Ground water being sucked dry

That unscientific planning over the years has resulted in severe drinking water shortage in the City is no secret. What this lack of planning and over-dependence on water from Cauvery has also done is leave the water table on the brink of depletion.

In the last few years, many areas within Bangalore have depended on water supplied thro­u­gh tankers or are paying hefty sums to avail packaged drinking water. But is packaged drinking water safe for consum­ption? The answer is not in black and white.

While a good percentage of companies selling packaged water in Bangalore run without appropriate licences or approvals raise doubts about the quality, studies have shown that on an average, close to 90 per cent of packaged water circulating in the City, including that which is supplied by companies with approvals and certification, is adulterated/contaminated.

The Public Health Institute, a wing of the Department of Health and Family Welfare had, in June, analysed eight packaged drinking water samples. Of this, seven, about 87.5 per cent, were found to be contaminated. Similarly, in May, six packaged drinking water samples were tested, of which five samples turned out to be both adulterated and misbranded. (See table).

Raids conducted across the State have revealed that about 564 water packaging units across Karnataka are functioning without the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, which is a must under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, which was implemented in 2011.

Of the 564 units running without the required certification, 69 are in the Bangalore Urban district, second only to Bellary, which has about 78 such units. The Bangalore Rural district has about 32 such units.
The department found that only 224 units across the State were certified. Sources in the Health department said the Act not only makes it mandatory to have a quality certification for the water used, but also prescribes that it shall be packed in clean, hygienic, colourless, tran­sparent and tamperproof bottles/ containers made of polyethylene (PE) (conforming to IS:10146 or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) conforming to IS: 10151 or polyalkylene terephthalate (PET and PBT) conforming to IS: 12252 or poly­pro­pylene conforming to IS: 10910 or food grade polycarbonate or sterile glass bottles suitable for preventing possible ad­u­­l­t­eration or contamination of the water.

Following the revelations of the raids, official sources told Deccan Herald that notices have been issued to 538 such units and about 91 units have been closed. “About 19 of them have filed writ petitions in the court, against the department,” another official said.

The Karnataka High Court has also held that packaged drinking water comes within the purview of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, and that the BIS certification is mandatory. Hearing a related petition, the court has directed the State government to take action so as to prohibit and prevent the manufacture and sale of packaged drinking water without the required certification.

“The State must take action against manufacturers who are found operating without certification from the BIS,” a Division Bench had noted in the order. The Bench said all manufacturers will have to submit applications for BIS certification in the prescribed format within 15 days and directed the authorities concerned to process the applications within three months and notify the deficiencies, if any.

This leaves the City with ground water as an option, and according to reliable sources almost 40 per cent of Bangalore’s needs are already being met by ground water. However, all is not well even here.

Recently, releasing a report on the quality of drinking water in Basaveshwarnagar, Vaman Acharya, chairperson, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), said that borewell water in many pockets of the City is highly contaminated with toxins and is not fit for direct consumption. He said it is advisable to not use borewell water for drinking in these areas.  This problem is not new. In April 2003, the State’s department of mines and geology collected 918 water samples from across 735 locations in the city.

And in over 370 locations (over 50 per cent), ground water was not suitable for domestic use - that is contamination exceeded levels laid down by the BIS for drinking water quality, a recent report of the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) has noted.

“The key problem was nitrate pollution, indicating sewage-related pollution. In 262 samples, nitrate levels were found to be more than five times the permissible limit of 50 mg/per litre. In some samples, the nitrate values were as high as 666 mg/l, indicating a serious problem, for significant levels of nitrate pollution is known to cause the ‘blue baby’ syndrome in children,” the study said.

The problem in Bangalore is that its pollution management is still rudimentary. Although the City spends enormous amounts of money to supply water to its residents, its sewage network is found wanting and therefore, treatment remains inadequate. The City’s highly priced water is now leading to more sewage, which in turn, is contaminating its ground water.

Dinamalar

1 lakh packets of Appam destroyed at Sabarimala - The Hindu

State Food Safety team detects fungal infestation

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has destroyed a huge quantity of Appam, a major prasadom at Lord Ayyappa Temple, owing to fungal infestation.

As many as 1 lakh packets (each packet contains seven Appams) of the prasasom which were found unfit for human consumption have been burnt in the incinerator at the Sannidhanam, TDB sources said.

The State Food Safety inspection team detected the fungal infestation in random samples collected for examination from the Devaswom store two days ago.

The matter was brought to the notice of Special Commissioner appointed by the Kerala High Court K. Babu who, in turn, directed the Joint Commissioner of Food Safety to conduct a detailed examination of the entire Appam stock at Sabarimala.

Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Babu said an expert team led by the Joint Commissioner of Food Safety conducted a thorough examination of the Appam stock at the TDB godown at the Sannidhanam on Thursday. The team found as many as one lakh packets of Appam that had fungal infestation and were not fit for human consumption.

The Special Commissioner directed the TDB authorities not to supply the stale Appam to the devotees and to take steps for its safe disposal at the earliest.

Mr. Babu said the TDB Commissioner and the Joint Commissioner of Food Safety had informed him that the entire stock of the fungus-infested Appam was disposed of on Thursday night.

He said Devaswom executive officer K. Sankaranarayana Pillai had clarified that adding extra bananas to the rice flour for making the Appam soft on the recommendations of the Mysore-based Central Food Technological Research Institute might have affected the shelf life of the prasadom.

The Food Safety team had attributed the problem to the excessive water content in the Appam, Mr. Babu said.

Heavy loss

The TDB has incurred a loss of at least Rs.25 lakh owing to the Appam going stale, not to mention loss of goodwill and impact on devotees’ sentiments.

There were also allegations of indifference to ensuring the quality of Appam reportedly owing to difference of opinion among the board staff over the contract given for Appam preparation at Sabarimala this year.

The Special Commissioner said a detailed inquiry would be conducted soon into the circumstances leading to deterioration in the prasadom quality.

He said strict instructions had been given to the board authorities to ensure the quality of Appam.

Maalai Malar

Test kit developed to check milk adulteration: Agriculture Minister - THE HINDU

In a bid to check adulteration of milk, the government has developed testing kits, which can detect detergents, urea and other compounds in milk and dairy products, Parliament was informed on Friday.

“A kit has been developed for detection of starch, sugar, glucose, urea, ammonium compounds, pond water, common salt, neutralisers, hydrogen peroxide, formalin in milk,” Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

The kit, developed by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), also contains regents for detection of vanaspati in ghee, he added.

The Karnal—based institute has also developed a test for detection of detergent in milk. The test is sensitive to detect minimum levels of 20 mg detergent per 100 ml of milk.

It is simple and rapid and does not require laboratory equipment, the minister added.

“Presently, the kit is being used by several units in diary industries. NDRI has also offered the kit for commercialisation to the public/private sector companies,” Anwar said.

Last month, the government in an affidavit to the Supreme Court said that over 68 per cent of milk in the country does not conform to the standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

According to the FSSAI’s 2011 survey, the most common adulterant was found to be the addition of water and the main reason for deviation from the standards was addition of glucose and skimmed milk powder. It also found that in some samples, detergent was mixed.

