Mar 29, 2018
FSSAI to launch campaign to spread Vitamin D awareness among kids
About 70 per cent of pre-school children and over 50 per cent of women suffer from anaemia caused by iron deficiency.
Food safety regulator FSSAI today said it will soon launch a campaign to spread awareness about availing Vitamin D through natural sunlight and intake of fortified food among school going children.
The campaign -- Project Dhoop -- will be implemented in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and private firm Kwality Ltd, the regulator said in a statement.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) informed stakeholders about the proposed campaign at an interaction on the issue of fortification. The campaign details are being worked out.
According to the National Health and Family Survey (2016), about 70 per cent of pre-school children and over 50 per cent of women suffer from anaemia caused by iron deficiency.
Alarming 70 per cent of the Indian population consumes less than 50 per cent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of micronutrients.
On fortification, FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said, "Public health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies are serious. The message of food fortification therefore needs to go out using various methods, through various means, to various people."
Food fortification is simple, inexpensive yet priceless strategy that has been used across the world to effectively prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies, he added.
The FSSAI has notified the standards and launched a fortification logo ‘+F' to help consumers and businesses identify the fortified product.
Santosh Karmarkar, an expert on folic acid deficiency said, "It is the need of an hour to understand the importance of fortifying food with Vitamin D."The source of Vitamin D is limited to sunlight and few non-vegetarian foods, hence fortifying foods is an essential intervention, said by R K Marwaha, Senior Consultant and Head of the Department of Endocrinology at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Anti-corruption NGO releases video on gutka smuggling by train
Chennai: As the Delhi-Kanyakumari Thirukkural biweekly express comes to a squealing halt at Madurai railway station, a staff is ready with a trolley near the goods compartment. Around 200 cartons wrapped in polythene are lowered onto the platform and the person wheels out the consignment through the VIP exit to a van parked close to the government railway police station. The darkness of the night is the only sign of secrecy in the otherwise brazen operation of smuggling banned gutka into the state.
The visuals, secretly captured on camera by Chennai-based rights and advocacy group Arappor Iyakkam, were released here on Wednesday.
Since the operation in October, heads have rolled, tobacco products have been seized and several communications have passed between the central government and the state in checking the transport of banned tobacco substances into Tamil Nadu, especially by rail.
But activists want more. “The movement of gutka cannot happen without the knowledge of senior officials,” Arappor Iyakkam convener Jayaram Venkatesh, demanding a CBI investigation. He cited the instance of how gutka was transported through the Thirukkural express. The train is scheduled to stop at Madurai junction for five minutes, but has for the past three years been stopping for 15-25 minutes without sanction. This extra period, a vigilance raid later found, was used to unload smokeless tobacco products, mainly gutka. “This is an obvious sign that multiple officials are involved,” said Jayaram.
In the meanwhile, the railway officials have handed over the seized tobacco products from Madurai railway station to food safety officials for testing. Officials said the government railway police will file an FIR once the test results are out.
Five cholera cases reported in Chennai, Food department to test samples
CHENNAI: Five cases of cholera have been reported in the city, according to Corporation officials.
“We have been informed of five cases of cholera. We have asked the Food Safety Department to test the samples,” said a Corporation official.
However, Director of Public Health Dr K Kolandaswamy said only four cases were notified to him. “On Tuesday, four positive cases of cholera were reported from patients who were admitted to hospital for a month. One from West Bengal and three from a African country were tested positive,” said Kolandaswamy.
Kolandaswamy further said the hospital gave treatment and also took control measures.
“We suspect contaminated food to be the source of infection. We have sent food sample to a lab for test and are waiting for result. We took food samples from the canteen of the hospital. We also gave training in hand washing practice and general hygiene to the workers at the canteen,” Dr Kolandaswamy said.
However, it was not clear whether the patients’ visitors had bought food from outside or from the canteen itself, the official added.
CFS for effective implementation of Food Safety & Standards Act
JAMMU:
Commissioner Food Safety, Dr Abdul Kabir Dar, on Wednesday called for effective implementation of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 in the state.
According to an official spokesman, he said this while chairing a meeting with all the officers of Jammu Division to review the measures taken for effective implementation of Food Safety & Standards Act 2006 in Jammu division.
Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety Jammu, Parvesh Kumar, Assistant Controller Food and Assistant Commissioner Food Safety of Jammu Division and other concerned officers attended the meeting, the official added.
During the meeting, Commissioner reviews the functioning of Food Safety in the division.
He was apprised about the difficulties faced by the officers while discharging their duties including infrastructure, mobility, dearth of staff and lack of enforcement in their respective districts and workplaces.
The official said that the meeting was also briefed about the equipments, machinery and available resources present in the Food Testing Laboratory.
Commissioner also held an interaction with the newly appointed Food Safety Officers who have recently completed their 40 days training programme. Dr. Kabir congratulated the officers for successful completion of training and advised them to perform their duties with zeal and zest, the official added.
Addressing the officers, Commissioner, Food Safety said that High Court is vigorously monitoring the functioning of the Food Safety in the state and Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 should be implemented on ground in letter and spirit.
Duo held with guthka, source unknown
The Thane (rural) police, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni, nabbed two local pan-stall owners who were found to be in possession of a consignment of gutkha and other banned tobacco-based products worth more than Rs. 69,000 in Bhayandar on Monday afternoon. Acting on a tip-off, the police apprehended the duo identified as Rajesh Udayram Yadav (30) and Buval Patiraj Yadav (32) immediately after they stepped out of the Bhayandar railway station at around 2.35 pm. While a case under the relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code and regulations of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, has been registered against the accused duo. The investigating team are trying to ascertain the source and destination of the illegal consignment.
The Food and Drug Authority (FDA) officials and police personnel have been seizing gutkha and scented tobacco products worth lakhs of rupees in frequently conducted raids. However, the racket of smuggling banned products into Maharashtra from neighbouring states continues unabated, reportedly due to the alleged involvement of a strong syndicate of the notorious guthka mafia who operated a well-oiled distribution network on the outskirts of the twin-city. It has been alleged that peddlers land into the cop net even as the source of the consignments mostly remains a mystery.
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