Inedible oil flows to Kochi

Kochi: With Onam just a couple of weeks away come rep­orts that huge quantities of inedible and discarded oil from Tamil Nadu is  being widely used  to make the snacks so much in demand during the festival  in bakeries and eateries across the city.

The oil transported on trains is allegedly sold to the eateries for as little as Rs. 30 a litre, and so  usually has many buyers. 

“Except a few, all other bakeries and eateries in the city  no longer prepare their own snacks , but buy them in bulk from catering centres like those in Palluruthy, Edappally and Vypeen, which generously use the cheap oil. And as there is no mechanism to monitor their hygiene  or the ingredients they use they get away with it,” said a trader, adding that the oil trade lobby does brisk business during the festival season, when  chips and fried snacks fly off the shelves of eateries.

“With Onam  just a couple of weeks away, there  is a boom in the sale of chips. The authorities need to take stringent measures to prevent the use of substandard cooking oil for making them and other delicacies,” underlined CPM councillor in the corporation council,  P. S. Prakash.

While food safety officers and the corporation’s health department appear to be  turning a blind eye to the major public heal­th hazard that the sale of such eatables constitutes,  district food safety officer,  Ajith Ku­mar, when contacted, clai­med he had received no complaints about substandard oil being used by catering centres in the city.

“Although we’ve not re­c­eived any reports about substandard oil arriving in Kerala, we will do an intensive check at railway stations and other entry points,” he promised.

Food department officials crack down on hostel kitchens

CHENNAI: Private hostels serving unhygienic food will get the boot if the food safety department has its way. Acting on complaints from various parts of the city, the department began raids on hostel kitchens on Thursday.
District food safety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said that they conducted surprise inspections in various hostels in Saidapet and T Nagar. "It was shocking that most private hostels are in a bad condition and serve poor quality food". TOI had recently highlighted the lack of quality food and hygiene in the private hostels in the city.
During the raid, officials found that many hostels serve substandard food and water, posing health risks.
Other conditions in these hostels were also found to be bad. "Some 16 people were staying in a crammed room in bunker beds without adequate space. There aren't enough toilets for the residents. We have issued notices to these hostels and asked them to improve the quality of food and the living conditions in 15 days. If they don't comply, we will take action," the officer added.
Many professionals and students from different parts of the country stay in hostels as they provide cheap accommodation, but there are several complaints about the quality of food. "I don't have the money to pay 12-month rental advance and broker commission for a flat. The hostel owner prepares food for only 25 people, though 35 live here. The quality of food is pathetic," said Anita Rajendran, a resident of a private hostel in Saidapet. "If we complain, they ask us to leave the hostel."
Chennai corporation doesn't monitor the functioning and facilities of hostels. Sources said people who run five to ten hostels in various parts of the city have a centralised kitchen. "Food material is sometimes transported in unsealed containers, and they can get contaminated," said an employee of a private hostel in West CIT Nagar. Residents often have no choice as the monthly rent of about 6,500 is always inclusive of the food.
Anyone with complaints about poor quality food served in hostels can call 23813095 or email commrfssa@gmail.com, officials said.

MAALAI MALAR NEWS

Steps initiated by Government to ensure food safety compliances for export of agricultural products

There has been an increase in the RASFFs issued by EU for the last three years. The Government has initiated following steps to ensure food safety compliances for export of agricultural products:
- Residue monitoring plan for exports of fresh table grapes to the EU through control of residues of chemicals.
- A web based traceability system for grapes has been put in place to ensure compliance with the EU requirements.
- Control of aflatoxins for exports of peanuts and peanut products to all countries.
- Standards for 51 fruits and vegetables have been prepared. These standards are notified by Govt. of India under AGMARK Act.
- APEDA has introduced schemes for registration/recognition of pack house/processing units for fresh fruits and vegetables like grapes, mangoes, pomegranates, peanuts and peanut products, meat etc.
- Taken up laboratory recognition and upgradation programme for making available testing facilities to ensure the quality of produce exported. 23 laboratories have been recognized.
- Recognition of food safety management system implementation and certification agencies for HACCP, ISO and GAP certification.
- Development of packaging standards and sea transportation protocols for fruits.
- Negotiations/Talks are held with EU at bilateral meetings, Joint Working Group meetings and Sub Committee on Trade meetings to ensure Indian food exports is not compromised.
The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. D. Purandeswari in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

DINAMANI ARTICLE

DINAMALAR NEWS

JMC holds awareness camp for shopkeepers

JAMMU: To generate awareness about new Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and rules and regulations 2011 to improve the standards of hygiene, quality of food etc. Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) on Wednesday organised an awareness camp at CPO Ustad Mohalla for food business operators.
Health Officer JMC, Dr. Vinod Sharma and Food Safety Officer of the concerned area made shopkeepers aware about hygienic conditions they have to maintain in their premises.
The eating point owners/rehriwalas are directed to get their licences/registrations from the Office of the Health Officer JMC Jammu.
Dr Vinod advised the cooks of the eating joints/rehriwalas to wear mask, apron, cap, gloves, use only portable filter water to the customers, use two types of covered dustbins i.e. green and blue colour to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage and use soap and running water for cleaning of utensils.
The team also visited the market and checked the eating joints and made customers aware of precautions to be taken before eating or buying anything from the eating joints they are requested to check everything in advance. The food business operators assured the authorities that the irregularities be removed within a short span of time.

JMC organises awareness camp to improve quality of food
Jammu Tawi, August 7
To generate awareness about new Food Safety & Standards Act 2006 and rules and regulations 2011 to improve the standards of hygiene, quality of food. The JMC organised
a awareness camp at CPO Ustad Mohalla on Wednesday for Food Business operators like dhabas walas,
restaurants, karyana shopkeepers, juice shops, meat shops, rehri and phari walas dealing with sale of food items, the undersigned Dr Vinod Sharma and Food Safety Officer of the concerned area aware the shopkeepers about the hygienic conditions they have to maintain in their premises.
The eating point owners, rehriwalas are directed to get their licenses, registrations from the Office of the Health Officer JMC Jammu. The cook of the eatable points, rehriwalas must wear mask, apron, cap, gloves etc. They have to use only portable filter water to the customers.
After the awareness camp the team also visited the
market and checked the
eating points and the customers also aware that before eating or buying anything from the eatable points they are requested to check every thing in advance.

FSSAI draft guidelines do not propose ban on junk food in schools

Guidelines submitted to Delhi High Court dwell more on promoting consumption of water and hygiene among school kids through Facebook,Twitter

The nodal agency for food safety in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has submitted to the Delhi High Court the draft guidelines for discouraging children from eating junk food and developing healthy habits. The guidelines were submitted on August 5 following a court direction on a public interest petition by Uday Foundation, seeking ban on junk food in schools. The stakeholders have been asked to send in their comments within two weeks from August 5 after which FSSAI is expected to submit the final guidelines.

The guidelines, titled "Guidelines for Making Available Quality and Safe Food in Schools", fall short of expectations and demands of the public health experts who have been vigorously campaigning against unhealthy food in school canteens. The guidelines devote some chapters to explaining nutrients and nutritional value of healthy and hygienic food. The rest of the chapters advise schools on how to include good practice in eating. It suggests that schools should promote consumption of water among children because "water is the most important nutrient of all and assists in the upkeep of our health". It also advises schools to promote hand-wash before every meal.

The high Court had asked the government in January to submit draft guidelines in six months; the deadline expired on July 24. The government asked for 10 more days as the guidelines were still under preparation.

