FSSAI trains FBOs from Gujarat in preparing, serving food hygienically

A coordination committee appointed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) – the country's apex food regulator – visited nine food markets in Ahmedabad recently, selected about 100 food joint owners and their employees and trained them at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) new West Zone office over a period of four days to prepare and serve food to their customers in a hygienic manner.
H G Koshia, commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) Gujarat, was a member of the team that imparted the training, as were Mahesh Soni, deputy secretary, investigation, FDCA Gujarat, and Atul Soni, public analyst, AMC. The trainees were vendors at the Vastrapur, Kankaria, Akhbarnagar, Khokhra, Manek Chowk and Law Garden markets, and non-vegetarian ones such as Jamalpur, Teen Darwaja and Juhapura.
“Our teams visited the markets, observed the way the vendors work and took their photographs before selecting the vendors for training. We chalked out a training programme and the trainees were given complementary kits comprising gloves, aprons and caps, which they were asked to wear while cooking food and serving it to the customers.
They were also asked to undergo regular health check-ups,” Koshia said.
He added that the vendors were given a period of two weeks to improve the manner in which they work, and strict action would be taken against them if they did not adhere to any of the instructions given to them during the training programme. Incidentally, some of the selected vendors operate from roadside stalls, where the safety of the food remains a cause for concern.
Koshia said the FSSAI officials were impressed by the efforts put in by the trainers for the last one year, adding that K Chandramouli, chairperson of the country's apex food regulator, visited Ahmedabad and urged other states to follow the Gujarat model. So far, study teams from Bihar and Haryana have visited the state and replicated the training programme in those states, and eight other states will follow suit shortly.

Dinakaran

Sale of artificially ripened mangoes still on

TRICHY: The sale of artificial ripened mangoes continues unabated at retail shops in and around Trichy, despite claims by officials that action has been taken against traders indulging in the harmful practice. Meanwhile, the food safety wing in its effort to check chemical-induced artificial ripening is planning to introduce new harmless methods to ripen the mangoes.
As mango season commences by May, consumers try out different varieties available in the market. Though, most traders in Trichy use banned carbide stones to ripen mangoes, many customers are unaware of the fact that they taste the wrong ones ripened through artificial methods. A recent raid at two godowns in Gandhi Market area exposed the extent of artificial ripening. On April 25, the food safety wing, acting on complaints, seized 2.6 tonnes of artificially ripened, mangoes sand several packets of carbide powders from two 'mandis' there. The seized mangoes and the carbide powder were later destroyed.
Eating artificially ripened mangoes could cause health complications like diarrhoea, indigestion and nervous problems, said Dr A Ramakrishnan, designated officer of the state food safety and drug administration department (food safety wing). "We are conducting regular raids at godowns and shops. After seizing the mangoes from two godowns, the practice has come down," said Dr Ramakrishnan.
But in reality, traders resort to the pernicious practice as no stringent action is taken against offenders. So, consumers have to be cautious while picking up their favourite summer fruit. The right mango could be spotted by its colour, taste and aroma. The colour of chemical-laden mangoes would be dark yellow and usual aroma will be missing. If one eats them, one could feel inflammation in the throat. Meanwhile, the food safety wing recently called for a meeting with godown owners in Trichy district to advise them not to use carbide stones. "We are deciding to introduce alternative harmless methods to ripen the mango. We will be consulting with the horticulture department officials to check the possibilities for introducing new methods," said Dr Ramakrishnan.
Commenting on this new initiative, a senior officer in the horticulture department in Trichy said "Ethrel (a growth regulator that promotes ripening) could be used to ripen mangoes at cold storages as well as in any room. But nothing has been decided on our part to provide instructions to the traders to use this method."
Most mangoes arriving in Trichy market are supplied from farms in Srirangam, Lalgudi, Thogaimalai, Manapparai, Vaiyampatti, Thottiyam and Musiri. Though, Imam Pasand is the unique variety of Trichy, Panganapalli, Malguava, Jangiri, Alphonso, Mayavaram Paathiri and Kaalapadi are also common. A few varieties come from Madurai, Salem and Dindigul districts.

After holding Kochiites to ransom, tankers are back

People have been asked to source water only from tankers painted sky blue with ‘drinking water’ displayed prominently on the body.

Water tanker lorry owners end daylong strike

Water tanker lorry owners have called off daylong strike but the residents associations are seething at the operators’ tactic of holding consumers to ransom to stop enforcement officials from hounding them.

The strike was called off after the government agreed to allow them to source water from treatment plants and other sources. It is learnt that samples might not be collected from tankers supplying water to construction sites. The decision was taken following talks convened here on Sunday by District Collector Sheikh Pareeth. There are allegations that a couple of treatment plants are sourcing highly polluted water from the Periyar and supplying it to tanker operators.

The apex body of residents associations in the district, EDRAAC, has denounced the “pressure tactics” adopted by operators whenever water safety and health officials are hot on their heels.

The apex body is working on ways to cut down dependence on private suppliers.

Its president Rangadasa Prabhu said the council was chalking out plans to encourage members of around 1,000 residents associations to install rainwater harvesting plants in households.

“This is to cut down on water supplied in tankers. People are often being ripped off by passing unfit water as drinking water,” he said.

He urged the district administration and health officials to stand up to the lorry operators, and assured them of the council’s support.

There is also a growing demand to set up desalination and treatment plants in areas facing water shortage since they will be less expensive than laying pipelines.

R. S. Satheeshkumar, Chief Food Safety Officer of Mobile Vigilance Squad in Ernakulam said the tankers were allowed to source water from various private treatment plants in the suburbs. But food safety officials would ensure that only quality water was supplied to houses and establishments, he said.

“We will continue to collect samples and test them. If a sample is found to be of inferior quality, the treatment plant will be shut. It will be allowed to open only after a transparent, joint inspection by a committee comprising our representatives, those from the District Medical Office and district administration,” he said.

Officials of the Motor Vehicles Department too are hacked off at the frequent threats of strike by lorry operators. “Even representatives of local bodies in whose areas tanker water is supplied pressure us to go slow against lorry owners,” said Ernakulam RTO B.J. Antony.

Consumer Protection Council has not met forages, says former member of forum

‘Consumer welfare a neglected area’

The concept of consumer protection by means of enacting laws through organisations designed to ensure the rights of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace is conspicuously missing in Krishna district. “Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation aimed at protecting the rights of consumers. It mainly deals with areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food,” former member of the District Consumer Forum, Vijayawada, P.V.V. Satyanarayana Murthy said.

Citing example of the new food safety law that has replaced the Food Adulteration Act, he said earlier the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation’s food inspectors used to collect over 400 samples which is not the case now. “An official appointed to coordinate for the entire Krishna district has apparently failed miserably in his job,” he said.

