2,060kg of paneer made with sulphuric acid seized

MOHALI: Your favourite paneer may well be made with detergent and urea and processed with sulphuric acid. That’s how an illegal factory was suspected to be producing the food item till a joint team of the health department, police and Progressive Dairy Farmers Association raided the joint at Ballomajra village in Mohali in the early hours of Tuesday. And, the haul was alarming: 2,060kg of spurious paneer, 120 litres of sulphuric acid, 135 bags each of 25kg of skimmed milk powder, 89kg of butter and 25kg of khoya.

K S Pannu, commissioner, food and drug administration, Punjab, said the factory was producing spurious paneer. The factory was sealed and the owner, Ashok Kumar, arrested on charges of adulteration of food or drink, sale of noxious food or drink and cheating.

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The detection of illegal units manufacturing synthetic milk and milk products has brought to fore how adulteration has become a big business. The perpetrators are unmindful of how injurious for human consumption their products are, or that they are likely to cause grievous hurt. Their eye is only on profit. People who cause so much harm to people’s health, need to be dealt with a tough hand. The proposed amendments in the food safety act mandating stiff penalty, including life term and heavy fines, for people involved in adulteration should be brought in quickly so that such people can be punished.

District health officer Rajbir Singh Kang said following directions of the minster for animal husbandry and dairy development Balbir Singh Sidhu, the team raided the factory at 4 am.

Samples of desi ghee, skimmed milk powder, paneer, milk and curd suspected to be prepared from adulterants were sent for analysis to a food lab in Kharar. An FIR (first information report) was registered under Sections 272, 273, 336 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused at Balongi police station.

Kang said, “The factory was operating without any licence and the unit was unhygienic. The utensils used to compress paneer slabs were fungusinfected. We have sealed the factory and booked the owner.”

Four of 21 panipuri samples found to be substandard: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

After a food sampling session, the civic authority declared four of 21 samples substandard. After banning the sale of panipuri in Vadodara, the health officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation collected panipuri samples randomly across the city.

Two samples of mithi chutney, the watery mix served with panipuris, and ragda were found to be substandard, declared a report complied by the health department. Mithi chutney of Mahalakshmi Panipuri and an unnamed stall located at Lal Darwaja, ragda of Mita Panipuri in Odhav, and the water of an unnamed stall near Apna Bazar were found to be substandard.

Dr Bhavin Solanki, in-charge, medical officer of health, said, "Taking cognizance of health hazards, we are taking food samples and sending them for laboratory testing. We want to ensure that people eat safe and hygienic food, as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India."

What does substandard mean?

According to food inspector Rakesh Gamit, the department collects random samples of food items around the year to check for adulteration. "There are food safety norms defined under section 3 (a) of Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006. As per that, a food can be safe, unsafe, substandard, or misbranded," said Gamit.

The samples are categorised as follows:

Unsafe – Food sample that contains non-permitted ingredients, addictive colours and flavours. If insects are found in any sample that is also considered unsafe.

Substandard – Food sample that does not meet standards as laid down by the regulation, but which may not really be unsafe. For example, milk should contain a certain amount of fat; if the sample doesn't have the required amount of fat, it is declared as substandard.

Misbranded – Food sample making false claims on its package labels or for advertisements. If dates are not mentioned or address is not mentioned on a packet, that is also called misbranded.

EATERIES INSPECTED

AMC collected Rs 66,000 in fines from 8 units for not maintaining sanitation standards. Nini’s Kitchen, HK Foods, Shri Marutinandan, Singaporian Hotel, Dakshinayan, Barbecue Nation, and We Deshi were inspected by the health squad.

1,550 litres of edible oil seized

Tirupur: The district food safety and drug administration on Monday seized 1,550 litres of edible oil from an illegal oil packaging unit near Moolanur here.

“Based on a tip-off, officers inspected the unit at Ganesan Pudur and found that sunflower refined oil and groundnut oil were packed in half-litre packs and 15-litre tins under labels like Suguna Gold Sunflower Oil, Jaya Garuda and Tirupathi Groundnut Oils,” said an official. “The address — Alagapuri Nagar in Vellakoil — on the labels was fake. The unit was also functioning without a licence. But it printed false licence number on packets,” the official added.

Sweet shops under scanner ahead of Rakshabandhan

Vadodara: Food safety officers of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) cracked down upon sweet shops in the city ahead of the Raksha Bandhan festival. The surprise checks were conducted as shops prepare and stock sweets in advance for the festival.

According to VMC officials, the checking was conducted in the Gotri, New VIP Road, Manjalpur, Alkapuri and Rajmahal Road areas of the city. Samples of various sweets made from ‘mava’, dry fruits and other material. Samples of sweets with silver foil were also collected for testing.

Officials said that in all six shops were checked despite the showers on Tuesday. Nine samples of sweets being sold at these shops were sent to the public health laboratory for testing. The officials pointed out that the checking also focussed on ensuring that the shops maintained hygienic conditions in wake of the ongoing monsoon season.

The drive will continue in the coming days till the weekend as Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on Sunday. Cases will be filed in case the samples collected by the officers are found adulterated or substandard.

Major haul of gutkha in Krishnagiri

Police personnel with the seized gutkha in Krishnagiri.

In a major haul, police seized three trucks and a container of gutkha in Krishnagiri and Thoppur toll gates on Tuesday.

The trucks were commissioned to take the tobacco products from Bengaluru to Chidambaram and Nagercoil.

Krishnagiri taluk police were put on alert after the office of the Superintendent of Police was tipped off on the consignment.

Past midnight, three trucks were intercepted near the toll gate. The trucks were found stacked with 50 sacks of gutkha each.

On being questioned, the drivers --Arumugam (30) of Tivannamalai, Arun Kumar (25) of Villupuram, and Mani(30) of Krishnagiri -- revealed that another container truck with a higher stack of contraband substance had already crossed Krishnagiri. Thoppur police were alerted and the truck was intercepted at the toll gate in Thoppur.

The container had 90 sacks of gutka and tobacco, reportedly worth Rs. 15 lakh. The driver of the container truck, Ramesh Babu (40) of Krishnagiri, was arrested by Dharmapuri police.

More seizure

Food Safety officials seized 450 kg of gutkha from a godown at Town Hall here. While inspecting shops and godowns, a food safety team led by designated officer Brinda found the gutkha in one of the godowns. It was said to be worth over Rs. 10 lakh.

Amarinder asks officers to explore ways to strengthen food law

Chandigarh, Aug 21 Taking serious note of the recent seizure of spurious milk and dairy products from a Patiala factory, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today directed officers to explore ways to strengthen the law on food adulteration.

The directive came at a meeting of the state cabinet here, which took serious note of the seizure of adulterated food in Patiala and other places, and mooted stringent punishment for such offences.

