Nov 7, 2018
Adulteration crackdown: FSDA seizes 57 suspect food samples
Muzaffarnagar: Continuing its crackdown on food adulteration, FSDA conducted multiple raids to check for suspect food samples.
The food safety team has collected samples from 57 places within past one week after conducting raids at nearly 35 sweet shops and several mawa-making units. As many as 900 kg adulterated mawa has been destroyed by the food department in the past seven days.
Speaking to TOI, Vinit Kumar an officer from the food department said, “We will continue to raid suspect premises to ensure food safety.”
On Tuesday, food department team also searched several shops in Chrthawal and Budhana, said sources from the food department. According to sources, many shops keepers were selling sweets made with harmful contents in the area.
Last week, the food department officers had conducted a raid in a cold storage where large quantity of mawa was stored. Officers destroyed the Mawa and sealed the cold storage as it was running without permission of the authorities, said sources.
Last year, in the run-up to Diwali, surprise raid at a Budhana-based flour mill had led to seizure of a large quantity of adulterated gram flour.
No relief, fish importers must adhere to FDA norms, says Vishwajit Rane
PANAJI: The health minister Vishwajit Rane reiterated on Monday that there won’t be any relaxation for traders bringing in fish from other states as they had sufficient time at their disposal to adhere to FDA norms.
“I will not fall prey to any kind of threats or pressure tactics. The Congress’ stand on fish issue stands completely exposed,” Rane said referring to the threat of Congress’ Sindhudurg MLA Nitesh Rane that Goa-registered vehicles will not be allowed to pass through his constituency if the government does not stop formalin checks.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Vishwajit Rane said that in no circumstances he will backtrack from his stand on formalin checks, and that his cabinet colleague Vijai Sardesai is also on the same page.
Rane also stated that such threats does not bore well in a democratic setup and he will not like to comment further on Sindhudurg MLA’s statement.
“Traders will have to comply with Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) guidelines. Fish needs to be transported only through insulated vehicles,” Rane said, adding, that he even declined the request of Sawantwadi Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar seeking two months’ time for compliance.
“I put forth my viewpoint before the MLA stating that food safety is my priority and the timeframe cannot be relaxed,’’ he said.
Reacting to traders’ demand to have laboratories in every market in Goa, Rane asked them to adhere to FDA guidelines first, which nobody has done so far.
The health minister said that the inquiry against FDA officer, Iva Fernandes, who has been in the eye of storm since the formalin-in-fish controversy broke out in July, has begun.
Fernandes had alleged that she was harassed by the department after she made results of the fish samples taken from Margao wholesale market public.
The FDA officer has also filed a petition before the Goa Human Rights Commission against harassment.
Nov 5, 2018
25% food samples found adulterated
NEW DELHI: Data released by India’s food quality regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) earlier this week, shows that nearly 25% samples of edible goods it tested this year were found to be adulterated or in violation of prescribed standards.
The samples included milk and dairy products, spices, cereals as well as branded food products. A total of 85,729 samples were sent, so far. FSSAI carried out the testing folowing a spike in complaints from consumers over quality and adulteration, said an agency official.
According to the data, 20,390 samples of the 85,729 sent to the agency were found to be non-confirming to prescribed standards. While agency officials maintain that Food Safety Officers is each state regularly test samples to check for compliance and also take recourse in cases of violations according to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, experts claim that poor enforcement on the ground and a lack of awareness plague the process.
Consumer activist Bijon Mishra said the lengthy legal procedure involved in penalising violators provides an opportunity to the accused to keep doing business. “Law enforcement is very poor. It takes years to finalise a case and by that time, sellers keep on making profits. Moreover, people are also not aware. Hardly anybody complains about adulteration,” he added.
Umesh Sharma, an advocate, said enforcement of rules is very poor on the ground. “The issue is directly related to public health and the government should take serious initiatives to implement food safety rules,” he said. Data from the agency shows an abysmal conviction rate.
In 2017, the Law Commission had issued a set of recommendations regarding the issue. The panel had recommended that IPC Sections 272 (dealing with adulteration of food and drinks) and 273 (dealing with the sale of noxious food and drinks) be amended to make adulteration a serious crime. It was also recommended that depending on the gravity of the offence, punishment can include life imprisonment and the minimum sentence should be six months’ jail term.
The panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge B S Chauhan, also wanted amendments to Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code so that courts can order compensation for victims.
Diwali adulteration crackdown: FSDA seizes 41 suspect food samples
Meerut: With Diwali around the corner, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) has started working on ensuring that city residents do not fall prey to adulterated sweets and other food items consumed during the festive season.