The affidavit was filed in response to the notice issued on a PIL by a group of citizens, led by Swami Achyutanand Tirth of Uttarakhand, seeking a check on sale of synthetic and adulterated milk and various dairy products.PTI

Court SC cracks whip on soft drinks 'toxins'

The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FDA) of India was today asked by the Supreme Court to file "records" of the proceedings of its various panels, set up on apex court's order, passed during hearing of a plea on harmful effects of chemicals and toxins in carbonated drinks.
"Produce records. Put up for hearing on December 3," a bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said.
The court gave its direction after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Centre For Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), alleged that instead of an expert panel,
another FSSAI panel on labelling and claims/ advertisement considered the grievance of additives in carbonated drinks.
"It should have been done by the expert committee which could have considered the issue of additives in carbonated beverages. The issue, however, was considered by a technical committee of FSSAI that is Scientific Panel on Labelling and Claims /Advertisement...
"It seems that this report was given by the cola industry people and an assistant director of FSSAI has simply submitted it," Bhushan alleged and sought a direction to FSSAI to submit the minutes of its various meetings on the issue.
The apex court had asked FSSAI on February 8, 2011 to set up independent scientific panels to examine harmful effects of chemicals in carbonated beverages.
FSSAI panel later passed an order on September 12 after examining various ingredients of carbonated beverages such as artificial sweetener, phosphoric, malic and citirc acid, carbon dioxide, colouring agents, benzoic acid and caffeine.
It said in its order that these ingredients, under prescribed limits, would pose no health hazards.
FSSAI's Scientific Panel On Labelling and Claims / Advertisement, in its order, said, "The expert group reviewed the scientific studies and FSS Regulations, 2011 and confirmed the following:
"All ingredients mentioned above are within the levels as prescribed in the FSS Regulations, 2011 as per the 'Analytical Data on Carbonated Beverages', produced by FRSL Ghaziabad.
"Based on updated scientific reviews, if these ingredients are consumed within the prescribed levels, no health hazard would be caused to humans."
Earlier, senior advocate K Venugopal, appearing for FSSAI, said the PIL, which was filed in 2004, be disposed of as all the reliefs claimed by CPIL have been given.
He said the Food Safety and Standards Act, a comprehensive legislation, came into effect subsequently in 2006 and it took care of all the issues raised in the plea.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also said its study concluded that no health hazard would be caused if the ingredients are within prescribed limits.
The PIL, however, had alleged that the ingredients used in carbonated drinks have "serious deleterious effects on human health" and no action has been taken to test and assess the risk posed by such beverages.
It had also sought the constitution of a committee to evaluate harmful effects of soft drinks and a proper label, giving details of ingredients, be affixed on them. It had also
sought to regulate "misleading" advertisements targeting children.

Supreme Court seeks FSSAI panels' records of proceedings on soft drinks
NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was today asked by the Supreme Court to file "records" of the proceedings of its various panels, set up on apex court's order, passed during hearing of a plea on harmful effects of chemicals and toxins in carbonated drinks.

"Produce records. Put up for hearing on December 3," a bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said.

The court gave its direction after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Centre For Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), alleged that instead of an expert panel, another FSSAI panel on labelling and claims/ advertisement considered the grievance of additives in carbonated drinks.

"It should have been done by the expert committee which could have considered the issue of additives in carbonated beverages. The issue, however, was considered by a technical committee of FSSAI that is Scientific Panel on Labelling and Claims /Advertisement...

"It seems that this report was given by the cola industry people and an assistant director of FSSAI has simply submitted it," Bhushan alleged and sought a direction to FSSAI to submit the minutes of its various meetings on the issue.

The apex court had asked FSSAI on February 8, 2011 to set up independent scientific panels to examine harmful effects of chemicals in carbonated beverages.

FSSAI panel later passed an order on September 12 after examining various ingredients of carbonated beverages such as artificial sweetener, phosphoric, malic and citirc acid, carbon dioxide, colouring agents, benzoic acid and caffeine.

It said in its order that these ingredients, under prescribed limits, would pose no health hazards.

SC seeks records of food safety panel on soft drinks

SC seeks food safety panel’s records

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought records of a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) committee which said carbonated beverages do not pose health hazard and there were no benzene residues in the soft drinks.
Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra called for the records of the FSSAI's technical committee after counsel Prashant Bhushan said the authority's Sep 12 order was given by its committee on advertisement and labelling, not by the scientific panel on food additives. As Bhushan focused on the health hazards of carbonated beverages, Justice Radhakrishnan observed that the "best course is to educate people not to consume beverages."
"All cricketers are promoting soft drinks on television," he said.
Assailing the order which was submitted to the court, Bhushan said the order, issued Sep 12 by FSSAI assistant director Kamal Kumar, was like affixing the authority's stamp on a report by soft drink manufacturers.
Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation, told the court that the order said benzene residue in carbonated beverages was formed only under certain conditions when agents like benzoates and ascorbic acid were present together with heat, ultraviolet light and metallic ion mixture."However, in the absence of benzoic acid and ascorbic acid together, benezene residues are not generated (in carbonated beverages)," the order said.
It said that according to studies by Indian Council for Medical Research, the consumption pattern of the beverages was only 500 ml per day in a "worst case scenario which do not appear to pose any health hazard."
The order said Indian Beverage Association had confirmed to the FSSAI that in India, benzoic and ascorbic acids were not present together in the beverages.
Seeking the minutes of the technical committee which had a hearing for eight days, Bhushan asked if the FSSAI had itself done any test to determine the presence of benzoic acid in carbonated beverages. Bhushan told the court that the FSSAI was not accepting the findings of its own lab in Ghaziabad.
Senior counsel KK Venugopal, who appeared for one of the respondents, told the court that all the prayers made by the petitioner NGO have been satisfied after the union government enacted a law comprehensively addressing the issues raised in the petition. He told the court that it was nearly eight years since the court was seized of the matter.
Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra, who appeared for the government, said the technical committee was authorised to look into the additives. He said Bhushan had appeared before the committee on five occasions but had never raised this objection.
However, Justice Radhakrishnan said the issue raised by Bhushan was serious and called for the records of the meetings of the committee.

FDA seizes khoya, oil, vanaspati worth Rs 37.72 lakh in festive season

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Mumbai, seized khoya, oil and vanaspati worth Rs 37.72 lakh during the festive season from October 1 to November 30 and also collected 33 samples as part of the drive.

Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA, Greater Mumbai, said, “We have conducted special raids against all those FBOs which have been involved in adulteration during the festive season. In order to curb the incidence of adulteration this drive was conducted all over Mumbai.”

Sahebrao V Mule, FDA, food safety officer, Zone 9, Mumbai, informed, “We conducted raids in all wards and zone of Mumbai and collected 33 samples. We are awaiting the results of the collected samples. We have seized khoya weighing 17,219 kg and worth Rs 27,86,776, and oil and vanaspati worth Rs 9,84,700 respectively.”

He added, “Vanaspati of First Class and Ruchera brands both from South India have been seized. First Class vanaspati 530 tins of 15 kg each and Ruchera 150 tins of 15 kg each have been seized whereas in oil, mustard oil 60 tins of 15 kg each and 2 tons loose, groundnut oil 2 tons and palmolein oil 40 tins of 15 kg each have been seized.”

