Keen on HYGIENE!

உடையார்பாளையத்தில் தடை செய்யப்பட்ட புகையிலை, காலாவதியான உணவு பொருட்கள் பறிமுதல்அதிகாரிகள் அதிரடி

ஜெயங் கொண் டம், நவ.18:

உடை யார் பா ளை யம் பேரூ ராட் சி யில் உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை ஆய் வில் ரூ.33 ஆயி ரம் மதிப் பி லான தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யிலை பொருட் கள் மற் றும் காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் கள் பறி மு தல் செய் யப் பட்டு அழிக் கப் பட் டன.

அரி ய லூர் மாவட் டம், உடை யார் பா ளை யம் பேரூ ராட்சி பகு தி யில் உள்ள பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட், கடை வீ தி க ளில் உள்ள உண வ கங் கள், டீக் க டை கள், மளிகை கடை கள், பேக் கரி மற் றும் இனிப் ப கங் கள் போன்ற பொருள் விற் பனை செய் யும் கடை க ளில் உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை யி னர் ஆய்வு மேற் கொண் ட னர். இந்த ஆய் வில் தமி ழக அர சால் தடை செய் யப் பட்ட பான் ம சாலா, குட்கா மற் றும் காலா வ தி யான குளிர் பா னங் கள், பிஸ் கட், உணவு பொருட் கள், மிட் டாய் கள் மற் றும் பிளாஸ் டிக் பைகள் பறி மு தல் செய் யப் பட் டன.

இந்த ஆய் வின் போது மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு அலு வ லர் கள் சிவக் கு மார், சசிக் கு மார், வெற் றி வேல் மற் றும் பேரூ ராட்சி செயல் அலு வ லர் பால மு ரு கன் ஆகி யோர் முன் னி லை யில் பணி யா ளர் களை கொண்டு பறி மு தல் செய் யப் பட்ட காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் கள் அழிக் கப் பட் டது. மேலும் இப் ப கு தி யில் இது போன்ற ஆய் வு கள் தொடர்ந்து நடை பெ றும் என வும் தெரி விக் கப் பட் டது.

சாதா உப்பை அயோடின் கலந்த உப்பு என விற்றால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை கலெக்டர் எச்சரிக்கை

நாகை, நவ. 18:

சாதா உப்பை அயோ டின் கலந்த உப்பு என விற் றால் கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும் என்று நாகை கலெக் டர் பழ னிச் சாமி எச் ச ரிக்கை விடுத் துள் ளார்.

இது பற்றி அவர் விடுத் துள்ள செய் திக் கு றிப்பு: ஆரோக் கி ய மான வாழ்க் கைக்கு அயோ டின் சத்து அவ சி யம். அயோ டின் சத்து பற் றாக் கு றை யால் அறி வுத் தி றன் குறை பாடு, மூளை வளர்ச்சி இல் லாமை, கரு கலை தல், ஊன முற்ற குழந்தை இறந்து பிறப் பது, முன் கழுத்து கழலை போன்ற குறை பா டு கள் ஏற் ப டு கி றது. உணவு பாது காப்பு மற் றும் தர நிர் ணய சட் டத் தின் படி உண விற் காக உற் பத்தி செய் யப் ப டும் உப் பில் 30 பி.பி.எம். அள விற்கு அயோ டின் இருக்க வேண் டும்.

ஒரு சில உப்பு உற் பத் தி யா ளர் கள் மற் றும் விற் ப னை யா ளர் கள் உணவு பாது காப்பு சட் டத் தில் இருந்து தப் பித்து கொள் வ தற் காக, போலி முக வ ரி யிட்ட உப்பு பாக் கெட் டு களை விற் ப னைக்கு விடு வ தை யும், பதப் ப டுத் தும் உப யோ கம் என குறிப் பிட்டு, சாதா உப்பை உண விற் காக விற் பனை செய் வ தும் நடக் கி றது. உண விற் காக விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டும் உப் பில் கட் டா யம் அயோ டின் கலந் து தான் விற் பனை செய்ய வேண் டும். ஒரு கிலோ, அரை கிலோ வடி வில் தயா ரிக் கப் ப டும் உப்பு பாக் கெட் டு கள் அனைத் தும் உண விற் கான உப் பாக மட் டுமே கணக் கில் எடுத் து கொள் ளப் பட்டு, சட்ட நட வ டிக்கை மேற் கொள் ள வும் உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை மற் றும் தொழி லா ளர் துறை அலு வ லர் க ளுக்கு உத் த ர வி டப் பட் டுள் ளது.

