Mar 31, 2017
Surprise raid by Commissioner Food Safety, huge contraband products recovered
Port Blair, Mar 30: The enforcement officials of Food Safety under the direct supervision of Commissioner Food Safety conducted surprise raids at various places in South Andaman District and recovered huge quantities of contraband tobacco products from shopkeepers as well as general public.
On 05.03.2017, one Shri. Sanjay Kumar was caught with 2.5 kg of tobacco products. On 14.03.2017, one Shri. M. Mukund Rao R/o Hut Bay had been caught with 9 packets of zarda.
In another incident on 15.03.2017, PS, Hut Bay seized 40 packets (each ½ kg) from Shri. Aftab Alam R/o Ongi Tikrey. On an information passed through CCS, Port Blair a parcel was recovered from Head Post Office, Port Blair belonging to Shri.B.S.Rao with 150 gms and 200 gms of tobacco products. Again on 18.03.2017, Shri. Alauddin Sekh and Shri. Manurul Gazi R/o Junglighat caught red handed with 40 kg of tobacco leafs at VSI Airport on arrival from Kolkata. Further, on 20/03/2017 as per an information received on the arrival of tobacco products, food safety officials and police personnel, CCS, Port Blair approached the courier agency M/s Andaman Express, Goalghar. The packages were inspected and confirmed the arrival of 3 packages of clothes basically saris including 608 pouches of zarda as the items were not claimed by anyone. On the same day the FSO, Hut Bay had caught a fisherwomen Smt. Narasamma for selling prepared panand seized 22 prepared from her possession and also from Shri. Raja Kumar in possession of 40 Nos. prepared pan. Similarly, on 29/03/2017 PS, Chatham handed over 21 tins and 200 pouches of zarda from one Shri.B.Suryanarayana, R/o Dairyfarm.
In all the above seizures, the department is taking appropriate action under Food Safety & Standards Act’2006. During the month of March’2017 17 accused were imposed penalty for selling contraband tobacco products and a sum of Rs. 2,27,000/- was recovered as fine.
Further, the general public as well as business communities are requested not to involve in the trade of contraband tobacco products and if any information is available with them may be communicated to Mobile No. 9434280018 of Commissioner Food Safety or telephone No. 03192-231024(Food Safety Section) or 1070 (Toll Free).
Meat shop owners find guidelines too tough to follow
Meat shop owners staged a protest outside the district magistrate’s office on Thursday and said that the new guidelines are difficult for them to follow owing to cash constraints.
Meat shop owners in Ghaziabad, who are currently on a strike, approached district administration officials on Thursday and sought their help in relaxing the conditions set by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Two days ago, the district officials had set up a single window where meat shop owners are to apply for licences to continue operations.
It is estimated that nearly 500 shops in Ghaziabad have been affected by the crackdown of the Uttar Pradesh government on illegal slaughterhouses. The local shops, which operated until now without licences from Ghaziabad municipal corporation, had remained shut for the last three days.
“We have to apply online and follow a number of guidelines which we fail to understand as we are uneducated. We have been operating for decades and don’t know any other trade or business. We have been asked to apply for licences and also to follow guidelines. But we are finding it hard and our earnings have been affected,” said Bablu Qureshi, a meat shop operator in Raj Nagar.
“We have also lent our support to the cause of small shop owners whose businesses have been affected. Only the bigger licensed slaughterhouses will benefit as they can easily meet the conditions. The poor shop owners will not be able to do so and may will have to permanently shut businesses,” said Hari Dutt Jatav, a former councillor.
Under the many conditions for operations listed under Schedule IV of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business), Regulations of 2011, the shop owners will not be able to slaughter animals at shops and will have to maintain hygiene apart from making arrangements for procuring meat from licensed slaughterhouses.
“We are on the verge of losing our decades-old businesses. We always supported the government’s efforts to nail illegal slaughtering. For the past three years, our licences were not renewed but we were allowed to operate. Now, we come to know that the guidelines have to be adhered to. These are too difficult for us to comply with. If there is no relaxation, we will resort to a hunger strike,” said Jameel Qureshi, another shop owner.
District magistrate Nidhi Kesarwani had already said that shop owners will have to follow the guidelines laid down and apply for licences at the single window system opened at the municipal corporation and nagar palikas.
Meat sellers in Noida, Ghaziabad seek permission to run shops
NOIDA: A group of meat traders on Thursday protested outside the city magistrate's office in Sector 19 demanding a review of the decision to close meat shops in the district.
Backed by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the traders said that the recent crackdown has affected the livelihood of hundreds of people involved in the business. Last week, the food safety and drug administration (FSDA) department had said that all meat shops in the district were running illegally as shop owners had not obtained licences.
The traders protested for nearly one hour and demanded that the administration set up a government owned slaughterhouse and grant permission to traders to sell meat. "Since the new government came to power, the Noida police shut down many shops. Some meat traders shut down shops on their own fearing threat and intimidation. Our livelihood is at stake. This has created a serious issue. Most of us have been rendered jobless," said Mateen Quraishi, a meat shopkeeper.
The protesters said that due to the atmosphere of fear, chicken and fish shops have also vanished. The shops located in villages like Chowda, Nithari, Barolla, Sadarpur, etc are also facing the same problem. The traders submitted a memorandum to the officials of Noida Authority and the district magistrate via the city magistrate.
Ramanuj Singh, city magistrate, Noida said that some meat shop owners had met him over the issue. "There is no licenced slaughterhouse in Noida. We will talk to the senior officials of Noida authority and administration and issue licences to sell fish, chicken, etc," he said
In Ghaziabad, the district administration officials said that nearly 50 persons have applied for licences over the past few days following the crackdown .
"They have deposited the requisite fees with the district administration against challans after applying online on the website of Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The documents required from the applicants in original will have to be submitted within 15 days of having filled in the application forms online. The documents will be examined by the Food Safety Officer of the district who will decide on the selection of licences on the basis of eligibility conditions fulfilled. After obtaining a no-objection certificate from the administration, the applicants have to apply to other departments including the local municipal bodies," district magistrate Nidhi Kesarwani told TOI.