Pointing to the mushrooming push carts loaded with junk food along the main roads, he said the fact that most of these vendors park their push carts along open drains where the food stuff is exposed to unhygienic surroundings.“Consumer welfare has always been a neglected area. The District Supply Officer, who is also the nodal officer for consumer protection, is evidently disinterested in consumer protection,” said Mr. Murthy.

Citing a series of issues where the hapless consumer has been at the receiving end of the ‘official apathy’, he said supply of contaminated water by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) was a perennial problem. Since it directly affects public welfare, authorities at the helm of affairs in the Consumer Forum must do the needful, he said.

The other ‘menaces’ listed out by him that need immediate attention include unregistered chit business in every nook and cranny of the city, the real estate business where many a time, the unsuspecting consumer walks into the trap laid by the developer or builder, unscrupulous jewellery merchants who do not issue proper bills and resort to other unfair means to make profits, hospital managements ‘looting’ people and insurance firms by producing inflated figures to the insurance companies.

“The Consumer Protection Council which is supposed to meet twice a year, has not met for ages,” he said, urging the district Collector, who is the chairman of the council, to look into the above mentioned issues.

China to punish stars promoting unsafe food

Beijing, May 5 (IANS) Celebrities in China will be punished for advertising unsafe food products in accordance with laws, a judicial official has said.
The move appears aimed at combating increasing number of food scandals in the country.
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) spokesperson has stated the celebrities will also be prosecuted for criminal liability for producing and spreading deceptive advertising with the identity of advertising managers or releasers, reported China Daily.
The SPC and the Supreme People's Procuratorate recently issued interpretations that specify crimes related to food safety and set standards for the punishment for these crimes.

Risk on a platter

A recent research on the safety of GM (genetically modified) foods has exposed the folly of limiting earlier researches to just 90 days as it found that many of the serious health problems appear after 90 days. This research was conducted by a team led by Gilles-Eric Seralini, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Caen in France.

Before this, most research on rats regarding safety of GM foods had been conducted for only 90 days. The need for longer-duration research was widely felt. The significance of Seralini’s research was that it was conducted over a period of two years. The results of this research, published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, have shown that among the rats fed on GM food (maize), female rats died two to three times more compared to female rats not fed GM food (controls). Similarly health problems relating to liver, kidney and tumours were much more severe in female rats fed on GM crop compared to controls. Male rats fed on GM food also had much higher incidence of tumours.

It is believed that the short duration of observation was due to pressure of corporate interests.

Erik Millstone, Professor of Science Policy at the University of Sussex, has commented, “The fundamental problem of the way in which GM foods have been approved is that they haven’t really been tested properly at all. All that has happened is something which I would characterise as an exercise in wishful thinking.”

Despite the efforts by big GM corporations to direct research along lines convenient to them, warnings relating to serious health hazards of GM crops and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have the support of some of the world’s most eminent and well-qualified independent scientists and experts in the field.

The Independent Science Panel, which consists of eminent scientists from many countries covering a wide range of relevant disciplines, reviewed the evidence on the hazards of GMOs. This review concluded that many GM crops contain gene products known to be harmful. For example, the Bt proteins that kill pests include potent immunogens and allergens. Food crops are increasingly being engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, drugs and vaccines in the open environment, exposing people to the danger of inappropriate medication and their harmful side effects.

Herbicides tolerant GM crops are tied to the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium. These have been linked to spontaneous abortions, birth defects and other serious health problems for human beings, animals and soil-organisms. GM varieties are unstable, with the potential to create new viruses and bacteria that cause diseases, and to disrupt gene function in animal and human cells.

More recently, 17 distinguished scientists from Europe, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister of India: “GM transformation can produce novel biochemical processes that are unpredictable and for which there is no natural history to assume are safe.

Of greatest concern is that studies show negative health effects with GM crops that have already been approved and which have been grown commercially for 10-13 years. This highlights the inadequacy of the original criteria and set of data on the basis of which marketing approval was and is still being granted.”

In the more specific context of Bt brinjal, this letter said, “Bt toxin is a proven potent immunogen raising justifiable concerns that it can give rise to allergic reactions. Animals fed diets containing Bt corn have shown signs of direct toxicity. Independent re-evaluation of Monsanto’s own research on their Bt corn crops shows negative health effects even in short-term (90-day) animal feeding studies.”

The Mahyco-Monsanto dossier of the raw experimental data of animal feeding studies with Bt brinjal shows highly statistically significant negative signs of toxicity on the functioning of multiple organ systems such as liver, kidney, blood and pancreas in all animals tested (especially rats, rabbits and goats). It is very important to note that these adverse effects were observed after only at most, a 90-day feeding time, which raises serious concerns about the safety of consuming this product over an entire lifetime. Long-term (at least two-year) animal feeding studies were not done and are stated as not required by the apex regulator, contrary to the science, which requires these studies to detect chronic slow-onset toxicity and cancer.

Rampant demands for bribes puts brakes on India's retail growth

Hong-Kong entrepreneur Ramesh Tainwala spent 18 months operating branded clothing retail stores in India before deciding it was impossible to succeed without paying bribes.
Tainwala, a 55-year-old expatriate Indian, owns Planet Retail, which held the India franchise rights for US fashion labels Guess and Nautica as well as UK retailers Next and Debenhams. He sold the brands last September to various Indian businesses.
"Right now, it's not possible to do business in India without greasing palms, without paying bribes," said Tainwala, who is also luggage maker Samsonite's president for Asia Pacific and West Asia. Tainwala said he himself refused to pay bribes to licensing officials, though that could not be independently confirmed.
India is the next great frontier for global retailers, a $500 billion market growing at 20% a year. For now, small shops dominate the sector. Giants from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to IKEA AB have struggled merely for the right to enter, which they finally won last year.
But a daunting array of permits - more than 40 are required for a typical supermarket selling a range of products - force retailers to pay so-called "speed money" through middlemen or local partners to set up shop.
In interviews with middlemen and several retailers, it was found that the official cost for key licenses is typically accompanied by significant expenses in the form of bribes. The added cost erodes profitability in an industry where margins tend to be razor-thin. It also creates a risk for companies by making them complicit in activity that, while commonplace in India and other emerging markets, is nonetheless illegal.
That creates a handicap for foreign operators such as US-based Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, and Britain's Tesco Plc  and Marks and Spencer Plc, which must comply with anti-bribery laws in their home countries even while operating abroad.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson said the company is strengthening its compliance programs, part of a global compliance review that has cost more than $35 million over the last 18 months. IKEA, which is awaiting final approval to enter India, has started assessing the market, a spokeswoman said, adding the group has "zero tolerance" for corruption in any form.

