DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

10 states unequipped to ensure food safety: FSSAI

• FSSAI says many of the poorly performing states have not been able to put in place full-time staff for food safety and do not have proper labs
• Food regulator analyses total 106,459 samples across the country and finds over 15.8% food samples as sub-standard, 3.7% unsafe and 9% mislabelled during the year 2018-19

NEW DELHI : At least 10 states in India are unequipped to ensure food safety, owing to scarcity of staff and food testing laboratory infrastructure, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said on Monday.

According to the apex food regulator, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, and Uttarakhand are the worst performing states on food safety.

With its own admission to the shortfalls, the FSSAI said that many of the poorly performing states have not been able to put in place full-time officers for food safety and do not have proper food testing laboratories despite the food safety law coming into force over a decade ago.

“More rigorous enforcement by States is essential to build public trust in food. Public trust has been eroded in recent times due to fake news creating widespread perception of large-scale adulteration in the country. FSSAI is working with states and UTs, particularly with weaker ones in this regard," said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. “For this, FSSAI is increasing the capacity of State food laboratories and enabling use of private food labs for testing food samples. Enforcement efforts have to better targeted and preceded by surveillance efforts to identify hotspots and problem areas," he said.

However, the food regulator has also noted improvement in food safety in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.

FSSAI on Monday also released data on enforcement efforts by states and Union Territories in India.

It analysed a total of 106,459 samples across the country and found over 15.8% food samples as sub-standard, 3.7 % unsafe and 9% mislabelled during the year 2018-19.

This is the first year the data has been compiled for unsafe, sub-standard and labelling defects separately. Data released include samples analysed, non-conforming samples, cases launched, convictions and penalties by states/UTs during the year 2018-19 and also trends over the past three years.

According to the report, there has been a 7% increase in the number of samples analysed during 2018-19 as compared to 2017-18. 25% more samples were found non-conforming compared to the previous year. This shows that there has been better targeting of enforcement efforts by states/UTs in the country.

There has been a 36% increase in civil cases launched and a 67% increase in the number of cases where penalties were imposed. The amount of penalty imposed has increased by 23% during 2018-19 compared to the previous year, the report said.

A total amount of Rs32.58 crore has been realised during 2018-19. As far as criminal cases are concerned, the official statement said, there has been 86% increase in criminal cases launched. Since the conclusion of criminal cases takes time, a total of 5,198 cases were concluded during 2017-18 that included a backlog of previous years. During the year there have been 701 convictions in criminal cases so far.

Food borne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group of the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 31 food borne hazards. In its first estimates of the incidence, mortality, and disease burden, this group has found that the global burden of food borne diseases (FBD) is comparable to those of the major infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The most frequent causes of foodborne illness were diarrheal disease agents, particularly norovirus and Campylobacter spp. Diarrheal disease agents, especially non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica, were also responsible for the majority of deaths due to FBD. Other major causes of FBD deaths were Salmonella Typhi, Taenia solium and Hepatitis-A virus.

The global burden of FBD caused by the 31 hazards in 2010 was 33 million -- Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs); children under five years old borne 40% of this burden, although they represented only 9% of the global population. These facts call for urgent action by all stakeholders to improve food safety throughout the food chain with more coordinated efforts and greater focus.

Shops flout rules, caught selling cooking oil in loose

Madurai: Cooking oil, which was being sold in loose in two shops at the K Pudur Bus Stand and on a vehicle near Alagarkovil was seized by a team of food safety officials on Sunday evening. Officials said the seized oil was worth Rs 50,000.

Officials said they began the crackdown after coming to know that the shops were selling cooking oil in loose, despite being explained about the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, which prohibited its sale, a month ago. Though the shop owners had assured to stop selling such oil, they did not take any steps. Seizure memos were issued to shopkeepers, officials said. 

Designated officer for food safety, Dr M Somasundaram who led the raid said the rule prohibiting loose oil sale will be enforced slowly, but steadily. “The traders have been given adequate time. When they already have a manufacturer licence, what is stopping them from packing the oil while selling?” he asked.