According to the food safety department, licence holders will have to adhere to a detailed set of guidelines that are contained in Schedule IV of FSSAI. "For practical purposes, we are also preparing a list of the guidelines in layman's language in Hindi," chief food inspector, Dr Ajay Jaiswal, told TOI.
For clean and safe street food
Food Safety and Standard Authority of India and Coca-Cola India (CCI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to train 50,000 street food vendors under FSSAI’s project ‘Clean Street Food’ across India over next three years.
In order to ensure safe and nutritious food for all, FSSAI has now embarked on a journey with large global and Indian corporates about social impact investment around areas related to safe and nutritious food.
The partnership will further strengthen FSSAI’s vision to ensure health, hygiene and safety standard of street food for all; along with ensuring social and economic upliftment of street vendor community by helping them in improving quality of offerings.
The MoU, signed by Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI and Venkatesh Kini, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, seeks to contribute extensively to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s skill India initiative as well as vision of a healthy India.
As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola India, will closely work with FSSAI in upgrading the eating out experience for the Indian populace at large. While Coca-Cola will be responsible for the program execution through its network of trainers and available infrastructure, FSSAI will ensure the relevance of the training content and shall oversee the overall delivery.
While addressing the press conference, CEO, FSSAI said, “I am delighted to see that corporates are taking up the responsibility to ensure safe and nutritious food across the country under FSSAI’s “Safe and Nutritious Food – A shared responsibility”.
Under the partnership, the program will be rolled out in phased manner with the first leg to be initiated by mid-April in Ludhiana, Punjab. Over the next three years, it plans to expand to 14 other locations through bottling plant network of Coca-Cola India covering 9 states (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR).
A push on food safety and hygiene was provided during Eighth National Street Food Festival, 2016 where vendors representing 24 states across India were trained.
FDA, Goa in association with Nestle adopted the project, where about 700 street food vendors were trained during its first phase. Similarly, Sadik Masih Medical Social Servant Society (SMMSSS) is one of the NGOs to take up the project in east Delhi in association with European Commission and Action Aid India.
Mar 30, 2017
FSSAI performance comes under CAG scanner
The CAG audit of FSSAI comes in the backdrop of the food regulator’s controversial Maggi ban in 2015 under the helm of former chief Yudhvir Singh Malik
New Delhi: In a first, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is doing a comprehensive performance audit of the country’s food regulator.
The audit of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) comes against the backdrop of the food regulator’s controversial decision to ban manufacturing and sales of Maggi noodles—a popular snack sold by Swiss company Nestle in India—in 2015 under the helm of former FSSAI chief executive Yudhvir Singh Malik.
CAG’s audit is looking at issues such as how FSSAI fixes standards, finalizes regulations, approves products, ensures compliance and conducts surveillance.
“This is a fairly comprehensive audit and is being done for the first time since the regulator came into existence,” said a government official requesting anonymity.
FSSAI was set up in August 2011 under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006. It has powers to lay down standards for food articles and to regulate their manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and import. Some of its activities include licencing and surveillance of food and beverages outlets, enforcement of safety regulations across registered food vendors and ensuring safety of imported food items, their standards and labelling.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of FSSAI, confirmed the development.
“This started last year and the exit meeting is likely sometime next month. After that, CAG will submit its report to the Parliament. And it’ll be made available to public. Not just FSSAI, the audit includes the food safety offices of the states. This is not a matter of concern. Rather, what comes out of the report will help us in improving our work,” Agarwal said.
A CAG spokesperson said: “A performance audit of FSSAI is being done. No date has been yet decided for the exit meeting.” He declined to elaborate further.
Performance auditing is focused on improving good performance in public administration by examining whether public programmes and services achieve the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and identifying conditions or practices that hamper performance and enable the auditor to make suitable recommendations, according to CAG’s website.
Malik, who came down hard on most of the multinational food and beverages companies operating in India during his short tenure of about a year (October 2014-September 2015), was shifted a month after the Bombay high court overturned the ban on Maggi.
After the crackdown on Maggi, questions were raised on FSSAI’s capabilities and operations including things like product approval process, one of the primary things the regulator used to do. The Bombay high court in July 2015 asked FSSAI to justify its actions against the noodle brand. On 13 August 2015, the Bombay high court set aside the ban imposed by FSSAI on Maggi noodles and asked Nestlé to retest samples at three laboratories certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). On 5 November, Nestlé India said its Maggi noodles received clearance from three laboratories certified by NABL and relaunched the popular snack on 9 November 2015.
“An audit like this will eventually help the organization enhance its performance. It would find out the loopholes, highlight what the regulator should do to cover up those. It is a good thing,” said Rajat Wahi, partner and head of consumer markets at consulting firm KPMG in India. He added there are questions regarding FSSAI’s capabilities and whether it has the capacity to ensure safe food for a country as big as India with its limited manpower. “Nobody knows if the laboratories it has are sufficient and capable of carrying out testing,” he said.
Training of hoteliers for food safety begins at Pune, Nagpur
MUMBAI: Hotels and restaurants association, western India (HRAWI) with the help of FSSAI and food business operators has already begun training people. In its first leg, the association has successfully concluded the certification programmes at Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur and plans to conduct similar programmes in various cities across Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu & Silvassa in the coming months.
"The sessions in Mumbai and Pune turned out to be very successful. It was interesting to note that many hotels and restaurants were aware of the rules and regulations but weren't sure about how exactly to action on them. With Dr V Pasupathy to guide and help them, a lot of queries got addressed and we now have a solution to the grey areas. The sessions include role plays which have helped us to a large extent in understanding how the things may practically unfold once we are on the floor. We are certain that this exercise will benefit our members tremendously and will make them better equipped to become compliant. Also this will go a long way in instilling trust and confidence in our discerning guests who will be able to easily identify with the International Standards that they may have experienced anywhere else in the world," concludes Mr Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Sr. Vice President, HRAWI.
Activist slams Coca-Cola's hygiene training for street vendors
New Delhi, Mar 29 Criticising the move by India's food regulator to join hands with Coca-Cola to teach street vendors about hygiene, a green body today said the contract should be cancelled as it was against the country's interests
New Delhi, Mar 29 Criticising the move by India's food regulator to join hands with Coca-Cola to teach street vendors about hygiene, a green body today said the contract should be cancelled as it was against the country's interests.
