No, Delhi's street food is not always unsafe

'Delhi belly' is more or less a myth, which gets debunked when FSSAI presents Street Food Festival, and global chefs share how Delhi street food inspired their various cuisines.

Coming Friday, the 10th National Street Food Festival, a unique advocacy effort by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), will be presented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at the Eat Right Mela.

Street food forms the core of our country’s gastronomic heritage. (Photo: Facebook page of Delhi Street Food Festival)

The philosophy driving the change of name is the belief that street food forms the core of our country’s gastronomic heritage — and as chefs and restaurants (from Badmaash in Los Angeles to Dishoom in London and The Bombay Canteen in Mumbai) around the world recognise the power of these culinary jewels, the FSSAI’s stamp of ‘eat right’ debunks the ‘Delhi belly’ myth that street food is intrinsically unsafe.

Having known so many international travellers happily surviving ‘street food walks’, I wholeheartedly stand by the FSSAI’s argument that by regulating street food and projecting a safe image of it, the authority is rescuing this precious part of our gastronomic heritage from the dead weight of misinformed publicity, protecting the means of livelihood of millions as well as a legacy that we are proud to call our own.

These thoughts were swirling in my mind as I entered Comorin, the brightly-lit new brainchild of Rohit Khattar and Manish Mehrotra, creators of Indian Accent, which has consistently been voted by multiple agencies as India’s No.1 restaurant.

Located in the richest part of Gurgaon — that Golf Course Road stretch, where apartment blocks named Aralias, Magnolias, and Camellias loom over the bustle of life around them like the colossi guarding an island of elitism.

Delhi Belly is a myth. (Photo: Facebook page of Delhi Street Food Festival)

Across the road from this triumvirate are the gleaming steel-and-glass superstructures named One Horizon Centre and Two Horizon Centre.

It’s in the latter that Comorin has just opened, unveiling a new side of super chef Manish Mehrotra’s creative genius. Mehrotra may be travelling around the world, feeding the Ambanis and collecting awards, but over the many years I have known him, I have found him rooted in the culture and ethos of his hometown Patna, and the meritocratic values of middleclass Delhi, where he was plunged in the days when his parents sent him to complete his plus 2 education at New Era Public School.

That may explain his aversion to the razzmatazz of molecular gastronomy, his no foam, no sphere, no liquid nitrogen, yet modern Indian culinary philosophy.

Many years ago, in the days when the law did not forbid him from serving his signature mutton galawati foie gras kebabs, served with a dollop of strawberry chilli chutney, at Indian Accent, I had said that his style could be called ‘Inventive Indian’, because he broke the boundaries of regional cuisines, and dipped into the multiplicity of spices and ingredients at the command of the kitchens of India, and came up with dishes that tasted Indian but looked nouvelle.

At Comorin, Mehrotra lets himself be inspired by creative cooks of the less fashionable streets across the country, so it’s street food reinvented to appeal to the eyes and palate of the global Indian.

The menu, as a result, is a melange of items that you may have just seen being sold at mean street restaurants — from champaran meat to seekh kebabs sitting on a pool of molten butter, a style popularised by one of the many Qureshi restaurants across Delhi, and smoked chicken curry, inspired by a dish served at the Dadar Catering College hostel; and then, from the famous Bengali wedding-party dish, ‘plastic’ chutney (made with raw papaya), to the malai cheeni toast.

This is the kind of food that evokes nostalgia and excites conversations. And it is complemented by a new generation of bottled sous vide cocktails (the ingredients are cooked in temperature-controlled hot water baths), created by the bar manager, Varun Sharma. The high-octane energy Sharma exudes typifies the spirit of the cuisine — forever in search of the new and unexpected.

Food safety squad lens on Xmas cake-makers

The Commissionerate has constitutes 38 special squads to crack down on bakeries and shops selling various confectioneries including cake.

Thiruvananthapuram: With Christmas and New Year around the corner, the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety has constituted special squads to crack down on cake, wine manufacturing units sprouting across the state.

The Commissionerate has constitutes 38 special squads to crack down on bakeries and shops selling various confectioneries including cake.

The squads will collect fine and take legal action against violators using artificial colours. Around 38 designated officers and 76 food safety officers have been deployed for the purpose.

The squad will focus on the quality of the confectioneries sold during Christmas.

According to the food officials, during Christmas and New Year, many temporary cake and wine shops sprout across the state. The squad will take strict action if the food safety guidelines are not followed.

Those having complaints can email their grievance to foodsafetykerala@gmail.com or contact the toll-free number: 1800 425 1125 or can directly contact food safety joint commissioner (enforcement) on 8943341130.

FDA shuts down 3 restaurants run by Russians at Morjim

Those sealed during the raid were Bora Bora, Soma Project and Fish; Marabela Club’s licence cancelled

MORJIM/PANJIM: The State Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Thursday shut down three restaurants run by Russians at Morjim beach. 

The restaurants sealed by the FDA during the raid were Bora Bora, Soma Project and Fish.

Under the Food Safety Act, the FDA has cancelled the licence of a famous joint Marabela Beach Club at Morjim.

The restaurants were operating without licences as mandated under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act 2006 and have been directed not to carry out any food-related activity, until all the necessary approvals are obtained.

Soma Project Living Room Resort, Morjim was directed not to carry out any food related activity until all the approvals are obtained. Bora Bora Lounge Restaurant and Night Bar at Morjim run by a company with five directors among which four are Russians and a local, Girish Naik was directed to close down. Another restaurant - Fish was shut down for operating without licence mandatory under the FSSAI Act 2006. Both Bora Bora and Fish have been issued notices under Section 31 of FSSAI Act 2006.

Earlier, Health Minister, Vishwajit Rane had warned of crackdown on non-licenced businesses being run by foreigners in Goa. 

He had alleged that non-licenced business establishments were run by foreigners and used as “narcotic havens”.

Vishwajit Rane informed Herald that these three premises have been shut and the police have been directed to maintain a vigil.

“Besides these three premises earlier on Tuesday we have also cancelled the FDA licence under the Food Safety Act to Marabela Club at Morjim. It was found to be operating in absolutely substandard conditions. The food being served was unfit for human consumption. We have taken the decision in public interest and this licence stands cancelled and neither will be it reviewed again,” he said. 