மேலும் உப்பு வியா பா ரி கள் அனை வ ரும் நுகர் வோர் நலன் கருதி அயோ டின் உப்பு வணி கத் தில் மட் டுமே ஈடு பட வேண் டும். சாதா உப்பை அயோ டின் கலந்த உப்பு என ஏமாற்று வணி கத் தில் ஈடு பட் டாலோ அல் லது பதப் ப டுத் தும் உப்பை ஒரு கிலோ வடி வில் விற் பனை செய் தாலோ சட் டப் படி நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும். இவ் வாறு கலெக் டர் தெரி வித் துள் ளார்.

Fortified food products: Cost, logistics major hurdles for use in govt schemes, says Pawan Kumar Agarwal

Key central ministries, depts present in meeting on ‘large-scale food fortification’.

While various central government ministries and state governments are eager to use fortified food products in their programs such as mid-day meal schemes, they are facing two major problems currently that are supply side logistics and additional cost burden, said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Thursday.

Fortification means deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients such as iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Iodine, etc, in a food product so as to improve its nutritional quality with minimal risk to health.

With Bill Gates as a special guest, a major meeting on “large-scale food fortification” was held at the FSSAI headquarters in Delhi on Thursday. Secretaries of eight key central ministries and departments – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Health Research (Indian Council for Medical Research), and Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries – were present in the meeting.

“The eight ministries and departments, and their secretaries, are all enthusiastic about it and want to adopt the fortification standards into their programs. However, most of them are facing two problems: first is supply side logistics and second is the additional costs. Both of these issues are interrelated. It is a chicken and egg situation,” Agarwal said.

On October 16, the FSSAI operationalised draft guidelines on fortification of five products — rice, salt, wheat flour, milk and edible oil. These guidelines, which were put in public domain on September 4 to invite comments and suggestions, set the minimum levels of micronutrients which should be added to these five products in order to be called ‘fortified’. FSSAI will issue the final guidelines soon as the 60-day time period for receiving public comments is already over.

“Different departments (and ministries) have done their own estimates for their own programs. We do not want to dispute those estimates, but their estimates are huge. For example, the estimates of Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) to procure fortified rice are huge… Their estimates mean the ballpark figure, which they have calculated and shared with us in a meeting a month ago for programs such as ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) scheme, were too high according to my sense,” Agarwal said.

Agarwal gave an example of price difference which was observed in fortified salt procurement programme recently in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. “When Rajasthan is putting out a tender for fortified salts, they get it for approximately Rs 12. However, Tamil Nadu government got the fortified salt for Rs 7. As you can see there is a huge difference in price due to demand and logistics,” he said.

Authorities raid kiosks near GMC

Panaji: Raids conducted in the vicinity of the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim, recently unearthed a huge consignment of cigarettes, beedis and tobacco being sold at kiosks outside the state’s premier healthcare institute.

The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) prohibits the sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution.

The raids were conducted by the Tiswadi taluka enforcement squad for COTPA, 2003. Inspections were carried out by joint mamlatdars, FDA officers and GOACANmembers in the presence of police personnel. Three cases under Section 6 of the Act and 10 under Section 4 were booked. Fines of 2,600 were collected, while 500 pouches of scented tobacco and a large number of Indian and foreign cigarette packs without proper pictorial warnings were seized.

Of the 14 kiosks that were inspected, five were found to be unlicenced.