The officials of the food safety body have seized as many as 41 suspected samples of food items in the five-day long drive.
“We have taken as many as 41 samples of food items from various sweet shops over the last five days. We also destroyed 125kg rasbhari, 60kg of sweet cake and 1 quintal coloured sweets to safeguard people from consuming adulterated food items,” said Archana Dheeran, designated officer, FSDA, Meerut unit.
FSDA teams are conducting regular raids at sweet shops and have also been conducting awareness programmes at schools, colleges and NGOs in Meerut.
“Our main focus has been towards sweets, mawa, khoya and food colour being used in sweets. We have destroyed the food items which looked adulterated, and took samples of those which were suspected,” said Dheeran.
“The samples have been sent to the Lucknow laboratory and the report will come in a month’s time based on which we will take action as per the law,” Dheeran added.
FSDA seizes 1,200 litre of adulterated milk in Handia
ALLAHABAD: A team of Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) officials, on Saturday, raided a dairy involved in manufacturing of adulterated milk and other items in Handia.
The team seized 1,200 litre of milk adulterated with potash, detergent, skimmed milk powder and other chemicals.
As per reports, the accused Babadin had been running the illegal business under the name of Baba Natural Dairy since past one year. He had to supply milk to several sweetmeat shops for the festival of Diwali.
Chief food safety officer KK Tripathi, said, "We caught Babadin using powdered milk, chemicals and washing powder to make adulterated milk and cheese. He used to mix synthetic fat in the skimmed milk powder and sell the product at high rates to his customers and individuals. He had increased the produce after an increase in demand for ahead of Diwali."
Tripathi said that milk adulterated with potash and detergent could lead to chronic diseases.
The team collected samples of milk and by-products from the dairy and sent them to the laboratory through a messenger instead of following the official procedure.
Tripathi said the aim is to obtain lab report without any delay to expedite the proceedings in a court of law.
Staff crunch impacting Ambala food department work
AMBALA: The food and drug administration department here lacks staff to cover the entire district. Till date, the department has collected nearly 60 samples of which nine have failed quality tests at the food laboratory in Karnal. The process of testing the food quality takes 14 days. Meanwhile, it has been observed that the shopkeepers here have started to stock sweets before Diwali.
"I have two districts to cover - Panchkula and Ambala. Lack of staff is affecting inspection work and we are unable to cover all the areas of the district. Till date, we have collected nearly 120 samples from Ambala and Panchkula. In Ambala, we have destroyed nearly 3.5 quintals of synthetic and unhygienic sweets.
"As per the law, the collected samples are sent to the food laboratory in Karnal and we receive results only after 14 days. There is a possibility that by the time result of lab tests are out, shopkeepers will have sold poor quality sweets. So far, nine shopkeepers have been issued notices for failing laboratory tests," said food safety officer Subhash Chander.
The official added that shopkeepers may use synthetic products to prepare sweets as production of milk in the district is not at par with the demand.
The FDA has been active since the start of the festive season, however staff crunch is a major obstruction in their work. It is because of this, the probability of consuming sweets made of synthetic product gets high.
FSSAI serves notice on nine shops
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India inspecting a shop in Coimbatore on Saturday
As the festival of light is just around the corner, the Food Safety Department on Saturday inspected small and large manufacturing units to check the quality of sweets and savouries sold.
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized sweets that were made with artificial colourants beyond the permissible limit and lifted samples for laboratory examination.
B. Vijayalalithambigai, designated Officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore, said that 68.5 kg of sweets that were found with excessive use of artificial colourants were seized during the inspections. The foods safety officers also seized 35 litre of reused oil and 13 kg of packaged sweets and savouries that did not have label as mandated by the FSSAI Act.
“Notices have been served to nine shops during the inspections for various violations. We have lifted four samples that will be sent to a Government laboratory for examination,” said Ms. Vijayalalithambigai.
Nov 3, 2018
என் உலகம் சுவாரஸ்யமானது! - அமுதா ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்
இளமைப் பருவமும் ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் ஆர்வமும்...
