Mar 27, 2018
FSSAI wants food companies to set up teams for manage recalls
In a letter to food companies such as ITC, HUL, Dabur and Nestle, FSSAI said the food companies will also need to submit a ‘fresh plan on the recall management’
New Delhi: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s food regulator, on Monday said it has asked the top 200 food companies that have procured licences from the FSSAI headquarters to set up exclusive teams to manage food recalls if the situation arises in the future.
In a letter written to companies such as Kolkata-based ITC Ltd, the country’s largest packaged goods company Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), New Delhi-based Dabur India Ltd and Nestle India Ltd, the local unit of Swiss packaged food company Nestle SA, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said the companies will also need to submit a “fresh plan on the recall management”.
A copy of the letter has been reviewed by Mint.
The move is part of the food regulator’s plan to “implement food recall regulations across India” that it notified in November 2017, putting the onus on companies by stating that the primary responsibility of implementing any recall lies with food companies, as it believes a recall is directly linked to “serious defects in the manufacturing process”.
It outlined a 10-step process that companies will have to follow for a recall.
The regulator has also asked companies to submit details of the food recall team within 30 days and the fresh recall plan within 60 days from 20 March, 2018.
The directive comes almost three years after FSSAI ordered Nestle India to recall Maggi instant noodles for alleged presence of monosodium glutamate and excess lead on 5 June 2015, which turned out to be the largest food recall in India ever.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, we always abide by all relevant norms and regulations,” a Nestlé India spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
According to the FSSAI letter, the food recall plan will be reviewed by FSSAI’s regional offices every time any of the 200 food companies applies for renewal of its licence.
“Recall is not a common thing in India. The regulator’s directive is part of preventive measures to assure consumers that companies make and sell safe food. This might have some cost pressure on companies, but that is not unjustified,” said Rajat Wahi, partner (management consulting) at consulting firm Deloitte India.
Siegwerk seeks Inks based on Toulene banned
Mr Pradhan, however, admitted that by switching to non-toluene based ink, the company will lose out on nearly 85 per cent of the market.
Hyderabad: While the European Union has strict norms on ink used for packing of food to prevent health hazard, India, in comparison, has norms that are voluntary.
With the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) initiating talks to implement stricter norms, Siegwerk, which produces ink for the flexible packing industry, on Monday, urged regulators to include toluene-based ink in the list of banned substances.
The company, which has shunned Toluene-based inks from its portfolio, hopes that the chemical — a health risk — should be included among the list of banned
substances.
Siegwerk India CEO Ashish Pradhan said, “Over the past decade, the EU has strengthened its norms on food packaging after scandals emerged that toluene-based ink used in packaged foods migrate past to contaminate the food. Although India already a standard in place on packaged foods, it’s voluntary.”
“Even a country like Sri Lanka has made a stand against such ink. However, about 90 per cent of the market in India is still using toluene-based inks," he added.
When asked about possible substitutes and its impact, Mr Pradhan said, “There are alternatives already available that are on par in cost or slightly on the higher side.
Companies in the EU have switched to alternatives. There would hardly need to upgrade their machineries as non-toluene-based inks can be used in the same machines.”
Mr Pradhan, however, admitted that by switching to non-toluene based ink, the company will lose out on nearly 85 per cent of the market.
Food Adulteration On A Rise In Maharashtra
The cases of food adulteration have risen to double the amount in Maharashtra in the last three years says a report by the Free Press Journal based on the data given by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry. The publication talked to a senior official of the ministry who said the adulteration had risen from 1162 to 2529 between 2015 and 2017 in the state.
NO ARRESTS MADE
The report further said that no arrests have been made so far in the case of food adulteration in the state. 10,716 food samples were collected and 10,030 were tested in 2016-17 and out of these 2,529 were found to be adulterated. A recent report claimed that the government had decided that the persons’ involved in milk adulteration will be arrestedon a non-bailable basis.
“It is strange as no one was convicted in 2016-17 compared to 75 and 24 who were convicted in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. They all had to face legal action for selling and marketing adulterated food items,” said RPY Rao, president, Society for Awareness of Civil Rights to the Free Press Journal. He also told the publication that the adjudication process of the Foods and Drug Administration (FDA) is faulty due to which no arrests were made.
“But against the norms, in Maharashtra, the adjudication process is headed by four joint commissioners who are not fit to hold legal proceedings. Although the state has collected more than Rs 1 crore in fines, the total cost of efforts and time invested by employees is much more than that,” he added.
4 fall sick after ‘eating prasad’
GURUGRAM: Four persons fell sick allegedly after eating prasad at a temple in Gurugram late on Sunday evening. They were rushed to Civil Lines hospital, where doctors suspected that they might have had laddoos laced with sedatives or narcotic substance.
A preliminary probe revealed that Sumitra (70), Manju (45), Hitesh (38) and Rashmi (35), all of the same family from Shyamnagar in Hapur (UP), had gone to offer prayers on the occasion of Ram Navami and ate laddoos offered as prasad at the temple. A close family friend, who had also gone to the temple, said the four complained of sickness soon after and were rushed to the general hospital around midnight.
“We kept them under observation for a few hours and then referred them to the Safdarjung hospital for toxicology tests,” said Pradeep Sharma, the principal medical officer at the general hospital.
Police said the four persons were out of danger now. No FIR has been filed in the case.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)