Jul 14, 2017
Adulterated food: Andhra Pradesh third, no Telangana data
Hyderabad: After Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh has reported the highest number of incidents of adulteration of food items. According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India around 20 per cent of the 4,860 samples received and analysed in AP in 2015-16 were found to be adulterated. Food safety authorities have filed criminal and civil cases pertaining to the adulteration of 870 samples.
Ironically, authorities could secure conviction only in three cases of adulteration, showing the negligence of investigation by the food safety officials. FSSAI officials said AP officials has booked 194 criminal cases and 347 civil cases against food safety violators. “Around Rs 52.15 lakh has been collected as fine in Andhra Pradesh,” an FSSAI official said. Asked about Telangana state, he said no information had been received. Several food sellers are yet to be registered in Telangana state.
In AP food safety authorities issued licences to 31,384 establishments and registered 32,902 food sellers and distributors. In Telangana state, the number is almost half. Only 15,347 have been issued licenses and 12,694 establishments were registered according to the FSSAI officials. Both the states have formed steering committees and tribunals to deal with cases under the FSSAI Act from appointing food safety commissioners, adjudicating officers, designated officers and food safety officers.
Telangana govt to check calcium carbide levels in fruits, vegetables
Hyderabad: The city administration is planning to provide mini kits to monitor the calcium carbide levels in fruits and vegetables. The food inspectors with the help of the kit can test the produce on the spot and can avoid sending samples for laboratory testing. The authorities initiated a plan of action to request the Central government for the kits.
Hyderabad District Joint Collector M Prashanthi has been appointed the Chairman of the committee. The committee comprises of Police, Transport, Agriculture and Marketing Departments. The food laboratories usually take three-fourteen days to check the produce. The long wait keeps the officials from taking any action. The kit is a simple method based on bio-functionalised nano- metal composite which can detect artificial ripening by calcium carbide.
M Prashanthi said, “Only the plan of action has been formulated and we need to order the kits. The kits for spot inspection of fruits and vegetables will be a simple and fast process for the inspectors. The food safety department will be provided with the kits to monitor calcium carbide levels in fruit and vegetables.”
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Food Inspector K Balaji Raju said that with the use of the mini kits it will be easy and simple to check for calcium carbide levels as soon the produce enters the markets. The method will help punish the guilty and to create awareness at the earliest.
Punjab govt announces Rs 5 crore for modernisation of food safety department
Chandigarh, Jul 13 (PTI) The Punjab Government today announced Rs five crore for modernisation of the food safety department and also launched its first mobile testing lab facility to check adulterated food products in the state.
"By ensuring the supply of nutritious and unadulterated food products, many deadly diseases such as cancer, Hepatitis and gastric disorders could be curbed," Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra said in a statement.
The state government has also decided to organise capability building programme-cum-special training for assistant food commissioners, food safety officers and designated officers of the health department to provide them with relevant and practical insights into food safety standards, and related legal provisions under the Food Safety Standards and Regulations Act 2006 and 2011.
Mohindra said the state government will also recruit 20 food safety officers for the smooth functioning of food safety branch.
He said the drive has already been intensified in the state with "zero tolerance" against adulteration of food articles.
He said 1,458 samples of food items were found unsafe and adulterated in the state during 2016, and alleged in the past 10 years, the quality of food had deteriorated
Why the new food mantra today is ‘Ayurveda Diet’
There’s a reason why nature wants us to eat mangoes and watermelons, apart from the humble trio of tinda, karela and lauki in summer.
You are as good as what you eat. It was Ayurveda that first popularised this theory, which is why the Indian science of dietetics is held up with respect around the world. It is time, in fact, to consider the "Ayurveda Diet" as the worthy replacement of the Mediterranean Diet, which doctors around the world have been propagating for the past three decades.
The "Ayurveda Diet", which is in urgent need of codification by the medical community working in tandem with chefs and home cooks, and regulatory bodies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), is based on the principle of balance and portion control, and you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practise it.
Moreover, as we become increasingly conscious about the carbon footprint of the food we eat, we can go back to Ayurveda for inspiration — generations of Indian vaids and hakims had taught us to eat seasonal and buy local, which has now become a sexy concept because the West is going ga-ga over farm-to-fork and zero-mile diets.
There’s a reason why nature wants us to eat mangoes and watermelons, apart from the humble trio of tinda, karela and lauki in summer. As long as we respected nature’s wishes, without succumbing to the lure of Washington apples, New Zealand kiwis and aloo-gobhi through the year, we enjoyed good health despite being exposed to an array of infectious diseases.
It’s not surprising that the world has finally hailed the virtues of the humble moringa (drumsticks; sajina), or cow’s milk ghee, or millets (bajra and ragi, in the Indian context, which are high in protein and fibres), which are the new ‘super foods’. Our Ayurvedic gurus were drawing on centuries of wisdom when they celebrated these and other gifts of nature.
