®°ி கள் எச் ச à®°ிக்கை விடுத் துள் ள னர். புகை யிலை பொà®°ுட் களை விà®±் பனை செய் வதை தடுக்க அதி கா à®°ி கள் துà®°ித நட வ டிக்கை எடுக்க வேண் டுà®®் என்à®±ு பொது மக் கள் கோà®°ிக்கை விடுத் துள் ள னர்.
64 students fall sick after having govt hostel food
COIMBATORE: As many as 64 students of the Government Women's Polytechnic College were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Sunday night and Monday morning after they complained of abdomen pain and diarrhoea. The health department suspects food poisoning and has shut down the hostel mess and cut-off potable water supply.
"On Sunday night, 30 students were admitted to the hospital in two batches and another 26 were taken to the CMCH on Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, a total of 64 students were hospitalised," said Edwin Joe, dean at CMCH.
"The students are in stable condition and responding to treatment. Had they been brought on Sunday afternoon when they began feeling sick, there was no need to hospitalise them," he added.
Meanwhile, two ambulances were stationed at college hostel to shuttle students to the hospital in case of emergency. "We have also deployed two doctors at the college hostel to take care of students. Around eight students have complained of abdomen pain and vomiting there," said the deputy director of public health and preventive medicine, S Somasundaram.
The food safety department has collected samples of potable water supplied at the hostel and lentils cooked at the college mess. "It is said that the lentils used to cook lunch on Sunday could have led to the problem. Food safety department has collected samples, and we can expect the reports in three to four days," Somasundaram said.
The students, however, feel that the potable water supplied at the hostel was the source of infection. "There are two water filters installed in the hostel. One of them was switched off on Sunday night after some of our friends were rushed to the hospital," said a student. The drinking water is supplied from overhead tanks, and when TOI asked when the overhead tanks were cleaned last, a teacher said it was done 10 days ago.
Health officials said it would be difficult to ascertain if the students were suffering from food poisoning. "We doubt the quality of lentils used for lunch on Sunday, but by the time we collected samples on Monday, there was no sample left. So, we had to collect raw samples. I'm not sure how much the test will help," Somasundaram said.
The hostel seems to have a history of water contamination. A similar incident was reported in July 2014, when 24 students of the college were admitted to CMCH after they complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. In 2012, 46 students were taken to Sri Ramakrishna Hospital complaining of illness after drinking water supplied in the hostel. "We have instructed the college to carry out regular cleaning of the water tanks and the mess kitchen," Somasundaram said.
KFC Is Giving Away Sunscreen That Makes You Smell Like Fried Chicken
The summer is drawing to a close, but there's still time to catch some rays, get a glowing tan, and smell like extra crispy fried chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken-or KCF as it likes to be called now-is giving away tubes of sunscreen that make you smell like you've slathered yourself in the Colonel's secret 11 herbs and spices. That's a good thing, right?
In addition to protecting its customers from the harmful effects of too much sun exposure, this bizarre promotion is clearly an effort by KFC to turn sunbathers, swimmers, and everyone at the beach into walking subliminal advertisements for the chain's fried fast food.
In one way, it's genius. In another way, it sounds utterly disgusting. But whatever you feel about the promotion, just make sure you don't lick your fingers after applying the sunscreen-it's not edible.
You don't need to buy anything to snag one of the limited edition tubes, you just need to head on over to KFC's website and cough up all of your personal details, including a shipping address. And if you miss out, you can probably have the same experience by just smearing real fried chicken all over your body before heading to the beach. It will also give you an opportunity to get real friendly with the local seagulls.
VMC officials crack down on eateries
Vadodara: Teams of the food safety department of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) conducted surprise checking on Sunday night in areas that are known for a large number of food joints.
VMC officials had formed two teams to check eateries in Fatehgunj, Racecourse, Nyay Mandir, Mangal Bazaar, Padmavati Complex, Sursagar and Jubelibaug areas. The drive was organised in wake of the monsoon season when food and water related ailments are on a rise.
The teams checked 124 eateries during the drive. They collected 13 samples that were sent to the VMC's public health laboratory for analysis. The eateries were given strict instruction to maintain hygienic conditions.
