Food safety check: Hotels, restaurants, canteens directed to have open kitchens

In the case of complaints of any kitchen compromising on hygiene standards, the violator will have to pay fine upto Rs 1 lakh.

The officials have been told to visit eateries, including hotels, restaurants, canteens, and check the sign boards restricting access outside the kitchen and have them removed on priority and ensure that the kitchen area is clean.

The Gujarat government has directed restaurants, hotels and canteens to have open kitchens so that people can watch what they are eating. In an order issued Thursday, Hemant Koshiya, Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) commissioner said the notification shall be applicable for all restaurants, hotels and canteens selling cooked food in Gujarat.

They will have to remove the “no admission” or “no admission without permission” signs within two weeks and have transparent partitions for kitchens. In the case of complaints of any kitchen compromising on hygiene standards, the violator will have to pay fine upto Rs 1 lakh.

“We are empowering people and citizens and reducing our (FDCA and food safety officers’) burden. Every kitchen should comply with cleanliness and hygiene standards and if they are doing so, this notification should not be a problem. We are giving two weeks’ time for all… Within this time, if feasible (infrastructurally and otherwise) the wall or barrier to kitchen can be removed and replaced by glass partitions. If not feasible, then such signboards restricting entry to the kitchen must be removed,” the order said.

The notification dated November 6, was issued under the Food Safety Standard act (FSSAI) section 2006. The notification copy has been sent to all designated officers, including municipal corporations, across the state.

The officials have been told to visit eateries, including hotels, restaurants, canteens, and check the sign boards restricting access outside the kitchen and have them removed on priority and ensure that the kitchen area is clean. The notifications further states that the windows and doors of the kitchen areas should be kept open so that the customers can see the area.

The health department of Surat Municipal Corporation has issued letters to hotels, restaurants, canteens and other eateries in the city, requesting them to remove such sign boards having “no admission without permission” or “admission only with permission”.

Talking to The Indian Express, SMC Deputy Health Commissioner Dr Ashish Naik said, “We have issued letters to hotels, restaurants and canteens in the city, asking them to remove banners or signboards, or inscriptions on the glass windows or doors. Customers can enter the kitchen and check the cleanliness. We have given two days’ time and from coming Monday, we will carry out surprise inspections and if anybody is found to be flouting the instructions, we will take action, including issuing notice and collecting penalty. The owner will face legal action later.”

Southern Gujarat Hotel and Restaurant Association president Arun Shetty said, “We welcome the decision of the state government as it will benefit the customers as well as hotels and restaurants. We have issued letters to all restaurants and hotels in South Gujarat and intimated them to remove sign boards outside the kitchen.”

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Adopt trans-fat-free diet to stay fit, children told

Coimbatore: On the occasion of the World Diabetes Day and the Children’s Day, both of which fall on November 14, a group of children who attended a special programme conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday were taught about the need to stick to a trans-fat-free diet.

Earlier this year, FSSAI had proposed limiting the maximum amount of trans fat content in vegetable oils and vegetable fats to 2% from the earlier limit of 5%. The regulator also plans to make India trans-fat-free by 2022.

Designated food safety officer K Tamilselvan said that FSSAI plans to bring down the compliance to 2% for oils and food items by 2021 and the whole country trans-fat-free by 2022. “Consumption of trans fat causes cardiovascular diseases including hypertension and heart attack,” he said. “It is for this reason that we constantly approach schools to ensure that junk food and trans fat foods are not allowed inside and are not served in canteens and cafeterias. We also advice small eateries near schools not to serve snacks containing trans fat and instead serve sprouts, sundal and such healthy snacks.”

Addressing the students, Dr Devaprasath, pediatric cardiologist at Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals, explained how cholesterol consumed via food deposits in blood vessels and overtime obstructs blood flow. “This eventually leads to clots that cause stroke and heart attack, often leading to death.”

The fast food culture is the reason for obesity among school children, president of the Citizen’s Voice Club C M Jayaraman told the students. “Children should adopt healthy food habits like consuming more seasonal fruits, sprouts, vegetables, soups, neera and food items with less or no cholesterol. Adoption of a healthy diet by youngsters will bring back traditional eateries,” he added.

