Only 13% food adulterators convicted

Chennai: Though Tamil Nadu stood second in the country in checking food samples and filing cases for adulteration, its follow-through in the crackdown is not as impressive. Less than 13% of the food adulterators in the state were convicted last year, despite an increase in complaints of food contamination from the public.

Of the 2,384 cases filed over food safety issues in 2018-19, only 300 ended in conviction, shows official data. It also shows that conviction rate for such cases has always been low in the state, except for in 2017-18, when major reforms were introduced by the food safety department. 

Though Rs 5 crore was collected as fines from violators last year, consumer rights activists say the adulterators pay a paltry sum as fine individually.

Activist K Kathirmathiyon said though there are stringent provisions in the Food Safety and Standards Act, adulterations will continue unabated if violators are not punished. “A case is filed only after samples are found adulterated/ misbranded in labs. After that, if an official is unable to get the adulterator convicted, the official should be pulled up and asked to explain why the case didn’t end with conviction,” he said.

When contacted, Tamil Nadu food safety department officials said conviction rate depends largely on the number of samples collected and said they aren’t able to collect as many samples since more than 50% of technical posts are vacant.

A senior official attributed the spike in conviction rate in 2017-2018 to major reforms introduced then. Until 2017, the Food Business Operators (FBOs), field-level officers who collect samples from food outlets, collected only one sample per block. It was increased to nine per block last year.

The official, however, said the figures presented in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday were exaggerated since they are collecting as many samples as possible and a sudden decline in conviction rate was not possible. Data also suggests that many cases are still pending trial. While criminal cases (adulteration) are heard at the district and judicial magistrate (JM) courts, civil cases (misbranding/ mislabelling/ substandard quality) are inquired by the revenue department.

Monitor food processing: HC

Srinagar, July 10: The High Court today said that the authorities entrusted with the job of curbing the food adulteration are not conducting checking and raids to manufacturing of substandard food items and directed for monitoring the production of food items across the State.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rashid Ali Dar, hearing a Public Interest Litigation against the food adulteration, directed the State Government to take the efficient steps in order to prevent the adulterated food in markets.

After perusal of the latest report filed by the authorities, Court said the report does not show that the respondents have conducted random checks or raids with regard to manufacturing of food items of eatables.

Court directed for filing of an additional affidavit mentioning therein the steps taken by the officials to monitor production of different kinds of food items in the State. Court directed that such affidavit be filed within four weeks.

During the course of proceedings in the matter, the court has been informed that despite repeated orders, the authorities have failed on ground as such a lot has to be done by them to prevent the adulterated food from being sold to general public.

Court on perusal of its previous order said the latest report filed is not in tune with its directions. Court on previous hearing had directed the concerned authorities to constantly check the manufacturing of food items as also ensure complete ban of use of antibiotics in the poultries.

State counsel fairly submitted that the State is under an obligation to ensure the implementation of the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and further added that the State Government shall take all positive steps to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Act.

Concerned Administrative Departments of the State Government were directed to ensure that the regular inspection of bakers shall be undertaken, and to take samples in order to check the ingredients used by them and not to allow them to sell pastry, cakes and loose biscuits without manufacturing and expiry date.

Kerala: Transfat level high in Vanaspati

Lack of lab facilities hinders food safety.

The surveillance samples of vanaspati/margarine- widely used by eateries and bakeries for preparation of proprietary items especially sweets and deep fried food – collected by the food safety authorities from the open market has high transfat levels.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has been declared as the model state in terms of the efforts taken to eliminate transfat consumption by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) however, the food safety authorities here are unable to collect statutory samples or take action because of the lack of lab facilities.

The surveillance samples of vanaspati/margarine- widely used by eateries and bakeries for preparation of proprietary items especially sweets and deep fried food – collected by the food safety authorities from the open market has high transfat levels. Around 11 out of the 44 samples collected from the market has exceeded transfat limits.

