Jul 21, 2017
Tobacco products being supplied from Karnataka
Prohibited tobacco products seized by FSSAI officials from a private bus from Bengaluru to Coimbatore on Thursday.
The banned items reach Coimbatore in private buses
Despite repeated crackdowns by various agencies, sale of banned tobacco products is yet to come under control in Coimbatore.
According to some of the sellers, demand for tobacco products from migrant population is increasing as against the demand from users here.
“Demand for gutkha from migrant workers has increased. Demand from users in the city has not seen an increase or fall,” says a seller from the city who did not want to be named.
But, recent seizures indicate a well-oiled supply chain network of prohibited tobacco products, mainly from Karnataka.
Banned items seized in the recent past by the Police Department, Railway Police and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) were mainly sourced from Karnataka. Wholesale dealers get the supply through private bus services from Karnataka to Coimbatore, most of them arriving here in the small hours.
“Private buses depend on parcels to generate revenue in off-seasons. Agents give fake declarations on the consignments that are neatly packed so that the smell of tobacco does not come out,” says a police officer.
Following reports of the gutkha scam linking top officials in the Police Department in Chennai, the City Police had conducted a day-long drive against banned tobacco products in Coimbatore recently.
However, supply of tobacco products is not affected as shown in the seizure of contraband worth around Rs. 1 lakh on Thursday. The banned items were seized from a private bus that arrived the city from Bengaluru in the early hours on Thursday.
“The bus was checked based on specific information. Banned tobacco products were found in 13 cartons that were parcelled to an agent named Ganapathy. We have lifted samples from the seized consignment for laboratory examination,” said O.L.S. Vijay, Desiganted Officer, FSSAI.
The agent was identified by FSSAI officials as he came to collect the parcel at Karumathampatti.
Mr. Vijay said that action would be taken against the agent based on the laboratory result.
The seized items would also be destroyed.
Dengue prevention drive in hotels, restaurants
FSSAI officials check whether storage of water is done in proper manner
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has swung into action to back the efforts by the Health Department to combat dengue.
FSSAI officials have started inspecting restaurants and small hotels to ensure that storage of water is done in proper manner.
Officials are also checking to ensure contaminated water is not used for cooking and drinking purposes.
“Based on directions from superiors, food safety officers are conducting inspections at hotels, mainly to ensure safe storage of water. Other than aiding mosquito breeding, contaminated water can cause for other illnesses,” said O.L.S. Vijay, Designated Officer, FSSAI, Coimbatore.
Hotels have been asked to not to store water for longer days as it may lead to contamination. During visits, hoteliers have been instructed to store the water in containers covering them with a fitting lid.
“Hoteliers have been asked to clean underground water storage tanks at frequent intervals. Use of bleaching powder is advised for cleaning. They are also instructed not to serve water stored for more than three days for drinking and cooking purposes,” said Dr. Vijay.
Food safety officers are also checking whether storage systems are turning breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
As part of increasing awareness among public, food safety officials are also pasting posters in hotels on safe storage of water and prevention of mosquito breeding.
34 cases registered for selling banned tobacco products
Superintendent of Police R. Sivakumar has said that a total of 34 cases were registered against persons for selling banned tobacco items in the past six months in the district.
Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, he said the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department along with the police department conducted raids and seized the products. As many as 19 cases were registered and two kg products were seized in 2013 while two cases were registered and 150 gram tobacco products were seized in 2014.
In 2015, 22 cases were registered and 1.5 kg products were seized while 138 cases were registered in 2016 and 21 kg were seized. In the past six months 34 cases were registered against sellers and 4.5 kg tobacco products were seized, he added.
Food Safety Commissioner
By not appointing the Food Safety Commissioner and leaving the department headless, the message that the Government intends to convey is that it does not attach much importance to the organization. It is ironic that on the one hand the Government pledges resources to the improvement of health facilities and on the other hand it is not willing to ensure safety of food that is meant for the consumption of the people. Actually, a case has been brought before the High Court questioning why the Food Safety Commissioner is not appointed. The Commission has other vacancies also to make up its manpower, but the court’s observation is that first the Commissioner should be appointed and other appointments will follow.
The essential component of Food Safety Commissioner is the existence of food testing laboratories. There are only two such laboratories in the State. However, these laboratories need to be accredited by National Accreditation Board of Laboratories (NABL) Government of India so that result of lifted samples is done here without referring the samples to referral laboratories outside the state. Besides, the two food testing laboratories one each in Jammu and Srinagar are lacking adequate manpower as well as equipment. Consequently accreditation of these laboratories cannot be possible unless these are brought up to the established standards in all respects.