“We are carrying out a crackdown on non-licenced businesses especially those run by foreigners. We will make sure that all of these are shut,” he added. 

The entire raid was conducted along with policemen from Pernem Police Station.

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Sensor to check Food Safety

Milk supplied in pockets of Bengaluru may be unsafe

 

 BENGALURU: There is no guarantee that milk available in several parts of Bengaluru city and the entire Mysuru district is fit for consumption. For, jurisdictional food safety officials have failed to collect a single sample for testing from east and south zones of Bengaluru city, Bengaluru Urban district and Mysuru district (barring Mysuru city) between April 2016 and September 2018, documents accessed by TOI reveal.

Officials from the food safety commissionerate test samples of all kinds of milk, including loose, toned and packaged, as is done with all food items.

TimesView

Non-collection of milk samples from Bengaluru and Mysuru areas is a huge cause of concern, especially when inspections in other regions have thrown up unpalatable revelations. The presence of dead insects in this essential commodity not only makes one cringe in disgust but indicates the gravity of the situation. The government needs to ramp up staff strength in the food safety commissionerate so that regular checks can be conducted. Though fines have been slapped in some cases, stricter punishment is needed to make errant milk producers/suppliers fall in line. The authorities should deal with the issue on priority to ensure everyone — from schoolchildren to senior citizens — can have a glassful of nutrition without worries.

The neglect, however, seems surprising given that milk of suspected quality and with adulterated content is believed to be extensively used by roadside tea shops. The uncovered areas in Bengaluru include Koramangala, Girinagar, JP Nagar, Chamarajpet, Jayanagar, Bommanahalli, Shivajinagar, Fraser Town and Shantinagar. 

“We are too shortstaffed to conduct regular raids and inspections. We are not able to concentrate on adulteration-related issues as well as routine work,” admitted an official part of regular inspection exercises.

Milk samples were collected from 457 places across the state between April 2016 to September 2018, and 12 of them were found to be unsafe for consumption. Cases were filed in respective magistrate courts. “Another 59 cases related to misbranding or substandard quality of milk were filed and in 40 of them, a fine of Rs 42,500 was slapped. The remaining cases are pending,” said the official.

“During the inspections, we found dead insects in loose milk, apart from detergents and low fat content in some cases. Private milk producers were found mixing sugar and sodium chloride salt, which is alarming,” said another official.

The maximum milk samples were collected from Bidar district, where 19 of the 52 samples were reported as substandard and a penalty of Rs 10,000 was collected. In Belagavi district, five of 47 samples were found to be of low quality. From Vijayapura district, 31 samples were collected and 6 were found substandard.

Food safety regulation has been poor in Bengaluru Rural, Chamarajanagar, Davanagere, Dharwad and Mandya districts, with each of them reporting collection of only four samples. Only one sample was collected each from Dakshina Kannada and Hassan. Fourteen samples were collected from BBMP north zone and 13 from west, 29 from Mysuru city 29 and 43 from Ramanagara.

‘Annadhanams’ to come under food safety department radar

Trichy: Annadhanam served at religious functions and other events would come under the radar of the Trichy district food safety department after more than 40 people fell ill, allegedly due to food poisoning after eating in a temple function near Musiri a few days ago.

Officials said that at least three to four incidents of mass food poisoning continue to occur in the district every year during annadhanams and stated that they would intensify monitoring, surveillance and testing especially over the course of the next couple of months. The department officials also mentioned that they would conduct awareness programmes in rural areas of the district, since a few unregistered annadhanams continued to take place there only.

The designated officer (DO) for the district food safety department, Dr R Chitra said that since several religious functions – especially Vaikunda Ekadasi – are scheduled very soon, the department would come up with strict measures so that annadhanams are done hygienically and as per the guidance. On Sunday, 46 people, including children suffered from food poisoning after they consumed food during a Mariamman temple function at Umaiyalpuram village. While a few received treatment at the Musiri government hospital, four children were referred to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH).

“Buttermilk, sundal (chickpeas), pearl millet porridge and curd rice were served for the devotees. We’ve sent the food sample for testing and based on the result, we would take further action,” food safety officer, Musiri block, M Vadivel said. He added that no one had registered with the department for conducting annadhanam at the temple.

In the last three years, Trichy has seen two major mass food poisonings - one during a festival at Samayapuram temple in which more than 100 people fell ill, while about 100 fell sick at a private family function due to contaminated water served there. “After these incidents, the number of people who register with us to organise annadhanams increased,” an official told TOI.

About 750 people have registered to perform annadhanam throughout Trichy district at present. Whenever there’s a registered annadhanam event, the organisers are directed to keep food sample separately which would be tested by the department. While using a different oil was cited as reason for food poisoning this time, generally such cases are due to serving decayed food, spoilt milk, contaminated water or expired ingredients. A source from the department said that most of the cases were unintentional and due to ignorance. “In some cases, items like mutton biryani and other non-vegetarian dishes are served to very young children too,” the official added.

Eatery caught using non-veg premix in vegetarian dish

Ludhiana: The food-safety team of the health department claimed on Tuesday that it caught a restaurant in Satta Bazaar using chicken powder, which had been labelled as non-vegetarian, in a vegetarian dish.

Though chicken powder is mostly vegetarian, the powder that the department caught had been labelled as non-vegetarian, said district health officer Dr Andesh Kang at a press conference here.

The team also found the restaurant using expired sauce and vinegar during the raid it carried out on Monday afternoon, said Dr Kang.

That was not all. The official said they also found that the restaurant did not have a clearance from the health department and its premises lacked pest control. Following the findings, the team collected samples of all items from the restaurant. “The items have been sent for an examination and the result is expected in 15 days,” said Dr Kang.

If the food is found unfit, the restaurant will be fined, he added.

Dr Kang said the team also collected two samples each of paneer and curd. Following the raid, the team also checked a restaurant at Omaxe Mall on Tuesday. The team collected samples of paneer to check for adulteration and water served by the eatery.

Dr Kang said cooking staff at the restaurant in Satta Bazaar had admitted to using chicken powder in preparation of vegetarian dishes. “This is a violation of food-safety norms,” he said. “Samples have been taken of different food items and sent to our laboratory for testing, so that maximum penalty could be imposed on the violator.”

