DINAKARAN NEWS

More red meat, higher the risk for bowel disease

FSSAI issues draft guidelines for direct selling FBOs

Food regulator FSSAI today issued a draft guidelines for direct selling companies engaged in food business, proposing mandatory licenses from either central or state authority, besides spelling out mechanisms for consumer grievance redressal and product recalls.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought comments from stakeholders by February 2 on its "draft guidelines for operations of direct selling food business operators (FBOs)".

In its first guidelines for direct selling FBOs to ensuring food safety, FSSAI said: "...It is necessary to address all ways in which food is supplied to consumers, including sale of food by direct selling companies."

Stating that food supplied through direct selling must meet same requirements as food sold in shops, the regulator said: "It is necessary to ensure that direct selling FBOs should have mechanism to help the general public to address the issues to consume, safe and wholesome food supplied through operation of this model."

According to the guideline, a direct FBO has been defined as an entity selling food product directly to consumers or through network of their agents, representatives, consultants, direct distributors.

FSSAI said direct selling FBOs would require to take license from it for activities related to the business, including manufacturing, import, distribution and retailing among others.

If the FBOs are operating in more than one state, then they would need to take licenses from the central licensing authority for their network of agents and salesman.

As per the draft guidelines, the FBOs would have to maintain proper records either manually or electronically of their business dealings, with complete details of their products, services, terms of contract, prices, income plan and details of direct selling agents among others.

On the issue of consumer of complaints, FSSAI said the direct selling FBOs would be responsible for maintaining effective grievance redressal mechanism and will have to address issues within seven working days.

Moreover, the FBOs will be liable for grievances arising out of sale of products by them or their agents.

On products recalls, the regulator proposed direct selling FBOs and their agents should immediately comply with recall orders issued by FSSAI and provide details to the authority.

The FBOs would also have to submit an undertaking stating that their agents would comply with Food Safety and Standards Act and rules and regulations made under this law. They would be liable to sampling of food product at any point.

Last year, FSSAI had also issued draft guidelines for food business operators in e-commerce sector.

Beware, you’re not served what you have asked for

A recently-published study of the National Institute of Nutrition highlights risky practices among street food vendors.

If street food is an irresistible indulgence, choose with care where your palate is treated, warns a recently-published study from the National Institute of Nutrition.

The institute in the past has pointed out through several studies the risk of eating street food, including serious bacterial contamination, but in its recent study has listed risky practices among street food handlers. These practices were determined after examining 463 samples of food collected from across the city, and the way they were handled from storage to serving.

Accordingly, testing for food-borne pathogens revealed that most of the carrots used in the samples and over three-quarters of onion — two commonly-used vegetables — were contaminated with the bacteria escherichia coli. The bacteria, known to be a part of the human gut flora, are expelled in faecal matter. Though not all, some types of E.coli can cause serious illnesses.

The study was published in the British Food Journal.

The study is part of the institute’s larger efforts to improve food safety standards in the city. Partnering with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and civil society organisations, researchers at the institute have developed a training module based on the findings. A few vendors have also been trained. The training suggestions are low-cost measures to get more vendors to adopt them.

Among the common high-risk practices examined in the study, which have been addressed in the training module, researchers found that pani puri vendors, who did not wash their hands with soap, had higher risk of contaminating the delicacy with fecal coliforms like E.coli. In all, about 150 samples of pani puri were analysed.

Researchers also estimated that leaving peeled or cut fruits and vegetables uncovered, made them 13 times riskier to consume than ingredients well stored.

Besides street food, studies in the past have also assessed quality of ice creams sold by pushcart vendors.

A study published last year by food and nutrition researchers of Osmania University found that about a third of samples tested were contaminated due to poor hygienic conditions at point of preparation and subsequent inadequacies in handling.

Watch your plate: Doctors warn against eating out

HYDERABAD: Next time you try a new restaurant, do check if they have a food license from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC).

After a series of crackdown against restaurants revealed how they were dishing out unhealthy food, city doctors have warned of serious health concerns. In the past few months, authorities in the twin cities have sealed about 75 hotels and restaurants.

Warning foodies of serious health implications, both short term and long term, Dr P Avinash, a paediatrician who treats about 3-4 food poisoning cases a month said, "These foods primarily infect the stomach with bad bacteria and kill the good bacteria. The bad bacteria then spread to the other parts of the gut causing infections and allergic reactions."

Many street vendors reuse the same oil to cook snacks, eating such food can also cause cancer, say doctors. "The soot that results from the over burning of cooking oil is stuck to food and injecting it regularly might lead to various types of cancers," Dr K Sreekanth, consultant onco-surgeon with Yashoda hospital.

Many customers think a hotel with a good ambience is a safe place to eat. But M Devender, food inspector of Secunderabad Cantonment Board says, the major issues they come across are hygiene of the kitchens in the hotels. Even though the serving area is well maintained, the kitchen and the storage places fall below the prescribed standards, he said.