What one gathers from the story is that the Government and particularly the Health Department have never shown seriousness about maintaining high standard of food which the people of the State are supposed to consume. It is intriguing that the State is soft-paddling with the matter instead of expediting it. It is not good governance that the court has to intervene on such administrative matters as can be handled by the administrative machinery itself easily but with a sense of urgency and responsibility. Hospital records show that the number of patients of malnutrition is fast increasing in the State. It is a clear warning that food quality has to be improved to save the people from various diseases emanating from malnutrition.
Food safety officials raid Vijayawada candy unit, seize stocks
VIJAYAWADA: Food safety officials seized the stocks at Gokul Foods on the Kabela Road in the city after discovering during an inspection conducted on Tuesday that the confectionery factory is not adhering to quality norms.
Owned by S Purnachandra Rao, Gokul Foods manufactures a variety of sugar candies that are mostly consumed by children. The 200-litre drums of liquid glucose, the main ingredient used in the candies, was found without company labels showing the name of the manufacturer, date of manufacture or the 'best before dates'. The owner just claimed that he had brought the drums from Hyderabad.
Another violation observed by the food safety officials is the mismatch between FSSAI licence numbers on the labels. They have printed different numbers on different labels.
Assistant controller of food safety N Poornachandra Rao said that efforts are being made to ascertain the genuineness of the licence of the confectionery unit. Labels on the food products under the brand name of Gokul Foods were with a fake FSSAI licence number, he disclosed.
Poornachandra Rao observed that the liquid glucose, if adulterated, can cause intestinal disorders in children which, in turn, leads to many other health complications. He said the very process of making candies at the unit is faulty as there is a mismatch between the ingredients used by the manufacturer and those printed on the product labels. For instance, the manufacturer claimed to have been using citric acid in the making of candies but there is no trace of it either on the label or on the factory premises.
"We have seized the stocks and served notices on Gokul Foods management. The samples are being sent to the lab for a detailed analysis. Legal action would be initiated on the confectionery factory based on the lab report," said Poornachandra Rao.
Dairy products to carry quality mark
The logo will be unveiled on Thursday
VADODARA: Like Woolmark assures you of getting quality wool and Agmark and ISI marks are assurance that the agriculture produce or industrial products that you buy are of good quality and standards, dairy products in the country including milk pouches will have a quality mark logo on them.
The Anand-headquartered National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on Thursday will unveil the quality mark logo which will be launched by union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare Radha Mohan Singh at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi.
The dairy products carrying this quality mark logo will assure the consumers that the products are free from any kind of adulteration. The union minister will award certificates to 14 selected manufacturing units for adopting food safety and quality management systems for milk and milk products and adhering to quality mark parameters. The first 14 manufacturing units selected for the award certificates include six manufacturing units based in Karnataka that manufacture dairy products under Nandini brand, four units that manufacture Punjab's popular Verka brand, Junagadh and Kutch Dairy of Gujarat which are makers of Mahi brand and two manufacturing units run by Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Private Limitedbased in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh that manufacture Mother Dairy products.
NDDB's quality mark will provide dairy cooperatives and producer institutions the much needed brand identity and a competitive edge, said NDDB's chairman Dilip Rath.
"This will also contribute to building consumer confidence in dairy cooperative brands. It is aimed at bringing about process improvement in the entire value chain from producer to the consumer to ensure availability of quality milk and products," a NDDB official said.
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries (DAHDF) and NDDB are providing necessary funding and technical assistance under various schemes such as National Programme for Dairy Development and National Dairy Plan to the dairy cooperatives to help them bring about process improvements in their dairy value chain to qualify for award of "quality mark".
An 11-member management committee comprising of DAHDF representative, managing directors of four federations, a representative from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and two experts in dairying will oversee activities of the quality mark.
As part of the scheme, interested federations, cooperative dairies, government dairy units can apply for the quality mark. Only dairy units that adopt food safety and quality management systems for milk and milk products and adhere to parameters given in the guidelines of quality mark are eligible for it.
375 cases registered under Food Safety Act
Ludhiana, July 20 In all, 375 cases of the violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 have been registered for selling food items not adhering to the required standards in the district. More than Rs 11 lakh have been collected as the fine money. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner Pardeep Aggarwal.
He said 375 cases have been registered from January 1, 2011, to June 31, 2017. “Anybody sub-standard food will not be spared,” he said.The Jodhewal police have booked two persons on the charge of raping a girl. The accused have been identified as Varinder of Jonewal village and Baljit Kumar of the same locality.
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