Wrong categorization

The guidelines are more of an advisory rather than a document meant to address the health hazards posed by junk food. The guidelines do not mention about banning junk food though the document itself defines junk food as "those containing little or no proteins, vitamins or minerals but are rich in salt, sugar, fats and are high in energy (calories)." The guidelines have also termed unhealthy/junk food (chocolates, potato chips), fast food (burger, noodles), instant food (instant noodles, soup, cornflakes) and street food (samosa, wada, chat items) separately, thus bringing very few items under the category of junk. Items like burgers, pizzas and sandwiches, proven for their unhealthy content by various studies, have been put under fast food category.

The guidelines do not suggest any replacements to unhealthy food. They focus more on improving hygiene and good practices among students, rather than putting responsibility on the canteens to serve healthy food. They suggest that healthy practices should be promoted through social media platforms like facebook and twitter. They have also suggested the Ministry of Information and Broadcast should promote healthy practices among children.

Silent on regulations

The guidelines are also silent on the matter of regulation. They say, "The rationale of this guideline is to provide a set of model standard operating procedures to schools in order to achieve a high degree of compliance with the food regulations as well as attaining higher standards of food safety through adoption of good practices."

However, whether the schools comply to the suggested model and ensure that students have healthy food, has not been addressed in the proposed document. The guidelines also do not suggest any penalty and follow up of the same in case schools fail to promote healthy practices.

The guidelines were framed based on a survey conducted by a private market research company, AC Nielsen, covering six zones and 12 states. The school profiles included state as well as Central government, government aided, private, private aided, local body and tribal schools.

Junk food PIL

February, 2010: Uday foundation files public interest petition
January, 2013: Delhi High Court passes order, asking FSSAI to prepare guidelines on junk food in six months
July 24, 2013: Deadline for preparing guidelines expires
August 5, 2013: Draft guidelines submitted to court
August 20, 2013: Last date for stakeholders to submit responses
September 4, 2013: Last date for submission of final guidelines to court

Use social media to make pupils ditch junk food, Government tells schools

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has turned to social media for the promotion of healthy food habits in schoolchildren.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the ministry has recently drafted guidelines on junk food, advising schools to use social networking sites to spread awareness about the ill-effects of consuming unhealthy food.

"With the advent of information technology, television, newspapers, and Internet and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, schools can spread messages related to risks associated with the consumption of unhealthy food. The message can be spread by schools nationwide to sensitise parents and guardians," the draft guidelines say.

New guidelines

"Dedicated web pages on school websites and other social media sites would assist children and guide them to consume foods with high nutritious value like foodgrain, pulses, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Student clubs and groups should be formed for sensitising and advertising the ill-effects of consuming unhealthy food among peer groups," the guidelines further say.

The FSSAI has also given suggestions to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to loop in television channels and other mass media for spreading the mantra of healthy food habits.

"The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regulates communication media, including the audio-visual, print and the Internet. Guidelines related to quality of food products advertised in Indian media should be urgently formulated. The principles can include norms, including size, content, nutrition and health benefits of the food marketed to children," the guidelines say.

Other salient features of the guidelines are on maintaining hygiene in school canteens and conducting regular quality checks for cooked and stored food. The dietary guidelines have been drawn after a survey designed to account for the heterogeneity of schools, as well as their spread.

The survey was conducted in urban as well as rural areas of the country, covering 600 schools in six zones and 12 states. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Nutrition analysed the findings of the survey.

Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court directed the FSSAI to frame an effective policy and guidelines to ban the sale of junk food and carbonated drinks in and around educational institutions across the country.

The high court passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed in 2010 by Uday Foundation, an NGO based in the national Capital.

The NGO points out that junk food damages health and hampers the mental growth of children. The foundation had sought a ban on the sale of junk food in schools and within 500 metres of educational institutions.

Guidelines to ensure quality, safe food to schoolkids in offing

In a bid to ensure a healthy diet for schoolchildren, the Central Government has drafted guidelines to regulate the sale of junk food in school canteens across the country. According to the Government instructions, canteen staff will be trained to ensure nutrition value and hygiene.

“Training of food-handlers and kitchen staff in schools would reduce mishaps pertaining to food safety. Schools should have at least one full time person-in-charge certified in Food Safety and training programmes should be promoted in schools through interactions and demonstrations,” suggested the guidelines, which have been submitted in the Delhi High Court. The court has asked the Centre to formulate rules for the same while dealing a PIL seeking a ban on the sale of junk food and aerated drinks in schools.

The guidelines dissuaded the consumption of junk food and highlighted its harmful implications. The Government also suggested purchase of packaged food items and raw materials from reliable supplying agencies preferably approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

According to the guidelines, schools should ensure that the food purchased carries certification mark assuring good quality. “For example, AGMARK for Honey and FPO (Fruit Products Order) for jams and squashes. Packaged food items must be checked for their manufacturing and expiry dates before making them available to the kids,” said the guidelines also asking the schools to maintain a detailed performa of food items -- including the name of vendors, date and time, quantity of raw items ordered and delivered.

In 35 paged set of guidelines, the Government has also prescribed safety measures to be followed during procurement of food items in schools, storage and hygiene measures required to be taken.

“Schools should maintain a rejection policy to ensure quality if the containers carrying food items are deteriorating the food it should be kept in safe temperature zone.”

It also mentioned the need to spread awareness among kids, parents and teachers about what constitutes healthy food. Schools have been asked to elaborate on the ill effects of unhealthy products, through social media and health awareness programs in the curriculum.

“Messages related to risks of unhealthy foods can be spread across through social media like Facebook and Twitter to sensitise parents or guardians of school children,” said the guidelines. The PIL was filed by Uday Foundation on July 24, the bench had given ten days to the Government to draft guidelines and fixed the case for September 4.

Govt comes out with mid-day meal guidelines

Shocked by the Bihar mid-day meal tragedy, the centre has for the first time come out with guidelines to be followed by all schools in the country with special emphasis on hiring qualified hands in the kitchen and strict monitoring.

It prescribed code of hygiene and safe practices to be followed during procurement, preparation and serving of meals.

These were part of ‘guidelines for making available quality and safe food in schools’ submitted on Monday by the health ministry to the Delhi High Court which is hearing a PIL for banning the sale of junk food in schools.

It said food ingredients should be purchased from Food Safety Standards Authority of India-licensed food merchants and no food having traces of pesticide residue or parasites should be purchased.

Schools should have at least one full time in-charge certified in food safety who has undergone food safety education training.

உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரியாக நடித்த இருவர் சிக்கினர்

கோவை, ஆக. 7:

உணவு பாது காப்பு அதிகாரியாக நடித்து பணம் பறித்த இருவரை பிடித்து பீளமேடு போலீசார் விசாரிக்கின்றனர்.