நான் பிறந்து, வளர்ந்தது மதுரை. பெற்றோர் மத்திய அரசு ஊழியர்கள். எனக்கு ஓர் அண்ணன் மற்றும் ஒரு தங்கை. என் தாத்தா சுதந்திரப் போராட்டத் தியாகி. அவர் மறைவுக்குப்பிறகு பாட்டிக்குக் கிடைத்த ஓய்வூதியத்தைப் பெற கலெக்டர் ஆபீஸுக்கு நானும் பாட்டியுடன் போவேன். அங்கே மக்கள் அனைவரும் ஒருவருக்கு வணக்கம் சொல்றதைப் பார்த்து, ‘இவர் யார்?’னு பாட்டிகிட்ட கேட்டேன். ‘இவர்தான் கலெக்டர். ராஜா மாதிரி, மக்களுக்கு நல்லது பண்ணுறது இவர் வேலை’னு அந்த 13 வயசுல எனக்குப் புரியும்படி பாட்டி சொன்னார். ‘நாமும் கலெக்டராகி, மக்களுக்கு நல்லது பண்ணணும்’னு அப்போதான் எனக்குள்ள முதல் ஸ்பார்க் ஏற்பட்டுச்சு. பள்ளிக் காலங்களில், ‘பெண்கள் கபடி விளையாடினா என்ன?’னு, கபடி ப்ளேயர் ஆனேன். தொடர்ந்து மூணு வருஷங்கள் அதில் தங்கப்பதக்கம் வாங்கினேன். ஒருமுறை மலையேறும் பயிற்சிக்காக இமயமலைக்குப் போனப்போ, ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் தேர்வில் வெற்றி பெற்றவங்களும் அங்க மலையேறும் பயிற்சிக்காக வந்திருந் தாங்க. அப்போ அவங்ககிட்ட பேசக் கிடைச்ச வாய்ப்புதான் ரெண்டாவது ஸ்பார்க்.
ஐ.பி.எஸ் டு ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்
பள்ளிப்படிப்பில் நான் ஆவரேஜ் மாணவிதான். மதுரை, வேளாண் கல்லூரியில் பி.எஸ்ஸி, அக்ரியில் சேர்ந்தேன். எல்லாப் பாடங்களிலும் தங்கப்பதக்கத்துடன் படிப்பை முடிச்சேன். சிவில் சர்வீஸ் தேர்வு எழுதினேன். முதல் முயற்சியிலேயே வெற்றியுடன், ஐ.பி.எஸ் போஸ்ட்டிங் கிடைச்சது. ‘அடுத்த முயற்சியில் உன்னால நிச்சயம் ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் ஆக முடியும்; அப்போதான் பல துறைகளில் பலதரப்பட்ட மக்களுக்குச் சேவை செய்ய முடியும்’னு அப்பா ஊக்கப்படுத்தினார். இரண்டாவது முயற்சியில், 1994-ம் ஆண்டு தமிழக அளவில் முதலிடம் பெற்று ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் தேர்வில் தேர்வானேன். இதற்கிடையில் என்னைப் பார்த்து என் அண்ணனுக்கும் சிவில் சர்வீஸ் ஆர்வம்வந்து, எனக்கு முன்பாகவே எக்ஸாம் எழுதி 1992-ல் செலெக்ட்டானார். இப்போ, ஐ.எஃப்.எஸ் அதிகாரியாக இருக்கார்.
25 ஆண்டுகளில்...
கடலூர் சப்-கலெக்டராக என் ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் பயணத்தைத் தொடங்கினேன். தொடர்ந்து கூடுதல் கலெக்டர், மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர், யுனிசெஃப் அதிகாரி, பல துறைகளில் தலைவர், இப்போது உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத்துறை ஆணையர்னு இதுவரை 15 பணிமாறுதல்களைச் சந்திச்சிருக்கேன். இவற்றில், மகளிர் மேம்பாட்டுக் கழக இயக்குநராகப் பணியாற்றியது நிறைவான அனுபவம். தருமபுரி மாவட்ட ஆட்சியராக இருந்தபோது பெண் குழந்தைகளுக்கான கல்வி, குழந்தைத் திருமணம் தடுப்பு, மகளிர் சுயஉதவிக் குழு வளர்ச்சி உட்படப் பெண்கள் நலன் மற்றும் பொருளாதார முன்னேற்றத்துக்காகச் செய்த விஷயங்கள் கண்கூடாகப் பலன் தந்தன.
சென்னையில் பெருவெள்ளம் வந்த போது, வெள்ளப் பாதிப்புகளைச் சரிசெய்யும் சிறப்பு அதிகாரியாக நியமிக்கப்பட்டு என் பொறுப்பை நிறைவுடன் செய்தேன். மத்திய அரசின் உதவித்தொகையுடன் லண்டன்ல நான் படிச்ச முதுகலை பொருளாதாரம் மற்றும் அரசியல் படிப்பு மற்றும் அங்கே கிடைச்ச அனுபவங்களை என் பணியில் பெரிதும் பயன்படுத்துறேன்.