Noting that the subject of food adulteration was covered by a central legislation, the chief minister asked the officers concerned to work out best possible ways to deal more strictly with such cases, an official spokesperson said.

The state should find its own ways of ensuring stricter punishment for those playing with the lives of people, especially children, through adulteration of milk, milk products and other food items, the chief minister said during an informal discussion on the issue.

Cabinet members unanimously underlined the need for strong measures to check such offences, the official said.

On Sunday, Punjab Health minister Brahm Mohindra too had warned those indulging in making spurious and adulterated milk and milk products in the state.

He had ordered district health officers and assistant food commissioners to take stern action against the culprits under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

40% Eateries Listed On Food Delivery Apps Don’t Have Licences, FSSAI Asks To Delist Them

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on August 1 had given a two-week deadline to 10 online food delivery companies to delist unlicensed restaurants. According to the regulator, about 30-40% of the restaurants listed on the e-commerce sites had failed to meet FSSAI’s deadline for obtaining a license, despite being told by the regulator to comply with the norms by July-end. The two-week deadline has now come to an end as well. 

The regulator had asked Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats and seven other e-commerce firms engaged in the food business to ensure that the eateries and restaurants listed on their platforms are duly licensed. Not only that, but FSSAI had also notified them to comply with the norms and submit a detailed report on the “actions taken” and the details of the Food Business Operator (FBOs) listed on their platforms by the end of July. Foodpanda, JusFood, LimeTray, Box8, Faasos, FoodCloud and Foodmingo were the seven other firms that had been ordered to delist non-licensed eateries. In a review meeting which was held on August 1, it was found that in many cases, eateries had recently applied for the licenses and had yet not received it at the time.

As reported by the Financial Express, the regulator said in a statement,“Following a series of complaints related to sub-standard food being supplied by food businesses listed on e-commerce foodservice platforms, FSSAI has directed 10 such platforms to debar the non-FSSAI licensed/registered food operators and ensured compliance of food safety rules and regulations.”

40% listed eateries still without licenses

In a review meeting held on August 1, FSSAI noted that there are leading eateries running their business without a valid licence. Further, It was revealed that around 30-40% of the restaurants listed on food delivery apps are either unregistered or unlicensed. Some of them may have applied for the licenses but they have not been approved yet, FSSAI in a press statement.

According to FSSAI, it is also being advised to eateries to conduct food safety and hygiene training on their listed outlets, displaying the “Food Safety Boards” on their premises. It further stated, “It has also been decided to conduct audit of IT platforms of these e-Commerce food aggregators from the angle of compliances for food safety and hygiene under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 read with Food Safety (Licensing and Registration) Regulations, 2011.”

“(We appeal to) aggregators to begin to use some of their resources in training and capacity building of restaurants for improving food safety and hygiene rather than focusing only on deep discounts and aggressive marketing to build consumer traction to their respective platforms,” Pawan Agarwal, CEO of FSSAI, said in a statement on August 1.

Working to delist eateries without licenses

“We are working with reputed third-party agencies to set up a support system and help expedite this process for them,” A Swiggy representative told the Business Line. A spokesperson of Zomato told the daily, “While we can’t comment on the number (of such restaurants) since they are changing by the hour, we can assure that we are working with the FSSAI and the restaurant industry actively to make sure that everybody is compliant with the guidelines.”

Not only that, earlier this year in February, FSSAI had also set some new guidelines for e-Commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs). According to which, the listed FBOs on e-commerce platforms must display their licence numbers. An agreement between the e-commerce platforms and FBOs had also been mandated to comply with the Food Safety and Standards ct, Rules and Regulations.

The Logical Indian Take

The birth of e-commerce has revolutionised the manner in which companies are doing their business. Today, consumers can buy almost anything on the internet without having to leave their homes. Food order and delivery platforms, in particular, seem to be one of the most popular and successful businesses on the internet. FSSAI step is appreciable as they want to make sure that the food we are ordering has gone through safety check as per the guidelines of Food Safety Standards notified by the authorities.

However, in this quest of attracting customers, these companies have somehow missed out on quality check. There were innumerable complaints regarding the poor quality of food being supplied by the food businesses listed on these e-commerce platforms.

Food safety officials start investigations on Tetrapak fruit products

IMPHAL | Aug 21 : Office of the Designated Officer (Food Safety Administration), government of Manipur has informed that Food Safety Officials have inspected the retail and wholesale shops selling fruit drinks or juices in Tetrapaks in prominent places of Bishnupur district.

The team led by Food Security Officer (FSO), Dr. M Dinesh Singh and FSO, H. Premkumar Singh under the instruction of designated officer, Y. Surendro Singh inspected shops at Moirang, Ningthoukhong, Bishnupur and Nambol areas, said a report signed by designated officer, FSA, Bishnupur, Y. Surendro Singh. The initiative was taken up after the Food Safety and Standards Enforcement Wing, Bishnupur came across a video clip uploaded on a social media showing fibrous black substances found in fruit drinks or juices packed in tetrapaks especially Frooti and Minute Maid brands, it said.

Irrespective of the brand names, the Food Safety Officers collected surveillance samples from various other brands including Minute Maid, Mango Punch, Real, Frooto, Frooti, Appy and Maaza amongst others, the report stated while adding that the collected samples are to be sent to the State Public Health laboratory for analysis.

It further stated that the food safety officials instructed the food business operators (FBOs) and the public to be aware and immediately report any such incident to the Safety and Standards Enforcement Wing, Bishnupur or to a nearby police station. Instructions were also given to the FBOs to store the food in appropriate conditions mentioned on the food packets, it added.

It might be mentioned that tetrapaks fruit juice products are immensely popular in the state due to the soaring temperatures in Manipur although the packaging material is opaque and the consumers do not have any ideas about the condition of the products.

DINAMANI NEWS

DINAMANI NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAMANI NEWS

450 KG OF GUTKA SEIZED IN DHARMAPURI

DINAKARAN NEWS

Madras High Court notice to Centre on plea challenging food safety rules

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Union government on a petition from a farmer challenging the latest food safety rules which makes certification mandatory to sell organic produce.

The Erode-based farmer, Selvam Ramaswamy, sought from the court to declare the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulation 2017 as unconstitutional and ultra vires of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

According to the petitioner, under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), certification of the organic farming process, which commences from the seeding stage, is mandatory only for those who export their produce and in all other cases it is only voluntary under the Act.

The Central government had, on January 2, notified the regulation which states that even individual farmers who sell their produce in the domestic market must also obtain the certification which, the petitioner said, was a tedious process and financially unviable for small farmers.

Claiming that a regulation introduced under an Act cannot be ultra vires of the Act itself, the petitioner wanted the court to declare it unconstitutional.

Admitting the plea, a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the Centre to file its reply in three weeks.

