Jan 11, 2017
Adulterated tea seized
The Food Safety and Standards Authority officials have seized 1.5 tonne adulterated tea from a warehouse in Udayampalayam.
According to sources, a team led by Designated Officer, Food Safety, OLS Vijay, raided the warehouse. The tea was allegedly adulterated by Balan, who sold it to shops in rural areas. He had added colouring agents extracted from coal tar to give more colour to tea.
They said that the colour would give the impression it was strong tea. With a little powder, the tea shop owners would be able to sell more glasses of tea.
According to law, colouring agents should not be added to tea.
Action had been initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act against Balan.
He was booked earlier in 2016 for a similar offence. He was let off after paying fine.
Now the officials would press for his imprisonment, the sources added.
FSSAI to lift tea decoction samples to check adulteration
Officials of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India closed down a tea shop near Gandhipuram bus stand for using adulterated tea dust.
After repeated raids to curb use of adulterated tea dust, officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have started lifting decoction samples from tea stalls to check for adulterants.
Earlier, FSSAI officials used to lift tea dust from provision shops, bakeries and tea stalls to examine use of adulterants.
Samples checked in previous years had revealed that tea dust lifted from some places were adulterated, primarily by adding artificial colours.
“While lifting adulterated tea dust from tea shops, the shop owners used to blame the trader. The trader at provision shops would point the finger at wholesale dealers. Based on a direction from headquarters, FSSAI is currently lifting samples of decoction from tea shops. If the samples are found adulterated in the laboratory examination, action will be taken against the tea shop owners,” said O.LS. Vijay, Designated Officer, FSSAI, Coimbatore.
Dr. Vijay said that samples will also be lifted from Aavin milk booths where tea is sold and the samples lifted from some of the shops are currently being examined in a Government laboratory.
On Monday, FSSAI closed down a tea shop in Gandhipuram for repeated use of low quality adulterated tea dust. Officials said that all shops selling tea in Gandhipuram were taught to detect adulterated tea dust through a simple method.
“Tea dust mixed with colourants, when added to a glass of normal water, will release colour instantly. Whereas, pure tea dust will release colour only in warm water. We had demonstrated this experiment in all shops. As adulterated tea dust is cheap, they compromise on its ill-effects,” said K. Chandran, food safety officer for Gandhipuram area.
Coca-cola, Pepsico and Bisleri operate packaged water units without license: FSSAI
New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI has asked state authorities to crack down on mineral water packaging units that are operating without its licence.
As many as 75 per cent of the packaging units, owned by various firms, including Pepsico and Bisleri, are said to be operating without an FSSAI licence. These units are operating under a BIS certification.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), however, feels there is no safety or quality concern over the bottled water supplied by these units.
Out of total 5,842 registered water packaging units, 1,495 units have both BIS and FSSAI licences, while 4,347 units have only BIS certification.
"FSSAI regulations require mandatory BIS certification on packaged water. However there is a need for such businesses to obtain FSSAI certification. For which we have already written to the state food commissioners," FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said.
When asked about the quality of the bottled water which are sold without FSSAI licence, he said: "BIS has robust system of ensuring quality of packaged water. There is no issue of safety of packaged water at all, if the packaged water businesses have obtained BIS certification."
Most of the companies have no issues in obtaining FSSAI licence as per the feedback received by the regulator, he added.
Stating that many of the bottlers are not abiding by the law, Agarwal said: "Out of close to 6,000 registered packaged water units in the country, more than 4,300 don't have FSSAI licence, which also include some reputed names, where some of their units may not have food regulator's approval."
According to the regulator data, the units which do not have FSSAI licence include units of Hindustan Coca-cola, Pepsico and Bisleri, among others.
Pepsico sells its packaged water under the brand name Aquafina, Coca-cola sells under the name Kinley, while Bisleri sells under its own name.
When contacted, Pepsico India and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages said that they manufacture packaged drinking water under valid licences.
PepsiCo India spokesperson said: "We at PepsiCo strictly adhere to all quality and regulatory norms and all our packaged drinking water is manufactured under valid licences issued by relevant authorities. We have not received any communication from authorities in this regard."
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages said that it has all the approvals and permissions, including BIS and FSSAI, to manufacture packaged drinking water for all its 26 factories.
"Our factories are fully compliant with all local regulations and have all the approvals and permissions required to operate these factories," Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages said.
"This list of permissions include the BIS and FSSAI approvals for manufacturing packaged drinking water," it said. "Quality and safety of our products is paramount to us. Kinley is a brand built on consumer trust and love and we will never do anything that contravenes the faith and trust that consumers repose in our products," it added.
Owners get the lowdown on licences to run bakeries
PUNE: Eleven days after six workers suffocated to death in a bakery fire in Kondhwa, a drive conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that a large number of bakeries were illegally conducting business without obtaining necessary permissions.
The situation has compelled the FDA to issue notices to 80 bakeries in Pune directing them to obtain food and safety and other licences from the authorities within 15 days or face action.
Six workers had suffocated to death in a fire at 'bake N cake' shop on Kondhwa-Saswad Road on December 30 because its shutters were locked from the outside and the workers were trapped inside. Three bakery partners were arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC section 304.
The Kondhwa police identified 35 bakeries involved in manufacturing and selling bakery products. The survey revealed that some bakeries had obtained the Shop Act licences while others were illegally conducting business without seeking permission from authorities.
A meeting was held recently to sensitise bakery owners and take preventive measures to avert more such tragedies. It was attended by central fire brigade, FDA, shop act licence and labour commissionerate officials.