The graph shows how vacancy rates in the country are set to rise. Reuters

"Harassed for money"
Retail is especially prone to bribery because stores sell multiple types of merchandise, which in India increases the number of licenses and permits needed - a legacy of the so-called "Licence Raj" that was largely dismantled during the country's early 1990s economic reforms.
The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business survey ranks India 173rd out of 185 countries when it comes to starting a business, behind Malawi, Niger, Sudan and Guatemala. Transparency International in 2012 ranked it 94th out of 174 countries on its corruption table - a fall from 72nd five years earlier.
"Even for a simple thing like putting up signage in front of your store you are harassed for money," said Tainwala. "There are many bodies regulating that and the permits needed to set up one shop are baffling."
The License Raj, he said, substantially increases costs in a market where sluggish consumer demand, high rentals and a depreciating currency for over a year have made it hard for retailers like him to operate profitably. He plans to return when there is more order in the way business is done.

The growth of India's retail industry is stifled by the amount one has to pay for licenses while setting up store. Reuters

Ais Kumar, head of the western region for the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSA), acknowledged that graft exists across government ranks and departments. Many government departments also have staff shortages that cause delays.
"These licenses are required for compliance and safety and not because the government wants to delay or complicate things for anyone. It's the law of the land and it must be followed," he said, adding the government is striving to put licensing systems online to streamline the process and make it more transparent. Checks with three retailers, however, showed the online forms still need to be physically delivered to the respective licensing departments.
Under the table
Permits needed to open a store range from the mundane, such as a trade license, to the petty: lighted shelves require a separate permit, and even a shop window needs a license.
Want to play music in the store? That requires a license. So does selling cosmetics or providing valet parking.
A convenience store that sells basics such as milk, vegetables, cereal, bread, eggs, meat and baby food will require a minimum of 29 licenses from nearly 20 different authorities, according to a list of licenses compiled by the Retailers Association of India and obtained by Reuters.

The pie charts show how the India's retail sector is divided. Reuters

Those include a food license; a license for sale, storage and distribution; a food-handler's certificate; a license for milk products and another for frozen non-vegetarian food. All those licenses comes from the state-level FSSA, but require separate applications.
But the FSSA does not give permission for operating freezers and chillers. That requires a separate license from a municipal body. Selling baby food requires a permit from a state Controller of Food and Supply. The state Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee must give permission to sell vegetables; the central Directorate of Marketing and Inspection gives permission to grade and sort those vegetables; the Controller of Rationing grants licenses for selling essential commodities like rice.
All those licenses need to be renewed, sometimes annually.
The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection declined comment, while the other departments were not available.
Most of the licenses required can either be done away with completely or combined into one, said Lalit Agarwal, chairman of V-Mart Retail. "Every day, you have new licenses added to the list, but nothing ever gets deleted."
It's not just the red tape of getting those licenses, it's also the under-the-table money that retailers typically have to pay on top of the official fees.
In Bandra, a high-end suburb of Mumbai, a state-issued trade license for a 10,000-square-foot (930 square-meter) store - very large by Indian standards - officially costs Rs. 100,000. But there is an "additional charge" of Rs. 1.25 million, according to documents obtained by Reuters from the Employee State Insurance, Provident Fund and Industrial Law Practitioners Association of India (EPILPA), which assist retailers in obtaining permits.
EPILPA said their members, who are consultants, collect the "speed money" from retailers and pass it on to the government officials. They act as middlemen who do not take a cut and hence should not be held responsible for the bribes being paid.

How does India compare to other couthries as a target for retailers? Reuters

"In India, you don't need to ask retailers if you need to pay bribes," said Punit Agarwal, CEO of Promart, a mid-sized multi-brand clothing retailer. "It's known. Here you have a price tag for everything."
He said his company hires middlemen and pays their fees because he knows bribes have to be paid, but does not want his company to get directly involved.
Speed merchantsMiddlemen sell speed. They provide access to government officers who can sign off on permits as soon as they are paid. The middleman negotiates the bribes, thus keeping company officials from being directly involved.
Take the case of British footwear retailer Clarks. It entered India through a partnership with Future Group, which runs the country's largest listed retail entity, Future Retail. Clarks has hired consultants and, according to one of them, is negotiating with municipal officials for a 365-day license that would allow it to open three of its five stores in Mumbai every day of the year.
For each of the three stores, the company was asked to pay Rs. 60,000 per officer for the eight officers involved in its case - a total of Rs. 500,000 per store, said Oovesh Sarabhai, of Atlas AVA Consultants, who is working with Clarks to secure the licenses. The official fee is about Rs. 6,000 per store, he said.
The government officials involved in issuing the license declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Future and Clarks declined to comment.
A senior Clarks official, who declined to be identified, confirmed the company had applied for a 365-day license for the three Mumbai stores in January 2012 and received notifications from the government related to this, but has so far failed to receive the licenses. "It's stuck because of the bureaucracy," the official said.
No high-level official dealing with licenses ever accepts a bribe directly, said Raichand Jiwani, owner of Emkay Consultancy Services, who is a member of EPILPA and helps several top Indian retailers to procure licenses. Officials use subordinates to collect the money and only from trusted people. The payment is then shared by junior and senior officers and up the bureaucratic chain.
"The nexus runs far deeper than just a few corrupt officials at the local level," said Jiwani, noting that if a retailer approaches an official directly he will not be told about the bribe, but his papers will take months to be approved.
Is India worth it?
While India holds vast promise for retailers, with its growing spending power and rising middle class, most local supermarket chains lose money due to low prices, poor supply chains and high rents. Wal-Mart has said it aims to turn a profit in 10 years, something it hasn't managed in China after 12 years.
Tainwala thinks India offers miniscule retail returns for the massive investment of time and energy that is needed. Fast expansion requires paying speed money, he said.
Tainwala recalls he was asked to pay either a Rs. 22,000 monthly fee to have signage outside his store in Mumbai's plush Atria mall, or a Rs. 2,000 bribe every month to circumvent it. He said he chose to pack up rather than bribe the municipal officials needed to get his signs approved.
"My people said we have to close the stores, and we decided to do that," he said. "You get excited about the Indian middle class but then you wonder - is it really worth it?"

Raid hits Cuttack eateries

Health squad officials seize stale food from Dama Maharaj shop at Badambadi in Cuttack on Saturday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das Cuttack, May 4: The health wing of Cuttack Municipal Corporation today served a closure notice on a reputed restaurant and sweets manufacturer unit for violating guidelines prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, rules 2011. The health squad officials, who conducted raids on five eateries today, sealed Dama Maharaj shop for stocking stale food items at Badambadi and its owner has been asked to comply within 15 days to resume operation of the shop. The civic body’s health wing seized over two quintals of sweets, including khowa and other food items, stacked inside the deep freezer. No sanitation was maintained inside the shop’s kitchen. “We had conducted the raid as part of our routine enforcement. However, we had specific complaints that many leading sweets selling shops and other hotels and restaurants were serving stale food to the customers,” said P.K. Pradhan, city health officer. He said they conducted the raids keeping in view the various health problems people usually suffer after consuming food from unhygienic roadside eateries. The corporation has issued food licence to over 235 eateries. “We have asked the restaurants to maintain sanitation and ensure that no stale food is served to the people. We are contemplating stern action against violators,” Pradhan said. The corporation officials said over one quintal of stale food that was also seized from various small hotels and roadside eateries were also destroyed today. The drive is likely to continue for another 15 days.