A total of 48 sandwiches and 10 burgers were confiscated by food safety officers as they were found to be lacking proper, labelled declarations.

Arabian chicken dishes under lens in Kerala

Food Safety awaits results of samples from 35 eateries to take action

Shawarma being prepared in a hotel. 

KOZHIKODE: After complaints of unhygienic shawarma, tandoori and alfaham chicken sold at some of the food joints here, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India officials are closely monitoring shops selling these Arabian delicacies. They are awaiting results of samples taken from 35 eateries to take action. “It was few days’ back we fined Rs 1 lakh on a bakery for using old and tainted meat in Arabian dishes including shawarma,” said food safety assistant commissioner Sankaran Unni.

“The samples we collected the other day from this bakery were not fit for consumption. We have received complaints from the public that some eateries in the city are discreetly providing this." Despite having strict norms, food joints do not adhere to standards of safety and hygiene. “They prepare food and keep it in open areas, open to dust along the roadside. Though the sale of shawarma is not banned entirely, only those eateries which follow strict sanitation and food safety guidelines are allowed to sell it,” he said.

Human rights panel gets food safety audit report

KOCHI: The food safety department handed over a report to the Human Rights Commission on food adulteration on Tuesday. Over a two-year period, the food safety department had collected around 4,927 samples of which around 650 were found to be adulterated or substandard for consumption.

The reports and data regarding the same was handed over to the Human Rights Commission by the secretary of the food safety department at the behest of the commission following a complaint from human rights activist in Kochi.

Over 15 cooking oil brands, which were found to be adulterated, were banned. The report states that necessary legal actions had been taken against guilty parties. The report seeks to form a special squad to conduct regular raids at hotels, bakeries, juice stalls and thattukadas to ensure food safety .

The procedures for upgrading the analytical labs, under the food safety commissioner, to national standard and attaining accreditation are in the final stages of completion. As soon as the labs are fully equipped to national standards, analytical laboratories in the state would be able to independently analyse the samples collected in and around the jurisdiction of the department.

FSSAI to release packaged food fortification norms in 2 months

In talks with industry bodies and players

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 17: 

In a bid to promote large-scale food fortification in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working on standards for packaged food such a biscuits, curd, bread, which are likely to be released in the next two months.

The regulator had last month released the standards for staples such as milk, rice, oil, salt, wheat flour along with the logo, which companies can use in their labelling to indicate fortification.

“We are consulting with various industry bodies and industry players and working on for setting up standards for packaged food. It is a wide industry. We are in the process of understanding how fortification is defined internationally,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. He said the regulator is likely to come out with these standards in the next two months.

Resource centre opened

The FSSAI launched its Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC) in the presence of Bill Gates, along with secretaries of eight key Central ministries and other development partners.

The centre will provide technical support, advocacy and expertise on the supply side for industry players and demand side for consumers.

An online portal for FFRC was also launched. Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have committed their support to the food fortification initiatives.

Under FFRC, the food regulator, in partnership with development partners like Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will look at taking up demonstration projects to understand the costs and impact of fortified food in smaller regions, added Agarwal.

Joint awareness campaign

FSSAI is also looking to partner with industry players to create a joint campaign to create awareness about fortified food among consumers.

The CEO recently held meetings industry at Goa, Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

“Already the industry is very enthused and looking to come out with fortified products, which will be key to tackle malnutrition due to lack of micronutrients,” he added.

While Mother Dairy is the first company to launch fortified token milk, other companies such as Cargill, Tata Global Beverages, Future Group have also expressed their intentions to bring fortified products.

Agarwal said setting up standards and providing resources through FFRC is expected to help encourage industry players to bring in changes in food processing to be able to make fortified foods.

The Centre and its various departments as well as State governments are mulling to make fortification mandatory for procuring food staples and products for various public programmes such as mid-day meals.

“It’s an apt time for promoting large-scale fortification especially in staples. We are hoping that steps such as setting of standards and launching the logo will help encourage companies to come out with fortified foods as well as make consumers aware about the benefits. We are hoping these steps will help develop and encourage a supply side ecosystem and logistics, for suppliers and companies to come out with fortified food,” Agarwal added.