During the drive, the officials disposed of 505litres of tamarind and mint water used for 'panipuris'. They also destroyed 145kg gravy, chutney and syrup. Officials also found 30kg chicken, 115kg cooked food and 35kg raw material unfit for consumption. Colours and sauces that were substandard were also destroyed.
Pizzas, burgers may soon be booted out of school canteens
NEW DELHI: Pizzas, burgers and aerated drinks may soon be out of the palate of school canteens. In order to restrict consumption of junk food by children, the food safety regulator is preparing a negative list of products that are high on salt, sugar and fat to prevent their availability in schools and their vicinity.
"The list will have those food items which are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly and not desirable for young people," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chief executive Pawan Kumar Agarwal said. The list is expected to include products like chips, pizzas, burgers, ready-to-eat noodles, sugar-sweetened carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, potato fries and confectionery items.
The move comes in the wake of rising burden of diabetes and obesity among children and youngsters. In October, the food regulator had also issued draft guidelines on wholesome and nutritious food availability in schools to control junk food consumption among children in India. The draft guidelines suggest restricting sale or availability of food items high in fat, salt or sugar within 50 metres of a school's premises.
The number of diabetics in India has doubled from 32 million in 2000 to 63 million in 2013. It is projected to increase to 101.2 million in the next 15 years. Globally, at least 41 million children under five years were estimated to be obese or overweight in 2014.
While the prevalence rate of obesity in this age group is still low in India at less than 5%, public health agencies have cautioned that the trend is fast catching up in low- and middle-income countries with companies targeting market space in developing countries like India.
FSSAI may monitor water supplied by municipalities
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is preparing draft regulations that may extend its purview to water supplied by municipalities and food cooked in places of worship.
"The central consumer council has suggested water served by municipalities be brought under a nodal agency. We are incorporating these recommendations," said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI.
The FSSAI is also planning to set up at least 100 corporate training centres by 2019 to provide training and certification programmes, and improve consumer awareness.
During last year's crisis over Maggi instant noodles, lack of coordination between the FSSAI and state Food and Drug Administration units was a concern. The FSSAI is in talks with state authorities to plug the holes.
"We are revisiting regulations on licensing and inspection. Issues related to local food vendors, for example, should be addressed by local authorities. We need to align our efforts so that safety of food at large can be achieved," Agarwal said. The FSSAI will issue guidelines for regulating local vendors soon.
Nestle India had argued that carcinogenic chemicals in Maggi noodles like monosodium glutamate may have been present in ingredients sourced from the farm. To address the issue, the FSSAI is in talks with the agriculture ministry so that farm produce is tested in wholesale markets.
"Traders want to stay out of the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Act. We are in talks with the agriculture ministry to sort out the issue," Agarwal said.
The FSSAI will soon come out with a new set of guidelines for instant noodles and pasta.
FSSAI wants to regulate quality of tap water
Food regulator FSSAI is examining possibility of holding municipal authorities, state water supply boards accountable for the quality of water they supply
About 32% of India’s households have access to treated tap water (supplied through pipelines) and around 11.5% households get untreated water, according to the 2011 Census.
New Delhi: Having exercised its will over private companies, both domestic and multinational, India’s food quality regulator has now set its eyes on regulating water utilities controlled by the government.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is examining the possibility of holding municipal authorities and other agencies such as state water supply boards accountable for the quality of water they supply.
“The Central Consumer Protection Council (an apex body that advises the government on the consumer-related issues) has expressed concern over the quality of drinking water supplied through the pipeline and has recommended mandatory standards for drinking water, irrespective of its source,” said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer at FSSAI.
The regulator is yet to take a call on how to bring water supplied by municipal authorities and other government authorities such as Delhi Jal Board under its purview. The Central Consumer Protection Council, in its recommendation, said FSSAI should formulate standards for water through the pipeline and should monitor quality.
“We’ll examine the recommendation and the complexities,” said Agarwal. At present, FSSAI only has standards for packaged drinking water.
Just about 32% of India’s households have access to treated tap water (supplied through pipelines) and around 11.5% households get untreated water, according to the 2011 Census.
About 62% of households living in urban areas, which constitute 31.16% of India’s total population, have access to treated tap water (mainly supplied by municipal corporations and other government agencies).
