FSSAI direction on FSS (L&R) Amendment Regn, 2011

Adulterated brands flood market in Kerala as coconut oil prices skyrocket

When the shopkeeper showed reluctance in giving you the branded coconut oil you sought and tried pushing hitherto unheard brands available at low prices, did it make you wonder why he/ she did it? It may be because adulterated coconut oil brands have flooded the market. Such brands, it is claimed, provide a margin to shopkeepers who push their products. Low-quality coconut oil brands are raking in moolah at a time when prices of coconut and coconut oil have hit an alltime high in Kerala. Sample this: The Cochin Oil Merchants’ Association (COMA) tested the 31 brands it collected from different parts of the state, and found 21 of them were adulterated!

This assumes significance considering the fact the Commissionerate of Food Safety in 2016 banned the production and sale of 14 coconut oil brands in the state which were being re-branded and sold. Paul Antony, COMA secretary, said, “In a lab test conducted in December last year, we identified 17 adulterated brands. A case was filed in the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to curb the practice.” “Later, on the court’s order, we collected samples of 31 coconut oil brands from across the state and subjected them to a test at a private lab in Poonithura near Kochi.

It confirmed 21 of the 31 samples were adulterated. The iodine level in them exceeded 50 per cent. The permissible level is between 7.5 and 10 per cent,” he said. Following this, COMA sent the original copy of the lab report to the Assistant Food Safety Commissioner, Ernakulam, seeking action against erring brands. K V Shibu, Assistant Food Safety Commissioner, Ernakulam, said based on the lab report, the department collected 19 samples and sent them for lab test. “If the samples do not conform to standards under Food Safety Standards (Food products and Food Additive) Regulations 2011, action will be taken against brands under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. We have also sent a copy of the report submitted by COMA to the Food Safety Commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram, as it has statewide implications,” he said.

Antony said when COMA was collecting coconut oil samples, shopkeepers were found pushing low-cost coconut oil brands to customers as the companies provide more margin to shopkeepers. “Moreover, 14 of the 21 adulterated brands were carrying the ‘Kera’ tag in their brand names, clearly as an attempt to hoodwink customers as the ‘Kera’ coconut oil brand sold by Kerafed has a lot of takers in the state,” Antony said. Food Safety officers said while banning erring companies was an option, it was not a permanent solution as most of such companies were fly-by-night brands. “If we ban an adulterated brand, it will become available in the market under another name very soon.

There is no control or regulation over the supply and sale of coconut oil brands in the state,” the officers said. As for iodine content, experts said if iodine value was around 50 per cent in the adulterated oil, coconut oil content in it will only be about 25-30 per cent and the rest will be other oils. “Since palm kernel oil is available for `60-70 per kg, one can simply adulterate coconut oil without much investment and can reap huge benefits, as coconut oil price reached a 30-year-high of `260 per/kg a couple of months ago,” said experts in the field.

The officers said around 400 oil container lorries cross into Kerala from Tamil Nadu per day and a good extent of adulteration is taking place in Kerala with the help of cross-border oil mafia. When contacted, K Anil Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Food Safety, refused a comment saying the matter was sub-judice.

2.7 tonne adulterated ghee seized

2.7 tonne adulterated ghee seized

Vijayawada: Food safety department and the city police on Thursday conducted a joint raid in Surampalli village under the Nunna police station limits and seized 2,700 kg adulterated ghee from the manufacturers.

According to information, the officials on a tip-off raided the two units and seized the ghee. Assistant food controller N Purnachandra Rao and Nunna circle inspector M V Durga Rao led the raids.

Purnachandra Rao told media that a trader named Venkat had been selling adulterated ghee under the popular brand names in the market. The officials seized 1,200 kg of ghee and fake labels of noted brands like Krishna, Srilakshmi, Madhura and Nandini.

Officials later raided another unit nearby and found about 1,500 kg adulterated ghee which is ready to be packed. The officials collected some samples for the lab tests and machinery has been seized. Purnachandra Rao said cases were registered against the manufacturer and the driver.

Tobacco products worth Rs 2.12 lakh seized

Police have recovered tobacco products worth around Rs 2.12 lakh during checking from an Imphal-bound truck along Imphal-Dimapur section of NH-2. Three persons alleged to be the owners of the tobacco products were also detained by the police along with the truck (ASO1EC6416) and handed over to the authority of state food safety office, an official said Thursday.

A team of Narcotic Cell of Imphal East district recovered 532 packets (200 gm each per packet) of tobacco products “Baba black deluxe chewing tobacco” packed in 10 cartons, the source said. The three individuals were identified as Md Amir Khan (26) of Kwakta village of Bishnupur district, Md Abdul Haque(30) of Khomidok of Imphal East and Md Abdul Hashim (24) of Paobitek of Imphal West district. 

A senior police officer said that police have been conducting drive against sale of tobacco items under Food Safety and Standard (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2011.

Milk adulteration: 8 samples tested in 3 yrs

While 6,649 and 7,635 samples of milk were analysed in the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, none of the samples were collected or analysed from the Capital. Most of the adulterated samples are from UP (1,306 out of 2,468). Of the total 7,638 samples collected from across the country, 2,332 were found to be adulterated, almost a third of the actual number. However, eight samples were collected in 2016-17 from Delhi. In the absence of stringent laws, the data reveals that every third sample in the country is adulterated.

Milk, instead of being beneficial, has become a cause of concern for many in the country. In a recent data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, only eight samples of milk from Delhi were analysed in the last three years and of these – one was found to be adulterated, but no penalties were imposed.

In the absence of stringent laws, the data reveals that every third sample in the country is adulterated.

While 6,649 and 7,635 samples of milk were analysed in the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, none of the samples were collected or analysed from the Capital. However, eight samples were collected in 2016-17 from Delhi.

Of the total 7,638 samples collected from across the country, 2,332 were found to be adulterated, almost a third of the actual number. Most of the adulterated samples are from UP (1,306 out of 2,468).

After the Supreme Court in August 2016 directed to curb milk adulteration activities in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had advised all the states and Union Territories to comply with the directions and submit their ‘action taken report’ (ATR), but so far only nine states, excluding Delhi have submitted their reports.