Senior inspector Satish Govekar, in charge of Kondhwa police station, said the initiative was to educate bakery owners to run their businesses legally, prevent workers from sleeping inside locked premises, maintain a record of workers with their names, addresses, photographs, cellphone numbers and adopt safety measures to prevent fires.
Sunil Gilbile, deputy chief fire officer, advised bakery owners to obtain a no-objection certificate every year. The NOC will be issued after inspecting the bakery, electric wiring, ventilation, chimney, mezzanine, entry and exit, and verifying the documents submitted by the owners and providing training to workers on how to use fire apparatus in case of a fire or an emergency, he said.
Food and safety inspector Vijay Unawane said most bakeries running on the basis of the Shop Act licence, but they also need to obtain the food and safety licence if they manufacture and sell bakery products.
He appealed to owners to maintain cleanliness and encouraged them to apply online for licences so that there are no middleman or agents misleading them. "We have issued notices to 12 bakeries for illegally conducting business in Kondhwa. The notice directs them to obtain food and safety licence within 15 days or else they will face action — six months' simple imprisonment or a fine of Rs 5 lakh," he added.
Jan 10, 2017
Maharashtra FDA prohibits McDonald’s India from sale of beverages in state
According to the Act, a warning label saying “contains caffeine” is compulsory when sweetened carbonated drinks is sold.
McDonald’s sells three branded soft drinks— Coke, Fanta, Thumbs up. While the brands sell their beverage with the warning on packaged bottles, McDonald’s outlet in Kolhapur was first to have been found contravening the regulation on its plastic and paper cups, used to serve the drink.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (MFDA) has issued a prohibition order to Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd, which operates quick service food chain McDonald’s in India, to immediately stop sale of beverages at its 60 outlets across Maharashtra for contraventions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 .
In its order, MFDA has said that the popular chain did not comply with the mandatory warning to label its disposable containers whenever carbonated beverages were sold to customers. According to the Act, a warning label saying “contains caffeine” is compulsory when sweetened carbonated drinks is sold.
McDonald’s sells three branded soft drinks— Coke, Fanta, Thumbs up. While the brands sell their beverage with the warning on packaged bottles, McDonald’s outlet in Kolhapur was first to have been found contravening the regulation on its plastic and paper cups, used to serve the drink. Of over 500 McDonald’s outlets in India 60 are in Maharashtra.
“The appellant is the manufacturer of sweetened carbonated beverage with added caffeine and serves all kinds of public including kids, pregnant women, lactating women etc. Considering the ill effects of caffeine and that the appellant serves it by the way of manufacturing caffeinated drinks without disclosing the contents (i.e. CAFFEINE) to highly susceptible groups of public like kids, pregnant women, lactating mothers etc. that can have serious ill effect on their health (sic),” the order said.
The violation was first detected by Kolhapur’s food safety officer, B D Mule in July 2016. The order states that apart from “serious hygiene/ sanitation related issues” the paper cups served to customers had no warning of “contains caffeine”.
Caffeine, one of the most commonly consumed psychoactive drugs, varies from 40 to 80mg in carbonated drinks. Its intake beyond 400 mg in a day is considered a high dose. Generally, coffee-addicted consumers have an intake of over 250 mg caffeine in a day. While US FDA allows its consumption in moderate quantities, Indian regulation requires labelling of “contains caffeine” in its regulation 2.4.5(38) of Food Safety and Standards Act.
The Kolhapur FDA sent a prohibition order to McDonald’s in 2016 to stop sale of beverages following the inspection. The food-chain stopped the beverages sale but later appealed to the FDA commissioner against the prohibition order. “We have observed that none of the Mcdonald’s outlet show the caffeine warning on their containers. Across Maharashtra, we have instructed all joint commissioners to inspect local outlets and prohibit its sale,” said Harshdeep Kamble, FDA commissioner.
Additionally, instructions have been issued to all joint commissioners to inspect similar food-joints that sell soft drinks to customers in unpackaged cups or glasses.
When contacted, the spokesperson for McDonald’s told The Indian Express, “McDonald’s India adheres to all statutory requirements, and is in compliance with all applicable laws pertaining to mandatory food labelling. At McDonald’s India, the health, safety and well-being of our customers are paramount. We have always conformed to the highest quality and food safety standards and will continue to do so at all times “
Food fortification is not magic bullet to fight malnutrition
The Supreme Court order on sourcing natural food locally instead of relying on artificially-fortified commercial products was hailed by experts
Though fortified foods are promoted as an effective means to combat malnutrition, they have been embroiled in controversy in the past.
On January 2, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued draft guidelines prescribing standards for fortification of salt, oil, milk, vanaspati (vegetable oil), atta (wheat flour), maida (white flour) and rice. The food regulator sought suggestions and objections to the guidelines within a month after which the draft regulations will be taken into consideration.
Fortification means adding key vitamins and minerals like iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and D to staple foods to improve their nutritional content. These nutrients may or may not have been originally present in the food before processing.
"This should not be made mandatory because fortification by its very nature incentivises centralised production and procurement of food," said Biraj Patnaik, Principal Adviser to the Commissioners of the Supreme Court. Patnaik added that he had no fundamental objections to the concept of fortification, if it has been proven that the vehicle used for fortification provides for sufficient bio-availability and bio-absorption. "My argument is that preference should be equally for promoting dietary diversity as the means for dealing with micro-nutrient deficiency rather than emphasising on fortification."
