Adulterated ghee worth Rs 7.24L seized

Rajkot: The special operations group (SOG) of Rajkot police seized a large cache of adulterated ghee worth Rs 7.24 lakh from a factory behind Ruda Transport Nagar near Sokhada village on Saturday.

“SOG head constables — Manrupgiri Goswami, Jitubha Jhala, Mehul Madhvi and Vijendrasinh Jhala — received a tip-off during patrolling about the adulterated ghee stored at Dhara Fate and Proteins Veg Fat Palmolein and Veg Oil Factory in Jai Jalaram Industrial Estate. Acting on this information, we conducted the raid,” said Rajkot SOG inspector S N Gaddu. 

Police recovered 422 containers of adulterated ghee, worth Rs 6.64 lakh, 150 barrels of adulterated ghee worth Rs 60,000 and raw material to be used for adulteration.

“Food and drugs safety officers — D J Solanki and A B Patel — collected the samples of adulterated ghee for examination. Once the examination report is submitted, we will file the chargesheet and book the accused,” said an SOG official.

Stemming dangers of carbide-ripened fruits

FORCED ripening of fruits meant for human consumption, using dangerous chemical substances, is fast becoming a culture in this part of the world, despite its hazardous implications for health. Experts and institutions have always warned against the practice, with the most recent of such warnings coming from the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control. The regulatory agency, in a statement by its Director-General, Moji Adeyeye, took a particular interest in the ingestion of fruits in which calcium carbide has been used to quicken the ripening process.

According to Adeyeye, a professor of Pharmaceutics, Manufacturing Science and Drug Product Evaluation, carbide contains impurities such as arsenic, lead particle and phosphorous. “Consumption of fruits containing these impurities may cause cancer, heart, kidney and liver failure,” she explained. Irritation of the mouth, nose, eye and skin, permanent skin damage, vomiting, difficulty in swallowing, sore throat, shortness of breath and numbness are some of the other health hazards associated with coming in contact with carbide or ingesting any food item ripened using the chemical.

With the growing interest in meals of fresh fruits and vegetables, it is not surprising that diseases such as cancer and internal organ failure are becoming commonplace in Nigeria. Among many prominent Nigerians that have fallen victim to cancer, for instance, was the former DG of NAFDAC, Dora Akunyili. According to figures made available by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, there were over 2 million cases of cancer in the country in 2016, with 100,000 new cases occurring every year. Dapo Campbell, a professor of oncology, said that about 10,000 Nigerians died of cancer yearly, but reports credited to the World Health Organisation put the latest figures at 80,000 cancer deaths per annum.

This is why efforts should not be spared towards ensuring that all foods and drinks taken in the country are properly monitored just as it is done in advanced countries. In Europe, for instance, any food item imported has to meet set standards before the citizens can be allowed to eat it. Little wonder that about 67 food items exported by Nigeria to the European Union countries were banned between 2015 and 2016 for failure to comply with their standards. Conversely, in Nigeria, people eat anything that comes their way, mainly out of ignorance, arising from low levels of awareness.

Ripening is a natural process that takes place in fruits. This process, according to scientists, is aided by ethylene, a hormone released naturally by fruits. It is the process that softens fruits and makes them ready for ingestion. Typically, fruits change colour, texture, taste and, in some cases, emit pleasant aroma when they are ripe. Ripening makes fruits nutritious; and, for the traders, this is a delicate period when as much of the fruits as possible have to be sold or risk them rotting away.

However, not many are ready to wait for the natural ripening process, which is why fruits such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples are sometimes forced to ripen, using artificial or chemical agents such as calcium carbide and ethephon. The motivation is the desire for high turnovers and profits. But due to its hazardous nature, calcium carbide is banned in many countries. In India, for instance, where artificial ripening of fruits is rampant, the chemical has been banned under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. The offence is likened to food poisoning and anyone caught in the act risks spending up to 10 years in jail.

In Nigeria, very little seems to be happening by way of monitoring to spare people a sure death by instalments. While it is important to come up with periodic warnings, as NAFDAC usually does, about an existing danger in consuming some poisonous food, helping to raise awareness amongst members of the public, health and regulatory authorities, however, have a greater responsibility to go beyond just raising the alarm to enforcing compliance with extant laws concerning the quality and standards of ingestible items in the country. Experience has shown that people who benefit from unlawful acts will not readily give it up, unless forced to do so. In this case, the urge for profits is so irresistible that it invariably trumps concerns for human health.

By now, NAFDAC ought to have developed the capacity to monitor fruit sellers, especially those who bulk-buy with intent to resell. Forced ripening of fruits is common in the cities where fruits are hardly planted but are in high demand. NAFDAC should ensure that the habit is discontinued, especially by those who may not even know that what they are doing constitutes a health hazard. It may not be possible to arrest everybody involved but when a few are picked up and prosecuted, it will serve as a deterrent to others.

It is important to help members of the public to identify fruits that have been forced to ripen. Such fruits, it is said, are more attractive and are identified by their uniformity in colour. Fruits ripened by calcium are soft and have very short storage lifespan. They are less tasty compared to those that ripen naturally.

In a place like Dubai, for example, which imports large quantities of fruits, there is a newly-acquired device for the testing of fruits and vegetables to detect the level of insecticides and chemicals to ensure their fitness for human consumption. According to the Dubai Central Lab, the device has the capacity to test 600 samples of fruits a day. “Our current system takes up to 260 kinds. The new device, operated by the latest technology, will offer different kinds of inspection,” said a report quoting Ahmed Amin, the Director of DCL. This is one of the areas that NADFAC should be exploring.

FSSAI To Use Triple E Strategy For Engaging With Educational Institutions

Food Security and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), India’s apex food regulator, has agreed to use the Triple E strategy for effective engagement with higher educational institutions (HEIs) regarding food safety and applied nutrition. The adoption of this strategy was decided upon during a discussion with the vice-chancellors of various private universities, academicians, the industry and industry associations. This comprehensive engagement framework that uses the three ‘E’s – Engage, Excite, Enable, was another important initiative to contextualize and update the food safety ecosystem in India and to facilitate upcoming food professionals of the future.

