Kerala Food Safety Commissonerate warns stern action on sale of bottled water violationg law

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Packaged drinking water should not be sold in the state without the relevant food safety licence or BIS certification, the Food Safety Commissonerate said on Thursday. Violations will be dealt with sternly under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the commissionerate said. The commissionerate has issued the warning following complaints of several brands selling packaged drinking water engaging in the in violation of the law and the provisions of the BIS. 

Rule 2.1.2 of the Food Safety and Standards Act makes a food safety licence mandatory for the production of packaged drinking water. The quality of the product is governed by rule 2.10.8 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation. The Kerala High Court also had ordered stern action against companies engaged in the sale of water in violation of these rules and regulations. 

The Food Safety Commissionerate has urged the public to pass on information regarding such violations to the assistant commissioners (Food Safety) in the districts, the food safety mobile vigilance squad or on toll-free number 1800 425 1125.Mobile vigilance squad numbers: Thiruvananthapuram - 8943346195; Ernakulam - 8943346196; Kozhikode - 8943346197

Food safety in the Kerala takes a back seat

The food safety department officials have been on their toes for the last few months because of a spurt in cases related to violation of the food safety rules. With social media also working overtime, officials say that it has become difficult for them to keep up with the pace as they are acutely short of staff.

If it were the Lassi shops in Kochi last month, this week, it was repackaging of food items past their expiry date. Senior officials with the department, who didn’t want to be named, said that they don’t even have half the staff or infrastructure that the excise department enjoys and yet they have a large work portfolio. “Everybody wants to ensure safety of food. It is high time that the government gives us the adequate staff and infrastructure to handle the challenges.”

According to the food safety rules, an assembly constituency should have a food safety officer. However, there is a shortage in many districts. Officials said that in districts which have corporations and municipalities, there is a need for at least two assistant commissioners - one to handle the licences and another for monitoring and surveillance. “We need at least two vehicles - one for the squad and one for department officials. Now there is a Quick Response Team which often hires vehicles when it goes for conducting checks,” a senior official said. There are only three squads in the state - one in each region as of now.

The department gets side-lined as it comes under the health department and is not considered an independent vertical.

“We also have a shortage of testing labs. As of now, there are only three laboratories in the state. Every district should have one lab, so that the samples are checked fast. Speedy disposal of cases is yet another issue as RDO, burdened with revenue complaints, is the appellate authority,” said a senior official. 

The Panangad police team headed by sub-inspector Rejin M Thomas has intensified the search for Siva Subrahmanyam, suspected to be the master brain behind this repackaging of food items past their shelf life at a warehouse in Nettoor.

"The well-equipped unit has all modern equipment to repack food items manufactured by major brands. We also suspect they were engaged in manufacturing duplicates of brands with high market demand,” he said.

The police have registered a case against Karwar Alliance Pvt Ltd over the incident. The samples have been sent for detailed lab tests. "We have registered a case against the firm for forgery and cheating,” said Rejin M Thomas, Panangad sub-inspector.

Food inspector Zakkeer Husain said the firm was repacking products with fancy names like choco-vita, malto-vita etc and selling it under the offer ‘buy one, get one free’. “There were also free gifts bundled with the products which are aimed at enticing the customer,” he said.

Step by Step effect: DM asks all school canteens to be inspected

NOIDA: The district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar has ordered the inspection of all school canteens in the wake of around 200 students falling ill after having food and water served at Step by Step school.

BN Singh, the DM, said he had instructed the chief medical officer and the basic education officer to ensure canteens and eateries in schools followed guidelines laid down in the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006. Officials have been instructed to check for batch numbers, manufacturing date and nutrition value on packets of spices and edible oil used to cook food for students. “Spices and edible oil should be of good quality and they must be packed tightly. Those cooking the food must wear gloves and ensure the surroundings are clean. The canteen and the school should both preserve food samples for at least 24 hours so they can be examined in case such an incident happens,” Singh said.

Officials from the food and health departments have visited Step by Step twice after the students there took ill. While the first visit last week yielded little other than ajwain and edible oil, the second inspection to collect water samples from the school’s taps on Wednesday was done after the tanks had been cleaned.

Vedpal Singh Pundir, the SHO of Expressway police station, said Step by Step had written to police naming 12 persons who managed the canteen on the campus. Sodexo, the agency that manned the kitchen, said it was yet to get any intimation from the police.

The DM said the teams would often make surprise visits to schools. If items are found to be substandard, a Rs 1 lakh fine would be levied each on the school and the agency manning the kitchen. “There is also a provision for three months’ imprisonment. The schools have been specifically told to ensure food safety standards and cooperate with the administration and police if need be,” Singh said.

CMO Anurag Bhargava said the health department would soon form teams to go on inspections. “We will soon issue an advisory for all schools about food and water served to students. The school management and the canteen operator would be asked to taste the food first before serving it,” he said.

Health dept raids dairy, collects 9 milk samples, destroys 20 kg cream

Ludhiana: The district health department conducted a raid at a dairy on Rahon Road and collected nine milk samples from there on Thursday. The team of health officials also destroyed 20 kgs of unhealthy cream found in the dairy. The department has launched a special drive to check adulteration of food items in the district.

They found 120 kgs of skimmed milk, 16 kgs of palm oil and 2 tins of refined oil from the dairy. Officials filled the samples of skimmed milk, palm oil, cheese, ghee, milk and colouring agent from the dairy for testing. Samples of namkeen and ice cream were also collected from a bakery on Rahon Road.

Meanwhile, a team of health officials collected 23 samples from dairies, grocery shops, restaurants and wholesale traders in Jagraon and Mullanpur. Officials collected milk, cheese, curd, butter, ghee, ice-cream, green chutney, tea, tomato sauce paneer tikka and red chili sauce from a restaurant on GT Road, Jagraon. All the samples collected from various shops and dairies were sent to the state laboratory and the department is expected to receive the report in the next few days.

Food safety officer Yogesh Kumar said they have served a notice to the dairy owner on Rahon Road for not maintaining hygiene at the shop and he has been asked to submit a report for cleanliness certificate within a week.