According to the draft guidelines, the regulator will promote fortified foods in the country and take steps to encourage production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption. It will also advise and promote the use of fortified food in government-funded programmes on distribution of food. Though fortified foods are promoted as an effective means to combat malnutrition, they have been embroiled in controversy in the past.
Even the Supreme Court, in its order dated October 2004, had said that private contractors should not be used for supply of nutrition in Anganwadis and preferably, ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) funds should be spent by making use of village communities, self-help groups and Mahila Mandals for buying grains and preparation of meals.
Commercialisation of malnutrition
ICDS is India’s flagship programme and the world’s largest scheme on early childhood care and development. The scheme serves children under six years as well as pregnant and lactating women. Under this programme, six-year-olds and younger children are entitled to 500 calories and 12-15 grams of protein. Severely malnourished children are entitled to 800 calories and 20-25 grams of protein regularly, while pregnant and lactating women are entitled to 600 calories of energy and 18-20 grams of protein a day. This supplementary nutrition is distributed in the form of micronutrient fortified food and/or energy dense food as take-home rations.
The Supreme Court order was hailed by experts who advocated inclusion of locally-sourced natural food in place of artificially-fortified commercial products. Banning private vendors was also seen as an effective way to stop commercialisation of malnutrition.
Patnaik recommends a wholesome approach to tackle malnutrition which deals with multiple aspects, including junk food consumption and micronutrient deficiency. "Government and policy efforts should simultaneously attack both problems—reducing dietary diversity and increasing consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed food; as well as fortification. It should not be seen as a magic bullet," he said.
Jan 9, 2017
FSSAI sets nutritional benchmarks to fortify food items for PDS, midday meals
NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released benchmarks to fortify the nutritional quality of food items used in social sector programmes such as ICDS, PDS and midday meals, such as rice, wheat flour, milk, edible oil and salt.
Food fortification helps combat malnutrition through staple food items. The government is trying to push such products through government schemes to counter problems like stunting, overweight and anaemia, which are the major causes of maternal and child deaths. The FSSAI standards detail specific measurements for fortification.
For instance, any manufacturer that fortifies food would have ensure that the level of micronutrients does not fall below the minimum specified by the central food regulator.
The standards also make it mandatory for the manufacturers to follow certain fortification procedures.Fortified food items would also have to carry a logo approved by the FSSAI and mention the nutrient content on their pack.
According to the standards, fortified atta (flour) should contain added iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12. Apart from this, it may also be fortified with zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and Vitamin B6.
A separate set of rules dictates how 'maida' should be fortified -with iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12. Likewise, fortified rice should contain added iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12. The level of fortification has been specified as well.
The FSSAI standards would ensure that essential nutrients are appropriately added to foods for preventing or reducing the risk of, or correcting, a demonstrated deficiency of one or more essential nutrients in the population or a specific population group.
The regulator has also asked the manufacturers and packers of fortified food to give an undertaking on quality assurance, and submit evidence on steps taken in regard to fortification.
All fortified food, whether voluntarily fortified or mandatorily, should be manufactured, packed, labelled, handled, distributed and sold, whether for profit or under a government-funded programme, only in compliance with the standards specified under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the regulations made thereunder.
20 students fall ill
More than 20 students were taken ill after consuming chicken at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) located at Mirdoddi on Sunday.
According to Sub-Inspector B. Satish, the students were served chicken in the afternoon and more than 20 students fell ill. They were admitted at the Government Hospital at Siddipet.
The students are said to be out of danger.
Jan 8, 2017
Mumbai: FDA continues to fight gutkha menace
Though it is banned in the state, it is smuggled from neighbouring states and sold in markets in Mumbai; In the past four years, quantities worth over Rs 90 crore have been seized in the city
Women protest against the sale of gutkha.
In 2012, the Maharashtra government banned the production and sale of gutkha across the state. But gutkha smuggled from neighbouring states is still being openly sold in Mumbai. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the regulatory body, has in the past four years seized the addictive cancerous product in quantities worth more than R90 crore from more than 5,000 shops in the city.
Gutkha is a mixture of crushed areca nut, tobacco, catechu, paraffin and slaked lime. It is carcinogenic. It was first banned in the state in 2012 under the Food Standards and Safety Act, 2006. But it is getting smuggled from neighbouring states like Rajasthan and Gujarat into the markets of the city. Despite repeated attempts, FDA has been unable to stop the sale of gutkha in the city. Every year, the body seizes gutkha worth crores.
In the past four years till November 2016, FDA has seized gutkha worth Rs 94,24,87,563. Sadly, though the number of shops selling gutkha has fallen, the amount sold has gone up, highlighting a new modus operandi in smuggling it in the city. In 2016 between July and November, 3,659 FIRs were filed against the sellers.
“Earlier, many shops used to keep gutkha but in smaller amounts. Now after continuous raids, few shops are keeping it. But the pattern has changed. The main dealers provide large amounts of gutkha to few trusted shop keepers, which decreases their risk of getting caught,” said an officer.
Need wider ban
Dr Harshadeep Kamble, FDA commissioner, said gutkha is not produced in Maharashtra.
“We have been able to stop the production of gutkha in the state. But it is getting smuggled in the city through the porous routes from surrounding states. On regular basis, we raid shops. We also file FIRs and fine them, but until the ban is implemented countrywide, it is tough to curb the sale completely,” said Kamble.
Gutkha causes cancer
Gutkha is more harmful than any other forms of tobacco.