Chennai organic farmer challenges food safety rules

An organic farmer has moved the Madras High Court with a PIL petition challenging the latest food safety rules, mandating certification to sell organic produce even in domestic market.

CHENNAI: An organic farmer has moved the Madras High Court with a PIL petition challenging the latest food safety rules, mandating certification to sell organic produce even in domestic market.

A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, before which the PIL from Selvam Ramaswamy of Erode came up for hearing, ordered notice to the Union government, returnable in three weeks.

Petitioner wanted the bench to declare the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulation, 2017 notified on January 2 last, as ultra vires of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and hence, unconstitutional.

According to petitioner, under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), certification of the organic farming process, which commences from the seeding stage, is mandatory for those who export their produce alone. In all other cases, the requirement is only voluntary.

However, the Centre on January 2 last notified the regulation which states that even individual farmers, who sell their produce in the domestic market, shall also take the certification which is a tedious process and financially unviable for small farmers. Claiming that a regulation introduced under an Act is ultra vires of the Act itself, the petitioner wanted the court to declare it unconstitutional.

Admitting the plea, a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the Centre to file its reply in three weeks.

HC seeks Centre’s response to plea challenging organic food regulations

The Madras High Court on Monday sought the response of the Centre to a writ petition challenging the validity of Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods)Regulations of 2017 on the ground that farmers could not be brought under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) of 2006.

A Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad ordered notices, returnable by September 10, to Union Ministries of Agriculture as well as Commerce and Industry on the petition filed by Selvam Ramaswamy of Erode district. He urged the court to declare the regulations unconstitutional.

His counsel D. Nagasaila argued that the 2017 Regulations were repugnant to Section 18(3) of the FSSA which categorically states that none of its provisions would apply to any farmer, fisherman, farming operations, crops, livestock, aquaculture, supplies used or produced in farming or products of crops produced by a farmer at farm level or a fisherman in his operations.

When farmers had been specifically excluded from the purview of the FSSA, how could the Centre bring in regulations on organic foods, she wondered. It was also pointed out to the court that the 2017 Regulations state that no person shall manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market, distribute or import organic food in violation of its provisions.

Foul oil: Fried chicken outlet loses licence

Chennai: The food safety department has suspended the licence issued to a KFC outlet near Poonamallee for not paying a fine after it failed an oil sample test.

Oil samples collected from the store were found to be substandard, said M Kavikumar, designated officer for Tiruvallur. The department imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on the outlet. The owner did not pay the fine and a divisional revenue officer sent a show-cause notice. 

Since there was no response to this, the local food safety officials issued another notice. “As the outlet continued to be unresponsive, we suspended its licence under Section 96 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 1996,” Kavikumar told TOI.

The act states that the defaulters licence shall be suspended till the penalty is paid.

FSSAI to test Dabur, Zandu, Patanjali honey brands

Food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has ordered testing of the popular brands of honey, including Dabur, Zandu and Patanjali, for authenticity.

This comes in the backdrop of growing concern among the public that the honey sold in the market could be adulterated with corn syrup or sugar syrup.

The 'surveillance' report is likely to be made public within a couple of weeks, a senior government official said.

"As part of our surveillance mechanism, we have picked up samples of all the brands of honey sold in the market. The testing is going on. We may release the report in a couple of weeks, though without naming the brands or companies," Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, told DNA Money.

The new standards for honey have recently been approved by the health ministry and are likely to be notified in a few days. The compliance and enforcement will start from January 1. "Whenever we implement new standards, we give time to the industry," the CEO said. However, before taking any penal action against the erring firms, the regulator is conducting surveillance tests so that the companies are careful.

"The general sense is that a lot of honey sold in the market is not real but corn syrup or sugar syrup. Whether the perception is right or wrong, the honey has to be tested," said Agarwal. Earlier, the FSSAI didn't have testing methods and parameters to figure out if the honey was authentic or not.

"Hopefully, those who are doing it (adulteration) will be careful now that the FSSAI has standards and methods of analysis," he said.

The violation of the standards will attract a fine of up to Rs three lakh and imprisonment of a maximum of six months for adulteration under Food Safety & Standards Act.

"Our objective is to ensure that the consumer gets what he or she is paying for. Corn or sugar syrup itself is not unsafe, but by calling it honey when it isn't is like deceiving consumers," the official said, adding that consumers would get genuine honey in the market. While the enforcement of the new regulation will start next year, the surveillance is likely to continue.

Corn syrup, also known as glucose syrup to confectioners, is made from the starch of corn or maize and is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallisation of sugar, and enhance flavour.

"FSSAI has been regularly conducting such tests on all food products. It's a welcome move on the part of the authorities as this ensures that only good quality food products reach the consumers," a Dabur spokesperson said when contacted.

According to an Emami spokesperson, "We would like FSSAI to come up with a policy to control the presence of corn syrup and any other form of added sugar which is widely being used for adulteration of honey. There needs to be a standardisation in place based on the international food standards which deals with these kind of adulteration. These steps if taken would ultimately benefit the consumers."

Patanjali did not respond to e-mailed query till the time of going to press.

A SUGARY SYRUP?

The general sense is that a lot of honey sold in the market is not real but corn syrup or sugar syrup 

The 'surveillance' report is likely to be made public within a couple of weeks

SJM alleges FSSAI for allowing flooding of unauthorised and banned GM foods in India Written By: Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Aug 20: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate organisation Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has been questioning some of the government policies that have been allowing to compromise interest of people and economy of India as such. In one such matter, the SJM has criticized the issue of fortification of food products, its implication on consumers health and Indian SME sector. The SJM has also come down heavily on Vitamin cartel promoting chemical-based vitamins in India.

SJM co-convener Ashwini Mahajan said that they are organizing a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the implications of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) recent notifications on public health, affordability of foods, Indian SME sector and interference of foreign funded NGOs in Indian food systems.

Indian eating habits are healthy and wholesome and a proper Indian thali provides balanced diet for any individual. Mahajan said that adoption of excessive refined foods based on junk food has created imbalance in Indian food system. The RSS-affiliate body said that another major concern was adulteration in food system. FSSAI was created to ensure that safe and complete food was ensured to citizens. But during various reviews by Parliament and the Supreme Court reminded FSSAI to stick to their mandate and ensure safe and pure food for citizens. However, no improvement is visible.

It alleged that flooding of unauthorised and banned GM foods, adulterated foods, growing imports of junk foods, food quality of school meals, etc. are testimony to the FSSAI functioning which is more keen to please donors and sponsors. The recent notifications of FSSAI on fortification based on 100 per cent imported and synthetic vitamins which are harmful to public health as per medical research reports. Mahajan said, "See the list of partner organisations, they all are foreign funded NGOs which are funded by promoters and shareholders of vitamin companies. Vitamin Cartel is one of the most notorious cartel worldwide and heavily punished by European Commission and even recently President Trump also asked his government to crackdown on Vitamin cartel."