These thoughts came to my mind deep down south at the Kairali-The Ayurvedic Healing Village in Palakkad, Kerala, where I had gone to attend a chefs’ retreat anchored by Gita Ramesh, co-owner of that swath of paradise and author of the definitive Ayurvedic Cookbook, published by Roli Books, and attended by Manjit Gill, India’s most distinguished chef, Abhijit Saha, one of the earliest proponents of Progressive Indian cuisine who divides his time between Singapore and Bengaluru, Arun Kumar TR, who is the new face of south Indian food, and television chef and Mexican cuisine specialist, Vikas Sethi.
I asked Gita Ramesh, who has a degree in Ayurveda and is married into a family of distinguished vaids, to summarise the dietetic principles of Ayurveda and she said, “Eat everything that is in season, but in moderation.”
Ayurveda is also not against non-vegetarian diets, as is commonly believed, but during treatment, you have to turn vegetarian, which is not very hard to do if your meals have all the right ingredients in the right proportions, so that the medicines prescribed can be absolved easily by your body. Hence the idea of "Healing Recipes", which was the central thought behind the retreat.
Ramesh reminded that the foundational belief of Ayurveda is that each person has a unique constitution, which is why the ancient science categorises us into three types based on body characteristics (doshas) — vata (must stay away from potatoes and chickpeas); pitha (endowed with a high power of digestion); and kapha (go slow on cold food because of sluggish digestion).
The head of the Ayurvedic hospital at the village, of course, pointed out that each one of us is a sum of at least two doshas, understanding which is the first step of any Ayurvedic treatment protocol. Ayurveda also propagated what is believed to be a modern idea — preventive care, or swastha — and its notion of shodana, or treatment, targets not only the outward signs of a disease, but also its internal causes.
One can write reams on this wisdom, but before anything else, we need to take up the challenge Ramesh posed to the visiting chefs. Good food practices must be made to travel, she said. In Kerala, for instance, a newborn baby is fed ragi porridge after three months. Isn’t that a much healthier alternative to an industrially produced baby cereal?
Is Your 'Ice Cream' Made From Milk Or Vegetable Oil?
Hailing from Mumbai, I ate a ton of ice cream every summer. It was a tasty way to beat the heat. After I started foodnetindia, however, I realised that a lot of what I ate back then might not have been ice cream, but rather, frozen dessert. Not a big deal, right? Wrong! Because frozen desserts may contain trans fats!
The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines an ice cream, kulfi or softy ice-cream as a concoction obtained by freezing a mix of milk and/or other products derived from milk, with or without the addition of sweetening agents, fruits, fruit products, and eggs, among other things. It defines frozen dessert as a product obtained by freezing a pasteurized mix prepared with milk fat and/or vegetable oils. It may also contain fat, milk protein, vegetable protein and sweetening agents.
The use of edible vegetable oil is permitted in frozen desserts, but not in ice cream.
The key difference between the two is the fact that the use of edible vegetable oil is permitted in frozen desserts, but not in ice cream. It is therefore entirely possible to conclude that according to the FSSAI definition, ice cream is a sub-set of frozen dessert and is subject to more stringent standards. It is also possible that the 'and/or' in the definition of frozen desserts is a typographical error. However, for the purposes of this article, the assumption is that frozen dessert contains vegetable oil or fats of vegetable origin (which is generally the case), and I consider that as an issue of concern for consumers because some vegetable fats are sources of toxic trans-fats.
The consumption of trans-fats is one of the biggest safety issues in the packaged food industry. Manufacturers label trans fats in their products as 'edible vegetable fat, 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' 'vegetable shortening,' 'vanaspati ghee,' and 'margarine'. The consumption of trans-fats is associated with several lifestyle diseases, and I've written about the trans-fats problem in an earlier article as well.
Manufacturers label trans fats in their products as 'edible vegetable fat,' 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' 'vegetable shortening,' 'vanaspati ghee,' and 'margarine'.
Why do they use vegetable oil instead of dairy fat? When asked by NDTV, Mr. Sapan Sharma, GM, Hindustan Unilever Limited, said, "Vegetable fat is more advantageous than dairy fat. Vegetable fats are not a direct cholesterol source. Palm oil or derivatives like mid fractions are healthier. Also, vegetable fat is amenable to making ice cream. Palm oil is very versatile, and helps give frozen dessert its smooth and creamy texture at -15 degrees." However, he did add that HUL does not use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Kwality Walls, which is an HUL brand, has even published an article in which it explains why vegetable oil is used, and clarifies that their products don't have hydrogenated fat. They even got an order from the Bombay High Court against Amul, restraining Amul from telecasting an advertisement depicting the difference between ice-cream and frozen desserts, and said that it actually amounted to slander of goods. The contention was that the advertisement was trying to mislead consumers by stating that frozen desserts sold in India contained Vanaspati.
HUL even got an order from the Bombay High Court against Amul, restraining Amul from telecasting an advertisement depicting the difference between ice-cream and frozen desserts.
While I appreciate the fact the HUL and Kwality Walls have taken the trouble to clarify that their products don't contain trans-fats, there may be other frozen dessert manufacturers whose products may actually contain trans-fat. So, considering that ice-cream is one of the most popular packaged food items in this country, I think that the food labelling laws need to be changed to ensure that consumers can easily identify whether a product is an ice-cream or a frozen dessert, and if they still choose to buy a frozen dessert (I wouldn't), then the law should ensure that the vegetable oil used is specified.