கோவை பீளமேட்டில் உள்ள ஒரு தனியார் மருத்துவக்கல்லூரிக்கு அருகே ஓட்டல் ஒன்று உள்ளது. கட ந்த சில மாதங்களுக்கு முன் ஆண், பெண் ஆகியோர் இந்த ஓட்டலுக்கு வந்து உணவு பாதுகாப்பு பிரிவு அதிகாரிகள் எனக்கூறி ஓட்டலில் ஆய்வு செய்தனர். பின் ஓட்டல் உரிமையாளரிடம் இருந்து ரூ.2 ஆயிரம் பணத்தை பெற்றுச் சென்றனராம். இந்நிலையில், அதே இருவர் நேற்று மதியம் மீண்டும் பீளமேடு பகுதிக்கு வந்து அதே ஓட்டலுக்கு சென்றனர். தங்கள் ஓட் டலை ஆய்வு செய்யாமல் இருக்க பணம் அளிக்க வேண்டும் என அந்த இரு வரும் நிர்பந்தம் செய்ததாக தெரிகிறது. இதனால் சந்தேகமடைந்த ஓட்டல் ஊழியர்கள் அந்த இருவரையும் பிடித்து பீளமேடு போலீசில் ஒப்படைத்தனர். விசாரணையில், இருவரும் கணவன் & மனைவி எனத்தெரியவந்தது. இதையடுத்து பீளமேடு போலீசார் இருவரிடமும் தொடர்ந்து விசாரித்து வருகின்றனர்.

Couple picked up for impersonating as food safety inspectors

Charged with impersonating
A couple have been picked up by the Peelamedu police on charges of impersonating as food safety inspectors and allegedly resorting to intimidation and extortion of merchants.
According to police, a man and a woman visited a grocery shop and ordered for packing samples for laboratory assessment for quality. It was alleged that the two left the shop after taking Rs 2,000 for not taking samples. Subsequently, the two visited a hotel in the afternoon and said that they wanted to take food samples. On suspicion about their behaviour, the hotel owner informed the police. Police have identified the two as Francis (42) and Surya (36) and inquiries are on.

Ban on Sale of Nicotine Containing Products

Government of India has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 dated 1st August 2011, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine as ingredients in any food products. The said Regulation 2.3.4 lays down as under
“Product not to contain any substance which may be injurious to health: Tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products”.
So far, 33 States / Union Territories have issued orders for implementation of the Food Safety Regulations banning manufacture, sale and storage of Gutka and Pan Masala containing tobacco or nicotine. (Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry).
(c)For Pan Masala, Regulation 2.4.5 (30) of Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulation, 2011 issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, prescribes that,
“Every Package of Pan Masala and advertisement relating thereto, shall carry the following warning, namely – “Chewing of Pan Masala is injurious to health”.
Further, under the National Level Public Awareness campaign, this Ministry has launched media campaigns both in national as well as regional electronic channels focussing on the harmful effects of smokeless tobacco use. In addition an outdoor media campaign along with a press advertisement has also been carried out.
The Ministry has notified the new pictorial health warnings which have come into effect from 1st April, 2013. Three (3) sets of warnings each, have been notified for smokeless and smoking forms of tobacco.
The Ministry has notified the Rules to regulate depiction of tobacco products or their use in films and TV programmes. As per these rules all films and TV (Indian and Foreign) depicting tobacco products or their use have to screen a ‘health spot’ of 30 second duration and a ‘disclaimer’ of 20 second duration on the harmful effects of tobacco use, in the beginning and the middle of the films and TV programmes.
This information was given by the Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

60 நாட்களில் கடைகளுக்கு உரிமம் ஆன்-லைன் பதிவு விறுவிறுப்பு

சேலம்: உணவு பாதுகாப்பு சட்டத்தில் ஜூலை, 1ம் தேதி முதல் கடைகளுக்கான உரிமம் பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டு வருகிறது. 60 நாட்களில் கடைகளுக்கு உரிமம் அளிக்கப்படுவதால், "ஆன்-லைன்' பதிவு விறுவிறுப்பாக நடந்து வருகிறது.
ஜூலை, 1ம் தேதி முதல் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு துறை மூலம் கடைகளுக்கான உரிமம், பதிவு புதுப்பித்தல் உள்ளிட்ட பணிகளை, "ஆன்-லைன்' மூலம் மேற்கொள்ள நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. சேலம் பழைய நாட்டாண்மை கழக கட்டிடத்தில் இயங்கும் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு துறை அலுவலகத்தில், சில வாரத்துக்கு முன், "ஆன்-லைன்' மூலம் பதிவு செய்வது சம்பந்தமாக, துறை அலுவலர்களுக்கு பயிற்சி அளிக்கப்பட்டது.
சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், 28 ஆயிரத்து, 396 கடை, நிறுவனங்கள் உள்ளன. இதில், 16,582 கடை, நிறுவனங்கள் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு சட்டத்தில் பதிவு, உரிமம் பெற்றுள்ளன. மீதம் உள்ள, 11 ஆயிரத்து, 814 கடை, நிறுவனங்கள் உரிமம் மற்றும் பதிவு புதுப்பிக்காமல் உள்ளன. அவற்றை, ஆன்-லைன் மூலம் பதிவு செய்யும் பணி விறுவிறுப்பாக நடந்து வருகிறது.
சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில் இதுவரை, 50 கடை, நிறுவனங்கள், "ஆன்-லைன்' மூலம் உரிமம் வேண்டி விண்ணப்பித்துள்ளன. 25 கடைகள் பதிவு செய்ய விண்ணப்பித்துள்ளன.
இதுகுறித்து மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் டாக்டர் அனுராதா கூறியதாவது:
உணவு பாதுகாப்பு சட்டத்தின் கீழ் அனைத்து கடை, நிறுவனங்கள் பதிவு, உரிமம் பெறுதலுக்கான நடவடிக்கை ஜரூராக நடந்து வருகிறது. "ஆன்-லைன்' மூலம் பதிவு செய்தல், உரிமம் மற்றும் புதுப்பித்தல் பணிக்கு கடை, நிறுவன உரிமையாளர்கள் ஆர்வம் காட்டி வருகின்றனர். "ஆன்-லைன்' மூலம் உரிமம் வேண்டி விண்ணப்பிப்பவர்களுக்கு, 60 நாட்களில் பணியை முடித்து கொடுத்து விடுகிறோம். இவ்வாறு அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

