FOOD SAFETY LATEST: Apr 29, 2017

Apr 29, 2017

Attention mango lovers, your fruit is eating you!

Even as Gujarat High Courton Thursday took suo motu cognisance of the health hazard caused by mangoes ripened by calcium carbide, mango traders in the city continue to play havoc with public health. As it often happens in our country, though rules and regulations are in place to check the sale of carbide, a banned substance, lack of strict implementation of the same ensures rogue traders go unpunished.

Mirror investigation reveals that in the past five years, 29,560 kg of carbide-ripened mangoes have been destroyed and 205 kg of carbide seized by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. The authorities have also collected Rs 4,69,400 in fine, but not a single trader has been arrested or blacklisted despite violating the rules repeatedly.

The Food Safety (Prohibition and Restriction in Sale) Regulations, 2011, bans sale of fruits ripened by acetylene gas or Calcium Carbide, which has carcinogenic properties. Available easily in the market for Rs 3 per sachet, this welding agent can adversely affect the nervous system and also cause gastric problems. Besides, AMC says it is impossible for laboratories to confirm the presence of calcium carbide in the seized mangoes. The acetylene gas formed by exposure of calcium carbide with moisture is what induces artificial ripening. Since it is a volatile gas, its residue cannot be traced from mangoes.

AMC health department raided 25 shops in Kalupur market on Thursday and sealed two shops that sold carbide-ripened mangoes; they destroyed 400 kg of mangoes and seized 4 kg carbide. More than10,000 kg of mangoes in places across Gujarat have been seized and destroyed and 19 vendors from Ahmedabad alone found guilty of using carbide, said Dr HG Koshia, Commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration of Gujarat. "Since calcium carbide is an industrial substance not meant for food consumption, criminal proceedings can be initiated against the accused under the Public Health Act, said Dr HGKoshia, Com missioner, Food and Drug Control Administration of Gujarat. But here is the catch. "While such vendors are liable to be booked under the Food Safety Act which could invite a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh and two years of imprisonment, it is difficult for us to prove who is responsible for placing the seized carbide sachet in the mango boxes. So, no body has been prosecuted or convicted so far. Also, it is also impossible to detect carbide in the mangoes," said Bhavin Solanki, in-charge health officer, AMC.

Shyam Rohra, president of Fruit Wholesale Merchant Association, says it is even more difficult to prosecute someone if the traders have thrown away the carbide pouches from mango boxes after the mangoes have ripened."How do you know whether the farmer put it or the wholesaler or the retailer?" he said. Elaborating on the health hazard of consuming carbide-ripened mangoes, Anindita Mehta, laboratory director, Consumer Education and Research Centre, said, "Acetylene gas pro duced due to the carbide can adversely affect the nervous system and lead to reduced supply of oxygen to blood, mood disturbances and mental confusion, and drowsiness.

"Excess amount of it can also lead to amnesia or paralysis. Unwashed mangoes, if consumed, can lead to skin and stomach ulcers."

FDA seizes 350kg of bananas

Panaji: The directorate of food and drugs administration (FDA) on Friday confiscated 350kg of artificially ripened bananas from the yard of the Mapusa market in a surprise surveillance drive at the Mapusa municipal market.

Fruit wholesaler Jayaram Laximan Naik was found artificially ripening bananas in the yard using the chemical ethepon, a plant growth regulator agent.

The entire consignment of 350kg, worth Rs 18,000, and the bottles of chemical found at the site were seized. Officials from the FDA's food testing laboratory conducted a spot verification of the exposure of residual chemical on the fruit, the results of which were positive. A case has been booked against Naik under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Inspections expose water quality at juice parlours, ice units

Several parlours in Vadakara and Koyilandy to face legal action

The Commissionerate of Food Safety has completed its first round of summer inspections in the district, initiating legal action against 17 juice parlours and five ice manufacturing units where contaminated water was allegedly used for business.

The inspections, which began last Tuesday by a 10-member team, mainly targeted cool bars and soft drink production units in Kozhikode city, Vadakara and Koyilandy regions. Samples were collected from all the suspected shops and sent for the detailed examination of the Regional Analytical Lab at Malaparamba.