It is promoted as a mouth freshener, but it is a mixture of carcinogenic compounds. It contains nitrosamines, arsenic, chlorine, ammonium and pesticides, alert oncologists.
“These chemicals may seem harmless to consumers who get addicted to it. It can cause cancer in the mouth, throat, lung and oesophagus. The most common cancer in India is oral cancer. In most cases, it is caused due to consumption of such products,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, neck and mouth oncology surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital.
Similarly, Dr CS Pramesh, thoracic oncology surgeon from the hospital stated, “Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Mumbai and in patients coming across the country. Consumption of such products is responsible for cancer.”
Delhi Government ups ante on tobacco control
During Delhi Government's latest anti-tobacco drive, of the 62 samples of Pan Masala along with tobacco, five samples were found to be unsafe for consumption, and 18 samples were declared mis-branded by the Food Analyst. The government has forwarded its report to the Union Health Ministry.
"Necessary action is being taken in the matter as per provisions of Law," MM Kutty, Delhi Chief Secretary stated in his letter to the Secretary, Union Health Ministry.
Recently, the Union Health Ministry had criticised the Delhi government on its inability to implement tobacco ban, and asked for a status report. Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State Health and Family Welfare had said at an event that Delhi needed to step up its actions on tobacco control. "The sale of tobacco has been banned in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Delhi, the ban on tobacco has been imposed many times but this is reflected only on papers," Kulaste had said.
Delhi government is among the first to submit its report regarding tobacco control since the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) asked for the status report on its tobacco control measures in December 2016 following a Supreme Court order on September 23, 2016 banning chewing tobacco products.
"The Delhi government had already issued a notification on April 12, 2016 as per Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 prohibiting for a period of one year the manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of Tobacco, which is either flavoured, scented or mixed with any of the said additives, and whether going by the name or form of Gutka, Pan Masala, flavoured/ scented tobacco/ kharra, or otherwise, whatever name called whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold of distributed in such a manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer," Kutty stated.
According to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2011 issued by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products. Thus, banning sale of all food products where tobacco is present as ingredient in the final product, whether going by the name of gutka, pan masala or zarda.
The Ministry had written to all states for issuing strict directions for banning the production, promotion and sale of these food products. However, states such as Bihar, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala and Madhya pradesh have issued orders in compliance of the apex Court's order; several states are yet to follow the ban.
As per the MoHFW figures, 34.6 per cent Indians are said to consume tobacco. Of these, 47.9 per cent are males, and 20.3 per cent females. One in every 10 deaths is due to consumption of tobacco and by the year 2030, 80 lakh people would die because of high tobacco consumption.
Hangyo management comes out with a statement on 7am milk smelly issue
BHATKAL — Hangyo’s Dairy Unit has debunked the social media message that its popular milk brand 7am milk is adulterated with chemicals. Social media was abuzz for the last couple of days that Hangyo’s 7am milk supplied in Bhatkal is giving foul smell and looks adultered with chemicals. The smell and texture of 7am milk which was not normal scared the residents.
Talking to Bhatkallys.com, Production Head of the Company Mr. Nitin Kulkarni said, “It appears that 7am milk might have been exposed to higher temperature in handling which might have resulted in enhancement of acidity content thus imparting acidic flavour to the milk.. But we can assure that it is not adulterated .”
Mr. Kulkarni further said, “Ours Dairy Unit is ISO 22000:2005 certified and we take utmost care in checking quality, process & other parameters as per the standards set by the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India. We have been handling milk since last 21 years and never compromised on quality and service. We maintain proper cold chain for milk handling.”
Dinesh R. Pai, Hangyo Chairman, said, “we assure our customers that we will monitor cold chain from procurement chilling centres till dealers and make sure that such problems never recur.”
Hangyo supplies about 4500 ltrs of milk and milk products to Bhatkal out of which almost 3200 ltrs is 7 AM milk.
Dinesh R Pai further stated that “We have already rectified the issues and today there is no issue and our production team is in Bhatkal market today for inspection.
NOW, CAMEL MILK CHEESE
Shalini Saksena speaks with Anne Bruntse, a Kenya-based agronomist specialised in organic farming, who is using camel milk to make cheese
Move over cow, buffalo and goat milk. The latest trend to hit the markets is camel milk and milk powder. You read that right — camel milk! People in States like Rajasthan and Gujarat are already supplying this milk to individuals. Now that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has given its nod, the milk may soon find its way in other States as well.
But one is told that it is still early days. It will take some time before the milk actually hits the stores. This is because, there are several challenges. First, to change the mindset of the people to open themselves to the idea of having camel milk instead of cow or buffalo. Also, like goat milk that was, at one time, considered milk for the poor, camel milk is for the really poor. But considering that India is making chocolates using camel milk could mean that there will be many willing to drink the milk — even if it is a novelty. Though the taste, one is told, of camel milk is no different than other milks that are already available in the market. Second, is how to get the milk from the interiors to a place where it can be pasturised and then packed and sent? Marketing is another area that needs to be taken care of and who the end consumer is. The pastoralists are constantly on the move. To gather the milk at one collection centre is a challenge that needs to be addressed.
Anne Bruntse, a Danish-Kenyan agronomist specialised in organic farming, including dairying and camel cheese-making, was in the Capital recently. She held a workshop wherein she demonstrated how camel milk can be used to create a simple Halloumi cheese.