A MORE HOLISTIC CONCEPT

The discussion was attended by the joint secretary, ministry of human resource development (MHRD); the president and secretary general, ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI); the deputy director general, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and representatives from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management (NIFTEM); the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT); the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) India.

Ensuring that employable skills are delivered by HEIs was the highlight of the discussion. A more holistic concept of ensuring safe and wholesome food instead of just preventing adulteration and the measures to co-develop and implement an updated curriculum that reflects this shift in thinking were also discussed.

THE NEW CURRICULUM

Practical learning through internships and fellowships, promoting interactive learning through opportunities for students to participate in socially-relevant, advocating merit scholarships for deserving students, along with a programme for faculty training and development were parts of the framework that was decided upon according to the publication.

FSSAI will reportedly explore opportunities for collaboration with MHRD and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the further distribution of information. The regulator believes that it will be able to create a future-ready skilled workforce for the future food industry in India with this initiative.

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FSSAI unveils initiative to collect, convert used cooking oil into biofuel

FSSAI wants businesses using more than 100 litres of oil for frying to maintain a stock register and ensure that used cooking oil is handed over to registered collecting agencies 

64 companies in 101 locations will enable collection of used cooking oil

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday launched RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil), an initiative that will enable collection and conversion of used cooking oil to bio-diesel. The initiative has been launched nearly a month after the food safety regulator notified standards for used cooking oil.

FSSAI may also look at introducing regulations to ensure that companies that use large quantities of cooking oil hand it over to registered collecting agencies to convert it into biofuel.

Under this initiative, 64 companies at 101 locations have been identified to enable collection of used cooking oil. For instance: McDonald’s has already started converting used cooking oil to biodiesel from 100 outlets in Mumbai and Pune.

The regulator believes India has the potential to recover 220 crore litres of used cooking oil for the production of biodiesel by 2022 through a co-ordinated action. In a statement, Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said, “While biodiesel produced from used cooking oil is currently very small, but a robust ecosystem for conversion and collection is rapidly growing in India and will soon reach a sizable scale.”

“FSSAI wants businesses using more than 100 litres of oil for frying, to maintain a stock register and ensure that UCO is handed over to only registered collecting agencies. There is a possibility that a regulation will be developed on these lines,” he added.

According to FSSAI regulations, the maximum permissible limits for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) have been set at 25 per cent, beyond which the cooking oil is unsafe for consumption.

In partnership

FSSAI is also working in partnership with Biodiesel Association of India and the food industry to ensure effective compliance of used cooking oil regulations, the statement added. It is also going to publish guidance documents, tips for consumers and posters in this regard. It is also conducting several awareness campaigns through its e-channels.

“FSSAI has additionally launched a micro-site to monitor the progress of the collection and conversion of used cooking oil into biodiesel,” the statement added.

Food regulator to engage with educational institutes to create skilled workforce

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10

FSSAI is establishing a comprehensive framework for engagement with higher education institutes on issues concerning food safety and applied nutrition in a bid to create a future-ready skilled workforce in the food processing industry.

As part of this strategy, the regulator has initiated discussions with vice-chancellors of various universities, academicians, industry and industry associations, besides officials of other Ministries.

“Measures to co-develop and implement an updated curriculum that reflects the shift in thinking from merely preventing adulteration to a more holistic concept of ensuring safe and wholesome food have been discussed,” FSSAI said in a statement.

The framework will adopt a comprehensive approach through the introduction of relevant content in course curricula, enhancing practical learning through internships and fellowships, and promoting interactive learning through opportunities for students to participate in socially relevant projects related to food safety and nutrition.

“A triple E-strategy (Engage, Excite, Enable) to engage effectively with Higher Education Institutes was agreed on,” the statement added.

Check quality of drinking water in hotels, FSSAI told

Current law mandates check of ‘packaged drinking water’

New Delhi, dhns: Lawmakers have asked the food safety regulator to carry out periodic inspection of ordinary drinking water being served in hotels, restaurants and other eating joints to ensure that potable water is being served to the customer.

The food safety law currently mandates the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to check the quality of only “packaged drinking water” leaving the non-bottled drinking water being served in small and medium-sized restaurants outside the quality net.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health has now directed the FSSAI to undertake timely inspection of the water provided in the food business premises such as eating outlets to ensure that the joints provide clean drinking water to its customers.

In its report submitted in both Houses of the Parliament on Thursday, the panel suggested changing the definition of food to include potable water as well so that food business operators couldn’t take advantage of the loophole in the law.

The committee, headed by Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, also asked the regulator to have a stringent approach on the use of food colour.

“The use of food dyes has to be regulated because time and again, the food dyes have been linked to health problems. Excessive use of colouring matter in food may cause an allergic reaction to some people or hyperactivity in sensitive children,” it said in the report.

The health ministry’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme shows food poisoning is one of the commonest outbreaks reported in 2017 apart from the acute diarrhoeal disease. While there were 312 cases of the diarrhoeal diseases out of 1,649 disease outbreaks reported till the third week of December 2017, as many as 242 episodes were due to food poisoning. The incidences diarrhoea and food poisoning are high in places where food is cooked in bulk such as canteens, hotels and wedding venues.

Health ministry officials said food-borne illnesses were a greater health burden comparable to malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis. The root cause is unsafe, contaminated food and water. Because of poor food safety standards, the government in 2006 brought the Food Safety and Standards Act to replace nearly a dozen existing regulations. The authority was set up two years later and the law became operational from August 2011.

Seven years later, the Parliamentarians recognised there were flaws in the law that need to be corrected, the authority needed to staffed better and testing infrastructure required a boost.

GM Food: “Regulatory Vacuum” But Sale Not “Disallowed” says FSSAI

Pawan Agarwal, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), admits there is a “regulatory vacuum” governing food containing material from genetically-engineered (GE) plants. He, however, shares that their manufacture, import and sale in India is not “disallowed.”

“The view of the authority is, based on scientific evidence across the world, that there is no verifiable health impact of GM (genetically-modified) food vis-à-via conventional food on humans,” Agarwal told The Quint.

Agarwal made that clarification after the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment (CSE) published a report at the end of July that of 65 food samples it had examined, 21 had tested positive for GM material and of these, 16 were imported.

