Apr 11, 2018
Karnataka: Food Safety Commissionerate marred by under-qualified officers
BENGALURU: The Food Safety Commissionerate has requested for an inquiry committee to be set up to check the qualifications of 55 Food Safety Officers. The Food Safety Officer, one per every taluk, has a modest target of sending only five food samples a month to the four food testing labs in the state. Since there are 197 FSOs working, the labs should receive at least 985 food samples, but they aren't receiving them.
"Unless they send samples, there's no proof that they do field work. Also, the recruitment of 210 regular food safety officers is pending with the secretariat since July last year," said Dr Harshvardan B, Deputy Commissioner (squad) of Food Safety. The Food Safety Commissionerate, that comes under the state Health Department, is flooded with officers who aren't qualified to hold these posts. Former health commissioner Subodh Yadav had come to this conclusion after an inquiry before he had left the post. But till today, new recruitments have not been made.
According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Act, Food Safety Officer shall be a full-time officer and shall possess a degree in Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/Biotechnology/Oil Technology/Agricultural Science/Veterinary Sciences/Bio-Chemistry/Microbiology/Masters Degree in Chemistry/degree in medicine or must have successfully completed training as specified by the Food Authority.
In cases where a medical officer of health administration of local area has been performing the function of food inspector, the State government employs them as food inspectors. "There are 210 sanctioned posts, but only 197 are working, out of which 110 are medical doctors. We have no idea about the qualifications that the other 87 hold. They may be office superintendents, block health education officers, entomologists or Class XII passouts. We have requested for setting up an inquiry committee that is pending with the Health Commissioner," Harshvardan said.
Is your honey pure enough? FSSAI to ensure purity with 20 parameter test
As per the information available with Zee Business, the new standards for honey will be released in the month of June 2018. The new standards will have 20 parameters to check the purity of honey. The parameters will also focus on sugar concentrate in the honey and they will be tested as per C4 and C3 norms to know its purity
To ensure purity of honey that reaches the consumers in the market, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to release new standards to test the purity of honey. As per the information available with Zee Business, the new standards for honey will be released in the month of June 2018. The new standards will have 20 parameters to check the purity of honey. The parameters will also focus on sugar concentrate in the honey and they will be tested as per C4 and C3 norms to know its purity.
Pawan Agarwal, the CEO of FSSAI, in an exclusive talk with Zee Business's Suman Agrawal, said, "Sugar and Corn syrups can be used for adulteration of the honey and till date we never had the method to check this adulteration. But, the new standards will have certain provisions to have a check on sugar concentrate in Honey. The standards will be notified as soon as the mechanism of testing method is finalised at our end." He added, "the notification will allow us to have a check on adulteration of honey with the help of sugar and corn syrup."
Earlier on December 14, 2017, the FSSAI issued a draft notification on Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standard and Food Additives) Amendment Regulation related to standards of Honey, Bee Wax & Royal Jelly, Steviol glycoside along with pulses and other products. These amendments regulations prescribed revised standards for honey and comprehensive standards for all pulses and for all other products, there are new standards. These amendments will ensure purity and quality of these food products.
In addition, BL Saraswat; the executive director at National Bee Board, added, "there was a need to bring new standards to monitor the purity of honey."
The decision to revise the standards was taken in the backdrop of complaints related to adulteration in Honey. Complains are there the honey is being adulterated with sugar, water and sugar syrup. Adulteration of honey with these products makes it difficult to identify the purity of the product. Besides, in past, some reports claimed that China is also sending adulterated honey to India.
About the Existing Standards
The food regulator, FSSAI's existing guidelines mainly focused on the antibiotic, moisture, sucrose, hydroxymethyl furfural instead of adulteration. But the new standards, yet to be released will have guidelines to check the sugar concentration in honey.
KWA’s bottled water plant to be opened in two months
Thiruvananthapuram: After years of delay, the Kerala water authority has reached the final phase of construction of the bottled water plant at Aruvikkara. The test run of the machineries have begun. The KWA is hoping to commission the project within two months.
The KWA began the process to construct the plant in Aruvikkara in 2010. Even after inviting several tenders KWA was not able to get a bidder for the project. The delay has invited serious criticism from the part of CAG in its report in 2013. They CAG has criticized that KWA was a failure in taking up income-generating projects. KWA has invited around six tenders for the project.
The project got a revival two years ago when KWA decided to tender the project as three different components such as civil, electrical and mechanical. It also revised the estimate from Rs 2.2 crore to Rs 10 crore. Now the installation of machineries has completed. KWA officials said that they would soon approach food safety and standard authority and Bureau of Indian Standards for the certification process. “Some works related to electrical connections need to be completed. Currently the test run is progressing on DC generator. After that we are waiting for inspection of electrical inspectorate,” said an official.
The bottled water plant of KWA has a capacity to produce 7,200 litres per day. KWA is planning to release water in 500 ml, 1 litre, 2 litre and 20 litre bottles/cans. KWA is using revere osmosis with UV, dechlorination and filtration to treat the water.