He further alleged that Vitamin Cartel may crack the Indian market with the help of some vested interest in Food Safety Authority in India. It demands CBI inquiry into the entire process and investigate the officers involved in this anti-people agenda. The investigation should also focus on how a few foreign funded NGOs are able to manipulate food safety and standards policy of India. How they could partner with FSSAI on sensitive matters when there is no Indian Institute involved as partner? This is a serious conflict of Interest and attempt to sabotage the entire system to benefit few select MNC and their promotors.

The SJM alleged that the fortification committees were created by hand-picked people which can be manipulated by vested interests. There is no transparent method used because people involved in decision making process have no experience of fortification and no understanding of its implication public health. This will not only hurt public health specially infants, lactating mothers, sensitive consumers groups, patients and many other stake holders but ruin the small and medium food companies and will make way to capture Indian food markets.

SMC raids 10 mava shops

Surat: At least 10 mava makers were raided by officials of the health department of Surat Municipal Corporation in the city on Monday. Around 20 samples were collected and sent for analysis by food safety officials. “We are awaiting report from the laboratory. We will take action against the mava makers on the basis of the report,” an officer said.

More than 1,000kg of mava is used every week during the festive season for making sweets. Most of the sweetmeat m0akers in the city buy mava from wholesalers. 

Presence of DDT in food reason for autism

Desist from making food fortification compulsory: SJM to FSSAI

The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch said today that food safety regulator FSSAI should desist from making food fortification mandatory of packaged food as it will favour only few selected multi-national firms.

The FSSAI is making efforts to make it mandatory that all packaged food should be fortified by Vitamin A and D. It will only help the cartel of international Vitamin companies, SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said.

In place of focusing the fundamental duty as per the FSSAI Act, the authority was now more keen to please the donors and sponsors of their activities which are not directed towards the mandate of the law, he further said.

The SJM alleged that FSSAI is allowing flooding of unauthorised and banned food products in the country.

Parl panel says 90% labs not accredited

FOOD SAFETY: FACTS

• Ministry of Health told panel that food-borne illnesses were a greater health burden in India than malaria, HIV/AIDS or TB
• Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) found food poisoning one of the commonest outbreaks reported in 2017 apart from acute diarrhoeal disease
• More than 200 diseases spread through contaminated food ranging from diarrhoea to cancers, says WHO

New Delhi, August 19

One in four food samples in India failed the quality test over the past two years, while 90 per cent food testing labs were found unaccredited and many food operators were found to be either unregistered or running on expired licences.

These are a few of the damning observations by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, which in its latest report has recommended restructuring of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the apex food regulator. It has said the regulator should be headed by a food scientist rather than a bureaucrat.

The report, “The Functioning of FSSAI”, red-flags food safety lapses, saying people’s fundamental right to pure food was being compromised.

“Existing food laws and policies are inadequate and weakly enforced. This poor implementation has resulted in rampant food adulteration and various food scandals. Substandard quality food has been reaching the market and causing irreparable damage to public health,” notes the panel. Major concerns documented include the presence of unregistered food business operators (FBOs) and FBOs operating with expired licences, lack of accreditation of food-testing labs and high levels of food adulteration coupled with low conviction rates under the FSS Act.

“The Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS) should be updated regularly,” the committee said. It listed audit findings on instances of expired licences and registrations under the FSSAI Act in nine states and six Central offices of FSSAI.

“Of 7,056 licences test-checked in states, 2,616 (37.07 per cent), and out of 2,863 licences test-checked in CLAs, 626 (21.87 per cent) were expired. Out of 2,299 registrations test-checked in states, 698 (30.36 per cent) were expired,” reveals the report.

On food quality, the committee expressed anguish over low conviction rates, noting that one in four food samples failed the quality test in 2016 and 2017.

Even more shocking was the revelation that 65 out of the 72 (90 per cent) state food labs to which FSSAI and state food safety authorities were sending food samples for testing didn’t have the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories accreditation.

60% milk food samples seized in Punjab raids fail quality test

Chandigarh, August 19

A whopping 60 per cent of milk and milk product (MMP) samples, including paneer (cottage cheese) and ghee, seized during raids across Punjab in the past 10 days have been found unfit for human consumption — 434 of the total 724 samples having failed the quality test. 

Alarmed, Health and Family Minister Brahm Mohindra has asked the District Health Officers and Assistant Food Commissioners to take stern action against those violating the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Tested at the government laboratory in Kharar, 20 per cent of the food samples seized have been found to contain spurious or adulterated milk, revealing the dark side of the “white trade” flourishing in a state that leads in per capita milk availability — 1,035 ml of milk per person per day. 

According to the Animal Husbandry Department, there are 52 lakh buffaloes and 21 lakh cows in Punjab of which 70 per cent yield milk. The daily milk production is 360 lakh litres. Despite abundant milk, a sizeable number of units are manufacturing spurious milk and milk products. “While low-grade paneer is sold at Rs 170 per kg, poor quality ‘khoya’ is making its way from other states,” a senior officer said. 

Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, and Director of Tandrust Punjab Mission, Kahan Singh Pannu, said the authorities needed to be much more vigilant.

DARK SIDE OF THE TRADE

- 434 of the total 724 samples tested by Kharar lab fail the quality test

- 20% of the seized food samples found to contain spurious milk

- This despite Punjab leading other states in per capita milk availability 

- With 52 lakh buffaloes and 21 lakh cows, state produces 360 lakh litres milk per day

Minister warns adulterators of food Items

With huge quantities of adulterated dairy products getting recovered from across the state, Punjab’s health and family minister, Brahm Mohindra, on Sunday warned those indulging in making spurious and adulterated milk and milk products in the state.

He ordered the District Health Officers and Assistant Food Commissioners to take stern action against the culprits under the provisions of ‘Food safety and standards Act 2006’ to curb the sale and production of adulterated food.

Giving details in Press communiqué, Mohindra said that during last 10 days, Food Safety Wing of Health Department has been conducted 650 raids with the help of other departments at Patiala, Bathinda, Baghapurana, Moga, Samrala, Kapurthala.

He said that district administrations, Punjab Pollution control board, Dairy Development Department, Police Department, Cooperation Department and Local Government Department have been asked to work in tandem to ensure availability of safe and nutritious food to citizens.

After the police on Saturday claimed that officials of the Patiala district health department’s food safety wing have been taking bribes since 2014 for allowing production of spurious items at a factory, the health minister also warned the officers of the health department and lab staff to work honestly and diligently to ensure the availability of quality food.

He said that no laxity will be tolerated in this regard and strict disciplinary action would be taken against all those conniving with perpetrators of the crime against humanity by compromising with the quality of food items.