Alarm Versus Reality

The CSE report said various brands of imported canola oil, corn kernels, puffs and syrup, tofu, infant feeds and domestic brands of cottonseed oil were found to contain material from GE plants. CSE has raised an alarm, calling their sale without FSSAI approval as “illegal.” CSE’s director-general Sunita Narain was worried about food safety, because “GM food involves taking genes (DNA) from different organisms and inserting them in food crops. There is concern that this ‘foreign’ DNA can lead to risks such as toxicity, allergic reactions, nutritional and unintended impacts.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says on its website, that “it is not aware of any information showing that bio engine-ed foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding.”

US FDA also does not use the term “genetically modified” when referring to food, because technically, it is the plant that is genetically engineered and not the food. It prefers the phrase “food derived from genetically-engineered plants.”

GE crops have to meet a higher standard of proof for the absence of toxins and allergy-causing substances than those obtained through conventional breeding, before they are approved for cultivation.

Regulatory Vacuum in India

India’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) requires these crops to pass two levels of bio- safety trials in confined conditions before they are recommended for mass cultivation. In India only GE cotton has been allowed to be cultivated since 2002.

The cottonseed oil and meal that India produces is derived almost entirely from cotton that has been bioengineered to kill boll worms. But six centres of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) told a parliamentary committee last year that they did find GE cottonseed or oil cake derived from it harming goats, lamb, fish, chicken or cows.

The manufacture, import and sale of food products derived from GE crops are regulated by the Environment Protection Act. But these are no longer under the purview of the environment ministry, its adviser Sujata Arora said, as the powers have been transferred to FSSAI.

Explaining the regulatory vacuum, Agarwal said the law establishing the authority was enacted in 2006. It became operational in 2011 but till 2016, the environment ministry, through an order, kept the FSSAI’s regulatory powers in abeyance. FSSAI’s scientific committee has now made draft regulations for food containing GM material which will have to be approved by the government before the public comments are invited.

The ‘Label’ Issue

B.V. Mehta, director-general of the Solvent Extractors Association of India, an edible oil industry lobby, said it had applied and obtained open-ended permission in 2007 to import GE soybean oil, in place of six-monthly approvals till then.

Though rapeseed oil imported from Canada, United States and Australia is obtained from GE hybrids and sold in India as canola, Indian law does not require it to be labelled as GM.

The language on the labels it insists on is, “Imported Rapeseed ─ low erucic acid oil. Canola oil. (In addition trade name can also be used.)”

Erucic acid is the substance that gives mustard its pungency, which is why consumers in north and eastern Indian prefer Kacchhi Gani or cold-pressed mustard oil. (Rapeseed is related to mustard). In canola, the erucic acid content has to be less than 2 percent, while in mustard it is 48-50 percent. Lower the erucic acid level, higher is the oleic acid content, which makes it good for the heart, like olive oil. Rupinder Pal Singh Kohli, director of the company that sells Jivo, a popular canola oil brand, said FSSAI’s 2018 draft regulations have proposed labeling when GM material in edible oil exceeds 5 percent by weight. He said Jivo is processed at a temperature of 200-240 degrees centigrade before it is bottled and it unlikely that any GE protein fragments would remain in the oil.

Experts Find Lacunae in Methodology

Deepak Pental, geneticist and former vice-chancellor of Delhi University opposed labeling as it would unnecessarily prejudice consumers against food obtained from GE plants. Pental led the team that developed the GE mustard hybrid, DMH-11, which the GEAC recommended last year for cultivation. But it has not received the go-ahead from environment minister Harsh Vardhan.

Pradeep Burma, professor and head of the department of genetics, Delhi University, said the CSE study “lacks rigor in experimental design and analysis.” The methodology it has used ─ Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) ─ is extremely sensitive and can pick up minuscule traces of DNA from all kinds of samples, he said. So robust controls should be in place to ensure it does not pick up contaminants. The manual for the test kit used in the CSE investigation recommends three control reactions: negative control, positive control and extraction control. While negative control has been used there is no extraction control, he said.

Burma said most samples in the study have thrown up similar Ct values. This is not possible because different material – Bt cotton leaf, food containing material obtained from GE plants like corn, and oil derived from transgenic crops – will carry different amounts of transgenic DNA. For example, the Ct value of 27.7 for 35S P (a promoter derived from the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus and found in most GE plants) in Hudson brand canola oil and of 28.5 in Bt cotton leaf does not reflect the expected differences. (Ct value is inversely proportional to the DNA/RNA present in a sample).

The yield of DNA from a transgenic plant where all the cells will have genetically engineered DNA is expected to be much higher than in oil where most of the DNA will get degraded and fragmented in the course of processing. In the CSE study the Ct values of the oil sample show more amount of 35SP DNA in comparison to those in Bt cotton leaf samples.

CSE has been asked to comment on Burma’s comments. This story will be updated when we receive them.

(Vivian Fernandes is editor of www.smartindianagriculture.in. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

Highway eateries checked for hygiene

Vadodara: Teams of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday cracked down upon highway eateries and ‘dhabas’ located on the national highway and roads connecting it to the city. Officers also visited street food vendors to check if they had started implementing the hygiene tips given to them in a workshop recently.

Food safety officers of the civic body checked nine eateries located near Kapurai Crossroads, Ajwa Crossroads and Golden Crossroads in the city limits. Officials collected nine samples of food items from these eateries. The samples will be tested at the public health laboratory of the VMC.

The drive revealed that six of the nine eateries were not maintaining hygienic standards. The officers issued notices to all the six eateries.

In the evening, teams visited the Kamatibaug, Fatehgunj and other areas of the city to check if street food vendors were following tips given to them during a recent workshop. It came to light that many of them had started using aprons and caps as suggested by the experts. They were also seen trying to ensure that other suggestions were implemented.

PRESS RELEASE - FSSAI LAUNCHES RUCO

PRESS RELEASE - FOOD FORTIFICATION FINAL NOTIFICATION

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Food regulator may tighten labelling norms for packaged foods

NEW DELHI: With growing consumption of packaged foods and supplements, the central food regulator is now planning to bring claims regulation to keep a stringent check on what companies declare, disclose or claim on labels of their products.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working with international agencies like International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations to bring in global best practices.