"First, we as citizens of India have the right to know on what basis this contract was allotted to Coca-Cola. Given their past record how did this corporation be given the contract?" said Vandana Shiva, founder of 'Navdanya' under Mahila Anna Swaraj Network.
She alleged that given Coca-Cola's track record of pollution, contamination, water theft, food un-safety, and blatant transgression of Indian environmental laws, it does not qualify to teach Indians about Food Safety.
"We know this is an egregious step taken under corporate pressure by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Far from bringing food safety, this will ruin the diversity of India's street foods and will victimise the honest small street vendors of India, who for generations have been giving us taste and health," said Shiva.
Food regulator FSSAI recently tied up with Coca-Cola India to train 50,000 street food vendors over the next three years and plans to rope in other players like ITC and Mondelez under its 'Clean Street Food' campaign.
FSSAI is also looking to bring other companies such as Yum Restaurants, and tetra pak under the project. The regulator had collaborated with FMCG major Nestle to train street vendors in Goa last year.
FSSAI under fire for Coca-Cola alliance
The move to rope in Coca-Cola by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for imparting training to street vendors to ensure safe and nutritious food has run into a rough weather as activists have raised their eyebrows over the initiative.
Dubbing the food regulator's partnership antithetical to its mission, Amit Srivastava of IndiaResource Centre said, "The step is misguided and must be scrapped. The FSSAI should not enter into partnerships with entities it is supposed to regulate as it ensures conflicts of interest."
"It is now widely recognised around the world that vast majority of Coca-Cola products are neither safe nor nutritious and Coca-Cola is the least qualified company to provide input on food safety and healthy nutrition," said Srivastava, who has been spearheading a global campaign against the soft drink major over exploitative usage of groundwater.
"Coca-Cola is a gross violator in India and remained the target of many communities for creating water shortages and pollution," he added.
Noted environmentalist Vandana Shiva has also condemned the FSSAI's contract with Coca-Cola and other MNCs to teach Indian street vendors about hygiene and food safety. "Given Coca-Cola track record of contamination, water theft, blatant transgression of Indian environmental laws in the past and expulsions from the country, they are not even qualified to teach Indians about food safety. We request FSSAI chairman to cancel the contract as this is against India's interests and unjustly imposes industrial standards on small scale vendors, artisanal producers and women," Shiva said.
Mar 29, 2017
Mukul for stringent food safety requirements
SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said processing and packaging of food should conform to stringent food safety requirements and brand building should revolve around high-end products, which should be exclusive and unique to the State.
Attending the valedictory function of the two-day state-level workshop on business opportunities in food processing, packaging and tourism under National Mission on Food Processing here on Tuesday, the chief minister urged the entrepreneurs to look at the options available in agriculture, horticulture, tourism and industries and become successful entrepreneurs with dedication, hard work, sincerity and innovation.
Sangma said the workshop is important and relevant for Meghalaya and for the youth who are looking at entrepreneurship.
A.L Hek, chairman of Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation, said the State is home to a number of temperate and sub-tropical fruits and vegetables that have potential in food processing and will also generate employment in rural areas.
He said the unemployed youth in the State needs handholding and urged the Department of Commerce and Industry to help them explore the potentials in food industry and tourism.
Promotional schemes and policies for horticultural products, management of food processing enterprises, bamboo as source of health food and nutrition, food safety standards authority of Indian Act, exploring the nature and traditional knowledge for business with focus on Meghalaya, flexible packaging materials, promotional schemes and policies for development of tourism and convergence of schemes by various resource persons were the topics discussed during the two-day workshop that was attended by entrepreneurs from all over the State.
Call for hygienic food
The A’chik Youth Council has written to Health and Family Welfare Minister Roshan Warjri through the deputy commissioner of West Garo Hills urging her to send samples of fish, fruits and vegetables brought from outside the State to the laboratory to ensure safety.
The youth council also sought ban on use of newspapers for wrapping food items in the unorganised food sector as per the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India.
Ghaziabad will start issuing online licences to meat shops
Nearly 152 shops have been closed for want of licences, indulging in open slaughtering and not maintaining hygiene conditions.
The district administration has decided to start issuance of licences from Wednesday. However, the food safety department said all licences issued henceforth will adhere to guidelines laid down under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business), Regulations of 2011.
For the purpose, retailers will now be categorised as those having an annual turnover below Rs 12 lakh and those having an annual turnover above Rs 12 lakh. The officials said all details will have to be filled online on the website of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and submit documents, in hard copy, within 15 days to the local administration.
“For the purpose of submission of documents, we will set up a single window at the municipal corporation and nagar palikas where nodal officers for the respective departments will be available. After submission, proper checks will be carried out and thereafter the licences will be issued by the food safety department. Further, all the listed guidelines will have to be followed by the license holders,” said Nidhi Kesarwani, district magistrate (DM).
After the submission of documents, different departments such as the municipal corporation, food safety department, the police and the veterinary department will carry out checks before issuance of licences.
“The applicants will also have to disclose the source of procurement. There will be no open slaughtering permitted. The nearest procurement can be done from Ghazipur Market in Delhi or from the four units (export oriented) operational in Ghaziabad. The four units have consented to provide facility to cater to local demand,” DM added.
Nearly 152 shops have been closed for want of licences, indulging in open slaughtering and not maintaining hygiene conditions. The meat shop owners continued their second day of strike against the decision. The situation has also affected the business in Ghazipur poultry and fish market.
“Nearly 30-35% business has been affected since the crackdown began. We expect a major decline in sales due to Navratra, which has started,” said Mohammad Irfan Qureshi, a supplier from Ghazipur market in Delhi.
UP's meat market set to change forever after Yogi Adityanath's crackdown on industry
With abrupt closure of unlicensed meat shops in Noida, the city dwellers are buying meat at higher rates from the legal meat vendors.
The city saw major crackdown on unlicensed meat shops by police after the new chief minister Yogi Adityanath took charge.
The Times of Indiareported that nearly 1,000 illegal vendors were operating in Greater Noida, which now stand closed.