Dinamalar

Artificial fruit ripening centre opened

New artificial fruit ripening centre in Anantapur on Saturday

An artificial ripening centre, first of its kind in the district, which adheres to international standards of artificial ripening of mango and other fruits, was inaugurated at the Anantapur market yard on Saturday by the District Revenue Officer (DRO) Sudarshan Reddy.

The artificial ripening centre, constructed at a cost of over Rs. 60 lakh, is said to be a boon both for the mango farmers of the district as well as the consumers as mangoes can be ripened at around a rupee per fruit.

Farmers can easily afford this whereas the consumers get to consume fresh ripened fruits as against the usually available chemically contaminated ones.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sudarshan Reddy said that mangoes ripened at the centre using ethylene gas would prove to be beneficial for all, while enhancing the reputation of the district as a key player in the horticulture market in the State and the country.

He reminded all that Anantapur district was the major producer of many fruits like that of sweet lime and musk melon besides sapota and others that are bought directly by traders from across the countryat the market yard in Anantapur.

“Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in its order dated May 2010, permits the use of only ethylene gas for ripening of fruits,” said V.K. Pradeep Reddy, president of the Horticulturists’ Welfare Mutually Aided Co-operative Society (MACS) Limited.

The Government of India banned the use of calcium carbide as per the rules set out in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

The use of calcium carbide attaches to the fruits, thus ripened by it, carcinogenic chemicals like arsenic hydride and phosphorous hydride, Mr. Pradeep said.

Notwithstanding all this, the biggest advantage from the centre stands to be derived by the farmers whose fruits can now be ripened cheaply while delivering an additional benefit of being able to sell the produce directly at the market yard, where the ripening centre has been set up.

Blanket ban alone can stop gutkha smuggling: FDA

NAGPUR: Though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized gutkha worth 16 crore despite the state government imposing a ban on its sale and purchase, FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade is seeing this as an achievement and also a failure to stop the interstate smuggling of the contraband. 
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Zagade said he had written to the FDA in other states but it was impossible to control the entry of gutkha into Maharashtra from the states like Uttar Pradesh where there is no ban on its manufacturing. "Smuggling would continue unless there is a blanket ban on manufacturing all over the country. Implementing the ban fully is a difficult task. Gutkha continues to reach the state by road and rail," he said. 
Zagade admitted that implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act was not an easy job with a meagre staff of about 200 personnel and about 20 lakh food operators. But he patted his back as the FDA registered almost 3.75 lakh operators in the state. "We are trying our best to put the food safety and management system under the new act in place to ensure the right to safe food to consumers. We are taking action against misleading advertisements as well," he said.
Talking about the drugs front, Zagade said the administration was coming down heavily on medical shops being run without pharmacists and also implementing the drug price control order effectively. He listed the recent action against Johnson and Johnson and its affiliated companies for selling ethylene oxide sterilized powder. 
Zagade said the new food and drug testing laboratory near Manewada would be ready in two months. FDA is also looking for two acre land for its around 850 crore project for combined facility of laboratory and office.

Health risks in roadside chill pill

RANCHI: As the heat gets unbearable, Ranchiites put health concerns to rest and flock to roadside refreshment stalls to quench their thirst.

With mercury levels rising, several fruit juice and local ice-cream stalls have sprung up at several points in the city. From college students, office-goers to daily wage earners, people of all ages can be seen queuing up near roadside vendors, especially during the afternoon. Manisha Kumari, a college student, said, "When college is over and I am on my way back home, I always stop by the refreshment stalls either to drink fruit juice or have an ice cream. It reenergizes me and prevents heat stroke too."

These roadside vendors provide a variety of choices to their customers. Wood apple juice and sattu drink are popular. Arvind Goyel, a salesman ,said, "I live alone here and usually do not get time to prepare breakfast before I leave for work. In such a situation, drinking sattu is the best alternative."

However, popularity of these stalls does not rule out the fact that these fruit drinks are unhygienic. Flies can be seen swarming around these stalls as most of them are situated near drains for convenience of vendors to dispose waste. The vendors do not wash their utensils or machines properly which only aggravate possibilities water-bourne diseases.

On being questioned about the hygiene of the lemon juice he sells, Chhotu Kumar, a vendor, said, "There is a tap nearby from which all the local people drink water. I get water from the same place. It is hygienic."

Despite the claims of these vendors, there have been reports of people falling ill after drinking these roadside drinks. Mahesh Prasad, who is suffering from food poisoning said, "As fruits are good for health, I used to drink fruit juice from a roadside vendor near my office. But I fell ill recently and my doctor said I had developed infection from regularly drinking roadside fruit juices."

The food safety department is conducting raids and collecting samples from these roadside stalls. Additional chief medical officer, Dr N N Sengupta, who is heading the raids said, "We are collecting samples from various stalls and sending them for tests. Once the results are out, those selling unhygienic fruit drinks will be asked to shut down. We are conducting raids even when we are getting complaints from public."

Dinakaran

TNFS Dept. - Nagai District & Other District News

 

TNFS Dept. - Dharmapuri District News

TNFS Dept. - Salem District News

Health officials inspect ice manufacturing units

Consuming sugarcane juice and fruit juice from roadside vendors may be dangerous as the industrial ice cubes mixed with these juices are said to be prepared in an unhygienic way.
This may cause diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.
Led by T. Anuradha, District Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, Salem, the health team inspected six ice manufacturing units in the district on Friday and found contaminated water, unhygienic ice slabs and ammonium gas being used to prepare the bars.
The bars are broken and used for mixing with fruit juices, sugarcane and lassi that may cause viral fever and gastro-intestinal diseases.
Though the manufacturer said that the ice bars were used for refrigerating fish and other products, health officials found road side vendors buying in large numbers to mix with juices.
As mercury hovers around 40 degree Celsius in the district, consumers prefer to add more ice cubes to the juices for a chill.
But roadside shops and shops functioning without valid license use these ice cubs, said the health official. These cubes are the source of danger, the official said.
Ms. Anuradha told The Hindu that the manufacturers were warned against the use of such ice.
Samples have been taken to be sent to laboratory in Chennai.
After obtaining the results, notices would be served on such ice manufacturers under The Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, she said.

Ice-makers call off plant lockdown

The Kerala State Ice Manufacturers’ Association has called off its two-day old lockdown of ice plants that began on Thursday protesting against food safety authorities’ order of closure of 15 ice plants in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.

But for the 15 ordered to be closed, all the ice plants—which mainly served fishing industry—reopened late Friday afternoon. This followed the association’s talks with Health Minister V.S. Shivkumar and Joint Food Safety Commissioner K. Anilkumar.