An official said that the level of transfat was high in some of the surveillance samples. “There are not many manufacturers in the state. It is learnt that there are only 130 manufacturers across the nation producing vanaspati or margarine. In some of the samples, the tranfat was level was 7 or 8. We have to equip our labs to check statutory samples,” said the official.

The official said that 90 percent of the vanaspati is coming from other states. “We cannot take action as we don’t have the equipment to check the level of transfat in the mobile lab at check posts,” the official added.

As part of its effort to eliminate trans-fat consumption in the state, the commissionerate has constituted a special committee comprising of food safety officers, representatives from the World Health Organis-ation (WHO), World Bank and Vital Strategies, a global public health organisation.

The committee will frame guidelines and help implement the revised standards of percentage of transfat in edible oil, ghee, vanaspati, margarine and bakery shortening by less than 2 % in the state.

It is learnt that many European countries have set the maximum limit for TFA at two percent of the total fat content in oils and fats.

The current permitted level of trans fat is 5 percent in India. The WHO (World Health Organisation) has urged governments across the world to eliminate the use of trans fats from global food supplies by 2023.

Contaminated food

Despite strict protocols, govt study shows 30 per cent of samples have failed the safety test and are adulterated

Just when we thought that food safety was finally an achievable target, what with laws and guidelines becoming more stringent and consumers demanding reassurance of the origin and processing, comes a reality check. According to government data, almost one-third of the food samples tested across the country in 2018-19 was found adulterated or sub-standard, with Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu leading the list where nearly half of the samples failed the test. What is shocking is that failed samples are now 30 per cent of the lot, which was 25 per cent over the last two years. The tests, carried out within the parameters set by the food safety regulator, FSSAI, mean that crackdowns and heightened awareness have meant little. Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, about 8,100 people were convicted for committing food tampering offences and authorities across the states collected nearly Rs 43.65 crore fine from the offenders. Which means that unscrupulous practices of diluting food quality with substitutes and additives continue unabated without fear of falling foul of the law. What it also means is that pesticides and chemicals used in agriculture have had a stubborn effect, affecting both soil and plant health, leading to unwanted spikes in harmful chemicals in food sources. There have been frequent reports of adulterated milk, frighteningly diluted with not just water but starch, groundnut milk and wheat flour. Some reports have also suggested how a majority of Indians would suffer major diseases only because of food contamination. Cooking oils continue to be mixed with low-grade palm oil, cheap edible oils and even cottonseed oil. Some of these are coloured and flavoured to avoid detection of substitutes. Even items of everyday use pose serious health risks, like tea, where used tea leaves are processed and coloured, coffee, which is routinely mixed with tamarind seed, date seed powder and chicory powder and wheat and other foodgrains, into which poisonous fungus is tossed in for volumes. Kitchen essentials like mustard are often mixed with argemone seeds, turmeric with dyes and chilli powder with brick powder.

It’s not that the laws aren’t there but what is pathetically lacking is their uniform implementation and interpretation. Many amendments have been suggested in the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, including life imprisonment and penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh for adulterants. FSSAI has also proposed setting up of state food safety authorities so that this law can be enforced in letter and spirit down to the grassroots. In line with Singapore’s Sale of Food Act, the FSSAI has further proposed that the errant will have to pay fees and other expenses incidental to the analysis of any food, thereby making him/her culpable for reneging on prescribed standards. But as producers, they can hardly be expected to be altruistic or not attempt to bend the rules in collusion with local food inspectors. Besides, often the adulterants escape detection. Therefore, there need to be standardised screening protocols that can be applied for random checks and booking offenders. Food labelling has definitely led to awareness but manufacturers and companies must also be asked to vouch for the authenticity and source of food products and their components. Food is the building block of our national health and human resource and the study should really accelerate efforts to get amended laws passed in Parliament on a priority basis before more damage is done.

How safe is street food in Hyderabad?

Hyderabad and other cities in Telangana have not been able to meet minimum food safety standards

Street food vendors selling samosa, fried chicken and other food items in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: How safe is the food served by street food vendors in Hyderabad? Does the State’s capital have a proper ecosystem in terms of infrastructure, trained personnel and food testing laboratories to ensure safe food is accessible to public?