என் சர்வீஸ்ல ரெண்டாவது வருஷம். அப்போ செங்கல்பட்டு சப்-கலெக்டரா இருந்தேன். பாலாற்றில் மணல் கொள்ளையில் ஈடுபட்ட மணல் மாஃபியா கும்பலைத் தடுக்க முயற்சி செய்த என்னை மிரட்டினாங்க; லஞ்சம் கொடுக்கிறதா சொன்னாங்க. எதுக்கும் நான் அசைந்து கொடுக்கலை. ஒருநாள் ஆற்றில் மணலைத் திருடிச்சென்ற லாரிகளைச் சிறைப்பிடிச்சேன். அப்போ ஒரு லாரி ஓட்டுநர் என் கார் மீது லாரியை மோதியதில் என் முதுகில் அடிபட்டது. இப்படி நிறைய விஷயங்களைப் பார்த்துட்டேன். உயரதிகாரிகளின் பாரபட்சம், ஆண் பெண் பாகுபாடு, நேர்மையாக இருப்பதால் வரும் பணி மாறுதல் மற்றும் அச்சுறுத்தல்கள்னு நிறைய சவால்களை எதிர்கொண்டிருக் கேன். இன்னும் நிறைய சவால்களை எதிர்கொண்டு பணியாற்ற ஆர்வமா யிருக்கேன்.
இரு முதல்வர்கள்...
என் பணிக்காலத்தில், ஜெயலலிதா மற்றும் கருணாநிதி இருவரின் தலைமையிலான அரசுகளில் பணியாற்றியிருக்கேன். நான் ஈரோடு கூடுதல் ஆட்சியராக இருந்தபோது, அங்கே நடந்த ஒரு நிகழ்ச்சியில் கருணாநிதி ஐயா கலந்துகிட்டப்போ, இறுதியாக நன்றியுரையை நான் தமிழில் கவிதையாகப் பேசினேன். ‘தமிழில் எல்லாம் ஆர்வம் இருக்கா? கவிதையெல்லாம் எழுதுவீங்களா... நல்லது, தொடருங்க’னு மேடையிலேயே வாழ்த்தினார். நான் தருமபுரி கலெக்டராக இருந்தபோது நடுநிலையா இருந்ததால, என்னை மாற்ற அந்த மாவட்டத்தில் அரசியல் கட்சியினர் பலர் நினைத்தனர். அப்போது முதல்வராக இருந்த கருணாநிதி ஐயாவிடம் அந்தச் செய்தி செல்ல, ‘இந்த கலெக்டரை மாத்த முடியாது. அவங்க மூலமா பின்தங்கிய உங்க மாவட்டத்தை வளர்ச்சியடையச் செய்துக்கோங்க’னு சொல்லியிருக்கார். ஜெயலலிதா மேடம், அதிகாரிகள் சொல்லும் யோசனை சிறப்பானதாக இருந்தால், உடனே அதைச் செயல்படுத்த உத்தரவிடுவார். என்மீது தனி அன்பு கொண்டிருந்தார். ஒரு விஷயத்தை உடனே செய்து முடிக்கத் தேவையான எல்லா ஒத்துழைப்பையும் கொடுப்பார்.
நாங்க ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் தம்பதி!
என் கணவர் ஷம்பு கலோலிகர், கர்நாடக மாநிலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர். 1991-ம் ஆண்டு ஐ.ஏ.எஸ் தேர்வில் செலெக்டானவர். தற்போது தமிழகச் சுற்றுச்சூழல் மற்றும் வனத்துறை முதன்மைச் செயலாளர் மற்றும் தமிழக மாசுக்கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியத் தலைவராகயிருக்கார். மீடியாவிலிருந்து விலகியிருக்கவே விரும்புவார். இருந்தாலும், என்னைப் பத்தி வெளியாகும் செய்திகளை ஆர்வத்துடன் என்னிடம் காட்டி, அது பற்றிப் பேசுவார்.
போட்டோகிராபி, சைக்கிளிங், இளையராஜா...
வைல்ட் லைஃப் போட்டோகிராபி, என் பிரதான ஸ்ட்ரெஸ் பஸ்டர். எட்டு வருஷங்களா வருடத்தில் சில நாள்களை ஒதுக்கி, பல்வேறு வனவிலங்கு சரணாலயங்களுக்குப் போய் போட்டோ எடுத்துட் டிருக்கேன். வாரம்தோறும் விடுமுறை தினங்கள்ல, 30 கிலோமீட்டர் தூரத்துக்கு சைக்கிளிங் போறேன். இளையராஜாவின் தீவிர ரசிகை. தினமும் அவர் பாடல்களைக் கேட்கவே, தனியாக நேரம் ஒதுக்குவேன். இப்படி, என் பர்சனல் உலகம் சுவாரஸ்யமா இருக்கும்!’’