BP Kumar, who heads the civil administrative wing of the Noida Authority, told Firstpost that none of the meat shops were licensed by it.
“The District Magistrate’s office issues license to meat shops. The drive against the illegal ones is also conducted by them,” he said.
“Police officials came to my shop and told me to wind up business as I do not have license to sell meat,” says Rizwan, a meat seller in Sector 49 in Noida.
Rizwan, who is now vacating his makeshift shop, that he took on rent a couple of years ago, further said that not only the meat sellers but also the fish sellers were told to shut down their business.
“They came again to ensure that we followed the instructions. They checked if we still had stocks of fish and poultry in our shops,” he added.
The police department claimed that there was no dearth of meat in Noida, even after the closure of unlicensed shops, as there were licensed shops too.
“Most of the hundred meat shops in the jurisdiction of Noida and Greater Noida were found to be legal. The illegal ones were immediately sealed, but it has not caused any problem to the general public as they catered to few customers,” Dharmendra Singh, SSP Gautam Budh Nagar said to Hindustan Times.
Despite claims made by police department, buyers complain of high price of meat in licensed shops, as the unlicensed were seen as the cheaper places despite the fact that they did not adhere to many of the food safety standards laid by the ‘Food Safety Standards Act 2006’.
“We used to get chicken at Rs 200 per kilogram and mutton at Rs 400 per kilogram at the most, from the shops in our neighborhood,” says Pushpinder Singh, a resident of Barola village near sector 49 in Noida.
But he says that after the unlicensed shops were closed he went to a licensed meat shop, where he found that chicken was sold at Rs 240 and mutton at Rs 480 per kilogram respectively.
Shakeel Abbas, a worker in a licensed meat shop told Firstpost that the price of meat is higher in licensed shops due to high operating costs.
“Most of these shops have electricity run cold storages to stock meat. Moreover they have trained manpower at work. Most important factor of cost escalation is the location where these shops are functional,” he said.
Most of the licensed shops are in the community markets of various sectors in Noida, which are seen as posh localities in comparison to the slums and villages where unlicensed ones operated.
The unlicensed meat shops that operated in makeshift stalls or on the roadside had hardly any operating cost.
Many unlicensed meat sellers have now applied for permission for their shops, reports The Times of India.
As per norms these vendors have to apply for registration to the officer designated by the Food Safety Commissioner.
But many of these new applicants are unlikely to get permission as they cannot adhere to the food safety norms.
As per norms meat shops must be of concrete structure with adequate sanitation system, setting up of which costs a few lakhs of rupees, which most of them cannot afford.
The National Green Tribunal in the year 2015 imposed a ban on all illegal slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh and directed state authorities to ensure that there is proper regulation of meat shops.
But, it took Yogi Adityanath to become the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to ban the illegal meat shops that were seen as major health hazards in the state.
With most of the small players in the meat market wiped out the 100 or so licensed meat sellers are likely to gain control of the supply chain, changing the market forever.
All meat shops in Noida are illegal, says food safety department
The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration said on Monday that all meat shops in Noida and Greater Noida selling mutton, chicken, fish or buffalo meat are illegal. Most of these shops in the two cities have been shut in the past few days as they do not comply with the requisite conditions to operate.
Officials of the food safety and drug administration (FSDA) department maintain that all meat shops in the district were running illegally as they did not have a licence.
“Possessing a certificate of registration is irrelevant. They were never issued any licence as they did not fulfil the conditions mandatory to run a meat shop. We will soon begin the process of issuing licences to meat sellers who fulfil all norms,” said Mahendra Srivastava, designated officer for FSDA in Gautam Budh Nagar. FSDA is the licencing authority for selling meat in the district.
When asked how some meat shops are still operational in parts of Noida, he said,“We sealed all of them. If anyone has reopened their shop, we will take action against them.”
He added that the FSDA will be able to issue a licence only if the applicant shows them all the required documents, including a no-objection certificate (NOC).
“A NOC from the local authority (Noida or Greater Noida) is the first important document required to obtain a licence. If the authorities do not issue NOC, we cannot issue a licence,” said Srivastava.
However, the Noida and Greater Noida authorities, which act as municipal corporations in their respective areas, do not have a policy in place for meat shops.
“We are studying the policies of other municipal bodies on giving permissions for meat shops so that we can draft one for Noida and Greater Noida. As of now, we do not have any policy in place to be able to give permissions to meat shop owners,” said Deepak Agarwal, chief executive officer, Noida and Greater Noida authorities.
Officials of the district administration said around 80 meat shops operating in Noida’s sectors 5, 8, 9 and 70, in Noida were shut because they were not following the norms.
However, customers of such shops asked why the administration did not act earlier and had been allowing meat shops to run without a licence.
“Why did the police or the administration not act against these shops earlier if they were operating without fulfilling the conditions? The authorities should have ensured that only authorised shops were operating so that consumers got hygienic meat and chicken. It means the government is not concerned about people consuming meat from these illegal shops,” said Tikam Singh of Sector 27.
Some officials, who were not willing to go on record, said the previous state government did not give them the liberty to act against illegal meat shops.
“Now, the government orders are to shut down all illegal meat shops, so we are doing that,” said Srivastava.
Man posing as food inspector arrested for extorting money
The accused imposter has been booked and arrested by Agra police.
AGRA: Food safety and drug administration of Agra apprehended an imposter posing as food inspector who was extorting money from grocery-store and small food outlets in the city.
The arresting happened amid the ongoing FSDA raids especially on mutton shops, abattoirs and others. The accused imposter was identified as 42-year-old Sujan Singh.
Speaking to TOI, food safety officer Ajeet Singh said, "For last couple of weeks we were receiving inputs about a man claiming himself to be a food inspector and extorting money from shopkeepers."
"On Tuesday we caught him from Bundu Katra area on Gwalior road on a tip from local grocery store owners while he was extorting money. During questioning, the man claimed himself to be attached with commissioner office which was also found to be false," said officer Singh.
Resident of Shahganj, the accused imposter was reportedly found extorting money from Jaipur house, Lohamandi, Sadar and other areas.
The accused imposter has been booked and arrested by Sadar police.