Somasundaram said that palm oil is often sold as gingelly oil after mixing a few drops of essence. “There is nothing wrong in selling palm oil, but it should not be sold as other cooking oil. Adulteration in oil is rampant and it can be addressed when traders start selling them in packs,” Somasundaram said. 

Officials said that when the announcement on implementation of the rule was issued, members of oil traders association had told them that it will pave way for increase in usage of plastic as they have to use plastic covers for packing. But, traders were already using plastic for packing loose oil as customers were not encouraged to bring containers.

Meanwhile, a group of regular customers, who were not aware of the happenings in the shops, and had come to make their purchase, were urged by Somasundaram to exercise discretion while choosing oils. People should not expect good quality oil at a cheaper price. “They should start suspecting the quality of oil when it is sold at throwaway prices,” he insisted.

Penalties from errant food companies up 23%: FSSAI

Sharp rise in number of civil, criminal cases, as per data from States and UTs

Penalties worth ₹32.58 crore have been realised from errant food business operators in 2018-19, up by about 23 per cent compared with realisations in 2017-18, according to data released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday.

There was also a nearly 67 per cent rise in the number of cases where penalties were imposed on food companies in 2018-19 (12,734 cases) compared with the previous year, as per the data compiled by FSSAI on enforcement activities of food safety officers from States and Union Territories for 2018-19. In the previous year, penalties amounted to about ₹26.36 crore.

The regulator said there has been an improvement in the overall enforcement activities indicating better targeting of such efforts by States. About 1.06 lakh food samples were analysed by State food safety officers in 2018-19, which was nearly 7 per cent higher than 2017-18.

Of this, while 3.7 per cent (3,900) of the samples were found to be unsafe, 15.8 per cent were sub-standard and 9 per cent samples had labelling defects.

The food safety authority’s data also revealed that there was a 36 per cent rise in civil cases filed in 2018-19 (18,550 cases) over the previous year. There was an 86 per cent increase in criminal cases launched against food business operators in 2018-19 compared to the previous year.

“Since the conclusion of criminal cases takes time, a total of 5,198 cases were concluded during 2017-18 that included a backlog of previous years. During 2018-19, there have been 701 convictions in criminal cases,” FSSAI stated.

Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh were among the top 10 States which performed well in terms of enforcement parameters.

“Ten States that have performed poorly include Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, and Uttarakhand,” it added. It was noted that poorly performing States do not have full-time food safety officers and proper food testing laboratories.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said, “More rigourous enforcement by States is essential to build public trust in food. FSSAI is working with States and UTs, particularly with weaker ones, in this regard. For this, FSSAI is increasing the capacity of State food laboratories and enabling use of private food labs for testing food samples. Enforcement efforts have to be better targeted and preceded by surveillance efforts to identify hotspots and problem areas”.

The food safety authority said that this is the first time that data was compiled for samples found as unsafe, substandard or with labelling defects separately. This is being done to enable State food safety authorities to take precise corrective and preventive action.

3.7 Percent of over 1.06 Lakh Food Samples Analysed in 2018-19 Found Unsafe, Says FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reported 36 per cent rise in civil cases to 2,813 and 86 per cent increase in criminal cases to 18,550.

New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI on Monday said that over 1.06 lakh food samples were analysed last fiscal, of which 3.7 per cent were found to be unsafe and 15.8 per cent sub-standard.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reported 36 per cent rise in civil cases to 2,813 and 86 per cent increase in criminal cases to 18,550, it said in a statement.

There has been a 67 per cent increase in the number of cases where penalties were imposed to 12,727. A total amount of Rs 32.58 crore has been realised during 2018-19, up 23 per cent from previous year. There have been 701 convictions in criminal cases.

FSSAI released the data on enforcement efforts by states/UTs in the country. The released data includes samples analysed, non-conforming samples, cases launched, convictions and penalties by states/UTs during the year 2018-19

"During the year 2018-19, a total of 1,06,459 samples were analysed. While 3.7 pc of these samples were found to be unsafe, 15.8 pc were found to be sub-standard and 9 pc samples had labelling defects," FSSAI said in a statement.

