DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

FSSAI to audit meat units, slaughter houses in 40 cities in next 3 months

New Delhi, Sep 11 () The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said Tuesday it will conduct audit of meat units and municipal slaughter houses in 40 cities in the next three months via third-party auditing agencies.

A mandatory food safety audit of the supply chain for e-commerce retail entities involved in retail of meat or meat products will also be conducted, it said.

The decisions were taken in a meeting with stakeholders that discussed all aspects that affect the quality and safety of meat and meat products either in direct or indirect way.

Food safety regulator FSSAI said in a statement that there is unprecedented increase in the demand for animal proteins, not only in India but globally as well.

"The majority of consumers now in India are eating fish, mutton, goat, pig and poultry. The challenge for this nutritional transition to animal protein based diets is linked with the use of anti-microbials in the feed and compromised hygiene practices at slaughter houses and retail markets. The result is the lack of trust in consumers on the quality and safety of meat and meat products available to them," it said.

In this backdrop, the FSSAI decided in the meeting there is a need to conduct food safety audit of meat units/ municipal slaughter houses in coming three months in 40 cities expanded by third party auditing agency.

Among other decisions taken, the regulator said a steering group for "clean and safe meat" will be formed that will have an overall responsibility for carrying out the activities in this campaign, including the preparation of guidance note for consumers on fish/meat and feed.

This campaign will be a part of 'Lauh Yatra movement' to clean the slaughter houses and meat markets. The stakeholders will be participating in the Lauh Yatra covering 2,000 locations in 40 cities across the country.

The regulator also proposed that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in collaboration with the feed manufacturing associations and other stakeholders, will review and amend their feed standards for livestock and poultry, if required.

Besides, the FSSAI has decided to train and build capacity of food business operators involved in this sector under the FoSTaC Programme from this month with a target of completing at least 50 trainings by the end of December 2018.The FSSAI will also plan a study on the overall ecosystem in sectors of meat, fish, poultry and feed to identify the gaps/foods safety concerns and the ways to address them.

Adulterated mustered oil manufacturing unit sealed in Ludhiana

Chandigarh: Continuing with its drive against adulterated mustard oil, a food safety team sealed a unit in Ludhiana for indulging in malpractice.

The team inspected and sealed an oil manufacturing unit near Ahmedgarh. While the manufacturing unit was located in Ludhiana district, a wrong packaging address of Sangrur district was printed on the packaging. Entire packed material, which was nearly 168 litres of mustard oil, was seized and the unit was sealed.

Food commissioner K S Pannu said the Fazilka food safety team in a raid at NG Oil Mill, Abohar found impure mustard oil to the tune of 725 litres. Samples were taken for further investigation and the stock was seized. The manufacturer was selling adulterated edible oil as mustard oil. The teams sealed the packaging part of the factory and an oil tanker was also sealed.

Meanwhile, an inspection of Krishna Traders, Hoshiarpur unearthed 180 kg of adulterated desi ghee. The stock was seized and sample of desi ghee and vanaspati were taken for investigation.

How safe is our Indian street food?

Be it the crunchy, mouth-watering gol gappas of Chandni Chowk, or the delicious kachori fromConnaught Place, the life of an average Indian feels incomplete without street food. And why not? It is more delicious than what many fancy restaurants can promise, and it fits right into our pockets! It’s the one food everybody loves, no matter what the class, what the background. But unfortunately, all is not rainbows and sunshines. With no intention of taking your occasional guilty pleasure of eating paav bhaji away, we put in a quick question here. How hygienic do you think our street food really is?

A reality check

A study conducted by the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) in 2015 revealed some highly shocking results. In the samples collected from famous street food joints, the institute found traces of faecal matter (excrement product) in items like gol gappas. A bacteria called E. Coli was also present in high amounts. The bacteria is known to cause problems like diarrhea, gastroenteritis etc.

Keeping the research data aside, our minds are guaranteed to fall into a dubious state even if we simply consider the areas we get our favorite street food from. Most of the vendors have their stalls in the open, usually on roadsides or in street corners. Some are conveniently placed inches away from public washrooms. How hygienic that is, is not too difficult a question to answer. With the exception being of a few small-scale vendors, and mainstream street food joints, gloves are rarely used for serving or preparing the food. The risk on safety increases further in case of food items like bhelpuri etc since they also use raw vegetables, the sanitation of which is questionable.

Are fruits or fruit juice really a safer alternative?

Do you doubt the safety of street food, and hence, choose to consume fruit juice/ fruits from your local vendor? If yes, you might need to reconsider your choices. It will sound shocking, but your attempts to switch to a healthier lifestyle might actually be doing you more harm than good.

Not only is there a lack of guarantee about the utensils used being clean, the ice that is put in fruit juice often comes from highly unclean water sources. It is therefore highly recommended that you think twice before hopping onto another fruit juice stall.

In summers, you will find rows after rows of vendors offering you ‘fresh’ cut fruits to beat the scorching heat. Tempting, yes. But healthy? Maybe not so much.

It is generally advised to store cut fruits in a cool place, properly covered. However, that is hardly the storage conditions we find on our roadsides. Without the right treatment, cut fruits have high chances of being contaminated with bacteria.

How can you protect yourself?

While there are certain precautions you should keep in mind, the good news is, you don’t have to say “goodbye” to your favorite snacks. Here, we list down a couple of things you should remember the next time you are out for an eating spree:

1) Make sure the utensils are clean- the one that your food is made in, as well as the one you are being served in.

2) Check how hygienic the surroundings are.

3) Confirm that the seller has gloves on.