Food safety officials had found traces of formalin and ammonia in samples taken from 13 of the 15, and traces of ammonia in the other two. Officials said a part of the ice blocks found their way to cool-drink shops and fruit-juice vendors, thus posing huge health risks. The ice blocks were mainly used to increase the shelf life of fish, thus putting the health of a majority of Keralites at risk.

Had the strike continued, the shortage of ice would have deeply hurt the fishing industry as ice is the main preservative used in the industry. It would also have hurt seafood exports.

K. Uthaman, general secretary of the association, said that they were calling off the strike on the assurance that ice plants would not be ‘arbitrarily’ force-closed without giving them time to take corrective steps.

The association had agreed that all the plants would secure licence from the Food Safety Authority and that they would abide by the norms stipulated by the Food Safety and Standards Act.

The Joint Commissioner of Food Safety, K. Anil Kumar, said the samples taken from the ice plants were sent to the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, for tests. The closed plants would only be allowed to reopen after getting the test results and the plants took corrective steps.

Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar, who is currently away at Mussorie, told The Hindu that all the ice plants in the State would be constantly under the authorities’ scanner.

Mr. Prabhakar rejected ice makers’ contention that ice was not a food item and that it did not warrant the safety standards stipulated for food stuff.

Since ice was being used as a preservative of fish, which the majority of Keralites ate, there was no question of lowering the norms for the plants, he said.

File Compliance Report on Gutkha Ban: SC to States

Sending a stern message to states and Union Territories, the Supreme Court today warned them to file compliance report on gutkha ban in their areas within six weeks or face its contempt proceedings.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and Ranjana Desai pulled up the governments for their failure to file report within the stipulated time and said they will have to face consequences if they do not comply with its order within six weeks.

"We are giving clear warning to the governments. We would initiate suo motu contempt proceedings against them if they fail to file report on compliance of banning gutkha products in their states. Those who do not file report shall do at their own peril," the bench said.

The bench had on April 3, had directed 23 states and 5 UTs, which have banned sale and manufacture of gutkha products, to file compliance reports on the implementation of the ban. It had also sought response from other states as why they have not banned such products.

Granting last opportunity to state to file their report, the bench said, "We would make state counsel stand in the court for entire day if they fail to comply with our order."

Gutkha, zarda, pan masala, bajjar and such other toxic and addictive forms of chewing tobacco are mandated to be banned by various states, as per Rules under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations of 2011, made under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

The apex court was hearing a petition seeking ban on tobacco product in the country and preventing use of plastic sachet for any product.

China busts ring selling rat meat as mutton

BEIJING: Chinese police have broken a crime ring that passed off more than $1 million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton, authorities said, in a food safety crackdown that coincides with a bird flu outbreak and other environmental pressures.
Authorities have arrested 904 suspects since the end of January for selling and producing fake or tainted meat products, the ministry of public security said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday. During the crackdown, police discovered one suspect surnamed Wei who had used additives to spice up and sell rat, fox and mink meat at markets in Shanghai and Jiangsu province.
Police arrested 63 suspects connected to the crime ring in a case valued at more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in sales since 2009. Despite persistent efforts by police, "food safety crimes are still prominent, and new situations are emerging with new characteristics", the ministry's statement said, citing "responsible officials". Police confiscated over 20,000 tonnes of fake meat products after breaking up illegal food plants during the nationwide operation, the ministry said.

FSSAI - PAMPHLET FOR REGISTRATION & LICENSE

Railways Take Measures to Ensure Supply of Hygienic Food in Trains

It is a continuous endeavour by the Indian Railways to provide good quality hygienic food to Railway passengers. Accordingly, a New Catering Policy, 2010 has been introduced on 21.7.2010 with a mandate for effective quality assurance programme, wherein ISO-22000 (International Organization for Standardization) standards are to be progressively implemented for major contracts/units. Supervision and monitoring have been strengthened through a mechanism put in place by deploying railway personnel, who check quality and hygiene and take corrective action in a time-bound manner. Catering Monitoring Cells have been set up at Zonal and Divisional level for daily monitoring of the catering activities. Further, on the same pattern, a centralized Catering Complaint Monitoring Cell has been set up in Board’s office having a toll free number 1800-111-321 for prompt redressal of the passenger grievances related to the catering activates for real time assistance to travelling public.

A total number of 405 food samples were picked up for sample tests from Rajdhani Express trains, including Guwahati and Dibrugarh bound trains in the year 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. Appropriate action under prevention of Food Adulteration Acct/food Safety and Standard Act have been initiated for any food sample found unfit. Besides this departmental action like imposition of fine, warning etc. have also been undertaken.

All the passenger amenity items fitted in the coaches of Indian Railways, including those of Rajdhani Express trains, are monitored during the various maintenance schedules and the deficiencies found, if any, are rectified. On Board Housekeeping Services (OBHS) for cleaning attention on run has also been prescribed for all the Rajdhani Express trains. Complaints/references received from the passengers regarding passenger amenities in the coaches are acted upon appropriately by Indian Railways.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

China: Police bust million-dollar rat meat ring

Beijing: Chinese police have broken a crime ring that passed off more than $1 million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton, authorities said, in a food safety crackdown that coincides with a bird flu outbreak and other environmental pressures. Authorities have arrested 904 suspects since the end of January for selling and producing fake or tainted meat products, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.

During the crackdown, police discovered one suspect surnamed Wei who had used additives to spice up and sell rat, fox and mink meat at markets in Shanghai and Jiangsu province. Police arrested 63 suspects connected to the crime ring in a case valued at more than 10 million yuan in sales since 2009.

Despite persistent efforts by police, "food safety crimes are still prominent, and new situations are emerging with new characteristics", the ministry's statement said, citing "responsible officials". Police confiscated more than 20,000 tonnes of fake or inferior meat products after breaking up illegal food plants during the nationwide operation, the ministry said.

Food safety and environmental pollution are chronic problems in China and public anxiety over cases of fake or toxic food often spreads quickly. In April, many consumers lost their appetite for poultry as an outbreak of the H7N9 bird flu virus spread in China.

Poison in disguise

Fake cinnamon floods Indian market as authorities drag feet over regulating its import and sale

Information technology professional John Alexander, 58, had diabetes for 15 years. About two years ago, he shifted to a widely accepted Ayurvediac therapy of consuming cinnamon to control his blood sugar levels. In the course of time he developed an abnormal liver. Doctors could not figure out the cause of his disease as his diet and lifestyle did not warrant such problem. His wife, Mary, looked up for information on the Internet and realised that the cinnamon Alexander was consuming could be the culprit. There were reports saying a harmful species of the spice was being sold in the name of cinnamon. “John stopped taking cinnamon the day we read the articles. In three-four months his liver tests showed substantial improvement,” Mary says.
Cinnamon is a must spice in an Indian kitchen, be it for preparing the famous Hyderabadi biryani and desserts or spicy curries. It is also an important ingredient in the Ayurvedic medicines. Apart from lowering blood sugar levels, cinnamon can help reduce cholesterol levels significantly, fight nausea and prevent arthritis.
However, what is primarily available in the Indian market in the name of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is its alter ego—cassia or Cinaamomum cassia. This fake cinnamon contains a chemical, coumarin, which is used for making rat poison, according to the German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment. Coumarin can damage liver and kidneys in humans even if taken in relatively small doses. The daily tolerable intake of coumarin is 0.1 mg per kg of body weight and it is estimated that one kilogram of cassia powder contains 2.1 to 4.4 g of coumarin, says the institute. In September 2012, it issued a note, advising people to stop using casssia.
 