The good part was that at the end of the workshop, one could walk away with the cheese that one had made including newfound insights into a relatively rare ingredient. The recipe that Bruntse used is one of the many that are available. But she uses the recipe of Halloumi cheese since it is the fastest way — it only takes five hours to make it. The other cheese making processes using camel milk may take up to as long as three days or even more.
“The reason why it takes such a long time is because camel milk has no coagulant and even the fat content in the milk is extremely low. These coagulants are present in cow, goat and buffalo milk but absent in camel milk. These are enzymes that are made based on the requirement of the calves. I was approached in 2010 to test it and got a box of coagulant to carry out some tests. We did this in 2012 and it all started from there,” Bruntse says, who had been experimenting with making cheese from camel milk.
Since there was no coagulant, the first step was to develop one that can be effectively used. A lot of research was done. It took time before coagulant could be made. Therefore, it is not easy to make cheese out of this milk.
After much experimentation they found a coagulant — pepsin — but it was very bitter. Since the camel milk is resistant to coagulant, a lot of it had to be used making the cheese bitter. There was need to develop a coagulant that did the work and was not biter.
The result, after five years, is that the market is now ready to have cheese like feta, halloumi, cream cheese, etc.
One is told that camel milk has a different composition than that of cow or buffalo milk when it comes to protein, fat content etc. “When a calf is born of a camel, the fat in the milk is very high but as time passes, it keeps falling and by the end of it, the milk is extremely thin. It takes two years for a calf to wean off. This meant that there was lot of extra milk — almost 150 kg in excess each week. More so, after the rainy season.
“To begin with, this milk was consumed by the pastoralists. They would feed it to the dogs as well. Since they didn’t have any means to store it, they would even drink it if it became sour. To make it drinkable, a lot of sugar is added. But then some women started bringing this milk in to the towns in Kenya. But it had no takers since the hygiene standards in the cities and rural areas are very different. Some of the milk that came had manure floating on top. So the women had to be taught cleanliness. There is scarcity of water where these women lived. We had to teach them how to clean their containers. We also taught them to boil the milk so that it would not go sour,” Bruntse tells you, who has a dairy on her in Kenya and has worked as a consultant for a variety of Government programmes and non-Government organisations, including Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development.
Bruntse’s job was to develop products that could last up to the next season and have some left for sale. She did lot of experiments — they managed to make ghee and made sweet cheese since the pastoralists don’t like salty cheese. Bruntse found that the ghee sold as did the cheese. The locales would use dried and slightly sour cheese in their sour porridge, which they love.
“The minute the hygiene standards improved, their milk had many takers and they did roaring business. Other women too wanted to know how to sell their milk and soon the hygiene became a norm. Also, an interesting way to ensure that the milk doesn’t go off, is to smoke it. This meant that people were willing to give a higher price for the milk. In fact, one is told that the cost of camel milk is almost five times that of cow or buffalo when it finds it way in supermarkets,” Bruntse says.
This could stem from the fact that pastoralists swear by camel milk and Ayurveda lists many benefits. It’s an open secret among alternative health experts and now it’s the turn of modern science to discover the virtues of camel milk.
One is also told that this is the only milk that has zero lactose — 70 per cent of our population is said to suffer lactose intolerance — and closest in constitution to human mothers’ milk, research is underway on its claimed anti-diabetic, anti-autism and anti-allergic properties. The locales (Kenya) say that it has medicinal properties and can cure ulcers. Apparently drinking camel milk for three months can in fact help many people on insulin go off it since it has pre-insulin compounds. “However, a lot more study and research has to be conducted before it can be proven for sure,” Bruntse tells you.
In India, there are NGOs who are selling camel milk locally. They are paturising it and putting them in small bottles, freezing them before they are shipped. The good part is that camel milk can sit in the fridge for up to 10 days without turning sour because of its anti-mircrobials.
Government departments to step up vigil to curb water-borne diseases
Well at a house in Jokatte, near Mangalore with contaminated water.
KOZHIKODE: Health and food safety departments have jointly initiated steps to put in place a mechanism to check the quality of water distributed by various agencies in the district. The additional district medical officer, who is also the district surveillance officer has directed the medical officers in the panchayats and block panchayats to take steps to check the quality of water from identified private and public water sources and chlorinate it to ensure that the public are getting safe drinking water.
The health department here is directly checking the identified water sources, which fall in the limits of grama panchayats and block panchayats. While the food safety officials concentrate on the water sources in the corporation and municipalities, special squads of the food safety department will continuously monitor all the private tanker lorries supplying drinking water. The move was taken to avoid supply of contaminated water which poses threat to public health.
Additional district medical officer Dr Asha Devi said, they have already issued direction to medical officers and some of them have commenced the work to chlorinate the public wells and to collect samples for testing from identified water sources to check its hygienic quality. "We have issued directions to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases as people will make use of all available drinking water sources with the strengthening of summer as severe drought is expected this year," said Dr Asha Devi.
District medical officer Dr R L Saritha said besides the medical officers some of the panchayats in the district have already formed their own mechanism to carry out periodical checking on hygienic quality of water in their respective panchayat limits. "We will submit a report to the concerned licencing authority on detecting supply of contaminated water by private agencies which will result in the cancellation of their licences," she said.
Meanwhile, food safety assistant commissioner O Sankaran Unni said the food safety department here has decided to take strict measures to check the quality of water supplied in tanker trucks in various parts of the district.
"We will carry out squad work to collect samples from tanker trucks to check its quality and also the sources from where these private parties fetch water for distribution in various parts of the district. Licence of the food safety department is mandatory for the supply of drinking water on tanker trucks by private parties. The license number should be displayed on the trucks distributing water,'' he said adding that the squads will be more active in the coming days.
