Oct 19, 2016
Maggi Tormentor FSSAI Checks on Hotels
New Delhi: Controversies such as the temporary ban on Nestle's Maggi instant noodles appear to have had a bearing on the hospitality sector, with the food regulator stepping up inspections of hotels and restaurants to assess compliance with safety norms.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has increased its surprise checks and audits on hotels, restaurants and caterers to check hygiene levels and food quality .
Even five-star hotels are under the scanner and have had food safety officials carry out surprise inspections of their restaurants, hoteliers and restaurateurs said.
“The number of checks has gone up. We have had recent surprise checks in our hotel in Gurgaon and east Delhi and even in locations like Hyderabad and Indore to check the quality of food,“ said Rajeev Janveja, corporate chef at Lemon Tree Hotels.
Food safety has been in public focus since last year, when FSSAI banned the sale of Nestle's Maggi noodles in the country for containing contaminants, although the order was eventually revoked.Nestle maintained at the time that the product was safe.
“After the Maggi issue, the FSSAI has become really active. There are a lot of surprise audits and raids being conducted at five-star restaurants with food safety officers visiting to check inventory, processes, hygiene levels and the licence to operate. A lot of hotels and QSRs (quick service restaurants) are under the scanner of the regulator,“ said Vinay Garodiya, executive director, fraud investigation and dispute services at EY.
The FSSAI, which operates under the health ministry, is required to regulate and monitor the manufacture, processing, distribution, sale and import of food so as to ensure safe and wholesome food. Its tasks include the licensing and registration of food business. The regulator did not immediately respond to an email from ET seeking comment.
“There can be massive adulteration in the packaged products that we buy and it's in everybody's interest to comply with these checks,“ said a restaurateur on condition of anonymity.
“Large hotel players were never this worried about food safety until now but going ahead they will have to think aloud on this subject. Till now, food safety has been managed by a particular chef in a facility and there needs to be a central team which monitors end-to-end food safety compliance and standards,“ Garodiya added.
Somnath Dey, executive assistant manager for food and beverages at the Hyatt Regency, Delhi, said the FSSAI has always been a vigilant and well-respected body that checks regularly on food quality and ensures the highest of standards in its kitchens.
“We have always welcomed their inspections, which are conducted on a regular basis, particularly when we have heads of state or other VIPs staying,“ he said.
AccorHotels said these audits happen from time to time and there has been no surge in their frequency at its properties in the recent past.
Restaurateur Marut Sikka credited the FSSAI with doing a good job and said the quality and standard of checks have improved. “The number of FSSAI licences have gone up as FSSAI licences do away with a lot of pre-requisites. So the checks could have also gone up as a result of the number of licences going up,“ he said.
The food regulator ordered Nestle in June last year to withdraw its Maggi noodles after tests showed samples of the product contained monosodium glutamate and excessive levels of lead.
The ban was lifted after the Bombay High Court revoked the FSSAI order on August 13 last year.
FBO urged to meet Food Safety Standards Regulations
Further, the Department urges all the owners of Bakery and Sweetmeat manufacturers and Bakery and Sweetmeat shops of A&N Islands to maintain strict personal hygiene, cleanliness and also wear proper dress code during business hours. The Food Business Operators are also advised to adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Hygiene Practices. Any laxity during inspection will invite legal action under the relevant sections of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Stale food row: GSHRC tells govt not to pay caterer
Panaji: In the wake of police personnel on BRICS duty falling ill after consuming stale food, the Goa State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) on Tuesday directed the government to withhold payments to contractor Amonkar Classic Caterers, Bicholim, pending inquiry into the entire episode.
“Prima facie, it appears that there is a major food scam of 51,60,000 pertaining to substandard and rotten meals that were served to the police personnel deployed at the just-concluded 2016 BRICS summit in Goa,” the commission stated while directing the chief secretary to submit an interim report within 10 days.
