Apr 8, 2018
'Companies must offer scientific proof for herbal products'
Adulteration with synthetic drugs is rampant, says Vishwakarma.
Ram A Vishwakarma, director, Indian Institute Of Integrative Medicine-Jammu, tells Prerna Katiyar that India has to cover a lot of regulatory ground. Edited excerpts:
There is a lot of ambiguity around the use of quantity sufficient (QS) or base material. Can you explain what is base material or QS?
Most people buy herbal products based on a hunch or hearsay. Cosmetics are vanity products. Still, all companies have to get a guarantee of safety. The problem is that registration of cosmetics is not based on the efficacy of a product. For e.g., a company selling an anti-ageing product could be marketing it in the form of cosmetics or medicines or nutraceuticals. For nutraceuticals, we have the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India as the regulator. For drugs, we have a separate regulator.
The fundamental problem is that India doesn’t have one regulatory pathway. In other countries, the pathway for approval of drugs, cosmetics and nutraceuticals is the same. Of course, the level of requirement of the regulator may vary, with the most stringent criteria being for drugs. India has created the Drug Controller of India, which is the gatekeeper of quality of medicines, and then you have the AYUSH (ministry). India is the only country with two windows of approval.
Who governs herbal cosmetics?
On paper, these are regulated by the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which comes under the Drug Controller General of India. But the Act is hardly implemented. In the US, if a company claims to have an herbal product that can make the skin glow, it has to show scientific data to back its claims. Here, neither the research on herbal cosmetics is published or patented nor is it reviewed by peers.
Herbal products have to be manufactured in an accredited facility approved by a regulator. In reality, many herbal companies have outsourced manufacturing. As the products are not medicines, the government is not involved. I am not saying all Indian brands are bad. But scrutiny is non-existent in India. People are mixing products with emotions, which stops the need for any scientific requirement or argument. The level of R&D required is missing. Merely using turmeric and tulsi is not enough. But who cares, as far as you are making money. By using unsubstantiated products, we are harming ourselves.
What should to be done?
We need scientific proof of what companies claim. Disclosure has to be 100%. A lot of companies are fortifying products with other substances. Adulteration with synthetic drugs is rampant. One can get a food product tested by the FSSAI. There is no such facility for cosmetics. There is no inspection of manufacturing facilities and accreditation. The good thing about Indians is that our skin is brown. This is god’s gift. We don’t get skin cancer easily. How should a customer ensure what he is buying is truly herbal? Do more research on the company before you buy. Look at its R&D. Choose only reputed players and brands.
Preservatives are used in herbal products for the protection of the customers: Shahnaz Husain
Always buy products of a reputed company, advises Shahnaz Husain.
How does a product qualify as botanical, herbal or ayurvedic?
Botanical or herbal are overlapping terms that refer to plant products or plant-based extracts and oils. For the uninitiated, a product is considered ‘natural’ when its ingredients are sourced from nature and not created synthetically.
What was the rationale for entering the herbal market four decades ago when the trend was yet to catch up among Indians?
When I returned to India and opened my first herbal clinic in 1971, devising treatments and formulating my own herbal products, herbal beauty care did not exist. There were no herbal products and no salon treatments, based on herbal remedies. But faith in ayurveda always existed. That is why our products caught on. We started extending salons through a franchise system. Our first herbal salon opened in Calcutta in 1979 and within a year, we had opened 80 salons in India. I entered the international market in 1982.
Would you describe Shahnaz Husain as a pure herbal player?
Ours is a herbal beauty company, based on ayurveda.
What sets brand Shahnaz Husain apart from other players in the herbal segment?
It is commitment to research and development, and the launch of highly innovative formulations. What also sets the brand apart is that it is not a faceless corporate or brand name. Everyone knows that there is a real person behind the brand who has been trained in cosmetology and cosmetic therapy. In fact, our products have grown out of clinical usage, based on massive client feedback. The brand has become known not only for general beauty care, but also for our clinical treatments and therapeutic products for specific skin and hair problems.
How much of herbal or botanical components go into the making of a Shahnaz Husain product?
The percentage of active ingredients in our ayurvedic formulations vary. It could be between 10 and 100% depending on the active ingredient being used, its potency, nature and application of the product.
Are there products made at Shahnaz Husain that are 100% herbal?
There are products, mainly powdered and oil formulations, where 100% of the ingredients are from botanical sources. However, it is mandatory to use preservatives, although the quantities are negligible. This ensures shelf life and is for the protection of the customer.