DINAMALAR NEWS

உணவு பொருட்கள் கொள்முதல் : விடுதி அதிகாரிகளுக்கு புது உத்தரவு

விடுதி மாணவர்களின் உணவு தயாரிக்க, கொள்முதல் செய்யப்படும் பொருட்களில், ஏதாவது பிரச்னை இருந்தால், உடனடியாக திரும்ப ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும்' என, நலத்துறை அதிகாரிகளுக்கு
உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஆதிதிராவிடர் மற்றும் பழங்குடியினர் நலத் துறையின் கீழ் செயல்படும், 1,300 ஆதிதிராவிடர் நல விடுதிகளில், 97,239 மாணவர்; 42 பழங்குடியினர் நல விடுதிகளில், 2,782 மாணவர்; 301 உண்டு உறைவிட பள்ளிகளில், 31,899 மாணவர் தங்கியுள்ளனர். அதே போல், பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டோருக்காக, 1,294 விடுதிகள் உள்ளன. இதில், பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டோர் நலத் துறை கீழ், 710 விடுதி; மிகவும் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டோர் மற்றும் சீர்மரபினர் நலத் துறை கீழ், 572 விடுதி; சிறுபான்மை நலத்துறை கீழ், 12 விடுதிகள் செயல்படுகின்றன. இவ்விடுதிகளில், 80,064 மாணவர் தங்கியுள்ளனர். இவற்றில், தங்கி உள்ள மாணவர்களுக்கு, ஒரு மாணவருக்கு, ஒரு வேளை உணவுக்கு, 600 கிராம் அரிசி செலவிடப்படுகிறது. சமீபத்தில், பீகாரில் மதிய உணவு சாப்பிட்ட குழந்தைகள் இறந்ததை அடுத்து, தமிழகம் முழுவதும் உள்ள, அரசு விடுதிகளுக்கு பல புதிய உத்தரவுகள் பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டன. இருந்தாலும், பல இடங்களில், மாணவர்களுக்கு வாந்தி, மயக்கம் போன்றவையும்,
சாப்பாட்டில் புழு போன்ற பிரச்னையும் ஏற்பட்டது. தற்போது, விடுதியில் சமைக்கப் பயன்படும் அரிசி, பருப்பு போன்றவை, அருகில் உள்ள, உணவுப் பொருள் வழங்கல் துறையின் கிடங்குகளில் இருந்து, பெறப்படுகின்றன.
ஒரு மாதத்துக்கு தேவையான, அரிசி மூட்டைகளை, மொத்தமாக கொள்முதல் செய்வது வழக்கம். அவ்வாறு கொள்முதல் செய்யும் மூட்டைகளில், புழு, வண்டு போன்றவை இருந்தால், உடனடியாக, திரும்ப ஒப்படைக்க, விடுதி அதிகாரிகளுக்கு உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. அது மட்டுமின்றி, உணவு சமைத்த பிறகு, அதில் குறைபாடு காணப்பட்டாலோ, சமைத்த சோற்றில், இறந்த புழு, வண்டு போன்றவை இருந்தாலோ, உடனடியாக, அரிசி மூட்டைகளை, உணவுப் பொருள் வழங்கல் துறையிடமே, மீண்டும் ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும் எனவும், உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

HRD min plans to work with FSSAI in improving midday meal quality

The HRD ministry is planning to work closely with Food and Safety Standard Authority of India in improving the quality of midday meal and its delivery mechanism.
The ministry today held comprehensive deliberations with education ministers of some states and probable members of the new monitoring committee, expected to be set up shortly, and decided to strengthen the distribution network for the proper implementation of the programme.
Bihar Education Minister P K Shahi did not arrive for the meeting despite his earlier promise to attend it.
The meeting came in the wake of Bihar midday meal tragedy which claimed 23 lives.
According to sources, NC Saxena, who is one of the probable members of the committee, said a proper and effective distribution mechanism is critical for the success of the scheme.
He said unless food grains are distributed on time and funds released periodically, the programme would fail to meet its objectives.
The meeting decided to rope in Food and Safety Standard Authority of India and “converge” various aspects of the implementation of the programme with the organisation.
The latest development follows instructions from HRD Ministry to the states to strictly adhere to the guidelines drawn up to ensure safety of the food served as part of the scheme.
Among the ministry directions is one calling for teachers and a member of the school management committee to taste the food before it is served to the children.

NABL-accredited labs to test mid-day meals

The government on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Centre has asked the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL)-recognised laboratories to collect samples from the field for testing on parameters such as microbiological-presence or absence of e-coli, chemical parameters such as moisture content, fats, proteins and calorific value of the mid-day meals.

“These reports have been useful for enhancing the effectiveness of the scheme. The State/Union Territories have also been requested to consider engaging Food Safety and Standards Authority and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research institutes or NABL recognised laboratories for carrying out sample checking of mid-day meals, to ensure quality meal to the children,” Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju said in a written reply.

Mr. Raju said there is a detailed mechanism for supervision of the mid-day meal scheme through periodic reports and monitoring at the local level through the school monitoring committees as well as by the State government officials. Additionally, the Centre also ensures independent monitoring through 41 monitoring institutes such as IIT Chennai, Visva Bharati, and the XLRI.

The Joint Review Missions (JRM) visit States at regular intervals. In the current year, seven JRMs have been conducted, and 13 more are planned. In addition, surprise visits are made from time to time; three such visits have been carried out in the current year in Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, he said.

The scheme’s implementation is monitored by the district, State and national level steering-cum-monitoring committees. The district level vigilance and monitoring committee meeting under the chairmanship of the Member of Parliament from the district has also been activated, the Minister said in his reply.

This comes in the wake of the death of 23 children in a school in Chhapra in Bihar after consuming mid-day meal.

In response to another question, Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor said the HRD and Tourism Ministries were working together on imparting training for cooks engaged under the mid-day meal scheme.

He said the preparation of a hygienic and wholesome meal depended on the knowledge and skills of the cook-cum-helper. Accordingly, on the request of the HRD, the Ministry of Tourism has agreed to provide training to selected cook-cum-helpers as master trainers through Hotel Management Institutes and the Food Craft Institutes. A 10-day full time course will be organised which will include knowledge dissemination regarding the caloric and nutritive values, the methods of cooking for retaining the nutritive value of cooking ingredients, awareness regarding the issues of malnutrition and also the benchmarking of nutrition levels and the importance of regular washing of hands.

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Centre ensures independent monitoring

HRD and Tourism Ministries working on training cooks

Noodles, fries, cola may be banned in school canteens

Your child’s school canteen is likely to stop the sale of pizzas, chips, burgers, noodles, french fries, sandwiches and aerated soft drinks if the health ministry has its way.

In its ‘draft guidelines for making available quality and safe food in schools’ filed in the Delhi High Court, the ministry said it wanted the sale of these food items to be “regulated”. It said these were “junk food which contained no proteins or vitamins but were rich in salt, sugar and high in calories which can cause obesity and hypertension”.

As an experiment, the ministry wants the gradual ban to be first enforced in Delhi schools and then extended nationwide. “Schools should regulate the sale of unhealthy foods and discourage binging among students,” the ministry said.

The court-ordered guidelines, compiled after a survey of 600 schools across the country, came in response to a PIL seeking a ban on the sale of junk food in schools.

Petitioners Rahul Verma and lawyer Amit Saxena of NGO Uday Foundation said, “It is time we change the way kids eat in schools. Such a ban will set new standards for healthy food.”

A bench headed by acting chief justice BD Ahmed is expected to finalise the guidelines after discussions with all stakeholders on September 4.

The ministry said nutrition labelling should be made mandatory for packaged foods sold within school premises while it should be displayed in form of charts for unpackaged foods.

Safe mid-day meals
Expressing concern over recent incidents of mid-day meal poisoning in several states, the ministry also suggested food safety norms to be followed by schools to ensure hygienic healthy and balanced food.

DINAMALAR NEWS

செஞ்சி திருமண மண்டபங்களில் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அலுவலர்கள் ஆய்வு

செஞ்சி,ஆக.6-செஞ்சி திருமண மண்டபங்களில் சுகாதாரமற்ற குடிநீரை பயன்படுத்தி உணவு தயாரிப்பதாகவும், சுகாதார மாக திருமண மண்டபங்களை வைத்திருப்பதில்லை என்றும் வந்த புகாரையடுத்து உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் டாக்டர் ஆறுமுகம் அறிவுரையின்பேரில் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அலுவலர்கள் செஞ்சி கதிரவன், விக்கிர வாண்டி ரவிக்குமார் ஆகி யோர் செஞ்சியில் உள்ள திருமண மண்டபங்களில் சோதனை செய்தனர். அப் போது அவர்கள் பாதுகாக் கப்பட்ட குடிநீர் வினியோகம் செய்யவும், தரமான முறையில் உணவு பொருள் தயாரிக்கவும் அறிவுறுத்தி நோட்டீஸ் வினியோகித்தனர். குறிப்பிட்ட கால அவகாசத்தில் திருமண மண்டபங்களின் வெளியே கொட்டப்படும் குப்பைகள் மற்றும் கழிவுப் பொருட்களை உடனடியாக அகற்றவும் மீறினால் சட்டப்படி நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும் எனவும் அறிவுறுத்தினர்.