Squad members said they served notice on several juice parlours during inspections in the Vadakara and Koyilandy regions where poor quality items had been found. A total of ₹20,000 was collected as fine within four days of the launch of the special drive, they said.

The department decided to conduct a summer special drive close to the heels of the warning issued by the Health Department against the spread of waterborne diseases. Health Department squads too had inspected several shops and industrial ice plants to check the quality of water.

An officer attached to the Food Safety Commissionerate said the special squad would also inspect hotels and restaurants to ensure the quality and cleanliness of food items. “Wayside eateries will be one of the main targets of summer inspections as many of them have been found violating safety standards,” he said.

The summer inspections conducted last year had unveiled a series of flaws on the part of soft drink dealers in various parts of the district. Nearly 150 shop owners had to pay fine for selling impure products. An amount of ₹5.55 lakh was collected as fine.

PUNJAB FOOD INSPECTORS TOLD TO BE HARSH WITH ADULTERATORS

The Punjab Government on Thursday issued directions to take strict action against violators of the Food Safety and Standards Act of India (FSSAI).

The directives were issued by the State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Varun Roojam to all FDA officers during a high level meeting, attended by Assistant Commissioners (Food Safety), all Food Safety Officers and Designated Officers.

Roojam asked the officers to deal with the nefarious elements indulging in malpractice of food adulteration with iron hands.

“As per the directions given by Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra, the Department is committed to curb the practice of food adulteration and immediately put an end to any possible nexus,” he said.

It was emphasised that food adulteration was very sensitive issue, as it touches the life, well-being and health of common people, therefore all necessary measures must be taken by the food safety officers to ensure that only healthy and hygienic food items are sold in the market.

Food Safety Officers were asked to work dedicatedly and also ensure that the adequate food samples are obtained to match the specified targets and routine inspections must also be carried regularly.

FDA Commissioner told the officers to identify the shortcomings within the department and remove them promptly and adopt the best practices to make the system completely transparent and responsive.

Pulling up the districts that have not been able to accomplish the specified targets of food sampling, Roojam directed them to step up their performance and give the desired results without any further delay. “Any complaints being received from public should be looked into and redressed promptly so that a trust between government and public could be built up,” he said.

It was discussed that regular sampling of products of big companies, as well as loose food items being sold in the open market needs to be stepped up, with special emphasis on milk and milk products like khoa, ghee etc as milk products are consumed more frequently by public.

Food regulator tells states to crack down on use of contaminated ice blocks

The current FSSAI guidelines on ice quality only concern the edible kind, and there are no standards set for ice that come into contact with food products.HEALTH Updated: Apr 28, 2017 10:51 IST

Workers stack blocks of ice on a hot summer day in Kolkata.

Consuming contaminated ice cubes is as bad for health as drinking impure water, and can lead to many waterborne illnesses.

Taking this into consideration, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) – the country’s top food regulator – issued a directive mandating state governments to crack down on people found using ice blocks made of impure water for preserving, storing and transporting perishable food items.

“Yes, we have issued a circular that mandates states to crack down on the use of bad quality ice slabs to preserve food items, including meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. It is as harmful for one’s health to have ice made of contaminated water as it is to have contaminated water directly,” said an FSSAI official on the condition of anonymity.

“It has been observed that ice blocks used for preservation/storage/transportation of perishable food commodities are often made from non-potable water and handled un-hygienically, which leads to the contamination of the food commodity stored/preserved/transported in such ice…” the FSSAI order read.

The current FSSAI guidelines on ice quality only concern the edible kind, and there are no standards set for ice that come into contact with food products.

“It has been decided that any ice/ice blocks used for preserving/storing/transporting food products or coming in contact with food products shall conform to the microbiological requirements prescribed for edible ice…” the order further read.

Dr Mukesh Mehra, associate director for internal medicine at Max Hospital in Patparganj, said this order was particularly significant because the country witnesses an increase in waterborne infections during the summer. “This is because people tend to drink water and juice with doubtful ice quality from vendors sitting in the open,” he added.

So, what are the symptoms you should look out for if you come down with a waterborne disease? If you have high fever with diarrhoea, it may be typhoid.

The symptoms for jaundice are varied. If you suffer from fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and your skin and eyes are yellowed, there’s a good chance that you have this disease. Also check if the colour of your urine has become yellow or reddish.