There is lot of opacity on the QS or base material.
QS is a word that is mainly used in herbal or pharma products, denoting quantity sufficient mainly of the base materials. Base materials are
excipients used in formulations and these are pharmacologically inactive or inert materials but play an important role in the formulation of a product. These provide bulk to the formulation, provide stability, absorb the medicaments and prevent decomposition. Base materials provide volume or add mass to active ingredients, thereby facilitating precise metering.
Who governs herbal or botanical products in India?
Herbal products are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and manufacturing licences are issued by the Directorate of ayurvedic and Unani Services of state governments.
What is the standard procedure to get products certified as herbal or botanical?
Extensive research goes into the formulation of a herbal product. It takes several months or years before the product is ready for marketing. Clinical trials are done before the products details are sent to the licensing authorities for approval. It goes to a committee formed by the AYUSH Ministry to study all aspects of a new product for the grant of a manufacturing licence.
How should a customer ensure that what he is buying is herbal?
Always buy products of a reputed company, as it goes through quality control and testing. What is the outlook for the herbal segment? With total wellness and back-to-nature trends sweeping the world, the herbal, botanical or ayurvedic segment is expected to emerge as the leading one. Herbal beauty business has been driving the beauty business in India.
Time for ‘Safe to Eat Place’: expert
N. Anandavally
UN ex-official cites Technopark cafeteria inspection and resultant row
It is high time the State government implemented the Safe to Eat Place programme in association with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation , says N. Anandavally, former Food Safety Consultant of the United Nations.
Talking to The Hindu, Dr. Anandavally said food safety inspection in a cafeteria at Technopark and the subsequent unpleasant scenes reported in the media a few weeks ago should be an eye-opener.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulation or any global regulation based on science is transparent and easily implementable. But, the way in which it is being implemented is disturbing for those who knew about the international or Codex system.
Dr. Anandavally said the intent should be to improve and educate those who are unaware of the importance of food safety and take action in case of serious deficiencies or non-compliance.
Proper procedure
It would be improper to go to a food handling facility with an army of police personnel. Instead, two or three food safety officials may visit the facility, evaluate the Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and the layout or design of the facility, and provide a foolproof report to the authority concerned as is being done elsewhere, she said.
It is also the responsibility of the food safety officers to convince the management who may not be that knowledgeable in the area of food safety, she said.
Citing the recent seizure of stale curd from a godown in Ernakulam, Dr. Anandavally said the government should not wait for a crisis situation to act in the area of food safety.
Need for guidance
Any inspection should be a sort of communication of information and education for those who are being inspected. They should be guided for application of GHPs and GMPs even in a small facility so that issues related to hygiene and food safety would be minimised.
Dr. Anandavally, who initiated the concept of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) to address food safety in 1990, has already conducted more than 5,000 training programmes on food safety.
FSSAI Stresses On Safe Handling Of Street Food By Vendors
According to a report by the Free Press Journal, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked the state commissioners of Food Safety to initiate a campaign that encourages safe handling of food and currency. The move came about after various studies were conducted on the currency coins which are completely contaminated.
CONTAMINATED FOOD AND CURRENCY
“The handling of currency with unclean and soiled hands, use of saliva during counting and storage under unhygienic conditions leads to its contamination with a harmful micro-organism.” read the notification according to the Free Press Journal. “Cross-contamination from currency risks human health and causes serious diseases like food poisoning, gastrointestinal infection, skin problems and many more. Especially, children and pregnant women and with weak immune system person are more vulnerable to such infections,” said Dr Om Srivastava, Infection Disease Specialist to the publication.
The focus here is on the food vendors particularly because they tend to give out food and collect money with the same hand and are now going to be discouraged of the practice. “After handling currency, hands should be thoroughly washed before touching food items and vice-versa,” the notification stated. The notification also said that V K Panchal, Deputy Director of FSSAI, Mumbai said that money can be collected with bare hands but the food should be handled while wearing gloves.
He also added that while educated and knowledgeable food vendors will comply, it is the smaller food stalls at various corners of the city is what might cause a problem. “The vendor can try to control the spread by keeping extra hand/assistant for handling of currency exclusively, but that will add to his costing. If the consumer understands the genuine reason and agrees to pay that extra rupee for his protection, the move will be successful,” said Panchal to the Free Press Journal.
