May 18, 2019
2 tonnes of gutka products seized
Trichy: A team from the food safety and drug administration department seized two tonnes of banned gutka products worth Rs 3 lakh from two shops in the city during a surprise raid conducted on Friday.
The team, led by designated officer Dr R Chithra searched the shops in the Big Kammala Street on Friday morning. The officials found five different brands of banned gutka products stashed away in two shops in the street.
According to the shop owners, they brought the banned items from Karnataka by buses, trucks and trains to Trichy and other districts.
The shop owners told the officers that their main trade was to sell the products to retailers and wholesale traders. The owners were also taken to the office of the food safety and drug administration department for inquiry where food safety officers (FSOs) MA Mariappan, A Muthuraja and Stalin Prabhu grilled them.
The officials took samples from the seized items and sent them for testing to the food analysis laboratory.
Action will be initiated against the shop owners once the lab reports come.
Corpn destroys 500kg mangoes ripened by spraying ethylene
Trichy: Despite the warning against spraying ethylene directly on mangoes for ripening, traders in the city continue to break the rule and use the hazardous method of spraying the chemical directly on the fruit. The food safety official seized 500kg of illegally ripened mangoes from the Gandhi market on Thursday.
The food safety and drug administration department has intensified its vigil as the mango season is at its peak. The team led by its designated officer (DO) Dr R Chithra visited the Gandhi market in city on Thursday.
The team found out that the traders spraying ethylene directly on raw mangoes in their godowns in the market. The officials also pointed out the texture of the mangoes that were in direct contact with ethylene.
The major portions of the mangoes were seized from two godowns. The seized mangoes worth Rs 30,000 were destroyed at the dump yard of Trichy City Corporation at Ariyamangalam on Thursday evening.
The food safety and drug administration department had asked the traders to use ethylene gas to ripen the mangoes till last year. But the traders violated the producers and covered the mangoes with ethylene sprayed sheets making the fruit harmful.
As in the case of carbide stones, mangoes having direct contact with ethylene will also cause health hazards. The onus is now on the food safety department to tackle the violation in the use of ethylene for ripening mangoes.
From this year, the department has devised a new method with the help of the agriculture department that a sachet of ethephom can be used for ripening mangoes without touching the fruit. The sachet, dipped in water, should be kept in a box near mangoes for 24 hours for the raw mango to turn into a fruit.
Cooked food stored for next day seized from restaurants
Trichy: Eating-out during weekends remains one of the few options for the city folk to get away from their routines. But, the latest raid by the food safety and drug administration department on a few restaurants in the city exposed the unhygenic conditions prevailed in the eateries and the quality of food there.
As a part of a routine search, the team carried out checks at the restaurants in Cantonment area on Thursday. The quality check at a restaurant in the area unearthed cooked mutton, chicken, rice and parotta stored in a freezer.
“We got information that many non-vegetarian restaurants were using old and stale meat. During our raid, we found cooked food stored in a freezer to be used for the next day. They are preparing fast food items with the meat and supplying it to the customers unmindful of the health hazards,” designated officer (DO) of food safety department Dr S Chithra said.
The search continued in eight shops in the area and the team seized more than 15kg of meat kept in the cold storage. The food safety officials (FSOs) said that they found old meat in all the shops. “Hence, we are advising people to check their food before consuming it,” said Chithra.
Jehangir hosp fined ₹1 L for violating food safety act
The hospital has admitted its mistake and deposited the penalty, says will seek further approval at the earliest
After a patient had found bloody cotton swabs in the soup served to her at Jehangir Hospital, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated adjudication process against its canteen and slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh for violating the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Food and Safety Standard Regulations, 2011. Earlier, a notice was issued to the canteen after FDA officials visited the facility to inspect after a complaint was lodged. Meanwhile, the hospital has paid the fine and claims that the FDA has marked their kitchens clean and hygienic.