Why food fortification is a big agenda in food service

Food fortification has a great potential to enrich the nutritional quality of various foods.

With growing urbanization and ever changing lifestyle, consumers have started looking towards a healthy and varied food options, which in turn has witnessed acceptance of healthy and fortified products. Today, consumers are looking at food, products which supplement their daily nutritional requirements and calorie count. In India, deficiency of vital nutrients is real and concerning, resulting in issues related to the overall growth and other health problems. Such deficiencies are also linked to today’s lifestyle, for e.g., Vitamin D deficiency is majorly due to the fact of very limited exposures to sun. Hence, fortification of daily staple products such as milk, wheat, sugar, oil and rice with core vitamins is a perfect choice for consumers to address their daily micronutrient needs. “Fortification is one aspect. The whole initiative is for safe and nutritious food,” shares Smita Mankad, Head, Food Fortification Resource Centre- FSSAI.

Why there is need for fortified food?

The availability of fortified foods helps to tackle the problem of malnutrition which is especially rampant in the developing countries, including India. Malnutrition is responsible for an estimated one-third of childhood deaths. Recent studies have indicated that the availability of fortified ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) formulations is very useful for rapid weight gain in severely malnourished children, even in home settings. This strategy is recommended by WHO1 and underscores the need for food fortification. Also, at a time when there is lots of noise in the food service industry will also make the technology cost-effective if a food distribution system is present. “At the individual level, fortified foods increase productivity. At the national level, it positively impacts the economy by increasing the healthy workforce,” says Saurabh Arora, CEO- Food Safety Helpline.

Players like Mother Dairy have already started selling fortified milk with presence of Vitamin –A & D. “Over the years, Mother Dairy’s Bulk Vended “Token” milk has been fortified with Vitamin A. Recently, we have also started fortifying this milk with Vitamin D. The process of fortifying milk with Vitamins A&D has been further scaled up to the poly-pack milk variants as well. All our poly-pack milk variants, except Full Cream Milk, are now fortified with Vitamins A&D, making us amongst the first ones in the industry,” points Sandeep Ghosh, Business Head – Milk, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd, adding that their edible oil portfolio – Dhara, is consciously and aggressively pursuing fortification. “We were among the first ones to enter the fortified segment through edible oils with most of the variants being fortified. Today, Dhara’s entire range of edible oils, both filtered and refined, is fortified with Vitamins A&D,” shares Ghosh.

Food safety is the call

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has also taken a proactive role in the area of food fortification. Importantly, it has recently drafted a Consultation Paper on Food Fortification 2 in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India, which has highlighted the problem of nutrient deficiency in the Indian population. The FSSAI has issued a Press Note2 on January 31, 2017, requesting inputs from the various stakeholders and the general public in order to improve the quality of the paper. This consultation paper is likely to expedite improvements in the food fortification sector of the food industry in the near future. “The standard and logo is already available. We are looking at building the supplier market in open retails. We are also working on consumer awareness just to align them for the supply. We started the work already. Things are moving fast. It’s not mandatory but it’s entirely voluntarily,” adds Mankad who is leading the Fortification division.

Food fortification has a great potential to enrich the nutritional quality of various foods. The food industry is also committed to fortification of foods, which is highly encouraging. Side-by-side, this will benefit the food industry right from procurement of fortified foods, passage through the distribution chain, up to the end-users i.e. the consumers. Importantly, the Food Business Operators (FBOs) will become well informed and educated about the benefits of fortified foods, thereby increasing their expertise, competence and proficiency. This will help India to improve the nutritional status of millions of people, especially the malnourished and deprived economically weaker sections of society. “The entire process of fortification is followed as per the guidelines issued by the Food Safety Regulator,” adds Ghosh who has been following the requisite labeling norms wherein the contents of Vitamins A&D are duly mentioned. In addition, Mother Dairy is also using the recently launched Fortification logo by FSSAI on all their packaging. The logo is also significantly visible at Mother Dairy milk booths wherein the group retail fortified token milk. “We have been using varied mediums like digital, print, etc. to further promote the fortified range of milk,”Ghosh further adds.

Thus, food fortification being an important part of nutrition will surely help combat nutrition issue which the country is witnessing since age.