Apr 10, 2017
Amul ads guilty of disparaging frozen desserts, HUL argues in Bombay HC
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation had argued that its Amul ice-cream ads did not hurt Kwality Walls because they did not refer to it by name, rather depicted a generic cup labelled ‘frozen dessert’.
Mumbai: The lawyers for Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) argued in the Bombay high court on Friday that Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd’s (GCMMF) advertisements were guilty of disparaging frozen desserts.
The multinational maker of Kwality Walls ice-cream argued that identifying a particular brand or firm by name was not necessary for an ad to be guilty of “general disparagement”.
GCMMF had earlier argued that its Amul ice-cream ads did not hurt Kwality Walls because they did not refer to it by name, rather depicted a generic cup labelled “frozen dessert”.
HUL’s counsel, senior advocate Virag Tulzapurkar, cited a case law from the Delhi, Calcutta, and Madras high courts whose benches had previously ruled that a company could be guilty of showing a product in poor light even if it did not include a competitor’s name, by emulating its packaging or by attacking the entire class of products it is sold in.
Among the cases Tulzapurkar cited was a 1999 judgement in the Calcutta high court that ruled against ads for a fabric whitener.
The ads implied that blue coloured “neel” harmed clothes by leaving blue patches. Makers of Robin Blue fabric whitener, Reckitt Colman Ltd, won the case, arguing that reference to a “blue” agent was enough to disparage their product even if it was not referred to by name.
HUL and GCMMF had exchanged emails on the ads that Amul ran, in which HUL had asked the company to stop airing advertisements saying that Kwality Walls was made with vanaspati, or hydrogenated vegetable oil.
However, Tulzapurkar argued that Amul’s subsequent change in the ads, from “vanaspati” to “vanaspati tel” was not enough.
“The effect of that change is zero because the image from the first ad is fixed in the public mind,” Tulzapurkar said, referring to the images Amul ran showing the difference between ice-cream and frozen dessert.
The counsel’s argument was that the ad showed a generic frozen dessert made from a semi-solid mixture, seemingly implying that it was made from hydrogenated vegetable oil or vanaspati and not liquid vegetable oil.
As per regulations of the Food Standards and Safety Authority of India, ice-creams made from edible vegetable oil must be labelled and sold as frozen desserts.
However, GCMMF’s counsel on Friday held its ground arguing that this argument was invalid since Amul had changed its ads to say “vanaspati tel” in reference to frozen desserts instead of “vanaspati”.
“I would ask my learned friend to limit his arguments to the second ad, as we will deny that the first ad is being aired or that it continues to be aired,” the lead counsel for GCMMF, senior advocate Ravi Kadam, said.
GCMMF managing director R.S Sodhi declined to comment, saying the matter is subjudice.
A HUL spokeswoman also declined to comment saying the matter is subjudice.
The matter has been adjourned to Monday.
Ensuring safe food at places of worship
Every day, the Golden Temple in Amritsar feeds 60,000- 70,000 people for free
Faith and reason seldom go together. While the latter remains open to debate, the former is too sacred to be touched. And the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is soon going to get a taste of it.
How Food Safety Management System ensures quality Prasad
- Standardises prasad ingredients and manufacturing process to improve its shelf-life and safety
- Vendors to be trained in food safety, hygiene; persuaded to apply for licence
- Encourages self-audit to ensure that ingredients used in prasad are safe
- Food handlers to be trained in good manufacturing practices; to be educated about personal hygiene and using protective clothing, such as aprons, gloves
- Introduces rotational system for food stock to ensure first-expired-first-out; strengthens documentation and record keeping so that the stock can be traced
Mandates management of wastes, such as flowers, fruits and vegetables, in such a way that they do not affect food safetyThe country’s apex food regulatory body plans to implement the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) to ensure quality of food in places of worship. But the idea that something sacred needs to ascribe to external standards of purity is likely to make the implementation of FSMS a bumpy ride.
FSSAI stumbled upon one such bump in the last week of January, when the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), managing trust of Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, refused to allow the state’s food safety officers to inspect the temple kitchen.
In August 2016, FSSAI asked the state’s food safety commissioner to take appropriate action on a complaint about unhygienic and unsafe practices during the preparation of prasad (edible religious offering) in the temple.
Bengaluru-based RTI activist T Narasimha Murthy, who had filed the complaint, told Down To Earth (DTE): “Cooks who prepare laddoos in the Tirupati temple kitchen do not wear gloves, aprons or caps.” Media reports have in the past highlighted nuts, bolts and key chains being found in Tirupati temple laddoo, which has a Geographical Index tag indicating its uniqueness.
But TTD is adamant. In its response to the complaint, TTD says the laddoo is a sacred item and not food. It further says the prasad of Hindu temples is prepared as per customs and any intervention will potentially demean the feelings of Hindu pilgrims all over India. Since prasad is distributed at subsidised prices to pilgrims, it cannot be termed as goods for sale.
TTD’s arguments run contrary to the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, which says laddoo is a food item and TTD is a food business operator (FBO). In its letter to the state’s food safety commissioner, FSSAI had written that the Act is applicable on all food items, whether purchased or distributed for free.
TTD, therefore, must obtain a licence and fulfil the responsibilities of an FBO as stipulated in the Act, and comply with its rules and regulations. “But executive officer of TTD refused to apply for the licence, saying TTD does not come under FSSAI’s purview,” says Vishwanath Reddy, assistant food controller in Andhra Pradesh. TTD did not respond to DTE’s emails till the story went to press.
A humongous task
The unsuccessful attempt by Andhra Pradesh food safety officers to inspect Tirupati kitchen indicates the huge hurdles FSSAI is likely to face while implementing FSMS.