The law may or may not change, and even if it does, it will take time. So if you want to be absolutely certain that your sweet treat is safe, take the trouble to read the packaging. Trust me, it is worth it.
Minister calls for thrust on food safety
Minister for Agriculture V.S. Sunil Kumar has stressed the need to ensure food safety while striving to achieve food security.
Speaking after inaugurating a function at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, to honour the winners of the awards instituted by the Kerala Agricultural University, he told researchers to aim higher. VC P. Rajendran presided. Dean A. Anil Kumar, Associate Director K. Umamaheswaran, Kalliyur grama panchayat president R. Jayalakshmi, block panchayat member J.Girija, and panchayat member Pravinakumari spoke. While Himaparvathi and Deepa R. Chandran won the best student award, P. Aparna and Allen Thomas received the best teacher award.
The prize for the best department went to the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry department. The awards have been instituted in memory of former professor N.P. Kumari Sushama.
FSDA brings food in kanwar camps under scanner
Meerut: To keep an eye on the food being prepared at the camps, hotels and dhabas in the city for kanwar yatra, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) has brought the food being served to the devotees under the scanner.
Concerned about the food being prepared and served to the pilgrims, the FSDA authorities have issued a set of guidelines to the kanwar camp owners and divided the district into 15 zones so as to keep a tab on the food quality being served.
“A huge number of kanwariyas will be passing through the city till Shivratri on July 21. Various city-based NGOs and religious groups have set up camps and temporary food stalls in the city to provide food to the kanwariyas. Considering the huge number of people who will be eating this food, we are keeping a scanner on the food being prepared at these camps,” said Archana Deeran, designated food officer, FSDA, Meerut district.
“The district has been divided into 15 zones and duties of various food safety officers finalised for each zone. They will keep a check on the food being sold.
“Also, instructions have been given to send the rate list of food items being sold at these food outlets and also to ensure that only branded spices are used for preparation of food,” said Sarvesh Mishra, chief food safety officer.
The samples will be sent to the food testing laboratory in Lucknow and their results will arrive in a month’s period. The samples will be sent to the state capital to avoid any tampering at the lab in Meerut.
“We have also issued instructions to the kanwar camp owners to ensure that no guideline is flouted and no stale food is provided at this time, especially because the speed of food deterioration increases in monsoon season,” said Deeran.
Meanwhile, the authorities of drug administration, a wing of FSDA, have set up a 24-hour service van, which will remain on wheels and will provide free medicines to the kanwariyas.
FSDA finds various pan masala brands substandard
Bareilly: Food safety and drug administration (FSDA) officials on Thursday claimed that several food samples, including chewing tobacco, turmeric and snack items, sold in the city were found sub-standard and unsafe for human health. They said samples of these items were collected over the past four months and were sent to the lab for testing. FSDA officer Mamta Kumari said that the lab reports confirmed that these samples were substandard and that they would submit their report to the city magistrate to initiate lodging of FIRs against shopkeepers selling substandard edible items.
Chief food safety officer Akshay Pradhan said various samples of pan masala, gutkha, cigarette, etc were collected from the various shops. Besides these, turmeric powder and snack samples (fryums) were also collected from shops located in Meerganj and Navabganj areas.
"Samples of tobacco products have been found substandard by the lab. The lab reports also indicate that several samples of turmeric powder and fryums were found unsafe for human health. We will submit our report to the city magistrate. A case will also be lodged against some shopkeepers at Navabganj and Meerganj in the court of additional chief judicial magistrate. In the matter of substandard tobacco products, we will file a case in the court of additional district magistrate,” Pradhan said.
FSDA officials said that samples various pan masala brands were collected from Kutubkhana, Chaupala and Kudeshia Fatak. The officials also said that such items had been seized and licence of the accused traders would be cancelled.
No momos, burgers, patties for kanwar yatris
BAREILLY: The district administration has issued instructions to the owners of eateries on the kanwar yatra route not to sell junk food to devotees in the Shravan month. Some of the food items that have been specifically mentioned include burgers, noodles, patties, pastries, momos and manchurian.
Food safety and drug administration (FSDA) officials said that sale of junk food, eggs and meat has been prohibited even on highways covered by the kanwar yatris.
District magistrates of Bareilly and Muzaffarnagar have issued directions to administrative officials to ensure that sale of food items that can cause health-related problems to the yatris must be curbed immediately.
Officials said that during the Shravan month, over four crore devotees are likely to pass through Muzaffarnagar on their way to Haridwar. "The district has been divided into 16 zones, 47 sub zones and 83 sectors. FSDA officials have been told to carry out inspections to check the quality of food being sold in eateries along the yatra route," Muzaffarnagar DM GS Priyadarshi said.
Chief food safety officer Akshay Pradhan said, "Since most junk food items have a small shelf life, often, owners of eateries sell them even after their expiry date. Besides, due to the current weather conditions, it is not safe to have spicy and oily food. We have been regularly collecting food samples from eateries to ensure that substandard items are not being sold to the devotees. Restaurants, dhabas and roadside eateries are being covered in the exercise."
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