DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAMALAR NEWS

 

Health department team collects samples from food stalls near bus stand

LUDHIANA: Following complaints of adulteration and change in weather conditions, the district health departmentteam carried out extensive checking and sampling of food items in stalls near the city bus stand here on Monday, and issued strict guidelines to different vendors and food stall owners to follow the food safety norms effectively. The health team had also issued notices to some food stalls after watching the unhygienic conditions in their premises.

As per information provided by district food safety officer Yogesh Goyal — under the supervision of district health officer Andesh Kang — eight to nine food vendors based near the city bus stand had been checked thoroughly during the food checking and sampling drive on Monday afternoon. As many as 16 to 17 food samples were collected by health officials, including pizza, bread pakoda, green sauce, ice-cream, cream roll, popcorn, and apple juice.

Apart from the bus stand area, the health team also carried out a checking drive on Gill Road, taking samples from flour production and dairy production firms, and issued notices as per the rules of the health department. After collecting samples from different food vendors, the team sent them to the state food laboratory for testing. When the reports come out, the health team will take action, charging heavy penalties on all culprits.

NGO delivers food to 3,000 needy at Chennai’s ‘hunger spots’

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CHENNAI: Two months after No Food Waste (NFW), a homegrown NGO, launched its Chennai chapter, the group has collected and served food to nearly 3,000 people in the city. Started in Coimbatore in 2014, the project was launched in Chennai a year later only to close down. In February this year, with the support of the Chennai corporation, NFW’s food collection centre began functioning out of a corporation shelter in Zone 10 to serve the underprivileged and homeless in Nungambakkam, T Nagar and Saidapet.

Using two vans donated by the Tamil Nadu food safety department, volunteers work through the day to connect food donors with those deprived of meals in different ‘hunger spots’ in the city.

Through NFW’s website and app, anyone can help locate a hunger spot – spaces where there are people who can’t afford meals such as orphanages, hospitals, shelters, slums, and pavements. Once the pick-up request is received, a route for the driver is mapped. “We have three full-time volunteers who drive the van and deliver food at shelters, to homeless on the roads, and others identified at the hunger spots,” said Arun Kumar, coordinator of Chennai operations.

The response to the initiative has been overwhelming. “We get a number of requests from areas in north Chennai and around Vadapalani. For pick-up requests from areas beyond our reach or which seek to donate 50 plates of food or less, we inform them about the nearest place mapped as a hunger spot, so that they can drop the meals off directly,” added Arun.

The group is in talks with the civic body to roll out the scheme in other zones in the city limits. Anyone can donate food by calling 9087790877.

The NGO has also started food and beverage ATMs in cities like Salem and Coimbatore and plans to extend them to Chennai.

Cabinet approves agreement with Afghanistan on food safety

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the signing of a Cooperation Arrangement between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and Afghanistan's Health and Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock Ministries for cooperation in the field of food safety and related areas.

The areas of cooperation are establishment of a mechanism of information exchange and communication; facilitating technical exchange on identified topics of interest especially about import procedures, quality control operations, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling, as per a release.

They also include facilitating or organisation of joint seminars, workshops, visits, lectures,training programme.

"Other areas of interest to the participants within their responsibilities as they may mutually determine.

"The cooperation arrangement will facilitate information sharing training and capacity building measure and learning from each others best practice to improve food safety ecosystem," said an official statement.

KHADKI IS FULL OF UNLICENSED WATER PLANTS

At least 12 unauthorised water supply businesses were found in Khadki by Mirror, such as Samriddhi (L) and Standard Aqua (R); they charge Rs 50 for 20-litre containers, but usually only supply 17 or so litres; 

Suppliers charging cheap for drinking water have no nod from FSSAI, BIS or any other authority. They run business from home, risking lives of thousands

As the summer heat rises, the need to keep hydrated is on everyone’s mind. Unfortunately, there’s a new and alarming twist to this tale — a large number of illegal and unaccounted water purifying stations have been found to be mushrooming around the city, posing a threat to tens of thousands of people.

In Khadki alone, Mirror went on ground only to find close to 12 such water purification plants running without licences from any authority, including mandatory nods from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), or even the state’s medical and health department.

These packaged drinking water hubs are supplying a vital resource across areas of Pune and minting heavy profits from these sales. They charge Rs 50 per container, which they claim is 20 litres in volume. However, customers are cheated on this front as well, since the containers actually only support around 17 litres of water.

