Mar 18, 2017
Lack of warning that diet drink has sweeteners prompts FDA action
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited McDonald's from selling Coca Cola Zero across its 60 outlets in the state for violating norms of the Food Safety and Standard Regulations. The order was issued after the MNC was found selling the beverage that contains artificial sweeteners, suspected to cause health problems, without the mandatory warnings.
The FDA action came after a Kolhapur official found that the product was being sold loose to “unsuspecting clients“, including children and pregnant women. The Maharashtra FDA has prohibited McDonald's from selling Coca Cola Zero across its 60 outlets in the state. The order was issued after the MNC was found selling the beverage that contains artificial sweeteners without the mandatory warnings.
The key problem is the presence of two artificial sweeteners-aspartame and acesulfame potassium--suspected to cause obesity , insulin resistance and high BP , among other health effects. Since years of research have failed to establish the components as completely harmless, any product containing them are supposed to carry warnings. The Coke Zero that was being sold at the McDonald's outlets did not specify that the drink was not recommended for children or for phenylketonurics.
“For the latter, particularly, such a violation can be critical,“ said FDA commissioner Dr Harshdeep Kamble. “Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic disorder and those who suffer from it cannot break down phenylalanine, a component of aspartame (one of the sweeteners). Their excess intake can lead to an unusual buildup in the body . Children can suffer from serious neurological deficiencies as a result of consuming the drink unknowingly ,“ said Kamble.
Calling the contravention a “serious one“, Kamble said non-adherence of the order can lead to penalties for the company . “They can sell the Coke Zero cans like most other fast food outlets but not through dispensers,“ he said. He clarified the order won't apply to other beve rages as they don't contain artificial sugar and have necessary permissions.
The drug regulatory body found during investigations that Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd, which owns and runs McDonald's, was procuring a pre-mix from Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages. However, McDonald's was creating the final product by treating the mix with carbonated water. These sweeteners are also present in Diet Coke, said an FDA official.
A spokesperson from McDonald's (west & south) told TOI that the company adheres to all statutory requirements.“We are compliant with all applicable laws pertaining to usage of loose cups and glasses. For the time being, we have decided to follow the FDA directive.“
Hindustan Coca Cola, in its response to FDA, had said that it had all the requisite permissions to manufacture synthetic syrups containing artificial sweeteners for dispensers. The company , however, could not be reached for comments. Kamble added that both companies have an exclusive arrangement as far as the product was concerned as no other food outlet was found selling the drink though a dispenser.He said that Section 34 of the Food Safety and Standards Act empowers the commissioner to issue such a prohibition order.However, the diktat will not be applicable outside Maharashtra. The FDA, in its order, has quoted a study by the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospi tal and Harvard Medical School, Boston, which stated that a daily consumption of diet soda increased the risk of non-hodgkins lymphoma and multiple myeloma in men by 42%. Another study quoted spoke of a link between artificial sweeteners and metabolic abnormalities.The USFDA says that no health problems have been consistently linked to aspartame use. “For people who want to avoid aspartame, the easiest way to do this is to check the labels before buying or eating foods or drinks.“
Dropped your food? It's okay to pick it up and eat it in 5 seconds
Food that has fallen on the ground can be safe to eat, but you need to keep a few factors in mind.
The thing about being a foodie is that your hands are usually full of food, and dropping a few French fries on the ground happens more often than people can imagine. But rarely do we think twice before bending down, and picking up those fries within a few seconds--and then put them in our mouths like nothing happened.
The neat freaks out there might go 'eew' at this sort of a gesture, but most of us actually believe in the 5 second rule, or its Indian version--Ram or bhoot. These rules dictate that if you pick up food immediately after it's fallen down, say 5 seconds, it's okay to eat it.
But how can such a rule be accepted by medical science? After all, isn't the floor one of the places that are mostly full of germs that lead to diseases like salmonella and E. coli? Wouldn't picking food off the floor, no matter how short a duration it spent on that surface, make it an easy carrier of pathogens?
You might think so, but repeated researches have proved that the 5 second rule actually holds true. A study conducted at the University of Illinois in 2003 took swabs from floors around the campus. Analyses of these samples showed that dry floors contained very little bacteria. So, if food came in contact with such floors for a few seconds, it really wouldn't have much chance of getting contaminated.
A number of studies show that the 5 second rule actually works.