The official added that raids carried out on Tuesday did not reveal many violations.

‘No sticker on fruits, veggies’

The food-safety commissioner of Punjab has sent a letter to all food-safety teams working at the district level, asking them to spread awareness among traders that fruits and vegetables should not be sold with stickers pasted on them. Commissioner K S Pannu said in the letter that stickers are used on food products to provide information on traceability, grades and price as a common practice across the globe, but it was found that such stickers were used on fruits and vegetables just to make them look premium. “Traders use stickers to make their product look premium or sometimes to hide any defect on the product. ‘Tested Ok’, ‘Good Quality’ and so on are some common terms mentioned on the stickers. These do not have any significance at all,” he said. People generally remove stickers from fruits or vegetables and consume without thinking about residues of adhesives present on them, he said. “This is a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” said Pannu.

Goa health minister orders crackdown on non-licenced businesses run by foreigners

Vishwajit Rane alleges that many such establishments were being used as narcotic havens

Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on non-licenced businesses run by foreign nationals in Goa, alleging that many such establishments were being used as narcotic havens along the coastline.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the minister said that clubs along the tourism-centric coastal belt in Goa would be raided by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for inspection of food safety and hygiene standards.

Mr. Rane said that the Health Act was also in the process of being modified to give it more teeth.

He disclosed that the FDA had drawn up a list of businesses operated by foreign nationals, which would be raided and examined for food and safety standards as well as for inspection of their respective licences.

"We have already formed a list of foreigners doing business in different parts of Goa in North and South. We will ensure that these foreigners who are doing business in Goa without licences will not continue. Most of these outlets, according to the reports that we are getting, are nothing but drug paradises. We do not want people of this type in Goa and we will take steps in that direction," Mr. Rane said.

The Goa coastline has several small outlets run by foreigners, many of them in partnership with local businesses selling hand-tooled goods, cafes, restaurants, alternative health facilities, trinkets, etc.

Mr. Rane had written to the Goa Police for the use of dedicated teams of police personnel to accompany the FDA while raiding parties, fearing the possibility of harm to FDA officials.

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PIL against insecticide used to ripen fruits; HC seeks reply from FSSAI

Plea claims insecticide ethephon is hazardous to health

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on a petition seeking directions prohibiting use of insecticide ethephon for artificial ripening of fruits.

A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao issued notices to the Ministry of Agriculture and the FSSAI and sought their stand on the plea, which has claimed that the chemical was being used despite it being banned by several States.

The petition stated that ethephon is an insecticide that also contains Calcium Carbide, which is hazardous to health.

No stay on usage

The High Court observed that the manner in which fruits were being ripened was not correct as even before season mangoes were often available in the market. It, however, did not stay the use of the chemical till the next date of hearing on January 24 next year as urged by the petitioner.

The petition by Shivashish Dwivedi has claimed that while only the use of ethylene gas is permitted for ripening fruits, farmers were allegedly using sachets of ethephon, which is an insecticide.

It has also alleged that the chemical, apart from containing Calcium Carbide, was also mildly explosive and that the FSSAI was not taking steps to prevent its use to ripen fruits.

The FSSAI, represented by advocate Mehmood Pracha, said the Agriculture Ministry has a more important role to play as it controls the use of the insecticide.

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FDA set to crack whip on food aggregators: Girish Bapat

After finding that 122 establishments did not have registration, the FDA issued notices to the food aggregator portals — Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, and Uber Eats — which delivered food from these outlets.

The State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mulling action against top food aggregator portals such as Swiggy, Foodpanda, Zomato and Uber Eats after it found that as many as 122 food establishments from where these aggregators delivered food to customers had violated safety norms.

FDA Minister Girish Bapat made a statement to this effect in the Legislative Assembly in response to a question by MLA Bhimrao Tapkir.

According to Bapat, the portals were served notices by the FDA after it found during a drive in Mumbai that of the 366 food establishments selling food on the aggregator websites, as many as 122 did not have the mandatory registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. “The FDA carried out the drive in September-October.

After finding that 122 establishments did not have registration, the FDA issued notices to the food aggregator portals — Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, and Uber Eats — which delivered food from these outlets. These 122 establishments were shut down by officials. The FDA is following up on these cases,” Bapat told the House.

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Adulterated jaggery worth Rs 15 lakh seized

Salem: Food safety officials conducted a surprise raid in a jaggery shandy at Kandampatty here on Saturday and seized 40,000kg adulterated jaggery worth Rs 15 lakh.

The team led by district designated food safety officer S Mariappan said they had been conducting raids to keep the adulterated jaggery out of the market in view of Pongal, the three-day harvest festival that falls in January every year.

The team said they conducted raid at the shandy at Kandampatty based on a tip that jaggery manufacturers were adding chemicals such as hydros (sodium hydrogen sulphate), lime (calcium oxide), sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, super phosphate and alum to jaggery. “The jaggery manufacturers also mix sugar to enrich the sweetness of jaggery. This is harmful to people, especially diabetics,” Mariappan said.

He said the sodium hydrogen sulphate, which is used to whiten jaggery, was meant for the textile industry. “It is used as a bleaching agent in the textile industry,” he said, adding, “Jaggery manufacturers are using sodium hydrogen sulphate to bleach jaggery to make it appear white during the production. Sometimes, they also mix sugar to enrich the sweetness.”

The team has collected a few samples from the shandy and they would be sent to the government testing lab in Chennai to confirm whether they contain any chemical. “Strict action will be initiated against the jaggery manufacturers if the test sample confirms adulteration,” the district designated food safety officer said.

The officials also seized 40,000 kg jaggery from the shandy.

FDA suspends licences of 24 eateries in Pune

FDA inspectors found that the reezers used for storing raw materials were extremely dirty. At many restaurants, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items were kept together

Hotel Naivedyam near Mitra Mandal chowk in Pune, is one among the 24 eateries whoes license was suspended.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences of 24 restaurants in the city for failing to comply with cleanliness norms, absence of any record on the use of pesticides and storing of edible food materials in unhygienic conditions.

Poor hygiene standards in the kitchen, failure to maintain and display health check-up record of the staff and failure to present record of pest control measures undertaken in the restaurants were among the reasons for suspension of licence.