While the regulations will cover all nutrient information claimed by companies, initially it will focus on content such as amount of sugar, salt, fat, vitamins and minerals. It will also look into health supplement categories including claims of food containing probiotics and foods for special dietary use, an official said.

So for instance, if a company claims that a particular product has health benefits or does not contain added salt/sugar, or has therapeutic benefits, then in such cases the proposed regulations will apply and FSSAI may check compliance.

"We are trying to tighten the labelling norms for packaged foods. A number of measures in this direction have been taken. The FSSAI has also come up with some draft regulations, which are being discussed. FSSAI is now also working to bring claim regulations so that companies are accountable for the claims," the official said.

According to the official, the regulator will create a positive list with category of products and then do sampling and testing to see if products on the list comply with the claims made by them.

According to industry estimates, India is among the top five consumers of packaged food in the world and the second largest in Asia, with a sales volume of 34 million tonne. By 2020, it is expected to become the third largest market for packaged food, after China and the United States. The sales volume of packaged food is likely to increase to 47 million tonne, whereas the size of the market is pegged at $65 billion by 2020, from around $40 billion currently.

Apart from packaged foods, the food supplement segment which includes nutraceuticals, foods for special dietary use, foods for special medical purpose, speciality foods containing plants or botanicals, foods containing probiotics, foods containing prebiotics and novel foods are also rapidly growing and is poised to become a $10 billion industry by 2025. As this sector grows, FSSAI is gearing itself to strengthen the regulatory ecosystem through cross-border collaboration and learning from international best practices.

The government feels apart from declaring, the companies should also have accountability about what they claim about their products. The proposed claims regulation is primarily targeted at this. For instance, a mere combination of vitamins and minerals formulated into tablets, capsules or syrup is not food unless vitamins and minerals are added to an article of food based on a food format.

Toxins on our plate

There is a need for better regulation and monitoring to bring toxin-free food to the Indian market.

The quality of food products and their safety are mostly decided at the primary production stage itself which is unregulated.

“The recent scare due to the detection of formalin-laced fish across Goa, Kerala, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya points to a link between water quality and food safety. Fish traders find it cost-effective to use formalin, a carcinogen, instead of ice to prevent the decomposition of fish during transportation to distant markets. Consumer confidence has been hit hard and fish producers are having a bad time due to the import ban on fish in most of these states,” says Satish Sinha, associate director, Toxics Link, an organisation working for environmental justice and freedom from toxins, at a public lecture held by them on “How safe is our food?” recently in New Delhi.

The country’s lackadaisical attitude towards food safety comes to the fore every time there is an incident like the recent one on the presence of formalin in fish. Antibiotics in poultry, pesticides in vegetables and genetically modified (GM) food are other areas that always have the food inspection authorities in a tight corner.

Genetically modified food continues to be a risk

The release of a recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a research and advocacy body, has sparked a debate around the country on the risks of genetically modifying our food. India, like most countries in the world, has set stringent regulations for approval and labelling of GM food. The ‘foreign’ DNA in the GM food can lead to various health risks such as toxicity, allergic reactions and more. So far, no crop but Bt cotton has been allowed for cultivation in India.

“The study says that though the GM processed food cannot be sold or traded in India without the government approval, it is present illegally on a large scale and also sold, which makes it easy for it to get into our food chain. The study blames India’s health and food regulators for allowing this to happen,” says Kajal Debnath, head (regulatory affairs), Mother Dairy.

“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the apex food regulator has been negligent in regulating the GM food and also in curbing its illegal sales. Its draft regulations on the GM food labelling are weak and impractical to implement,” the study says. It also points out that the FSSAI must set necessary approval processes, make stringent labelling standards, set up laboratories to check for GM foods and take action against those responsible for bringing such foods illegally into the market.

The regulator has limited powers

In India, the FSSAI is responsible for the formulation and enforcement of food safety standards. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is the primary law that regulates food products and sets the code of conduct for food companies. Around 90 percent of the food products available in the market have reached there after meeting clear FSSAI specifications like the nutritional value, shelf life, expiry date, vegetarian or non-vegetarian stamp and the FSSAI logo with the licence number. The standards given in the Act, however, are confined to manufacturer standards.

Here is the problem. The quality of food products and their safety are mostly decided at the primary production stage itself like say agriculture, which is unregulated. “The FSSAI hands are tied as it does not cover primary production. This means that raw grains, vegetables and fruits that we consume or are used in the production of processed food are outside the purview of the FSSAI,” says Mohammad Amir, the technical officer (Standards Division), FSSAI.

“All aspects regarding proprietary food regulations have been clarified by the FSSAI through a notification in January 2016. The food business operators can consult it to clarify any doubts about the standards, definition, ingredients and additives used, licensing and labelling requirements in proprietary foods,” says Amir.

“The problem about food safety regulation is that it falls in the concurrent list and is under the purview of both the state and the Centre. The food safety compliance by the states has been a weak area in the absence of key infrastructure and capacities to put in place a proper implementation and monitoring mechanism. A regulatory body like the FSSAI which expects self-compliance by the businesses is left with no teeth as a result,” says Ashim Sanyal, the chief operating officer of Consumer VOICE, an international NGO working in the field of consumer awareness and education.

The state’s failure to set up an effective food safety regime and ensure compliance verifications need to be dealt with to bring about consumer confidence on food safety. “The consumer only wants that the claims on the labels, leaflets and advertising related to all types of foods provide correct information on the constituents and the purpose of the food, along with detailed instructions and precautions for use,” says Sanyal.

Water in our food

“The food, before it ends on our plates, goes through a long process and can, at any point during this process, get contaminated. The quality of water has a definite impact on the quality of food,” says Sinha citing the case of a Toxics Link study on the ill effects of the use of wastewater in agriculture and the widespread presence of pesticides in vegetables.

Studies have shown Delhi's fruits and vegetables contain high levels of pesticide residue. 