Recently, Professor Anthony Hilton, a germ expert at Aston University (United Kingdom), has proved once again that the 5 second rule rarely ever goes wrong. In fact, he's going to show exactly how the 5 second rule works at The Big Bang Fair to be held this week in Birmingham. "Our research has shown that the nature of the floor surface, the type of food dropped on the floor and the length of time it spends on the floor can all have an impact on the number [of germs] that can transfer," he was quoted by the Evening Standard.
If that's really the case, what are the things we need to keep in mind while going Ram or bhoot on the food we accidentally dropped?
1. Make sure the floor isn't at a public place. If your kitchen floor is regularly cleaned with disenfectants, and you drop something there, chances are that it won't catch any germs within 5 seconds. The same can't be said about roadside eateries or public transportation like metros and buses.
2. The kind of food that you've dropped also matters. If you've dropped dry dishes like French fries or chips, the 5 second rule will work. But if you've dropped a slice of bread slathered with jam or cheese spread, or a piece of gooey cake, chances are that germs will accumulate very quickly. It's best to just let go of these dishes once they fall on the ground.
3. A wet floor has more germs and pathogens. If you've dropped any kind of food on a wet surface, it will be covered in germs no matter how quick you are.
While experts have time and again shown that the 5 second rule works, it's best to be cautious anyways. Unless you're very hungry, and can't do without the few fries you dropped, just let that morsel go. No amount of greed or saying Ram is going to help you through a stomach infection.
Use of chemicals in ginger processing poses threat to health in Shivamogga
Sulphur and calcium hypochlorite, also known as bleaching powder, are used to enhance brightness
The indiscriminate use of chemicals for processing ginger is posing a threat to the health of people in the district and to those residing in the vicinity of the processing units.
Sulphur and calcium hypochlorite, also known as bleaching powder, is used for processing the ginger in the district. According to Food Safety Act, the usage of the chemicals is an offence. Exposure to these chemicals is causing breathing problems and skin allergy among residents in the vicinity of the processing units.
Ten-year-old Mohammed Kutti of Ripponpet village suffered from intense nosebleed and respiratory problems owing to exposure to the chemicals from the units near his house. Five students from the Government Higher Primary School in the village complained of similar problems.
District Health Officer Rajesh Suragihalli told The Hindu that in the wake of complaints of health problems from residents, samples from two processing units located near residential areas in Ripponpet were sent to lab for tests in the last week of February.
Traces of sulphur and calcium hypochlorite were found in the samples. Based on the report, the department had directed the police to shut down the two units, he said.
Many students of Government Higher Primary Schools in Gullekoppa and Kalikapura villages of Hosanagar taluk experienced similar health disorders.
Dakappa, member of the School Development and Monitoring Committee of the school in Gullekoppa, said a complaint had been lodged with the Block Education Officer and Tahsildar of Hosanagar on March 15 against these processing units.
Traditional method
Under traditional method of processing, farmers and traders wash the ginger tubers in water and the rhizomes were peeled with bamboo knives or coir. Ginger which becomes discoloured owing to bacterial or fungal wilt infection fetch low price.
To give it a bright and attractive colour and to avoid ripening and rotting, harmful chemicals were being used for processing.
The tubers are treated with calcium hypochlorite solution and are placed in air-tight chambers by burning sulphur.
Sulphur dioxide gas released in the chamber removes the dark spots on the ginger tubers and and gives it a bright colour.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had booked cases against owners of three ginger processing units in Ripponpet and one unit in Ayanur last year for using harmful chemicals. In 2015, the Shikaripur Town Municipal Council had shut down three processing units for releasing liquid waste containing sulphur to Kerekatte tank in the town.
110 kg stale mango juice destroyed
Vadodara: Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) teams on Friday destroyed 110 kg mango juice, 40 kg sugar syrup and 40 kg stale fruits during an extensive checking drive in various areas.
Food safety officers conducted checking at outlets selling mango shake that are mushrooming as the mercury started rising. The drive was held in establishments in Karelibaug, Sangam, Harni, Gorwa, Nizampura, Fatehgunj and Chhani Road areas. Besides vendors selling mango juice even those selling sugarcane juice were checked during the drive.
The establishments that were checked included four selling mango juice, nine units manufacturing mango juice and 11 sugarcane juice vendors. Three containers of natural colour were also destroyed as the product had exceeded the expiry date.
Nine samples of mango juice and one sample of sugarcane juice were collected for analysis at VMC's public health laboratory. Notices were also issued to vendors and they were asked to maintain hygienic standards at their outlets. The officials had on Thursday checked ice and packaged drinking water units in the city.
