Surprise raid: Unhygienic food,banned tobacco products seized

TTD against allowing food inspectors into its temple kitchen

TTD has been told to obtain a food safety licence for the laddu. 

Says it will hurt religious sentiments of devotees

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is totally averse to the idea of allowing food inspectors into its temple kitchen ‘Potu’, which it says is a “pious” place, where the food offered to the presiding deity as ‘Naivedhyam’ is prepared by cooks, particularly those belonging to the Sri Vaishnavite sect.

Of late, the TTD is confronted with the demand to obtain a food safety licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to its ‘laddu’ prasadam. The laddu has been defined as food under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. It is against this backdrop that the FSSAI, following a RTI application by a Bengaluru-based activist T. Narasimhamurthy, recently directed the Central Licensing Authority in Chennai to inspect the ‘potu’ at Tirumala where the laddus are prepared, and obtain a license to run the kitchen.

But the temple administration seems to be in no mood to yield to the demand, which it says will not only hurt religious sentiments of devotees, but also tantamounts to transgression of the ancient tradition. Outsiders are not allowed to walk into the kitchen of any Sri Vaishnavite temple.

TTD Health officer S. Sermista told The Hindu that the laddus at Tirumala are prepared in strict adherence to the stipulations laid down by the FSSAI. The raw materials are thoroughly tested. The TTD has a state-of-the-art laboratory to check the quality of the raw materials as well as all the prasadams being prepared in the temple kitchen. The quality of laddus and other prasadams are checked thrice before being distributed to the devotees. Utmost importance is being attached to hygiene and upkeep of the surroundings inside the kitchen. Steam is used in the cleaning of the vessels and containers used in the cooking.

The Mysuru-based Central Food Training and Research Institute undertakes periodical check-ups and offers technical advice in addition to the validation of digital instruments as well as their upgradation, Ms. Sermista said.

She said ultimately it is for the management to take a decision whether or not to apply for a license for the laddu. She reiterated that laddu is a prasadam which is also provided at subsidised price and that it cannot be defined as ‘food’.

When her attention was drawn to the materials such as bolts and gutkha covers being found in the laddus, she brushed them aside attributing it to the internal conflict between the two groups of potu workers, who she claimed, indulged in an ugly war of defaming each other.

New norms render salt laboratories irrelevant

Thoothukudi is largest salt-producing district in Tamil Nadu.

Central Salt Dept. closes down quality checking facilities

The Central Salt Department recently closed down all quality check laboratories in the State, excepting one in Tuticorin. The laboratories at Cuddalore, Vedaranyam, Marakanam, Veppalodai near Tuticorin and one at Tuticorin had been established to check the quality of iodised salt and quantity of salt produced.

Sources in the Department said the laboratories became irrelevant after quality control of salt came under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). “We have no authority under any Act to penalise salt manufacturers if the salt is not of the prescribed quality. But the FSSAI can... so it made sense to shut down the labs,” explained an official. Another reason for the closure was that the country had become self-sufficient in production of salt and produced quality salt. Employees — three attached to each lab — have been redeployed by the Government of India, said an official.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh too laboratories at Ongole, Chinna Ganjam and Naupada have been closed. Only the one at Kakinada continues to function.

Tamil Nadu produces about 27 lakh tonnes of salt a year with Tuticorin being the highest producing centre. Tuticorin, Vedaranyam, Marakanam and Kovalam are the other big production centres. There are several small salt producing centres including Nagapattinam and Morekulam in the State. Andhra Pradesh produces 3 lakh tonnes of salt annually.

Salt manufacturers in the State say the move to close the labs is yet another step towards the closure of the department itself. “The government is not for continuing the present leases to salt manufacturers. They had planned to lease out through tender system. But that has been put on hold. They are not renewing leases and instead plan to convert the land as real estate, ” alleged a salt manufacturer.

Drinking iced tea may up cholera risk in endemic countries

Bangkok, Apr 14 (PTI) Consuming iced tea and not always boiling drinking water may increase the risk of cholera in endemic countries, a new study has found.

After over a decade of declining cholera incidence, Vietnam faced an increase in cases of the diarrheal disease during 2007-2010, researchers said.

Risk factors for contracting cholera in Ben Tre province of Vietnam include drinking iced tea or unboiled water and having a water source near a toilet.

Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and is often spread through contaminated drinking water.

In the Ben Tre province of the Mekong Delta region in the southern part of Vietnam, no cholera cases were reported from 2005 until an outbreak in 2010.

In the new study, Thuong Vu Nguyen from the Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and colleagues interviewed 60 people who were confirmed to have been infected with cholera during the 2010 outbreak in Ben Tre.