“The problem is that both groundwater, as well as surface water used in food production, are highly polluted. They are laced with untreated sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural pollutants like pesticides and fertilisers, among others,” he adds. This water has excessive levels of iron, fluoride, salinity, nitrate, and arsenic.

The study reveals that “prolonged consumption of heavy metals (through food) may lead to the disruption of numerous biological and biochemical processes in the human body. Heavy metal accumulation gives rise to a concentration of toxins in the body. While some elements (e.g. arsenic, cadmium, chromium) act as carcinogens, others (e.g. mercury and lead) are associated with developmental abnormalities in children.”

Though strict safety standards are prescribed for water used in the food industry, it is difficult to ensure compliance with the Bureau of Indian Standards specified standards as well as the potable water standards of the FSSAI. The water used in the food processing industry is expected to follow the standards as per IS: 4251. The food industry is required to do additional testing of water quality standards over and above the tests done by local bodies like municipal boards.

A recent study by Arghyam points to the fact that onsite sanitation systems are a source of microbial contamination in groundwater. When wastewater from other sectors like urban sewage water is used in peri-urban agriculture without adequate treatment, it can lead to significant public health risks. For example in Delhi, where despite a ban, farmers have been using the water from the Najafgarh drain that empties into the Yamuna river for irrigation of vegetables. Sewage-based farming is cheap and reliable and farmers resort to it for its high nutrient value which reduces the need for fertilisers. This water is likely to have toxic wastes like pesticides, heavy metals and organic pollutants apart from microbial contaminants. This contaminated water is being used in growing foods, jeopardising the health of consumers. The inability to enforce appropriate safety measures only adds to these woes.

What is the way out?

“To address the issue of food safety, the surveillance and monitoring need to be strengthened by setting up more well-equipped testing laboratories with qualified manpower, equipment, and materials,” says Sanyal.

Food safety display boards by the FSSAI to encourage citizens and food business operators to improve their health and well being. 

An estimated 600 million—almost one in 10 people in the world—fall ill from eating contaminated food and 4,20,000 die every year, as per estimates of the World Health Organisation. “Microbial contamination and foodborne illnesses are on the rise in India and we need better outbreak surveillance and quicker identification of illnesses linked to food. It is important that we effectively implement the existing food safety laws to deal with the problem. It is often difficult for the numerous governmental bodies and ministries to work together in dealing with food safety issues. So better coordination and convergence among the agencies is needed for the effective implementation and monitoring,” says Debnath.

“People need to be made aware of certain steps like washing vegetables thoroughly that they can take to reduce and even remove some forms of contamination. At the same time, farmers have to be taught about good practices in agriculture,” says Debnath. 

“To promote habits of eating right and safe food, the FSSAI has launched a national campaign, The Eat Right Movement with health and wellness centres to integrate its existing initiatives ‘Safe and Nutritious Food’ (SNF) at schools, home and workplace. The toolkit will serve as a supplementary engagement resource to be mainstreamed in the national nutrition and public health programmes,” says Sanyal.

STUNG BY ADULTERATION CHARGE, FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT ON RAID SPREE

Wednesday, 08 August 2018 |

Left red-faced by the recent revelation by the Society of Pollution and Environment Conservation (SPEC) of 84.5 percent of the food items available on the Char Dham Yatra and Kanwad Yartra route being adulterated, the food safety department has conducted raids at many shops selling eatables in Rishikesh town on Tuesday. The team led by the food safety officer, Rishikesh, Sanjay Tiwari found unhygienic conditions at many places.

The designated officer Food Safety Dehradun, G C Kandwal said that teams of the department had inspected some roadside eateries at Rishikesh railway station and Char Dham Yatra bus stand. He said that a total of 12 premises were inspected and notices were issued to six shopkeepers. One shopkeeper found selling sweets in unhygienic conditions was served notice and some sweets were destroyed by the team. The team instructed the shopkeepers to keep their premises clean and also to refrain from selling stale food items. Kandwal claimed that the drive would continue till the end of the Kanwad Yatra.

Meanwhile, the association of Uttarakhand Food Inspectors has questioned the credentials of the report published by the SPEC on adulteration. In a letter directed to secretary health and family welfare, the association said that the food inspectors are doing their duty and are keeping a close watch on the food items being sold on the Yatra route and collecting food samples regularly. The association questioned the authenticity of the findings of the SPEC and demanded it to share its finding with the department before it goes public with such reports.

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Banned tobacco items worth Rs 1 lakh seized

Erode: Food safety officials seized Rs 1 lakh worth of banned tobacco and gutka products from a godown here on Monday.

Based on a WhatsApp message, the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department officials checked a store at Kongalamman Koil Street and found banned items in the godown behind the shop. 

“Tobacco products weighing about 110kg were seized from Abeswar General Store at Kongalamman Koil Street. The shop was selling them in retail,” said T Kalaivani, designated officer of TNFSDAD, Erode district.

The officials collected samples from the seized products for laboratory tests. The food safety official said action would be initiated against violators.

400kg banned tobacco products seized

Trichy: The city police confiscated about 400kg of banned tobacco products that was being transported in a load van near Gandhi market here on Sunday. Inquiries found that the products were transported from Bengaluru to Trichy and meant for sale in the Gandhi market area. 

Police detained a duo involved in the smuggling. They were identified as Sripal, 42, and Jebaram, 40, natives of Trichy.

Police sources said that a vehicle inspection was under way at Vellamandi Main Road when the Gandhi market police intercepted the load van and inspected the goods stocked in the concealed deck. To their shock, police found the banned products including chewable items stacked in 14 bundles.

Police said the contraband could weigh at least 400kg. “Rs 1 lakh worth contraband mostly chewable tobacco sourced from Bengaluru was seized from the load van,” an investigating officer said.

Meanwhile, an official with the food safety department said, “We have collected four samples from the contraband and have sent for laboratory inspection to identify the nature of seized tobacco products.”

It may be recalled that Thottiyam police personnel and food safety department officials seized Rs 15 lakh worth banned tobacco products from a private godown in Viswas Nagar near Palpannai in June. The food safety department has been conducting frequent inspections in Gandhi market and adjoining localities as there have been a series of tobacco seizure incidents.