Mohindra appreciated the efforts of food safety wing of the Health Department for initiating a campaign against food adulteration and stated that government is very serious to provide pure and nutritious food items to the citizens under ‘Tandarust Punjab Mission’.

He mentioned that all concerned department of the government have jointly embarked upon the campaign to supply pure food to the people of Punjab.

He said that this campaign shall continue till all the black sheeps indulging in such malpractices are brought to the books under ‘Food safety and standards Act 2006’.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Phone screens are swarming with germs, says study

Spurious milk factory ran in nexus with food safety wing, say police

“Officials of state food lab in Kharar also got bribes to clear product samples”

Nearly 7,000 litre spurious milk, 323 bags (50kg each) of skimmed powered milk, 250 litres of chemical used in making adulterated milk, 20 quintal cheese and 12 quintal ghee were seized Singla Milk Chilling Centre. 

Three days after adulterated dairy products were recovered in huge quantities from a milk chilling centre near Devigarh town of the district, police on Saturday claimed that officials of the district health department’s food safety wing have been taking bribes since 2014 for allowing production of spurious items at the factory.

Nearly 7,000 litre spurious milk, 323 bags (50kg each) of skimmed powered milk, 250 litres of chemical used in making adulterated milk, 20 quintal cheese and 12 quintal ghee were seized Singla Milk Chilling Centre at Mehon village, 35 kilometers from the district headquarters.

Patiala superintendent of police (SP) Kesar Singh said, “It has emerged following the interrogation of two of the accused, including factory owner Anil Kumar Singla, that a fixed monthly amount of ₹5,000 was paid to the food safety officials besides ₹10,000 each for sample clearance. Officials of the state food laboratory in Kharar are also part of the nexus.”

The police on Friday had arrested Singla’s accomplice Jai Bhagwan of Cheeka in Haryana.

The SP said the accused confessed that they used to send the bribes every month to the food safety officials through owners of Sukhwinder Singh and Baldev Sharma, the owners of Ghuman and Sharma dairies in Patiala.

“We will submit the names of these officials to the state health department and demand stringent action against them,” he said.

The police say the department neither informed them about the goings-on in factory nor initiated the process of sealing it even as samples were collected from there on Tuesday.

Borehole to drain out chemical detected

The police said during an inspection of the factory, they detected an underground borehole to drain the chemicals — used in making of adulterated milk items — directly into underground water.

“We have also written to Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to take action against the accused,” an official said.

Patiala civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said, “A written explanation has been sought from district health officer Dr Krishan Singh and food safety officer Puneet Sharma in this regard.”

DHO Krishan Singh rejected the police theory as “completely baseless”. “No such malpractice has come to the fore during my four-month stint as DHO here,” he said.

Commissioner (food and drug administration) KS Pannu said such a nexus between food safety officials and illegal factory owners need to be dealt with seriously. A report will be prepared and action will be taken against those guilty, he said.

Cops release list of 15 bulk buyers

The police have released a list of 15 bulk buyers of adulterated dairy items from the Singla Milk Chilling Centre. They are Shiva Lassi and Dairy, Pammi Poorian Wala, Chawla Dairy, KD Milk Store, Sharma Dairy; Raju Dairy, all in Patiala; Punjab Dairy, Devigarh, Rana Dairy, Chamkaur Sahib; Punjabi Shudh Dairy, Sahnewal; Harish Dairy, Rajpura; Shivalik Food, Kurali; Markanda Dairy, Shahbad; Dharampal Caterers, Ram Sharan Dairy and Arora Dairy, all in Haryana’s Kurukshetra.

“We have sought legal opinion so as to initiate criminal proceeding against these outlets,” the SP said.

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

Meat heavy diets cut life span: study

Food Safety Teams raid paneer manufacturing unit in Samrala, seizes huge cache of spurious products

LUDHIANA: Working on a tip off, Food Safety Team of Ludhiana conducted a raid at a Paneer manufacturing unit in an interior village of Samrala on Friday. Huge cache of spurious Milk and Milk Products(M&MP) were seized including 3 quintals of paneer, 90 litres of palm oil, 5 quintals of ghee, 39 empty Palm oil tins of 15 litres each, 5 sealed palm oil tins of 15 litre capacity each and 13 bags of 25kg capacity of verka skimmed milk powder and 4 bags of 25kg each of other skimmed milk powder.

Giving more details, KS Pannu, Commissioner, Food and Drugs Administration, Punjab said, "Around 9:30pm, we received an information that huge quantity of spurious paneer was being prepared in a manufacturing unit in Samrala and it was to be dispatched to market at the daybreak. So, immediately springing into action Food Safety Team of Ludhiana conducted a raid at the said premises at around 10pm. The Paneer manufacturing unit was being run from a house and when the food safety team reached there, the premises of the factory was locked from outside but the workers were working there. With the support of locals the lock was opened and a huge quantity of spurious M&MP was found."

Pannu also added, “The entire operation lasted for about 4 hours and a sizeable amount of spurious Milk and Milk Products were seized, including 3 quintals of paneer, 90 litres of palm oil, 5 quintals of ghee, 39 empty Palm oil tins of 15 litres each, 5 sealed Palm oil tins of 15 litre capacity each and 13 bags of 25 kg capacity of Verka skimmed milk powder and 4 bags of 25kg each of other skimmed milk powder."

Pannu also informed that a raid was also conducted by the department in Jalandhar and approximately 2 quintals curd, spurious desi ghee to the tune of 8 quintals and 35 packets of Skimmed milk powder were seized from the spot. In a similar inspection at Mansa 11 samples were taken including 8 samples of milk and milk products, 3 of milk, 1 of curd, 2 of khoya and two of paneer. The samples collected from all the raids have been sent for lab analysis.

‘Red labelling’ proposal put on hold; expert panel to examine plan

Food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has shelved a proposal that called for red labelling of packaged food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and

NEW DELHI: Food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has shelved a proposal that called for red labelling of packaged food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt, according to its CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal. Agarwal, who was addressing a national consultation on the draft regulation organised by the CUTS International, said that while the pre-draft for the proposal was ready and sent to the Health Ministry, “there were concerns expressed by some stakeholders.”

“We have kept it on hold for the time being and a group of experts from health and nutrition background has been set up to look into the issue of labelling once again,” he said. FSSAI had come out with the draft of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018 that proposed mandatory red-label marking on such packaged food in April. 

The expert panel will be headed by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition, as well as the current director Hemalatha, besides Dr Nikhil Tandon. According to Agarwal, the panel will study in detail the industry’s concerns and make recommendations. “May be a little bit of tweaking (to the draft regulations) is required. We are open to it without compromising the basic directions of the labelling regulations,” Agarwal said. 

