Jun 28, 2017
Food Safety department cracks whip on edible oil sellers
The Food Safety department has confiscated 4030 litres of oil, supposed to be food grade, after detecting shortcomings in details furnished on labels.
In raids conducted across the district, the department took 298 edible oil samples from manufacturers and traders in re-packaging business and, after finding 121 to be defective, registered 24 cases against offenders.
At a recent review meeting chaired by District Collector S.Prabakar in the wake of the raids by Food Safety officials and follow-up action, edible oil manufacturers and traders in re-packaging business in the district were warned of stringent action if they were caught conducting business without obtaining license under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Printed labels on the oil packets must contain complete details of brand, oil type, vegetarian symbol, address of manufacturer, batch number, quantity, price, use by date, and break up of nutrition, Dr. Prabakar said, adding that two types of oil could be blended and sold only with Agmark certification.
Designated Officer for Food Safety and Drug Administration T.Kalaivani and subordinate officials took stock of the extent of conformity of manufacturers and traders to the requirement of prominently displaying the inscription on packets containing lamp oil that it is not fit for consumption.
There was no need to mention the FSSAI license number for lamp oil, the officials explained.
In the event of detection of malpractices, the department has invited the public to pass on information over Whatsapp (9444042322) and landline 0424 2223545.
2 months after crackdown, very few licences for meat shops issued in UP
Agra: Two months after crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops in UP soon after chief minister Yogi Adityanath took over the reins of the state, opening a meat shop is still proving to be an uphill task in the state. Of 562 applications received in the past two months in Agra, only 26 have been granted licences so far. Officials said over 250 applications had been rejected outright given the strict rules required for setting shops.
“We cannot take risk of granting licence to shops even if there are minor glitches and invite the wrath of the government later,” said a municipal corporation official.
“In many cases, there is a religious place within the 50-metre radius of the shop for which the permission is being sought, in other cases, shop owners are not able to procure deep-freezers, geysers and knives and choppers made of steel. The NOC can be granted only after all the parameters laid in the rules are met,” said Yogesh Sharma, chief veterinary officer of Agra municipal corporation.
On April 24, the administration had introduced a single-window system at the office of food safety and drug administration (FSDA) to reduce delay and assist applicants in getting the approval in a hassle-free manner, but that has not fetched the desired results. On the other hand, applicants are now alleging harassments at the hand of officials.
Sarvadaliya Muslim Sangharsh Samiti (SMSS) national president Haji Jaleemuddin Qureshi said, “The agencies involved in granting NOCs and licences are raising objections on flimsy grounds. The Allahabad high court in an order has fixed July 17 as the deadline to grant licences to deserving shops and slaughterhouses, but going by the pace of the work, it will take many months before licences would be issued.”
“We have been demanding that people should be allowed to open shops near mosques, as we do not have any objections. This rule of not opening shops with 50 metre of religious places should be applicable for temples and other religious places which have objections,” he added.
FSDA-designated officer Devashish Upadhayay told TOI, “A month’s time is required to grant licence which involve no-objection certificate from the civic body and police. A spot visit by the FSDA is also required to check whether shops are adhering to the prescribed rules or not. For some time in past, the drive slowed down due to other departmental work, but now the work is going on at the required pace.”
The system had raised hopes of meat sellers as they were no longer required to make rounds of different offices to obtain no-objection certificates. The administration mandated that instead of applicants visiting offices of circle officers and the municipal corporation to get requisite NOCs, the FSDA officials would internally conduct this process on their behalf after receiving the applications.
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