Dec 13, 2018
HC to state govt: Get jail for food adulterators, penalty not enough
CHENNAI: Just penalty, and no jail, for food and milk adulterators? Raising this question, the Madras high court has directed officials concerned to conduct more surveys, searches and investigations, and initiate stringent prosecution of offenders so that culprits do not get away with mere fines.
A bench of Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice Anitha Sumanth, after perusing a status report filed by commissioner of food safety P Amudha on Wednesday, said, “The report of convictions and the imprisonment prima facie shows that most of the accused persons and convicts are getting away with payment of fine rather than imprisonment for serious offences of food adulteration. That requires serious attention of this court, trial courts and prosecution.”
The bench was issuing the directive on a PIL filed by advocate A P Suryaprakasam, who cited the state dairy development minister’s remarks last year against private milk manufacturers, and demanded direction to the state government to enhance the punishment for adulteration of milk and milk products.
“We direct the authorities represented by the nodal officer, who is present in the Court today, to step up the process of search, surveys and investigation and launch more such prosecution cases, so that those who indulge in such illegal and criminal acts of selling adulterated food and milk in the state are dealt with strongly,” said the bench.
In her report, Amudha had stated that 1,273 milk samples from all 32 districts were lifted and analysed, but no sample had been found unsafe. However, 289 samples were found to be of substandard or misbranded.
Stating that between August 5, 2011, and October 31, 2018, at least 210 civil cases were launched, the officer said that 177 of them ended in conviction. Till October 2018 Rs 18.57 lakh was collected as fine, she said.
In the case of milk products, during the same period 22 criminal cases were launched out of which 5 ended in conviction. A sum of Rs 1 lakh was collected as fine. Total of 158 civil cases were launched against the offenders, and 126 ended in conviction. A sum of Rs 21.2 lakh was collected as fine amount from them, Amudha said.
The judges, calling for a more comprehensive and detailed report on the matter, adjourned the hearing of the case after four weeks and asked the authorities to take proactive steps to produce more comprehensive and a detailed report by January 21, 2019.
High Court grills official on action taken against milk adulteration
The judges wondered why the number of samples tested had declined between 2017 and 2018.
Seeks detailed report by Jan. 21; wants FSDA officials to step up testing of samples
“Has anybody been jailed so far or not? Why the number of samples tested have gone down this year? Are you submitting only figures or doing some real work on the ground?” — this was how the Madras High Court on Wednesday grilled Commissioner of Food Safety P. Amudha in a case related to action taken against milk adulterators in the State.
Justices Vineet Kothari and Anita Sumanth refused to be persuaded by the figures submitted by the Commissioner in the court and insisted on taking more vigorous action against the adulterators. They said provision of safe food was directly linked to the fundamental right to life guaranteed to citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The judges wanted the Food Safety and Drug Administration department officials to pick up five to 10 samples for testing on a daily basis and take stringent action under the criminal law against those found to be involved in selling substandard milk. They directed the Commissioner to file a comprehensive report with substantial details by January 21.
Though the Commissioner submitted a status report on Wednesday, they wondered why the number of samples tested for 2018-19 (up to October 2018) had gone down to 42, against 402 samples tested in 2017-18. Ms. Justice Sumanth said the size of the samples does not seem to represent a reasonable proportion of the whole.
Criminal action
In her report, the Commissioner stated that 1,273 milk samples were lifted from all 32 districts between 2011-12 and 2018-19. Though none of them were found to be unsafe, about 289 were classified as either substandard or misbranded. However, criminal action was taken against only seven adulterators in 2017-18 and four of them ended up being convicted.
On the other hand, civil proceedings initiated against 210 adulterators had led to conviction in 177 cases and collection of ₹18,57,300 towards penalty. In so far as milk products were concerned, it was reported to the court that 659 samples were lifted since 2011 and 24 of them were found to be unsafe besides 274 classified as substandard/misbranded.
Criminal prosecution launched against 22 adulterators led to conviction of five and collection of penalty of ₹1.07 lakh. Similarly, the civil proceedings initiated against 158 had led to conviction of 126 adulterators from whom a total penalty of ₹ 21.29 lakh was collected in the last seven years.
The report was filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by advocte A.P. Suryaprakasam last year seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of some private dairies in the State indulging in large-scale adulteration as claimed by Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji.
Chandigarh: Man fined Rs 1 lakh for selling sweets without valid licence
CHANDIGARH: A man who was caught selling food articles like khoya burfi, milk cake, ladoos, sweets, etc. without a valid licence, a Chandigarh district court made one person stand till the rising of the court and also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him.
Manish Rajwanshi was held guilty and convicted for the commission of offence under Sections 26(2)(iii) and 31(1) punishable under Section 63 of the relevant act.
The matter dates back to February 2, when around 1.45 pm, food safety officer inspected the premises of Aaradhya Misthan of Ram Darbar, Chandigarh, and found the accused running the business and selling food articles without a food license for human consumption by way of public sale. He was challaned under Sections 26 (2) (iii) and 31(1) of the Food Safety & Standards Act 2006.
However, the defence counsel contended that neither any sample of food article was taken by the FSO nor raw material for preparation was taken into possession and his client had been falsely implicated. It was also stated that no raid had ever taken place and the accused never sold any of the alleged food articles to any customer.
The prosecution contended that since the accused was challaned for selling food articles without having a food licence, there was no requirement for taking sample of the food articles. After the arguments the court held him guilty and convicted him.