Mule said, “We have sent all the samples to laboratory for testing on 8th November and we are awaiting the results. After the result is out and if the product is found to be injurious to health, complaint will be filed at court and the court will decide about the action taken on the culprits.”

Most of the khoya comes from Gujarat and Rajasthan, the groundnut oil comes from Gujarat, mustard oil comes from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh while palmolein oil is imported from Malaysia.

Food adulteration cases in Jmu

Food adulteration cases in Jmu

Violators escape action in absence of testing facility
Arun Singh
Jammu, Nov 22: Due to the delay in getting results of food samples picked up by Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) from the restaurants and the shops in Jammu division, it gives enough time to the defaulters to escape from the legal action.
There is only one laboratory in the region to test the samples and due to the unprecedented increase in the cases of food adulteration in the winter capital of the State, it becomes extremely difficult to get the results in time.
Sources in the department told Rising Kashmir that as per the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) Act-2008, JMC failed to setup its own food-testing laboratory, the corporation has to depend on the Food and Drug Laboratory established within the Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), which is the only laboratory in the region.
The laboratory is regulated by both Union Health Ministry and State Health Ministry, they added.
They further said that the laboratory is well equipped with the modern gadgets to test all kind of food items.  However, hundreds of samples are sent to this laboratory from across the Jammu region for testing on daily basis, which make it overburdened and consequently results are delayed and that also delays the legal action against the violators the JMC could initiate, they added.
“The maximum time which has been fixed by the laboratory for giving results has been fixed at 14 days which gives sufficient time to the violators to escape from the legal action,” said an inside JMC source.
Health wing of JMC is intensifying its anti adulteration drive at all the restaurants , sweetshops and other places where food is served, but due to the insufficient testing facilities in the region lots of efforts of JMC are wasted,  sources said.
They further added that Consumers Affairs Public Distribution (CAPD) Department also conducts anti adulteration drives and sends the samples to the same laboratory and they face the same problem of not getting the results in time.
Health Officer JMC, Dr Vinod Sharma, when contacted told Rising Kashmir that “Food and Drug laboratory at RRL has very small set up and cannot cater to the bulk of samples due to the inadequate staff and many others reasons well known to the concerned authority”.
“We have to face many problems to take legal action against the defaulters. However, we seize adulterated food items and impose heavy fine on the violators on the spot,” he added.
He further said that Additional Deputy Commissioner has an authority to impose the fine from Rs 5000 to Rs 5 lakh.

Summary of cases of violation of Section 24 of FSS ACT, 2006 & FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulation, 2011

Negative media publicity dampened festival business for Andheri sweetmakers

MUMBAI: The increasing concern over adulteration of milk and milk products spelled boom for chocolates and dry fruits industry leading to higher sales this Diwali leaving sweets makers bitter.

Wary of consuming traditional sweets due to negative media reports, many families and corporates in Andheri opted for chocolate or dry fruits. According to Andheri-based Abhiru Biswas, sales and technical advisor, Barry Callebaut, their company witnessed a double-digit growth over the years and the rise was particularly prominent this Diwali reaching a remarkable growth of over 20 percent.

Barry Callebaut distributes chocolates and compounds of European brands in India. According to Biswas, Indian chocolate market has grown tremendously in the last four years leading to increase in sales volume over 20 percent.

Biswas says, "Chocolates being costlier than mithais was not a deterrence for the chocolate industry as customers now looked for deliverables like a longer shelf life and better taste which mithais did not readily offer."

Jagmohan Gupta, director of MM Mithaiwala, renowned sweets maker in Mumbai said, "The media reports shifted consumer inclination from buying sweets to dry fruits and chocolates. We saw an impact of around 5 to 10 percent on Diwali sales, however, we could make up the gap from the sale of dry fruits."

Gupta added, "It is only 0.1 percent of the industry indulging in malpractices but all have suffered its impact." For luring its customers, MM Mithaiwala introduced options like Cadbury Nagina, Cadbury burfi, Cadbury pedas that coat sweets with chocolate powder.

SWEET & SOUR

Many sweets makers in Mumbai though are pointing at the media reports on adulteration for a slump in the business in the festive season.

Just four days prior to Diwali, the greater Mumbai wing of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, reported to have seized 1050 kg of khoya worth Rs 2,10,000 from the godown of M/s Khandelwal Mawawala in Kurla.

Also, Kalakand (popular sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk) of the Krishna Sweets brand worth Rs 1,26,000 was seized.

Besides, there was continuous media reporting on adulteration throughout the year the most shocking of all being the survey conducted by the apexBSE 0.00 % food regulatory body, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, stating that most of the milk distributed in India was adulterated to some extent.

Such news reporting triggered the business of the chocolate and dry fruit dealers and dampened the business prospects of sweetsmakers in the country and the dwindling Diwali sales was a case in point.

It’s ‘plum’ season again!

With the cheer and joy of Christmas celebrations only a month away, bakers in the city are gearing up to cater to the Xmas cake demand. What is Xmas without the traditional cake?, they ask.
Leading bakeries in the city have already started mixing the ingredients and prepping them for the large quantity of cakes to be baked for the season. Many are rolling out tweaked versions of the conventional plum cake offering customers a little bit of variety.
The traditional plum cakes will be up for sale as always. “The prices will be fixed around the first week of December but they will be slightly higher as compared to last year because of the rise in prices of the major ingredients such as sugar and eggs,” said Baby, manager of Best Bakers, Kaloor.
According to industrial sources, approximately 200 crore cakes were sold in Kerala during the Christmas season last year and the number is expected to rise despite the soaring prices of essential commodities this year. This will also be the first Christmas with proper implementation of the Foods Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSASAI) Act in local bakeries.
The food safety authorities are vigilant and are carrying out routine checks to ensure that  health and safety standards are being maintained in bakeries, of course without hindering the preparations.
It is a beehive of activites in the bakeries  as they have to put in extra work to keep pace with the daily demands. “Cakes are sought after for domestic use and as gifts, sometimes we get bulk order and must be ready for it. The demand is more for the plum cake and rich plum cake,” said a few bakery owners.

Hoteliers are focussing more on food safety

Eating out is no longer a rare activity you do with your family to celebrate an occasion. It has become a regular feature in our way of life. But what if eating out comes at the cost one's health? Risk of food borne Illness is very real and very serious. Hoteliers think that if their patrons fall ill after eating there, the worst thing that the patron can do is to not visit that establishment again. That's not what happens.

The new law empowers consumer to register complaints against any hotelier. The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India has introduced a reward scheme to promote this. This is a very progressive step by the law, but maybe misused by some consumers. Some consumers may threaten to report the hotelier for every small lapse. They could demand a free meal or even worse, a compensation. This will put the hotelier in a dilemma.

A hotelier's worst nightmare is a consumer who can also be a potential threat.

I have been working with many hoteliers from Andheri East especially to enable them counter these threats. Over the last one year they have started to realise that external third party consultants and trainers can help them to improve their food safety, enrich their customer experience and enhance their brand.

ADVANTAGES OF CONSULTANTS

Specialists - third party consultants are specialists in their domain. They have worked in it for many years and have tremendous amount of experience which can add a lot of value to the hoteliers. Experienced consultants have a lot of examples and real life situations which can be shared with hoteliers which makes the training and consulting very interesting for the participants and enables them to connect better.