According to the 2011 Census, India has more than 3 million places of worship, which are visited by millions every day. The Tirupati temple alone is visited by over 50,000 devotees a day. In the absence of any guidelines, food is often prepared and handled with bare hands. Food handlers, at most places, are seldom tested for infectious diseases.
Many devotees have fallen ill in the past due to unsafe and unhygienic food practices at places of worship. In April 2014, around 350 people fell sick after drinking panakam (jaggery-based drink) offered as prasad at Sri Kodandarama Swamy temple at Damarcherla in Telangana’s Nalgonda district. In 2013, two people died and 50 showed symptoms of food poisoning after consuming panakam and buttermilk at Bengaluru’s Sri Muthu Mariamma temple.
Slow but steady acceptance
FSMS ensures that food safety hazards and unsafe conditions at places of worship are minimised, says Prabodh Halde, president of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India), Mumbai chapter, which has designed the system for FSSAI. “Under the system, raw material for prasad are standardised and tested for contami nation. We have put safety norms in place and trained food handlers and those who prepare the prasad in good manufacturing practices,” says Halde.
The association first implemented FSMS in January 2016 at Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak temple, which is also visited by 50,000 people a day. “Prasad hygiene and awareness about food safety among the workers improved within four months,” states FSSAI, which has vetted the pilot project before adopting it for pan-India implementation.
Though implementation of FSMS is not mandatory, several places of worship have volunteered to follow the system. One such is Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. Over 25,000 devotees throng the temple for prasad every day.
In September, FSSAI conducted a workshop on the implementation of FSMS. It was attended by 14 institutions, including the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Tamil Nadu government that manages temples in the state.
It has shown interest in implementing FSMS in 20 of its temples. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), responsible for the management of gurd waras, has also welcomed the move, notwi thstanding caveats. “If they have valid suggestions, we are amenable to them.
Otherwise, it is a matter of faith. Nobody can tell us how to prepare prasad,” says Harcharan Singh, chief secretary of SGPC. Pawan Agarwal, FSSAI’s chief executive officer, says their intention is not to question any faith but to reassure visitors about food safety.
“This is a win-win situation. I am sure neither Tirupati nor gurdwaras want anyone to fall sick,” he says. FSSAI has asked state food safety commissioners to identify five places of worship where FSMS can be implemented. The move can also come to the rescue of thousands of urban poor who do not have access to nutrition and depend on prasad for food.
How this Asia’s largest kitchen serves free food to 40,000 people everyday
Ever since the dinning hall or the prasadalaya was built in 2009, the place has been serving over 40,000 devotees on a daily basis. If you wondered where this kitchen is located then let’s help you soak into the glory of being an Indian, again.
The iconic Saibaba temple in Shirdi stands tall in its grace of being the holy place, quite literally. With digital signboards reading, What you have in your platter is not mere food. It’s Prasada of Shri Saibaba. Please don’t waste it and the tables being occupied at the drop of an hat and the hot meal being served to the devotees, this is a view that is worth being a part off. 
The 11,550 sqmt dinning hall in the temple premises has started serving free meals to devotees since January 1. Earlier there was a nominal fee of Rs 1o. This has fetched the temple the tag of being the Asia's largest kitchen providing free food to all, as opposed to Asia's largest solar-energy driven kitchen said a TOI news.
Dr Suresh Hawre, chairman of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) in the news said,
Free food to all was one of the basic teachings of Saibaba. When he lived in Shirdi, he used to cook food and distribute to the people. Taking the cause of service for all, the trust has continued with this mission.
Last year, this holy place won the Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) and Solar Cooker Excellence Award from the ministry of non- conventional energy sources. The temple houses 73 solar dishes that generate 2,800 kg of steam on a daily basis said the report.
In 2001, the premises welcomed its first solar system which could cook food for 3,000 people. Owing to this success, the plan was expanded. The hot water pumped in can cook 2000kg of daal and rice and can clean all the used oily vessels. There are manual helpers as well who work in shifts. The kitchen also empowers the local farmers by buying fresh vegies from them owing to a demand of 2,000 kg of vegetables everyday.
The temple also houses two imported dish washing machines, two imported vegetable cutter machines, three vegetable and rice washing machines, and a grinding flour online mill unit along living upto the tag of a self-sustainable kitchen. The temple also follows the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) standards of cooking says a HansIndia report.
Bitter truth about artificially-ripened fruits
Stringent action against traders selling such fruits
Public cautioned against consuming artificially-ripened fruits to prevent cancer
The Food Safety Department has cautioned people against consuming artificially-ripened mangoes and other fruits to avoid intake of cancer-causing chemicals. Acetylene gas generated through use of carbide stones for ripening would cause cancer, District Collector S.Prabakar said in statement urging consumers and traders to be on vigil. Toxic effect is also caused by direct spraying of erythron on the fruits.
The harmful chemicals are the cause for stomach ache, throat irritation, diarrhoea and related complications that would eventually lead to cancer, the statement said, informing that artificially ripening can be determined when the fruits are soft on the exterior, but raw inside. Artificially-ripened mangoes would bear patches of green on the skin, and be bereft of the natural aroma, sweetness and juiciness.
Sapota, guava and bananas were also being ripened artificially, the Collector said advising people to soak such fruits in salt solution for 15 minutes before washing them well in warm water for a minute or two. The fruits could then be consumed after peeling off the skin. Traders indulging in artificial ripening of fruits will be prosecuted under stringent sections by the Food Safety department. The public coming across such practices could convey complaints over phone: 0424-2223545 to the District Designated Officer for Food Safety and Drug Administration.
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