Prominent restaurants whose licences were suspended included Naivedyam at Mitra Mandal chowk, Hotel Panchami (Satara Road), The Teres Hotel at Kondhwa, Hotel Samrat on Shankarsheth Road, Hotel Kalpana (Sadashiv peth),and Gokul Pure Veg at Sukhsagar nagar.

FDA inspectors found that the reezers used for storing raw materials were extremely dirty. At many restaurants, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items were kept together.

It was also found that restaurant operators failed to keep waste bins in the kitchen as a result of which there was considerable filth in the kitchen in dirty condition. The kitchen staff was also found to be working without covering their head, food safety officer V V Rupanawar said.

“In the last two months, we carried out raids on a total of 472 restaurants in the city. We had issued notices to 449 restaurants and asked them to take corrective steps within the stipulated time. However, 24 restaurants failed to comply and hence we have taken action against them,” Rupanawar, food safety officer, Pune.

Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner (food) said, “We have ordered inspection of every restaurant in the city. Restaurants which fail to comply will have their licences suspended,” he said.

There are a total of 17,049 restaurants in Pune and 8,166 in Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial township.

Rajesh Shetty, owner of Naivedyam restaurant, Swargate, said , “We have been serving Pune for the last 42 years. There has been no case related hygiene of food or food poisoning. It is true that we have failed to respond to the notice on time but now we have submitted all the documents demanded by the FDA officers. So, there is nothing to worry about the hygiene of the restaurant.”

Sale of food items stopped for now

The licences of restaurants were suspended due to poor hygiene standards in the kitchens

THE NORMS

As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, hotels and restaurants must ensure that the kitchen conditions, as well as the cleanliness and hygiene of the chefs should be maintained as prescribed by FDA.

◼ Routine health check-up of the chef and staff is mandatory

◼ A hotel, restaurant or food stall must cook and serve food in clean utensils

◼ The kitchen serving areas must be kept clean

◼ Only potable drinking water must be used for cooking

◼ People handling food must ensure to cover their hair

◼ A record for use of pesticides must be maintained

◼ Food raw materials must be storied under hygiene conditions

472 restaurants in Pune have been raided in the last two months

449 restaurants have been served notices by the food and drug administration officials during the last two months

24 restaurants failed to submit clearance and hence FDA suspended the licences

135 restaurants have fulfilled hygiene and cleanliness norms

THE HOTELS WHOSE LICENCES WERE SUSPENDED INCLUDE

1. Gokul Veg, Sukhsagar Nagar

2. Atlantic Restaurant, Wanawadi

3. The Teres Restaurant and Banquet,Kondhawa

4. Naivedyam Restaurant, Mitra Mandal Chowk Swargate

5. Hotel Panchami, Satara Road

6. Samrat Hotel, ShankarShet Road, Swargate

7. Vighneshwara Pure Veg, Mandai

8. Hotel Kalpana, Sadashiv Peth

9. Hotel Vijayraj, Near city post

10. Hotel New Ambika, Katraj Chowk.

"We are serving food in Pune for the last 42 years and there is no case related to food hygiene or food poisoning at our hotel. It is true that,we have failed to comply with the norms inspite of being given time but now we have submitted all the documents demanded by FDA officers."

RAJESH SHETTY, owner of Naivedyam restaurant, Swargate

As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, hotels and restaurants must ensure that the kitchen conditions, as well as the cleanliness and hygiene of the chefs should be maintained as prescribed by FDA. Routine health check-ups of the chef and staff are mandatory. A hotel, restaurant or food stall must cook and serve food in clean utensils. The kitchen serving areas must be kept clean and only potable drinking water must used for cooking. Those handling food must also be sure to cover their hair.

FDA may act against food delivery apps

Following the footsteps of Food and Drug Administration, Mumbai, the Pune branch of the body is also likely to take strong action against online food delivery aggregators for delivering food from unlicenced shops, said FDA officials.

“We have asked for a list of restaurants from where the online food aggregators collects food and delivers. On Monday, we received list from two online food delivery platforms. There is a possibility of the food delivering aggregators delivering food from unauthorised restaurants. After scrutinising, we will take action in a week’s time,” said AJ Bhujbal, assistant commissioner (food) FDA, Pune.

Earlier in October, FDA had issued ‘stop work’ notices to more than 100 outlets listed on Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda and Uber Eats platforms. The action was taken under Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) 2006 as the restaurants were found selling food with required permissions.

FDA officers said that online food delivery aggregators were also responsible for the quality of food delivered. In July 2018,Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a directive asking e-commerce sites to delist unlicenced and unregistered restaurants by September 30. Following this, FDA had inspected 347 food outlets in Mumbai where food was prepared. During the investigation, it was revealed that 113 food outlets were working without a license.These outlets were serving food through the food delivery aggregators which is proving hazardous to people.

The hidden killer

The Health Department and the Food Safety wing take a look at the dietary habits of the people and zoom in on checking the trans fat content in food.

You are what you eat.

Unhealthy eating, with excessive intake of processed and fried foods, very less of fresh fruits and vegetables and unhealthy cooking habits at home have been pushing up Kerala’s epidemic of lifestyle diseases and obesity. An estimated 28.5% of men and 32.4% of women are said to be either overweight or obese (NFHS-4, 2015-16). Over 20% of the population has diabetes, while hypertension prevalence has crossed 30%.

Till now, all initiatives launched by the State for the primary prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have focused on screening, early detection and lifestyle changes. For the first time now, the Health Department is looking at the role of dietary interventions in the community as one of the NCD preventive strategies.

Two weeks ago, the Health Department and the Food Safety wing announced that they would launch a joint initiative to rein in the high amount of trans fatty acids (TFA), salt and sugar in foods commercially available in the market.

The State’s initiative has now got a fillip with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announcing on November 30 a new mass media campaign — Heart Attack Rewind — calling for the elimination of industrially produced TFA in food supply. Heart Attack Rewind warns citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fat.

The campaign is to support the FSSAI’s global target of eliminating trans fat in India by the year 2022, a year ahead of the global target by the World Health Organization (WHO) for complete elimination of trans fat.

“The mushrooming of eateries, from pricey restaurants to ‘thattukadas’ and the crowds milling around these indicate that eating out as a culture has been growing in the State.