Economical - Once a month is cheaper than having one on your payroll. Another problem of having a senior person with a lot of experience on your payroll is that you have to offer them interesting work most of the time. This is not easy as it sounds. A senior consultant loves working with multiple companies as every new company has a different set of challenges.

According to me, the following areas in which hoteliers can use external guidance.

FSSAI Compliance - It is a new law. Most hoteliers still haven't understood. A FSSAI consultant can help them to prepare the food safety management system (FSMS Plan), which is mandatory by FSSA. He can also apply for the FSSAI License.

GAP Audit - The consultant can also conduct a GAP Audit to find out what gaps exist in the system and help the Hotelier to close them quickly and effectively.

DINATHANTHI

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FDA proposal for one mobile laboratory van for every district approved

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, is happy with the state government’s decision to approve the proposal sent by FDA for 37 mobile laboratory vans for food testing in every district.

Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA, Greater Mumbai, said, “The FDA is planning to set up seven food testing laboratories across the state, including one in Nashik, and also 37 mobile laboratories. We have sent the proposal in this connection to the state government for approval and we are happy that the state government has already given the approval. We are awaiting finance from the state government.”

He added, “Lack of adequate laboratories and manpower is burdensome on the existing labs. The food samples collected by the FSOs are sent to labs of FDA and those of the state health department. According to the law, there is a provision that the labs must submit the food analysis within 14 days but the lack of manpower, infrastructure is making the work difficult.”

“FDA had chalked out a proposal of Rs 800 crore for this purpose and sent it to state for approval. We are happy that at last we got approval for mobile laboratory vans and just awaiting the funds,” informed Dehmukh.

He explained, “Mobile lab vans will be equipped with all the advanced equipments required for food testing so that the FSOs can collect the samples on the spot and can test them immediately on time.”

Your meat shop may not be following food safety norms

 

Chandigarh, November 21
In the land of butter chicken, rogan josh and fried fish, poor hygiene standards at hundreds of thousands of poultry and mutton processing/dressing units seems to be the norm. In spite of the new Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) making it mandatory for meat/mutton/ poultry business operators to register themselves and get a licence from the designated authority, only a miniscule percentage have done the needful.

Information gathered from the Health and Family Welfare Department reveals that just two meat shops in Mohali have registered themselves under the FSSA. The mandatory licence to operate has been issued to just one butchery (in Ludhiana). At least three of the higher capacity poultry manufacturing units have also been issued licences by the Central Licensing Authority. In Chandigarh, no slaughterhouse of poultry birds have either registered themselves or sought a licence under the FSSA.

Violating rules
= Just two meat shops in Mohali have registered themselves under the FSSA 

- The licence to operate has been issued to just one butchery (in Ludhiana)
- At least three of the higher capacity poultry manufacturing units have been issued licences
= In Chandigarh, no slaughterhouse of poultry birds has the mandatory licence


This means that hundreds of meat/ mutton/ poultry operators in the state have failed to register themselves or procure a licence to operate. As a result, hundreds of tonnes of meat and poultry products being consumed by gullible customers across the state is being processed without following the mandatory food hygiene standards as laid down under the FSSA.

Now, the last date for getting themselves registered has been extended to February 6 next year. But the fact remains that these food business operators have exhibited little enthusiasm to follow the new food safety norms. As per the new norms, all hotels, restaurants, hospitals, cash and carry stores are to source their meat and poultry products from a licensed vendor. Sources in the Central Licensing Authority said that even Army slaughterhouses did not have licences from the central licencing authority.

Even as poultry/meat business operators have failed to register themselves, the other food business operators have gone ahead and procured the mandatory licence. Officials in the Health and Family Welfare Department said 28,128 food operators had registered themselves across the state and 4,265 operators were awaiting registration. As many as 4,845 licences had been issued, the maximum in Ludhiana (4282) followed by Sangrur (3,938). As many as 173 applications were pending clearance, the sources said.

Gurgaon shops to be raided for food checks

GURGAON: Haryana health minister Rao Narender Singh has directed the officers concerned to check the sale of adulterated food by conducting surprise raids at shops and establishments in Gurgaon and other districts.

The minister has issued directions to all deputy commissioners to form special teams to raid shops and godowns. The district administration in Gurgaon has decided to crack down on all the sweet shops in the region. The food safety officers have been involved in the raids that are likely to start from Saturday night. The products under the scanner of the raiding teams will be food items, especially milk and milk products. As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, the erring shopkeeper can be fined up to Rs 5 lakh ans sent to prison for six years.

In the event of death occurring due to consumption of unsafe food, a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh with imprisonment of up to seven years could be imposed on the retailer. The minister also said that the shopkeeper can be slapped a fine up to Rs 3 lakh for selling duplicate brands and of up to Rs 10 lakh in case of sale of food items through misleading advertisements. The minister has advised residents to avoid purchase of sweets, as these might have more colour than is permissible to attract customers, which is harmful for health.

White lie: Check the Milk you drink

Jammu, November 19
In the absence of quality checks, more than 10 lakh residents of the city are being supplied adulterated milk. The Jammu Municipal Corporation or other agencies do not have the requisite manpower or equipment at their disposal to monitor the quality of the milk being supplied in city.

Though the officials claim to conduct routine checks, but it is proving very difficult to monitor quality of the milk because of small private dairies mushrooming in residential colonies.

Residents accuse vendors of selling sub-standard milk despite increasing the price. Health is a major concern with them.

The MC had recently announced introduction of computerised mobile-testing laboratories to check samples at major road junctions on a daily basis. Checks will be conducted on the road junctions from which bulk supply of milk enters the temple city.

The move is pending approval of the government. The government has to release funds for purchase of equipment to conduct the checks.

“Residents are unhappy with the quality of milk and milk products. Milk producers and distributors are openly playing with the health of the residents,” said Rajni Sharma, a housewife.

Unable to cope up with increasing demand of milk, Jammu annually imports nearly six lakh MT from other parts of the country and most of it is supplied to the distributors directly, without any tests for quality.

Health Officer, JMC, Dr Vinod Sharma, said regular tests are being conducted in the city, but as tones of milk is consumed daily, it becomes difficult to monitor quality.

“A proposal has been sent to the government and we are waiting for funds to be released for purchase of small electronic labs.”

Last year, the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) have claimed that 83 per cent of the milk sold to consumers in the state was adulterated. Though these findings were challenged by the Drug and Food Control Organisation (D&FCO), but it still raises doubts as the FSSAI is a reputed organisation when it comes to food standards.

The study had found that most common adulteration in the state is of glucose and skimmed milk products, mixed with the intention to earn profit at the expense of the heath of the common man.

