Feb 15, 2018
FSSAI proposes rules for food sold, supplied in schools across India
India’s food safety regulator, in a first, has prescribed norms to ensure safe and healthy food for children in schools across India.
NEW DELHI: India’s food safety regulator, in a first, has prescribed norms to ensure safe and healthy food for children in schools across India.
The draft proposals by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have recently been put out in public domain for feedback before they are notified.
Named Food Safety and Standards (Safe and Wholesome Food for School Children) Regulations, 2018, the proposal seek to prescribe standards for food items sold or supplied in school mess, kitchens and eateries run by food business operators or even vending machines.
Under the proposed rules, schools will be asked to make distinction between eatables marked green, yellow and red.
While green will mostly comprise of fresh food, yellow will imply packaged food and red colour will mean food items high in salt, sugar and fat. The draft rules suggest that food and beverages categorised as green or yellow should be largely be on school menus and items labelled as red, with high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) content will be discouraged from being sold or provided inside school campuses.
The proposals also say that a balanced diet for school-goers is one that “should provide about 50-60 per cent of the total calories from carbohydrates (preferably from complex carbohydrates), about 10-15 per cent from proteins and 20-30 per cent from both visible and invisible fat.
“In addition, it should provide such non-nutrients as dietary fibre and antioxidants, which bestow positive health benefits,” reads the draft.
The draft regulation also says that the school authority selling or catering school meals must obtain a license or be registered as a food business operator (FBO) from the concerned licensing authority under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
“At the heart of these regulations is a central idea to make it clear what is healthy for children and what is not,” said FSSAI chief executive officer Pawan Aggarwal.
“We have based the proposed norms on science and highest standards of nutritional requirements for kids as laid down by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad," another FSSAI official said.
The proposed regulations have come in the wake of a Delhi High Court directive given to the FSSAI few years back.
The proposed norms also suggest that no person offers, or exposes for sale, HFSS foods to school children in school canteens, mess premises or hostel kitchens.
State food authorities will also be required ensure that no person offers, or expose for sale, HFSS foods to school children within 50m of school premises.
Food businesses manufacturing HFSS food products will also be barred from advertising such foods to children in school premises.
Trader arrested for selling dead chicken
Tirupur: A trader and a poultry farmowner were arrested for selling dead chicken at Palladam in the district recently.
Last week, police personnel at Veerapandi Pirivu checkpost red-handedly caught Ganesh, 34, of Parappalayam while he was carrying dead birds, which could fetch 140kg of meat. On intimation, food safety and drug administration (FSDA) authorities seized the dead chicken.
“In the past four months, we seized about 170kg of dead chicken in two instances excluding the last one. Catching the dead cocks was for the first time. When the police inquired with Ganesh, he confessed that all the 60 dead birds were procured for Rs 10 each from a poultry farm owned by Marimuthu of Sultanpettai near Palladam,” said K Tamil Selvan, designated officer of FSDA.
“Many people might be involved in such illegal selling of the dead chicken. It could cause health complications to the consumers from various Tasmac bars and roadside stalls. Apart from picking the dead chicken from the dump yards, the traders buy directly from the poultry farms. Arrests of the poultry owner and the trader might send warning message to the other violators,” he said.
FSDA has been planning to conduct an awareness programme to the poultry farmowners of Palladam, which has 4,207 hatcheries and 52 broiler farms and considered as one of the poultry hubs in the state.
Besides, collector K S Palanisamy has ordered the poultry farms not to sell dead chicken and to dispose them as prescribed by the animal husbandry department or otherwise face action including heavy fines.
Inferior quality tea, soaps seized
Quality check: Food safety officials and police inspecting the seized tea in Chennai on Wednesday.
Man who ran a shop in Kothawalchavadi sold products displaying known brand names
The police have seized 60 fake handmade soaps of a well-known herbal brand and over 900 kg of tea belonging to a reputed brand from a shop in Kothawalchavadi on Tuesday.
According to the police, Subramani, who works in the sales division of the herbal soap firm, had come to Anna Pillai Street. He purchased a soap from a shop run by Mallaram.
“He found that the quality was not good and it was not hand made. He lodged a complaint with us,” said a police officer.