Easy availability of intoxicants to school students a growing concern in Coimbatore

'Teachers have caught students taking such products into exam halls'

A growing concern among teachers in Coimbatore city seems to be the easy availability of intoxicants to school students that get them addicted at an early age and end up marring their academics along with their health.

T. Arulanandam, district president of Tamil Nadu High Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association, said that the use of a particular intoxicant in which tobacco was mixed with spices and sold in small pouches particularly increased in the past year among students in government, government-aided and Corporation schools. “Both boys and girls use this,” he claimed.

He recalled an incident when he was the chief superintendent officer at a Corporation Girls School during the public examinations where the school authorities found empty packets of the tobacco-based intoxicant inside the toilets. “The usage starts in Class VII or Class VIII,” he said. One of the reasons for its notoriety was its inconspicuousness.

There would be no visible difference in behaviour due to its mild intoxication. Some teachers had caught students taking this intoxicant into exam halls, Mr. Arulanandam said. Another reason was its easy availability around the schools, with petty shops outside schools selling it, he said.

N. Lakshmanan, a clinical psychologist who runs a counselling centre, said students were also addicted to fumes from paint thinners and whiteners, which were not generally perceived as intoxicants.

“While alcohol and cigarettes affect the digestive system and lungs respectively, these intoxicants directly affect the central nervous system,” he said, adding that use of such intoxicants at an early age was diagnosed as ‘conduct disorder’. A characteristic among these victims of addiction was that they came from dysfunctional families where parents were either abusive or alcoholic, Mr. Lakshmanan said. With the addiction beginning in the teenage for many victims, they were generally advised to enrol in de-addiction centres. “Many do not seek professional help till the addiction becomes severe,” he added.

Education, food safety officials to act

When contacted, P. Ayyanan, Chief Education Officer, who took charge on November 8, said that he was aware of the issue during his previous tenure (December 2017 to March 2019) in the city. “During one of the review meetings, when I asked teachers the reason behind the dip in performance of students, they told me about this,” he said.

Mr. Ayyanan added that he would convene a meeting of headmasters of all government and government-aided schools to check the current situation. The issue would be taken to the notice of District Collector K. Rajamani for further action, he said.

As there was only one school counsellor for the entire district for government and government-aided schools at present, Mr. Ayyanan said that more counsellors would be appointed to help students recover from such addictions.

K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Coimbatore, said a special drive would commence in the city soon, where five teams of food safety officials would check for sale of tobacco products near schools. “If any shop is found selling tobacco products to minors, notice will be served on the spot and the licence will be suspended,” he said.

Mr. Tamilselvan also said that teachers could inform the FSSAI on the helpline number 94440 42322 about such sale.

Seminar on trans fats held

Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, in association with the Citizen’s Voice Club conducted a seminar to create awareness among students on the need to avoid trans fats here on Tuesday.

The seminar was held at R.K. Sree Rangammal Kalvi Nilayam Higher Secondary School. K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India advised students on the need to follow a healthy diet, a release said. S. Devaprasath, paediatric cardiologist at Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals, explained the ill-effects of trans fats to students.

Officials to encourage safe food on school campuses

Madurai: After the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India released draft regulations banning sales and supply of unhealthy food on school campuses, the authorities concerned here are planning a sensitisation on the proposed regulation for schoolteachers and their heads here. 

The draft regulations titled Food Safety and Standards (Safe food and healthy diets for schoolchildren) Regulations, 2019 has proposed to ban sales food contains high salt, sugar and fat on school campuses. The same cannot be displayed or sold in 50 metres radius of campuses. It has proposed mandatory license to sell or supply food items by school management or a food business operator on campus, the officials said. 

The proposed regulation encourages schools to adopt a comprehensive programme for promoting safe food and healthy diets among schoolchildren and to convert school campuses into ‘Eat Right School’, focusing on safe and healthy food, the officials said. 

Dr M Somasundaram, designated officer for food safety, Madurai, told TOI that his team would conduct meeting with teachers and headmasters on Mondays, and shopkeepers and traders on Tuesdays to sensitise them . The teachers will also be sensitised on healthy and locally available food, so that they can promote them among students.