Source: Food Safety and Security Authority of India
Traditionally both cinnamon and cassia have been used worldwide as spices and for manufacturing perfumes and cosmetics. But with studies showing health problems caused by cassia, several countries have imposed restrictions on its imports. So far, most European countries have banned the use of cassia in food items, while countries like the US, Germany and the UK import it only for making rodent poison.
India, the world’s leading spice producer, exporter and consumer, is yet to act against cassia despite several studies documenting its harmful effects. In 2010, the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, found that coumarin can damage liver and kidneys. “Oil extracted from cassia leaf also contains 8 per cent of coumarin. It can cause intestinal ulcer if consumed in large quantities,” says M Ananaraj, director of the Indian Institute for Spices Research in Kozhikode, Kerala. Cinnamon contains negligible amount (0.004 per cent) of coumarin, he adds.
Absence of regulatory mechanisms also means the poisonous alter ego of cinnamon continues to flood the Indian market. Though they do not look identical, they have similar smell and flavour due to the presence of chemical cinnamaldehyde. Consumers, and even retailers, unaware of the fraud get easily duped. “Most people do not know what a true cinnamon looks or smells like,” says a spice grower from Cochin who does not wish to be named. “People prefer cassia as its smell and taste is sharper than cinnamon. My wife insists on buying cassia saying it gives more fragrance to food,” he adds.

Just words FEBRUARY 1-2, 2007 Cinnamon farmers at the National Seminar on Organic Spices and Aromatic Crops in Calicut, Kerala, highlight that the imports of cheap cassia is harming their interests February 26, 2007 A planter from Kerala, Leonard John, writes to Spices Board, asking for intervention. The board replies that India will face shortage of cinnamon if cassia import is banned April 4, 2008 Spices Board writes to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), raising concerns about health risks of cassia and asking DGFT to list the spice as restricted item for import March 4, 2011 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issues a letter to ports, state governments and food testing laboratories to analyse samples of cinnamon and cassia and see to it that cassia is not sold as cinnamon June 10, 2011 The United Planters' Association of Southern India writes to DGFT and the Chief Public Information Officer of the commerce ministry to strictly monitor and import consignments of cassia for conformity of FSSAI standards and ensure that cassia is not sold in Indian markets as cinnamon. August 3, 2012 FSSAI brings out a manual with easy methods of checking adulterants in food at home. The manual recognises cassia bark as adulterant March 22, 2013 In an RTI reply FSSAI informs that the issue of health effects of cassia and coumarin has been referred to a scientific panel

Traders are cashing in on this ignorance as well as the low price of cassia.
The import cost of a kilogram of cassia is Rs 35, while that of true cinnamon is Rs 200. Retailers sell it anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 600 a kg. In a letter to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), S Kannan, director (marketing) of Spices Board wrote, “Since the price of cassia is far below that of cinnamon, traders misuse and encash the opportunity for their benefit by misdeclaration of the product.”
Little wonder that traders import more cassia than cinnamon.
P S Sreekantan Thampi, deputy director (publicity) of Spices Board, says, the average production of cinnamon in India is 80 to 100 tonnes per annum. This is miniscule compared to the annual demand of 12,000 tonnes. To meet this growing demand as well as for re-exporting cinnamon after value addition, India imports about 10,000 tonnes of cassia and 200 tonnes of cinnamon a year, says Thampi. Cassia is imported from China, Indonesia and Vietnam, while cinnamon is mostly imported from Sri Lanka as Ceylon cinnamon.
Setback for cinnamon growers
Rampant substitution of cassia for cinnamon has left little demand for the original spice. Its impact is evident in Kerala’s Kannur and Malapuram districts, the biggest producers of cinnamon in the country. Over the past decade, the area under cinnamon has reduced from 400 hectares (ha) to 280 ha in Kannur. In Malapuram, the area has reduced from 80 ha to just 4 ha.
Leonard John, a cinnamon grower in Kerala, says production of cinnamon in the country can be increased by banning the import of cheap cassia. John and a group of cinnamon growers and activists in Kerala have been demanding the ban since 2007. They have written to various government authorities, including the Union Ministry of Commerce, Spices Board and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In a letter to Spices Board, the growers have questioned the import figures of cassia cited by the board. A trader in Kanpur alone imports 9,500 tonnes of cassia. It is impossible that only 10,000 tonnes of cassis enters the country annually, notes the letter.
Government drags feet
Following petitions by John and his fellow cinnamon growers, several government agencies have acknowledged the health risks of cassia, but the government is dragging feet over regulating its sale and imports (see ‘Just words’).
In 2008 the Spice Board wrote to DGFT, asking it to list cassia as restricted item for import. “We have also informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for taking necessary action,” says Thampi.
FSSAI has acknowledged that cinnamon and cassia are two different plants and classifies cassia an an adulterant. Its website now mentions the difference between cassia and cinnamon. In 2011, it wrote to all food and health authorities to ensure that cassia is not sold as cinnamon. But the sale of cassia as cinnamon continues unabated.
On February 2, John filed queries to FSSAI under RTI, asking the reasons for the delay in taking action against sale of cassia. All that FSSAI said in its reply, dated March 22, was that the authority is in the process of uploading the harmful effects of cassia and that the issue has been referred to scientific panel for analysis of coumarin’s health impacts.
Talking to Down To Earth, a senior official associated with the Spices Board said regulation of cassia should not be a matter of grave concern as the quantity consumed by the Indians is very low.
But what about people like John Alexander who consume two spoons a day? Lack of willpower among the regulatory authorities means even though the harmful effects of cassia have been established, consumer is left with no option but to buy it.

Ice manufacturers admit inability to meet water quality standards

Say installing water treatment units is beyond their means

Ice manufacturers have said that they cannot meet the approved water quality standards for making ice because of the expense involved in installing water treatment units.

Ice plants depend on water supplied by tanker lorries or drawn from bore wells as the water provided by the Kerala Water Authority is grossly inadequate to meet their needs.

“The ground water may contain iron, formalin and ammonium at some places and which would find their way into ice,” said T.G. R. Shenoy, president of the All Kerala Ice Manufacturers’ Association.

Ice manufacturers cannot afford to install water filtering and treatment units for removing impurities. The strict enforcement of the Food Safety Act would lead to the closure of the ice plants in the State, he said.