McDonald’s told not to sell Coke Zero at outlets
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited McDonald's from selling Coca Cola Zero across its 60 outlets in the state for violating norms of the Food Safety and Standard Regulations. The order was issued after the MNC was found selling the beverage that contains artificial sweeteners, suspected to cause health problems, without the mandatory warnings.
The FDA action came after a Kolhapur official found that the product was being sold loose to "unsuspecting clients", including children and pregnant women.
The key problem is the presence of two artificial sweeteners— aspartame and acesulfame potassium--suspected to cause obesity, insulin resistance and high BP, among other health impact. Since years of research have failed to establish the components as completely harmless, any product containing them are supposed to carry warnings.
The Coke Zero that was being sold at the McDonald's outlets did not specify that the drink was not recommended for children or for phenylketonurics.
"For the latter, particularly, such a violation can be critical," said FDA commissioner Dr Harshdeep Kamble. "Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic disorder and those who suffer from it cannot break down phenylalanine, a component of aspartame (one of the sweeteners). Their excess intake can lead to an unusual buildup in the body. Children can suffer from serious neurological deficiencies as a result of consuming the drink unknowingly," said Kamble, adding that people should be told about the dangers lurking inside the so-called healthy drinks.
Calling the contravention a "serious one", Kamble said non-adherence of the order can lead to penalties for the company. "They can sell the Coke Zero cans like most other fast food outlets but not through dispensers," he said. He clarified the order won't apply to other beverages as they don't contain artificial sugar and have necessary permissions.
The drug regulatory body found out during investigations that Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd, which owns and runs McDonald's, was procuring a pre-mix from Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages. However, McDonald's was creating the final product by treating the mix with carbonated water. These sweeteners are also present in Diet Coke, said an FDA official.
A spokesperson from McDonald's (west & south) told TOI that the company adheres to all statutory requirements. "We are compliant with all applicable laws pertaining to usage of loose cups and glasses. For the time being, we have decided to follow the FDA directive." The Hindustan Coca Cola, in their response to FDA, had said that they had all the requisite permissions to manufacture synthetic syrups containing artificial sweeteners for dispensers. The company, however, could not be reached for comments.
Kamble added that both the companies have some sort of an exclusive arrangement as far as the product was concerned as no other food outlet was found selling the drink though a dispenser. He said that Section 34 of the Food Safety and Standards Act empowers the commissioner to issue such a prohibition order. However, the diktat will not be applicable outside Maharashtra.
The FDA, in its order, has quoted a study by the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, which stated that a daily consumption of diet soda increased the risk of non-hodgkins lymphoma and multiple myeloma in men by 42%. Another study quoted in the report spoke of a link between artificial sweeteners and metabolic abnormalities.
The USFDA says that no health problems have been consistently linked to aspartame use. "Research on artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, continues today. For people who want to avoid aspartame, the easiest way to do this is to check the labels before buying or eating foods or drinks."
Raising trust in food quality and safety
The Food Safety Conclave at India Food Forum 2017, represented by top officials from the Central Government and Industry delved into various critical aspects of food safety – the rapidly evolving scenario in the food industry, food quality and standards, recent regulations, best practices, and challenges and opportunities related to food safety. The discussion was moderated by Vice President – Ethics & Compliance – Asia, Walmart, Shalini Chakravorty.
An increasingly aware consumer today wants to take informed decisions about what h/she consumes, which has pitch-forked the issue of food safety centre stage
An increasingly aware consumer today wants to take informed decisions about what h/she consumes, which has pitch-forked the issue of food safety centre stage. Consumers’ food value equation is gradually changing from price, taste and convenience to health, wellness, safety, social impact and experience. Wellness and safety are definitely influencing the consumer behaviour and they are increasingly looking for information such as food safety standards, and complete and accurate labelling and traceability of the food products they buy. In India, an ever expanding consumer base, concerned about food quality and safety are the important drivers for the increased attention to food safety.
Some facts below from the WHO Food Safety fact sheet also reiterate the importance of food safety:
• Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhea to cancer.
• An estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years (DALYs).
• Food-borne diseases impede socio-economic development by straining healthcare systems, and harming national economies, tourism and trade.
Today, consumers expect protection from hazards occurring along the entire food chain. Providing adequate protection to the consumer by merely sampling and analysing the final product is not possible, hence the emphasis is on introduction of preventive measures at all stages of the food production and distribution chain. This calls for a determined, innovative, inclusive and participative approach from all stakeholders that are involved in food chain, from farm-to-fork. Not only is the responsibility of providing safe food to consumers of critical importance, the responsibility itself needs to be shared equally at every stage of the value chain, starting from the first steps of food production.