Food Safety officials in Vadakara working in decrepit building

The dilapidated office building of the Food Safety Officer in Vadakara. 

Shaky building may collapse any time, fear staff

The circle office of the Food Safety Department in Vadakara, housed in a 30-year-old dilapidated building of the Irrigation Department, is struggling to cope with its increasing work of enforcement and administration, say officials.

The administrative affairss of Vadakara, Kuttiyadi and Nadapuram circles of the department are handled in this shaky building, where five staff members are compelled to work under the situation. Those who visit the office from the Vadakara, Kuttiyadi and Nadapuram regions with various applications too are put to difficulties owing to the poor facilities at the circle office.

An officer attached to the circle office said the building was unfit now to carry out the operations of the department and it might collapse any time. Even renovation would not help to solve the crisis now, he said.

The electrical fittings, pipes, doors and windows are all in a damaged condition. The toilet block is in a poor shape, compelling the staff to look for other facilities. No renovation work has been carried out in the building for over 10 years.

The employees said they were in distress during the rainy season as the roof tiles had been damaged in several areas and rain water leaked in . The wooden ceilings too have been damaged owing to lack of maintenance.

‘Duplicate butter, cheese being used by eating joints’

Vadodara: Team of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Monday cracked down upon wholesalers dealing in butter, cheese and related products in the city. 

The action was fallout of a representations in the VMC general board that ‘duplicate’ butter and cheese were being used by several street food vendors and even hotels in the city.

Food safety officers of the civic body checked dealers in the Jetalpur Road, Raopura, Khanderao Market and Harni areas of the civic body. They collected eight samples of items branded as cheese, pizza cheese, butter, paneer and fat spread during the drive. These would be tested in the public health laboratory of the civic body to find if there is adulteration.

A major controversy had been raked up after opposition corporator Farid Lakhajiwala alleged in the general board that ‘duplicate’ butter and cheese was being used by eateries in the city.

He had gone to the extent of claiming that mutton tallow was being used to prepare these items and they were available at very cheap rates as compared to pure butter or cheese.

The officials checked both the establishments that were named by Lakhajiwala in his representations. The teams also checked other establishments to verify if the allegations were true.

Lakhajiwala, however, said that the action had been taken a week after he made the representations. He said that this was too late and the dealers may have become alert and taken the adulterated material off the shelves.

Food safety officers seize adulterated spices

Jaipur: Five thousand kilograms of adulterated spices were seized by a team of food safety officers from a manufacturing unit of spices in Laxminarayanpuri of Jhotwara area on Monday. The unit has been sealed. More than 1,500 kg of powdered poha (flattened rice) has also been recovered from the unit owned by one Himmat Singh. “The owner brought powered poha and would then mix it in spices such as turmeric powder, coriander powder and chilli powder,” said an official.

The manufacturing unit was functioning without any licence. “We found that the owner has not procured food licence under Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA). He was running the unit at a rented accommodation,” the food safety officer said. The officials have also collected samples of spices and sent them to food laboratory for testing. The health department officials alleged that the accused sold adulterated spices to those involved in selling adulterated spices in Gangapur City and Karauli. Officials claimed that they have seized more than 3,300 kg of adulterated spices.

32% of your packaged food products are genetically modified

Gone are the days when you knew where the food you were eating was coming from, what with pretty much everything mass produced and packaged at distant locations, after a series of processes to ensure great shelf life. But with increasing incidences of lifestyle diseases, the average Indian has wisened up, and is trying to pay heed to what he/she should or should not eat. The worrisome part, though, is that while we read the nutrition information on packaged food to determine what could be good for us, what we often ignore or fail to understand is that we may be risking our lives owing to the fact that much of what we consume has been genetically modified. 

A recent study by the Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML) at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) to understand whether GM foods are available in the Indian market, tested 65 imported and domestically produced processed food samples. Overall, 32% of the food products were GM positive, with a whopping 46% of imported food products also testing positive. About 17% of the samples manufactured in India tested positive, all of which contained cottonseed oil. What’s worse is that of the 20 GM-positive packaged samples (excluding crude cottonseed oil), 13 did not mention use of GM ingredients on their labels. In fact, some brands, including big international names, claimed to have no GM ingredients, but tested positive.

Speaking about this issue, Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, chief clinical dietician, HOD, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at a city hospital, says, “Though India has resisted GM food production, there have been instances of such food being imported into the country (including corn, baby food and breakfast cereal, which have been introduced without adherence to relevant labeling laws). While a Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification in 2013 addressed the issue of labeling by requiring those importing GM food to explicitly mention it in their labels, in the case of home-manufactured products like edible oil, there are chances of GM cottonseed oil being mixed with other edible oil without any labeling.” 

Elaborating on the health implications, Dr Priyanka says, “There is a strong correlation between the increasing use of herbicides, genetically-modified crop growth and the increase in a multitude of diseases. Studies have shown the sudden increases in the rates of diseases in the mid-1990s coincided with the commercial production of GE crops. Although such crops can resolve the issue of hunger in developing countries, the misuse of the technology can only be tackled by being aware customers. Some of the most negatively impacted food items are corn, soya, canola, aspartame and sugar beets, which should be avoided.”

ALL ABOUT GM FOOD

• Food produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has not allowed GM food in India so far.
• The FSSAI and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have not approved any GM food product. However, the CSE study confirms the illegal presence of imported and domestically manufactured GM foods in the Indian market. As per the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, every package containing GM food shall bear ‘GM’ at the top of its principal display panel.
• As per Rule 6(7) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, every package containing GM foods shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the letters ‘GM’.

Illegal but available: Who will regulate GM foods in India

Genetically modified (GM) food is available – illegally – on a large scale in the Indian market, according to a study by Centre for Science and Environment. The Delhi-based non-government put out its findings on 26 July.

GM foods are not permitted by existing laws and regulations under them, and are not expected to be sold in India. In fact, campaign groups such as Coalition for a GM-Free India have lodged complaints with concerned regulators last February and March, based on data from the Union commerce ministry.

In its latest study, CSE found that 32% of the samples it tested were GM-positive – 16 of these foods (80%) were imported and five were manufactured in India. This means that the vast majority of illegal GM foods are making their way into India by way of stealthy imports. 