MILKING PROFIT

The Jammu Municipal Corporation does not have the requisite manpower or equipment at their disposal to monitor the quality of the milk being supplied in city
The MC is finding it difficult to monitor the quality of milk because of small private dairies in residential colonies
The MC had recently announced introduction of computerised mobile-testing laboratories to check milk samples at major road junctions on a daily basis
The move is pending approval of the government

Tea sector gears up for food act

A legislation that came into force last year has forced the tea industry to conform to international norms, while keeping its focus on product quality intact.
The law — Food Safety and Standards Act — that came into force from August 5, 2011, dictates that all food establishments and manufacturing units have to either procure licence or get these registered with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) before August 4 in accordance with their turnover.
To prepare organisations associated with the tea industry to face the upcoming challenges of the act, Tea Board, in association with CII Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence, organised awareness programmes at Jorhat on June 27 and at Golaghat on June 28. The idea behind the events was to ensure that all the stakeholders understood FSSAI regulations while maintaining quality and food safety standards in their products. About 75 tea estates and bought leaf factories participated in the events.
The event provided an insight was also provided into the critical steps to food safety — a set of guidelines issued by the ministry of health and family welfare through the act for all organisations managing food and beverage operations to ensure implement good hygiene and good manufacturing practices.
The guidelines state that no tea shall contain any additive or processing aid unless it is in accordance with the provisions of the act and regulations made there under, and no tea shall contain any contaminant, naturally occurring toxic substances or toxins or heavy metals in excess of quantities as may be specified by regulations.
On pesticides, it says that no tea shall contain insecticides or pesticide residues, solvent residues, pharmacologically active substances and microbiological counts in excess of limits specified by regulations. No insecticide shall be used directly on tea leaves except fumigants registered and approved under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
On the presence of chemicals, it says that pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, weedicides, microbials should be used in the gardens in accordance with the approved list and be sprayed in accordance with the recommended dosage recommended by Tea Research Association and United Planters’ Association of Southern India.
One of the provisions says flavoured tea shall be sold or offered for sale only by those manufacturers who are registered with Tea Board. Registration number should also be mentioned on the label. It shall be sold only in packed conditions with label declaration as provided in the Regulation 2.4.5 (23) of Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) regulations, 2011.
“Domestic consumers have the right to get tea which is safe and hygienic as consumers demand globally,” Indrani Ghose, principal counsellor, CII Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence, told The Telegraph.
The Tea Board is taking a scientific approach to sort out the problems of different regulatory issues.
Colour adulteration is strictly prohibited from the consumer health point of view and colouring of tea has gradually become a matter of serious concern these days.
Sources said the treatment of teas with various colouring chemicals comes under the head of adulterants.
There are occasional reports that sub-standard tea leaves are coloured with Bismark brown, potassium blue, turmeric and indigo, to impart colour or gloss to the product.
Tea industry officials say the Tea Board has strongly advised the industry to follow the FSSAI guidelines for not using any colour in tea as violation of the guidelines may attract legal action.
The penal provisions are tough, with penalties ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 10 lakh. Moreover, unlicensed food business has been strictly prohibited. A licence can be valid for a period of one to five years.
Bidyananda Barkakoty, chairman, North Eastern Tea Association, said the intention of the FSSA — to bring food safety of our country to international standard — was a welcome step. “There is a possibility that by following the norms laid down in the FSSA, tea may be able to get a better price in the domestic and international markets,” he toldThe Telegraph.
He, however, said it would add to the cost of production.
Dhiraj Kakati, secretary, Assam branch, Indian Tea Association, said the regulations had beneficial aspects and should work well, provided there was no red tape.

RED BULL INDIA UNDER SCANNER

It seems that deaths and illnesses taking place due to energy drinks in the USA have also been impacting India. It was revealed that State Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Minister Manohar Naik has written a letter to Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad saying special amendments introduced in the Food Safety and Standards Act for energy drink Red Bull were inappropriate.
The amendments have allowed the drink, which contains 320ppm of caffeine to be available in the country at the time when 145 ppm is the limit. Naik has alleged that the Central Government was biased in its decision.
"The adverse effect of caffeine, if injected [consumed] in quantities is very well known. Accordingly, this brand was being confiscated (by FDA) and legal action taken", said Nail.
However, on the other hand, Red Bull India has affirmed that they do not agree with the claims of Naik. They clarified their part by saying that their drink contains as much caffeine as is present in one cup of coffee. They also affirmed that their caffeine levels are not risky, as they have been approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. On the other hand, Naik said the drink will affect the health of young children.

Thattukadas in Kochi go hi-tech

Kochi City Corporation has lined up 50 modern hi-tech mobile wayside eateries that are hygienic and comply with all food safety standards and are a first in South India. The specially designed modernised handcarts made of stainless steel have all the necessary facilities for cooking and storing food, cleaning utensils, wash basins and proper lighting.
The selected beneficiaries were given training at the Food Craft Institute, Kalamassery and uniforms, health cards, registration cards and identity cards were also provided to them. The eateries have been launched using Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) funds as part of the corporation's campaign 'Street Food, Safe Food'.
At a function held on Friday at Eranakulath-appan Ground, mayor Tony Chammany handed over the keys of the mobile food courts to 10 selected vendors.
The mayor said the corporation in association with the Kudumbasree mission plans to open 74 roadside eateries in all divisions in the corporation area. The shops will be run by Kudumbasree workers. "Measures will be taken to streamline the roadside eateries and only the licensed ones complying with food safety norms will be allowed to function.If needed, more such shops will be permitted," he said.
The Syndicate Bank has provided a loan of Rs 1 crore. Each shop costs Rs 69,980. A loan of Rs 1.40 lakh has been made available of which Rs 50,000 is subsidy.
"A lot of commuters and travellers visit the city on a regular basis. For them, quality street food is important. The Corporation will take all necessary steps to ensure the quality of street food," the mayor added.

FDA minister alleges Centre favoured energy drink maker

State Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) minister Manohar Naik wants the Centre to withdraw an amendment to the regulation in the Food Safety and Standards Act, which, he alleged, was made to favour the international brand of energy drink ‘Red Bull’, allowing it to have unsafe caffeine levels.

Naik shot off a letter to Union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad last Friday alleging that the Central agency was biased in its approach.
“Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India amended the regulation only for this particular product (Red Bull) and not the class of product, and allowed it to contain 320ppm (parts per million) of caffeine instead of 145ppm.” 
The minister’s letter stated, “The adverse effect of caffeine, if injected [consumed] in quantities is very well known. Accordingly, this brand was being confiscated (by FDA) and legal action taken.”
Red Bull India dismissed the minister’s claim. It said in a statement to HT that one 250ml can of Red Bull energy drink contained about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee (80 mg) – a caffeine level approved by the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India).
Naik, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party, said that under the law any energy drink also classified as non-alcoholic carbonated beverages was not allowed to have caffeine content more than the permissible 145ppm, yet Red Bull was allowed to increase its caffeine quantity to a very unsafe level.
He said the drink would affect the health of young people in particular because they tended to consume such energy drinks in large quantities.
Naik said that though the Food Safety and Standards Act would go a long way in improving the health status of the Indian population, the (Centre) administration would have to make efforts to analyse the ill-effects of new food products being aggressively marketed in the country.
He wants Azad to direct authorities to reconsider and withdraw permission.