The association launched a strike on Monday protesting against the crackdown of the Food Safety Authority against the ice plants found using chemically contaminated water. The authorities had closed down 12 plants in Ernakulam and four in Thrissur.

The agitation has also hit the harbours of the State and the fishing industry. The leaders of the association have sought the intervention of the State government for ironing out the issue.

The installation of water treatment facilities at ice plants would lead to a steep hike in ice price. The plants would provide customers the specific quality ice they need, he said.

At the same time, water quality experts say that the ice which comes into contact with food substances, including fish and for direct consumption, shall only be made using potable water.

According to M.K. Mukundan, director, Council for Food Development and Research, Konni, law does not make any distinction regarding the quality of water used for storing fish and human consumption. Ice manufacturers are supposed to use only potable water for making ice. The law even specifies that water used for washing food contact surfaces should be of potable water standards, Dr. Mukundan said.

A water filtering plant capable of filtering around one lakh litres a day and consisting of a sand filter, chlorination unit and a charcoal filter would cost around Rs.3 lakh, he said.

The district food safety authorities are awaiting the lab results of ice samples that were collected earlier from a few ice plants. “The lab results will decide the future course of action,” said K. Ajithkumar, district Food Safety Officer.

---

Water supplied by KWA inadequate to meet needs

Setting up treatment units will increase ice price

FDA warns traders against artificially ripening mangoes

Officials have asked them to opt for the ripening process, which uses ethylene gas from four government-approved centres in the city
IN order to put a stop on ripening fruits artificially using calcium carbide, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has started conducting surprise visits in the wholesale market where mangoes are being sold.
“ Last month, we met around 33 fruits traders from in and around Mumbai, warned them of strict action if any were found using the chemical,” said FDA Assistant Commissioner (Food) Suresh Deshmukh.
Using calcium carbide to artificially ripen any fruit is banned under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 and Regulations (FSSR), 2011.
However, many traders illegally use this chemical to ripen mangoes, bananas and papayas. They use the chemical because it ripens the fruit in two- and- a- half days and the fruit can be made available in the market before the season starts. Also, more stock can be brought into the market and it is very cost effective. According to an official from FDA, consuming fruits that are ripened using calcium carbide have a negative impact on health.
“ If a person eats chemicallyripened fruit, it may lead to headaches, dizziness, cancer and heart diseases,” an FDA official said.
The FDA officials have told traders that they should approach the four governmentapproved centres in Mumbai where mangoes are ripened using ethylene gas. The fruit takes four days to ripen using this procedure.
10 Number of days it takes for a mango plucked from the tree to ripen on its own
Did you know?
To hasten the ripening process, small paper sachets of calcium carbide are placed between the fruits in the box. Due to ventilation, the chemical reacts with air and heat is produced which, in turn, helps the fruit to ripen early. In the process, the colour of the mango changes from green to dark yellow. According to experts, only the colour of the fruit changes but the fruit becomes tasteless.

FDA to file 11 cases of gutkha possession

Decision to register complaints against these people for possessing gutkha illegally was taken after the FDA officials got a go-ahead from their seniors

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pune is all set to file 11 cases in the district court this month against several people for possessing gutka illegally. Possession and sale of gutkha was banned in July 11 last year, and till date the FDA’s Pune division has seized Rs 1.82 crore worth of gutkha from the district.

The decision to register the cases against these people was taken after the FDA officials got a go-ahead from their seniors. “According to the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, a case has to be filed in the district court against those selling unsafe products.
Injurious to health: Till date FDA’s Pune division has seized gutkha worth Rs 1.82 crore from the district.

Hence, we’ll file cases against person from whom we have seized gutkha,” said Dilip Sangat, assistant commissioner, FDA (Food) of Pune division.
“FDA will file the case directly with Chief Judicial Magistrate. Those found guilty will be liable undergo six months of imprisonment and a fine,” said Sangat.
There are around 82 instances where gutkha was seized in district so far, while there have been 11 cases where the FDA has confiscated gutkha last month. These 11 cases will be sent to the court, which will decide the further course of action, informed an FDA officer.

Doon, Haldwani to have food safety tribunals

Dehradun, May 2
The government is mooting setting up food safety appellate tribunals in Dehradun and Haldwani/Nainital under the Foods Safety and Standards Authority of India Act.
The State Food Safety Commissioner has issued orders for hiring private buildings to set up these tribunals. The tribunals would be constituted under Section 70 of the Act.
A presiding officer who could be either a retired or a serving district judge would head the tribunal and the government would soon issue a notification for the same.
Along with receiving the salary equivalent to the serving district judge, he would also receive travel, leave and conveyance allowances. Besides, the presiding officer would also have a complete office set-up with a registrar to be appointed by the government.
With the setting up of the tribunals, the government plans to intensify the implementation of the Act in the state. Since the setting up of a separate state authority, the authority has been handicapped by the absence of manpower for the enforcement of various provisions of the Act.
Though the Act is under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, several issues like drawing of salaries and preparation of confidential reports continue to remain unresolved and have not been handed to a single department.

Dinamalar & Dinakaran

FDA plans to set up its own food testing lab in Mungsara near Nashik

NASHIK: The Food and Drug Administration is planning to set up its own lab for food testing and analysis in Mungsara near Nashik.
Speaking to TOI, Joint commissioner of FDA, Nashik division, Chandrakant Pawar, joint commissioner, FDA (Food), Nashik division said, "We have identified two acres at Mungsara and will start working on the project once we get grant from the state government."
ce sends its food samples to the state government's District Health Lab in the Civil Hospital's campus. The Hospital had started testing food samples from June 2012.
"At times, we have had to get tests conducted done in our lab in Pune. Once our own lab is operational here, we will get reports of food samples faster," said Pawar.
Meanwhile, the FDA's Nashik division has recorded a 75.37 per cent rise in business registrations and a 25.90 per cent decline in licences issued during 2012-13 as compared to previous fiscal year.
As per the new Food Safety Act, a licence is compulsory for businesses with a turn over more than Rs 12 lakh, while businesses with a turn over of less than Rs 12 lakh only require to get registered. and do not need a licence.
Businesses can be registered for a yearly fee of Rs 100, while a licence costs Rs 2,000 per year.
The FDA registered 21,076 businesses in the 2012-13 fiscal, as opposed to 12,018 registrations during the previous year 2011-12 in the Nashik division, with a 75.37 per cent rise comparatively.
Licences were issued to 6,307 businesses in the fiscal year 2012-13, against 8,512 licences during 2011-12, with a 25.90 per cent decline. The FDA earned Rs 3.59 crore in revenue during 2012-13 through registrations and licences.

Ice-makers plan lockdown as 4 more plants asked to shut

The ice manufacturers’ association, representing 460 ice plants across the State, has announceda lockdown from May 2.