There has been a 7 per cent increase in the number of samples analysed during 2018-19 as compared to 2017-18 and "25 per cent more samples were found non-conforming compared to the previous year", the regulator said, adding that this indicates there has been better targeting of enforcement efforts by states/UTs.

"More rigorous enforcement by states is essential to build public trust in food," FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said.

He admitted that public trust has been eroded in recent times due to fake news, creating widespread perception of large-scale adulteration in the country.

FSSAI is working with states and UTs, particularly with weaker ones in this regard, he added.

"For this, FSSAI is increasing the capacity of state food laboratories and enabling use of private food labs for testing food samples. Enforcement efforts have to be better targeted and preceded by surveillance efforts to identify hotspots and problem areas," Agarwal said.

Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh performed well, while states that have performed poorly include Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, and Uttarakhand.

Many of the poorly performing states have not been able to put in place full-time officers for food safety and do not have proper food testing laboratories despite the food safety law coming into force over a decade ago, FSSAI said.

4% of food samples analysed last year unsafe, FSSAI data shows

The better performing states and UTs are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.

Nearly 4% of the one lakh food and beverage samples analysed by the states and Union Territories last year were unsafe

Nearly 4% of the one lakh food and beverage samples analysed by the states and Union Territories last year were unsafe, about 16% were sub-standard and 9% were mislabelled, shows data released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

This is the first time that data has been separately compiled for unsafe, substandard and labelling defects. It also includes cases launched, convictions and penalties during the year 2018-19 and also trends over the years, which shows that at 1,06,459, there was a 7% increase in the number of samples analysed as compared to the previous year.

Nearly 25% more samples were found non-conforming compared to the previous year, and there was a 67% increase in the number of cases where penalties were imposed. Among criminal cases imposed on defaulters, there has been 86% increase since the previous year, highlighting the fact that there has been an improvement in enforcement efforts by the States.

“This would help support food safety authorities to take precise corrective and preventive action. While, there should be zero tolerance to unsafe food, issue of sub-standard and labelling defects require greater efforts on capacity building of food businesses and food standards as well as labelling requirements,” said FSSAI in a statement.

The better performing states and UTs are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh. The ones having performed poorly are Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, and Uttarakhand.

“More rigorous enforcement by states is essential to build public trust in food,” says FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal.

“FSSAI is working with states and UTs, particularly with weaker ones, in increasing the capacity of state food laboratories and enabling use of private food labs for testing food samples. Enforcement efforts have to better targeted and preceded by surveillance efforts to identify hotspots and problem areas,” he added.

3.7% food samples found unsafe, 15.8% sub-standard, says regulator

Kerala, Tamil Nadu among the best performing States, says FSSAI

Data released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on enforcement of norms has noted that 3.7% of the samples collected and analysed were found unsafe, 15.8% sub-standard and 9% samples had labelling defects.

Releasing the data for 2018-19 where 1,06,459 samples were analysed, the food regulator said this was the first year the data had been compiled for unsafe, substandard and labelling defects separately. This would help authorities take precise corrective and preventive action. While there should be zero tolerance to unsafe food, sub-standard and labelling defects require greater efforts on capacity building of the businesses and standards as well as labelling requirements.

There has been a 7% increase in the number of samples analysed during 2018-19 compared to 2017-18. Compared to the previous year, 25% more samples were found non-conforming. This shows that there has been better targeting of enforcement efforts by States/UTs.

There has been a 36% increase in civil cases launched and a 67% increase in the number of cases where penalties were imposed. The amount of penalty — ₹32.58 crore— imposed has increased by 23% during 2018-19 compared to the previous year.

There has been 86% increase in criminal cases launched. Since the conclusion of criminal cases takes time, 5,198 cases were concluded during 2017-18 that included a backlog of previous years. During the year there have been 701 convictions in criminal cases so far.

Ten States/UTs that have performed well include Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.

Ten States that have performed poorly include Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

Many of the poorly performing States have not been able to put in place full-time officers and do not have proper testing laboratories despite the food safety law coming into force over a decade ago.

Expressing satisfaction over the improved enforcement, Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said the regulator was increasing the capacity of the State laboratories and enabling the use of private labs for testing food samples. Enforcement efforts must be preceded by surveillance efforts to identify hotspots and problem areas.