Chennai temple offers burgers, brownies as prasad
Prasadam does not consist of the traditional laddoos or pedhas in this Chennai temple. This little temple in Padappai, a suburb on the outskirts of Chennai has been replaced with fast food. The Jaya Durga Peetham in Chennai offers brownies, burgers, cherry tomato salads and cracker sandwiches. The fast food at the temple is also certified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) and products come with an expiry date. The western prasad is not the only thing that the temple offers differently, but the service is also trendy. Visitors have to slip token into the vending machine to collect boxes of their prasadam.
K Sri Sridhar, a herbal oncologist, who was the brains behind the idea said that the new menu has sparked interest among locals as well as tourists. Talking about the American prasadam he said, “The idea was to show that anything that is nutritious and prepared in a clean kitchen with a clean mind can be served to God. It doesn’t have to be only traditional dishes.”
Not only prasad, the temple delivers cake prasadam to locals on their birthday. They have a computerised register of their birth dates and delivers cake prasadam to people on their birthday. The concept has become a huge hit among elderly devotees who feels special to be treated differently. 81-year-old Subbulakshmi was elated when she received a cake prasadam on her birthday. Times of India quoted Subbulakshmi as saying, “It was so pretty with flowers and icing. And it came with an agar deepam (a traditional oil lamp) instead of candles which was so nice. Just like they light at the temple. When we set up the temple we thought we should give Gods the food we relish.”
சுகாதாரமற்à®± ஓட்டல்களுக்கு நோட்டீஸ்: உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துà®±ை எச்சரிக்கை
சேலம்: தாரமங்கலம் பஸ் ஸ்டாண்டில், சுகாதாà®° சீà®°்கேடு நிà®±ைந்த இரு ஓட்டல்களுக்கு, நோட்டீஸ் வழங்கி, உணவுபாதுகாப்பு அலுவலர்கள் எச்சரித்துள்ளனர்.
சேலம் à®®ாவட்ட உணவு பாதுகாப்பு நியமன அலுவலர் அனுà®°ாதா தலைà®®ையில், நேà®±்à®±ு தாரமங்கலம் பகுதியில், சோதனை à®®ேà®±்கொள்ளப்பட்டது. பஸ் ஸ்டாண்டு, காய்கறி கடைகள், ஓட்டல்கள், பள்ளிக்கூட பகுதி கடைகள் உள்ளிட்ட நிà®±ுவனங்களில் அலுவலர்கள் இளங்கோவன், சரவணன், சிரஞ்சீவி, à®®ாà®°ியப்பன் ஆகியோà®°் கொண்ட குà®´ுவினர், சோதனையில் ஈடுபட்டனர். மதியம், 2:30 மணிக்கு துவங்கிய சோதனை, இரவு, 7:00 மணிவரை நடந்தது. பஸ் ஸ்டாண்டில், சுகாதாà®° சீà®°்கேடு நிà®±ைந்து, à®®ோசமாக காணப்பட்ட à®®ாயாபஜாà®°் என்à®±, இரு ஓட்டல்களுக்கு நோட்டீஸ் வழங்கி எச்சரிக்கப்பட்டது.
நியமன அலுவலர் அனுà®°ாதா கூà®±ியதாவது: தடை செய்யப்பட்ட, 7,500 à®°ூபாய் மதிப்பிலான புகையிலை பொà®°ுட்கள் பறிà®®ுதல் செய்யப்பட்டன. à®®ேலுà®®், காலாவதியான à®…à®°ை லிட்டர் அளவுள்ள, 120 பாட்டில் குளிà®°்பானங்கள், போலி குளிà®°்பான பாக்கெட்டுகள் பறிà®®ுதல் செய்யப்பட்டன. பதிவுச்சான்à®±ு அல்லது உரிமம் பெà®± நிà®±ுவனங்களுக்கு à®…à®±ிவுà®±ுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது. இல்லையெனில், சட்ட நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படுà®®் என, எச்சரிக்கை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவ்வாà®±ு அவர் கூà®±ினாà®°்.
Mar 28, 2017
Ethylene sachet from China, the new ripening agent
Fruits ripened using ethylene powder can trigger gastritis, ulcer and cancer
For the first time in Coimbatore, the officials of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have detected the use of ethylene sachets made in China as ripening agent for fruits. The officials seized one such sachet during a raid conducted in a fruit market in the city on Monday.
According to FSSAI officials, ethylene in powder form is seized for the first time here. While ethylene gas can only be used in chambers meant for fruit ripening, the sachet does not require a chamber.
“Ethylene gas is a fruit ripening agent permitted by the FSSAI. The sachet seized on Monday had ethylene in powder form. The powder sachet helps to ripen fruits overnight when placed inside the carton. We are yet to get any clue of the source of the ethylene sachet with the wordings ‘Made in China’ printed on it” said O.L.S. Vijay, designated officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore. In August 2016, FSSAI had made amendments to Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, to include ethylene gas as ripening agent for fruits. Dr. Vijay said the use of ethylene as ripening agent in fruits can cause serious health issues as in the case of calcium carbide.
“Regular consumption of fruits ripened using ethylene powder can trigger gastritis, ulcer, neurological disorders and cancer,” said Dr. Vijay.
A food safety official also complained of headache and giddiness after spending time inside a godown from where 10 kg of calcium carbide was seized during the raid.
Five tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes seized
O.L.S. Vijay (second left), designated officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore, during a raid in a fruit market in the city on Monday
They were ripened using calcium carbide and ethylene powder
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials, on Monday, seized five tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes and 500 kg of sapodilla (sapota) from wholesale and retail traders in the city.
The fruits were ripened using calcium carbide and ethylene powder. FSSAI designated officer O.L.S. Vijay led the raid.
FSSAI officials said that the artificially ripened mangoes and sapodilla were seized from 15 retailers and two wholesale dealers at Karuppa Gounder street and Ukkadam fruit market.
While three tonnes of mangoes were seized from two warehouses at Karuppa Gounder street, two tonnes were seized from fruit market in Ukkadam. The value of the seized fruits will come to the tune of Rs. 5 lakh. Officials also seized 10kg calcium carbide from one of the warehouses.