While Agarwal declined to divulge details, the regulator may follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) on drinking water quality to protect public health. The WHO guidelines, accepted worldwide, prescribe development and implementation of risk management strategies to ensure the safety of drinking-water supplies through control of hazardous constituents in water.
The safety and quality of drinking water supplied by Delhi Jal Board has been questioned. In April, Union consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said drinking water supplied by Delhi Jal Board was not safe for consumption.
Residents of New Delhi, the national capital city, do not think they can drink water supplied by Delhi Jal Board.
“Dirty water is a regular feature and we have to reach out to the authorities. We have to purchase purifying systems because the water is not fit for drinking. If it was brought under the food standard authorities, it would benefit us and would also ensure that the municipal authorities are brought under the scanner,” said Dashrath Sahu, a resident of Badarpur in Delhi, who works as an office clerk.
Photographer and communications professional Love Verma, a resident of south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, said: “Drinking? I even doubt if this water is okay for bathing. In rainy season, the piped water gets mixed with sewage. We use a purifier for drinking water. Even the bottled water that we get in the market, I have doubts if those are safe for consumption,” said Verma.
“I am not aware of anything that FSSAI may be doing. We already follow required standards to provide safe water,” said R.S. Tyagi, member (water supply), Delhi Jal Board. Its chief executive officer Keshav Chandra could not reached for comments before the time of going to press.
India’s water purifier market was estimated to exceedRs.7,000 crore or about 15 million units, in 2015, according to a 2012-study by the industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce of India.
From April onwards, FSSAI has been tough on companies selling drinking water in packaged form. Of the total 5,842 registered water packaging units in India, said FSSAI, 1,495 have both a licence from FSSAI and certificate from the Bureau of Indian Standards (the national standards body), while the remaining 4,347 units only have BIS certification.
FSSAI has asked all drinking water packaging units to procure a licence from FSSAI to continue operations.
“No person shall manufacture, sell or exhibit for sale, Natural Mineral Water and Packaged Drinking water, except under the BIS Standard Mark,” according to the FSSAI regulation.
In May, Mint reported the food regulator’s desire to bringplaces of worship under its ambit to ensure safety of food items served by temples.
Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Act is undergoing amendments. “It will take time to finalize a holistic amendment. We expect to have a consolidated view based on recommendations and required legislations, may be in another six months,” said Agarwal.
The Act, after amendment, will include better “co-ordination mechanism amongst all stake holders, simplified standard-setting mechanism among other things”, added the FSSAI CEO.
FSSAI is also allowing imports of special food items meant for children with “Inborn errors of Metabolism”. These food items are manufactured by only a few companies such as Swiss packaged food company Nestle SA, American healthcare company Abbott Laboratories and French dairy firm Danone SA.
“Treatment of these metabolic disorders requires early intervention including dietary control. In view of the seriousness of the issue, FSSAI is taking expedient actions to provide a unique platform for parents to find timely medical support and treatment. We’ll engage leading hospitals like All India Institute of Medical Science and have asked these companies to offer these food products at a subsidized price,” said Agarwal. Together, the companies will offer a subsidy of Rs.5 crore a year for these food items. However, the government has no plan to bring these food items under its own subsidy schemes.
India’s food quality regulator is celebrating its 10th anniversary. “We have taken a 10-point agenda to ensure safe food across the country. We need to educate consumers, and the ones involved in production of food. We need to ensure safety at the point of manufacturing. We need to align our efforts to ensure safe food for our citizens,” said Agarwal. The regulator, said Agarwal, exists because there are food companies who are doing business. “It can’t act adversarial,” he added.
FSSAI was in the limelight last year for cracking down on Nestle India Ltd after the company’s popular Maggi noodles were suspected to contain excess lead. The food safety agency ordered a ban on the noodles in June 2015, but the Bombay high court lifted the ban in August after the product cleared court-mandated lab tests.
Pretika Khanna contributed to this story.
Centre to support states in setting up food testing labs:Nadda
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The Centre will support the state governments in capacity building and setting up of high quality labs for proper enforcement of food safety standards, Health Minister J P Nadda said today.
Addressing a conference of food regulator FSSAI, the minister said the adoption of global safety standards would boost domestic demand and exports of agro-based products, thereby generating huge employment opportunities.
"The safety and standard of food products is not only a health issue but its related to economic issue. If we have good safety standards and transparent system and if that is nationally and internationally recognised certainly the economic activity is going to go ahead," Nadda said.
