Odisha Governor called upon all stakeholders to enhance public understanding of nutrition, food safety

 
Bhubaneswar: Governor M C Bhandare on Saturday called upon all stakeholders to enhance public understanding of nutrition and food safety.
Inaugurating a national seminar on 'Food Safety' at Hotel Mayfair here, he appreciated the efforts of the organisers, Institute of Quality and Environment Services and Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar Heritage.
He spoke of a phased and all-inclusive approach to food safety, especially in capacity building, knowledge dissemination and efficient regulatory mechanism to achieve the desired goals.
On awareness generation, Bhandare said that the role of media, health and nutrition professionals, educators, opinion leaders and food producers was important.
Terming milk adulteration as suicidal and coming down heavily on the offenders, Bhandare said that often milk is contaminated with glucose, contaminated water, starch, detergent, urea, pesticides and toxic ingredients, paving way for many diseases including paralysis.
He appreciated the efforts of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and hoped its findings would help take corrective measures.
FSSAI CEO VN Gaur said that 15 to 20 per cent of hotel food in India was contaminated.
Food-borne diseases in the US caused the nation a loss to the tune of 51 billion dollars and it would be far more in the case of India considering its population and food habits.
Organising committee chairman DN Padhi spelt out the purpose of the seminar, especially on growing apathy towards unsafe food and step a need to reduce the burden on food safety.
Among others, principal secretary, Tourism Ashok Tripathy, DDG of Bhubaneswar Doordarshan Kendra BN Panigrahi, BP Tripathy and Debabrata Panigrahi also spoke.

Food regulator showcause to majors over tall claims in ads

Tall claims in advertisements by major food product manufacturers and pharma majors have finally caught the eye of the country’s food regulator. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued showcause notices to their promoters to justify their claims failing which they will be liable for action against them 

Those in the FSSAI’s firing line are advertisements for brands such as Complan, Pediasure, Bournvita Little Champs, Maggie Noodles, Top Ramen, Nutrichoice biscuits, Horlicks Juniors and Heart Care among others. Their promoters have been given a fortnight’s deadline to respond to the allegations regarding various violation of code of advertisement for food items, supplements and propriety foods.
Sources in the Health Ministry told  that the Authority’s move, though much delayed, was taken after it noted that the firms had been blatantly violating various codes on advertising of foods that prohibit them from depicting personal changes in intelligence, physical ability or exceptional recognition unless scientifically substantiated.

Some of them were also making nutritional and health benefit claims in food advertisements. Many like Agnesi Pasta, an imported food item from Italy, had failed to give details in Indian languages as per norms.

“While Abbott is facing questions over failing to give adequate information on labels as well as studies to support their claims for Pediasure, Amway has failed to provide complete details on its Heart Care product, a propriety food item,” as per sources.

Diet Food India has been asked to reveal which sugar is being used to make its “digestive biscuits” a sugar-free item. The FSSAI is also unsure how Nestle’s Maggi noodles have multigrains, as advertised by it.

According to them, the regulator instead of being a mute spectator has now decided to bare its fangs every time such violations are noted. “These are reputed firms and a strict warning against them would send a strong message. If these companies are brought to task, others will automatically follow the suit, it feels,” the sources added.

The Authority has also advised people to not to take the ads on their face value but check the labels before purchasing them “because health cannot be compromised”.

Traders stage protest against Food Safety Act

The Hindu Members of Federation of Manufacturers and Traders of Food Products of Tamil Nadu staging a protest against the implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act 2011 in Madurai on Thursday.Photo:R. Ashok

Central Government urged to postpone implementation

Food producers, dealers, traders and merchants joined hands to stage demonstrations simultaneously at 32 places across Tamil Nadu on Thursday demanding that the Central Government must postpone the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006, which was notified and implemented from August 5, 2011.

In Madurai, members of trade and industry bodies such as Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association, The Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association (TNFMA), Tamil Nadu Vanikar Sangangalin Perammaippu and Tamil Nadu Vanikar Sangangalin Peravai besides associations representing farmers and commodity dealers took part in the agitation.

To corporates

Terming it as beneficial only to corporates, the agitators said that the food standards under the new Act had been drafted without factoring in local ground conditions and were suited only for Western countries, where even a small farmer possessed over 100 acres.

Addressing the meeting, TNFMA Association president S.P. Jeyapragasam said that the FSA would sound the death knell for the small food operators who would be wiped out by its onerous provisions.

Even though a food business operator had obtained a licence to sell a particular product in one city, TNFMA vice president P. Subash Chandra Bose said, the operator would have to again apply for licence if he wanted to sell in another city.

Such provisions were only bringing back the hated “license raj” regime.

Further, he also said, the act mandated that a food product must maintain uniform standards across the country.

However, with climate, soil and farming practices varying across regions, such uniformity cannot be brought about, he added.

MADITSSIA president V.S. Manimaran said that while the Act specified that agro-products should be tested to ensure that they maintained the mandated standards, there were very few Government or accredited food laboratories in the country that were capable of analysing the samples.

He also noted that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in her address to the Legislature, had expressed the view that the Act would hurt the small industries.

Hefty fines

Various speakers also pointed out that fines as per FSA were over 100 times when compared to the erstwhile Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.

Besides demanding that the law give adequate time and opportunity to the people to set right their deficiencies, the protestors said that the maximum penalty must be brought substantially from the present Rs. 1 lakh.

DINAMALAR NEWS