Mar 6, 2020
Food safety officials conduct checks on eateries
In a surprise check, officials from the Food Safety Department on Thursday conducted raids in 100 eatery outlets and restaurants in and around Pennicuick bus stand here.
According to a release, the authorities conducted the check after receiving several complaints. The shopkeepers were instructed not to sell food items that were unfit and substandard. As many as 150 kg of substandard items were seized and destroyed.
After a one-time warning, shops would be imposed fines ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000. Those found indulging in frequent malpractices would be taken to task under the law and their shops sealed and closed. About 120 eatery outlets in the district did not have licence and were told to get them within four days, the officials said.
Coronavirus fear keeps consumers off eateries, meat
A top executive at a company that runs several restaurants across India speaks of increasing cancellation of large parties over the last two weeks
FSSAI says cooked meat including poultry was safe
NEW DELHI : The Covid-19 scare is driving people away from restaurants. And those who turn up are staying off non-vegetarian dishes.
A top executive at a company that runs several restaurants across India spoke of increasing cancellation of large parties over the last two weeks. “We have just received a cancellation of a party of 150 tomorrow at one of our restaurants in Noida," he said, asking not to be named.
With firms asking employees to work from home, “a lot of our boxed meals are being cancelled. Moreover, across our restaurant brands, we have seen a drop of non-veg food consumption by 15-20%, largely driven by a dip in orders of mutton and chicken," he said.
Sharmila Prasad, 39, a Faridabad resident, who runs a dance academy, said she and her family have given up on all kinds of meat as a precaution although there’s no scientific study on the subject. “I am a Bengali and meat is part of our daily diet. Just to be safe, my family and I have stopped eating all kinds of meat," she said.
A restaurateur in central Delhi said that footfalls were down this week. “Customers who have been walking in have some concerns and misconceptions around consuming meat. Although they’re inquiring about meat, they order vegetable and paneer rolls," said Nishant Agarwal of fast-food outlet Rolling Joint. Agarwal said demand for non-vegetarian orders was down 15-20%.
A delivery executive with a food aggregator said, “People are now ordering paneer dishes and dals," he said.
Online food ordering platform Zomato said it has not seen a seen any dip in orders yet. “We are actively working with our delivery and restaurant partners to ensure food safety and health precautions," a company spokesperson said.
Online meat ordering platform Licious claimed no dip in orders. On Thursday food regulator FSSAI said cooked meat including poultry was safe.
Coronavirus does not spread through chicken, mutton, seafood: FSSAI chief
Mar 5 There is no scientific evidence to show that coronavirus spreads through eating chicken, mutton and seafood, FSSAI chief G S G Ayyangar said on Thursday and asserted that the virus would not survive in higher temperature. "It is basically an animal virus. Let us leave it to scientists to figure out how it has been transmitted...however, ours is a tropical country and once the temperature crosses 35-36 degrees celsius, no virus will survive.
"Let us pray to God that winter ends and temperature rises," he said. There are at least 29 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in India. Amid apprehensions that the infection could spread through eating chicken, mutton and seafood, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO said there is a misconception about it. "There is a misconception that coronavirus will spread through chicken, mutton and seafood. There is nothing like that. It is scientifically not proven. "I am a scientist, I will not buy this argument," Ayyangar told reporters here.
Ayyangar, who was earlier with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said it is a matter of time that vaccine for coronavirus will be developed as India has a good track of handling viruses. "Whether it is Ebola virus or Avian flu, we have handled them very well. It is a matter of time. We have to take precaution. We have to be on our toes," he said. Urging people to take precautions, he said coronavirus is like many other viruses and developing a vaccine will depend on the complexity of the virus. The government is making all efforts to isolate the virus.
"Once we are able to isolate the virus, then it takes sometime to find a vaccine to counter the virus," he said at an event organised by industry body Assocham. Addressing the event on nutrition and functional foods, Hexagon Nutrition Managing Director Vikram Kelkar said prices of vitamin supplements have been volatile recently and spread of coronavirus has affected the supply across the world.
On March 2, poultry breeders demanded a relief package from the government claiming that the sector has incurred heavy losses of around Rs 1,750 crore in a month due to fake news that eating chicken could spread coronavirus. Poultry bird prices have plunged to Rs 10-30 per kg at farm gate level due to a slump in chicken demand while the average cost of production is Rs 80 per kg, the All India Poultry Breeders Association had said in a representation to the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
Coronavirus outbreak: Imported food safe, says FSSAI
FSSAI had constituted a committee of experts to examine the possibilities of the presence of coronavirus in imported food items.
The country’s apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Thursday said that the food imported into India is safe from the novel coronavirus.
“…the food imported into India including from the novel coronavirus affected countries is safe for human consumption,” a statement from the food regulator said.
FSSAI had constituted a committee of experts to examine the possibilities of the presence of coronavirus in imported food items.
“The committee in its report opined that as of now there is no conclusive evidence for the food borne transmission of the virus. Coronavirus predominately affects the respiratory system and is spread from human to human via droplets while sneezing, coughing, contaminated hands and surfaces. The committee agreed with the advisories of global organizations that the predominant routes of transmission of coronavirus appear to be human to human,” the statement read.
The food regulator also clarified that cooked meat, including poultry, was safe to eat.
“As a precautionary measure, the committee has advised to avoid consumption of raw or undercooked meat as well as unprocessed food products. Frozen food items must be consumed only after cooking them properly. Good hygienic practices must be followed before consuming raw fruits and,” it said.
Since the outbreak was reported on December 31, 2019, in China, a total of 80,270 confirmed cases and 2,981 deaths have been reported in China. Outside of China, 12,857 confirmed cases and 220 deaths have been reported in 78 countries including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. India has reported 30 positive cases so far, with no deaths.
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