What is even more surprising is the fact that many of these sellers have installed the water purifying apparatus at their homes itself with impunity, from where they vend it out in large numbers via vans.

When Mirror paid a surprise visit to some such outlets in Khadki, it was found that the quality of the containers in which water is supplied is absolutely filthy, and looks like it is hardly ever cleaned. One such seller was identified as Sanjay Gupta, whose water containers bear the name Samriddhi Water Suppliers. “We are the only suppliers around and get our water from another company in the Diggi area. We charge Rs 50 per container,” he said.

Questioned about the clean factor and required licences, Gupta said, “The quality of our water is absolutely fine, as we use chlorination and filtration processes. We don’t have any licenses but the company we get water from probably has them. We have not obtained licences from FSSAI or BIS yet, but rest assured the quality of water is unquestionable.”

Another seller, Firoz Khan, who runs Standard Aqua in the area, has set up a plant by digging a borewell in his house. He, too, says his water is fit for drinking, but has not approached the FSSAI or BIS for licences “yet”. “Our water is pure and safe for all. We have fitted a water filtration plant here in my home,” said Khan.

Asked if he knows that setting up of commercial spaces in homes is illegal and whether he fears the law, he confidently said, “Sir, idhar sab chalta hai (everything goes here). No one ever comes to visit. We had set up the business two years ago.”

Meanwhile, local residents had complained to the Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) early last month regarding this issue, but no action has been taken till date. “We had written to the cantonment board in March about the issue of illegal water supply from our area, and the fact that this threatens the life of citizens because there are no standard procedures followed. After there was no action on our previous complaints, we submitted another one just this Tuesday,” said Prabhakar Ashok Polkam, a resident of Khadki who has filed a complaint.

The authorities, on the other hand, seem to just be waking up to this flourishing flow of unchecked drinking water. Speaking to Mirror, Sanjay Naragude, assistant commissioner of Pune’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), assured that if this water is packaged, action will definitely be taken. “If the water is being sold in bottles, we can crack down on them. Retailing packaged drinking water requires licences from BIS and FSSAI, without which it absolutely cannot be sold.”

Is your ‘bubbletop’ water safe?

There is little knowledge of the origin of packaged water and how it is processed

As the temperature soars between 37 and 39 degree Celsius in Madurai, packaged drinking water manufacturers and distributors are having a field day as regulations are barely checked and water is irregularly tested.

A source from the PWD says that only 20% of the total number of manufacturers in Madurai have licences. Water is usually drawn from areas like Alagarkoil Road, Kadachanendal, Pudur, Mangalakudi, Kochadai, Thuvariman and Melakkal which have rich groundwater base. Groundwater in these areas is usually fit for direct consumption. Since many of the laboratories are not fully equipped, necessary tests, including for presence of total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, sulphate, e. coli, coliform bacteria, aerobic microbes and yeast are rarely done. Manufacturers must also check the raw water pump at borewell, per-filtration pumps, washing area and filling pumps, UV lamps and reverse osmosis membrane but these checks do not take place regularly.

A packaged drinking water manufacturer says that a microbiologist and a chemist must be employed by the firm through the year. However, most people can only afford them on a part-time basis. A limit of 20,000 litres has been set by the PWD for small and medium scale manufacturers and 30,000 for large scale manufacturers. But these rules are not followed, says an expert who works closely with drinking water plants.

“Those who are looking to set up units must seek get clearance from Revenue Inspector, Village Administrative Officer and village panchayat head to process packaged water. They must also fill a form for the PWD. We will conduct an eight-hour pump test and check the yield. If it is of good quality, we will give them a licence,” says the PWD official. The PWD is unable to determine the total number of firms in the city and outer limits as many function with permissions from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

N. Senthil Kumar, a proprietor of a local packaged drinking water company with requisite permissions and licences, says that many units do not list the nutrition information, the expiry date or the price. He insists that the reusable plastic water cans are to be replaced every six months based on usage. He clarifies that packaged drinking water means the removal of all minerals in drinking water. “It is difficult to ensure that water business is running properly as there are many unlicensed players and unofficial tankers who supply unsafe water for cheaper rates. Our water is regarded safe for consumption and the label usually has contact information for complaints, doubts and queries. This is not always the case,” he says.