Eating food outside on regular basis is also harmful for your liver, says Dr Sanjoy Paul, a diebetologist with Apollo Sugar. "About 20 per cent of the patients that come to me have food poisoning. Most of it is caused by the nitrous compounds present in the foods. Apart from minor problems like nausea and vomiting, these compounds can also lead to liver damage and jaundice."

One best way to solve this problem is, GHMC should make it mandatory to post all the food establishments to post their business licenses and also food inspectors food safety checkups on the wall at the entrance.Lakshma Reddy

In a city with huge migrant and floating population, it seems almost impossible to discourage people from eating food in restaurants and street food carts and the increasing demand only shows that the business is going to thrive in the future.

However, the GHMC, with a severe staff crunch, is struggling to put a check on the malpractices followed at the ever-growing numbers of food centres in the city. Ravi Kiran, assistant commissioner, GHMC said, "There is a requirement of 26 food inspectors in the GHMC limits and we just have four. Even though we are doing our best, it is still not enough. We urge the public check for the GHMC license and avoid eating at places that lack permission."

Eatery sealed for lack of hygiene

Noida: A restaurant in Noida's Sector 18 was sealed on Monday after a team from the food safety and drug department (FSDA), Lucknow, conducted a raid in the eatery for operating in "unhygienic conditions."

According to sources, a team from FSDA raided the Top Breads restaurant and another one on the premises of Radisson Blu Hotel, Sector 18.

The team led by FSDA additional commissioner Pradeep Kumarcollected five samples of food ingredients from Top Breads and three from Radisson Blu. The Top Breads samples were found 'unhygienic'. "The bread, cream, butter and the base of the cakes are being prepared in unhygienic conditions here," Kumar said.

Tarun Chopra, owner of Top Breads, told TOI that the restaurant has been operating for the past 19 years and the management has applied online for a licence from FSDA.

Delhi govt may raid restaurants in CP, Khan Market over hygiene

The Delhi government will launch a food surveillance programme starting Monday to determine quality and hygiene of the fare served in restaurants and fast food chains across the city.

The drive will cover major food hubs as well as sale of packaged food items like chips and juices. In the first phase, target areas to be covered under surveillance will be Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Khan Market, Lajpat Nagar and a few others, sources in the department said. The purpose of the programme is to ensure that eateries are conforming to conditions laid out in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

"It will have a great preventive effect in the food market regarding unsafe and unhealthy food all across the national Capital, including leading food chains here," said Dr Mrinalini Darswal, food commissioner,department of food safety.

According to Darswal, this is one of the most ambitious programmes undertaken so far and the department has tied up with nine private laboratories with 'microbiological' trial facilities. Microbiological tests can detect pathogens and spoilage organisms in food which a normal chemical test facility cannot scrutinise. Earlier, the department was conducting only chemical testing due to shortage of staff and food inspectors. "We have started our microbiological food testing labs which can detect bacteria, fungus and virus inside a food item. The officials can also write their comments in reports on the kitchen hygiene of these food eateries, besides sample tests," Darswal said. The commissioner said food officials will pick thousands of food samples everyday from the market irrespective of the size and brand of an outlet. "The officials from private labs will pick up surveillance samples (for preliminary testing) and if these food samples fails at in the initial testing then the government food inspectors will pick legal samples for prosecution purpose," she said.

Food fix

Food officials said the programme was planned after they received complaints from consumers against popular food chains operating in the city. The officials said the raids will include cooperatives such as Mother Dairy, transnational food chains like McDonald's or Pizza Hut, and domestic businesses like Haldiram or Bikanerwala. "Our sole aim is to ensure hygiene and standard quality served to the people by these eateries," said Darswal.

Reacting to the programme on food safety, spokesperson for Domino's Pizza said they have always "maintained highest quality standards" and strictly adhere to all policies applicable on the food business. "We always look for areas for continuous improvement in our operations, supply chain and storage. As a practice, in case of a customer complaint, we closely investigate the matter and immediately take necessary measures," the spokesperson said.

Queries to other popular city food chains like KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds did not elicit any response.

The food and drug department of Delhi carries out surprise inspections and raids of food establishments and draws samples of food articles that can be potentially adulterated, substandard or misbranded. However, in the programme beginning Monday the scale will be wider, said officials.

As per the official process, when the department receives a complaint about an adulterated food item, a report is filed and marked to the designated district officer, after which the officer collects samples. The samples are sent for testing where the food analyst supervises the work and sends the reports back to the department concerned. Officials said the programme is part of a larger initiative to spruce up food safety standards in the Capital. "A proposal has been sent to the Central government for commissioning more food laboratories and revamping the existing ones. The Centre has agreed to fund for state-ofart food laboratories," officials at food department said.

The FSSAI recently trained at least 23,000 street vendors all across Delhi for food hygiene. "This was done under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and all the street vendors have been registered, trained food hygiene and provided with a certificate," officials said.