Raid on food units intensified
MADURAI
With just four days to go for Deepavali and the sale of sweets, savouries and bakery products witnessing a spike, the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drugs Control department has intensified raids on food manufacturing units.
At least two food manufacturing units and three godowns supplying broken and spoilt eggs to hotels and bakeries had been closed down by officials since Thursday.
M. Somasundaram, Designated Officer, Food Safety, said that the revelation during the recent raids was the network of suppliers and manufacturing units that sell and use broken or spoilt eggs.
“Yesterday, we raided a bakery products and snacks manufacturing unit on Melakkal main road in Kochadai. We found hundreds of trays of foul-smelling broken eggs,” he said. Based on the enquiry conducted at the unit, the officials had managed to raid at least three godowns and a number of hotels and food manufacturing units that use broken eggs.
“These manufacturing units are huge and often supply sweets, snacks and bakery products to a large number of shops across Madurai and even neighbouring districts,” he said. Another unit closed down on Thursday was found to be using prohibited colouring agents in cakes, sweets and savories.
Officials have asked the public to generally avoid any food item sold with rich colouring agents.
“A variety of azo dyes like Tartrazine yellow is used, which could lead to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and renal failure,” Dr. Somasundaram said.
Another senior official from the department said that though the government allowed the use of certain permitted colouring agents not exceeding the limit of 100 parts per million, most of the manufacturing units exceeded this limit and there was no efficient and readily available mechanism to check this.
In the last five to six weeks, officials in Madurai have also closed down two oil manufacturing units, two ghee units and a flour unit for adulteration.
3.25 tonnes adulterated sweets and snacks seized
Madurai: Officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have seized around 3.25 tonnes of sweets and snacks from four major sweet-making units in the city during a surprise check conducted on Thursday evening and night. The items were seized to check the quality of sweets prepared for Diwali, as there is heavy demand during the season.
Officials said that they seized three tonnes of sweets at around one tonne each from as many units and around 250kg from another unit. They were found using excess colour beyond the permissible limits and non-permitted colours as they are harmful for consumers. Stale sweets used as stuffing in baked items such as coconut buns and items that were kept for sale beyond the expiry date were also seized.
Stating that sale of sweets for Diwali would continue for the next two to three days, the officials added that they would continue such surprise raids till then. They also appealed to the public to report use of excessive colour and sale of expired eatables at bakeries to the FSSAI authorities on 9444042322. Confidentiality would be maintained on identity of the complainants, they said.
More than 5,000 broken eggs for use seized in Madurai
Madurai: Officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized more than 5,000 broken and rotten eggs from a leading wholesale trader, two big bakeries and two small eateries in the city during surprise searches conducted on Thursday and Friday.
Officials led by the FSSAI designated officer for Madurai, M Somasundaram, were shocked as they accidentally stumbled on a huge volume of rotten eggs while checking the quality of sweets prepared for Deepavali. “Initially, we found not less than 80 trays (2,400 eggs at 30 in a tray) in a large bakery unit at Kochadai,” he told TOI. The officials then checked another large bakery unit where around 460 eggs were found. Inquiries revealed that they got eggs with broken shells for as cheap as a rupee apiece while a good egg was priced at Rs 4.50 to Rs 5. “According to international standards, eggs with good shell have a shelf life of three weeks,” Somasundaram said.
The official said that when the temperature was normal without fluctuations, eggs with a good shell could stay unaffected for up to five weeks. “But eggs with a broken shell have a mere two-hour life. After two hours they become rotten, even resulting in black spots forming on the shell (pseudomonas) in the worst case,” he said. These eggs were being used for baking cakes and other confectionaries in bakeries, kothu parottas, scrambled eggs, bullseye, omelette and kalakki among many other delicacies priced at Rs 15 apiece. Consuming it could cause immediate renal infection among children, gastroenteritis problems, typhoid and related complications, stomach pain or cramps, nausea, vomiting and dysentery.
FSSAI officials said that eggs here were brought from Namakkal where they could have been broken at the farm during collection or loading during transport or while handling it here. But these cheap broken eggs had good demand among bakeries and hotels that are least bothered about the health of their consumers.
Based on information gathered from the bakeries where the eggs were first found, the officials raided a leading egg trader’s warehouse at Puttuthoppu. Stating that they reached there only by the fag end of Thursday, officials said that there were more than 2,000 eggs there at that time.
Officials said that the trader, who was a leader in egg trade in Madurai, had a separate cold storage facility for broken eggs. The trader, Murugan, supplied to 15 bakeries and hotels in Madurai. These bakeries and hotels stored these broken eggs for many days and used them based on requirement.
