Jan 5, 2019
Over 490 of 1,123 samples of packaged drinking water non-conforming to food safety norms, LS told
As many as 496 of the total 1,123 samples of packaged drinking water analysed during 2017-18 were found to be non-conforming to the prescribed standards of the food safety norms, the Lok Sabha was informed Friday.
Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said 246 cases were registered during the period in which conviction was ordered in 97 cases, while penalties were imposed in 135 cases.
In 2016-17, 697 samples were analysed, of which 224 were found to be violating the provisions under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and cases was launched in 131 cases, Choubey said.
Of these, conviction was ordered in 33 cases and penalties were imposed in 40 cases, he said.
Instances of sale of packaged drinking water not meeting the prescribed standards have come to the notice of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
As the responsibility of enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 primarily lies with states and Union Territories.
The commissioners of Food Safety of states and UTs have been advised by the FSSAI from time-to-time to undertake strict enforcement activities against unauthorised manufacture and sale of packaged drinking water without FSSAI/BIS mark in states and UT governments.
Further to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food, regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food products, including packaged drinking water, are being carried out by officials of the Food Safety Departments of the respective states and Union Territories.
In cases where food samples are found non-conforming, recourse is taken to penal provisions specified under the FSS Act, 2006 which may extend to imprisonment for life.
Inspect organic shops: rights panel
Petitioner cites Minister’s statement
The State Human Rights Commission has ordered the government to conduct inspections in shops selling organic vegetables in the State for pesticide residues.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar had informed the Assembly that pesticide residues were detected in organic vegetable samples, the commission said on Friday.
Report in a month
Commission chairman Antony Dominic has asked the Food Safety Commissioner, Agriculture Secretary, and the State Police Chief to take the necessary measures and submit reports in a month.
The commission’s order was based on a petition filed by activist Ragam Rahim. There is increased dependence on shops selling organically cultivated vegetables and fruits with pesticide-ridden vegetables being blamed for causing lethal diseases like cancer, the petitioner said.
Thrice the price
Trusting consumers are willing to pay thrice the normal price for organic vegetables thinking them to be free of pesticides. If such vegetables indeed contain toxins, it is a violation of the right to live. Such shops should be closed down especially in a scenario where the Minister himself had informed the Assembly about the pesticide residues, Mr. Rahim said in his petition.
Replying to a question in the Assembly on December 11, Mr. Sunil Kumar had cited a report of the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory at Vellayani which said that 11.11% of samples collected from privately-run organic vegetable shops contained pesticide residues.
A food safety net
William James had once said, “A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.” This phrase best describes the food safety scenario in India. Post independence, rapid growth and the consequent scramble for scarce resources revived the Malthusian catastrophe, which represents poor agricultural production in times of tipping population growth. India today produces about 280 million tonnes (MT) of foodgrains, 175MT of milk while our horticultural output stands at around 320MT. India remains the second largest producer of rice in the world but is heavily dependent on oil imports. We are slowly shifting from a quantitative approach to qualitative considerations about what we eat. And this is where a farm-to-table approach becomes significant to understand the food safety circle. For example, what is the nutritive value of milk? One could just Google the answer and be satisfied with emerging tables. But going deeper, one would understand that the quality of milk depends on a number of factors like the breed of cow, quality of cattle feed, kind of urea that was used in the feed, whether antibiotics were given in their feed or whether oxytocin was used for milk let-down. These should actually turn the table.
The mere nutritive value of calorie, protein, fat or carbohydrates cannot satisfy questions related to health. Antibiotic and hormonal residues, mycotoxins, heavy metals and the like can mar the nutritive value — it is like highly nutritious food with traces of pesticides. Studies by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy showed that India is fast becoming a hotbed for antibiotic resistance and emergence of superbugs due to the use of fourth generation antibiotics in animal and poultry feeding. A majority of antibiotics used by the pharmaceutical companies is actually used by growth promoters in animal feed. Any pathogen exposed to antibiotics in the environment will develop resistance. When they fall sick, the same antibiotics administered will not work. Today about four lakh people in India die due to tuberculosis, mainly drug resistance.
Of the 232 pesticides our country uses, nearly 52 have not been studied for their maximum residue limit. Food safety concerns are not simplistic like adulterating milk with water, cheaper dalda for ghee, papaya seeds for pepper, as was the case earlier. Hi-tech adulteration like the use of melamine to boost protein went undetected even in the US for a long time. New tools and techniques had to be evolved to detect the adulterant. In the same way, there are genetically modified organisms creeping into our food system through imports and illegal seeds. We would rarely be able to detect them given the current situation. In food processing, safety is given a go-by due to excessive handling, removal of nutrients, usage of food additives that can actually erode nutrient value. At present, the list of food additives is unending. Refined sugar and salt being added in excess in all processed food are the source of addiction to certain flavours and choices. Refined nutrients are today killing more people than toxic residues.
