Aug 10, 2019
Madras HC says police cannot probe charges under Food Safety Act
Chennai The Madras high court on Friday made it clear that cases registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act cannot be investigated by police as the Act provides a different procedure to prosecute offences under the Act by a designated officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Justice Anand Venkatesh while passing the order, however, refused to quash the FIR filed against Thangarasu of Namakkal District who was an accused in the case for transporting the banned gutka, pan masala items of 3500 Kgs from Bengaluru.
The judge in his order observed, “In so far as the offences under Section 52 & 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is concerned, it indeed provides for a different procedure to prosecute, for those offences, by a designated authority and there is a special statute which lays down the procedure for prosecuting an offence under the said Act. The offences under this Act cannot be investigated by the respondent Police and the respondent Police shall drop these offences in the course of an investigation and leave it to the appropriate authority to take action following the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.”
According to the prosecution, the Sub- Inspector of Police, Paramathi Police Station, of Namakkal District on January 14, 2019, stopped a lorry near Keerambur toll plaza and found that it contained the banned items.
On enquiry, it was found that it was transported from Bengaluru to the godown owned by the petitioner. The entire property was seized and based on the complaint given by the Sub-Inspector a FIR against four persons under various sections of IPC and COTPA Act, 2003 and Section 52 & 59 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was registered.
The court in its order observed that the police are not the competent authority to register the FIR for the offence under the Food Safety and Standards Authorities Act, 2006. Therefore, the charges registered
by the police for the offences under Sections 52 & 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is not sustainable, said the court.
Food safety dept to ensure biz operators follow rules
Dindigul: The food safety department has undertaken a month-long drive to create sensitization for food business operators (FBO) to make them comply with the licence and registration rules under the food safety and standards rules.
There are about 19,000 private and 5,000 public sector FBOs, including Tasmac outlets, bars attached to Tasmac, canteens and hostels in Dindigul district, of which only 75% have registered with the department. Nearly 6,000 private and government FBOs are operating without any licence or registration certificate.
Designated officer for food safety, Dindigul district, Dr K Natarajan said that they have prepared a schedule to reach out to food item manufacturers and traders. “Earlier, 86% of the FBOs were registered. There was a drop during the election time as our manpower was busy with election-related work. Our aim is to cross the 90% mark in the coming days. However, our ultimate aim is to bring each and every FBO into the fold,” he said.
As per rules, FBOs, whose yearly turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh have to get a registration certificate from the food safety department. FBOs with yearly turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh have to get licence by paying Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 a year, depending on the business type. In the absence of registration or licence it becomes difficult for officials to track the FBOs and make sure they supply safe food.
Natarajan said that they are recommending the FBOs to go for five year licence so that they need not repeat the process of renewing every year. “We will conduct periodical inspections throughout the district after streamlining FBOs and necessary action will be taken against those who are found violating the rules,” he added.
Two arrested under National Security Act for selling adulterated milk products
The firm’s premises were raided on July 25 and ghee, cottage cheese and other products made from adulterated milk were seized for violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Two persons including the owner of a private firm were arrested on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly selling adulterated milk products. Siddharth Jain (30), owner of a firm in Sitabagh area here, and his sales in-charge Shubham Sadafule (23) were booked under the NSA, a police official said.
The firm’s premises were raided on July 25 and ghee, cottage cheese and other products made from adulterated milk were seized for violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
The state government is currently cracking down on manufacture and trade of adulterated food products, especially that of milk and products made from adulterated milk.
FSSAI has new formula for quality train food
To make services more transparent for the passengers, FSSAI this week proposed printing QR code (matrix barcode) and the name of the railway kitchen on food packets.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in Delhi has come up with a plan to bring in transparency in the Indian Railways services and ensure higher hygiene standards. To make services more transparent for the passengers, FSSAI this week proposed printing QR code (matrix barcode) and the name of the railway kitchen on food packets.
"Food and Drug Administration checks the quality of food served on trains regularly. But to ensure better surveillance, FSSAI has decided to appoint food safety supervisors at kitchen units. They would be able to check all the parameters of food safety," said FSSAI state official. "It is customers' right to know about the food they are consuming, hence, FSSAI has instructed to put QR code, manufacturing date and name of the kitchen," he said. He added, FSSAI would also suggest selling more ready-to-make food packets as freshly made food may spoil during transfer.
The FSSAI is also considering installing CCTV cameras at the kitchens and uploading the footage on the official website. However, a final decision on this has not been taken yet. As the plan has just been proposed, the railway departments have not received any instructions yet. "So far, we haven't received any letter from FSSAI. When an order comes, we would certainly implement it. We anyway check the foods served on a regular basis," a senior IR spokesperson told mid-day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)