அங்கன்வாடி, அரசுப்பள்ளிகளில் குழந்தைகளுக்கு வழங்கும் உணவின் மாதிரிகளை சேகரித்து வைப்பது கட்டாயம் உணவுப்பாதுகாப்புத்துறை உத்தரவு

Recipient of tobacco parcels not yet traced

The food safety and drug administration department is yet to identify the recipient of the 16-tonne cargo, comprising tobacco products, that was smuggled via rail on Saturday.

Officials seized the contraband at Central railway station on a train that had come in from Nizamuddin. Fifty-four parcels of banned tobacco products, the largest-ever consignment to be identified after the ban, were found.

The seized products are likely to be destroyed at the Kodungaiyur dumping yard.

A few weeks ago, 1,000 kg of such products that had been stored in various homes in Ayanavaram and Vadapalani were seized. Despite regular crackdowns on commercial establishments across the city, the sale of gutka and pan masala continues unabated, according to officials.

Ever since the ban on carcinogenic chewable tobacco products such as gutka and pan masala was announced in May, trains have been used to bring in these products to the State.

Under the ban, the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of carcinogenic chewable forms of tobacco is forbidden in Tamil Nadu.

Food safety department inspects Tamil Nadu mid-day meal centres

Chennai: The state food safety department has taken samples from mid-day meal centres across Tamil Nadu and also inspected the centres to assess the quality of food prepared and the environment in which food is served to children.

After the death of 23 children in Bihar a fortnight ago, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials in Tamil Nadu worked to collect samples of food from anganwadi and mid-day meal centres in various government schools and are also engaged in filing a report on cleanliness and hygiene in these centres.

A senior FSSAI official told DC that the test result of food samples would be released within two weeks and government would ensure all lacunae are fixed. “During our inspection, we found that some centres did not have a hygienic environment and the food prepared in the centres could be improved upon. We will give this report to government shortly,” said the officer.

Stating that government spends less than Re1 for a child’s mid-day meal, child rights activist A. Devaneyan said, “The quality of food should be checked often by the FSSAI. The government should come forward to increase the amount of money spent for vegetables. The prices of vegetables and other ingredients are increasing every day and noon meal workers are forced to provide poor quality food. This will not fight malnutrition in an effective manner."

He noted that noon meal workers were not given any refreshment training regularly to work with children. “Providing food is not just feeding food for hunger but also serving good quality food for the physical and mental growth of children,” he pointed out.

41 complaints about mid-day meal scheme in 3 years: Govt

Twenty-three students had died in Bihar after consuming midday meal on July 16.

The government today said it received 41 complaints of irregularities in the working of the midday meal scheme in the past three years while several samples collected failed to meet nutritional and caloric values.
The HRD Ministry also received 39 complaints of poor quality of food served.
Disclosing these in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor said out of the 41 complaints received, actions have been taken in 31 cases by the state governments.
While 11 complaints were received from Uttar Pradesh between 2010 and 2012, seven complaints were received from Bihar during 2011 and 2012.
"The test report by Sriram Institute for Industrial Research New Delhi also shows that many samples failed to meet nutritional and caloric value prescribed under the guidelines," he said in a written reply.
To another question, HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju informed that the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) has been asked to collect samples from the field for testing on parameters such as micro-biological presence or absence of e-coli, chemical parameters such as moisture content, fats, protein and caloric value of the meal.
"The state governments have also been requested to consider engaging Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, CSIR institute or NABL-recognised labs for carrying out sample checking of the food to ensure quality meal to students," he said.
Twenty-three students had died in Bihar after consuming midday meal on July 16.
Raju said the forensic science laboratory department of the Bihar government indicated presence of organic phosphorous in the meal of the children.

FDA launches drive against scented tobacco, units to be shut down

With Maharashtra Food Safety Commissioner prohibiting storage, distribution and sale of tobacco and areca nut — flavoured, scented or mixed with additives and goes by the name of gutkha, pan masala, scented supari or kharra — from July 20, several measures are being taken to ensure that consignments are not transported and manufacturing units are shut down.

FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade told Newsline that gutkha worth Rs 21 crore was seized last year. Now, all manufacturing units of flavoured tobacco will be closed and FDA teams will monitor the borders. "I have written to the police and municipal commissioners about the ban and directed food safety officers to conduct a meeting on implementing the it," he said. Railway authorities will also be notified not to allow such consignments into the state.

According to the FDA commissioner, it is the flavouring, scenting, adding or mixing of one or the other additives or modification of the physical texture or combination of tobacco with areca nut (betel nut) that transforms these foods and makes them appealing to a wide spectrum of population, including children.

Consumption of these addictive products is increasing, causing damage to the health of consumers and impacting the genetic make-up of future generations. Some of the additives are extremely dangerous and are prohibited under the Food Safety and Standards (contaminants, toxins and residues) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (food products standards and food additives) Regulations, 2011; and the Food Safety and Standards (prohibition and restrictions on sales) Regulations 2011, Zagade said.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Associate Professor at Tata Memorial Hospital, said Maharashtra has become the first state to prohibit all flavoured chewing tobacco and supari sold under all names and combinations. "This order takes care of unpackaged zarda, khaini and kharra too. It will reduce the incidence of cancers and other disease dramatically in the next five years," he said.

Nearly 45 per cent of cancer deaths in India are related to tobacco and 20 per cent of all deaths are related to tobacco.

Tobacco addiction is a disease as per WHO International Classification of Disease, Chaturvedi added. Chewing Tobacco (zarda, khaini, kharra, masheri, mawa etc) and flavoured supari (pan masala, supari mix, scented supari etc) are posing serious health problems in Maharashtra. Gutkha is a flavored combination of chewing tobacco and supari. These products contain several flavouring agents such as menthol, perfume, spices and sugar, and aggressively marketed as mouth fresheners, Chaturvedi pointed out.

Water to blame for food poisoning cases?

Medical college mess facilities untidy, say students

On Wednesday, 30 people, including B.Sc. Nursing students of the College of Nursing on the Government Medical College Hospital campus here and some staff members, were admitted to the hospital owing to food poisoning. The hostel and the mess were closed down for two weeks after the incident. Two days later, 15 persons, some of them M.Sc. Nursing students and the others members of the staff, took ill after having food from the staff mess and the Indian Coffee House.

The reasons for the recurring cases of food poisoning reported from the mess facilities on the college campus are unclear.

Food Safety Officer Anil Kumar told The Hindu that water supplied from a common tank to all the hostels and hospitals in the region could be the source of infection. A team of the Food Safety Authority, which included Mr. Anil Kumar, had visited the campus and collected samples of food and water. These had been sent to the Regional Analytical Laboratory for investigation, and the results were expected on Monday.

The team had directed the mess authorities to clean up the kitchen and its premises, and obtain a licence for their operations as per the revised food safety norms, Mr. Anil Kumar said.

Meanwhile, there have been complaints from the students that food articles past their expiry date are being used in the hostel mess facilities. It has been alleged that the mess facilities, two of which are run by the same person, are untidy and rats are spotted often in the kitchens. There is no mechanism to ensure the quality of the food. The lackadaisical attitude of the wardens has promoted corruption among the mess authorities, the students say.