The seized mangoes were of most sought-after varieties like Alphonso, Malgova , and Banganappalli. They were being sold for prices between Rs. 100 and Rs. 150 per kg, said officials.
“Usually raids for artificially ripened mangoes are carried out in April and May. This year the raids were advanced following specific information,” said food safety officer K. Chandran.
The seized fruits were handed over to persons in charge at the biogas plant functioning inside Vellalore dumpyard.
Four years of pesticide surveillance pays off
KOCHI: People in Kerala are consuming vegetables and fruits with lesser pesticide residues in the last couple of years, thanks to the initiatives of state departments of agriculture and food safety departments.
According to agriculture department officials, in the last four years, there has been a reduction in the percentage of pesticide contamination. The total percentage of contamination has come down from 18 per cent in 2013 to eight per cent in 2016. "These figures are based on the concept of presence of pesticide residue rather than magnitude, quantity or toxicity. We went by the simple principle that the pesticide should not be present in it," said Dr Thomas Biju Mathew, project coordinator and head, Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory (PRAAL), College of Agriculture, Vellayani.
He said that highest quantum of pesticide residues were seen in chillies, mint, coriander, curry leaves, leafy vegetables, carrots and cauliflower.
"One of the most important lessons that people learnt was to cultivate something of their own in their backyard.When we started off, almost 75% of the produce came from outside the state.Now this has come down drastically ," he added.
However, the concern remains over the contamination seen in condiments and spices. The samples were collected from the second year and even now there is no drop in the residue seen in many of the powders. The common pesticide residues found were Chlorpyriphos, Cypermethrin, Fenvalerate, Bifenthrin, Lambda Cyhalothrin, Dimethoate, Profenophos, Malathion and Ethion.
Interestingly , rice, be it from Kerala or outside, does not seem to have been affected by pesticides. "The integrated pest management is in place in case of paddy . Also, even if there is some kind of spraying, it is done within 60 days while the harvest is in 90 days. Later, there is a process of drying to milling which will further clear any kind of residues," he added.
In many cases, apart from increased surveillance, officials of the food safety and PRAAL who collected samples from super markets and high-end shops which were selling pesticide-ridden produce under the guise of organic products were alerted and warned. They were told to monitor and correct their methods of acquisition and monitoring if they were selling it as `organic' brands.
UP slaughterhouse crackdown: Here's all you need to know about laws regulating abattoirs
The issue around the Uttar Pradesh government's crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses gained further steam on Monday with thousands of meat sellers going on strike for an indefinite period.
The strike, which started on Monday, has brought the over Rs 15,000-crore industry that employs 25 lakh people in the state, to a grinding halt. The issue also came up for discussion in Parliament on Tuesday, with the central government claiming that only illegal slaughterhouses were closed.
Meat sellers in the state, however, allege that police were raiding shops and forcing the closure of their establishments despite having valid licences. They said the ban on slaughterhouses has caused a shortage in meat supply across the state, as thousands of meat sellers have been forced to down shutters for an indefinite period of time, as uncertainty over the state government's policy continues.
Meanwhile, with contrasting arguments emerging, there is no making of the rights and wrongs in the issue. The issue has the right to livelihood of lakhs of people and their dependents on one hand, and the law of the land and crucial environmental checks on the other.
Considering only illegal slaughterhouses are the ones targeted, or so the government claims, here's a breakdown on the legal aspects of the issue to help define what exactly is a "legal slaughterhouse".
Legal meat, illegal meat
Cow slaughter is illegal in Uttar Pradesh, as is in most parts of India. However, the slaughtering of buffaloes, water buffaloes and other cattle is not banned. The protection of cows and calves is also one of the directive principles of state policy contained in Article 48 of the Constitution. However, a blanket ban remains very much a state subject. Various states have chosen to outlaw cow slaughter, as per local customs and culinary preferences, but in Uttar Pradesh, buffalo meat is legal as of now.
An issue more about environment than religious sentiments?
It is important to point out at the onset that the issue of slaughterhouses, in practical terms, is mostly about the environmental norms, blatantly flouted by the illegal units, usually in connivance with local administration and politicians.
Even though much of the debate has bordered around the religious sentiments of the Hindu community, which revers the cow, and the ruling party's alleged attempts to encourage vegetarianism, a much neglected aspect is its environmental implications. Slaughterhouses are listed under the 'red' category (amid those industries with highest release of effluents and pollutants in environment) of industries, which are considered heavily polluting and are covered under the central action plan for consent management.
This essentially means that abattoirs are counted amid industries that are most polluting for water bodies, and if unregulated can be a serious menace to public health.
According to a list put out by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board in 2015, of the 129 industrial units (deemed very hazardous for the environment) that have not installed anti-pollution devices, 44 units are slaughterhouses.
What clearances are required before an abattoir can operate legally in UP?
There are no records of illegal slaughterhouses available officially. However, according to industry insiders, there could be an estimated 140 abattoirs and over 50,000 meat shops that don't have permission to operate, IANS reported. In the current crackdown, the government has rounded up more than 20 illegal slaughterhouses and several meat shops.
To open a slaughterhouse in India, the applicant is required to apply for land use clearance for opening the unit. However, it is after this step that a series of checks and norms kick in that are specific to this industry. According to Uttar Pradesh's Department of Infrastructue and Industrial development, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) must be obtained from the district authorities and the UPPCB, both of which carry out separate inspections to determine whether the unit is being built in accordance with the set norms.
After UPPCB grants an environmental clearance, the plant owner is then required to approach the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Union government's body that regulates the export of all products. Before granting approval for export of the meat, APEDA has its own procedures and series of checks and inspections which are carried out before an NOC is granted.
The slaughterhouses should further operate in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, that outlines further laws to ensure the health and well being of cattle being slaughtered. Amid other things, it requires a large and airy reception, and resting area for the cattle and a compulsory examination by a veterinary doctor, 24 hours before they are slaughtered.
Moreover, an abattoir should also be licensed and registered with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Food Safety (License and Registration of Food Business) Regulations Act, 2011.
Besides, even after the slaughterhouses have obtained these clearances, they are required to maintain standards of operations in accordance with the environmental, hygiene and sanitation, and prevention of animal cruelty norms in their day to day operation.
