DINAMANI NEWS

Zomato operating sans license; food safety dept to take action

The department of food safety of Uttarakhand is mulling to take legal action against the online food platform Zomato as it has failed to provide a satisfactory reply on the department’s notice. The department had found that the license on the basis of which the company was operating in Dehradun had no mention of Dehradun. The department is now contemplating on taking action against the company. “The company is operating here without valid licence in the state, something which invites action. The action may be taken soon,” said an officer of the department concerned while insisting on anonymity. 

The designated officer, food safety J C Kandwal said that a team of the department had recently conducted a surprise inspection of the New Cant Road office of Zomato. He said that the officials of the company failed to show any valid licence to them. Kandwal added that the central license which the company later had submitted to the department did not have any mention of Dehradun.

It is pertinent to mention here that many commercial platforms are operating in the country which is providing cooked food to the customers. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed the state governments to keep an eye on the operation and quality control of the online food platforms.

Chemically ripening of fruits unabated

On an average, 5 to 10 tonnes of mangoes arrive at the market per day. In the coming days, the number of trucks is only going to increase, and there is a need to have a proper mechanism for fruit ripening as per rules – Ashok Kumar, president of the fruit association, Kothapet

Kothapet: The king of fruit has been arriving at the Gaddiannaram Fruit Market since January.

The directive of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to use ethylene gas for ripening of mangoes is also in place.

However, the traders say that the authorities are yet to establish a mechanism for fruit ripening.

The marketing department is yet to set up 'Ethylene Ripening Chambers.' Ashok Kumar, president of the fruit association at Kothapet, says, "On an average 5 to 10 tonnes of mangoes arrive at the market.

In the coming days, the number of trucks is only going to increase, and there is a need to have a proper mechanism for fruit ripening as per rules."

Bainganpalli, Totapuri and Suvarnarekha are the most common that come to the market.

Currently, the price of the fruit is between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh per tonne based on the type and quality of the fruit.

Use of carbide as a ripening agent is a punishable offence under the FSSAI Act 2006, as the chemical is carcinogenic, a cancer-causing substance or agent.

Mangoes from districts like Nuziveedu, Krishna, Khammam, Mahboobnagar, Nalagonda, Kurnool, Nandyala, Kadapa, Chittoor, Rajampeta and other places come to the market. Apart from the Telugu states, the mangoes are also imported from the states of Kolar District, Karnataka, Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu.

These imported mangoes are usually exported to North India, especially to Delhi and Maharashtra, for the artificial ripening of mangoes.

The process of artificial ripening takes around 4 to 5 days to change the color of the mangoes from raw green to ripened yellow.

The sachets of these chemicals are dropped into the baskets of raw mangoes at the time of exporting them from Hyderabad to other parts of India and during the journey, the mangoes are ripened.

Last year, calcium carbide was used as the chemical to ripen mangoes, which was declared to be harmful.

State Food Laboratory officials, who conducted raids, said they found ethylene powder packets stuffed in the boxes of mangoes for the purpose of ripening them.

When the artificially- ripened mango samples were tested, they found high concentrations of calcium carbide.

Cases were booked where the accused were jailed for about 3 months with the penalty of Rs 10,000.

The president of the fruit association, Ashok Kumar, said, "There are retailers who do not have licenses, yet they come and sell their goods and leave, and the responsible officers are not taking any action."

Food safety gets top priority

MANGALURU: Taking cognisance of the incident at a temple in Chamarajanagar that claimed at least 17 lives, government officials and organisers of the Brahmakalashotsava ceremony of the 1,300-year-old Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple, Polali, have been exercising extra caution, especially during preparation of food.

Thousands of volunteers have been divided into several batches and assigned a cross section of responsibilities to ensure that the ceremony, spanning a little less than two weeks, is all hunky dory.