Ecological sensitivity, sustainability and food safety will be the trends as millennials look for better health and wellness. Consumers are now looking for sustainable solutions. Ethics is always contextual. For instance, being vegetarian or vegan can be ethical for some and extremely ethical for animal activists. But this isn’t universal. What is sauce for the goose should also be sauce for the gander. Ethical food has to be acceptable to all and the universal has to basically focus on reducing the ecological footprint. This calls for humane handling of animals in farming and even at slaughter houses.
The loss of biodiversity is the biggest bane for agriculture. Above all, access to food and equity in nutrition security is the fundamental ethical aspect of society. As for food companies, ethics about profit can simply be as a producer of foods that do not make people unhealthy, sick and obese. In this context, organic food has seen a great deal of growth in the past decade. More and more people are opting for organic foods because of its true form and content. People are asking for minimally processed diverse varieties rather than the routine run-of-the- mill foods that come even under the organic label. Conscious consumers are today raising questions, thanks to public opinion, created through debate and discussions in the media and consumer forums. Ecological sensitivity, increased disease burden and abundant health information are driving people to make better choices. Apart from enjoying food, they are making sure that they do not compromise on health. Good food can indeed prevent most of the ills that society confronts today and can pave the way for a healthy and happy life.
(The writer is founder and MD of a leading food manufacturing company)
Tangled noodles
Just when the dust had settled after the Indian branch of Swiss food giant Nestle suffered a brand hit with Maggi noodles being declared unsafe four years ago, it has run into fresh trouble. Taking cognisance of matters related to public health, the Supreme Court ordered the revival of a Rs 650-crore worth class-action suit filed by the Government that had pulled up the noodle manufacturer for indulging in unfair trade practices, false labelling of products and misleading advertisements. Not only that, Justice Chandrachud has questioned the presence of lead, even within traceable limits, and sought good reason why it should be fed to children. Though the sample test report from the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru — that had indicated lead in permissible limits — will form the genesis of the case, additional solicitor-general Vikramjit Banerjee said the matter should be sent to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission which can decide on the merits independently.
The court’s circling of the presence of lead has again raised the issue of food safety standards in the country. Post-Maggi controversy, food companies, regulators, the Government and the consumers alike became more concerned about deconstructing food than being indifferent about it. The court’s observation points to the fact that ingredients, even if they are within legally permissible limits, are never marked out clearly on the food label. The problem with managing lead concentration is that the heavy metal is largely present in the environment, in soil or plants, and cannot entirely be eliminated by washing or processing. It is also possible for lead to enter the food supply chain through manufacturing processes, leaching into the water that passes through metal pipes or vessels. According to the USFDA, although lead levels in the food supply decreased dramatically between the 1970s-1990s, low traces of lead continue to be detected in some foods simply because they remain in the environment. And for that it ensures a strict regulatory framework of monitoring and testing at frequent intervals, something that is far cry in India yet. Lead does impact our children’s health and development, vulnerable as they are in their early years, causing neurological problems, learning disabilities and lower IQ levels. Food safety, therefore, should not just be limited to packaged products but the raw ones as well. High levels of cadmium and arsenic are routinely found in vegetables and fruits we procure from the market. The milk we consume is heavily adulterated with detergents. Compromising on standards is often a mistake that consumers make and this is the real concern that must be addressed by the guardians of public health. Even with the case of Maggi, our laboratories itself stood divided — while Government laboratories found excess levels of lead and MSG, other labs found otherwise. This raises questions about the sampling procedure itself, which is not foolproof. This would require strict enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, else meeting public health indices will remain elusive.
Banned! Your food will not come in these materials; deadline imposed
"The new packaging regulations would raise the bar of food safety in India to the next level," Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement.
The new packaging regulations would raise the bar of food safety in India to the next level," Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement,
Food businesses need to comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1, regulator FSSAI said Thursday.
The new regulations prohibit packaging material made of recycled plastics including carry bags for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing articles of food.
Taking cognizance of the carcinogenic effect of inks and dyes, the norms also prohibit the use of newspaper and such other materials for packing or wrapping of food articles and includes respective Indian standard for printing inks for use on food packages.
"The new packaging regulations would raise the bar of food safety in India to the next level," Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement.
He also said that there would be "difficulties" in implementation of these regulations by the unorganised sector and therefore sufficient time has been given before the regulations come into force.
"The food businesses shall have to comply with these regulations by 1st July, 2019," he said.
Agarwal also mentioned that stakeholder's consultation and mass awareness building amongst consumers and food businesses would precede implementation of the new packaging regulations.
Besides general and specific requirement with respect to packaging materials, the FSSAI said new regulations also prescribe overall migration and specific migration limits of contaminants for plastic packaging materials.
The regulations specify the suggestive list of packaging materials for different food product categories.
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