Information about each persons eating and drinking behaviors and living environment was recorded.

The researchers also collected samples of nearby river water, drinking water, wastewater samples, and local seafood to test for Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria which spreads the disease.

The researchers found that drinking iced tea, not boiling drinking water, having a main water source near a toilet, living with other who have diarrhea and having little or no education were all associated with an increased risk of cholera, while drinking stored rainwater, eating cooked seafood or steamed vegetables were protective against the disease.

As much as 22 per cent of people with cholera reported drinking iced tea in the week prior to their disease, whereas only three per cent of controls had drank iced tea in the week before being interviewed.

Patients with cholera were also more likely to always put ice in their water and to use sedimented river water for drinking, bathing, cooking, and brushing their teeth.

More work is needed to determine why iced tea boosts the risk of cholera, but the researchers hypothesise that the bacteria may be found in ice, which is often bought from street vendors.

"This present study has important implications for Vietnams cholera responses," researchers said.

"Along with traditional approaches that focus on enhancement of safe water, sanitation, and food safety, combined with periodic provision of oral cholera vaccines, a water quality monitoring system at ice-making plants should be established," they said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Yogi Adityanath's crackdown on slaughterhouses: Despite licences, corrupt cops exploit meat-sellers

Editor's Note: A few days after Yogi Adityanath took charge as the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and issued proclamations that his government would vigorously pursue and prosecute those "malfeasants" engaged in — variously — the running of illegal slaughterhouses, and harassing women on the streets, Firstpost asked Arpit Parashar to file ground reports documenting the doings of law enforcement forces deployed to shut meat shops, and apprehend "Romeos". This is the third in a multi-part series of stories Parashar sent us.

After the BJP government came to power in Uttar Pradesh and Yogi Adityanath took oath as the chief minister of the state, the police and the bureaucracy were asked to clamp down on the illegal slaughterhouses in the state, which they have duly done over the past few weeks with an iron fist. However, in the urge to implement the 'rules' by the book, the state government has ended up encouraging the bureaucracy to exploit the call for implementation for 'law and order' by forcing even regular and license-holding meat sellers to cough up exorbitant amounts of money in bribes to keep their shops open.

Riyaz Mohammad, who used to run his chicken shop in the Sector-9 area of Noida, which is also called the meat market because of the large cluster of meat shops in the area, was asked to deposit Rs 2 lakh with the officials of the Noida Authority to reopen his shop despite the fact that the license issued by the Department of Food Safety and Drug Administration of the state government is valid till 2020. "They said this was a security deposit which had to be paid but that no receipt will be given for this. It will just be to ensure that no action is taken against us and our shops are allowed to remain open. We know this is just a bribe," he says.

UP government has encouraged bureaucracy to exploit the call for implementation for 'law and order' by forcing license-holding meat sellers to cough up exorbitant amounts of money in bribes to keep their shops open. Image courtesy: Arpit Parashar

Apart from the officials, the policemen also came calling on his shop asking him to shell out Rs 50,000 as bribe-cum-security deposit to keep his shop running. "Their argument was that the rate of bribe to be paid to the police has gone up and that it would now be implemented from 2014 when the BJP had come to power at the Centre." This entails a monthly payment of Rs 500-1000 per meat shop, which was only Rs 200 earlier.

The policemen have asked meat sellers to pay as per the revised rate, which means depositing 10,000-30,000 per shop depending on its size and sales, as well as deposit hefty amounts as security to ensure that no action is taken against them in the near future.

Junaid Ahmed, who represents many pockets of Noida and Ghaziabad in the loosely organised Uttar Pradesh meat sellers' union, says, "They have threatened that no shop will be allowed to open without paying these bribes. They have instilled fear in us that they would act against us on the smallest complaint received even if we managed to open our shops based on the legal paper work. Such complaints can even be concocted or politically motivated since the BJP workers want to see us suffer. It is blatant extortion." The meat sellers across the state, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR) districts of Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut have held many dharnas outside the offices of district magistrates as well as police headquarters and demanded that the extortion in the name of implementation of 'law and order' be stopped but to no avail.

A senior police official from Ghaziabad, speaking on the condition of anonymity, nonchalantly said that when the notebandi happened many of the policemen lost their savings, which were presumably their earnings from bribes received through various means. "Many of them even gave the money back to a lot of people and distributed it among various relatives or even shop owners from their areas. This opportunity now is the way to earn some of it back." And so the meat sellers simply have to compensate for the empty pockets of the policemen by coughing up hefty sums.

This move is politically motivated too.