“We sealed the godown. On Friday we seized more than 300 eggs from two small hotels at the Arapalayam bus stand. We have warned the bakeries and hotels using broken eggs and will be regularly checking them and initiating stringent action if they continued doing it. Inquiries are on to nab the entire network,” said the designated officer.
Watch out for spurious desi ghee at shops
MOHALI: Warning against the purchase of desi ghee packs labelled 'Lite Ghee' or 'Pooja Ghee', the food safety teams have said that the product may be spurious as it is being made using fatty acid ester imported from East Asian countries which is mixed with hydrogenated vegetable oils to improve the RM value of the product.
Punjab food safety commissioner KS Pannu said desi-ghee adulterators can't go scot-free as the state government has now equipped the food safety labs in Kharar and Mohali with high-tech machinery.
Food safety department teams will start raiding malls, shops and manufacturing units in Mohali to seize the artificially-flavored desi ghee, he said.
Pannu said that the recent large-scale seizures of fatty acid ester in Punjab along with the artificial flavor of desi ghee had made the officials suspicious of its misuse in manufacturing adulterated desi ghee, but the old lab equipments could not ensure the same. "The old machines could test desi ghee only on the basis of its RM value which improves with fatty acid ester. However, with the new improved machines, the department we will be able to detect adulteration in desi ghee and penalise the offenders."
Nov 2, 2018
Glyphosate in pulses: Maharashtra FDA starts collecting samples
MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 1
In view of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) advisory on the possible presence of herbicide glyphosate in pulses, sold in the country, the Maharashtra FDA has started collecting samples and the laboratory reports to be collated by early December.
Glyphosate is a herbicide used for control of weeds in farms. In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation, had said there was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a type of cancer) due to glyphosate usage. Last week the Punjab Government had banned the sale of glyphosate in the State.
Joint Commissioner of Maharashtra FDA, CB Pawar said that all the seven divisions of FDA in the State have been asked to collect samples. If the chemical presence is found, which is injurious to human health then the criminal action would be taken against the concerned persons. The law has provisions for such an action. If non-chemical contaminants are found then fine could be levied, he said.
10 challaned under FSSA, 520 kg sweets destroyed
Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, Jammu, Dr Parvesh Kumar, inspecting sweets at a reputed shop in Jammu.
Drive against food adulteration
JAMMU, Nov 1: Intensifying the drive against food adulteration, Food Safety wing of Drug and Food Control Organization inspected premises of various food business operators in Janipur, Gandhi Nagar and adjoining areas and challaned 10 food business operators under FSS Act 2006.
A team of Food Safety officers headed by Dr Parvesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety Jammu, on the directions of Commissioner, Food Safety, conducted random inspection of various food outlets including sweet shops, bakery shops and confectionery outlets in areas of High Court Road (Janipur), main stop Janipur, Naibasti, Gandhi Nagar, Digiana and Nanak Nagar.
During the drive, Gokul Sweet Shop, Parkash Di Hatti, A V Sweet Shop, Bikaner Sweet Shop, Agarwal Sweets manufacturer, Sain ji Di Hatti, Rattan Tea Stall and Vaishno Dhaba at Janipur, High Court Road, Janipur and Lakkad Mandi, Bansi Di Hatti and Premier Bakes at Industrial area, Digiana were challaned under Section 56 of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006 as sweets/food items in these establishments were being manufactured under insanitary and unhygienic conditions.
Moreover, samples of suspicious food items such as Rasgullas, Channa Murgi, Dahi, Patisa, Chocolate, Ladoo, Burfi, Toda Burfi and Malai Burfi were also lifted from Nav Durga Sweets at Digiana, Shri Anand Bhog at Nai Basti, Chib Sweets at Nanak Nagar and Ganpati Sweets (Nathus) at Gandhi Nagar and sent to the food testing laboratory for detecting adulteration.
During the inspections, the food business activities of Gokul Sweets, Parkash Di Hatti, Bikaner Sweets, Sain ji Di Hatti at Janipur and Bansi Di Hatti at Nai Basti were stopped as the infrastructures of their work shops were not satisfactory and found in insanitary conditions. Moreover, 520 kg of sweets was destroyed on spot as the same was manufactured and stored under insanitary conditions.
The team comprising Food Safety Officers, Daleep Singh, Hans Raj Andorra, Ajay Khajuria and Pervaiz Ahmed, also asked all the shopkeepers to maintain the personal hygiene, dress code and use good quality of raw material for making food items.
Bengaluru family finds ‘plastic grains’ in sugar bought from grocer
BENGALURU: A senior citizen’s family in west Bengaluru was busy preparing sweets for his US-bound daughter when they realised they couldn’t even bite into the besan ladoos, let alone relish them.