Jan 7, 2017
FSSAI for hygienic street food in capital
Delhi street vendors to be seen wearing apron, gloves, cap, T shirt as the capital eyes for a hygenic way of serving street food
Don’t be surprised if you find a golgappe wala wearing an apron, gloves, cap and T-shirt while serving the delicious snack to you. On par with international standards, street food vendors in Delhi will now be following proper health and hygiene standards before serving you any food item.
This unique initiative is part of a programme followed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Under the programme, around 23,000 street food vendors have been trained by the National Street Food Vendors Association of India (NASVI). On Saturday, around 6,000 of them will be awarded the certificate and a kit after completing their training.
The kits, containing two aprons, one T-shirt, one cap, 50 disposable plastic gloves and a hand sanitiser will be given to promote hygienic practices. The first phase will see vendors from Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Malviya Nagar and Sarai Kale Khan.
However, Sangeeta Singh, Head, street food program, NASVI, claimed that the lack of Aadhaar cards had ensured vendors were not able to get certificates earlier.
“Many of them have not filled the information correctly due to which the certificates have not come yet. Some of them have not linked the Aadhaar card with the bank account. The department has now finally decided to give certificates to these 6,000 food vendors in the first phase.”
In March last year, the FSSAI had launched ‘Clean Street Food’ project with an aim to raise the safety standards of foods sold on streets across the national capital by training 20,000 roadside vendors on aspects of health and hygiene. FSSAI partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to train street food vendors.
The vendors will also be provided with a health chart which will have 10 indicators. These indicators include washing hands before serving, using head cap, wearing gloves, using clean water, etc. Every food vendor will have this chart displayed near his/her cart.
But it’s not just the vendors. As the organisers of the initiative point out, the consumers too have a role to play to ensure better health and sanitary conditions. “The customers must always remind the food vendor to follow the 10 health indicators before serving the food. We will also keep a close watch on all the vendors to ensure that all the rules are being followed,” added Singh.
According to experts, the practice will help in eliminating diseases like food infection, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea.
“Most of the time, we advise people not to eat street food as the vendors don’t follow proper hygiene standards. The water used in making these items is extremely unhealthy and leads to many diseases like diarrhoea and gastroenteritis,” said Dr SP Byotra, Senior Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram hospital.
Sources say that apart from the 6,000 already certified vendors, the remaining vendors will be certified in the next few months. According to the sources, once all the details of the vendors are placed properly, the certification process will speed up.
Tough punishment awaits food adulterators, Law Commission proposes life imprisonment for offenders
Govt plans to increase jail term for offenders from 6 months to life imprisonment
An unprecedented and exemplary punishment may be slapped on food adulterators. According to sources, the Law Commission of India has proposed increasing punishment of those adulterating food substances from the existing six months to life imprisonment.
The commission has prepared a detailed report on amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The panel has also decided to increase the fines for such offenders from the existing Rs 1,000 to Rs 10 lakh.
The commission, which has proposed amendments to Section 272 (adulteration of food and drinks) and 273 (sale of noxious food or drinks) of the IPC, is likely to submit its report to the government in two weeks.
The details of the report were finalised by the commission on Thursday at a high-level meeting, sources told DNA. The government is also mulling over constituting special courts for speedy disposal of food adulteration cases, sources added.
While making the proposal for harsher punishment, the commission has laid emphasis on the amendments to food adulteration laws by states like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The three states have already made food adulteration punishable with life imprisonment. In its report, the commission is learnt to have stated that the Centre needs to follow the footsteps of these states and make life term the maximum punishment for adulterators throughout the country.
Apart from increasing the jail term and fines, the panel has also proposed compensation for victims of food adulteration. Under the proposed amendments, food adulteration has been categorised into four, with different punishments for different categories.
While the minimum punishment is six months if no injury is caused, the maximum is life imprisonment, if adulterated food causes the death of a person. The convict will also be liable to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh in case of death due to adulteration. If adulterated substance causes non-grievous injury, the adulterators would have to serve a 1-year jail term and cough up a fine of Rs 3 lakh. For grievous injury due to adulterated food, offenders will get up to six years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.
Last year, the government had asked the Law Commission to examine the laws on food adulteration after the Supreme Court passed an order favouring stringent punishment. In August 2016, the apex court had said that it was high time that the Centre amends the IPC to make the punishment deterrent. Commenting on the development, a senior Law Commission official said: "The IPC came into being in 1860 when India did not have any food industry but as India got a flourishing food industry, incidents of food adulteration also increased. The laws on food adulteration became outdated with time, and therefore, amendments are required."
According to a 2011 report of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), over 68 per cent milk sold in the country is adulterated. The report, also considered by the SC, stated the situation was worst in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Mizoram, Jharkhand and Daman and Diu, where milk adulteration was found up to 100 per cent.
Jan 5, 2017
Dairy experts develop nano dip strip to detect milk adulterations
This portable strip can detect eight types of impurities, including urea and detergent present in the milk.
A team of researchers, led by Kamdhenu University Vice- Chancellor Professor M C Varshneya, Director of Research Dr DB Patil and principal and dean of Government College of Dairy Science, Amreli Dr Vimal M Ramani, have developed a nanotechnology-based “dip strip” as a solution to control adulteration in milk.
Giving an alternate to existing traditional and sophisticated methods to test milk adulteration like infrared based, spectrophotometric, chromatographic and other technically complicated methods which are time-consuming, expensive and require skilled manpower to handle the sophisticated instruments, the team has developed a portable tool which is claimed to be accurate, affordable and a reliable technique.