Till now, we have been focussing on preventing food adulteration and in enforcing hygienic norms and standards. But the FSSAI has been increasingly focussing on food quality, nutrition, safe eating and inducing behavioural changes in eating and has launched several nationwide initiatives in this regard. It is time the State stepped in to enforce regulations regarding what constitutes healthy food when it comes to food available in the market,” says K. Anilkumar, Joint Commissioner of Food Safety

With various studies indicating that hypertriglyceridemia (elevated triglycerides in blood) is way too high among Keralites at 45% ,dietary interventions in the community that focus on reducing the consumption of fried and high fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) foods could not have come at a better time..

What are TFAs?

TFAs are naturally found in small amounts in beef, lamb, and full-fat dairy products but it is the artificial TFAs contained in food made using partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs) that are the culprit here.

Hydrogenation is a process typically used by the industry to improve the flavour stability and keeping qualities of oil. Partial hydrogenation reduces the amount of saturated fats in oil, which are deemed unhealthy.

By 1990s, various studies said artificial TFAs were worse than saturated fats because while both elevated the bad cholesterol (LDL), TFA also reduced the good cholesterol (HDL).

But the food industry prefers PHVOs as these are inexpensive and renders the desirable taste, texture and long shelf life to food. The typical foods which have a high TFA content are commercially fried foods like chips and baked goods like cakes, biscuits, cookies, puffs and the like.

Reheating of oil above 180 degrees also produces TFAs. Today, the major sources of industrial TFAs in people’s diets come from products which are made using PHVOs and fried food which are prepared in commercial fryers on the street where oil is repeatedly reheated.

Metabolic Syndrome

Reining in in commercially available food — both in organised as well as the unorganised sector — assumes more importance in the Kerala context because TFA has a direct connection to Metabolic Syndrome (MS).

The latest estimates (Harikrishnan. S et al., PLOS One, March 2018) put the prevalence of MS in Kerala between 24% and 33% by various international definitions. The study indicated that one in three or four persons in the State — predominantly women — have this condition. Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, abdominal obesity, abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels — that occur together, increasing one’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Literature says that TFA consumption causes metabolic dysfunction. “It adversely affects circulating lipid levels, triggers systemic inflammation, induces endothelial dysfunction... increases visceral adiposity, body weight, and insulin resistance. In fact, TFAs seem to have a unique cardiometabolic imprint that is linked to insulin-resistance and Setabolic Syndrome pathways”.

What regulations say

The WHO recommends that trans fat intake be limited to less than 1% of total energy intake and has called for the total elimination of TFAs in global food supply by 2023.

In 2015, the FSSAI set the maximum TFA limit in foods in the country at 5%. It has now proposed to further limit it to 2% and totally eliminate TFAs from foods by 2022. The FSSAI says that its plan is backed by vanaspathi makers, food companies and bakery associations, who have all supported the move and have pledged to make the necessary changes. However, in the market, even the current upper limit of 5% TFA is not met by many industry players, especially those in the huge network of unorganised food manufacturers, and the enforcement has been pretty lax.

Measuring TFA content

The State Food Safety authorities too admit that measuring the TFA content in food has never been a priority and that the food analysis labs have only recently acquired Gas Chromatography machines that can measure the TFA content in foods.

At a recent consultative workshop on TFA reduction called by the Health Department, it was pointed out that major players in the food industry had already reduced TFA content in their products because they were compelled to follow the labelling declarations. It was the unorganised sector that needed to be educated about the harmful health effects of TFA and the effective alternatives to TFA that they could use .

What consumers need to know about safe food

As the health hazards of trans fats in diet are expounded on, consumers get wary about what foods contain trans fat or how much is too much.

While foods like beef or butter and other dairy products are bound to contain small amount of natural trans fat, it is the industrially generated artificial trans fat that causes health problems. Common sources of artificial trans fat include foods fried in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs); margarine and vegetable shortening; prepared foods like pre-fried French fries and doughnuts; and baked goods such as hamburger buns, pizza dough, crackers and pies.

Products made with artificial trans fat will have ‘partially hydrogenated’ oil listed in the ingredients. The WHO recommends that the total fat intake as % of energy should not exceed 30%. The intake of saturated fat as % of energy should not exceed 10% .

For cardiac patients, this is 7% .

Saturated fat

There is evidence that trans fat is worse than saturated fat. When it comes to cooking oil, the healthier options are polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) and monounsaturated fats, like olive oil. Sesame oil, which contains both mono and poly unsaturated fats in equal amounts, is also considered healthy. But cooking oils with more saturated fatty acids such as coconut oil are more stable than oils with unsaturated fatty acids.

During deep frying, oil undergoes degradation due to elevated temperatures above 180 degrees which results in changes in the physico-chemical, nutritional and sensory properties of the oil and the release of polar compounds.

Polar compounds

The estimation of Total Polar Compounds (TPC) is an accepted parameter to decide whether the oil is safe for further use. The FSSAI has fixed a limit for TPCs at 25%, beyond which the vegetable oil shall not be used.

Used cooking oil for making biofuel

Now, in what could be a win-win for public health, environment and energy security, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched an initiative, Repurpose Used Cooked Oil (RUCO), to recover used cooking oil (UCO) from vendors and food industry, and to use it for the production of biodiesel by the year 2022.

Coordinated action

India has the potential to recover 220 crore litres of used cooking oil for the production of biodiesel by 2022 through a coordinated action, it is believed.

An FSSAI press release said it may also look at introducing regulations to ensure that companies that use large quantities of cooking oil hand it over to registered collecting agencies to convert it into biofuel. It wants businesses using more than 100 litres of oil for frying, to maintain a stock register and ensure that UCO is handed over to only registered collecting agencies.

Talks held

The FSSAI is already in discussions with the Biodiesel Association of India to establish a nation-wide ecosystem for collection of UCO and its conversion to bio-diesel. Under RUCO, 64 companies at 101 locations have been identified to enable collection.

Special drive to educate consumers

Panaji: Consumers will be alerted about the best practices to be followed in food preparation to avoid adulteration and contamination during a month-long awareness drive on consumer rights and responsibilities.