Trace of formalin, ammonium found in ice samples

Even as the Kerala State Ice Manufacturers Association has called for an indefinite lockdown of ice plants from May 2 to protest the forced closure of several units by the Food Safety authorities, the Ernakulam district food safety officer on Tuesday ordered closure of four more.
Three ice plants at Pallippuram and one at Njarackal, which supplied ice blocks mainly to fishing boats, were ordered to be closed by the food safety officer, K. Ajith Kumar, on Tuesday. So far, ten ice plants catering to the fishing industry have been ordered shut.
Mr. Ajith Kumar told The Hindu that samples collected from these plants had traces of formalin and ammonium. The plants were shut down by invoking the emergency prohibition powers under the Food Safety and Standards Act, he said. Samples from 24 ice plants had been collected and so far lab test results of ten were received. All of them tested positive for formalin and ammonium, indicating that use of these harmful chemicals was a pretty common practice. This was a serious threat to public health.
The ice manufacturers’ association, representing the interests of 460 ice plants across the State, has announced a lockdown from May 2 to protest what they call the ‘illegal and dictatorial’ closure of their plants. General Secretary of the association K Uthaman told The Hindu that nearly 20 ice plants in the State had been force-closed. Of these, ten were in Ernakulam district which was home to the largest number of ice plants in the State —roughly 100, of which 72 were in the Munambam-Vypeen area, the fishing hub of the central Kerala.
Mr. Uthaman denied that formalin (which is normally used for preserving dead bodies) was being used by ice makers. He asked why the Food Safety officers had not shown the ice-makers the test results of the samples collected from their plants. He also claimed that the ice made by the association members was not a ‘food item’ but an industrial product used as a preservative by the fishing industry. “We are selling our ice to the sea-going fishing boats and not to the fruit juice shops or bars,” Mr. Uthaman said. “If anybody is using our ice for a purpose other than as a preservative, it is not our fault.”
Mr. Ajith Kumar, rubbishing the association claim, said the harmful chemicals used in the ice to increase the shelf life of fish naturally got into the fish flesh and passed on to humans who ate the fish. Use of formalin and ammonium in ice was illegal, he said.
Food Safety Commissioner will review the closure decision after receiving the re-test results of the samples from the National Accreditation Body of Laboratories-certified labs.
Charles George, a fishing union leader, said it was common knowledge in the fishing sector that ice makers used formalin and ammonium, but the fish workers were helpless about it. Since Malayalis were ‘addicted to fish,’ and the chemicals used were highly harmful, he said, the fishing unions fully supported the measures taken by the authorities. He called for harsh steps to check chemical contamination of fish. Mr. George warned that if the intentional use of formalin and ammonium continued, fish exports from Kerala to Europe would come to nought. He said that last year Kerala exported seafood worth Rs. 2,900 crore.

Acid carriers supplying water?

KOCHI: The water crisis in the city is turning out to be a full-fledged war on the streets with local residents along with CPM workers blocking two tanker trucks at Aluva water treatment plant, alleging that the tankers had earlier transported hazardous chemical waste.
Following a shortage of tankers, the district administration had sought the help of local contractors who in turn brought tankers, including a few bearing Maharashtra registration numbers, a few days ago.

"According to prevailing norms, water tankers should be painted blue and white. But these two trucks are white. We have also seized permits issued to them to transport hazardous chemical waste," said CPM Aluva local secretary C M Saheer.
The charges were repeated by the Ernakulam District Drinking Water Transporters Welfare Association (EDDWTWA). "From last Tuesday, 11 trucks bearing Maharashtra registration numbers have been transporting water from the Aluva plant. All these trucks were transporting acid from HIL, Eloor. Trucks transporting acid cannot be used for carrying drinking water," alleged EDDWTWA president V A Sakkir Hussain.
According to district administration, the present crisis was a conspiracy following stringent action taken by authorities against those supplying unsafe drinking water. "We had taken strict action against two suppliers who had continuously failed to comply with norms. They were supplying drinking water directly from River Periyar at Eloor without purifying it. Moreover, they didn't have permits to draw water from Periyar. We had closed their units down earlier as well. But they reopened it illegally," said district collector P I Sheik Pareeth.
According to Pareeth, these two suppliers together own around 100 tanker trucks. "The Maharashtra registration tankers are clean enough to transport drinking water. Since there was a shortage, we had to press these vehicles into service urgently. So, they didn't have time to paint it with prescribed colours," he said.
Though the police reached the spot, they didn't take any action.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials said that these trucks had permits to transport drinking water. So, no action can be taken against owners, police said.
Agitators were also assured that food safety department officials would inspect these vehicles before they are used for transporting drinking water on Tuesday.

Factory supplying RO water raided

Sirsa, May 1
A team of the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) today raided a factory supplying “clean drinking RO water” to people in containers and unearthed a big fraud of playing with the health of residents.
The team went to a unit situated on the Dabwali road in Sirsa along with a Duty Magistrate appointed by the Deputy Commissioner, Dr J Ganesan, and Food Safety Officer Mahabir Singh.
The factory owner decamped after noticing the team.
The team noticed that the factory did not have a filter to clear the water of impurities.
The factory had no reverse osmosis system to purify the water before its supply to the users.
Instead, the factory owner had been supplying plain tap water to people.
On testing, the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water supplied by the factory was found to be 400, while in the bottled mineral water purchased from the market, it was found to be 35.
It was found that while the factory was supplying water to the shops and offices in Sirsa town, the owner had no licence to run his business.
The Food Safety Officer has taken samples of drinking water. Mahabir Singh said the samples of water would be sent to laboratory.

Four more ice factories closed down

Four more ice factories were closed down in Njarakkal and Pallippuram as per the order of the Food Safety officials on Tuesday after the samples collected from them revealed the presence of chemicals.
K Ajithkumar, Food Safety officer, said that the samples of ice collected in the first week of April was tested at the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kakkanad.
Like the results of the earlier inspections, those held in the four ice plants also showed that the water was mixed with chemicals such as formalin and ammonia to make ice. “We will send the samples to Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) for further tests. Strict measures will be initiated against the violators,” he said.
Formalin and ammonia which is used to preserve fish has been mixed in the water to make ice. “The use of ammonia in ice will make the fish look fresh. However, he said that though the samples revealed the presence of chemicals, its sources could not be traced any where inside the plant. “We are still clueless about how they mixed the chemicals in the manufacture of ice as we could not find any trace of the substance during our thorough search,” he said.
The Food Safety officials had to face stiff resistance from the ice factory owners on Tuesday. The latter alleged that the officials had not given them notice before closing down the factories. Besides, the closure will also hit the fishing sector.
Weeks ago, the Food Safety officials already closed down four ice plants in Thoppumpady, Kochi Harbour and Perumbavoor after the units were found using chemically contaminated water for making ice. The ice factory owners have called for an indefinite strike from May 2 onwards.   The inspections were held in Kochi as part of the drive against the use of contaminated ice.