NGT intervention
In May 2015, hearing a plea of an environmental activist, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ruled that any slaughterhouse that is operating without the necessary permission from local authorities — particularly the UPPCB — should not be allowed to operate. According to a report in The Indian Express, it is this order that the UP government has cited time and again in justifying its action against the slaughterhouses. The NGT also asked UPPCB to form a form a committee that will issue certificates to small shops on a quarterly basis.
The NGT order had come on a petition alleging that "the abattoirs were discharging untreated effluents contaminated with animal waste and blood of slaughtered animals in open drains which go into the tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna, polluting them," according to a PTI report at the time published in OneIndia.
"As per official records, more than 8.5 lakhs cattle are slaughtered annually in Uttar Pradesh, at its 115 registered abattoirs. However, a bare perusal of the records of total export made by the state shows that it is several times higher than the amount mentioned in the records and data maintained by UP," the petitioner had said.
Now Jharkhand bans illegal abattoirs
HIGHLIGHTS
- Slaughterhouses given 72 hours to shut their illegal businesses if they failed to obtain licence from relevant authorities
- No abattoir in the state had licence from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
Slaughter of cow and buffalobanned in Jharkhand
RANCHI: Days after the Aditya Nath Yogi government's crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, another BJP-ruled state, Jharkhand, decided to ban all illegal slaughterhouses in the state on Monday. The slaughterhouses were given 72 hours to shut their illegal businesses if they failed to obtain licence from relevant authorities.
SKG Rahate, principal secretary, home, issued an order to all deputy commissioners and SPs along with authorities of municipal corporations, municipalities and notified area committees to ensure that the closure was effected immediately. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, that has issued licences to 62 abattoirs across the country, has not issued the same to even one unit in the state.
None of the country's 75 approved abattoirs-cum-meat processing plants or 34 approved meat processing units have permission from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to operate. The Ranchi Municipal Corporation has, however, issued licenses to some slaughterhouses.
"Keeping in view safety and health of the general public, steps may immediately be taken for closure of illegal slaughterhouses. The principal secretary said that proper rules and regulations are already in place, issued by the department of animal husbandry, municipal bodies and health department," the order stated.
With the issuance of the order, people engaged in the sale of goat meat or chicken will have to obtain licences from municipal bodies while those involved in slaughter of cows and buffaloes would have to close their "illegal" business. In 2004-05, the Jharkhand government had banned slaughter of cow and buffalo, violation of which invited imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 10,000.
Ranchi Municipal Corporation deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya said most abattoirs didn't have a valid licence, and killing, selling or possessing cow meat was done in violation of the law.
FSSAI to partner global, desi firms to up food safety levels
NEW DELHI, MARCH 27:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is looking to partner global and domestic companies to raise the levels of food safety and hygiene in the country. The regulator is also looking to engage with food companies on various other aspects such as compliance and developing robust consumer grievances processes.
FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said safe and nutritious food for all is a “shared responsibility”.
“We are looking to engage with corporates to scale up initiatives to ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food in the country. We are also looking to engage with companies on various other areas such as compliance, training and capacity building, among others,” he added.
The regulator on Monday signed an MoU with Coca-Cola India to train 50,000 streetfood vendors under its project “Clean Street Food” across India over the next three years. While Coca-Cola India will handle programme execution through its bottling plants network, FSSAI will help develop the training content.
Agarwal pointed out that several companies such as ITC, Mondelez India, Nestle India, Jubilant FoodWorks and TetraPak have recently collaborated with the regulator to create awareness about food safety and hygiene across schools, retailers, food vendors as well as streetfood vendors.
Project “Clean Street Food” will be rolled out in phases starting with Ludhiana in mid-April, and expanded to nine States gradually.
Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: “We have been training kirana retailers for the past 10 ten years under our initiative ‘Parivartan’. This collaboration with FSSAI will help broaden the horizons of our initiative. We will train owners and employers of small food service outlets and streetfood vendors on the basic tenets of food safety.”
Coca-Cola ties up with FSSAI to train street food vendors
Coca-Cola India has tied up with FSSAI to train 50,000 street food vendors over the next three years in food safety, hygiene and waste management
Coca-Cola and FSSAI are now finalizing the curriculum for the training of street food vendors.
New Delhi: A sector regulator and the companies under its watch aren’t usually partners. The regulator frames the rules and ensures that companies abide by them. But Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), believes companies can join hands with the food regulator in its primary task—ensuring safe food for every Indian.
Towards that end, the local unit of American beverages company Coca-Cola Co. formally singed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FSSAI on Monday. Under the agreement, Coca-Cola India will train 50,000 street food vendors, irrespective of items they sell, over the next three years. The vendors will get training on how to prepare safe food, ensure hygiene, and in waste management.
Coca-Cola and FSSAI are now finalizing the curriculum for the training. The field training will start next month in Ludhiana, Punjab. Training retailers is not new for Coca-Cola. It has, in the past 10 years, offered training to about 350,000 retailers in India, but has never trained street food vendors, said Venkatesh Kini, president (India and South West Asia), Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola is not alone. Nestle India Ltd, the local arm of the Swiss packaged food company whose single-largest revenue earner Maggi instant noodles was banned by FSSAI in 2015 for about six months on safety concerns, has recently worked with the regulator to train 700 street food vendors in Goa.
“Besides Nestle and Coca-Cola, we are also working with companies like ITC Ltd, Mondelez India, TetraPak, Jubilant FoodWorks, Yum Brands, among others, for different projects related to nutrition and food safety,” Agarwal said.
While cigarette-to-biscuit maker ITC is working with FSSAI to ensure nutritious food at about 10,000 schools, Mondelez is working on ensuring safe food and nutrition at 40 underprivileged schools in north Delhi besides the points of sale in the retail market, according to the regulator. Like Coca-Cola, for most of the companies, these activities will be part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
"Besides Nestle and Coca-Cola, we are also working with companies like ITC Ltd, Mondelez India, TetraPak, Jubilant FoodWorks, Yum Brands, among others, for different projects related to nutrition and food safety"- Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO of FSSAI
For the past few months, Agarwal has been vocal about FSSAI’s aim to ensure safe and nutritious food for every Indian. In September last year, it initiated a special programme to promote safe food at all places including homes, schools, offices, eateries and even religious places while commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The regulator had, in January, said it aims to make use of fortified wheat flour, fortified edible oil and double fortified iodized salt mandatory for mid-day meals by December 2019 and in the public distribution system (PDS) by January 2020. Last week, FSSAI said in a statement that all major edible oil makers in India have agreed to add vitamins A and D to make their products fortified within the next three months.