Consumers will be educated about the contents of packaged food and street food by giving special attention to ingredients used. Goa Consumer Action Network’s campaign ‘Consume with care’ will also cover the rights of consumers under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Standards of Weights & Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.

Special efforts will made to alert consumers purchasing milk, edible oils and packaged drinking water to acquaint themselves with the Packaged Commodities Rules and guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with regards to possible labeling violations.

New rules for food product advertisements

The new regulations are aimed at establishing fairness in claims and advertisements of food products and will make food businesses accountable for their claims in advertisements.

NEW DELHI: India's apex food regulator has finalised norms related to claims and advertisements of food products.

These regulations are aimed at establishing fairness in claims and advertisements of food products and will make food businesses accountable for their claims in advertisements in order to protect consumer interests, read a statement issued by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The new regulations will come into effect from July 1 next year.

As per these regulations, firms running food businesses cannot use words or phrases such as natural, fresh, original, traditional, authentic, genuine, real on the food labels, barring some exceptions. Such restrictions are primarily aimed at restricting an open-ended use of these words by food businesses on frivolous grounds

These regulations contain several sections detailing definitions; general principles for claims and advertisements; criteria for nutrition claims (including nutrient content or nutrient comparative claims), non-addition claims (including non-addition of sugars and sodium salts), health claims (reduction of disease risk), claims related to dietary guidelines or healthy diets, and conditional claims.

Advertisements of a food product that undermines the importance of healthy lifestyles or portrays the food product as a complete replacement of normal meal are not permitted. Also, food businesses will also be prohibited to advertise or make claim undermining the products of other manufacturer so as to promote their own food products or influence consumer behaviour.

Many claims, listed in various schedules of these regulations with related criteria, are permitted to be made by food business operators without the need for seeking prior approval from the food regulator.

However, other types of claims not standardised under these regulations may require approval from the Food Authority and should be supported with sound scientific basis, the regulator said.

Any person, including a third party, who puts out an advertisement or is a party to the publication of any misleading advertisement, not complying with these regulations, would be penalised with a fine extending up to Rs 10 lakh, as per Section 53 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

FSSAI launches new campaign to eliminate trans fats by 2022

FSSAI’s plan to lower the levels of trans fat in India’s food supply from the present <5 per cent to <2 per cent

Globally, trans fat intake leads to more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease every year.

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 30

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday launched a new mass media campaign calling for the elimination of industrially produced trans fat in the food supply.

Called “Heart Attack Rewind”, the 30 second public service announcement (PSA) - the first mass media campaign of its kind – will support FSSAI’s global target of eliminating trans fat in India by the year 2022, a year ahead of the global target by the World Health Organization (WHO) for complete elimination of trans fat, a statement said here.

Globally, trans fat intake leads to more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease every year. Trans fat are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, and to increase the shelf life of foods. Trans fat are largely present in Vanaspati, margarine and bakery shortenings, and can be found in baked and fried foods.

“FSSAI is committed to reducing the industrially produced trans fatty acids to less than 2% by the year 2022 in a phased manner. This is in line with our objective to get Freedom from ‘Trans Fat: India@75.’ I am hopeful that this media campaign will educate consumers about the harmful effects and its link to cardiovascular diseases,” Pawan Agarwal, FSSAI CEO, said

“Heart Attack Rewind” warns citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fat and offers strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives.

In May 2018, WHO launched a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat from the global food supply by 2023. REPLACE provides a roadmap about how countries can remove and replace all trans fat from their food supplies with the intention to eradicate it from the globe.

FSSAI’s plan to lower the levels of trans fat in India’s food supply from the present <5 per cent to <2 per cent

“Heart Attack Rewind” will be broadcast in 17 languages for a period of four weeks on major digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Hotstar, and Voot. Additionally, the campaign will also be placed on radio channels and outdoor hoardings in Delhi/NCR. A corresponding social media campaign will also highlight the harmful effects of trans fat on people’s health.

FSSAI launches awareness drive on trans fats

Impact of trans fats on human health in India is increasing and awareness about them is vital if they are to be eliminated altogether, says FSSAI head

Frying potatoes in a fast food restaurant.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on November 30 launched a new mass media campaign in order to create awareness about trans fats and eliminate them in India by 2022.

“Heart Attack Rewind”, a 30-second public service announcement, will be broadcast in 17 languages for a period of four weeks on YouTube, Facebook, Hotstar, and Voot. It will also be placed on outdoor hoardings and run on radio stations in Delhi and the National Capital Region. The campaign will warn citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fats and offer strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives.

Artificial trans fats are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Since they are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time, and give foods a desirable taste and texture, they are still widely used despite their harmful effects being well-known.

“Studies have recently shown that 60,000 deaths occur every year due to cardiovascular diseases, which in turn arecaused due to high consumption of trans fats,” Pawan Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI told reporters during during an event to officially launch the campaign.

“Since the impact of trans fats on human health is increasing exponentially, it is very important to create awareness about them. This campaign will concentrate on the demand side (consumers), who in turn, will push the supply side (food manufacturers) to come up with various strategies in order to reduce and later replace trans fats,” he added.

“Heart Attack Rewind” is a follow-up to an earlier campaign called “Eat Right”, which was launched on July 11, 2018. As part of the campaign, edible oil industries took a pledge to reduce trans fat content by 2 per cent by 2022. Later, food companies also took a pledge to reformulate packaged foods with reduced levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat.

Swasth Bharat Yatra, an initiative started under the “Eat Right” campaign which started on October 16 and will end on January 27, 2019, will also seek to create awareness among citizens about trans fats.

Roopa Shivashankar, a senior consultant on cardiovascular health, said that in one research study, it was found that 75 per cent of housewives did not know what trans fats was and that this campaign would be educating them as well as others about their ill-effects. “These women should be aware that use of the same cooking oil continuously in the household also leads to formation of trans fats,” she added.

In May this year, the World Health Organization released a step-by-step guide for the elimination of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply. Since then, a lot of countries have made efforts to reduce the levels of trans fats and in some cases, have completely banned them.

“India is also moving towards same by first reducing the levels from 5 per cent to 2 per cent and then altogether by 2022, said Aggarwal.

A guidance book on trans fats was also released during the event.

