Nov 11, 2019
After Aflatoxin M1 alert, Tamil Nadu panel to study milk safety
Image of milk vendors used for representational purpose
CHENNAI: Two weeks after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s report revealed presence of Aflatoxin M1 - cancer causing substance in milk samples taken from the State for national level survey- the State government has formed a high-level committee for a detailed study.
A highly placed official of health department told ‘Express’ that the panel comprises officials from food safety, health and animal husbandry departments, Aavin, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) and a few more research agencies.
“The committee will take samples from cattle feed, fodder and milk from across the State and conduct tests for various quality and safety parameters. Besides, checking the presence of Aflatoxin M1 and other toxic contents impact of climatic condition on cattle and regulation of food grain waste disposal will be looked into.”
Following this, food safety department has taken milk samples from over 135 milk manufacturing units across the State and sent them to National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
According to the ‘National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018’ released on October 18, by FSSAI, in 88 milk samples out of 551 collected from the State it was found that Aflatoxin M1 level did not comply with permissible limit.
While FSSAI standards prescribes 0.5 PPB (parts per billion) Aflatoxin level in milk and milk products, the toxic content level exceeded permissible limits in the milk samples taken for survey.
A senior veterinarian from Animal Husbandry department said Aflatoxin M1 comes in milk through cattle feed and fodder. “The food grain waste from industries and fodder which are fed to cattle are mostly stored in the open. The feed gets fungal infection when moisture level goes beyond 11 per cent. Subsequently, the fungus gets converted into carcinogen (Aflatoxin) in the cattle and transferred to milk. “
The State produces over two crore litres of milk a day, of which 34 lakh litres are procured by State-owned milk union federation ‘Aavin’, while the remaining quantity is sold to private companies. The food safety department claims it is yet to get details of brand names of milk samples.
Food safety dept to watch poultry farms
Tirupur: Food safety and drug administration authorities have decided to monitor poultry farms after seizing 450kg dead chickens.
The authorities on October 27 seized dead chickens from K Inbavalli, 46, Vijay, 24, Gayathri, 30, Latha, 45, and Amutha, 36, at Kumarananthapuram and near the Tirupur fish market.
All of them were relatives, who had migrated from Ramanathapuram district. They were staying in Kumarananthapuram. “They used to buy dead chickens from poultry farms in Namakkal every day and transport them along with live chickens. They would clean them in an open place on Maruthachalam Nagar Road,” said FSDA designated officer B Vijaya Lalitha Ambikai. “They would clean them at night and supply them to hotels and meat stalls. The dead chickens were sold opposite to the fish market only on Sundays.”
“They have been doing the illegal business for the last eight years. When we were preparing chargesheet, two of the accused absconded. But we caught them and confirmed their identities,” said Ambikai. “In two days, the chargesheet will be filed before the district revenue officer. We have been planning to invoke apt sections against them, so that heavy fines can be imposed on them.”
“We have informed to Namakkal FSDA about the illegal supply of the dead chickens from poultry farms. Soon, a meeting with poultry farms will be held to create awareness about the issue,” the official added.
Kozhikode to get state’s first beach street food centre soon
Kozhikode: Kozhikode beach is all set to get the state’s first beach street food hub. District food safety department with the help of Kozhikode corporation, port department and other government departments are all set to convert Kozhikode beach to a clean street food hub.
The scheme considered to be first of its kind in the state will be set up as a model street food hub, adhering to the guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The hub will come up in the Kozhikode beach area situated between beach stretch opposite the Kozhikode corporation office and beach open air stage. The food safety department here has entrusted D G College of Architecture to prepare the blueprint of the food hub and also the design of the vending carts.
All carts will have a unique design with facilities to keep vessels and to store generated waste. The officials will carry out a series of classes on FSSAI Act and hygienic food handling for the 90-licensed vendors at the beach stretch to maintain cleanliness. Proper lighting, drinking water and waste disposal facilities will be ensured by the corporation for the licensed vendors at the beach.
The decision to develop the beach stretch was taken based on the proposal submitted by assistant commissioner of FSSAI through the office of the commissioner of food safety of Kerala. FSSAI had conducted a pre-audit before giving final approval for the development of Kozhikode beach as model clean street food hub in Kozhikode district. Sheena Anilkumar, a resident of Karaparmba said that they refrain from buying snacks and ice creams for children from the street vendors at beach stretch, fearing hygiene. “If the beach gets a FSSAI standard street food hub then the parents will stop worrying about health effects on children due to consumption of street food. We also need more seating facilities and toilet facilities on the beach,”she said. P K Aleyamma, assistant commissioner of food safety Kozhikode said that the civic body with the help of port department and traffic police have already shifted the street vendors on the Kozhikode beach stretch to specific areas marked for vendors on the beach. “The area where street vendors used to carry out their business is now marked as a parking zone. A meeting will be held with D G College of architecture once they submit the blueprint of the model street food hub scheme for its implementation,” she said adding that the project will be implemented through sponsorship. “With the execution of the scheme, street vendors with a license will be allowed to carry out vending business. The scheme aims to ensure healthy, hygienic and quality street food items for consumers which is free from artificial food colours and flavours”, she said adding that project will be executed under the supervision of district collector Sambasiva Rao with the active participation of various government departments.