Pitching for bringing in strong labelling norms at the earliest, the FSSAI CEO said it is difficult to ask consumers to change their eating habits as some eat mindlessly, while some cannot differentiate between healthy and unhealthy food products. “In this situation, I feel we can make a dent if we can address it at the supply side by asking companies to adhere to the labelling norms,” Agarwal added.

FSSAI sets up expert panel to look into draft labelling regulations

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to form a three-member committee to look into the draft food labelling and display regulations. The regulations have proposed making red colour-coded labels mandatory on packaged food products which are high in fat, sugar and salt contents.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said, “The pre-draft was earlier sent to the Health Ministry for finalisation. However, industry stakeholders have expressed concerns. So we have decided to set up a a panel of experts with health and nutrition background to look into the draft regulations.” He said that front-of-the-pack labels are required to make consumers more aware about healthy and unhealthy food products. The expert panel will be led by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), and comprise current NIN director Hemalatha and AIIMS’ Nikhil Tandon.

Agarwal was speaking at a national consultation on food labelling regulations for safe and healthy food organised by CUTS International in collaboration with FSSAI.

FSSAI has, in the past, said it is open to suggestions from industry stakeholders and it will look at labelling regulations adopted by other countries across the world. The draft labelling regulations were released in April. Industry stakeholders believe these may have an adverse impact on the evolving packaged food industry.

George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS International, said India can learn from the best practices from the other countries such as Denmark , Norway and Singapore on labelling and trans-fat regulations. He said the consultation was an attempt to begin a dialogue among stakeholders on the proposed draft labelling regulations.

Recently, several companies have pledged to FSSAI’s Eat Right Movement and have made voluntary commitments to reduce salt , sugar and fat in their products. FSSAI is likely to push more and more companies to make similar voluntary commitments in the coming days.

Expert panel reviewing food labelling standards: FSSAI

Government puts on hold the draft that proposes red-labelling of packaged food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt

New Delhi: The government has put on hold the draft that proposes red-labelling of packaged food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt, FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said today. In April, food safety regulator FSSAI had come out with the draft of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018 that propose mandatory red-label marking on such packaged food products.

“Our pre-draft was ready and sent to the health ministry. Since there were concerns expressed by some stakeholders, we have kept it on hold for the time being and a group of experts has been set up to look into the issue of labelling once again,” Agarwal said. He was addressing a national consultation on the draft regulation organised by the CUTS International.

The expert panel will be headed by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) as also the current director Hemalatha, besides Dr Nikhil Tandon, he said.

Food labelling regulations have remained a contentious issue in the packaged food industry, which sees them as an impediment to sales. Agarwal said the panel will study in detail the concerns of the industry and make recommendations.

“May be a little bit of tweaking (to the draft regulations) is required. We are open to it without compromising the basic directions of the labelling regulations,”Agarwal said.

Pitching for strong labelling norms at the earliest, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India CEO said it is difficult to ask consumers to change their eating habits. “We can make a dent if we can address it at the supply side by asking companies to adhere to labelling norms,” he added.

Agarwal also made it clear that FSSAI will go ahead with the labelling norms even if there is no consensus on the matter after the panel’s suggestions.

DINAKARAN NEWS

One more adulterated ghee unit unearthed

Madurai: Food safety officials have unearthed an illegal ghee manufacturing unit which has been producing adulterated ghee and supplying it in Madurai and other districts. Based on a tip, a team of officials conducted a search at the unit functioning in a two-storied house in a residential locality on Theni Main Road last week. On Thursday, the officials seized the ghee and sent samples for lab testing.

It was the second such unit unearthed in the city in just two weeks. Officials suspect that many such units could be running in the city and peripheral areas on the sly. It was functioning in a 1,500squarefeet rented house located at Jai Nagar near HMS Colony on the Madurai -Theni main road. The team of officials was led by designated officer for food safety, Madurai district, Dr M Somasundaram.

At least one tonne of adulterated ghee, which was packed and kept ready for despatch were found in the unit functioning in the ground floor of the house. Residents were not aware as to what was being manufactured in the house. They say that they have seen employees going in and out of the house regularly. They have also seen cartons being loaded into vehicles to be distributed elsewhere. “We did not know what was happening inside the house. They would not talk to others in the neighbourhood,” said a woman who did not want to be identified.

Vanaspati was diluted using cooking oil and ghee flavour added to the mixture to make it look and feel like ghee. The officials also seized a large quantity of packed ghee, empty pouches and machine used for packing. There were also a large number of empty tins of cooking oil and vanaspati. A detailed investigation was under way to find out whether it was part of a well-oiled network. Although it was mentioned in the finished products that it was meant only for lighting, officials said that the unlettered would not be able to distinguish it. Dr M Somasundaram said that while the manufacturing and packing were done at the house, the address on the sachets was of Erode.

Caterpillar found in food served at university canteen

Vadodara: After pictures of a caterpillar being found in vegetable curry at the mess of the Sarojini Devi Hall of the girls’ hostel campus of the MS University (MSU) went viral, teams of food safety officers of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) cracked down on the canteens and messes in the hostel campus. 

The teams destroyed a whopping 190kg material found unfit for consumption and the conditions in all the messes were found unhygienic.

The photograph that had gone viral on Tuesday following which the VMC commissioner instructed the food safety officers of VMC to swing into action. The food safety department formed two teams that checked messes in both the boys and girls hostel campuses of the MSU. 

In all, 10 messes were checked by the officers. The conditions in all 10 were found to be unhygienic and notices were issued to them under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

A major row was raked up after a student staying in the Sarojini Devi Hall posted pictures of the vegetable curry with caterpillar on Facebook and it was also circulated widely on the WhatsApp. Following this, VMC officials checked six messes in the boys hostel campus and four in the girls hostel campus.

The food items that were found unfit for consumption included vegetables and vegetable preparations, spices, edible oil, snacks, sweets, food colours and sauce. Besides destroying 190kg such material, the teams also collected nine samples of food and ingredients that were sent to the laboratory for testing.

The officials also met wardens of the hostels and other staffers and instructed them to maintain hygienic conditions. It was only after this that the MSU officials swung into action and shut down the Sarojini Devi Hall mess. The contractor of the mess was also blacklisted.

MSU vice chancellor Professor Parimal Vyas said that the mess was sealed. “Some vegetables were not of good quality. We will be imparting training to those managing and working at the messes. VMC officials will also be involved in the process,” he said.

CMO Wokha on obtaining FSS license

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Wokha Dr. Robin Lotha has notified consumers and food business establishments that as per the provision laid under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Rules 2011, a final notification has been sent to all the businesses operating in the district to obtain the FSS License or register their food business establishments (Food Manufacture, Distributor, Stockiest, Agencies, Departmental, Supplies, Whole-seller, Retailers, Hotels etc.) from the office of the Designated Officers (Chief Medical) on or before September 15.