“This ‘nanotechnology-based dip strip’ resembles a paper strip, but is made of fibrous pad material using nano capillaries. It can detect eight types of impurities, including the most commonly used urea, detergent, sodium carbonate maltodextrin, hydrogen peroxide and others present in the milk. It changes colour with each impurity,” said Dr Vimal M Ramani who is also the Dean of Dairy Science Faculty.
This test is simple, easy and affordable that can identify the commonly used chemicals like detergent and urea in milk. It can be performed at home also by the common people, says one of the research team members, Ankur C Thummar.
The research project undertaken by the team of Dr Vimal M Ramani and three postgraduate research fellows — Rakesh H Kabariya, Jayesh H Kabariya and Ankur C Thummar — with the guidance of V-C Prof M C Varshneya and Director Research Dr DB Patil for the last one year is funded by the Department of Biotechnology under Ministry of Science and Technology.
“The trials so far has been successful and we have also applied for the patent. Against sophisticated expensive testing machines, the mass production cost of each strip will be nearly 25 paise which in itself reflects the accessibility to a common person. At present, separate strips are used to detect eight different impurities. But we are upgrading this to a single strip,” said Dr Vimal M Ramani.
Under the guidance of Prof M C Varshneya and Dr D B Patil, the team has developed a nanotechnology-based test to identify adulteration in milk at College of Dairy Science, Kamdhenu University, Amreli.
“Across the country, milk adulteration is a haunting problem. According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), about 68.4 per cent of the milk is contaminated or adulterated with malpractice in milk supply chain which include dilution with unsafe water is common,” said V P Mackwan, registrar of Kamdhenu University to which the Government College of Dairy Science Amreli is affiliated to.
The demonstration of this test has been recently carried out to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani by the Vice Chancellor of Kamdhenu University Professor M C Varshneya and the researcher team.
“The response and support from the state government as well as the University authorities has been very encouraging. The authorities have asked us to work further on this research which will address the major issue of milk adulteration,” added Dr Ramani.
Food Safety Team conducts raids in city
Port Blair, Jan 04: On 04.01.2017, a team of Food Safety Officers Shri A. Khalid, Smt. S. Nisha, Smt. Sarina Nadeem attached to Food Safety Unit, South Andaman conducted surprised inspection at Municipal Market, Opposite Marine Dockyard and found Shri. M. Bhagyaraj, S/o late Muniyandi R/o Nayagaon carrying illegal activities by selling of IMFL items at shop No. 3 and 4 which is allotted to Shri. V. Seeralan R/o Kamaraj Nagar for running petty shop. It is learnt that Shri. M. Bhagyaraj starts selling IMFL items from wee hours. The shop 3 and 4 has been sealed.
Meanwhile on 03.01.2017, a team of Food Safety Officers Shri. A. Khalid, Shri. Tahseen Ali, Shri. R.V. Murugaraj, Shri. S.S. Santhosh and Shri. Ravi Kumar, Helper inspected M/s Lulu Shopping Mall, Aberdeen Bazaar owned by Shri. P.P. Saidalvi and found that the FBO was selling imported confectionary and chocolates without obtaining license under FSS Act’2006 or importer license under Law. The FBO has also failed to submit any valid documents regarding regulatory clearance from FSSAI for selling imported goods in India.
Both the above FBOs and persons have been booked under relevant sections of FSS Act’2006. The matter is been taken up for adjudication in the Court of Additional District Magistrate, South Andaman.
Gutka sale in Telangana dipping
The minister said that the government has slapped criminal cases on 43 manufacturers for “Not of Standard drugs”.
Hyderabad: Sporadic cases of sale of gutka and pan masala have been detected in the state, according to health minister C. Laxma Reddy.
The minister told the Assembly on Wednesday that 545 cases were booked for sale of gutka and pan masala in violation of prohibition orders and Rs 50,00,123 collected as fine as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
The minister said that the government has slapped criminal cases on 43 manufacturers for “Not of Standard drugs” and three criminal cases against a manufacturer for “spurious drugs.” Trial is pending.
He said that during 2015 and 2016, 8,293 drug samples were collected by drug inspectors in the state, of which 46 were declared “Not of standard quality” which accounts for 0.005 per cent.
545 cases registered for sale of tobacco products
HYDERABAD: Health Minister C. Lakshma Reddy said that 545 cases booked for sale of Gutka/pan masala in violation of the prohibition orders and a total amount of Rs. 50 lakh fine had been imposed on the violators in line with the provisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The Government had issued orders prohibiting sale of Gutka/pan masala in January and it was being implemented in cooperation with the Vigilance & Enforcement, Commercial Taxes, Police, Transport and other departments. Mr. Lakshma Reddy was replying to a query by Leader of the Opposition Mohd. Ali Shabbir who expressed concern over the availability of the products in spite of the prohibition, during the Question Hour in the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
The Minister said though these products were not liberally available in the market, sporadic incidents of people selling these products were being detected. The Government had also taken up large scale campaign against the ill-effects of consumption of tobacco products. Congress member Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy wanted the Government to constitute a special task force to check these sales which crossed ₹100 crore in the twin cities alone.
Sub-standard drugs
To another query on sale of duplicate and sub-standard medicines, the Minister said inspections conducted by the drug inspector had revealed that 46 samples out of the 8,293 lifted were found to be not of standard quality. Of these, 43 drugs were listed under the not of standard quality category and three under spurious category. The department had also filed criminal cases against 43 manufacturers for manufacturing the not so standard quality drugs and the cases were pending trial in the courts concerned.