According to the regulator’s estimates, fortification of edible oil with added vitamins A and D will increase manufacturing cost by 10 paise per litre.
The regulator had finalized standards for fortified rice, wheat flour, milk, edible oil and salt in January.
Mar 27, 2017
Villagers protest against private firm ‘polluting’ groundwater
They allege effluents let out by it affect people in surrounding villages
RAMANATHAPURAM
People of the coastal Panaikulam panchayat and members of CITU-affiliated Tamil Nadu Meenpidi Thozhirsanga Koottamaippu took out a rally and staged a demonstration at Panaikulam near here on Saturday, demanding the closure of ‘South Ganga’ a private firm which, they alleged, polluted groundwater.
Carrying the “polluted water” in pots, a large number of women participated in the protest, alleging that the private firm, which had been functioning at Krishnapuram village for about 12 years, completely spoiled groundwater by letting out ‘chemical effluents’ along the coast and waterbodies.
Though the firm had commenced operation as desalination plant to supply treated water to private power plants, it started releasing effluents in the open along the coastline and a village pond, thus polluting groundwater table, H. John Soundararajan, CITU district president, said.
The villagers who had been drawing water from the pond for bathing and washing purposes could not touch the water now, he said, adding the effluents posed serious health hazards to the local people.
After consuming the water, Suresh (16), a class X boy, and Murugan (27) had died, and Alexander (14), a school student, and Panneerselvam (27) were undergoing treatment in private hospitals for kidney ailments, M. Karunamurthy, district secretary of the Koottamaippu, said.
R. Karumalayan, CITU State deputy general secretary, who led the protest, said the CITU proposed to take up the issue with the green tribunal and move the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court if the district administration failed to close down the private firm.
He also urged the government to pay compensation to the families of the deceased and bear the medical expenses of the two persons undergoing treatment.
A veil of secrecy prevailed here as the company never allowed local village leaders to visit the factory, K. Chinnathambi, leader of Krishnapuram people, said. The effluents had polluted groundwater in at least six villages in the panchayat, he said.
The private firm could not be contacted for its comments.
When contacted, Collector S. Natarajan said officials from the District Food Safety Wing visited the private firm and the nearby villages. A team of experts had been constituted to study the situation, he said, adding “necessary action will be taken after the team submitted its report”.
HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TACKLE NUTRITION
Because India faces a double-burden of malnutrition, (over-nutrition and under-nutrition), there is need to adopt a multi-sectoral nutritional approach
India has witnessed noteworthy improvement in health and nutrition in the last decade, especially among children. The recently released fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 data, compared to the third round of NFHS (2004-05) data shows that stunting (low height-for-age) levels have reduced by seven per cent (from 45 to 38); underweight (low weight-for-age) by five per cent (from 40 to 35) and wasting (low weight-for-height) by two per cent (from 23 to 21). These declines are encouraging but not substantial. More than a quarter of the children in the country continue to suffer from one or the other type of malnutrition.
Further, anaemia continues to affect 50 per cent of women, including pregnant women, and 60 per cent of children in the country. While anaemia prevalence has decreased in children by 20 per cent points, from 79 per cent to 59 per cent, the change is not so significant in women (three per cent decline) or in pregnant women (eight per cent decline). Anaemia is also on rise among men, currently at 22 per cent.
The problem of malnutrition and undernutrition on one hand, is compounded by the rising trend of obesity among Indians. Latest NHFS data show an upward increase in the levels of obesity among both men (seven per cent) increase from 12 to 19) and women (six per cent increase from 15 to 21). Furthermore, around six per cent of women and eight per cent of men suffer from diabetes; seven per cent and 10 per cent of women and men suffer from hypertension respectively. This double burden of undernutrition and growing percentage of obesity, hypertension and diabetes puts a dent on the country's growing asset (healthy human resource).
Another indicator highlighting malnutrition in India, is its ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI). India ranks lower than other developing countries from the region on global indexes measuring hunger and malnutrition. It ranked 97 out of 118 countries (scoring 28.5 falling under serious category) in the GHI 2016. Though this score has improved from the earlier score of 36 in 2008, the nation is still one of the worst performers in the region. Out of a total of four components for calculating GHI, three are nutrition parameters (underweight population, wasting and stunting in children) indicating the highly unsatisfactory state of nutrition in the country. As per the Global Nutrition Report (2016), India ranks 114th out of 132 countries on under-five stunting and 120th out of 130 countries on under-five wasting and 170th out of 185 countries on prevalence of anaemia.
To address the problem of malnutrition and under-nutrition, the Indian Government has taken important steps, such as the release of fortification standards for five staples by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to fight micronutrient malnutrition, release of food composition tables by the National Institute of Nutrition to increase focus on dietary diversity, and now, the release of nutrition data to address the issue of malnutrition more holistically.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-2 goal, which aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, is a priority area for India, which can offer key solutions for hunger and poverty eradication and also tackle the issue of malnutrition and undernourishment in the country. To achieve the SDG target, a number of steps are being taken globally and in the country by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). One of FAO's strategic objective is to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition globally. The FAO looks at nutrition from the perspective of food and agriculture-based approaches as the sustainable long-term solution to hunger and malnutrition. A pilot harnessing the power of modern day technology for improving the health and nutrition behaviours among tribal populations in the state of Odisha has just been initiated.
Because India is facing a double-burden of malnutrition: Over-nutrition and under-nutrition existing simultaneously, there is a pressing need for a multi-sectoral approach along with nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions to address the problems holistically. For this, there is a need to reiterate the priorities which may include, spreading of knowledge and awareness regarding safe food, diversifying food baskets, putting women and children at the centre of any nutritional intervention and leverage on modern technologies to impart nutrition-linked messages and sustainable agricultural practices.
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