According to the first State Food Safety Index (SFSI) released by the Food and Safety Standard of India (FSAAI) about a month ago, Hyderabad and other cities in the State have not been able to meet the minimum food safety standards and need to do a lot more in the aspect of food safety.

To galvanise States to work towards ensuring safe food for the public, FSSAI had developed State Food Safety Index (SFSI), designed to measure the performance of each State on five parameters of food safety. The parameters based on which each State was judged included Human Resources and Institutional Arrangements, Compliance, Food Testing Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment.

Except for Tamil Nadu and Kerala, none of the other South Indian States including TS and AP managed to get a mention in the SFSI rankings. The rankings were based on total scores that each State had secured in the five different parameters. While Goa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala scored over 75 points out of 100, the SFSI score for TS was 40 while AP secured 57 points.

Clean Street Food Hubs needed

To ensure food safety, the food regulator recommended individual States to introduce innovative measures like ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ and ‘Eat Right Campus’ in cities.

Recently, the Golden Temple Street in Amritsar had managed to get recognition as a ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ following certification from third-party audits and a series of training sessions for street food vendors aimed at improving quality and safety of food. Such hubs and clusters where street food is available will be certified by FSSAI once the vendors have met the prescribed parameters to ensure food served is clean and hygienic.

Eat Right Campus

Based on rating on well-defined benchmarks on food safety, and hygiene, food safety management, healthy diets, promotion of local and seasonal food and awareness generation, the food regulator introduced the concept of ‘Eat Right Campus’. Recently, several educational institutions such as IIT Gandhinagar and Roorkie received this tag from FSSAI.

Students get sick as school kitchens go unhygienic

Two instances of shigella bacterial infection reported in two weeks from different districts in the State

The government and aided schools in the State may be getting a high-tech makeover, but the kitchens serving free food to children will have to go a long way in reaching passable hygiene standards.

The departments of Health and Food Safety do not have much of a say in ensuring hygiene in schools though two instances of shigella bacterial infection were reported in two weeks in different districts.

Filthy water source

Over 40 children of West Lower Primary School, Keezhppayyur, in Kozhikode district were hospitalised on June 21 after they complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. The presence of shigella bacteria in their stool samples and the subsequent testing of water samples proved that the water source used for cooking lunch had been contaminated.

More than 90 children of the Government Lower Primary School, Eruva, near Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district, were taken ill with suspected food poisoning on July 5. The presence of shigella bacteria was found in the stool samples of at least two students there too.

It is left to the education committee in local bodies to inspect the hygiene standards of the food preparation in schools in their jurisdiction ahead of the beginning of the academic year. Health Department officials, however, pointed out that the inspection and subsequent certification were often completed in a hurry as most of them would be preoccupied with other public health campaigns. The number of schools within the local body limits could be higher too. Most often, only random sampling of food and water was being done.

In most of the schools, the kitchen and dining halls are found to be located in congested sheds. The areas for cleaning vessels and waste disposal too are in a similar condition. Though the government had mandated setting up biogas plants in schools, many schools were found to have purchased portable units just for the sake of it.

The Food Safety Department, meanwhile, has the powers to declare only packaged food items as contaminated.

MoU for testing samples

Education Department officials, however, claimed that the State government in February last year had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Cashew Export Council of India laboratory for the testing of food and water samples in schools.

Food samples are subjected to microbiological and chemical testing. The lab had found the presence of E-coli bacteria, coliform bacteria and mold fungus in 14 of the 460 food samples collected from across 460 schools in different districts soon after the MoU was signed.

It was reported that contamination occurred before serving the meal and through the water used for cooking it. The free lunch scheme is being implemented in 12,327 schools and the inspection had so far covered 8,000 schools. The rest would be covered soon, an official in charge of the scheme in the office of the Directorate of General Education told The Hindu on Wednesday.