FDA shuts down unit for selling adulterated oil

Pune: Officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shut down an edible oil branding and repackaging unit at Pisoli late on Thursday night for selling adulterated oil.

The operators blended cheaper versions of rice bran and soybean oils in relatively expensive mustard oil to make quick money. The officials sealed the stock of 50 tonne of edible oil worth Rs 42.92 lakh.

“The unit owner used to purchase cheaper edible oils in bulk and would do the branding, labelling and packaging at his unit located at Dangde Farm in Pisoli (Haveli taluka). When we raided the unit, we found large tanks of cheaper edible oils and mustard oils,” Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune told TOI.

The owner was also found operating the unit without oil testing laboratory, which is mandatory. Besides, the person in-charge of the operation at the unit was not technically qualified. “The edible oil packaging unit needs to test the oil periodically and maintain a record of the same. But there was no laboratory on the premises. We have also drawn samples of the oil and sent them for tests to the government laboratory.” Deshmukh said.

The officials found that the packaging unit was selling adulterated oil when a sample drawn randomly during Diwali showed the adulteration. The officials then raided the unit late on Thursday night. FDA food safety officials Ulhas Ingawale, Santosh Sawant, Anil Gavate carried out the raid under the guidance of state FDA minister Girish Bapat.

Incidentally, the FDA’s vigilance department had raided several oil mills in the past, taken samples and found packets of sunflower, soybean, groundnut oil refilled with cotton seed oil. “There are instances where miscreants removed oil from tins of reputed brands and mixed it with ordinary palm oil or any other cheap variety of oil,” said another official.

According to experts, such impurities are difficult to identify as the blending of cheaper oil like palm oil does not change the physical property or taste of the product. But it changes the chemical property, which affects the consumers’ health.

Introduce artifical sweetener labelling on beverages sold through vending machines: FSSAI

Regulator seeks views from the industry and other stakeholders

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 29

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is proposing to make amendments in the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 to introduce labelling of artificial sweetener on beverages sold through vending machines.

Currently, companies need to mandatorily declare the presence of artifical sweetener in every package of food (which is permitted to use artificial sweetener) on its labelling as well as in their advertisements.

Prominent labelling

The FSSAI has proposed that if a beverage product containing artificial sweetener is sold through vending machines, “a display or label” declaring the presence of artificial sweetener “shall be placed on the cups or in the container in which the product is served”.

It is also proposing to make it mandatory for a prominent display or labelling on the vending machine. The regulator has now sought views from the industry and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, FSSAI is also looking to bring amendments to set maximum permissible limits for presence of metal impurities besides other contaminants such as Aflatoxin in various food products. This is being done through a seperate draft of regulations.

For instance, In the case of milk, FSSAI is proposing to set maximum permissible limits for aflatoxin M1 at 0.5 µg/kg, 6 µg/kg in skimmed milk powder and 4 µg/kg in whole milk powder.

Setting limits

Recently, raw and processed milk samples were tested for presence of aflatoxin among other adulterants and contaminants as part of the National Milk Quality Survey 2018.

In its draft Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations, 2018, it proposes limits for metal contaminants such as lead, chromium, copper, tin, cadmium, and arsenic. These maximum permissible limits of these metal contaminants have been proposed for a wide range of food products such as concentrated soft drinks, edible oils and fats, hard-boiled sugar confectionery, among others.

Visakhapatnam faces dearth of food safety officers, just one for over 40 lakh people

VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam district, with a population of over 40 lakh and city population of around 22 lakh has only one food security officer (FSO). 

Three other sanitary inspectors from the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation’s (GCMC) health wing have placed under deputation to double up as FSOs, official sources said on Wednesday.

The statistics comes in contrast with the World Health Organisation guidelines according to which every 50,000 population should have one FSO and every one lakh rural population should be placed under one FSO.

Ideally, there should be 44 FSOs for the city and over 20 FSOs for the rural areas of the district. 

Among the five southern states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have the lowest number of FSOs. AP has just 32 for its 13 districts and Telangana even less. Despite five sanctioned FSO posts for each district, none of them have been filled up.

The last recruitment exam for FSOs was held in the undivided state over a decade ago. The food safety and inspecting officials do not have an official vehicle and use public transport to carry out raids.

AP does not even have a state food laboratory of its own. The FSOs have to send samples for lab test to the only authorised food safety lab at Nacharam in Hyderabad, that again is severely short-staffed.

T Satyanarayana, the president of AP Hotels Association, Visakhapatnam chapter, said, “We have around 400 hotels and restaurants registered with us. However, there would be another 400-500 unregistered hotels and restaurants in the district — that is at least 1,000 hotels and restaurants.”

Besides, there are thousands of push cart vendors, fast food centres and bandis, which are not registered or counted.

M Srinivasa Rao, the assistant food controller and designated food safety officer (FSO), Visakhapatnam district, said, “The district would roughly have 20,000-25,000 outlets selling some kind of edible item including fruit sellers and small roadside hawkers but till date there has not been any survey done to ascertain the exact number of eateries. Only a small part of them are under registered associations. Working with just one FSO and three sanitary inspectors on deputation, we are doing our best. Recruiting manpower is under process and we hope to get more staff soon.”

Drive to check jaggery adulteration

Thiruvananthapuram: The food safety department has launched a special drive ‘Operation Panela’ to find the source of adulteration of jaggery in the state after it found high level of harmful colouring agents in jaggery.

The decision to intensify the drive was taken after noticing the presence of harmful synthetic colours like tartrazine, rhodamine b and brilliant blue in jaggery. The department has collected 76 samples for testing and analysis. 

Food safety joint commissioner (enforcement) A K Mini said Operation Panela was launched after the department noticed presence of harmful colours in 12 samples collected from Kozhikode and Ernakulam.

“Since jaggery is being sourced and distributed by small scale traders and by various cooperative societies, it is difficult to identify the source. The operation was launched to find the source and ban it immediately. The ban will be lifted only after taking corrective actions,” she said.

Of the total 76 samples, 72 are under statutory sampling, which will give power to food safety officials to initiate prosecution charges if synthetic colours are found.