Congress member M.S. Prabhakar Rao expressed concern that spurious drugs were freely available in the market as the drug control administration was conducting namesake inspections on medicine manufacturers. The Government could consider the Chennai model wherein the Government opened the outlets to sell medicine at 15 per cent lesser than the market price.
Dog meat rumour: result of samples sent for testing awaited
After the rumour about dog meat in biryani died down with the arrest of an MBA student who created the fake news, officials are still in a quandary about the sample of meat sent for testing to Telangana State Food Safety Laboratory (FSL).
“We don’t have facilities to test the meat and find out if it is dog or any other animal’s as it would require analysing the DNA of the sample. So, we have forwarded the meat sample to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology for analysis and we are awaiting the results,” said an official at the FSL, the apex body for food analysis in the State.
The FSL functions from a small building at Nacharam without even a functioning telephone or internet connection.
The absence of genetic testing facility at the State’s premier food safety lab is a cause for concern in the age of genetically modified food and issues about food origin. “This is a free testing lab and we test the food for nutrient value and edibility,” said an official.
Across the world, DNA testing of food samples is the norm for detecting traces of contaminants.
he immediate aftermath of dog meat rumour, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had picked up multiple samples both cooked as well as raw from different locations of the hotel and sent them for testing. “The results will be known within a week or fortnight,” officials had said. “The sample is in circulation and we are yet to get the results. Once we have the result, we will get in touch with you,” said GHMC Chief Veterinary Officer P. Venkateshwar Rao on Wednesday.
CCMB officials were unavailable for comment on the status of the sample testing.
Jan 4, 2017
Unniyappam ban: Minister slams food safety dept
Thiruvananthapuram: The food safety department's order to stop the sale and distribution of unniyappam as prasadam at Sabarimala was 'most inappropriate and a decision which has crossed all the limits', said devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran.
The order, on the ground that they were not fit for human consumption, comes at the fag-end of the pilgrim season with just another two weeks left for Makaravilaku, which raises suspicion about the very motive behind it, the minster told reporters here on Tuesday. "The appams are made of rice and ghee brought by the pilgrims in their irumudikkettu, which definitely will be of high quality. And they are prepared strictly adhering to the food safety standards," he said.
The minister said that the restrictions were being imposed based on a high court verdict in the past, which said not to use items brought by pilgrims in their irumudikkettu to make prasadam. "The government has directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to approach the high court to get the order revoked. Besides, we have appealed to the food safety commissioner to withdraw the restriction," he said.
FSSAI seeks public comment on regulation of food fortification
Food regulator FSSAI has sought public comments on draft standards for fortification of seven food items - salt, oil, milk, vanaspati, atta, maida and rice.
Fortification is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A & D to staple foods such as rice, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content.
"We had formulated a comprehensive regulation on food fortification. The draft guidelines were operationalised in October in public interest. Now, a gazette notification has been issued seeking public comments within 30 days," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal told PTI.
He said a final guidelines would be issued after taking into consideration the public comments.
FSSAI has invited suggestions and objections from the stakeholders within a period of 30 days from the date of publication of the draft notification on 'Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016'.
The gazette notification was issued on December 23 and uploaded today on FSSAI's website.
The guideline prescribe the standards for fortification of salt, oil, milk, vanaspati, atta, maida and rice.
"The control of micronutrient deficiencies is an essential part of the overarching effort of the Government to fight hunger and malnutrition in the country," FSSAI said.
Food fortification is a simple, proven, cost effective and complementary strategy that has been used across the globe to safely and effectively prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies, it added.
As per this regulation, fortified food should bear the logo as prescribed. The regulations also provide for specific role of FSSAI in promotion for food fortification.
FSSAI has set standards for fortification of salt with iodine and iron; of vegetable oil and milk with Vitamin A and D; wheat flour and rice with iron, folic acid, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin A and some other micronutrients.
Want to calculate toxic compounds you’re consuming?
London [UK]: It has already been a known fact that though seafood is considered as a healthy option for its high level of proteins and vitamins, it can also put human at risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals with rising pollution levels in the sea.
Hence, a study has come up with a new fish calculator that allows you to determine if the amount of pomfret or salmon you are eating each week is actually safe, reports the Daily Mail.
The dangerous toxic compounds in the sea are known to have harmful effects on the body and in some cases too much can be fatal, scientists claim.
However, the new tool can instantly work out someone’s average exposure to a range of pollutants, giving them time to change their dietary habits.
Designed by Portuguese scientists as part of the ECSafeSEAFOOD project, the calculator asks for users to select their age range.
They are then made to reveal the amount of fish they eat and which species they consume on a weekly basis.
It then assesses their three answers to calculate an estimated exposure to methylmercury and a range of other pollutants.
On a related note, according to the World Health Organisation, Methylmercury can have harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems and can be fatal.
But currently there is no maximum level that has been laid down in EU legislation for levels of the toxic compound in food.
In a separate study, researchers from the Portuguese Marine and Atmosphere Institute in Lisbon assessed varieties of seafood across Europe.
Study author Antonio Marques said, “The exposure to these contaminants through seafood needs to be more finely assessed. Such information is crucial for the European food safety authorities to adjust the legislation.”
However, despite the increase of chemicals in seas and oceans across the planet, seafood is still safe to eat, experts say.
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