Based on a complaint from Subramani, the police registered a case under the Trade Marks Act and started investigation.
On the same day, Murali from Kothawalchavadi lodged a complaint stating that the quality of tea purchased from Mallaram’s shop was not good.
Murali had purchased the product as it was being sold ₹50 lesser than the retail price.
Based on his complaint, the police checked the shop and Mallaram told them that he had purchased the tea packets from a man at a cheaper price.
Shopkeeper arrested
A cheating case was registered against Mallaram and he was arrested.
“Representatives from the tea company checked the seized tea packets. Investigation is on,” the officer said.
State asked to strengthen testing of farm produce
After hearing the submissions, the bench concurred and said that there was a need to strengthen the testing of farm produce and poultry.
The high court told the state to direct local bodies to inspect the produce.
Mumbai: The Bombay high court has taken cognizance of complaints by a petitioner complaining of absence of proper machinery to check for contamination with pesticide residue, antibiotics and veterinary drugs in food articles like vegetables, fruits and meat in the state. The HC directed the state to take instructions from relevant departments set up laboratories under the control of local authorities and also form inspection squads to visit poultry farms in the state. The court also directed the state to direct local bodies to inspect the produce being sold at APMC markets and consider setting up laboratories there. The directions were issued in light of the complaints by the petitioner that all edible items were being treated with harmful antibiotics, insecticides and pesticides that were violative of food and drug rules.
A division bench of justices Naresh Patil and Nitin Sambre was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Citizen Circle for Social Welfare and Education, an NGO through advocate Shehzad Naqvi seeking directions to the union and the state to set up a mechanism to curb intentional contamination of food products by the producers and farmers which was resulting in health hazards to consumers. While referring to the sorry state of affairs the petitioners stated that there was no inspection apparatus to check on usage of antibiotics in poultry farms. Referring to section 21 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which deals with veterinary drugs, pesticides and antibiotic residues found in meat, vegetables and fruits, Mr Naqvi said that the centre and state should form a mechanism to check these.
After hearing the submissions, the bench concurred and said that there was a need to strengthen the testing of farm produce and poultry. "There is a need to set up inspection squads and laboratories to test for the harmful residue in all food items," said justice Patil. He instructed the state to rope in local bodies and take instructions on setting up of inspection squads and laboratories within each district and at local markets too.
Govt for crackdown on contamination of fish
Mercykutty Amma releases kit for quick detection of ammonia, formaldehyde
The government is gearing up for a crackdown on chemical contamination of fish, Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma has said.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, she said move was afoot to clamp down on traders using hazardous chemicals for preservation of fish. The operation would be carried out jointly by the Fisheries and Food Safety Departments.
The Minister released a kit developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) for quick detection of ammonia and formaldehyde, commonly used as preservatives for fish. Named CIFTest, the kit includes a paper strip that is laced with a reagent after rubbing on the fish. In a process akin to a litmus test, the strip changes colour as the reagent interacts with ammonia or formalin.
K. Ashok Kumar, one of the scientists at CIFT who developed the kit, said 18% of the samples collected from various fish markets during the validation of the kit had shown dangerous levels of ammonia and formaldehyde, indicating the public health hazard. Most of the highly contaminated samples were collected from traders importing fish from other States. CIFT has recommended better cold storage facilities at fish-landing centres and markets to eliminate the use of chemical preservatives.
The Minister, who later distributed the kit to Matsyafed and Food Safety officials, said the CIFT would transfer the technology for mass production. She said periodic inspections would be carried out at fish markets across the State and promised stern action against traders using hazardous chemicals to extend the shelf life of fish.
Ms. Mercykutty Amma said the government was framing legislation for regulation of fish marketing in the State. The proposed Bill was aimed at eliminating middlemen in the fish marketing chain and ending the exploitation of fishermen, she said.
It envisaged a greater role for fishworkers’ cooperative societies in procuring directly from fish landing centres and bringing fresh fish to the consumer.
Earlier, officials from the Fisheries and Food Safety Departments, accompanied by the Minister, collected samples from fish vendors in the Palayam market here. All the samples tested negative for ammonia and formalin, a press note issued here said.
PK Agarwal gets extension as CEO, FSSAI
Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been given extension of tenure as Chief Executive Officer in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for a period of three months.
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