FDA asks business operators, fruit vendors to refrain from use of harmful chemicals
Panaji, Apr 7 (UNI) Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has warned food business operators and fruit vendors to refrain from use of harmful chemicals.
According to a statement here, Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has come across instances wherein agricultural chemicals like Ethapone, Etherel etc are used to ripen fruits like mango, banana etc and that such practice is commonly adopted during the festival season, when the demand of fruits is on the higher side.
''In view of such mal-practice FDA has strictly warned all the food business operators (FBO) dealing in trade of fruits to refrain from use of such harmful chemicals for Artificial ripening of Fruits.
Furthermore, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have come out with an advisory wherein the use of Ethapone, Carbide etc for artificial ripening is strictly prohibited and hence FDA will engage in special drives to check for use of such chemical and any vendor found using such chemicals or is found in possession of such chemicals will be dealt with seriously as per the penal provision of law,'' the statement said.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has permitted artificial ripening by use of Ethylene gas at a concentration up to 100 ppm depending on the crop, variety and maturity through ethylene gas chambers which are licensed/registered under the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006, the FDA further informed.
Check on lamp ghee after suspected food poisoning
It was alleged that lamp ghee was used for preparing prasadam at a temple
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is conducting checks across Coimbatore district on the label used for ‘lamp ghee’, a low quality ghee used for lighting lamps, following the death of two women near Mettupalayam, who allegedly died of food poisoning caused by temple prasadam made with the product.
B. Vijayalalithambigai, designated officer of FSSAI, said that lamp ghee sold in shops are checked to verify whether the labelling mentions that the product should only be used for lighting lamps and not of edible quality.
“Labels of lamp ghees checked during the inspections by the officials had labels mentioning that they are made for the use of lighting lamps. Ghee made for such non-edible purpose must bear the label, warning the buyers,” said Ms. Vijayalalithambigai.
It was alleged that lamp ghee was used for preparing prasadam at Mariamman temple near Mahadevapuram in Mettupalayam on Tuesday.
While Loganayagi (60) and Savithri (60) of Nadar Colony near Mahadevapuram died of suspected food poisoning, more than 60 people underwent treatement with complaints of stomach pain and diarrhoea at Government Hospital, Mettupalayam.
Officials with the Health Department said that the two women did not come for treatment at the Government hospital.
When food safety officials checked with the persons who prepared the prasadam (made of aval - rice flakes), they informed them that lamp ghee was not used for the preparation.
However, it was found that lamp ghee was used for lighting lamps at the temple.
“They showed us a ghee bottle with a label which said that it should be used only for lighting lamps. We could not confirm if it was used in the prasadam as its samples were not avaialable,” said a food safety officer.
It has also been alleged that the prasadam was prepared previous day night for the ease of serving on Tuesday, which could lead to contamination and growth of micro organisms.
M. Chandhirasekaran, Joint Director of Health Services, said that condition of those who undergoing treatment at the Government hospital was stable.
He said that the reason for the death of the women could be ascertained based on the autopsy report.
Commissioner reviews implementation of FS&S Act
JAMMU: Commissioner Food Safety, Dr. Abdul Kabir Dar chaired a special meeting regarding the present status and preparedness of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS&S Act) in the State, here on Saturday.
The meeting held deliberations on the new food law and its current status in the state besides on ways and means to streamline the state food safety department.
During the meeting, the newly appointed Food Safety Officers presented their Vision Document and opined their suggestions for streamlining of the state food safety department.
Dr Kabir appreciated the suggestions of FSO’s and other participants and impressed for dedicated efforts to augment food safety in J&K state. He advised the commissionerate to gear up for speedy preparedness for implementation of FSS Act in letter and spirit.
Several important decisions were taken in the meetings including creation of a website, constituting of Flying Squads to address emergency complaints and VIP duties, constituting of Food Safety Resource Person Wing for awareness and training, creation of Research and Development wing in laboratories, Advance funding system for sampling and creation of Standing Committee and a Legal Cell and a toll-free number (to be published in leading dailies) to address the complaints of consumers.
The meeting was attended by Assistant Commissioner Food Safety Jammu Dr. Parvesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner HQ Jammu Khursheed Ahmad and Public Analyst Public Health Labs J&K Sumit Sharma at Govt. Hospital Gandhi Nagar Jammu and newly appointed Food Safety Officers of Jammu and Kashmir.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)