The family from Upkar Layout in Ullala immediately dumped the besan ladoos in water, only to find plastic grains settling down as sediment. A closer examination revealed that the sugar they had bought from the neighbourhood grocer to prepare the sweets was in fact teeming with plastic grains. On Tuesday, prof Ashok R Patil, a neighbour of the aggrieved family, complained to the food safety commissioner and health commissioner about the suspected plastic grains found in the sugar.
The head of the family, SV Karki, had bought 5kg of sugar from Krishna Provision Store on Sunday. “My wife made besan ladoos and some other sweets for my daughter who was set to leave for the US. We used up all the sugar. While tasting the ladoos, we realised it was impossible to bite into them. When we dissolved them in water, we could see transparent crystals settling down. I complained to the shopkeeper,” said Karki.
Complaint lodged
Prof Patil, chair professor of consumer law and practice, National Law School of India University, learnt about the matter and lodged the complaint — TOI has a copy — alleging that the sugar was adulterated with plastic grains.
“We informed the food safety officer to take action against the manufacturers and sellers involved. We have kept a sample of the sweet for lab test. The matter needs to be investigated further,” said Patil. With the family having used all the sugar purchased from the store, there’s no way to verify the extent of adulteration.
Maneesh Singh, proprietor of Krishna Provision Store, said he did not receive a complaint from any other customer. “I buy a gunny bag of 50kg of sugar from the wholesale market,” he said.
However, Patil claimed the shopkeeper had admitted to some problem in the sugar when Karki questioned him.
Dr Harshavardhan B, joint commissioner, Food Safety & Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), Karnataka, said he has received a complaint and his officers would inspect the store.
‘Will test sample’
“If it is settling at the bottom of the vessel, it might not be plastic grains. They would float. We have received over 90 samples of rice and sugar in the past one month and in none of the cases was the presence of plastic grains proven. Testing samples for the presence of plastic grains costs Rs 6,000. The complainant has sent us an email. We will collect the sample and test it further,” he said, adding that it could be a case of adulteration.
Food safety concerns at farmers markets
A new study shows vendors at farmers markets may be taking risks when it comes to food safety.
Researchers at Penn State observed 42 vendors in 8 farmers markets in Pennsylvania.
They found vendors tended to have poor hand-washing habits and there was potential for cross-contamination.
Less than a quarter had disposable gloves present at stands, even though many sold raw food.
The researchers also found the presence of food borne diseases, including Ecoli and listeria.
According to the USDA, there are nearly 9-thousand farmers markets in the country.
Nov 1, 2018
FDA has just 10 officers to ensure food safety of over 60L people
Nashik: While food articles are on sale in every lane and bylane, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has just 10 food safety officers for the entire district to ensure that these food items are not sub-standard and are safe for consumption.
While all there are vacant post of these officers in the district, the number of food safety officers has not increased for decades.
“The number of food safety officers have been the same ever since the office came into existence decades ago. In Nashik district, initially there were 12 posts, which were reduced to 10 sometime back,” said food safety officer.
The officer added, “With changing times, the population has increased, markets have increased, new varieties of food products have arrived in the market, and different items are produced from a same fruit or vegetable. The food safety officers cannot be everywhere and no food seller of producer, however small or big, can be given the benefit of doubt.”
The officers said when they conducted a raid at some place, they were alone to seize the goods, arrange a vehicle for transporting it to the office and make the report and send it to the senior officer. The pressure for taking action against those selling or producing sub-standard products for consumption is constant.
The officers said that given the population of the district, there should be at least 50 food safety officers in Nashik and every officer should have three assistants.
Chandrashekhar Salunke, joint director, FDA (food) Nashik said, “It is a fact that the number of posts are less. However, all sanctioned posts are filled and we are duty bound to ensure that citizens get only pure and unadulterated food and other items. We are making the best use of the available officers to provide quality service to the citizens.”
Only four percent of Panaji’s food handlers maintain hygiene
PANAJI: The next time you eat out beware. Personal hygiene among food handlers in the capital city is “sub-standard” with only 4% following correct hand washing practices against a startling 23.8% not washing hands even after passing urine, a research study conducted by the Goa Medical College’s department of preventive and social medicine has found.
The findings of the research titled ‘A study of personal hygiene among food handlers in Panaji city, Goa’ were published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health.
Reseachers Saili S Pradhan, Jagadish A Cacodcar and Nikhil S Akarkar interviewed two hundred and twenty seven participants across 12 food establishments in six different categories registered under the Corporation of the City of Panaji over a period of 18 months, between September 2015 and February 2017. The majority of participants (63%) were youth and (97%) males.