Due to extensive groundwater extraction, areas like Usilampatti and Chellampatti are in the over-exploited and semi-critical phase. Areas in Madurai are in the safe and semi-critical zone, but the day is not far when the city will also join the danger league, warms an official of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board.

K. Marundeeswarar, a distributor in K.K. Nagar, says customers must ask questions. “Ensure that there is a label with the date of expiry and nutrition value. Check whether the plastic container has been recycled recently. Do not encourage water tankers which supply water for ₹ 20. It could be untreated water. Make sure licences of the manufacturer are listed on the label,” he adds.

IDSA THANKS FSSAI FOR BRINGING FBO REGISTRATION ORDER

Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a circular to the Food Safety Commissioners of all states and UTs, informing them about simplification of FBO registration process, bringing huge relief to the Direct Selling Industry, which has been facing difficulties in getting FBO registration done at various parts of the country. FSSAI has mandated that registration of Direct Sellers could be done by respective registration authorities on the basis of personal identity proofs such as PAN, Aadhar, EPIC etc. and identity certificate from Direct Selling Entities. The latest order will also enable the Direct Selling entities to register their Direct Sellers centrally, using the facilities of Common Registration Centers (CSC).

“Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) would like to thank Mr. Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI for simplifying the FBO registration process. His continuous guidance and support has resulted in a vast number of pending issues being sorted out, including that if simplification of FBO registration process. This is a very positive step towards ease of doing business in the country. Not only it will streamline the registration process, the move would also ensure compliance of food safety norms by the Direct Selling industry,” said Vivek Katoch, IDSA Chairman.

Under the current FSSAI norms, it is mandatory for all food business operators to have FBO registration / license. The registration process is cumbersome particularly for Direct Sellers who earn commissions and retail margin from the sale of products, majorly Food & Health Supplements. These Direct Sellers face difficulties in getting registration due to different procedure and documentary requirement being adopted by different states registering authorities. The time-consuming process often deters the Direct Sellers some of whom even discontinue Direct Selling. However, with the recent FSSAI order in place, the Direct Selling entities will be able to centrally register their Direct Sellers, hence easing out pressure from their salesforce.

“IDSA has been working closely with the Regulatory Compliance team at FSSAI and had sent many representations to simplify the FBO registration process in the interest of ease of doing business. We also take this opportunity to thank the team for understanding the concerns of the Industry and taking appropriate measures just when it mattered the most.” Vivek further said.

The latest FSSAI order will also give major boost to the Digital India campaign as Common Service Center (CSC) will centrally grant registration to Direct Sellers using digital data transfer and payment modes. It is also an apt example of the current government commitment towards creating a conducive environment for doing business for all industries.

About IDSA

Incorporated in 1996 and headquartered in Delhi, IDSA is an autonomous, self-regulatory body for the Direct Selling industry in India. The Association acts as an interface between the industry and policy-making bodies of the Government facilitating the cause of Direct Selling Industry in India. IDSA has played a proactive role in raising the voice for the Direct Selling Industry for policy reforms which can nurture growth and facilitate the trade of Direct Selling Industry in India with the Central and State Governments. It is affiliated to World Federation of Direct Selling Association, which was established in 1978, currently having 63 Direct Selling Associations across the world as its members. WFDSA is a non-government voluntary organization, representing Direct Selling Industry globally as a federation worldwide.

Erring shopkeepers fined for violating norms in Kargil

Kargil: On the directions of District Magistrate Kargil Haji Gulzar Hussain a joint inspection team headed by Tehsildar Kargil Wednesday conducted surprise visit of a number of cold storages and shops in Kargil town. The team comprised of the Chief Medical Officer Kargil, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer Kargil, Executive Officer Municipal Committee Kargil, Assistant Director FCS&CA Kargil and SHO Kargil.

During the inspection a huge quantity of stale fruit and fish was seized and fine worth Rs 1000 was imposed upon the shopkeepers on spot for violating the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Essential Commodities Act. Moreover, the inedible food items were also destroyed on spot.

The team also took stock of the hygienic conditions of food items available in the market, charging of rates and other set standards. The shopkeepers and traders were asked to display the rate list prominently at their establishments besides to maintain cleanliness.

Meanwhile the Deputy Commissioner has appealed all the traders to avoid any black marketing or hoarding and warned of stern action against the violators under rules. He has also issued specific directions to the concerned to carry out frequent inspections and checking of market so as to curb overcharging, black marketing, use of polythene and sale of substandard food items/