Not surprisingly, the food industry – including growers, processors, retailers, distributors, foodservice operators – has become conscious about their products and offerings. Also, since most consumers receive their food from retail and foodservice establishments, a significant share of the responsibility for providing safe food to the consumer rests with them. Close collaboration among the regulatory authorities, retail operators and foodservice establishments can make a great impact on food safety aspects.
Secretary General, Quality Council of India and Conclave Chairperson Dr. R. P. Singh, started the session by saying that food affects the quality of life, which impacts employment, exports and contribution to GDP. “It is the joint responsibility of Government and industry to protect consumers and provide best quality food”. He also emphasised on the need for harmonising Indian regulations with globally accepted norms of consumer safety and making available the same quality of food products to domestic consumers as that which is exported.
Advisor – Quality Assurance, FSSAI, Dr. N Bhaskar reiterated the role of Government and the support of regulators in ensuring that safe food is provided to consumers amidst growing calls upon the Government to accept greater responsibility for food safety and consumer protection. “Regulators have made a beginning with a multi-pronged strategy. What consumers want from the regulators and stakeholders is the 3Rs – Responsive, Responsible and Regulator. We, as regulators, have similar expectations from the stakeholders – to be responsive and be responsible retailers because these 3Rs are shared responsibilities,” he said.
Elaborating on the initiatives by FSSAI, he added: “We are also educating young minds on the hygiene and safety aspects of food through inclusion of awareness material in textbooks. FSSAI, as a regulator, has taken the responsibility of upgrading the notified laboratories and state food laboratories in terms of manpower training and equipment they require, and showing greater sensitivity to and acting on newer threats to food safety. As appellate authority, we are building testing laboratories in private space.”
President, AFST Mumbai & Head, Technical Regulatory, Dr. Prabodh Halde, concurred with Dr. Singh and Dr. Bhaskar. Amplifying on the 3R approach, he said, “I would like to add 2 T (Trust and Transparency) and one C (Compliance) to the 3 R. Compliance today is not a requirement but a hygiene and if you are not compliant you will be out of the business. Compliance has to be in letter and spirit. With the advent of social media platforms, aware citizens today have a public voice and one single mistake can prove disastrous for FBOs. Being compliant is a competitive sustainable advantage and is integral to the growth of the business. The FSSAI is adding new regulations and the industry needs to keep pace with the changing trends and respond adequately with transparent implementation by leveraging technology.”
Head of Quality, Nestlé South Asia, Omprakash Arora observed: “Consumers chose a product from a supermarket or shelf based on the implicit trust they place on the producer and that trust is based on the inherent quality of the product. We ensure quality in our food products by having quality management systems in place. Any system requires hardware and software. Hardware involves the conceptualization of the product, designing and manufacturing processes, and verifying the product and processes through internal and external audits. Software of quality management system is the pervasive quality culture that is ingrained in our employees.”
Hardware of Quality Management Systems for Ensuring Food Safety
This entails having in place and complying with the following standards:
Sourcing safety: Food safety covers the entire supply chain, starting with farmers and suppliers. Rigorous procurement and auditing processes ensure safe, high quality raw materials are sourced and only from FSSAI licensed suppliers. Defining specifications for the materials and performing checks ensure compliance with the most stringent regulations. Defining processes ensure traceability and recall.
Pointing to the sourcing strategy employed by his company, Head – Quality, FCL (Future Group), Venkatesha Prasanna said, “At the sourcing level we train vendors in product quality requirements and accept only those products that meet the minimum criteria. At the manufacturing level we have all the quality control mechanism and audits in place. Our products have stringent product quality norms including such parameters that are not mandated by FSSAI, like the microbiological parameter. We have implemented supply chain management standards at our DC and supply chains and we have third party independent audits.”
Storage safety: Ensure proper segregation of raw materials and prepared foods and store food and non-food products in storage. Ensure dedicated zones to prevent cross contamination in stores. To maintain the nutrition value of the food products, ensure temperature regulation.
Touching on the sourcing and storage aspects, Head – R&D and QA, Reliance Retail, Dr. Vinod Dhanuka said, “Reliance supply chain has many categories of products and for each product we have separate designs for ensuring safety and quality with regards to it perishable nature, shelf life and temperature requirements. We have different distribution centres for different products and constantly train and educate our employees for effective implementation along with regular audit appraisals.”