Kitchens in places of worship and catering business similar: FSSAI CEO
Mysuru: Kitchens in places of worship are pretty much like the ones in other catering establishments except that they have different recipe, said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Speaking after inaugurating the four-day International Food Convention 2018 organised by the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) in association with CFTRI-CSIR and DFRL-DRDO, he said, “The response for food safety of prasadam served in temple and in other places of worship places is good. Initially some temples had some reservations, for instance the Tirupathi Temple which has also come under the licensing regime of FSSI. They said that prasadam is being given to the devotees for centuries and they have a tradition to follow. Our opinion was all that is fine but there is no harm in having a double check. At the end of the day, it is consumed by the people. It is not a huge challenge in terms of technology. It is more of a cultural challenge. For the safety of the people, all the food that we eat comes with after a preview by FSSI. All that food requires proper safety management practices and hence we are also working with the temple administrations."
824 posts including that of Central Food Safety Officers sanctioned
"There is a shortage of food safety officers but not in every state. Some states including Tamil Nadu are having more than the required number. Many states including Mandhya Pradesh and Delhi have the post sanctioned in the recent months. The 824 sanctioned posts include not only food safety officers but also central technical officers and other staff. Once these posts are filled, the country's food safety will be properly manned", he added.
Agarwal also lauded AFST (I) for their support in various aspects of food safety related works including for training food safety supervisors. “We have 2.8 million food businesses across the country. Hence to keep a tab on quality and safety, we need food safety supervisors. Keeping this in mind, we have tied up with various organisations including AFST (I), to build a culture of self compliance in food business and building the competence of the food handlers and supervisors who work in different food businesses. With the help of 150 training partners we have managed to train about 65000 food safety supervisors", he said.
Aashitosh A Inamdar, Secretary of AFST (I) welcomed the dignitaries and briefed about IFCON 2018. Prabodh S Halde, President of AFST (I), Anil Dutt Semwal, Director of DFRL-DRDO, KSMS Raghavarao, Director of CFTRI-CSIR and Chindi Vasdevappa, Vice Chancellor, NIFTEM, Sonepat were also present.
The four-day IFCON will conclude on December 15. Various technical sessions, poster presentations and a food expo have been organised. The public can visit food expo on December 13 and 14 between 9.30 AM and 5 PM for which the entry is free.
Lonavala’s Maganlal Chikki fails FDA test
Maganlal Chikki is a chain of sweet manufacturers popular across the Maharashtrian hill station
Maganlal Chikki, a Lonavala landmark, was pulled off shelves on Tuesday after the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) found it had no quality control measures in place to prove its products were fit for human consumption.
Maganlal Chikki is a chain of sweet manufacturers popular across the Maharashtrian hill station. On December 11, food officers from FDA’s Pune branch raided the manufacturing and packaging unit of Maganlal Food Products and it was violating several rules of the Food Standards and Safety Act, 2006. The unit had no quality-check system, its food safety standards lacked national accreditation, and there were hygiene lapses in the manufacturing process, the FDA’s inpection report, a copy of which is with HT, said.
There is no guarantee that the product manufactured by the company is fit for consumption, as they are not tested by any laboratory approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, or accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the inspection report, by Food Safety Officer of the Pune region,RR Kakade, said.
Mangesh Agarwal, one of the owners of the company, said the issues raised by the FDA were “documentary in nature”. “The fact is, there is no food adulteration or spurious substance. There were small packaging and technical errors against which the FDA took action...,” he said.
His brother and co-owner, Ashok Agarwal, who was present when the unit was raided, said, “We have completed the process of sending products to an NABL accredited laboratory. We have also started hiring a technical person to supervise the products. ..in two days, our factory will start functioning again.”
Another lapse the FDA pointed out was how the superintendent of the manufacturing process was a Bachelor of Commerce, which does not qualify her to head the department. Officials said the company’s license was only valid for packaging. “We are not attacking a certain brand or person..,” said Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA, Pune
No shortage of food safety officers, says FSSAI CEO
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Agarwal, on Wednesday, said that 824 posts of FSSAI, across the country have been sanctioned.
Speaking to reporters, here, he said, no state has shortage of food safety officers. “In fact, Tamil Nadu has more number of officers than required. We are trying to rationalise that. The posts of officers, including including Central Food Safety Officer, technicians and other staff, have been sanctioned. With their appointment, the country’s food safety authority will be properly manned,” he said.
When asked about food safety in prasadam distributed in temples, he said, the response is good from the temples. “Initially, a few temples such as Tirupati had some reservations. Our teams are working with the temple managements so that food safety practices are followed in temples and other places of worship,” he said.
When asked about the challenges in checking food safety in places of worship, he said, it’s not a technological challenge, but, a cultural challenge. Kitchens in places of worship are similar to the kitchens of catering establishments. But, with different recipes. It is an issue of sensitivity, he said.
CEO appreciates state Agarwal appreciated the Food Safety Commissioner of Karnataka and other officials in ensuring safety in the midday meal scheme. “Food safety officials are taking samples and are testing the food items regularly. There are guidelines on food safety and hygiene for the midday meal scheme. The Education department is primarily responsible for following the guidelines. Even the Commissioner of Food Safety has the responsibility. The officials do samplings and tests, regularly,” he said.
FSSAI has created a framework for uplifting the hygiene of food vendors through a scheme called, ‘Theme Street Food hubs’. It’s a cluster approach wherein FSSAI works with ministerial bodies and state government to identify a cluster. The authorities will conduct a survey on the availability of water, electricity, cleanliness of cart among others in the region. “We will give time to the vendors to improve the condition. Later, post audit will be done, before awarding ‘Clean Street Food Hub’, tag,” he said.
“We had identified a few cities in Karnataka, but, the authorities concerned did not come forward. Mysuru is a good place to implement the Theme Street Food hubs,” he said.
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