4) In case you are going for a glass of juice or shake, avoid getting ice put in. Also, make sure the jug, glass etc used are clean.

5) Avoid eating cut fruits from the roadside.

While we may blame the local vendors for the poor quality of street food, that point of view is highly narrow. The International Journal of Community Medicine and Health published a research paper in early 2018, concluding that “the street food vendors were aware of food hygiene and had favourable attitude towards it, but it wasn’t translated in their hygiene practice”. The reason for the same can be found out easily, at least the partial cause. The street vendors usually lack the appropriate resources to implement a cleaner, healthier system of providing food. Hence, even if they might genuinely wish to change the structure, they simply cannot.

Where does the government fit in?

In 2017, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), along with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched a “one of its kind” initiative in the national capital. Approximately 23,000 street vendors were trained on basic health standards and sanitation. On completion, they were given certificates, as well as a kit containing necessities like apron, gloves etc.

With willing vendors and government initiatives, the condition of street food can be improved tremendously. While that wheel of change is set in motion, as an aware consumer, we must put in our personal set of precautions. And while you do that, make sure you enjoy your delicious treats!

CMO Kohima cautions consumers against unlabeled products

Directs distributors, suppliers to immediately stop supply of such goods

Dimapur, September 11 (MExN): The Chief Medical Office Kohima today cautioned consumers against ‘misbranded’ and unlabeled imported food products, particularly from Myanmar, to prevent “eventuality of any food poisoning.”

It also directed those distributing or supplying such products in the market to “immediately stop the distribution/supply” and retailers to return their purchased stock.

Failure to comply will lead to the initiation of necessary action under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, Rules & Regulations, 2011, informed a press release from the Chief Medical Office & Designated Officer Kohima, Dr.Ritu Thurr.

Illegal entry of food products

The CMO, in the release, noted that Myanmar Food Products are illegally entering the market contravening the aforementioned Act.

The State Commissioner of Food Safety had also issued an order on June 22 stating that “no person shall import into India any article of food in contravention of any other provision of the Act or any rule or regulation made thereunder or any other Act.”

In pursuance of the order, the apple and grape juice products with the brand names such as ‘Soo Te’, ‘Power’ etc are flooding the market “with no date of manufacture, no best before date, and no name of the manufacturer,” it stated.

“The Food Business Operators disclosed that these juices are Myanmar products and it is being distributed in the market through some distributors/suppliers in Kohima,” the release said. “These are all misbranded imported food products, and in the eventuality of any food poisoning, it will not be possible to implicate the manufacturers/producers.”

Since there is no importer name or address on the package, there will be none to blame or take action, it added.

Retailers directed to return products

In this connection, the CMO also directed the retailers “to return the stated food products to the concerned distributor/supplier” else they would be liable “to be penalized as per the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, Rules & Regulations, 2011” if it is found in their business premises.

Meanwhile, the general public was also informed to be aware and alert on such issue.

Check the product labels before purchasing any food products. In the case of food products imported into India, it should have the name and complete address of the importer in India on the package or on the containers, the CMO said in the release.

If there is any case of food poisoning with a particular imported food, necessary action can be taken through the importer, it added.

Besides imported food products, the CMO also noted that Indian or Local food products “should also have the information such as manufacturing date, best before date and the name, address of the manufacturer.”

Any complaint in regard to food can be reported to the Chief Medical Office, the release informed.

Ban on imported Myanmarese food products

Kohima chief medical officer (CMO) Dr. Ritu Thurr has barred traders from buying and selling food products “imported illegally” from Myanmar in view of blatant violation of Food Safety & Standards Act (FSSA) 2006, Rules& Regulations (RR)2001.

Thurr, who is also designated food safety officer, directed the traders to immediately stop distributing and supplying these food products. Failure to comply would invite action as per relevant sections of the FSSA 2006 and R&R 2001. 

Retailers were also asked to return the food products to concerned distributor(s) or supplier(s) as they too would be liable for penalisation as per the FSSA, R&R 2001 if such items are found in their business premises. The explanation for the ban on Myanmarese food items was that first, they were illegally entered into the market in contravention of the FSSA 2006 and R&R 2001. 

The CMO next pointed out that, for example, apple juice, grape juice with brand names “Soo Te”, “Power”, etc, were flooding the market but had no ‘date of manufacture’, no ‘best-before’ date and ‘no name of their manufacturers’. As per information from traders, he said these juices were Myanmarese products and were being distributed through some distributors and suppliers in Kohima. 

Thurr claimed that all of the products were “misbranded” imported food products and that, in the eventuality of any food poisoning, it would not be possible to implicate the manufacturers or producers. He, therefore, asked consumers to be aware and remain alert about such food products. 

Also, besides imported food products, he also said even Indian and local food products should have information like ‘manufacturing date’, ‘best-before’ date and name, address of the manufacturer. 

He added that any complaint regarding food could be filed with the CMO office. 

The CMO also advised general public to check labels of the imported food products before buying them. He stressed that every such product should have the name and complete address of the importer in India on the package or on the containers. He warned that if any food poisoning occurred with a particular imported food product, necessary action would be taken against its importer.

In pursuance to commissioner of food safety’s order (DHFW/FSSA-21/32/2007-08/3055, dated Kohima, June 22, 2018) and as per Section 25 (1) (iii) of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 and Section 2 (2.2) (2.2.2) (6) (iii) of Food Safety & Standards Regulations, 2011 (Packaging and Labelling), Thurr clarified that no person could import any food article into India in contravention of the provisions of the Act or any rule or regulation made under the Act.