“Teachers will in turn sensitise children by conducting sessions periodically. Teachers have been chosen since it would be a daunting task to each and every students throughout the district. Through the students the teachers can also drive messages to their family members as well,” he said. 

The faculty members will check for unhealthy foods being sold in the vicinity and advise the shopkeepers not to sell them. Food safety officials will take action if they receive complaint from teachers against shopkeepers who fail to adhere to the regulations, Somasundaram said. To reach out to traders, the food safety officials are forming councils involving trader representatives. They are planning to form eight councils in the district and have already formed four in Vadipatti, Alanganallur, Usilampatti and the city.

“The council members will inform fellow people. There is a great difficulty in reaching out to shopkeepers and traders on emerging regulations and good practices. The formation of council would solve the issue,” he said.

Food establishment conducts workshop on FLRS, Foscoris system

Dimapur, Nov. 12 (EMN): A workshop to discuss the food licensing and registration system (FLRS), which is an online system for license and registration certificate, and the Foscoris, which is an online platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling, was conducted on November 7 in the conference hall of the directorate of Health & Family Welfare.

The government publicity agency the department of Information and Public Relations (IPR) gave updates to the media informing about the programme.

Partha Das Mohapatra, deputy director of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Northeast region at Guwahati, addressed the event. Addressing designated officers for food safety at the event, the official expressed enthusiasm at the initiative from state officials to take a big step in introducing the online registration and licensing system in Nagaland.

With the induction of the online system in Nagaland, the whole country will be digitalised with one live portal and there will be a common platform across the country, Mohapatra said. He expressed appreciation to the organisers for conducting the workshop. Likewise, he acknowledged the effort and ‘passion’ shown by the state officials, the update stated.

Dr. Akuo Sorhie, joint director and state programme officer for Food Safety unit addressed the event too. He mentioned that the event was ‘a historic moment for Nagaland state to introduce the much awaited online registration system with which our state will also join the rest of the country into one portal.’

After the workshop, the government servant said, Nagaland will also start with the online registration and licensing process in phases starting from the districts of Kohima, Mokokchung and Dimapur. Till date, the official stated, Nagaland is the only state which has not undertaken this process.

Sendongkaba Jamir, assistant food safety commissioner of the department also spoke at the event. The official expressed optimism for the ‘fruitful workshop.’

According to the updates, the designated officers for Food Safety will be trained in the use of the online food licensing and registration system and Food Safety Compliance matters through regular inspection and sampling.

The training will be conducted by Partha Das Mohapatra, and Kaushik Kalita, IT manager at the FSSAI, north-eastern region at Guwahati in Assam. This will be further implemented in the districts, the updates stated.

The FLRS or Food Licensing and Registration system is an online system launched by the FSSAI to facilitate FBOs in India to apply for license or registration certificates. The system can track their applications during the course of processing. 35 states and union territories have been issuing licenses or registration certificates online, additional resources about the system state.

Further, the FSSAI has launched the Foscoris. It is stated to be nationwide online platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling. The food regulator asked states to adopt the system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make food safety officers accountable.

The ‘one hundred tenth report on functioning of food safety and standards authority of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, defined the Foscoris to be ‘Food Safety Compliance through Regular Inspection and Sampling.’

According to additional resources, the Foscoris will help verify compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses in accordance with government norms. It will bring together all key stakeholders such as food businesses, food safety officers, and state food safety commissioners on a nationwide IT platform.

The platform is envisaged to help seamlessly share data related to inspection, sampling and test results by the establishments. The system will help to ease process of sample collection, make it transparent and traceable and control the quality of compliances, it was informed.

Junk food in schools off the menu

Soon, junk food will no longer be sold in schools.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has moved to prohibit the sale of junk food in school canteens against the backdrop of a growing crisis of childhood obesity in the country. By 2030, India is expected to be home to 27 million obese children compared to eleven million at present. By that year, India will surpass the United States as the country home to the second highest number of obese children in the world. 

The FSSAI’s decision is a wise move, given the proliferation of unhealthy foods throughout the country – even in schools. “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,” commented Ranjana Prasad of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights. 