The water supply system is also under the scanner. The pipelines that supply water to various institutions on the campus are around 40 years old and mostly rusted. They leak at various places, giving rise to the possibility of dirt entering them through the cracks.

The drains near the hostels are clogged with garbage and dirty water, and pose a threat to the health of the students. The authorities are turning a blind eye to the students’ safety, they allege.

Anouncement & Draft Regulation

கலப்பட டீத்தூள் புற்றுநோயை உண்டாக்கும் - உணவு பாதுகாப்பு விழிப்புணர்வில் தகவல்

சேலம், ஆக.5:

கலப்பட டீத்தூள் புற்றுநோயை உண்டாக்கும் என்று உணவு பாதுகாப்பு விழிப்புணர்வு நிகழ்ச்சியில் மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் கூறினார்.

சேலம் விஜயராகவாச்சாரியார் நினைவு நூலக வாசகர் மன்றம் சார்பில் உணவும், பாதுகாப்பும் குறித்த சிறப்பு விழிப்புணர்வு நிகழ்ச்சி நேற்று நடந்தது. சேலம் கன்ஸ்யூமர் வாய்ஸ் தலைவர் பூபதி தலைமை வகித்தார். செயலாளர் சங்கர் வரவேற்றார். இதில் உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறை மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் அனுராதா கலந்து கொண்டுபேசியதாவது:

அனைத்து உணவு வணிகர்களும், உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறையின் மூலம் பதிவு சான்று, உரிமம் கட்டாயம் பெற்றிருக்க வேண்டும். தரமான, சுத்தமான, பாதுகாப்பான உணவு பொருட்களை வாங்கி பயன்படுத்த வேண்டும். தரக்குறைவான மற்றும் கலப்பட உணவு பொருட்கள் உடல் நலத்திற்கு தீங்கு விளைவிக்கும். அளவுக்கு அதிகமான வண்ணங்கள் மற்றும் அதிகமான பதனப்பொருட்கள் உணவுப்பொருட்களில் கலப்பது சட்டப்படி குற்றமாகும்.

குழந்தைகள், சிறுவர்கள் நைட்ரஜன் கேஸ் அடைக்கப்பட்ட சிப்ஸ் உணவு வகைகளை அளவுக்கு அதிகமாக உண்ணுவதால் நரம்பு மண்டலம் பாதிக்கும். கலப்பட டீத்தூளில் அதிகமான சாயம் சேர்க்கப்படுகிறது. இந்த டீத்தூளால் மனிதனுக்கு புற்றுநோய் உண்டாகும். அதே போல, சில்லி சிக்கன் கடைகளில் அளவுக்கு அதிகமாக அனுமதிக்கப்படாத வண்ணங்கள் கலந்திருப்பது, உடல் நலத்திற்கு கேடு விளைவிக்கும்.

பாக்கெட்டில் அடைக்கப்பட்ட உணவு பொருள்களில் தயாரிப்பாளர் முழு முகவரி, தயாரிக்கப்பட்ட மற்றும் பேக் செய்த தேதி, பேட்ஜ், லாட் நம்பர், காலாவதி ஆகும் தேதி ஆகியவை உள்ளதா என பார்த்து வாங்க வேண்டும்.

இவ்வாறு அவர் பேசினார்.

முன்னதாக கலப்பட பொருட்களை அறிந்து கொள்ளும் முறைகள் குறித்து அவர் விளக்கினார்.

DINAMALAR NEWS

"டாஸ்மாக்' பார்கள் நிலைமை மோசம் மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் எச்சரிக்கை

சேலம்: ""சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், டாஸ்மாக் பார்களின் நிலைமை படுமோசமாக உள்ளது. அதை, சுத்தம், சுகாதாரமாக பராமரிக்க மறுத்தால், கடும் நடவடிக்கை பாயும்,'' என, மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் அனுராதா எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.
சேலம், விஜயராகவாச்சாரியார் நூலக வளாகத்தில், "உணவும், பாதுகாப்பும்' என்கிற தலைப்பில், சிறப்பு விழிப்புணர்வு கருத்தரங்கம் நடந்தது. சேலம் கன்ஸ்யூமர் வாய்ஸ் தலைவர் பூபதி தலைமை வகித்தார். சமூக ஆர்வலர் சரவணமூர்த்தி, மனோகரன் ஆகியோர் முன்னிலை வகித்தனர்.
மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் டாக்டர் அனுராதா கலந்து கொண்டு பேசியதாவது:
சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், 16,582 வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் பதிவு மற்றும் உரிமம் பெற்று, தமிழகத்திலேயே, முதலிடத்தில் உள்ளது. இந்தியாவில், பதிவு, உரிமம் பெற, வருகிற ஃபிப்., 2014ம் வரை இடைக்கால தடை வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. நீதிமன்ற தடைக்கால உத்தரவு முடிந்ததும், தொடர்ந்து, வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் பதிவு பெறுவதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகள் தொடரும்.
மேலும், கலப்பட பொருட்களை பறிமுதல் செய்து, அதை பகுப்பாய்வு செய்து, பரிசோதனைக்கு அனுப்பப்படும். 15 நாளில் அதற்கான ரிஸல்ட் பெற்று சம்பந்தப்பட்ட நிறுவனம் மீது நீதிமன்ற நடவடிக்கை பாயும். குறைந்தது ஆறு மாதம் ஜெயில் தண்டனையும், அதிகபட்சம் ஐந்து லட்சம் ரூபாய் வரை அபராதம் விதிக்கலாம்.
சேலம் மாவட்டத்தில், டாஸ்மாக் பார்களின் நிலைமை மிக மோசமாக உள்ளது. அங்கு, சோதனைக்குச் சென்றால், உடனடியாக அரசியல் கட்சியினர் சிபாரிசுக்கு வந்து விடுகிறார்கள். இருந்தும், இரண்டொரு முறை அறிவுறுத்தப்படும். தொடர்ந்து, அதே நிலை நீடித்தால், பார் உரிமையாளர்கள் மீதும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும்.
குடிநீர் கேன்கள், இனி வெள்ளை நிறத்துக்கு பதிலாக, ப்ளூ கலரில் பயன்படுத்த பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது. விரைவில், அவை அமலுக்கு வர உள்ளதால், வெள்ளைநிற கேன்கள் பறிமுதல் செய்து, நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும்.
இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