SMC suspends FSO on ‘apprehensions of wrongdoing’

Srinagar: Authorities of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) have suspended a Food Safety Officer FSO) merely on ‘apprehensions’ of conducting a raid on a food unit. The documents, however, establish that the officer hadn’t conducted any raid in the area mentioned by the SMC but other branch of the unit located in industrial area Zainakote.
On September 3, FSO Reyaz Ahmad Chowdary conducted a raid on the manufacturing unit of Shakti Sweets at Zainakote, which falls under his jurisdiction. The unit was subsequently sealed after it was established that the unit holder was using expired raw material.
But on September 7, SMC’s Joint Commissioner (admin) in his order (No. PS/Com/SMC/JCA/1180-81) asked Reyaz to file his response as SMC had received complaints from editor of a local newspaper of “wrongdoing during his raid on Shakti Sweets, Residency Road, Srinagar.”
“A complaint has been received that the raid has not been conducted as per norms and there are allegations of wrongdoing,” reads the order.
Reyaz in his response to the Joint Commissioner mentioned that FSO had not raided the unit in Residency Road as it didn’t fall under jurisdiction but at Zainakote unit which was sealed as per proper norms. The Health Officer had endorsed Reyaz’s statement.
“The undersigned (Health Officer) visited the unit (Zainakote) and found the unit properly sealed as per Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA), 2006. The FSO has acted as per Section 38 of FSSA and case under 52 and 56 is being launched against the offender before the adjudicating officer,” the Health Officer said in his report.
Documents also show that the owner of the unit in his undertaking has agreed that his unit situated at Zainakote was raided by FSO on September 3 in his presence and subsequently closed after FSO found expired food material in the unit and found it in unhygienic condition.
But the Joint Commissioner, SMC, without considering these reports, on September 28 issued suspension order of the FSO stating that “there are apprehensions of wrongdoings.”
“Apprehensions that the unit holder has been harassed by the FSO for entering into underhand deals have developed in common public,” said the suspension order.
It also says that the statements of FSO and proprietor of the unit “are different and inconsistent of facts giving rise to the apprehensions and undue coverage material to print media.”
“Therefore, pending detailed enquiry into the matter, FSO is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect and attached with Law Officer,” the order reads.
When the Joint Commissioner (admin), Fayaz Ahmad Bala was contacted, he said the FSO wasn’t suspended for “some other issue”. “There are other issues as well on which the FSO has been suspended,” Bala told Kashmir Reader.
Bala, however, refused to reveal the “other issues”.

Milk adulteration rampant in Guwahati, toned milk quality fine

GUWAHATI: Rampant adulteration of milk has been a cause of worry in Guwahati. Sources in the state public health laboratory (SPHL) said adulteration by vendors is rampant in the city, though quality of toned milk has been found up to the mark.
"The quality of toned milk available in city markets is fine. But during an analysis in our laboratory, it was found that the quality of milk sold in the open market by vendors is quite poor. The most common adulterant was found to be the addition of water. But we have also found that the fat content of milk is removed by milk vendors at various places in the city to make a variety of other products," said an official of SPHL.
He added that though adulteration of milk is not done by the dairy farmers at the source of production, the retail milk sellers are mostly involved in this act. "Enforcement officials should pay frequent visits and the municipal corporation should give license to milk vendors. In Guwahati, many unscrupulous traders have been selling milk without any permit from the civic body which is a cause of milk adulteration" the official added.
According to the official, milk and edible oil are the two commodities where adulteration is most common in Guwahati.
"We were surprised to find that even the branded companies of the country, which have a reputation for ensuring quality, are involved in mixing sesame oil in edible oil. The edible oil manufacturing companies are indulging in such kind of adulteration as a cost-cutting measure," the official said.
The authorities slapped a penalty on edible oil manufacturing companies that was found mixing sesame oil in edible oil in the city recently. An official of the food and civil supplies department said poor quality of edible oil used to prepare food in budget eateries has been a cause of concern.
"The edible oil manufacturing companies of the state are adulterating edible oil not in all of their factories. For instance, they will keep the quality of edible oil produced from one unit safe, but will mix it up for cost-cutting in other two industrial units to hoodwink the authorities concerned," the official said.

Food Safety and Standards Authority appoints Intertek for quality audits

Mumbai, Nov. 15:  Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has appointed Intertek for inspection and audit of Food Business Operators (FBOs).
Intertek is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. The Intertek Food laboratory in Gurgaon has been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing Laboratories.
The work will enable FBOs not only demonstrate compliance to requirements under the FSS Act and regulations, but also lead to issue of FSSAI licence and its renewal thereafter.
Intertek will help FBOs get a test done for their food samples at defined intervals every year. Intertek will also be training new food business operators towards Food Safety Management and Systems, along with verifying complaints filed with the FSSAI.

FSO NOTIFICATION

Slaughter at the altar of violation, ill-health

Check out this scene at a tiny mutton stall on Palace Guttahalli Main Road. The stall is attached with a “room” that is not more than 16 sq feet in area. Four alive goats are kept in the “room”. The butcher walks in and slaughters three, one after the other (halal style), in full sight of the surviving ones. The scene, if not just cruel, is also in gross violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughterhouses) Rules, 2001, and the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act, 1976.

Most mutton stalls located in the city are conducting slaughter within their premises in gross violation of the stipulated rules.
Dr Pervez Ahmed Piran, joint director, animal husbandry department, BBMP, said: “Slaughter of animals is allowed only in licensed slaughterhouses. If there are people conducting slaughter within their premises that are not fit to be declared as a slaughterhouse, then what they are doing is absolutely illegal.”
Piran said meat stalls are supposed to procure meat for retail sale from licensed slaughterhouses only; they cannot conduct slaughter within their premises.
He said even this can be allowed only after a pre-mortem (before the slaughter) and post-mortem (after slaughter) inspection is conducted by veterinarians attached to the BBMP or by authorised officials.
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughterhouse) Rules, 2001, states: “No animal shall be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse in sight of other animals”. While the rules pertain to a slaughterhouse, these two establishments on Palace-Guttahalli Main Road are, by definition and law, not even that. They were just meat stalls that are supposed to merely sell meat, not conduct slaughter.
DNA inquiry revealed that a majority of the meat stalls in the city, located mainly in areas of Chandra Layout, RT Nagar, Palace-Guttahalli Main Road, Mahommedan Block (in Malleswaram) and some congested residential areas in the city’s suburbs, resort to slaughtering goats/sheep within their premises without adhering to the rules specified for slaughter. More significantly, none of these are supposed to conduct slaughter.
The rules clearly state: “No person shall slaughter any animal within a municipal area except in a slaughterhouse recognised or licensed by the concerned authority empowered under the law.”
The KMC Act, 1976, section 367, which pertains to slaughter of animals for sale or food, too, states: “No person shall slaughter within the city except in a corporation or licensed slaughter-house any cattle, horse, sheep, goat or pig for sale or food or skin or cut up any carcass without or otherwise than in conformity with a licence from the Commissioner....”
‘Licence’ to kill
Interestingly, the owners of a number of meat stalls across the city that DNA visited, claimed to have licences to operate as slaughterhouses. Shockingly, some of these even employed boys in their mid-teens although the rules state that no one below the age of 18 can be employed in a slaughterhouse in any capacity.
Also, most meat stalls in the city cannot be allowed to operate as slaughterhouses because they do not conform to the norms set for slaughterhouses to be recognised as licensed ones.
One of the norms states that the slaughter halls in a slaughterhouse should provide separate sections of “adequate dimensions” sufficient for slaughter of individual animals to ensure that the animal to be slaughtered is not within the sight of other animals. None of the stalls that DNA visited conform to this, but still persist with slaughtering animals. According to BBMP, there are about 3,200 licensed meat stalls across the city and another 10% may be operating without any trade licence.
‘Our responsibility’
Suparna Ganguli, president, Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (Cupa), says “This practice should be stopped immediately. It is because the demand for meat is so high that such people exist. People should follow some standards and restrictions while consuming meat.” She feels meat-eaters should feel responsible in allowing such stalls to continue operating. “It is also from the health point of view. You wouldn’t want to eat meat of traumatised animals. There are stress hormones which are released into the bloodstreams of such animals, which can affect health if we consume such meat.”