Dr Deepa Prabhu, taluk health officer, Bantwal, told TOI that a team of six officials has been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that food and beverages provided to devotees are of superior quality. “To ensure this, the officials personally consume the food at least one hour before it is served to devotees. “Only after we are fully convinced about the quality of food and beverages, do we let them out of the kitchen,” she said, adding the officials check for the quality every single time it is prepared.

Also, samples of food are kept in cold storage for at least 48 hours from the time they are cooked, in case they are to be subjected to tests in case of any eventuality.

“Though we have ensured cleanliness, we have sent samples of water and food to the laboratory in Mysuru for documentation. Reports are awaited,” she said.

Chandrahasa D Shetty, convener, Polali Brahmakalshotsava committee, said only batches of cooks are permitted in the kitchen on a rotational basis and those without any business at the kitchen are denied entry. He said CCTV cameras have been installed at multiples points in the kitchen and store room.

Deepa said all six wells, from which water is drawn for drinking and cooking purposes, are subjected to at least a couple of rounds of cleaning and chlorination.

The Ullal city municipal council has also swung into action in contributing towards hygiene. Unlike the general practice, where kitchen waste used to be dumped in pits created in nearby fields and only disposed after the conclusion of festivities, all wastes are taken away to the dumping yard at Pacchenady every few hours. For this purpose, the Ullal CMC has granted four tempos. Two more tempos are likely to be pressed into action for the remaining days as more batches of devotees are expected.

Special emphasis has also been laid on maintaining cleanliness in all the 80 toilets that have been set up near the temple premises. In addition to chemically treating these toilets, a team of 40 members from Kollegal have been employed to clean them regularly.

It is also pertinent to note that 60 members from Patanjali Yoga Shiskahana Samiti and 200 volunteers from Maroli Suryanarayana Temple have been striving round the clock to keep the rest of the premises in good health.

Indore: Food safety officers raid milk parlours, collect samples

Indore: Keeping in view Holi festival falling next week, the food and drug administration (FDA) department is gearing up to check sale of adulterated food specially milk, milk products and mawa sweets as their consumption increases during festivities. The department on Monday launched a campaign against sweetmeat shops across the city to check milk and milk products. “In first phase of action, we are taking action against milk parlours and seizing samples of milk and milk products,” said chief food safety officer Manish Swami.

He said department has collected samples from eight milk parlours and warned shop keepers to be ready for penal action if they fail to maintain hygiene. “In the second phase of campaign, we will crack down on shops selling mawa sweets, namkeens (salted snacks) and beverages, he added. “Department officers were asked to take action against sellers of milk products, sweets and namkeen before festivities begin in city. Our target is to take 40 samples in a month. But we will target vendors who are selling unhygienic and stale products,” Swami said.

Cross inspection

The food and drug administration department will cross check. The officials from Dhar and Barwani district will come to Indore for inspection while officials from Indore will go to other districts. “It is a new practice by department to create transparency in process and to avoid any unnecessary allegation,” he added.

FSSAI forms 3 teams to monitor quality of drinks served at juice outlets in Kozhikode, Kerala

FSSAI forms 3 teams to monitor quality of drinks served at juice outlets in Kozhikode, Kerala

Kozhikode, Mar 12 (KNN) Following drastic rise in temperature during the last few days in the city, more and more juice outlets are coming up in the city. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued advisory to the sellers to strictly follow the provisions of food safety and standard act.

FSSAI has also advised buyers to avoid products that are sold in open and those perched by flies and insects and also to check and inform the concerned authorities if they find any violations

The FFSAI has formed 3 teams to monitor the quality of drinks served in these outlets in the coming days.

The officials have also strictly warned the sellers to not sell any products without the license or registration issued by the food safety regulator in order to ensure quality and hygiene.

This will also help the customers to identify shops that are licensed to sell the products. The shops found not running in hygienic condition will have to face consequences.

Gloves, head cover and aprons are a must for the people making juices or any eatery products from their respective outlets, said FSSAI assistant Commissioner Eliyamma.