Lokesh Mishra, a BJP worker from the Vijay Nagar area in Ghaziabad, says, "Under the previous (Samajwadi Party government) rule these meat sellers would openly side with the SP or BSP but not support the BJP. They would arm-twist the policemen too by opening shops all over the district without even procuring licenses. Now that the police are cracking down on them they are making all sorts of noises on exploitation. They deserve it."

This political patronage has allowed the police and administration officials to implement their own set of rules and terms of engagement on the ground. Most of the meat sellers did procure licenses from the state government, which were issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. Junaid Ahmed says, "Very few meat shop owners from among the people I know were running their shops without licenses. The police are working to extort money despite that." Among the shop owners from the meat market area in sector-9, for example, 47 shops have been forced shut despite the fact that all of them have licenses and required permissions valid till at least next year; many got licenses renewed only last year and so can run their shops freely till 2021, as per the law.

Riyaz Mohammad, who used to run his chicken shop in the Sector-9 area of Noida, was asked to deposit Rs 2 lakh to reopen his shop despite the fact that the license issued to him is valid till 2020. Image courtesy: Arpit Parashar

The plight of the meat shop owners whose licenses have recently expired is worse. They have been asked to deposit between Rs 3-5 lakh as 'security' which is non-refundable. Hearing a petition on the delay in issuing licenses to meat shop owners in the state, the Allahabad High Court has come down heavily on the Yogi government. Pulling up the state government for mal-administration in the civic bodies, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court issued an order on April 3 directing it to ensure that licenses of mutton and chicken shop keepers which expired on March 31 are renewed within a week. The bench also issued orders that within the administration must also provide facilities for a slaughter house for goats and chicken at the distance of every two kilometers within 10 days.

The two-judge bench of Justice AP Shahi and Justice Sanjay Harkoli, hearing a PIL filed by Saeed Ahmed and others from the Bahraich district, pulled up the state government acknowledging that the non-renewal of licenses has adversely affected the livelihood of lakhs of people in the state. The petitioners had pleaded that their shops had been rendered illegal simply because the administration had been acting in an unconstitutional manner. The bench has warned the government that it will be held accountable for implementation of its orders, fixing April 30 as the next date for hearing.

But the administration officials are in no mood to relent across the state. Leave along renewing licenses within a week, as per the HC orders, even the people holding valid licenses have not been allowed to open shop unless they have coughed up the exorbitant sums demanded by administration and police officials. The meat market in sector-9 only has a handful of meat shops open now while others are simply living off savings and hoping to borrow money from various sources to fill the pockets of the officials in return for 'permission' to resume their livelihoods.

Eatery owner sentenced till rising of court

Summary: According to the prosecution, Bharat Kanojia, Food Safety Officer, conducted an inspection on the business premises on December 14, 2015. “...The Food Safety Officer has categorically deposed regarding the factum of such an inspection. The accused was found preparing and selling food articles such as dal, rice, chapati and snacks without a food licence. No raid had ever taken place and the accused never sold any of the alleged food articles to any customer. Sandeep RanaTribune News ServiceChandigarh, April 14A 21-year-old college student, who runs Kelong (Joy Land Ventures) restaurant at Elante Mall, was sentenced till the rising of the court by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) for preparing and selling food articles without a food licence.

Sandeep Rana Chandigarh, April 14 A 21-year-old college student, who runs Kelong (Joy Land Ventures) restaurant at Elante Mall, was sentenced till the rising of the court by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) for preparing and selling food articles without a food licence. The convict, Amandeep Singh, an undergraduate student at a city college, was also fined Rs 20,000 by the CJM, Akshdeep Mahajan. According to the prosecution, Bharat Kanojia, Food Safety Officer, conducted an inspection on the business premises on December 14, 2015. 

The accused was found preparing and selling food articles such as dal, rice, chapati and snacks without a food licence. Kanojia prepared a memo and challaned the accused. It was signed by the accused and attested by witness Bipin Kumar Roy.

‘Penalise vendors selling unhygienic food’

With the onset of summer, diet plays an important role in keeping healthy. With many preferring street food to satiate their taste buds, it is important to focus on hygiene in order to stay fit. Here's what our readers have to say on what needs to be done to keep a check on street food vendors:

Consumers should avoid uncovered food

Come summer and you can see numerous roadside food vendors putting up temporary shops. As far as hygiene is considered, the standards are very poor. The concerned authorities are also turning a blind eye to this issue. The vendors do not cover the food items which attracts flies and germs. The least a vendor can do is cover the food items. Water is the next most important thing. The vendors use water from roadside taps which is not clean. This water is stored in bottles thus giving an impression that it is bottled water. Consumers should avoid drinking such water. GVMC should ascertain that all vendors big or small follow certain norms of hygiene. It should be compulsory to cover the food items so that they are not exposed to insects. Water can be supplied by GVMC to these vendors and the civic body should ensure that only such water is used. Consumers should also cooperate and consume only hygienically stored food.