The picture that emerged from the findings of the study revealed shockingly poor hygiene levels among the food handlers. While hand hygiene is of utmost importance, a majority of them did not report correct hand washing practices post urination and post defecation before handling food. They also failed on the counts of maintaining clean nails and using gloves and head caps.
Only 4% followed correct hand washing practices though 40.9% reported washing with water and soap, while “23.8% of the study participants did not report washing hands after passing urine, 31.3% reported washing with water only”.
According to the study, usage of head caps while cooking was found only among 28.6% of the food handlers, 30.8% had clean nails at the time of examination and 33.9% used gloves at the workplace.
It was further observed that only 16.7% had good personal hygiene as against 33.9% who had poor personal hygiene.
The study observed that there was significant association between the personal hygiene of the study participants and the training received in food safety.
“These findings emphasise the importance of pre-employment training and periodic training in personal hygiene and food safety to be given to the food handlers. The findings of this study indicate that it is essential to create awareness among the food handlers regarding importance of maintaining good personal hygiene and food hygiene so as to ensure food safety,” the study stated.
Two food labs to ensure safety
The Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety has appointed six analysts at the two labs to check the raw materials for making ‘aravana’ production.
Thiruvananthapuram: With Sabarimala pilgrimage season round the corner, food safety authorities have set up two labs at Sannidanam and Pampa to ensure safety for the thousands of devotees arriving at Sabarimala.
The Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety has appointed six analysts at the two labs to check the raw materials for making ‘aravana’ production. A top official said that the laboratories would start functioning right away. “Aravana production will begin in a couple of days. We are going to the godowns on Thursday to check the raw materials. A designated officer and two food safety officers have been deployed at the ‘Sannidanam’. Two teams comprising six food safety officials have been deployed outside Pampa,” said the official. Only male officers are being deployed The official said that aravana production unit at Erumeli would be under the scanner. “Annadanams’ would be held und-er our control. Our special squads would launch drives in and around Sannidanam from November 17 onwards,” said the official.
Aasife Biriyani Owner Shedding Tears While Explaining Himself !! “Its A Complete Corporate Plan” He States !!
Aasife Biriyani is one of the prominent food restaurant in Chennai city which is well known for its unique taste and the Biriyani it provides is one of a kind which is felt by the people of Chennai themselves.
A team of officials from Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department sealed the central kitchen of a chain of restaurants, Aasife Biriyani, in Guindy recently, citing sub-standard food and unhygienic environment.
According to officials of the Food Safety Department, the central kitchen was sealed as there was no response to repeated notices issued to improve and adhere to the quality standards under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
It is from here that main dishes are prepared and transported to different outlets across the city. The building was sealed after an emergency prohibition order was obtained.
“During the visit, it was found that the kitchen was totally unhygienic. They were also using sub-standard products to cook,” an official part of the team alleged. It is learnt that the Food Safety official for Chennai district, R Kathiravan, and his colleagues have taken the step following the order of Food Safety Commissioner P Amudha.
The officials also explained that a few samples were taken from the kitchen also found to be unsafe. “There are 19 outlets in the city. Food to all these restaurants was prepared at the sealed centralised kitchen and sent to respective restaurants,” the official added.
However, the officials added that the kitchen could be opened again by the management after overhauling it properly.
Earlier facebook page of the Briyani centre has released an Official statement regarding the rotten meat issue which explained about an article published in Vikatan’s online article about 2000kg rotten mutton in Aasife. They said that Aasife kitchen inspection is clearly a separate issue.
In a recent video interview to Behindwoods, the owner of Aasife Biriyani, Aasife Ahmed gave a brief explanation on what exactly happened on that day. “It is known that the Biriyani in Aasife was cooked by using firewood, we never said that we are cooking in our kitchen using gas. While cooking in firewood it is natural that a kitchen would look like that. They gave us time to rectify the kitchen atmosphere and sealed the restaurant within the final day of time period. While they are entering the restaurant, it came as flash news in T V. Though we completed 90% of what they said, they sealed 2 days before the time period.”
“We are planning to spread our branches world wide including London, United States, Malaysia etc. This is someone like big corporate people trying to stop us from spreading our business worldwide. I started this business in hand cart and I don’t bother on giving up this business but what my concern is my workers. 1500 workers life depends on Aasife Biriyani which is really an emotional attachment to me. I never compromised a single day in my 19 years of food business” the owner gets emotional.
He also explains how the cooking circulation works and what exactly happened on the day it was sealed in the interview. What do you think on his statements ?? Let us know by commenting below !!
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