Order - Use of the term Wheat Flour

Food Safety Commissioner asks stakeholders to ensure quality

Promises strict action against violators 

Commissioner Food Safety J&K has warned the stakeholders against any compromise with the quality of food items and has assured people of strict action against the offenders. In a statement on Thursday, the Commissioner said any stakeholder found violating standards, quality, and safety of food shall be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. He also advised general public to be watchful and contact the enforcement staff of the Commissionerate in case of a complaint regarding the quality of food available in the markets through telephone (0194-2495191) or email (cfsjandk@gmail.com).

The Commissioner said in view of the continuous bad weather and landslides from the last week of January 2019 traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed. Trucks with vegetables, livestock and other essential food items have remained stranded on the highway for five many days. There may be apprehensions that food products especially fruits and vegetables, perishable food items that were in transit may lead these perishables to get deteriorated. “In this regard all the stakeholders especially FBOs dealing with livestock and fruit & vegetables and perishable food items are advised to ensure that deteriorated food items if any are destroyed on spot,” the Commissioner aid. 

According to the statement in order to check the quality of food, the Commissioner has directed the Designated Officers and the enforcement staff of the districts viz, Kulgam, Anantnag, Pulwama and Srinagar to keep a close vigil on the movement of vehicles transporting different food articles on the National Highway and adjoining areas to the valley.

Chappan bags the 'clean street food hub' title

For many years, the terms 'street food' and 'hygiene' have been oxymoronic of sorts. Foodies indulging in piping hot kachodis were always afraid to question when last the vendor may have washed their hands, or where exactly the water in their gol gappas had been sourced from. And while the people of Indore - and the many who visited the city - were happy gorging on Chappan Dukaan's poha, hot dogs, dosas and jalebis all this while, the same questions hounded them at the back of their mind as well. But, fear no more. This month, the city's tastiest food street bagging the coveted ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ certification from the food regulatory body Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). And this makes Indore only the second city in India to have a certified clean street food hub!

No plastic; caps and gloves a must!

Chappan Dukaan, which famously houses 56 food shops in a range of about 200 meters in the uptown Palasia area, has been a pitstop for all things food since pre-Independence era. The humble kiosks here have managed to contribute about 40% (approximate figure based on shopkeepers’ statements) to the 5,000 cr annual turnover food market of the city - and they're only getting better with age and time.

The latest feather in their cap is the clean food street ka thappa they have received, and deservedly so! 

“It was only a difference of two-three steps for us to win the title, as most of the cleanliness parameters were already being followed by the shopkeepers here,” exclaims president of the Chappan Dukaan Vyapari Sangh, Shyamlal Sharma, who received the award on behalf of the community in a ceremony held in New Delhi last week. In the quest to banish plastic and disposable cutlery at Chappan, vendors had reportedly already established a common wash area for reusable utensils – which ticked off number one on the list of mandates for being a clean city. 

Then came training the staff and getting them the complete paraphernalia of cap, gloves and apron to meet the hygienic practice standards. Vivek Sharma, owner of one of the food shops shares, “There was a team of cyclists who were passing through Indore and who had previously been to Kankaria lake food street. They gave us the idea to strive for the title and tick off all the necessary parameters on FSSAI guideline to bag the award. We all pooled in resources as a community, and worked on training and meeting the required mandates for all the 56 shops in the vicinity. Aur humaari mehnat rang laayi!” The major changes added were a hand-wash area and a systematic counter top selling the food offerings of the city. “Most of the bigger shops followed these practices, but we had to target the smaller kiosks as well,” adds Manmeet Singh Bhatia, owner of yet another food shop.

Sanitizers, handwashing basins and waste segregation in every corner

Anyone visiting Chappan recently would be happily surprised to notice a bottle of sanitizer or handwash resting visibly on portable wash basins installed in front of every shop. “They have certainly stepped up from providing a tub and mug of water for one to wash their hands. Most of us would cringe, wondering if it was all just waste water. I’m happy to see all these hygienic practice in place now,” said Shambhavi Soni, who was there to enjoy her favourite hot dog. Similarly, now the food waste is segregated and the bins cleaned regularly. “We had to tackle the waste material problem. That is one factor that totally puts off the customers from street food. So, we built a common compost for disposal of food waste and employed dedicated workers to clean up the bins when it reached three fourth the capacity,” says Mahendra Soni, another vendor from the street. “It is good to not see remnants of food and pests hovering around to devour the leftovers!” added Jitendra Taneja, a student who is a regular at the street.

