Swasth Bharat Yatra reaches Dindigul after its 3-day programme in Madurai

Madurai: The Swasth Bharat Yatra cycle rally, an initiative to spread awareness about healthy eating and adulteration in food items, which was going on in Madurai since Saturday, was flagged off for Dindigul district on Monday.

Revenue minister R B Udayakumar and district collector S Natarajan took part in the function organized at PKN School in Tirumangalam and sent off the rally to the neighbouring district. They also took part in the rally and cycled for some distance. The minister distributed prizes to the students, who won in the various competitions conducted on the sidelines of the yatra.

Officials from food safety and standards authority of india, which is conducting the yatra, said that Dindigul will witness the sensitization programme for three days, starting from Monday. The convoy was received by the officials from Dindigul district at Madurai-Dindigul border at around 11 am, they added.

An array of events including competitions for school and college students, exhibitions, awareness rallies, cultural programs have been planned over the course of the next three days, a food department official said.

Swasth Bharat Yatra is a nation-wide awareness event which started on October 6, simultaneously at six places in different parts of the country. It is being organized in view of the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

‘Many shops in dist sell substandard edible salt’

Trichy: The district food safety department officials said that sale of substandard edible salt is prevalent to a certain extent in Trichy district. This was evident from the findings in the survey that more than 10% of households of government school students use edible salt with no iodine, they said.

Designated officer for Trichy food safety department Dr R Chitra claimed that despite the fact that the food safety department repeatedly emphasised the shops to sell iodised salt of good quality for edible purpose, many shops either sell non-iodised salt or substandard salt. "Based on the recent survey, we’ve found the areas in which the sale of substandard/ non-iodised salt is more prevalent. We’ll soon identify those shops which sell the salt and take necessary action," she said. A source from the food safety department said that sale of substandard or non-iodised salt for edible purpose was more prevalent in rural areas. Since some cheap edible salt varieties by unknown manufacturers were available, vendors buy them despite the fact that they are substandard. "Moreover some groceries shops do not keep edible salt in closed containers, but leave it open in sacks. If edible salt is substandard, since it’s kept open, the little amount of iodine that is present in it evaporates," he said.

An official from the union ministry of commerce and industry’s salt department said that though not very common, the supply of substandard salt is supplied to the shops to a limited extent, but across the state.

Meanwhile, state general secretary of Tamilnadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu (TVSP) V Govindarajulu said that traders should never be blamed if substandard salt was being sold by them and that only a very few manufacturers should be blamed.

Govt to promote use of iodised salt

Trichy: A sample survey conducted by the district food safety department in government schools has revealed that more than 10% of the students’ households use only non-iodised salt. The survey, which was carried out for the past couple of weeks, was conducted as a part of Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day, which is observed on October 21 every year. Food safety department officials said that the areas where the usage of non-iodised salt was more prevalent have been identified and campaigns in those localities would be held in the near future.

A total of 17 food safety officers (FSO) were deputed to carry out the survey in as many government schools from various parts of the district selected on a random basis. A total of 1,869 school children were surveyed in the programme and the salt samples which they had brought from their homes were tested by the FSOs.

Iodine is said to be an essential micronutrient required every day in minute quantities for normal human growth and mental development. The ideal amount of iodine is essential for the production of thyroid hormones, which controls one’s metabolism and other important body functions. Goitre (swelling of the neck due to enlargement of thyroid gland), hypothyroidism and intellectual disabilities are some of the most common health issues caused due to iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). According to the health department, school children living in iodine deficient regions lose 13 IQ points compared to the school children living in iodine sufficient regions.

The food safety department said that Trichy was one of the districts in the country identified to conduct the recent survey as a part of the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme. "The FSOs had collected samples from students randomly and conducted the tests. The students were given awareness on IDD," designated officer (DO) for Trichy district food safety department Dr R Chitra told TOI.

Doctors said that though IDD is very rare in Trichy, it still is prevalent among a few in the low socioeconomic status. Paediatricians at the District Early Intervention Centre said they still treat at least two children, with symptoms of IDD,every month. "Though the number is less, goitre is the most common form of iodine deficiency in the district," paediatrician at DEIC Dr R Kumaraguru said.

State president of Indian Academy of Paediatrics Dr Sunil Srinivasan said that compared to those living nearby the seaside, others living in the interior regions – and especially the hilly and mountain regions – have more risk of suffering IDD. "Iodised table salt is the commonest method used to provide more iodine to a person. Hence if taken in the right amount, IDD can be easily prevented," he added.

Associate professor in the department of nutrition and dietetics at Seethalakshmi Ramasami College Chellam Murugendar said iodine must be supplemented for pregnant mothers, recently-married women and adolescent girls.

File affidavit on ‘permissible limit’ of formaldehyde: HC

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa, on Monday, has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to file an affidavit on whether the limit of 4 miligram per kilogram of formaldehyde can be taken as ad hoc standard. 

The court also asked the state government to carry out random inspections to test the fish in the state.

After hearing the public interest litigations filed in the formalin-in-fish issue, a division bench comprising Justice N M Jamdar and Justice Prithviraj K Chavan said “the Authority will also file an affidavit whether pending fixing of standards by the scientific panel, the limit of 4mg per kg as per their guidance note can be taken as an ad hoc standard”. The HC gave the authority two weeks to file the affidavit. The court has asked FSSAI to expedite the process of taking up the task to set the standards, as initiated by the letter dated October 12. 

The court also directed the state government to carry out inspections everyday at different randomly chosen locations to test the fish being sold. “In the report, the quantity of formalin found should be specified to a figure, as we are informed that the earlier reports have only mentioned the quantity as ‘permissible limit’. The compilation of these reports be made and submitted to the court on the next date of the hearing,” the court ordered.

In the advisory issued by the FSSAI to consumers under the guidance note, naturally occurring formaldehyde in fish is indicated as approximately 4mg per kg.

The court has also directed the government to file an affidavit on whether the wholesale fish market at Margao is controlled by the planning authority or the municipal council or is a private market. Stating that the Municipalities Act has laid down various provisions on how to conduct a market, the court said, “The Pollution Control Board, in the year 2016, carried out an inspection and found that toxins are flowing into the river and suggestions have been given to improve the hygiene.”

The HC directed the state to file an affidavit regarding these issues and directed it to take steps to correct any lacunae found in the conducting of the wholesale market.

Referring to the statement made by the government that it has already initiated action against various wholesale traders, the high court ordered that the government place on record the action taken and its plans with respect to authorisation of traders, pollution control measures and overall hygiene.