Meanwhile, FSSAI is also working out on standards for packaged spring water.

Food tech companies keen on fortification, says FSSAI

NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Thursday said that companies like Cargil, Future Group and Tata Global Beverages have shown interest in launching fortified food items to fight malnutrition.

Fortification means deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in food to improve its quality.

FSSAI, which has released standards for fortification of milk, salt, edible oil, wheat flour and rice as well as logo to be used by the food companies, is now making draft standards for packaged food items and the same will be released in the next two months. The standards have been set for fortification of salt with iodine and iron; of vegetable oil and milk with Vitamin A and D; wheat flour and rice with iron, folic acid, zinc, Vitamin B12, and other micronutrients.

Speaking on the steps taken to promote food fortification, FSSAI CEO Pankaj Kumar Agarwal said a special meeting on large scale food fortification was held in the presence of Bill Gates, Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and eight secretaries from various ministries, including health, food, HRD, food processing and women and child development.

The Gates Foundation and the Tata Trusts have jointly committed their support to this programme, Agarwal said, adding that a new website was launched on Thursday.

“I am encouraged by the government’s new initiatives to advance India’s nutrition goals... The foundation is committed to working with the government and other partners to help scale nutrition interventions that advance India’s nutrition goals,” Gates was quoted as saying in an FSSAI release.

Stating that the Ministry of Women and Child Development is considering making food fortification mandatory, Agarwal said this would “accelerate the process” but should be done in a phased manner with different timeline for each products. However, he emphasised that supply side needs to be strengthened, otherwise it would be difficult to enforce.

“Mother Dairy is fortifying its token milk. They are the first to use logo. While Cargill will launch its fortified edible oil, Tata Beverages has shown interest in fortified tea,” he said.

Having said that several states are at advanced stages of adopting fortified foods in government programmes, Agarwal said that the Future group will soon set up a food park near Bengaluru city and is also “very keen on fortification.”

Surprise inspection by FSO team, large quantity of contraband seized

Port Blair, Nov 17: As part of surprise inspection by a team of Food Safety officials constituted exclusively to search contraband products made surprise visits to various parts of Municipal area to check the sale of tobacco and/or nicotine products.

The inspection team led by Shri. Mammen Abraham, Designated Officer, Shri. A. Khalid, Shri. Tahseen Ali, Shri. R.V. Murugaraj and Shri. S.S. Santhosh, Food Safety Officers alongwith Shri. S. Rajendran and Shri. Ravi Kumar, Helpers attached to Food Safety Unit, South Andaman searched upon on certain Food Business Operators(FBOs) on clear vigilance inputs received on 16/11/2016.

It is learnt that the FBOs are selling contraband products illegally on exorbitant prices to select customers. The raiding team have seized large quantities of contraband products from the FBOs viz. S/Shri. Ashraf, M/s Majestic Pan Shop & Cool Drink, Aberdeen Bazar, A.M. Murugan, M/s Murugan Pan Shop, Bathu Basthi, P. Selvaraj, M/s Selvaraj Pan Shop, Garacharama, K. Ishaq, M/s Ishaq Pan Shop beside Majestic Pan Shop, Aberdeen Bazar and M. Devendar Rao, M/s Ananda Pan Shop C/o Ananda Restaurant, Aberdeen Bazar and legal proceeding have already been initiated under relevant Rules and Regulations under Food Safety & Standards Act’2006. The market value of the seized items are worth Rs.4000/- approximately.

The Food Business Operator(FBO) have violated by keeping the banned tobacco products in their custody under Food Safety Act’2006. The FBOs are being compounded u/s 26(2)(iv), 26(3) and 27(2)(e) which is punishable u/s 55 and 58 of FSS Act’2006.

Further all the food business operators are hereby once again warned not to stock, sale or distribute contraband products under ban throughout the A&N Islands and if seized/recovered from their possession action deemed fit under Rules shall be initiated under FSS Act.