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Ensure meat hygiene, says Collector

Three retired veterinary doctors to be deputed in Thoothukudi slaughterhouse

THOOTHUKUDI

To streamline the functioning of the slaughterhouse here and ensure meat hygiene, veterinarians would be deputed, Collector M. Ravikumar told reporters here on Monday.

Three retired veterinary doctors would be deputed in the slaughterhouse in May. Based on complaints from consumers, officials of Food Safety Department conducted raids on meat stalls last week. A total of 800 kg of meat was seized from various parts of the city and destroyed after it was found unfit for consumption on Saturday.

On Sunday, the officials seized and destroyed 150 kg of ‘unfit-for-consumption’ meat. Several meat stalls were not in possession of licence, which was mandatory under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA).

Meat could be stored in refrigerators only for two hours after the slaughtering of animals, but often unsold meat was kept in cold storage for days together and such meat would not be fit for consumption, he said.

The Collector said the Food Safety officials had been instructed to raids meat stalls every week, and if they found meat unfit for consumption, they would seize and destroy it, he said.

9 products of top firms found to be substandard by food regulators, says report

The products include Mirinda, Cerelac Wheat, Saffola Gold, Frooti among others.

The food regulators of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Assam have reportedly found nine products of major companies to be “substandard” after they failed quality tests conducted between April 2016 and January 2017, The Indian Express said on Monday.

The products include Pepsico India Holdings Private Ltd’s Mirinda, Nestle India Ltd’s Cerelac Wheat, Adani Wilmar Ltd’s Fortune oil, Marico India’s Saffola Gold oil, Parle Agro’s Frooti and a cheese spread used by the Subway chain among others, according to information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the Express.

“The RTI replies show that Herbalife’s energy drink, Murugappa group’s Parry packaged drinking water and Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia are among the products reported to have failed the quality tests during this period,” the newspaper said.

“In a number of cases, the companies have either questioned the test procedure or have asked for re-analysis of the samples,” it added.

Mirinda

The Express said five reports found Mirinda to be “misbranded, substandard and unsafe”.

According to the newspaper, in a report dated January 12, 2017, Gurgaon’s food safety officer found batches of Mirinda to be “unsafe as well as substandard”. The state food lab of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Haryana Haryana also found “Mirinda” to be “misbranded” in 3 probe reports in April, May, and October last year and it found the drink to be “misbranded, substandard and unsafe” in October 2016.

“According to an RTI reply, the lab did not have the information regarding the action taken in last four cases because the matter was ‘not related’ to its ‘office’,” it said.

The food safety officer said the newspaper in an RTI reply that a “letter (has been) sent for permission for prosecution to commissioner of FDA”.

“PepsiCo operates in the state of Haryana through its franchisee. The franchisee has received only one of the reports (18th May 2016) referred to by you and has requested for a reanalysis of the sample mentioned in that report. No other notice referred by you has been received by our franchisee … All products, including Mirinda, comply with the food regulations and are completely safe and hence pulling out Mirinda is unwarranted,” a PepsiCo spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Express.

Cerelac Wheat

Nestle India Ltd’s infant food Cerelac Wheat was found to be substandard by the chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of Rajasthan’s Rajasmand district in a report dated October 14, 2016.

In one RTI reply, the CMHO told the Express that Cerelac failed at the quality parameter of “total protein”.

Asked what action has been taken against the company, the officer’s RTI reply stated: “Anusandhan jaari (Investigation is ongoing).

The company did not respond to requests seeking comment from the newspaper.

Fortune oil

In an RTI reply, the CMHO of Bundi in Rajasthan said that the acid value of Fortune, a refined rice brand oil from Adani Wilmar Ltd, was found to be 0.67, which must not be higher than 0.5, in test results on July 15, 2016.

The officer told the Express that the matter is under investigation when it asked if any action has been taken against the company.

“So far we have not received a notice on Refined Rice Bran Oil from Bundi, CMO. As regards the acid value on Rice Bran Oil, the permitted limit is 0.50, However, due to the faulty procedure (wrong indicator) adopted by many public analysts, the result may show acid value on higher side … There is no question of withdrawing the product from Indian Market as Rice Bran Oil is one of the healthiest oils available in the market and our product meets the standards as provided under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” an Adani spokesperson told the newspaper.

Saffola Gold oil

A sample of Saffola Gold, blended edible vegetable oil, was picked up on May 9 last year by food safety officer Naresh Kumar Chenjara in the western state’s Sawai Madhopur.

The Expres said the probe results came on May 27, 2016, and said the product was substandard as its acid value was 1.12 instead of the permitted limit of 0.50.