Head – F&V Quality and Innovation, Bigbasket, Raj Kumar Singh spoke about how his company sources only those produce that meet stringent regulations. “Freshness and safety are the index for fresh commodities like fruits and vegetables. At our distribution centre, we have three separate temperature zones – chilled (0-5°C), ambient (25°C) and hardy (30°C +) – for different commodities. Last mile logistical challenges remain but we are incorporating more innovations in technology to keep delivering fresh produce to our consumers.”
Production safety: Production sites should be designed to meet the highest quality and safety standards. This includes preventing foreign bodies from entering products, enabling the management of allergens, and controlling pests and calibrating the equipments and manufacturing environment to produce safe products. Training of employees in safe food handling practices is important. There should be backward integration with suppliers to ensure standards are being met.
Emphasising on the training of employees, Product Manager – Food SAR, Bureau Veritas, Kaushik Sengupta noted: “We need to engage with the employees who are part of the quality system process. Also, try to monitor the effectiveness of the training through CAPA programmes. Monitoring and assessment should be continuous. In the past one year, a lot of new standards have come up in GFSI, BRC, revisions in FSSAI version 4 and IFS revisions, and these need to be addressed in the assessment as well.”
Verification: Carry out verification tests to confirm if the product is safe to consume and to guarantee the safety of the product.
Commenting on the aspect of verification, MD, Envirocare Food Lab, Dr. Nilesh Amritkar said, “Of the 121 laboratories recognized by FSSAI, only 20 per cent have the capacity to conduct various tests mandated in the food safety regulations. There has to be stringent criteria that decide the recognition of laboratories. FSSAI is a regulatory body but the regulations have to be mastered by the industry, the laboratories and the consumers themselves. FBOs need to partner with the laboratories in the growth of a nation.”
Packaging and labelling safety: Packaging has a vital role to play in ensuring that products reach consumers in a safe condition. Packaging should be food safe and should have all mandatory information – from ingredients, product formulation as well as any allergen risks – pre-printed on the label.
Software of Quality Management Systems for Ensuring Food Safety
The most important aspect of food safety is largely behavioural in nature. Achieving food safety success often requires more than a thorough understanding of the food science and the processes involved because unsafe behaviour makes unsafe food. Creating a behaviour-based food safety management system or food safety culture can optimize the efficacy of food safety programmes and processes.
According to Chief General Manager – Quality and Legal Compliances, Patanjali, Atul K. Joshi, “All manufactures follow GFSI standards but what is different in our case at Patanjali, it is the work culture. It’s driven by the vision of Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, which they personally communicate to the last employee through engagement programmes. This encourages the employee engagement culture in the organization. Quality is a culture, food safety is a culture and a culture will only succeed when it percolates down to the execution level and the last employee has imbibed that and is involved.”
Focus on execution compliances: “If there is a gap between the standard requirement and what is executed at the shop floor, then there will be gap in the quality and food safety. When there is no gap it means consistent quality every day. The three pillars of execution compliance are, ‘Plant, People and Process’. All our plants are GMP hygiene approved; we undertake hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls, rigorously train our employees and are responsive to customer feedback. Building capacity and capability through education and training is an area of focus and we are already looking ahead by training them under US FDA regulations to keep pace with the evolving food safety aspects,” informed Joshi.
According to GM – Quality Assurance, Hardcastle Restaurants (McDonald’s West & South India), Vinay Hastak, “Quality systems, training, processes and procedures are the minimum basic pillars without which we can’t deliver safe quality products to our consumers. At McDonald’s, we primarily depend on preventive measures across the value chain by establishing priorities based on risk analysis and efficacy in risk management and use modern technology to build a failsafe mechanism to make up human failures.”
Buttressing the point made by Hastak, Shalini Chakravorty observed: “We should also appreciate the need to build the manufacturing units, quality control mechanisms and processes with foresight and thinking ahead of the time, factoring in the changes in law in future. That will give the much needed competitive edge.” She said that it is also very important to set the tone from the top in order to build a culture of quality and food safety. “That will set the right direction for the organization and build the much needed quality culture.”
The panellists concluded that an effective strategy for ensuring food safety is to adopt a preventive approach at all stages of the food chain. This can be done through the application of good practices, i.e., good agricultural practices (GAP), good manufacturing practices (GMP), good hygienic practices (GHP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system (HACCP) at the production stages. Taking these steps can prevent and mitigate the food risks.
Rounding off the session, Chakravorty said: “Food safety objectives cannot be fully realised without the cooperation and active participation of all stakeholders: farmers, processors, retailers and regulatory authorities across the value chain.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)