Sarafa’s next?

Like Ahmedabad, where three streets have now managed to bag the title, Indore is striving to get its most famous food street – Sarafa – in on the glory as well. 

The street, that has become synonymous with Indore, and has been featured in countless shows and travel blogs needs gearing up to meet the parameters laid down by FSSAI. 

“We want to implement the techniques in Sarafa soon enough, but we are taking baby steps right now. Since Sarafa is essentially a night market which sees a footfall close to 5,000 on an average day, it is harder to maintain sustained efforts. Chappan has a limited number of shops so it was easier. We see a new vendor in Sarafa on a weekly basis. So, we are working on it and hopefully we’ll be able to get the title soon,” shares a vendor from Sarafa. Citizens too are hopeful that their favourite food street, which has put Indore on the map for foodies, should be able to pull off the feat.

“I agree that it will be more difficult to implement the parameters in the Sarafa lane, as it is not as organised as Chappan. But I’m hoping by the next audit, they manage to get to the other side. Then it will be dream run for Indore,” says food blogger Kapil Jidhwani.

Gujarat: CERC finds high bacterial content in non-branded ice creams

Your favourite scoop of non-branded ice cream may expose you to harmful bacteria, said a study by Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC). Accordingly, seventy per cent of the samples of non-branded ice creams had a Coliform count, much above the prescribed limit, an indication of possible faecal contamination and therefore unhealthy manufacturing practice. Fifty per cent of ice golas had synthetic colours, much beyond prescribed limits, said the study.

CERC tested 10 samples of non-branded ice cream and four of gola from different parts of Ahmedabad as per norms of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Seven out of ten ice cream samples had a very high Coliform count and two of four gola samples had synthetic food colours above the maximum limit. CERC suggested that manufacturers should obtain ingredients from licensed sources and store both ingredients and final product at proper temperatures. All equipment should be clean and hygienic practices be followed during preparation.

Non-branded ice cream is usually distributed manually in scoops, cones or sundaes. Children of vulnerable age groups, especially from poorer families form the bulk of its consumers and so it is vital that it is microbiologically safe, said a statement from CERC.

It also said that regulatory bodies should constantly monitor quality to ensure food processing standards are maintained at production, processing, packaging and storage stages. Moreover, food handlers need to be educated on the importance of good sanitary practices.

On the part of consumers, CERC suggested that consumers should buy ice cream from reputed shops only after checking the expiry date. They should store ice cream in the freezer after purchase. Never consume re-freeze ice cream. "Ice cream can pose a danger after purchase if it has melted and then been re-frozen. It can cause food poisoning.

Ice cream melts fairly rapidly at room temperature and the milky, the sugary, liquid concoction is a perfect petri dish for certain bacteria" said the statement.

The Impact

• Coliform bacteria can cause bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections and typhoid. 
• Overuse of synthetic food colour is linked to cancer, DNA damage and attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity in children.

10 BMC employees fall ill after eating canteen food

Nine are stable, one in critical condition

Ten employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s B ward were rushed to JJ Hospital in Byculla on Thursday after they complained of dizziness and started vomiting.

Doctors said they started showing the symptoms after consuming food at the civic body’s canteen. While nine employees are in a stable condition, one of them is said to be critical owing to low blood pressure levels.

Dr. Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent at JJ Hospital, said the patients were referred to the hospital after being taken to Saboo Siddiqui Hospital. “Besides giddiness and vomiting, they complained of tingling sensation in the face,” he said.

Vivek Rahi, assistant municipal commissioner, B ward, said the employees had consumed south Indian food items such as dosa and uttappam in the canteen between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Mr. Rahi said, “After eating the items, the staffers started experiencing dizziness and burning sensation in the face. We took them to our health post and then admitted them to JJ Hospital.”

Mr. Rahi said the canteen was shut down and that the BMC is in the process of filing a complaint against the contractor at the JJ Marg police station. He said the food samples have been sent to the Food and Drug Administration and the contractor will be blacklisted.