Adulterated pepper worth Rs 34 cr to be destroyed

KOCHI: The food safety department may soon issue orders for destroying adulterated pepper worth around Rs 34 crore, after it detected presence of mineral oil in the samples collected from two warehouses in the district.
The department had sealed 5,300 tonnes of pepper stored in six warehouses registered with the National Commodity & Derivative Exchange (NCDEX), following complaint of adulteration by an agency, which purchased the substance.
Presence of mineral oil was found in 88 out of the 101 samples picked up from warehouses of the state warehousing corporation in Paravoor and a private agency at Edathala near Aluva. As per the lab test, conducted in a laboratory approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), 850 tonnes out of the total 1,000 tonnes were contaminated.
"As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, the pepper is unfit for consumption since it was adulterated," said state food safety commissioner Biju Prabhakar.
However, pepper traders claimed that the practice of mixing mineral oil to pepper is on for quite some time and it does not have any health issues. They also expressed fears that the issue will have serious repercussions in the pepper trade.
Meanwhile, sources said the food safety department is firm on its stand though the complainant has now expressed willingness to withdraw the complaint. The department is the authority to take a final call on the issue and the spices board has no role to play in it, said a source with spices board.
The food safety department is planning to complete the process of collecting samples from rest of the warehouses by August-end. It is presently in the process of picking up samples from warehouses at Cherthala and Kodungallur, sources said.
Kochi: The safety food department may soon issue orders for destroying pepper worth of around Rs34 crore after finding presence of mineral oil in the pepper stored in two warehouses in Ernakulam district.
The presence of mineral oil was found in 88 out of the 101 samples picked up from the warehouses of the State Warehousing Corporation in Paravoor and a private agency at Edathala near Aluva. As per the lab test, 850 tonnes out of the total 1000 tonnes were contaminated with mineral oil. The tests were conducted in a laboratory approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The samples were picked up from the warehouses in May this year by the food safety officials in the presence of the representatives of Spices Board and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).
"In the lab tests, presence of mineral oil was found in 88 samples. As per the Food Safety and Standards Act the pepper, which was adulterated with mineral oil, can't be allowed to use for the purpose of human consumption," said Biju Prabhakar, state food safety commissioner.
Meanwhile, pepper traders said that mineral oil has been using for quite some time and it does not have any health issues. They expressed fears that the issue will have serious repercussions in the pepper trade.
According to sources, though the complainant has expressed willingness to withdraw the complaint with pepper price registering an upward trend in the recent period. But the food safety department is firm on its stand that the pepper can't be used for human consumption purpose.
The food safety department is the authority to take final call on the issue and Spices Board has no role to play in it, said a source with Spices Board.
The food safety department had sealed 5300 tonnes of pepper stored in six warehouses registered with NCDEX following complaints by a company, which purchased pepper, about adulteration of the pepper by using mineral oil.
The food safety department is presently in the process of picking up samples from the warehouses at Cherthala and Kodungallur. Sources with the food safety department said that they are planning to complete process of picking samples from the remaining warehouses by August-end.

Tobacco products seized in Coimbatore

Ukkadam police on Sunday seized chewable tobacco product worth Rs. 3 lakh from five persons, who attempted to smuggle the same to Kerala. The police have arrested the five.

Tip-off

The police said that following a tip-off that there was an attempt to smuggle the tobacco using a sport utility vehicle from L.N. Street in Ukkadam, a team led by Sub Inspector P. Jawahar Kumar, Special Sub Inspector Karunamoorthy and Constable Mubarak Ali went around L.N. Street and after keeping a watch, intercepted a vehicle with Coimbatore registration.

The five were sitting in a suspicious manner inside the vehicle.

The police team asked them to get out of the vehicle, made preliminary enquiries and searched the vehicle, to find the chewable tobacco packed in 25 bags.

In all, there were around 10,000 packets.

The police said that after finding the tobacco there, the team seized it and took into custody Shahul Hameed, Mohammed, Jubi, Jaleel and Sunny.

The vehicle was Sunny’s. Jaleel was behind the wheel. Hameed and Mohammed were from Coimbatore and the other three from Thrissur, Kerala.

While the accused did not reveal the place where they had bought the banned tobacco product or the place where they were supposed to deliver the consignment, the police said that they suspected that it could be headed for Kerala.

The police said that they had registered a case and were taking the five to a magistrate court in Coimbatore to send them to judicial remand.

Midday meal workers to be trained

A child drinking milk during the launch of ‘Ksheera Bhagya’ programme by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Hosakote near Bangalore.

With the objective to ensure proper implementation of Ksheera Bhagya scheme, the Department of Public Instruction has planned special training programmes for teachers and midday meal workers serving in Government and aided schools.

Education Officer (EO) G. Lohith told The Hindu that prior to launching of Ksheera Bhagya scheme, the guidelines had been issued on storage of milk powder, preparation of milk, serving milk to children, and on the maintenance of cleanliness in kitchens.

Schools have been directed to purchase steel containers to store milk powder and utensils for preparing milk with the annual funds provided to them under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan, he said.

He said training would be provided to teachers and to Akshara Dasoha cooks at the cluster level that comprises 10 to 15 schools.

Experts from Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and the Department of Health and Family Welfare would take part in the training programme as resource persons. The demonstrations on preparation of milk from whole milk powder (WMP) would be held and experts would deliver talks on the nutritional value of milk. The training programme would be completed by August 15, he said.

Visit

Mr. Lohith said on Sunday he visited some Government and aided Urdu medium schools in Shikaripur taluk.

The scheme has garnered a good response from students. Officials of the Department of Public Instruction would pay surprise visits to the schools and would taste the milk prepared there, he said.

He said a 1,95,212 students from 2,181 Government and aided schools in the district would benefit from the scheme.

Private schools that were recently awarded grant-in-aid by the government had been directed to construct kitchens at the earliest to provide midday meals and milk to students, he said.

A total number of 98,989 children in 2,431 Anganawadi centres in the district would also be benefited from the scheme.

Deputy Director of Department of Women and Child Welfare Lakshmikanthamma told The Hindu that detailed guidelines had been sent to all Anganawadi centres through Child Development Project Officers on preparation of milk from skimmed milk powder (SMP).

In addition to this, the Department had made preparations to conduct training programme in this regard at Anganawadi Workers’ Training Centre (AWTC) in the city, she said.

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Demonstrations on preparation of milk from whole milk powder (WMP) will be held

Experts will deliver talks on the nutritional value of milk; training will be over by Aug 15

Concern over food poisoning cases

On Wednesday, 30 people, including B.Sc. Nursing students of the College of Nursing on the Government Medical College Hospital campus here and some staff members, were admitted to the hospital owing to food poisoning. The hostel and the mess were closed down for two weeks after the incident. Two days later, 15 persons, some of them M.Sc. Nursing students and the others members of the staff, took ill after having food from the staff mess and the Indian Coffee House.

The reasons for the recurring cases of food poisoning reported from the mess facilities on the college campus are unclear.

Food Safety Officer Anil Kumar told The Hindu that water supplied from a common tank to all the hostels and hospitals in the region could be the source of infection. A team of the Food Safety Authority had visited the campus and collected samples of food and water. These had been sent to the Regional Analytical Laboratory for investigation, and the results were expected on Monday.

The team had directed the mess authorities to clean up the kitchen and its premises, and obtain a licence for their operations as per the revised food safety norms, Mr. Anil Kumar said.

Meanwhile, there have been complaints from the students that food articles past their expiry date are being used in the hostel mess facilities.

It has been alleged that the mess facilities, two of which are run by the same person, are untidy and rats are spotted often in the kitchens. There is no mechanism to ensure the quality of the food. The lackadaisical attitude of the wardens has promoted corruption among the mess authorities, the students say.

The water supply system is also under the scanner.

