Aug 2, 2018
FSSAI officials seize 1 tonne of adulterated tea powder in Tirupur
Around one tonne of adulterated tea powder was seized by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials, in Tirupur district on Wednesday.
Food safety officials inspect the adulterated tea powder packets, in Tirupur
Coimbatore:
Acting on a tip-off, a team of the food safety officials led by the district designated officer Tamil Selvan conducted a surprise raid past midnight on Tuesday at the house of one Murugesan at Samundipuram.
In the raid, the officials discovered a huge quantity of tea powder packed in cartons and kept ready for supply. “A check revealed that the tea powder was adulterated. About one tonne of the tea powder was seized from his house,” said the officials.
The officials said that they received frequent complaints from the public that adulterated tea was being sold by bakeries and tea stalls. “We carried out an inspection and found tea, made of adulterated powder, is being served to customers at bakeries at Perumanallur and Periyayipalayam neighbourhoods.
“When inquired, the shop owners claimed to have bought the tea powder from Murugesan,” said an official. Thereafter, the officials carried out a surprise check at the house of Murugesan and seized the adulterated tea packs and a huge volume of chemical colouring agents.
“Consuming adulterated tea may cause cancer and other health ailments. The seized tea powder has been sent for a lab testing and action would be initiated against Murugesan based on its report,” said the FSSAI officials.
Food safey department seizes adulterated oil, empty sachets from unit in Dindigul
DINDIGUL: Days after acting against a company manufacturing adulterated oil in Madurai, officials from the food safety department unearthed a similar unit in Nandhavanampatti in Dindigul district. Apart from adulterated oil, a large quantity of empty pouches were also seized.
The unit was unearthed by a team of officials led by designated officer for food safety, Dr K Natarajan. The search was conducted on Tuesday evening based on a complaint received through WhatsApp.
Natarajan said that the unit, which has been functioning for several months, was manufacturing adulterated groundnut oil. They found only 14 boxes of adulterated oil worth Rs 10,500 at the time of inspection. However, they found 21,000 empty pouches worth Rs 1.36 lakh. Subsequently, the unit was sealed the same day.
“Both edible and non-edible oils were found to have packed in the brand name of Sakthi. While groundnut pictures were printed on the pouch, it contained palmolein oil, mixed with flavour. A sample has been lifted and sent for lab testing. An improvement notice has also been served,” said Natarajan.
Officials said that the adulterated oil was sent for sales not only in Dindigul but also to other neighbouring districts. They have asked the shopkeepers and distributors not to sell the oil to the public.
Spurious tea powder stored in a godown located in R S Salai in Dindigul was also seized by the officials on Wednesday morning, during a search based on a tip-off.
In total, 50kg of tea powder was seized. Name of the brand mentioned in the box was Amoha. It was also mentioned that the tea powder was manufactured in Singanallur in Coimbatore. The seized powder was worth Rs 20,000.
FDA begins drive to check food stalls at public places
With a view to set up 'Clean Street Food Hubs' to provide safe food, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has begun inspection of food stalls located at Girgaum, Chowpatty and Juhu in Mumbai and also food stalls in public places in Pune and Nagpur.
The stall owners have been asked to take precaution of using only pure and potable water for preparing food and for serving to customers. They have been asked to clean the drums, in which water is stored, every day so that the bacteria germs like E Coli do not get accumulated. E Coli leads to intestinal infection, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever and even kidney failure.
“In the street food vending initiative, FDA will be the first one to fill up gaps where there is a lack of good facilities. The problems that come in the way of maintaining good hygiene include non-potable water, cleanliness of the place, and waste disposal. We are checking even whether these stalls have proper drainage system so that the water does not get stagnated near the stall, FDA Joint Commissioner Shailesh Adhav told 'The Afternoon D&C' and added that these stall owners have been given training about food safety measures. The FDA is also in the process of procuring two food testing labs, at a cost of Rs 10 crore each. Besides Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu in Mumbai, 'Clean Street Food Hubs' will be set up at Sarasbaug in Pune and at Phutala talao in Nagpur.
Even private food technologists, have come forward to assist us”.
“The road side eateries will also be brought under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and an awareness will be created among vendors to ensure that they take all precautions right from selection of hygienic ingredients while preparing food articles. Most of the states have already began spreading the message of 'health food'. Similarly, Maharashtra too will spread out this message across the state, including villages”.
In a related development BMC’s hydraulic engineer department drew 3086 water samples from 24 wards. Of these 53 samples were found unfit for human consumption and in 14 cases water was found containing E Coli. In all BMC has identified 174 water sampling spots in slum and non-slum areas, each.
As per the agreement between Maharashtra FDA and Coca-Cola, nearly 1,200 street food vendors in Pune were recently given training on the aspect of safe and nutritious food, enabling them to improve the quality of their offering.
This initiative was a part of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Coca-Cola to train 50,000 street food vendors across India over next three years under the project ‘Clean Street Food. As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola India, is closely working with FDA in upgrading the eating out experience for the local populace.
Also, a machinery for fortification of food, including milk, maida, salt, vitamins etc., will be set up in the state. The food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micro-nutrients to food. Although generally it is a purely commercial choice to provide extra nutrients in a food, basically it is a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies.
The FDA has also began a drive to register and issue licenses for vendors. They include fruit, vegetable, coconut water vendors, egg, chicken, meat and fish sellers, panipuri sellers, soda, wine and beer shops, canteens in school, colleges and other public places, hotels, and restaurants to name a few. So far, over one lakh local market shopkeepers and vendors have a food safety registration or license.
Food sellers who have a turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh need to have a compulsory food license. If the turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh, they need to register with FDA. As per the Section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, if the food vendor does not register, he can be punished for six months in jail and pay Rs 5 lakh in fine.
Manufacturers and distributors too are supposed to sell food products only to those who have registration or license. If they sell food products to vendors who are not registered, they can be fined up to Rs 2 lakh.
“We have served notices on vendors and shopkeepers. They will be given some time. Even after that, if they fail to have a license, we will take strict action against erring vendors” Adhav said.
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