Ahead of Diwali, FSDA seizes 8,500 kg spurious ghee

AGRA: Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) on Thursday seized 8500 kg ofspurious ghee from a factory in Gokul Nagar area here. Officials were amazed at the scale at which the illegal activity was going on in the factory, Shri Bihari Ji Food Industries.

FSDA designated officer Vineet Kumar said, "Agra vendors have created a new recipe for preparing ghee using vanaspati, refined soya bean oil and essence. A raid was conducted at Shri Bihari Ji Food Industries after a tip-off. Raids would intensify in coming day and several squads have been formed for this purpose."

He added that around 4000 Kg of vanaspati, 3000 litre refined soya bean oil, besides 1,525 kg of prepared ghee were seized in total. The shop is owned by one Anil Agarwal, resident Langde ki chowki.

Notably, UP chief secretary had recently informed the state government that Western UP is a hub for manufacturing adulterated food materials like synthetic milk and spurious edible oils.

Just last month, around 7500 litres of pungent-smelling adulterated cooking oil was seized by team of Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) from Jagner Road, in Agra. The team of FSDA has confiscated the adulterated oil bearing the name of 'Delight Plus Mustard Oil' from the 'Agra Agro Company' and has sent the samples for the testing in laboratory.

Prior to that in August, more than 6000 liters of pungent smelling adulterated edible/cooking oil were seized. A team of nine members of FSDA had conducted a surprise raid at a private (Maa Gauri Oil) plant/godown in Barauli Ahir of Shamshabad road and found large quantity of adulterated cooking oil being dispatched to different districts such as Mathura, Firozabad, Etah, Agra and others.

Smokeless tobacco products increase death risk in prostate cancer

Nicotine or other non-combustion-related components of tobacco may play a role in prostate cancer progression.

Snus is a powdered tobacco product, often sold in teabag-like sachets 

Washington: Consumption of smokeless tobacco product 'snus' on a regular basis may prove fatal to men with prostate cancer and can even lead them to the risk of premature death, suggests a new study led by researchers at Harvard University.

The findings, which are also influenced by previous studies showing increased risk of death from prostate cancer in smokers with the disease, suggest that nicotine or other non-combustion-related components of tobacco may play a role in prostate cancer progression.

Snus is a powdered tobacco product, often sold in teabag-like sachets, that is placed under the upper lip for extended periods.

Co-author of the study Kathryn Wilson, said, "Snus has been suggested as a less harmful alternative to smoking because it lacks the combustion products of smoking that are associated with cancer risk.

However, we found that men with prostate cancer who used snus were at increased risk of premature death." It contains nicotine but no combustion components, and has not been previously studied in relation to prostate cancer survival.

The researchers analyzed health data collected from Swedish construction workers during preventive health check-ups between 1971 and 1992, including a tobacco use questionnaire completed during each man's initial check-up.

Of these men, 9,582 later developed prostate cancer. About half of the subjects died during the follow-up period--2,489 from prostate cancer.

Those who used snus but did not smoke had a 24 percent increased risk of dying from prostate cancer and a 19 percent increased risk of dying, as compared to those who never used tobacco.

Among men whose cancer had not spread, increased risk of death from prostate cancer was three times higher than for never-users of tobacco.

Research associate Sarah Markt said, "There is some evidence from animal studies that nicotine can promote cancer progression, and snus users have high blood levels of nicotine. Snus users are also exposed to other carcinogens in tobacco even though it is a smokeless product."

Adding, "Taken together, this suggests that the health effects of smokeless tobacco products should be carefully studied by public health officials."

The study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.

You Will Not Buy Silver Coated Sweets This Diwali After You Read This!

Diwali is almost here and your preparations are on for the festive season. From cleaning the house to making some scrumptious dainties, there is so much to do. The best thing about the festival is the oodles of sweets that are prepared at homes, served to the goddess and exchanges between neighbours. But do you know you are actually eating harmful metals in the name of delicious sweets?

Vegetarian lobbyists claim that the silver foils that are rolled over your favourite sweets contain animal fats and parts of animal intestines. In fact, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India imposed a ban on the use of these foils on food items after it was found that the product is adulterated with aluminium and other harmful metals. In spite of that, the use of the foil is rampant in the country and gets a boost especially during the time of festivals.

With no clear demarcations made by the manufacturers on whether the product is vegetarian or non-vegetarian, the situation gets more difficult. In the next slides we will tell you what is all the hullaballoo related to these edible foils and how to check whether you are eating silver or some other metal when you are eating sweets this Diwali.

FSSAI asks customs dept to check imports of sweets, chocolates, cereals

Mumbai: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked the customs department to keep an eye on the the imports of sweets, chocolates and cereals raising concerns over the sale and distribution of food business operators (FBOs) not complying with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, at the points of entry, in the wake of the approaching Diwali season.

Sabita Jaiswal, assistant director (imports), FSSAI, said, “The enforcement authorities at the points of entry are always directed to keep a check on the imported products, especially on festive seasons.” 

“A recent meeting held in this regard concluded that FSSAI should submit a list of the the officers who collect samples to the customs department. Some officers have already reported the delays in the system.” she added.

FSSAI and customs officers are jointly directed to collect and examine the samples at the point of entry during the season.

Speaking on the sampling, Jaiswal said, “Currently, FSSAI officers are located at customs ports at Tuglakabad, Patparganj, IGI Airport, Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Loni and Dadri. The officers are directed to ensure there was no delay in taking samples for examination from these centres.”

