May 17, 2019
Irregularities found at food safety office
The official added that the food safety office does not have enough vehicles to follow up every complaint.
It is learnt that the authorities haven’t taken any follow-up action on 434 out of the total 680 complaints received till day.
Thiruvananthapuram: Hundreds of complaints received at the district food safety office remain unaddressed raising concerns on the implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act in the state. It is learnt that the authorities haven’t taken any follow-up action on 434 out of the total 680 complaints received till day. Also hundreds of lab reports of the statutory samples collected in connection with various raids and consumer complaints are pending from the Public Analytical Lab.
According to the report from the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau, lab reports on 1,382 statutory samples collected from 2012 onwards are pending. A food safety official said that the lab authorities send reports only if they detect a problem with the food sample. “We take action if the lab result says it is unsafe’. The samples which are safe or not contaminated will not get reported. Hence the number of samples with pending results is showing more in the register,” said the official.
The official added that the food safety office does not have enough vehicles to follow up every complaint.
“We have only two vehicles for carrying out inspection and responding to complaints. It’s impossible to follow up every complaint,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau is planning to submit a report on the inspection to the government within 10 days.
Commissioner Food Safety inspects food establishments in Srinagar City
Srinagar
Commissioner, Food Safety J&K, Vinod Sharma on Thursday inspected various food establishments within Srinagar City to check the quality of food items and sanitary and hygienic conditions of the food establishments.
He was accompanied by Dy. Commissioner, Food Safety, Kashmir, Irfana Ahmad, Designated Officer, District Srinagar, Hilal Ahmad Mir and other concerned officers.
The food establishments inspected include SMHS, Hospital Canteens, Super Speciality Hospital Canteen, GB Panth Hospital Canteen, CH2 Hotel and other Hotels housing Move Employees.
During the inspection, one canteen inside the Super Speciality Hospital SMHS Srinagar was found in unsanitary and unhygienic condition. The catering contractor of the canteen was on-spot fined Rs 10,000.
In addition, the in-patient catering at various hospitals were also checked and the in-charges of the caterings were impressed upon to strictly follow the sanitary and hygienic requirements of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 Rules & regulations made thereunder.
A hotel namely CH2, Sonawar was found using the expired (over-dated) ingredients in the preparation of food and using newspapers for wrapping of food items. A fine of Rs30,000/- was imposed on the hotel.
Besides various hotels housing move employees were also inspected to check the hygiene and sanitary conditions of the establishments. The food items being served to the employees were also checked. The catering in-charges of these hotels were also directed to follow the Rules & Regulations prescribed in FSS Act.
Commissioner further directed the officers of the Food Safety Organization to continue checking of quality of eatables on regular basis and also ensure the maintenance of proper hygienic conditions in cooking and serving areas. He directed staff to be more vigilant because of the forthcoming holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Beware! Mangoes ripened with ethylene powder could harm you
The food safety department allows usage of ethylene gas in very low quantity for ripening mangoes. But the use of ethylene powder is not allowed as it is multiple times stronger than gas.
Kochi: Mangoes are the major attraction in every market during summer seasons. Different varieties of mangoes are arranged in a way to lure buyers. But most of them are found to be less sweet and fragrant.
It was later discovered that raw mangoes are artificially ripened using calcium carbide. Amid the inspection and action against those who use the chemical progressing, the presence of a new chemical ‘ethylene’ has been found.
In an examination jointly conducted by the food safety department authorities and market management committee, over four tons of mango contaminated with ethylene powder was seized from Koyambedu market. The chemical is used to ripen raw mangoes. Koyambedu market is a major source of fruits and vegetables in South India.
The food safety department allows usage of ethylene gas in very low quantity for ripening mangoes. But the use of ethylene powder is not allowed as it is multiple times stronger than gas. The food safety department has warned that continuous use of ethylene will lead to serious health hazards.
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