The results also said Saffola Gold does not conform to the prescribed provisions of food safety and standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additive) Regulation, 2011.

“Under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, (we are) submitting chargesheets in court against the firms/manufacturers,” Umesh Sharma, CMHO, Sawai Madhopur, told the newspaper in an RTI reply.

Marico Limited did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Processed cheese spread

Similarly, a sample of the processed cheese spread used by Subway Systems Indian Private Ltd picked up by the food safety officer of Faridabad on July 21, 2016, was found to be substandard as it was “misbranded”, according to the newspaper.

The Express said when asked about the action taken, the food safety officer, in an RTI reply, said: “Case pending to launch”. But Subway denied using processed cheese spread.

“We would like to place on record that Subway does not use ‘Processed cheese spread’ as an ingredient in any of its products,” a Subway spokesperson told Hindustan Times in its response on Monday morning.

Frooti

The Express reported Parle Agro’s mango drink, Frooti, was found to be “substandard” as it failed on the “physical” parameter by the state public health laboratory of Assam in 3 probe reports between June 13, July 14 and August 2, 2016.

The samples were manufactured by Padmesh Beverages, which has been given a contract by Parle Agro, at its plant in Satgaon, Guwahati, Assam.

“The action against samples which have been declared substandard by the food analyst to the government of Assam are being taken and are at different stages of adjudication in the court of the adjudicating officers in the district headquarters of the state,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Assam told the Express in an RTI reply to the Express.

The newspaper said Parle Agro did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Parry packaged water

The food safety wing of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu found that the aerobic microbial count in the sample of Parry packaged water was 32 colony forming units (CFU)/ml, which must not be more than 20 CFU/ml, in samples of Parry Enterprises India’s packaged drinking water taken on July 20, 2016.

A microbial limit test checks the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mold in a sample is exceeding the limit or not.

The Kanchipuram wing stated in an RTI reply that “adjudicating process will be started against the concerned food business operators”.

The Murugappa group company said: “Please note that we are unable to refer to the Probe Report you have referred above, as we have not received this report. However, we were made aware of a test report (which reported the numbers mentioned by you above) by Kings Institute dated 20th July which was an enclosure to a letter from FSSAI dated 29th July 2016, on a matter relating to labelling. We understood that this observation made by the Test house was in itself inaccurate and based on inadequate and perfunctory analysis as per the Act.”

Haldiram aloo bhujia

The newspaper said the state food lab of FDA Haryana found the aloo bhujia produced by Haldiram Foods International Private Ltd in a probe report of July 2016 to be “misbranded” or not compliant with rules in Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011.

“The state food lab did not comment on the action taken in this probe report and said that the matter is ‘not related to this office’,” it said.

Haldiram did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Fresh energy drink mix

The Express reported that Haryana’s food lab picked up a sample of fresh energy drink mix by Herbalife International India Private Ltd from a shop in Model Town, Sonipat in Haryana and the test results came on May 30, 2015, which stated that the product was found to be “substandard”.

It said the food safety officer of Sonipat said in an RTI reply that a case has been “filed in ADC (Additional Deputy Commissioner) court, Sonipat”.

“With respect to your queries kindly be informed that the matter is sub judice and it would not be appropriate to make any comments at this point of time,” the company told the newspaper.

Food quality in shops: onus on shopkeepers

Following the death of a four-year-old boy due to suspected food poisoning after he reportedly ate jelly candy from a bakery in the city, food safety officials have asked shopkeepers to ensure the quality of food items being sold through their outlets.

“The Food Safety and Standards Act wants shopkeepers to check if the manufacturers have the mandatory food safety licence. The 14-digit licence number should be displayed in the packet, container or bottle in which the food item is stored. It should also have the customer care number and address of the manufacturer,” O. Sankaran Unni, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said on Monday.

He said that most of the food items being sold through bakeries and small shops in the city often don’t meet these standards and buying food from them is unsafe. Government and semi-government organisations, private organisations, street vendors, Kudumbasree units, home-based food manufacturers, mess houses, and canteens in educational institutions are supposed to apply for the licence. It is also illegal to sell curd, milk, edible oil, and masala powder in low-quality plastic covers, according to a directive brought out by the FSSAI.

Meanwhile, Mr. Unni said that it is yet to be confirmed if Yosuf Ali, the four-year-old from Kappad, died after he ate jelly candy. “According to his family members, they had also eaten other food. We are awaiting the post-mortem report and the report from the regional analytical lab to reach a conclusion,” he said. The bakery from where the jelly candy was brought had been asked to produce their food safety licence. The Kasaba police questioned the wholesale dealer from Tirur in Malappuram district from where the sweet was purchased. They are also awaiting the lab report.