Thirteen of the brands did not mention the use of GM ingredients anywhere on their labels; three products were even mislabelled that they were GM-free.

GM-positive imported food products were based on, or used soy, cotton seed, corn and rapeseed, expectably; positive samples manufactured domestically were made from cottonseed – no surprises there either. 

SC ALLOWS A REGULATORY VACUUM

What many may not know is that the Supreme Court of India was involved in creating a regulatory vacuum when it disposed off a writ petition (No. 11 of 2008 along with 173 of 2006) on 11 August, 2017. The petition was on regulatory agencies acting irresponsibly and jeopardising citizens’ health and environment.

“There is no notification/regulation allowing any activity in connection with genetically engineered and modified food,” the court said, probably not realising that GM foods were already flooding into India, in the absence of both Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) in the Union environment ministry as well as the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in the Union health ministry taking responsibility for regulating GM foods. It appears that this set the stage for flooding of our markets with illegal GM foods.

SHOCKING APATHY OF REGULATORS

Be that as it may, the more shocking response has been from the food safety regulator, FSSAI and of the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), both key regulators in this context.

FSSAI put out a press release by the evening of 26th itself, which was quaintly called “Update on GM Food Regulation”. In this, FSSAI does not mention anything about what it intends to do about the illegal GM foods that are out there in supermarket shelves or about any deterrent action to prevent violations of the law.

The press release only talks about how FSSAI has “initiated the work on framing regulations on GM food”, for laying down procedures for safety assessment and approval of GM foods, based on internationally well established and accepted scientific principles, procedures and best practices. Incidentally, FSSAI has been saying this for years now.

A perusal of old press releases by FSSAI threw up another press release from another time exactly seven years ago, with regard to “unapproved food items being sold in the country (from 26 July, 2011!).

Here, Commissioners of Food Safety were being asked to advise the enforcement wing to be more vigilant, and also take legal action in case of violations of prevalent laws when unapproved foods are sold. Why is the FSSAI approaching the current illegal GM food scenario differently then?

The Director General of Foreign Trade, which should have watched out for illegal GM food coming in through the import route, has an equally ineffective and brazen response, on twitter. Referring to a letter that the DGFT sent to a few other agencies after a complaint by a citizens’ coalition, the twitter handle of DGFT (@dgftindia) tweeted out saying “please take note of OM issued by DGFT. You are requested to take up the issue with the departments concerned with reference of the said OM”. 

This was an 'office memorandum' from the DGFT to the Department of Revenue (Customs) in the Union Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Plant Quarantine Division of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, wherein the DGFT only asks these other agencies “to take note of the complaint on apparent violations (in regulations) for necessary action as deemed fit”.

This means that the DGFT itself was certainly not going to investigate and initiate punitive action against violators of its own legally-created regulatory regime.

A third agency, in the form of Department of Consumer Affairs, which is, of course, aware of the violations of its Legal Metrology Act’s rules related to GM labelling, has chosen to keep quiet as usual. This has been their approach for years now, even after concerned consumers presented them with unlabelled GM cotton oil in 2013 and sought its intervention in implementing its own regulation.

Here is a classic case then of complete non-implementation of the regulations by multiple agencies, and lack of action even after violations are proven.

FOOD BRANDS AND IMPORTERS IMPLICATED

CSE reported how the American pharma company Abbott Laboratories is selling GM infant food in India, meant for toddlers with ailments, without labelling the foods as GM, and how they don’t do so in the United States. Double standards of corporations is something that Indian citizens have had to contend with for a long time now, and the story is repeating itself once again.

It is also interesting how so many corporations have indulged in flouting the FSSAI, DGFT and Legal Metrology Act regulations apparently wilfully.

Read together, it does not appear to be mere regulatory failure by one agency or the other, as much as a deeper strategy put into operation, of orchestrated back-door entry of GM into India. This suspicion gains credence in the context of very successful pushing back of any commercial cultivation permission to GM foods within the country by alert citizens.

EXPERTS AND CITIZENS CONCERNED

Over the past decade or so, hundreds of experts – agriculture scientists, biotechnologists, biologists, environmentalists etc – have been engaging with the issue of transgenic technology in our food and farming system and have been warning the government against promoting the same in our country.

Medical experts are one such group who have written to concerned ministers on occasion. Public rejection of GM foods became apparent on social media platforms like Twitter, a day after CSE’s findings were made public.

Thousands of tweets were shot off tagging the regulators and the Prime Minister by ordinary citizens on #StopGMFood hashtag. Their concern is driven by the fact that there is indeed scientific evidence on the adverse health impacts of GM crops.

Evidence from experimental studies from around the world has pointed to adverse impacts like allergies, organ damage, immune system damage, reproductive health problems, effects on growth and development, inter-generational impacts, cancerous growths etc.

GM ENCOURAGED, ORGANIC CURTAILED?

The irony of the current situation of regulation for food safety is inescapable. Organic foods, which by themselves go a long way in fulfilling the mandate of FSSAI are being put through mandatory certification requirements by FSSAI, when chemical-fed foods have to meet no such requirements.

And when illegal GM foods are also allowed to flourish by sheer lack of inaction by the FSSAI. So, whose side is the FSSAI on, and who is to make the food safety regulator fulfil its basic mandate then? It is hoped that Parliament will debate this issue thoroughly and that the Ministers concerned will intervene and ensure that regulators discharge their responsibilities in favour of ordinary citizens.

VIOLATIONS GALORE

Any GM food offered for sale in India has to have the approval of FSSAI, which is the food-safety regulator formed under the Food Safety & Standards Act 2006. Section 22 of the Act specifies this. This Section has not been converted into notified regulations as yet and FSSAI, by its own admission in the Supreme Court, has argued that any GM food in the market is therefore, unpermitted and illegal.

Further, any GM food brought into India should have declared itself as such under the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, that too after the approval of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee created under the Environment Protection Act 1986’s 1989 Rules, in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

Even though Rule 11 has been exempted by a notification by GEAC (that too for the “occupier” as defined in the Parent Act EPA 1986, the Rules read as 2 (1), 2 (2) along with 7(1), require GEAC approval, along with the DGFT notification under FTDRA 1992.