Advice ignored repeatedly, plan afoot to ban junk food at schools
New Delhi: Soon, junk food will go completely off the menu at school canteens with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposing to ban food items like burgers, pizzas, chowmein and french fries from December.
Several guidelines have been made in the past to check the consumption of food items, which are of little or no nutritional value, by children. But they continue to be available at school cafeterias. With the proposed ban coming into effect from December, one can expect a “healthy change” at city’s schools.
Some of the schools have already started preparing fresh menus and instructions for parents. “We tried to impose ban on such food items several times, but children and parents keep on coming with requests. If the ban is enforced, it will be easier for us to convince them,” said the principal of a popular school in south Delhi.
“The ban is okay, but the implementation has to begin at home. In our school, sale of such items is not allowed, but during an inspection we found that parents had packed pasta and Maggi for lunch. We have warned them about the ill-effects of such foods, and a fresh guideline will be to issued to them soon,” said another school principal.
Some schools have already taken steps to keep unhealthy options off the menu. Tania Joshi, principal of The Indian School, said, “In our canteen, we do not allow maida momos. They are replaced with wheat momos. White bread is not allowed in our school. We also have designated dates for different food items, and that helps.”
At the state level, members of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) have been conducting inspection of the schools to check sale of foods and drinks ‘high in fat, sugar and salt’ (HFSS) content.
“Recently, we had received a series of complaints, and inspections revealed that many schools were providing foods and drinks high on fat, salt and sugar content. Notices were sent to 10 schools earlier this week, and they have been asked to reply by November 20,” said DCPCR member Ranjana Prasad.
In December last year, another 10 reputed private schools were served notices in connection with the sale of junk food.
TOI team’s visit to a few city schools revealed that most of the students’ favourite food items were part of the HFSS list. They were easily available in the school canteens and the shops located nearby.
The rule, however, bans sale of junk food within 50 metres from the schools.
“Our school does not have a canteen, so I don’t have to worry much. When the children leave school, the teachers are posted outside till they get into their buses,” said Jyoti Arora, principal, Mount Abu Public School, Rohini. “We are hosting a national-level chess championship, and HFSS food is banned at the venue,” she added.
Goa: High court tells FSSAI to file formalin report by November 28
PANAJI: After the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) failed to submit its report specifying standards regarding naturally-occurring formalin in different species of fish, the high court of Bombay at Goa directed the central authority to file its report by November 28.
The FSSAI did not request a time-extension to submit the report either.
“If the report is not being filed by the said date, then the executive officer of FSSAI is to remain present in this court personally along with all records to indicate the steps taken in this matter and the reasons for non-compliance. There is a batch of public interest litigations on the issue and from time to time, these matters are required to be adjourned only because of the FSSAI report,” the division bench comprising justices Mahesh Sonak and C V Bhadang stated.
In its October 2018 order, the court had directed FSSAI to specify standards in the context of issue of presence of formalin in fish. The court was informed that the exercise would involve consultations with experts and as a result “had deliberately granted sufficient time to FSSAI” for this purpose.
The report was expected to be filed within six months.
On August 28,the court noted the statement of the counsel representing FSSAI that the report would be filed within four weeks. “This time period expired on 28.09.2019. However, neither is any extension applied for, nor is any report filed,” the court observed in its latest order.
Report on GM corn-derived animal feed likely to be taken up today
After the starch in GM corn is fermented, the remainder is rich in nutrients and can be used as animal feed.
Amid growing demand for permitting import of animal feed derived out of Genetically Modified (GM) crops, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the country’s apex biotechnology regulatory body, is expected to take up a report on the guidelines for import of Dried Distillers’ Grains with Solubles (DDGS) derived out of GM corn at its meeting scheduled in New Delhi on Monday.
A sub-committee constituted by the GEAC, headed by Lalitha Gowda, a retired scientist from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru, has already submitted a report on the guidelines for import of DDGS for livestock and aqua feed.
The GEAC meeting to discuss the report assumes significance in light of the severe scarcity of corn, a key source of animal feed for the burgeoning poultry industry in the country, following the failure of maize crop on account of drought and disease. A number of applications from the poultry industry seeking permission to import GM corn and soyabean are pending.
The sub-committee also included representatives from the agriculture and poultry sectors, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, National Dairy Research Institute, and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Though its report has been submitted, it up to the GEAC to a take a decision on permitting import.
The report was submitted along with an elaborate background note on DDGS. Corn that is grown in the United States and many other countries is GM corn, which is also used for producing bio-ethanol. After the starch content in the corn is fermented, the remainder is rich in protein and other nutrients and can be used as animal feed. This byproduct, DDGS, is also used as animal feed in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Dismissing the concerns expressed by anti-GM crusaders over the import of animal feed derived out of GM crops into the country, a food scientist ruled out the possibility of GM food entering the food chain when human beings consume livestock fed on a GM diet. “Any food that we eat gets digested and broken down into very small molecules or building blocks. So when it gets broken down into the building blocks, it cannot reform again. The body cannot absorb Genetically Modified DNA.”
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