The minister said that a decade has passed since the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 was enacted and it is the right time to take stock of the situation and chalk out future strategies. "We are all for capacity building not only at the national level...We are working to have high quality labs. We are working on to support states (in setting up) high quality laboratories," Nadda said.
Stating that the Foods Safety and Standards Authority of India has transformed into a facilitator from a regulator, Nadda said the government will fine tune the standards to make it more meaningful. "It is (fine tunning) a continuous process. We will be doing it," the Minister said. He emphasised on more awareness programmes to promote safe food at home, schools, offices and eateries. In an apparent reference to Maggie controversy, the Minister said there were certain issues last year, some confrontation, some communication gap, but "we have streamlined those issues".
FSSAI to realise dream of healthy and capable India
NEW DELHI: To promote food safety among children, regulator FSSAI is preparing a negative list of products that are rich in fat, salt and sugar in order to restrict availability of these items in schools.
"To realise the dream of a healthy and capable India, FSSAI is formulating regulations to promote and administer food safety at the school level to enable children to inculcate healthy eating habits that will last them a lifetime," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India CEO Pawan Agarwal said today.
The regulator is working on the negative list of food items that are rich in fat, salt and sugar and high in energy, but contain low amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.
"The list will have those food items which are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly and not desirable for young people," he said.
Last year, the Delhi High Court had ordered regulation of junk food consumption among school children through restrictions on the sale of foods high in fat, salt and sugar such as chips, fried foods and sugar-sweetened beverages on and around school premises.
Later, FSSAI had come up with its draft guidelines on availability of wholesome and nutritious food in schools in order to check junk food consumption by children.
Stating that "children are not the best judge of their food choice", FSSAI had said schools are not the right place to promote foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).
"Canteens in the schools should not be treated as commercial outlets," the regulator had observed, adding that schools should develop a canteen policy to provide nutritious, wholesome and healthy foods.Restrict/limit the availability of most common HFSS foods in schools and areas within 50 metres, the watchdog had said.
FSSAI: Turning a new page on food safety
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 22:
Food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is looking to widen the canvas of food safety as it rolls out several initiatives across the country.
Different initiatives, such as creating a negative list of foods served in schools that contain high fat, sugar and salt; a project to clean up street food; and ensure hygiene at corporate canteens, restaurants and religious places, are cooking up in its plate.
“As part of commemorating a decade of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006, the food regulator is set to roll out 10 key initiatives to ensure food safety and nutrition,” said Pawan Agarwal , CEO of FSSAI.
This will be done by launching a manual on safe food habits for households and formulating regulations to promote nutritious food at schools. FSSAI is also taking initiatives to improve safe food practices at workplaces, restaurants and street food vendors.
Key initiatives
“Integration of food standards to avoid ambiguity, strengthening food testing labs, training and certification as well as partnering with food companies to promote self-regulation among business are the other key initiatives the regulator is planning,” he said.
Agarwal said these initiatives are to ensure total alignment among the stakeholders and have the same vision to achieve the mammoth task of food safety.
He said some pilots will be run by States to ensure proper implementation of food safety initiatives at the State level.
As part of these initiatives, FSSAI will partner with leading companies to set up corporate training centres, embed food safety training in their entire value chain including marketing campaigns, besides participating in research, surveillance and survey activities.
Colour-coding
All food business including restaurants will be required to put up colour-coded food safety display boards on their premises, which will include FSSAI license number, instructions for food hygiene and safety practices along with a consumer feedback details, with a robust mechanism to process this feedback.
Meanwhile, FSSAI is also going to come out with guidelines on whether companies can use its name in advertisement campaigns. This move came after some companies have been highlighting the fact that their ads had been approved by FSSAI.
Agarwal said that a mechanism to revamp the FSS Act is already in process, with a performance audit of FSSAI being undertaken and a Parliamentary Standing Committee having been set up to give its views to the Centre.
Replying to a query on gaps in the current legislation, Agarwal said: “Better co-ordination with States and various ministries; simplifying the process of setting up standards; setting up cleaning, sorting and grading mechanisms for raw products at mandis; are some of the critical issues that may be required to be built into the legislation. In the next six months, FSSAI will be able to firm up its views on the same.”
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