FDA crack down on firms dealing in gutka, pan masala

NAGPUR: Following the state government's recent directive regarding ban on transportation, distribution, storage and sales of gutka, aromatic pan masala and scented betel nut for one year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff from the city has been raiding various outlets dealing in these materials.
The officials conducted raids on August 2 at M/S Jagdish Kirana Stores near Laxmi Talkies in Sitabuldi and M/S Saurabh Jhinge Shengdana Stores in Ramainagar and seized Jafrani Jarda, mouth freshener, scented betel nut, Golden Yug and Golden ShriG tobacco worth Rs21,705 and Rs49,375 respectively.
On July 29, the FDA raided RK Products at Sakharwadi in Chikhli Layout, and Raghav Distributors at Adarsh Nagar in Wadi and seized tobacco worth Rs53,922 and Rs67,800 respectively.
On July 24 and 26, raids were conducted at Jai Santoshi Kirana Stores on Old Bhandara Road and Ashok and Dilip enterprises at Hansapuri. Pan masala and gutka worth Rs13,136 from the grocery store.
At Hansapuri, the firms were engaged in manufacture of aromatic pan masala. The authorities seized 150kg tobacco, 30kg perfume, 44kg Bawa tobacco, besides confiscating 1500 empty pouches of Magic Jafrani Jarda, 400 empty pouches of Puja Gold Jafrani Jarda and 1000 empty pouches of Double Horse Jarda. The material is worth Rs31,140.
The raids were conducted by a team headed by assistant FDA commissioner (Food) NR Wakode. Other members in the raiding party included PV Dhawad, BG Nandanwar, AD Raut, YT Dhebre and LP Soyam of Vigilance Department. The department has filed FIRS against Vijay Rathod, Ashok Gehani and Dilip Aswani.
Citizens can also inform about sale or distribution of gutka or any other banned products on 0712-2532204.

Long distance trains to have hygienic food

JAIPUR: There is good news for those who were earlier served bad and stale food during their long distance train journey. The North Western Railway (NWR) have asked various food caterers and pantry in-charge of long distance trains to mention the date and time of packaging of food and also the best before period. In some of the long distance trains the caterers have already started serving food mentioning its manufacturing date and the best before tag. Not only that, the teams of various divisions of NWR will also conduct 'surprise checks' on the trains to check the food quality.
To start with the facility has been started in the Jaipur-Delhi Double Decker train and very soon trains to Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Secunderabad too will have such checks.
"We have developed a system in which in most cases food served in various trains would be cooked, packed and served on the same date of journey when the passenger is boarding the train. We are aiming at providing fresh food. Various contactors have been told to mention the date and time of manufacturing, contents and quantity on the food packets served as breakfast, lunch and dinner in various trains," said Tarun Jain, chief public relations officer, NWR on Sunday.
He said that caterers serving food in Jaipur-Delhi Double Decker have already started it and the same facility would be seen in other long distance trains. Officials said that this facility will not let the caterers pack and serve stale or old food. and would certainly provide hygienic food to the passengers.
"We had had received complaints in the past of stale food and there was also confrontation of passengers with the train crew on this issue. Serving unhygienic midday meals led took a toll in many districts and states recently. Thus, we have decided that NWR is not going to take chances when it comes to the safety and health of the passengers," said a senior officer of Jaipur division of NWR.
Official sources said that trains including Jodhpur-Howrah, Jaipur-Mumbai Duronto, Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast and Ashram Express will also have this facility soon.
Asked how the officials will keep a tab on the quality the officer said, "We will conduct surprise checks and if the quality of the food is not be as per the standards, initially the contractor would be penalized. If he repeats the mistake then action would be taken as per his contract with the Railways".

US plans tough norms for food imports from India, other places

About 15 per cent of all food consumed in the US is imported, while the ratio is even higher at 20 per cent for fresh vegetables and as high as 50 per cent of fresh fruit.

WASHINGTON: Indian food companies seeking to enter American markets may soon face a tough screening process, as the US health watchdog FDA has proposed a new Foreign Supplier Verification Programme for such products.

The new rules, once adopted after an ongoing public consultation process, would apply to all foreign companies supplying food products for human as well as animals in the US and would vary as per the type of food product (such as processed foods, farm produce, and dietary supplements) and category of the importer.

The regulations would require importers, from countries including India, to go through a screening process that ensures that food being imported has been produced in compliance with the processes and procedures required for the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) standards.

About 15 per cent of all food consumed in the US is imported, while the ratio is even higher at 20 per cent for fresh vegetables and as high as 50 per cent of fresh fruit.

According to FDA, India is the second largest drug exporter and seventh largest food exporter to the US. At the same time, India also figures among the top countries in terms of import refusal of food products by the FDA.

Besides, several food-borne disease outbreaks have been traced to imported food, including outbreaks resulting from consumption of imported fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

Amid recent concerns related to imported food, tighter rules have been designed to provide the same level of public health protection as those required under the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls and standards for produce safety sections of US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Although FDA applies the same safety standards to domestic and imported food marketed in the US, the regulator has long taken different regulatory compliance approaches to the products produced domestically and abroad.

The logistics associated with conducting unannounced onsite inspections in most foreign countries make it difficult for the FDA to conduct inspections similar to those in the US.

The same is true of "for cause" inspections when FDA has evidence of a compliance problem. FDA also has to overcome very significant hurdles to conduct foreign civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions when violations occur.

These difficulties associated with foreign inspection and enforcement are compounded as there are more foreign firms registered with FDA than domestic firms.

In addition, FDA is able to physically examine only a small fraction of the food that is offered for import into this country. The number of food import lines has grown significantly over the past decade, reaching nearly 10.5 million lines in fiscal year 2011, and FDA expects this trend to continue in the coming years.

A Year for Fruit & Vegetable Dangers

It was not perfect and it was not everywhere, but the U.S. government did, prior to this year, have a trip wire set up that might well have prevented that rare strain of hepatitis A from the Middle East and North Africa and that nasty cyclospora parasite from south of the border from getting into the United States.
The official name of that trip wire was the Microbiological Data Program (MDP), a federally funded joint project of USDA and about a dozen state agricultural labs. As Food Safety News reported at about this time last year, MDP was responsible for about 80 percent of the fresh produce testing being conducted in the U.S. at the time.
The New York Times editorial writers probably said it best when they called MDP “a tiny program that matters.” Also at about this time last year, we were writing about MDP’s contribution in heading off another deadly Listeria outbreak in cantaloupe. But the fresh produce lobby long wanted MDP killed, and at last it succeeded. The Obama White House, USDA and all those feed-at-trough farm committees in Congress played supporting roles.
In all likelihood, there is less fresh produce testing going on this year than at anytime in a decade. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) might be trying to pick up some of the slack left by the loss of MDP, but it is not capable of picking up all of it.
The fresh produce lobby did not like all those state labs at work because they were too connected to the growing and importing  seasons. The fresh produce industry did not like it when positive test results were sent by the states to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s disease surveillance network PulseNet. They did not like having those tests connected to produce consumers had not yet eaten and they for sure did not like those recalls.
So they killed it.
This means this is a very dangerous produce season for consumers. We should not be surprised that at least 418 people have contracted cyclospora infections from Mexican lettuce and 158 were sickened with a rare strain of hepatitis A. These are the sick folks whose summer is ruined all for the want of a trip wire warning.
As I said at the beginning, MDP did not catch all the bugs during its existence. The Turkish pomegranate seeds thought to be the source of the hepatitis A virus in the frozen berry mixes weren’t fresh produce and probably would have sickened consumers unless MDP was expanded to include frozen fruits and vegetables. But the Mexican salad makings might have been a different story.  With only 1 to 2 percent of all imported food getting inspected by FDA, having MDP to check on surges of fresh produce coming across our border would be a great use of the trip wire theory.
With the produce rule under the new Food Safety and Modernization Act, FDA is hard at work to make fresh fruits and vegetables safer in the future. It just would be nice if in there somewhere was a little program that would move and test fresh produce at times and locations that made some sense.
For the remainder of this summer, be careful with those fruits and vegetables. Be very careful.