M Suryanarayana, Retired govt employee

Use safe drinking water

Hygiene is the practice of keeping oneself and the surroundings clean to prevent disease. Roadside vendors, restaurants and star hotels should ensure that every food item they serve is hygienically prepared. Water is the main source of diseases. Therefore, clean and safe drinking water should be used for cooking purposes. Secondly, the surroundings of kitchens and food courts should be neat and clean. Thirdly, the chef and other cooking staff should use gloves and clean utensils. The food items and edible oils should be used fresh. The health department should also keep an eye on fruit juice shops and chaat centres. Any deviation in this regard must be punished and penalised.

V Ramesh, Retired employee

Prevent violators of food hygiene

With the early onset of summer this year, street vendors have already set up cold drinks and fruit juice centres across the city. But, many of the vendors do not follow hygienic and just focus on making profits. Even the public does not bother. Street vendors should voluntarily adopt hygienic measures to improve the quality of food served. GVMC authorities should also clean up the areas around these eateries. Proper waste management should be in place and the authorities should lay down regulations regarding food safety and cleanliness. Penalty should be imposed on vendors who flout rules.

NN Sindhuraveni, IT professional

Train roadside vendors

Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as the municipal authorities must jointly organise hygiene training for street vendors where they should be taught techniques of food storage as well as handling and maintaining hygiene. Vendors must be made to appear for a test after the training and certificates should be given based on performance. An ID card, pocket book stating the guidelines, and a hygiene kit containing aprons, gloves and caps should be given to all the vendors after the rigorous training. This periodic training to vendors shall improve the hygiene standards.

Gajjarapu Sri Harsha, MBA student

Issue licences to vendors

Why only summer? The public expects hygienic food throughout the year, whether road-side or otherwise. Only a strong and determined administration can ensure the well-being of its citizens. Roadside vendors are a big risk to everyone. They do not pay any taxes to the local authority and cannot be traced in case people fall sick after consuming their food items. Visakhapatnam cannot be home to such businesses. The policy should be 'do business, but responsibly'. All roadside vendors should obtain a licence and told to operate at least 500 meters away from each other.

D Ravi, Retired executive

Buy from busy vendors

Today's life is busy and fast where there is no time for cooking. Both the husband and wife earn good money and depend on street food or restaurants for their meals. However, there is a dark side to this convenience. Depending on how busy a street food vendor is, food may be sitting around a while before we come along and buy it. Cold food attracts insects. When choosing street food, look for carts that are busy as this means the food is prepared on the spot. Health and food inspectors must examine and penalise errant vendors.

Choppa Rama Raju

Impose spot fines

With the summer heat leaving Vizagites dehydrated, roadside vendors are having a field day selling cut watermelons and mangoes which are exposed to germs and insects. GVMC should carry out surprise checks to ensure that the vendors keep their food items covered. Inspectors should impose spot fines if any vendor is found ignoring hygiene and also check the water being used for making fruit juices.

R Sekar, PSU employee

Regular inspections a must

Public health inspectors play an important role in ensuring that hygienic food is sold across the city. They must inspect all public establishments serving food items on a regular basis. Further, stakeholders should be trained on implementing minimum precautions about food safety. Street vendors should keep the food properly covered at all times to maintain hygiene.

Neeharika Annamreddi, Student

Raids carried out under COTPA

UDUPI: The district tobacco control unit with allied departments carried out raids in Kundapur and Karkalataluks and imposed fine on shops and commercial establishments selling tobacco in contravention of COTPA(Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act), 2003. Armed with directions given by additional DC and district health and family welfare officer, officials of the tobacco control unit registered 35 cases under various sections of COTPA in Kundapur taluk and 20 cases in Karkala taluk.

In Kundapur, fine amounting to Rs 6,610 was collected. Under Food Safety Act, the officials carried out raids on 20 shops and seized banned tobacco products and issued notices to 15 shop owners. Five advertisement hoardings in contravention of COTPA were removed. Shop owners were directed to display placards informing people about hazards of consuming tobacco products and also ensure no sale of tobacco within 100 metres of educational institutions.

In Karkala, the officials collected fine amounting to Rs 4,000 and raided 12 shops and establishments. Notices were served to eight shop owners and banned tobacco products were seized. Officials also removed five advertisement hoardings that violated provisions of COTPA.

The raids were also carried out with a view to ensure that Udupi district is adjudged the best district in terms of implementing COTPA on World Anti-Tobacco Day on May 31.