The proposal was called for by the FSSAI, not only banning the sale of junk food in schools but also prohibiting their advertisement within a close radius of the school. “We have proposed to put a curb on advertisements and promotion of food that is not healthy in school premises and fifty metres surroundings,” said FSSAI chief executive officer Pawan Kumar Agarwal. “About three years ago, the High Court had asked us to come out with regulation on healthy diets for school children. We have been struggling to put that regulation together. Because if you have to make a law, it has to be implemented.”

Increased availability of sugary drinks and fast food are leading to rising rates of obesity.

The FSSAI developed draft regulations, which would mandate that “foods which are referred to as foods high in fat, salt and sugar…cannot be sold to school children in school canteens or mess premises or hostel kitchens or within fifty meters of the school campus.” In addition, the FSSAI would – through the regulation – “encourage school authorities to promote consumption of a safe and balanced diet in the school as per the guidelines issued by the National Institute of Nutrition.” 

Agarwal referenced a Delhi High Court ruling, imposed in 2015, which said that the availability and consumption of junk food in schools ought to be restricted. The ruling was welcomed at the time by Centre for Science and Environment director-general Sunita Narain, who said “we welcome the Delhi High Court order in the junk food case, in which it has directed strict implementation of the guidelines for making available wholesome, nutritious, safe and hygienic food to school children in India. We would have liked a complete ban on the sale of junk food in schools, but what the Court has ordered is also very significant: restriction is an important step in recognition of the fact that this kind of food is bad for children, and must not be allowed in schools.” The ruling placed the onus on the FSSAI to devise guidelines, which Narain also touted. 

“The guidelines are scientific, comprehensive and well establish the harmful effects of junk foods,” she said. “The essence throughout the document is to not allow the availability of such foods in schools. If well implemented, maintaining the spirit of it, the guidelines will help avoid the looming health crisis in this country. The court has emphasised on time-bound enforcement across the country and has put immense faith in [the] FSSAI. It could prove to be a milestone development towards addressing the growing burden of obesity, diabetes and heart disease—among other noncommunicable diseases—in the Indian context.”

Such guidelines, however, have allegedly been ignored – prompting the new regulations. Foodstuffs prohibited include “deep-fried foods, for example French fries, fried chips, samosa, chole bhature, gulab jamun, sugar sweetened carbonated or noncarbonated beverages, ready-to-eat foods, noodles, pizzas, burgers, confectionary items, sugar and sugar-based products.” This drives a crisis where many Indian youths consume junk food on a regular basis– including 93 percent who consume packaged food at least once a week. This is especially concerning given that packaged food sold in India ranks among the unhealthiest of its kind sold in the world owing to high quantities therein of calories, saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium.

A McDonald’s in Delhi.

“Ours is a fast-evolving, consumer-based and middle-class to upper middle-class society,” commented nephrologist Dr Sanjeev Bagai, cited by News18. “Indians have a very high level of obesity, hypertension and diabetes. 

“The most vulnerable are children and India has 35 percent of its population under the age of eighteen years. For preventive healthcare, we must enforce correct eating habits. No advertising or endorsements of junk or processed food should be allowed in schools or colleges or any public domain. None in sports arenas too. Awareness must be created that junk foods cause short-term and long-term harm in all age groups.” 

As preeminent bariatric surgeon Dr Pradeep Chowbey, chairman of the Max Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Saket, told Health Issues India last year, “in the last couple of years. we have seen a very significant and alarming rise in such cases of obesity. We are quite worried that we might get even more in the coming future. I think that there is a significant and alarming rise in childhood obesity in the country. After two decades, we have observed more and more patients coming with more cases of obesity to seek advice and operations and other types of management.” To counteract this, bold policy moves such as banning junk food in schools is needed to avert cases of obesity and resultant health complications. 

Heart disease is India’s leading cause of death. By 2025, the country could be home to 134 million diabetics. Hypertension affects around 224 million Indians. This is to say nothing of the other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) obesity is a risk factor for, ranging from multiple types of cancer to strokes. Taking steps to prevent obesity early, such as by prohibiting the availability of junk food in environments where children are exposed, are far from the panacea to end India’s obesity woes but have much potential as a step towards decreasing rates of NCDs.