The customs department is also keen to establish a single-window clearance system for the goods where the test reports by FSSAI are positive which will cut down the delay. 

The Central Board of Excise has issued a circular to the officers to make it clear that the facility of labelling of imported goods in bonded warehouses had already been provided to importers subject to certain procedural conditions. The officers are directed to keep a vigil on all the points of entry.

Amit Lohani, convenor, Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), said, “The importers have issued with the time consumed at the point of entry. The food products which are positive or the ones which pass the tests should be cleared faster. Earlier, it was promised that risk-based analysis will take place at the point of entry but it is yet carried under pro rata basis.” 

“Actually the situation is very different on the ground. On an average, it takes around 15-20 days for clearance of an import consignment,” he added. 

Lohani also concluded that the importers are themselves supporting the establishment of the single-window clearance system at all levels.

New food norms to open up value-added market

According to the draft guidelines, 850-1,100 parts per million iron can now be added to salt to hike level of micronutrients

The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is drawing up guidelines on fortifying rice, milk, wheat flour, edible oil and salt.

Existing food standards require salt to be fortified with iodine. According to the draft guidelines circulated among stakeholders, 850-1,100 parts per million iron can now be added to salt to increase the level of micronutrients. The move acquires significance since it opens up the value-added market for branded commodity players.

The final guidelines will be released on October 16 during a special FSSAI food summit in Delhi. FSSAI’s Chief Executive Officer Pawan Kumar Agarwal said the guidelines would help address the issue of malnutrition. “This is the first step, there is more work we will do in this area,” he said.

Companies, scientists and researchers are expected to attend the two-day summit to discuss food fortification. “We will study the guidelines to see how we can come out with food that fits the requirements,” said S Nagarajan, managing director, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetables.

“We are working in the area of value-added or premium milk. So allowing for fortification in milk will boost this effort,” he added.

R S Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which manufactures the Amul brand of dairy products, welcomed the development.

The draft guidelines say toned, double toned or skimmed milk can be fortified with a minimum level of 770 international units of Vitamin A and 550 international units of Vitamin D. Edible oil can be fortified with 25 international units ofVitamin A and 4.5 international units of Vitamin D, while wheat flour or atta can contain at least 20 milligrams (mg) of iron, 1,300 micrograms (ug) of folic acid and 10 ug of Vitamin B-12.

“We will explore how we can fortify our products now that the final guidelines are ready. Food companies can now think of trading up with fortification,” said Anshu Malik, chief operating officer, Adani Wilmar, which manufactures the Fortune brand of edible oils.

Siraj Chaudhry, chairman, Cargill India, said companies now might have to build awareness among consumers of the need formicronutrients in food.

“Branded players consistently drove home the importance of iodine in salt, which helped in creating a market for it. Similarly, in other categories, there will be a need to build awareness,” he added.

India's next crude oil import saving plan, served from kitchen

Govt considering proposal to allow conversion of used cooking oil into biodiesel

Soon, the used cooking oil from restaurants such as McDonald’s, Subway, KFC and Haldiram’s could run your diesel vehicles.

If the Narendra Modi-led government has its way, the oil used to fry food items will be converted into biodiesel. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to come up with regulations on used cooking oil.

“We will rope in big food chains for collecting this usedcooking oil from them. A preliminary discussion with stakeholders in this industry was done earlier,” said a senior official from MNRE.

The final policy would be shaped only after FSSAI forms regulations for the quality, collection and usage of used cooking oil, said another official. The person added that both MNRE and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) have requested FSSAI and are awaiting for their response.

According to data by the Biodiesel Association of India, India uses 22 million tonnes of vegetable oil for cooking purpose. “After usage, the used cooking oil that India generates is 3-4 million tonnes. If these food chains give it to the biodiesel industry, it can earn them Rs 40-45 a litre,” said Sandeep Chaturvedi, president of BiodieselAssociation of India.

Used cooking oil can also be used by soap manufacturers, provided the policy is tweaked to allow this.

The roadblock before biodiesel companies to go ahead with this plan is the lack of any proper policy in the country. Currently, used cooking oil is a blacklisted item for both export and import. According to government instructions, cooking oil should not be used for more than three times.

According to biodiesel manufacturers, this may a profitable move for large cooking oil consumers such as restaurants. “If this happens, it will create a lot of feedstock for the biodiesel industry,” Chaturvedi added.

Currently, biodiesel is used for blending with diesel. It is part of the overall strategy by the Dharmedra Pradhan-led petroleum ministry to cut energy imports and carbon emissions. Currently, 2,500 fuel retail outlets in the country are using biodiesel for blending, while the Railways uses it for five per cent blending of diesel it consumes.

Currently, India’s dependence on oil & gas imports accounts for about 80 per cent of all petroleum products and 70 per cent of the total natural gas consumed. The Modi government has a target to cut imports by half by 2030. Last year, MoPNG permitted direct sale of biodiesel (B100) to bulk consumers such as railways, shipping and state road transport corporations.

Currently, the Railways is the largest consumer of diesel in India with annual consumption of 2.8 billion litres, out of which biodiesel blending comes to around five per cent. During the last financial year, the Railways consumed about 6,000 kilo litres of biodiesel. The Railways has invited tenders for procuring 50,000 kilo litres of biodiesel this year. 

“With 10 per cent blending, the Railways can save Rs 392 crore a year on fuel bill,” Chaturvedi added.

Chhena or Paneer are by products of milk. Chhena is a common ingredient in sweetmeats. Starch is a common adulterant in these ingredients, & can be detected using iodine solution