Dec 26, 2017
Durga temple laddu doesn’t confirm to FSSAI standards
Laddus, worth lakhs of rupees spoiled in 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2016, says V&E report
Lakhs of devotees visit the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Devastanam, perform puja, offer vows (mokkus) and take prasadams with devotion. But, you might be shocked to know that the temple management is reportedly not maintaining standards in preparing the prasadam.
The contractors and the staff engaged in the potu (prasadam making unit) have been allegedly resorting to high-level corruption and not maintaining quality in making the prasadams.
The temple management sells ‘pulihora’ and ‘laddus’, and distributes ‘pongali’, ‘anna prasadam’, ‘daddojanam’ and other prasadams to the devotees. But, the prasadams being distributed are not of good quality, according to the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) officials, who conducted raids recently.
Many irregularities
“We found irregularities in allotting tenders for provisions, variations in stock registers, not maintaining any registers in allotment of provisions such as cashew, raisins, ghee, edible oil, almond and other items to the potu daily and poor quality in prasadams,” says Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer (RVEO) M. Ravindranath Babu.
“The temple management destroyed 41,978 laddus, worth about ₹4.2 lakh, as worms were found and yeast was formed in them, and ordered for an inquiry in 2016. The Vigilance and Enforcement Department has submitted a report to the government recently”, the RVEO said.
As per our investigation, laddu contractor M. Ramesh supplied 52,000 laddus to the devastanam on October 2, 2016, of which 41,978 stored in the temple’s kalyana mandapam were spoiled the next day. The temple authorities destroyed the laddus on October 5.
“On October 4, 2016, officials of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) collected samples of the spoilt laddus and submitted a report on October 27, stating that the quality of laddu prasadam ‘is not within the limits of FSSAI standards and the laddus contained yeast and moulds”, the RVEO explained.
Blacklisted
As per Vigilance report, temple Executive Officer A. Surya Kumari stated that about ₹4.2 lakh was recovered from the contractor Mr. Ramesh and he was blacklisted from participating in tenders for the next five years.
“During investigation, it was revealed that laddu prasadam was also spoiled in 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2016. But, no criminal action was initiated against the contractor or the staff concerned who are monitoring the quality of prasadams. We noticed that poor quality ingredients are being used in preparing prasadams”, Mr. Ravindranath Babu said.
Mumbai: Chicken served in fast food joints unhealthy due to heavy usage of antibiotics, alleges PIL
Mumbai: Think before ordering food at any of the multinational fast food joints. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court alleges that the food being served there is unhealthy due to the heavy usage of antibiotics.
Advocate Shehzad Naqvi filed a PIL on December 22 in the HC against fast foods chain suppliers. In the PIL, he has alleged that these companies are using antibiotics and genetically treated chicken which are harmful for health. The PIL also seeks action against use of chemicals by fruit and vegetable vendors and poultry farms in India are using pig fat and growth hormones in chicken.
“As per the official documents of the Union Health Ministry, these giant fast food manufacturers do not follow proper guidance to ensure healthy food supply. These meals contain sodium, unhealthy fat, carbs that cause a severe effect on health in a long term. Nowadays, many schools going children consume these meals on a daily basis which would leave serious implications on their health. So, this needs to be stopped,” said Naqvi.
As per the PIL, these fast food supplying chains are using genetically added substances, which are banned, which is prima-facie a violation of section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. “It highlights how innocent children are eating genetically-treated chicken from multinational fast food brands, which is harmful to their health,” reads the PIL.
In the PIL, Naqvi also alleged that chickens raised in poultry farms are injected with pig fat and phosphates to increase their weight. He has also sought action the vegetable vendors who use chemicals in foods. “The vegetable and fruit vendors use banned chemicals like calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits. Not only that in vegetables they use harmful chemicals to provide artificial shine,” he added.
“These phosphate additives found in meat and chicken are called ‘Vascular Toxins’, capable of impairing arterial functions within hours of consumption. It further bears mention that these chicken also contain arsenic toxicity can lead to cancer of the bladder, lung, skin, kidney and colon. Even low levels of exposure can lead to paralysis and diabetes,” said Dr Om Shrivastav, Infectious Disease Expert.
City doctors have raised concern over the health hazards of the usage of these chemicals. “You must have seen while buying apples that the sellers apply wax to provide a shining look and retain the moisture. As per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sellers can use edible wax such as beewax, carnauba and petroleum jelly. But often, the quality of the wax is not maintained which leads to the development of infections and ulcers when the body fails to absorb the wax,” said nutritionist Dr Uma Prasad.
The PIL also raises concern about the usage of pig fat and growth hormones in chicken that is banned by the Union agriculture ministry. As per The World Health Organization (WHO), usage of artificial hormones can affect reproduction and also alter the functioning of endocrine in humans.
Crackdown on shops selling expired soft drinks
Food safety and drugs administration has cracked down on shops in and around Srirangam selling soft drinks which have passed its expiry date, ahead of Vaikunda Ekadesi festival.
Since the commencement of the inspection on December 18, food safety officers (FSOs) attached to the food safety department of Trichy found carbonated drinks beyond expiry date on display at shops. The officials let the vendors with a warning after seizing the drinks.
"We seized soft drinks from four to five shops and destroyed them. We will issue notices to such shops asking them to follow procedure. If they continue to violate, they will be slapped with cases," said designated officer (DO) of food safety department Dr R Senthilkumar on Monday.
Besides Srirangam, the drive is being conducted at shops in the entry points such as Chathiram bus stand, No 1 toll gate, TVS toll gate and central bus stand to check if there was any sale of such items. The drive will be intensified from Tuesday and it will go on till December 29.
The officials asked the people to check the manufacturing date and expiry date before consuming such stuffs. The doctors warn of either mild or severe health complications as the consequence of consuming the any food items which crossed it expiry date.
Now FSSAI to certify popular and top street food places in India
New Delhi, December 25: In a great move, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will ensure that all kinds of street food served are safe and hygienic. The top food regulator is likely to certify popular and top street food places in India after assuring food quality.
“Street food is popular among people and there already are streets and cluster of shops in different states that are known for their street food. What we are planning is to ensure that the food served at these places is safe and hygienic,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO- FSSAI.
“The parameters that we are considering include best practices for garbage disposal, maintaining personal hygiene, demarcating cooking and non-cooking area, working street lights, pest control and overall cleanliness among other things,” he said.
After planning of various guidelines for the certification process, local authorities will be involved in the project to ensure proper regulatory oversight. Eating unhygienic food, especially street food, can lead to serious health conditions.
“The parameters that we are considering include best practices for garbage disposal, maintaining personal hygiene, demarcating cooking and non-cooking area, working street lights, pest control and overall cleanliness among other things,” he said.
Notably, The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pulled up the FSSAI for issuing licences to food business operators without complete documents and questioned it on the quality of testing with 65 out of 72 state labs not being accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
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