It is yet to be confirmed if Yosuf Ali, the four-year-old from Kappad, died after he ate jelly candy.

Street food vendors have poor knowledge of FSSA

Chandigarh:A majority of the street food vendors working at various places in City Beautiful working at the tertiary care hospital have a very poor knowledge of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) guidelines.

This fact has been highlighted in a study conducted by researcher Meenakshi from the School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER).

The study was conducted on various street food vendors in different sectors of Chandigarh. Around 100 street food vendors from different sectors of Chandigarh, including Sectors 27, 24, 23, 22, 19, 16, 15 and 11 were sampled.

The study highlighted the status of conformance of selected street food vendors of Chandigarh of the Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2011. The findings showed that about 98 per cent of the vendors never underwent any health checks for communicable diseases.

Only 6 per cent of vendors were trained on the aspects of safety and food handling. While only 8 per cent used hand gloves and zero per cent used head gears. The study findings further highlighted that only 11 per cent of thwe vendors had the licence to sell food.

Recently, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation did the survey of around 24,000 street vendors and soon they will be getting the licences from the department. The Haryana Nav Yuvak Kala Sangam under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, conducted the survey.

However, In its first, the Food and Safety Department is also planning to ensure that the city roadside vendors got themselves registered with the UT Food Safety and Standards Department, Chandigarh.

FSSAI develops rapid test kit to detect adulterated milk, oil

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday said that it has developed a rapid test kit to check quality of milk and edible oils.

"We have started developing variety of rapid test kits for variety of products. But the focus is on milk product and edible oil. We are looking for potential investors and entrepreneurs for bulk production," FSSAI Chairman Ashish Bahuguna told media after a meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council here.

One test kit cannot be used for all products and it poses a challenge, he said.

"We are trying to distinguish between safety and substandard. A product can be substandard without impacting the health," Bahuguna said, noting that milk adulteration was more in North India compared to that in South India.

Since the previous survey to check adulteration threw up surprising results, the government will hold another set of survey in summer when "reportedly mid-term inflation is on peak because production is lower".

After getting the reports, the government will decide a strategy and focus on hotspots.

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan urged the FSSAI to come up with test kits for Rs 10-12 for customers to use it to check adulteration.

Bahuguna said that a company in West Bengal had manufactured an edible oil vending machine, which can be used for buying small quantity.

Milk adulteration more in North India: FSSAI

The regulator has already developed a testing kit to check the quality of milk.

New Delhi: Milk adulteration is more in north India compared to southern states, food safety regulator FSSAI said today. To address this issue, the regulator has already developed a testing kit to check the quality of milk and is looking for investors for its bulk production.

However, more detailed and focused strategy to tackle the menace of adulteration will be developed after conducting one more survey, it added. "A survey conducted three months ago showed in general that milk adulteration was low in southern India, more in north India," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Chairman Ashish Bahuguna told media after a meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC) here.

A survey with a sample size of about 2,500 had "some surprising" results as some states reported no adulteration at all, which "I personally cannot believe", he said. Stating that there is no question on the integrity of the results of the recent survey, Bahuguna said, "But we will conduct another survey to get the accurate picture so that to decide a strategy and focus on hotspots."

He also said, testing kits to check quality of milk has already been developed and the FSSAI is negotiating with investors for mass production and marketing of the kit. The regulator is in the process of developing a testing kit for edible oil as well.

The issue of adulteration was discussed in the CCPC meeting, in which Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan asked the FSSAI to come up with testing kits which consumers can buy at Rs 15-20.

FSSAI wants edible oil manufacturers to make small packs for rural India

“We are speaking with manufacturers to reduce the package size of edible oil,” Ashish Bahuguna, chairman of FSSAI said.

NEW DELHI: The food regulator wants edible oil manufacturers to bring out their products in smaller packs which daily wagers and rural buyers can afford. 

Ashish Bahuguna, chairman of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), told reporters that the regulator mandates that edible oils be sold in packaged form, but in rural areas these oils are being sold in smaller quantities from opened packs. For people earning their wages on a daily basis, it is difficult to afford oil packages of larger quantities, he said. 

"We are speaking with manufacturers to reduce the package size of edible oil," Bahuguna said, adding that his department has also proposed a differential duty on smaller packages. 

"We are also requesting the government to see if there could be a differential duty on smaller packages. That, however, seems to be unlikely because the GST regime is trying to push a common duty structure. But nonetheless we have made this proposal to the government."