Operating Food Business without the FSS License or registration will attract up to five lakh rupees in fines and imprisonment of up to six months under section 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

WB: “Fungus Infected Food, Cockroach Encroachment Found In Restaurants” Says IAS Officer Making Sure Of Food Safety

Just a few months back, there were several reports of rotten meat being sold in West Bengal. A 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, Nikhil Nirmal, who was recently appointed the District Magistrate (DM) of Alipurduar, West Bengal is making sure that there are better hygiene and food safety measures in his district.

In 2014, Alipurduar was given the status of a separate district after bifurcating from itself parental district Jalpaiguri. Alipurduar is four hours drive (200 Km) away from Jalpaiguri district. Alipurduar’s DM, Nikhil took the job in June 2017. As soon as he was appointed as the DM, he made sure that his district has better food and safety measures as it is the “most basic need”.

“It is not just West Bengal who do not follow proper guidelines for food safety as a public health issue. Most states in India are reeling through the same problem. This issue should properly be taken care of, as it is one of the basics for a healthy life,” says Nikhil, speaking to The Logical Indian. According to a report, Subhash Dutta, environmental activist and lawyer said “West Bengal is a paradise of adulteration and hell as far as checks of food safety are concerned.

He told us that, the Food Inspector (FI) of Jalpaiguri district takes care of the inspection in both the areas since the post of Food Inspector under the Alipurduar Municipality is vacant. “As Alipurduar is quite far from Jalpaiguri, the inspector would rarely come for any inspections here. When I noticed this, I asked the FI to come for inspection every week, and now he visits the district every Wednesday,” he said.

This measure was not enough for the officer, who recently lost one of his close friends due to food poisoning after eating in a restaurant in his hometown Kochi, Kerala.

The First raid

“On July 11, I mentioned poor food safety conditions in my district during an administrative meeting where Kolkata Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also present. In the meeting, the CM did emphasise on the need for food safety measures in the state. Very soon after that, I gave the orders for the raids to be conducted in the district to check if eatery shops are following the proper guidelines or not,” said Nikhil (31).

Two weeks after the meeting with the CM, the first raid was conducted in Alipurduar. “With a team of officials, we also took videographers to take the videographic evidence of these shops. When we went to many restaurants in the markets, we found out that these shops did not have the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence with them, which is mandatory for anyone who is manufacturing food and selling it,” he said. According to the officer, three restaurants were shut down after the raid.

No FSSAI licence

“As Alipurduar is a small district, many of these restaurants owners do not know how to get an FSSAI licence and why it is important, so I decided to organise an awareness camp for the people to understand the need of it,” he added.

The camp was organised where food merchants were educated about the importance of health and hygiene. They were also asked to fill out an online form to get FSSAI credentials.

“I assume that getting an FSSAI license is important, but it is a bit lengthy and technical process to ensure that restaurant owner and the sweet shop owners from where a lot of people consume food should immediately take proper health and hygiene measures,” said the 31-year-old.

Considering the urgency of the situation, the officer ordered for the second round of raid in the district. This time the motive of the inspection was to check if these places have a sanitary condition to eat or not.

The second raid

“During the raid, we found out fungus infected food kept in these kitchens. In most of these shops, food was being cooked, but the cooks were not wearing gloves, apron and headgear. The same cooking oil was being used multiple times, which is also an unhealthy practice. There was cockroach encroachment in the kitchens too,” he added.

This time four shops were sealed off. Out of the four, three were renowned sweet shops in the area and one was a restaurant where most middle-class people would go to eat, told the officer. When we asked him, what are the proper guidelines that should be followed by restaurants for standard food safety he said that many rules are to be followed by any shop that is selling food items. First is an FSSAI licence, the regular pest control should be down, and the owner should have a pest control licence. Proper gear should be used while cooking. Kerosene oil is strictly not allowed to be used. Utensils for serving food should be replaced every year and a few more.

The officer also told us that a special task force has also been constituted to ensure proper check and the task force will also take care of awareness of the people. “After the raids, we have received more than 300 applications for FSSAI. Till now there is a good response from the people. We have got an affidavit signed from few of the sealed shoppes, that they will follow the standard protocol now,” said Nikhil Nirmal. He further says that how in many foreign countries, there is a food safety rating board outside restaurants and India should also adopt something similar.

Talking about the West Bengal food safety measures, Nikhil said because many administrative places are vacant in the state, there is a lack of scrutiny. According to the Indian Express, West Bengal is among several states in the country plagued by a shortage of food safety officers. Food safety officers from FSSAI said that the requirement was to have 180 safety officers in Bengal, but at present, there are only 42 officers.

Direction of regarding permission for use of ethephon for artificial ripening of fruits

Guidance Note: Artificial Ripening of Fruits

FSSAI gets Centre’s nod to create 493 additional posts

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 15

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has got approval from the government for creating 493 additional posts in various functions. The move will enable the authority to increase its headcount from the current 356 employees.

Late last year, the CAG had pulled up the Health Ministry and FSSAI for not framing recruitment regulations even after a decade of the enactment of the FSS Act resulting in acute shortage of staff at various levels.

In a statement, FSSAI said the Health Ministry has issued orders for creating 493 additional posts for the Authority. “A large majority of the newly created posts are for technical functions, particularly at the cutting edge, that of Technical Officers (255 posts) and Assistant Director Technical (60 posts), where the staff shortage is particularly acute. In addition, 74 new posts of Central Food Safety Officers have been created.” FSSAI said the move will reduce its dependence on States for conducting food safety inspections and enable enforcing Central licensees directly.

The food safety regulator will also create posts in new functional areas such as social and behaviours change communication, training and capacity building and new technologies, it added.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said with increased staff and resources, FSSAI would be able to discharge its responsibilities more effectively and would also be able to attract a diverse talent pool with special skill-sets required for its activities.

Globally, food safety regulatory agencies are known to be operating with a much bigger workforce. For instance, in the US, USFDA AND FDA has a combined staff of 14,200 people. Officials said compared to these numbers and international benchmarks, India still has a much smaller workforce deployed in the field of food safety.

However, officials added that on its part, FSSAI is working on a unique model of partnerships with all stakeholders to evolve a low-cost regulatory system that strongly leverages on latest technologies.

GOVT SANCTIONS 500 POSTS FOR FSSAI

With food regulator FSSAI facing manpower shortage, the government has sanctioned an additional 493 posts for the authority to discharge its responsibility effectively for ensuring safe and nutritious food to people.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which currently has 356 sanctioned posts, will now be able to conduct food safety inspections, besides law enforcement for central licensees directly instead of being fully dependent on the states.

Ministry of Health and Family has issued orders to create 493 additional posts for the authority, the FSSAI said in a statement. It has been functioning with merely 356 sanctioned posts and most of its staff is on short-term contract or on deputation.