“We feel that it is an appropriate case and interim directions should be issued to the chief secretary to conduct a thorough investigation and fix responsibility on defaulting officials,” the commission stated, adding, “It is reported that the meals for the police personnel were prepared in an open place owned by the police department near the Verna police petrol pump next to the Verna church cemetery and roadside labourers were engaged in cooking the substandard food in the most unhygienic conditions. Water was stored in open, plastic barrels and the same water was used for cooking.”
The advocate representing respondent No. 1, the chief secretary, produced a copy of the order conveying government sanction for incurring an expenditure of 51,60,000 towards supply of food packets and refreshments from Amonkar Classic Caterers to 5,000 police personnel who were deployed from October 14 to 17.
The advocates for both respondent No. 1 and respondent No. 2, the director general of police, sought time to file their replies, which the commission granted.
An application was filed on Tuesday by advocate Aires Rodrigues, who placed on record copies of various newspaper clippings, including The Times of India’s report titled, BRICS: 2 cops fall ill after stale dinner’.
A hearing has been scheduled for November 2.
Tracking hygiene: FSSAI steps up compliance check
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has increased its surprise checks and audits on hotels, restaurants and caterers to check hygiene levels and food quality.
NEW DELHI: Controversies such as the temporary ban on Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles appear to have had a bearing on the hospitality sector, with the food regulator stepping up inspections of hotels and restaurants to assess compliance with safety norms.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has increased its surprise checks and audits on hotels, restaurants and caterers to check hygiene levels and food quality.
Even five-star hotels are under the scanner and have had food safety officials carry out surprise inspections of their restaurants, hoteliers and restaurateurs said.
“The number of checks has gone up. We have had recent surprise checks in our hotel in Gurgaon and east Delhi and even in locations like Hyderabad and Indore to check the quality of food,” said Rajeev Janveja, corporate chef at Lemon Tree Hotels.
Food safety has been in public focus since last year, when FSSAI banned the sale of Nestle’sMaggi noodles in the country for containing contaminants, although the order was eventually revoked.
Nestle maintained at the time that the product was safe. “After the Maggie issue, the FSSAI has become really active. There are a lot of surprise audits and raids being conducted at five-star restaurants with food safety officers visiting to check inventory, processes, hygiene levels and the licence to operate.
A lot of hotels and QSRs (quick service restaurants) are under the scanner of the regulator,” said Vinay Garodiya, executive director (fraud investigation and dispute services) at EY.
Hoaxers in Kerala hatch ‘toxic Chinese egg’ scare
TAMPER-PROOF: The hoax over ‘Chinese eggs’ has affected availability in Kerala.
Fears of plastic in eggs dispelled by laboratories in the State, but BJP wants samples tested at Central units
It has been a great egg scare in Kerala after hoaxers floated the theory that eggs sold in supermarkets in the State were not natural and actually came from Chinese factories full of toxins and plastic.
The ‘Chinese eggs’ scare gained ground over the past few days after Malayalam media in Idukki and Ernakulam districts and television channels reported on these ‘lethal’ imports.
Social media overflowed with warnings. In reality, however, there were no imported eggs, and the ones in the markets had come as usual from Namakkal in Tamil Nadu.
Malayalam trolls rode on public fears, sharing hilarious cartoons. One widely shared WhatsApp meme featured a drunk rooster asking its female partner how Chinese eggs had entered the scene.
TV channels interviewed ‘customers’ — some of whom, it turned out, were BJP workers — who staged displays showing a ‘plastic membrane’ covering the yolk, visible after breaking the shell.
As the scare spread, Luca, an online magazine from the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), published an article rejecting the ‘artificial eggs’ theory. Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy, Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations Environment Programme, posted on Facebook repudiating the ‘fake eggs’ tale, and KSSP president, Dr. K.P. Aravindan, lamented the gullibility of the mainstream media and lack of scientific thinking.
Public concern forced food safety officials to test samples. The Centre for Advanced Studies in Poultry Science under the Veterinary and Animal Sciences University found that they were normal eggs from Namakkal.
Yet, the BJP wants more. “We have sent samples to the Regional Analytical Laboratory at Kakkanad and plan to send some to the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, to check for hormones, antibiotics and steroids,” said P. Sivasankaran, joint convenor, BJP media cell.
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