Earlier this month, Mahesh Satpute had complained to the FDA about the cotton swabs incident. Satpute had immediately reported the matter to the senior management, which had allegedly brushed it off. It prompted him to file a complaint with Koregaon Park police station and also convey the matter to the FDA and Pune Municipal Corporation.
Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner of FDA, Pune region, said, “Our team visited the hospital canteen facility the next day and inspected the place. We received the complaint from Satpute but we were unable to find any clues or any proof. However, we found other provisions of the food safety acts which were not fulfilled by the facility.”
An improvement notice was issued on the basis of the inspection and an application was filed for adjudication as per the Food and Safety Act, 2006.
Hospital officials agreed that provisions of the food safety norms were violated by them and a penalty of Rs 1 lakh was imposed. “Providing good and healthy food is the responsibility of the canteen operators and they should mandatorily follow it or face action,” added Deshmukh.
The official spokesperson of Jehangir Hospital told Mirror, “FDA has given us a clean chit for the hygiene and cleanliness of the kitchen. However, they have made some other observations. They have levied Rs 1 lakh fine for these issues and we have paid the same to them.
The observations have now been closed and we will be doing the needful by sending photographic records to the FDA so that they can validate our premises as per their norms. We would again like to reiterate that the hospital kitchen is hygienic and clean and there are no compliance issues.”
FDA had inspected the hospital canteen after bloodied cotton swabs were found in a patient’s soup
Thiruvananthapuram: Vigilance report on food safety raids in ten days
According to the statement issued by the Bureau, the food safety authorities are not sending the food samples collected for scrutiny to the labs.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) will be submitting a comprehensive report on the irregularities detected in the surprise inspection carried out at various food safety offices across the state within 10 days. IG of VACB H Venkitesh told DC that the Bureau is in the process of preparing a report, which would be submitted to the government very soon.
“A consolidated report with a detailed recommendation for improving the system at the food safety offices would be submitted to the government. A lot of changes need to be brought in to improve the enforcement of the food safety act. Immediate measures should be taken to address the loopholes in the system to ensure transparency,” said Mr Venkitesh.
The squads carried out extensive inspections simultaneously at 42 food safety offices across the state exposing severe anomalies in the enforcement of the Food Safety Act in the state. When asked, the officials of the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety refused to comment claiming that they are waiting for the report from VACB.
According to the statement issued by the Bureau, the food safety authorities are not sending the food samples collected for scrutiny to the labs. The complaints coming to the offices are not being properly registered, followed up or officially reported, the press release stated.
The food safety authorities are not doing follow up checks to ensure that the products banned by the food safety authorities are not put up for sale in the market. The officials are imposing minimal fines instead of heavy fines for severe violations. The Bureau also observed that the food safety authorities are not taking action under IPC sessions 272, 273 for food adulteration.
Delhi govt orders special drive to check quality of edible oil, food at eateries
The Delhi government has ordered a special drive for collecting samples of edible oil and prepared food from eateries across the national capital to check quality.
Food safety officers have been directed to carry a device which will help in detection of "good and bad quality" of edible oil.
According to the food safety department's order, the drive, which started on May 15, will continue till the end of this month. The order was issued on May 15.
"All designated officers are hereby directed to conduct special drive in their respective districts w.e.f 15.05.2019 to 31.05.2019 by deploying food safety officers and other staff for lifting samples of (i) edible oil and (ii) prepared food," the department said in its order.
It stated that to operate the device, the officials concerned may take assistance of supporting persons deputed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
"The special drive will be conducted along with official and routine field work," it added.
Food Safety Deptt declares snack Fun Fine Puff ‘unsafe’
Srinagar
Food Safety Department on Friday declared snacks “Fun Fine Puff” Brand Name “Parul Fun Fine Puff” “unsafe and misbranded,” under the provisions of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 Rules and Regulation, 2011.
The department issued the notice after they lifted the sample of the snacks Batch No: 696, which was declared by their laboratory as “Unsafe and Misbranded”.
The department has advised the public in general and the Stake Holders in particular in their own interest to discontinue use / stop sale and supply of above food product.
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