FDA-NGO tie up for easy licencing

Pune: Now, food and drug store owners may no longer have to do the rounds of the Pune branch of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department to get licences and registrations. FDA Pune has tied up with an NGO to conduct a survey of city establishments, especially small-time business owners, and spread awareness as well as assist them in obtaining licences and registrations.

Under the new Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006, owners of hotels, restaurants, lounge bars, canteens, street food vendors, ice-cream parlours, tiffin service providers etc., into the business of providing food items and doing annual business of more than Rs12 lakh have to get an annual licence costing Rs2,000, while those with an annual turnover of less than Rs12 lakh need a registration of Rs100.

Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner, FDA Pune, said, “We found that most people are not reluctant to comply with rules. However, they find it uncomfortable to come here for paperwork. When this NGO approached us, we thought it was a good idea and have been getting good response. In Mumbai and Thane, they already have an online process for procuring licences, though it is yet to start in Pune. Until that happens, we think this doorstep service would be a great success.”

He said that the process of licensing and registrations under new FSSA, 2006, began in August 2011.

“Till October 31, 22,860 licences and 31,692 registrations were done in Pune division earning us a total revenue of over Rs13 crore,” said Kekare.

However Kekare estimated at least 80,000 small establishments were due for registrations. “We have covered most of the big businesses, and now our focus is on small vendors. Once they are registered, we would carry out their training on safety measures,” he said.

DINAMALAR

80 pc food samples fail purity test

Dehradun, November 12
Most of the samples of food items collected by the Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Studies ahead of Divali have found to be adulterated.

Secretary, Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Studies, Dr Brij Mohan Sharma said 80 per cent (205 out of 255) of the samples of food items ranging from sweets, oils and spices that were collected from various markets of the city had failed purity test.

Of the 25 milk samples, 21 were found to be adulterated with soda, refined oil, urea and dry milk. Twelve out of the 15 samples of mawa were adulterated with dry milk, refined oil and dalda. Seven out of the 10 samples of paneer were also found adulterated. Four out of the five samples of ghee had dalda as its content. In the case of sweets, six out of the 10 samples of laddo and sonpapdi and eight out of the 10 samples of milk barfi were found to be adulterated. The presence of refined oil and wheat flour was found in while milk barfi while laddo and soanpapdi samples had metanil yellow substance.

Thirty samples of mustard oil were found to be adulterated with argemone oil, mobil oil and mentanil yellow found in mustard oil samples.

Sharma said the samples were collected from the busy market areas of Dhamwala, Hathibarkala, Dharampur, Hanuman Chowk, Ajabpur, Karanpur, Panditwari, Doon Vihar, Prem Nagar, Rajpur and Raipur localities of Dehradun.

18 quintal petha seized

Dehradun, November 12
The Food Safety and Standard Authority, Uttarakhand, today seized petha that was found abandoned at the roadways bus workshop on the Haridwar road and took its samples.

On a tip-off that a bus carrying adulterated sweets has entered the ISBT, officials from the district office of the Food Safety and Standards rushed to the ISBT but were unable to find the bus.

“Thereafter, we went to the workshop looking for the bus but found 18 quintal petha abandoned at the gate. The sweet was then seized by the local administration. Later, a person came to claim the sweet and the sample was taken for testing,” said Anuj Thapliyal, desgnated officer (District).

The results of the tests will be available only after 20 days. The sample has been sent to Rudrapur.

Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standard Authority has already taken around 50-40 samples of milk and sweets to curb adulteration. All results are awaited.

ALL THE READERS - HAPPY DEEPAVALI !!!

HAPPY DEEPVALI !!!

Dinamalar

'Washing chicken before cooking can cause food poisoning'

Stop! Don't wash that chicken.

Washing chicken puts you at a higher risk of getting food poisoning, in addition to spreading bacteria around the kitchen, Australian researchers claim.

"Home cooks are probably following what their parents or grandparents did in the past by washing poultry, not to mention probably patting it dry with a tea towel," Food Safety Information Council Chairman, Dr Michael Eyles, said.

But washing poultry splashes these bacteria around the kitchen cross contaminating sinks, taps, your hands, utensils, chopping boards and foods that aren't going to be cooked like salads or desserts," Eyles said.

Researchers found that that six in ten Aussies are guilty of this "foodie crime", 'News.Com.Au' reported.

The Newspoll survey also found that the washing phenomenon isn't just restricted to chicken. 68 per cent of respondents wash turkey and 74 per cent wash duck before cooking.

Doctors believe this could be one of the reasons why notified cases of illness from Campylobacter and Salmonella - bacterias associated with food poisoning - have almost doubled over the last 20 years in Australia.

"But the zealousness of trying to rid chicken of bacteria isn't entirely unfounded.

According to the survey, 84 per cent of raw chicken carcasses tested positive to Campylobacter, and 22 per cent to Salmonella. This is similar to the findings of other surveys overseas, the report said.

"Cooking poultry right through kills these bacteria, making it safe" Eyles said.

To reduce the risk of getting sick from poultry, doctors advise people not to wash raw poultry before cooking, instead mop up any excess moisture with a paper towel.

People should always wash and dry hands and clean surfaces after contact with raw poultry and be careful not to let raw poultry juices contaminate other foods, especially things like desserts or salads, which won't be cooked again.

One should always use clean plates and utensils and wash and dry thoroughly between using for raw and cooked poultry.

Placing cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw poultry should be avoided, doctors said.

Cooking poultry meat to 75 degree Celsius and using a meat thermometer to check if juices run clear and are no longer pink rather than popping a piece in your mouth is always advised, the paper said.

Doctors said one should make sure frozen poultry is defrosted right through to the centre in the fridge or microwave in a sealed container before cooking.

Shimla civic body launches raid on sweet shops to check adulterated sweets

Many sweet shops raided in Shimla

Shimla: In order to check adulteration in sweets during festive season, Shimla Municipal Corporation authorities on Saturday raided a number of sweet shops located in Chhota Shimla, Kasumpti, Panthaghati, New Shimla and in new bus stand area and dumped about one quintal of sweets.
The SMC authorities have said that they would keep their drive during the entire festival season. During the festive season, adulterated sweets are sold in sweet shops.

When sweet temptations sour...

Dig into Diwali mithai at your own risk. Adulteration monitors have reneged on their promise of safety.

Jharkhand's lone food and drug testing laboratory in Namkum, Ranchi, which was revived only last month after two years, has once again shut its doors for three days in a row and there is little guarantee of it reopening before your festive munch.

So far, 22 random samples of sweets and milk products have been collected from Ranchi, and around a dozen of them from Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Bokaro. Apart from these, health teams in Deogarh, Sahebganj and a few other districts are also expected to return with more samples soon.