Additionally, the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs, has notified in 2012, a rule that “every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the words 'GM'”.

Therefore, the foods that have tested positive in CSE lab testing have violated the Food Safety Act, the Environment Protection Act, the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act as well as the Legal Metrology Act. Apart from the fact that they could be potentially harmful to human health.

Like Sunita Narain of CSE wrote recently, it is ultimately about citizens’ food, choices and health. It is up to citizens whether they will stay quiet or force the regulators and food industry players to work for citizens’ welfare.

The author is the co-convenor of Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)

Equipment, manpower deficit hobbles Valley’s Food Safety on Wheels program

Program will become functional in a month: Commissioner

The food safety vans, which are meant to provide instant and mobile food testing service in J&K to ensure quality of commodities in market, are not being put to use since March 2018, due to lack of proper equipment and manpower shortage. 

A report by Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) has revealed, no monthly progress report (MPR) has been sent by the DFCO to FSSAI, the central regulatory authority, in past six months as mandated under food safety laws.

The progress report of states uploaded by FSSAI on 25 July, latest one available, states “MPR pending for May and June 2018” for J&K. In May, the FSSAI report stated “MPR pending for March, 2018”.

When contacted Commissioner food safety J&K, Dr Abdul Kabir Dar agreed that work output of food safety on wheels was low. “There was some problem with technical staff as well as drivers,” he said, adding that the issue had been “sorted out recently”.

He said the department had sourced technical staff from health department to run the mobile labs and to “fill the gaps”.

“We have roped in an agency to train the staff and the vans will become fully functional in a month,” the commissioner said.

Currently, he said the vans were being used for “transportation of samples, do basic testing and create awareness, especially in peripheral areas”.

A source in the department said the reports were not being sent on a regular basis because of “inadequate output” of these testing labs.

“These are merely vehicles without requisite equipment and manpower for testing. That is a big hurdle,” the source said.

Sharing details he said the equipment that has been fitted in the van for milk testing was able to give a report only on whether water has been added to it or not.

Moreover, the machine is not fit to test processed milk available in market, local and from other states. “It can only test solid fat and non solid fat in raw cow’s milk,” he said. He said other types of milk, toned, pasteurized, packaged, was out of the ambit of testing due to lack of facility.

Similarly, for testing edible oil, the equipments fitted in the vans have provision to give only refractive index of oil. It cannot detect impurities and adulteration. The same is case with water testing.

An official of the department said that manpower engaged to run the equipment in mobile vans was also not “adequately trained”.

This has also been corroborated by FSSAI, which in its May status report stated that in J&K “Training and awareness programs (for mobile testing vans) are also not being undertaken”.

The program, which cost state Rs 2.4 crore, was flagged off in J&K in March 2017 to improve infrastructure for food testing in state.

While Rs 1.75 crore had been allocated by the state government for procurement of five testing vans, Rs 60 lakh was given by FSSAI for two of the mobile labs fitted with “high tech” equipment to detect adulteration and quality of food samples on the move in market and food business operators.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Small quantity of pesticides found in honey samples Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/national/small-quantity-pesticides-685787.html

Several brands of honey sold in the market contain traces of pesticides, Indian scientists have found. 

After analysing 150 samples of honey purchased from the markets of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, they found 12% of them (18 samples) contain pesticides in small quantities.

A bulk (about 72%) of the contaminated samples contained organophosphates followed by organochlorines, including fipronil and synthetic pyretheroids.

The frequently detected pesticides were monocrotophos (four samples) followed by dichlorvos (three). Chlorpyrifos, profenofos, ethion and lindane were found in two samples each.

Although the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India hasn't fixed a "maximum residue limit" for pesticides in honey yet and the amount detected is in trace quantities, the scientists said it was still a matter of health concern because nobody knew the cumulative effect of these pesticides, if consumed for a long time.

"Considering the possible accumulative effects of substances with similar mode of action and customary (traditional and cultural) feeding of honey to the infants, old and ill people in India, precautionary measures should always be taken in the foreseeable future to safeguard consumers health," the researchers reported in the latest issue of the journal Current Science.

How did the pesticides find their way to the honey? The researchers said the widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides over the years contaminate blossoms from which honey bees collect nectar for honey production.Bees on their foraging expeditions also pickup and transfer pollutants from contaminated water and soil to their respective hives. This may result in the transfer of pesticide residues to honey and finally to consumers.

Scientists from CSK HP Agricultural University, Palampur and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, didn't disclose the brand names.In their report, they said the samples comprised branded honey (certified and uncertified) sold in retail markets and unbranded, processed honey sold by traders, self-help groups, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agricultural Universities), co-operative societies and road side vendors.

Out of the 150 samples, only 59 had certification.For laboratory tests, they employed QuEChERS— a solid phase extraction method commonly used for detection of pesticide residues in food besides chromatography studies.In the process, they established a standard protocol for testing and validating more honey samples.

The new report comes five years after New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment showed presence of low level of antibiotics in 11 common brands of honey – out of 12 – picked up from the market.

Food safety teams inspect rly stations

Chandigarh, August 5

Food safety teams conducted an inspection at several railway stations in the state in the wee hours of Sunday to check the supply of substandard khoya and paneer from neighbouring states.

Commissioner, Food Safety, KS Pannu said it was reported that substandard perishables were flooding local markets through inbound trains arriving early in the morning.

Meetings were held with the railway authorities. Special teams were sent to prominent railway stations. Samples have been collected and forwarded to the State Laboratory at Kharar.

At places where no perishables were off-loaded on Sunday, the railway authorities were requested to inform the food safety teams before releasing milk products so that samples could be taken for a quality test. The authorities have agreed to share information regarding the arrival of perishables.

Pannu said special nakas were also set up to check the entry of milk and milk products by road from neighbouring areas.

The statewide inspection of milk establishments continued for the second day. As many as 150 samples have been collected and sent for testing. The samples have been collected from large dairy establishments as well as milk vendors.

Samples of desi ghee, paneer and khoya have also been taken and sent for checking. Substandard milk and cream infested with insects were also detected during the raids and destroyed on the spot.