With increased staff and resources, he said the FSSAI will be able to discharge its responsibility more effectively so as to inspire trust and assure safe and nutrition food for all citizens.

By more than doubling the staff strength of FSSAI, the Centre has addressed one of the key concerns raised by the CAG in its performance report of FSSAI and also by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in its latest report, the statement said.

"A large majority of the newly created posts are for technical functions, particularly at the cutting edge, that of Technical Officers (255 posts) and Assistant Director Technical (60 posts), where the staff shortage is particularly acute," the statement said.

City steps up drive against sale of illegal meat

Chennai: The city corporation has intensified the crackdown on the sale of unauthorized and unwholesome meat from meat shops, seizing 1,082kg of such meat from April to June. Last year, the civic body seized 6,200kg of such meat.

But, the sale of such met continues in areas like Pudupet and Chintadripet where it is mostly sourced from other states, say officials.

Data from the civic body as well as from the food safety department shows that shops in the Royapuram zone remain notorious for selling unwholesome meat and that not cut in authorized slaughterhouses.

From April 2017 to March 2018, Royapuram and Teynampet accounted for the most quantity of such meat, with 1,955kg being seized from Royapuram alone.

“While all seized meat is not rotten, we find it has not been cut at authorized corporation slaughterhouses, where a veterinarian is present through the morning hours for ante-mortem of the animal being slaughtered. Only during such inspections, we know the meat is safe for human consumption,” said a corporation official.

Most of the unwholesome meat seized is from around Egmore and Central stations, besides Chintadripet and Sowcarpet, said sources.

“A visit found that most of such meat gets cut inside homes or is sourced from states like Andhra Pradesh. In several instances, meat was found ferried in buses, trains, and even private vehicles,” officials told TOI. “The problem with meat being sold from unauthorized slaughtering is we can’t find if the animal was already dead or what the animal is. The ice used for ferrying meat from other states keeps it good for a few hours, but it rots after an overnight journey. During raids, we also seized several packets of flavour enhancers used to mask smell of rotten meat,” said a food safety department official, saying the serious problem stemmed from the lack of enough slaughterhouses.

Greater Chennai Corporation currently has slaughterhouses in Kallikuppam, Villivakkam , Saidapet, and Permabur. The official added that while sellers of such meat are fined, it is essential to make sale of such meat a criminal offence. “We need corporation’s cooperation in charging these offenders under IPC,” he said.

Sanitary inspectors suggest that the revenue department order closure of units found repeatedly illegally selling such meat.

However practical reasons dominate the unauthorized slaughter of animals, say traders. “It happens early and is wrapped up before 9am. We need to sell meat through the day, and it is not possible for meat to remain wholesome if it is cut in the morning. For these reasons, we slaughter animals ourselves,” said a trader, requesting anonymity.

Corporation sources said they planned to set up a slaughterhouse in the Thiruvottriyur zone, and one in Perungudi or Sholinganallur.

Fines imposed on traders for food adulteration

GUWAHATI: The Kamrup (Metro) district administration has imposed heavy fines, the total collection amounting to Rs 8 lakh, on traders found guilty of indulging in food adulteration. 

ADC Prasanta Pratim Kathkotia, who carried out a number of raids in the Fancy Bazaar area, said at least 82 cases have been registered against traders who were cheating buyers by selling food products of low quality. Kathkotia said similar raids will be carried out in other city markets.

"Prakash Kabra, a mustard oil trader in Fancy Bazaar, was fined Rs 1 lakh. Dulal Mandal, a food business operator in Fancy Bazaar as well as the Bimal Oils and Foods Limited have been fined Rs 1.4 lakh each for selling oil of low quality," said a statement issued from the DC office. Ambaji Food Products Limited of Ranchi has also been fined Rs 1.25 lakh for distributing food items of poor quality.

Pointing out that food adulteration is a crime under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, deputy commissioner Virendra Mittal has asked the officials to intensify their operations.

Corrupt fruit vendors are not being spared either with a trader from the Narengi area being fined Rs 20,000 for ripening bananas using carbide.

Officials of the district administration and food inspectors had destroyed around 12.5 quintals of mangoes after these were found to be ripened using chemicals in a market in Fancy Bazaar a few weeks ago. The market value of the damaged mangoes is reportedly more than Rs 62,000.

MPs’ panel raps FSSAI over lax enforcement of food safety laws

The panel observed that the quality of food is deteriorating and use of contaminants is increasing

The incidence of ADD and food poisoning was high in places where food is cooked in bulk, such as canteens, hotels and weddings.

New Delhi: In a scathing report, a parliamentary panel has rapped the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over weak enforcement of food safety laws, leading to “rampant food adulteration” by manufacturers and producers. The report by the standing committee on health and family welfare, presented to the Rajya Sabha last week, recommended the restructuring of the FSSAI— an autonomous body under the health ministry.

The panel observed that the quality of food is deteriorating and use of contaminants is increasing. Milk and food items that were safe previously were no longer safe because of adulteration, while there has been a tremendous increase in the use of hazardous chemicals for artificial ripening of fruits and vegetables.

The implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 rests primarily with state and Union territory governments, for which regular surveillance, monitoring and inspection is required to be undertaken by them.

“The Committee however notes that many states do not have a separate food safety department. Food adulteration, lack of quality checks, misleading labelling, sale of defective food products etc. that have become the norm these days are primarily an offshoot of absence of a dedicated and robust food safety apparatus at the State level,” the report said.

“The policies and the existing food laws are inadequate and are weakly enforced. This poor implementation of the Food Law has resulted in rampant food adulteration and various food scandals. Substandard quality food has been reaching the market and causing irreparable damage to public health,” the report said.

With staff drawn from states, the committee said FSSAI cannot function at its optimum level without employing technical persons as permanent staff. It recommended that FSSAI be restructured and people with domain knowledge and expertise in food hired to run it.

“Food safety is a specialized job and FSSAI being a science based organization should be equipped with proper tools and capabilities and headed by someone with the requisite technical acumen and appropriate expertise to address the challenging task of food regulation for a country like India,” the report said.

“Engaging manpower with technical skill and competence, therefore, becomes imperative for effective rendering of important mandate given to FSSAI. The Committee is of the opinion that the regulatory body should be run by experts or scientists in the food sector with bureaucratic support,” it said.

The parliamentary panel also highlighted that the health ministry’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) has indicated that food poisoning was one of the commonest outbreaks reported in 2017 apart from acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD). The data suggest that 312 of the 1649 outbreaks reported till the third week of December, 2017 were due to ADD and 242 were due to food poisoning. The incidence of ADD and food poisoning was high in places where food is cooked in bulk, such as canteens, hotels and weddings.