However, the problem is that this state of many woes, incidentally, has just one food analyst. The health department had recently retained J.K. Singh from Bihar on contract basis to run the jinxed Namkum laboratory. But, Singh is on leave these days because of a family tragedy.

As a result, the lab has shut its doors and all the samples collected from across Jharkhand to check harmful chemical adulteration are gathering dust with the health department having no back-up plan or proxy analyst to put the same to test.

According to the National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning Prevention in India, chemical colours are one of the culprits.

A lead-based, carcinogenic dye called metanil yellow is used to give sweets like laddu and some other food items like biryani their inviting colour instead of the permitted tartrazine, which is more expensive. Metanil yellow is cancer-causing and is known to affect the brain and kidneys.
Similarly, muric acid and lead nitrate in paneer or chhana and formalin in milk are toxic and affect the central nervous system. On a lesser scale, Sudan III ' a contaminant often used in gulabjamun ' can cause skin irritations.
Now, in the wake of poor planning and absence of specialists, quality control remains a distant dream and revellers can rely on sheer luck not to fall prey to such dangerous adulteration.

Ever since the food and drug testing laboratory debuted in Jharkhand three years ago, it has had more problems than benefits. After running by fits and starts for close to a year, the Rs 2-crore lab went dormant owing to manpower and equipment crunch, besides high electricity bills.

Increasing instances of adulteration, finally, prompted the state health mandarins to revive the lab in October under the Food Safety and Standards Act (2006), which was implemented in January this year. But, no concrete measures were taken to rope in more than one analyst.

State food controller T.P. Burnwal admitted that the lab had remained closed for the better half of a week. "Our food analyst lost his younger brother. He is on leave. It is a problem beyond anyone's control. We have collected samples, but they could not be tested," he conceded.

Exigencies never come announced. Why did the health department never think of a back-up plan?

"There is a dearth of qualified food analysts not only in Jharkhand, but across the country. We hired our analyst from Bihar, but there was a tragedy we can't help. In Odisha too, the food lab is lying closed. The Union government conducts examinations for food analysts every year, but the success rate is very poor. Only those who qualify this exam and have at least three years of working experience can be hired," Burnwal reasoned.

If the food controller himself is washing his hands of the mess, citizens perhaps have every right to vent their ire.

"Why should we pay for wrong policies and planning at any level? It is the job of the government to stop adulteration of food, not ours. Mithai is an integral part of all festivals, especially Diwali, but we may be risking our lives and that of our near and dear ones because the government is callous," rued Sudha Choudhary, a Ranchi homemaker.

Will you buy and gift coloured sweets this Diwali?

Beware; imported fruits may contain carcinogens

Banned Calcium Carbide used rampantly
Govt sitting on report of 20 units using cancerous ripening agent

Srinagar: Five months after a survey by municipal authorities revealed that a banned carcinogenic chemical was being used to artificially ripen imported fruits in Srinagar, no action has been taken to stop the deadly practice.
According to the survey conducted by a designated officer of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and submitted to the Divisional Commissioner - Kashmir in June this year, almost all the traders associated with imported fruit storage and distribution in Srinagar use the harmful and proven carcinogenic Calcium Carbide to ripen the imported fruits including Mango, Banana, Orange, Pineapple and others.
Calcium Carbide is known to have cancer-causing properties and if consumed for long it may cause neurological disorders, memory loss and cerebral edema.
“On the orders of Divisional Commissioner, we conducted the survey and we found that all the twenty fruit storage unit holders in Srinagar use Calcium Carbide to ripen the imported fruits early and the chemical is easily available in the market,” said a Food Safety Officer (FSO) of SMC who declined to be identified. “We submitted the report before Divisional Commissioner in June this year but so far no action has been taken.”
He said that these units existed in the summer capital in areas like Parimpora Fruit Mandi, Magarmal Bagh, Lal Chowk Bund, Hari Singh High Street, Old Bus Stand and others.
He also said that the practice of using Calcium Carbide is banned in India but in Kashmir it was being used freely.
“As per Food Safety and Standards Act which was introduced in Jammu and Kashmir last year the practice is banned and offenders are liable to face both imprisonment and fine. But so far we have only stopped issuing licenses to these traders and we don’t have orders to act against them or close these units down,” said the FSO.
Divisional Commissioner - Kashmir, Asgar Samoon declined to comment on this issue when contacted over phone.
Fruit traders while accepting its usage said that they use about 200 grams of Calcium Carbide to ripen 30 kilograms of fruits which is wrapped in a paper and placed in enclosed box. The chemical produces a gas which enhances early ripening.
“These imported fruits are (fast) perishable fruits and can’t be transported when ripe and the market for these fruits is so high that we can’t wait for their natural ripening. The Carbide can ripen the fruit in almost 24 hours,” said a trader wishing anonymity.
However, he said that there were few private ethylene gas chambers in Kashmir but it is expensive for them to ripen the fruit there.
“We have been using carbide for last several decades, if there are health problems arising out of it we are ready to stop such practice but government needs to provide avenues to traders to use alternatives. Installing ethylene gas chamber is expensive, but we are ready to install them if government provides us loan or give some subsidy,” said trader.
Deputy Director, Department of Horticulture Planning and Marketing, Kashmir division, Qazi Ajaz Ahmad said that usage of Calcium Carbide was not so rampant in Kashmir and if it is in practice somewhere then Food Safety department can take action.
“Our department is ready to provide any help to traders in this regard if they want to install their own ethylene gas chambers they can come to us and we can forward their cases to National Horticulture Board for subsidy loans,” said Qazi.

Watch out before you buy milk-based sweets

Think twice before you bite into a milk barfee this Diwali. It could be made of adulterated milk or milk substitutes which may do more harm than good.
"Since milk is in huge demand and in short supply thanks to the festivities, many of the local halwais (sweet shops) use milk powder and mix them with glucose, textile whitener and sulphuric acid to make milk cakes," said an official from the Delhi government requesting anonymity.

"Similarly, fermented and spurious unsold sweets, collected from sweets shops of the city, are mixed with chemicals and other substances and then fried to make sweets such as 'Doda barfi'," he explained.
The Delhi government is also conducting raids in various parts of the city to prevent milk adulteration.
"These raids are a part of our routine exercise to check any kind of adulteration in milk or milk products. This year, there haven't been many instances, but in the past, we have penalised small-time traders for unfair practices in sweet making," said Dr AK Walia, Delhi health minister.
"Last year, I bought two kilograms of ras malai for my family. When we opened it by the evening, the milk had split. It was such a mood spoiler, " said Nupur Satnam, who lives in Green Park.
Lajpat Nagar resident Kalayani Kamra had a similar experience with Khoya Barfi.
"I bought five kilograms for consumption at home from this big sweet shop in my area. I felt so embarrassed when a relative said that she could feel the taste of sugar crystals and milk powder granules in the barfee, and that I had not prepared the sweet well," she said.
"Next day, when I went to complain, the sweetmaker said that maintaining quality during festivities wasn't possible.
He, however, denied the use of powdered milk," she said.
To avoid stomach upsets and nausea, it best to eat home cooked sweets or just satiate your desire with a fistful of dry fruits or fresh fruits, which are nutritious, healthy and safe.