Water resources minister Mathew T Thomas has informed Assembly that the government has not decided on the price of the bottle water. The KWA, which is facing a major cash crunch, is hopeful of the bottling water project, as it one of the few income-generating projects. Currently, KWA has no bottle water project under it. The lone government-owned bottle water project is the ‘Hilly Aqua’ of Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (KIIDC).
Here's why you should avoid canned foods
Researchers found that canned food contained 100 times the daily dietary allowance of zinc.
The next time you opt for canned foods such as corn, tuna, asparagus or chicken, think twice. They may contain zinc oxide that can potentially damage your digestive system, warn researchers. The findings showed that nanoparticles of zinc oxide present in the lining of certain canned goods, usually considered good for its antimicrobial properties and preventing staining of sulfur-producing foods, may negatively affect the way in which human digestive tract operates.
"We found that zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at doses that are relevant to what you might normally eat in a meal or a day can change the way that your intestine absorbs nutrients or your intestinal cell gene and protein expression," said Gretchen Mahler, Associate Professor at the Binghamton University in the New York.
Researchers found that canned food contained 100 times the daily dietary allowance of zinc.
"They tend to settle onto the cells representing the gastrointestinal tract and cause remodelling or loss of the microvilli, which are tiny projections on the surface of the intestinal absorptive cells that help to increase the surface area available for absorption," Mahler added.
This loss of surface area tends to result in a decrease in nutrient absorption.
Some of the nanoparticles also cause pro-inflammatory signaling at high doses, and this can increase the permeability of the intestinal model, the researcher said.
In other words, it can even allow the passage of compounds that are not supposed to pass through into the bloodstream.
The study, published in the journal Food & Function, looked at how many particles might be transferred into the canned food.
"Our model shows that the nanoparticles do have effects on our in vitro model, and that understanding how they affect gut function is an important area of study for consumer safety," Mahler said.
YOUR MONEY CAN BUY YOU DISEASES, SAYS FSSAI
FSSAI calls for drive to generate awareness to discourage the simultaneous handling of food and currency notes.
The ubiquitous currency that you handle on a daily basis from the roadside panipuriwala to the cashier or your sabziwala can be the cause of food poisoning, skin, respiratory and gastro infections. Handling of currency with unclean and soiled hands, use of saliva during counting and storage under unhygienic conditions leads to its contamination with harmful microorganisms, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has said. —Brendan Dabhi
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What research says
Professor Arun Arya, of-ficiating head of Department of Environmental Studies and former head of Botany at MS University in Vadodara, told Mirror, “When we carried out our sample study a few years ago, though we did not find any major diseases, we did find fungi on the currency that can cause allergies and skin problems.”
The Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Center (RSIC)that had examined currency notes found germs that can cause tuberculosis, meningitis, tonsillitis, peptic ulcers, throat infections and genital tract infections.
Doctors’ warning
Dr Kamlesh Upadhyay, Head of Medicine at Civil Hospital Asarwa, told Mirror, “There are two ways that diseases can spread. First through foodstuff that is contaminated. Second, the vendor may have disease or the vendor’s hands may be unclean.”
On what types of diseases can be spread through such means, Dr Upadhyay said, “From common cold, flu and food poisoning, it can go up to tuberculosis, Hepatitis A and C as well as other airborne diseases.”
Dr Kalpesh Talati, physician at Zydus Hospital, said, “People need to clean their hands while handling currency and wherever possible, even ask the vendors to do so. ”
Implement food safety standards: DB
JAMMU: A Division Bench (DB) of State High Court comprising Chief Justice (A) Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice Sanjeev Kumar on Tuesday directed State to take all possible steps to ensure that the provisions of the Food, Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Regulations framed there under are implemented in letter and spirit.
The significant order came in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Voice for Rights, an NGO working for human rights, seeking a direction to the respondents to ban the use of toxic chemicals like Calcium Carbide for ripening of fruits in Jammu and Kashmir and to implement the provisions of Food, Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The DB observed that this Court vide its order dated June 9, 2017, took cognisance of the grievance projected by the petitioner and put State and other official respondents to notice and directed them to submit a report with regard to the action, if any, taken by them to prevent the use of toxic chemicals by the fruit vendors.
It was observed that compliance to the aforesaid order, the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu has submitted an action taken report indicating therein that the Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation, J&K had been taking requisite action under law.
The DB also observed that this Court vide order dated September 20, 2017, while taking note of the aforesaid action taken report submitted by the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu passed some directions to ensure that the provisions of the Act and regulations framed thereunder are strictly implemented. The Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation has also filed compliance report in terms of aforesaid order indicating the steps taken by the organisation to address the issues raised in the petition.
The DB after going through aforesaid action taken reports filed from time to time and the compliance reports in terms of aforesaid orders by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu and Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation expressed satisfaction that the respondents have taken and are taking adequate measures to redress the grievance projected by the petitioner in the PIL. “Nothing more is required to be done in the matter except directing the respondents to continue their drive and curb the menace of artificial ripening of fruits by the use of Calcium Carbide and other toxic substances. This action will also include milk adulteration”, the court observed.
With these observations, the DB closed this petition, however, giving liberty to the petitioner to approach this Court again, in case the respondents fail to perform their duties to implement food safety standards.
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