Officials said the drive would continue and decision on further action will be taken after receiving test results. tnn

Erring traders fined Rs 97000 in Ganderbal

NOVEMBER 29: -

The court of Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum- Adjudicating Officer, Ganderbal Naseer Ahmad Wani under the Food Safety Act imposed a fine of Rs 97,000/= on a number of traders for violating the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act-2006, Rules and Regulations -2011.

Further the Food Business Operators were directed to correct the deficiencies found during the course of Adjudication in the food products which were processed/packed/manufactured and pumped into the market for consumption of general masses by them.

The ADC said that the district administration will be taking stern action against people found involved in adulteration of food, medicines and other important commodities.

‘City eateries pay no heed to quality, sanitation norms’

Quality goes for a toss: A file picture of enforcement officials raiding a restaurant at NAD Junction in Visakhapatnam. 

Notices served on many, but cases are pending in courts, say officials

The recent raids conducted by the officials of vigilance and enforcement, food safety and legal metrology departments on two noted restaurants in the city have found leftover food being stored in refrigerators only to be served to customers again. Samples were collected and notices were served on the proprietors over the poor sanitation on their premises.

This has brought to the fore the question over the quality of food being served at the city hotels. The officials of food safety and vigilance departments observe that many restaurants and food courts are flouting safety norms, putting the public health at stake.

According to them, food courts and restaurants are classified into three categories – star, medium and low class. “Most of the eateries including street food joints and small restaurants that fall in the low class category pay no heed to hygiene on their premises,” they say.

A large number of restaurants fall under the medium category including coffee shops, soup stalls, ice cream parlours, bakeries and a few others.

“Medium category restaurants are mushrooming in the city. Though the external ambience look flashy, the problem lies in their kitchens,” says a food safety official on condition of anonymity. “We have come across a number of cases of food being prepared in unhygienic conditions. Cockroaches were also found in kitchens. The arrangements in place to clean utensils, use of oil, maintenance of RO plants are poor,” he explains.

According to officials, several noted biryani points have been caught flouting norms by using stale meat for cooking. Though many hotels have been served notices, cases are pending in court, they say.

Lack of staff

“Even, several star hotels have cases of food adulteration, using low quality oil pending against them,” the official says.

Asked about the measures in place to put these gangs under check, the officials say that staff crunch force them to limit the number of raids. Though there is a steep rise in the number fast food joints, the food safety department seldom conducts raids to check the quality.

“The food safety wing of the GVMC needs at least eight to 10 Food Safety Officers (FSOs), but we have just five,” points out an official. Admitting that lack of adequate staff has been a problem, Food Safety Officer of Visakhapatnam G. Apparao says the posts have been sanctioned long ago, but recruitments are yet to be done.

Adulterations gangs on the prowl

Vigilance officials also say that many food adulteration gangs are on the prowl. In the past, the officials of Vigilance & Enforcement have nabbed number of gangs at several places. “In the past, we caught gangs red-handed selling expired food products in new packs. They sold expired atta (wheat flour) in new covers with fake expiry date under fake brand names at Sivajipalem, Kancharapalem and Gajuwaka,” Vigilance & Enforcement Inspector Mallikarjuna Rao says.

The officials also seized more than 2,000 litres of adulterated cooking oil and a tanker at HB Colony. The gang would collect used edible oils and mix them with fresh stock and sell it Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said.

Doctors say that consumption of the adulterated oil and food prepared in unhygienic conditions can lead to long term diseases including liver cancer, jaundice and many more.

New norms for supplementary food products for 2-3 year olds

So far, the Food Standards and Safety Regulatory Authority Of India had standards in place only for packaged baby food items meant for infants in the age-group of 6 months to 2 years.

NEW DELHI: India's food safety watchdog, for the first time, has notified nutritional guidelines for supplementary food products meant for children between 2-3 years.

So far, the Food Standards and Safety Regulatory Authority Of India had standards in place only for packaged baby food items meant for infants in the age-group of 6 months to 2 years.

Officials in the FSSAI said that while many multi-national giants are already selling food products for children up to 3 years, lack of guidelines meant that there was no minimum or maximum value fixed for nutritional and other components in the products.

"The new guidelines will mean that those who do not follow the guidelines can be treated as defaulters and penalised. This is something that was simply not there before," a senior FSSAI official told this newspaper.

The new guidelines stipulate maximum and minimum values of 29 components, including antioxidants, calcium, zinc, Vitamins, minerals, acidity regulators and added flavours, and also says that there will not be "Energy food" or "Health Food" written on these product packets.

Nutritional and baby food experts however raised concerns at the FSSAI move could help multi-national food giants in a big way and it was akin to giving them license to capture a big market.

"Children above two years can eat just like adults and actually do not need supplementary food products at all," said Arun Gupta of Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India and World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative.

"I suspect that the new guidelines will allow baby food manufacturer to circumvent the Infant Milk Substitute Act that prevents any promotion or advertising of supplementary food products in India and safeguards breastfeeding and feeding of homemade food to young children," he said.

A 2015 study by researchers at Indian Institute Of Public Administration had noted that while baby food sale is expanding very fast in India, in many commercial baby food products, the manufacturers add extra ingredients which affect the quality of the product.

"At best, these extra ingredients are nutritionally empty, and at worst, they are nutritionally dangerous, particularly when consumed by infants. For instance, many commercial baby foods, including organic brands, are high in sodium, sugar, or both," the study said.

Every calorie taken up through these ingredients is a lost opportunity for baby to eat a nutrient-rich food that will facilitate proper growth and development."

Menace of food adulteration a serious challenge: Dulloo

Commissioner Food Safety, Abdul Kabir Dar, Mayor JMC, Chander Mohan Gupta and Controller Drug and Food Control Organization Lotika Khajuria were also present.

Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo on Wednesday said that the need of the hour is to create awareness about healthy food habits among people, particularly youth to avoid non-communicable diseases.

According to an official spokesperson Dulloo was speaking at a cultural event organised here at Government Women’s College Gandhi Nagar on the theme of ‘Eat Right India’ in connection with the Swasth Bharat Yatra.

The Swasth Bharat Yatra which started from Leh has been organized by Commissionerate Food Safety in collaboration with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and food safety wing of Municipal Corporation Jammu.

Commissioner Food Safety, Abdul Kabir Dar, Mayor JMC, Chander Mohan Gupta and Controller Drug and Food Control Organization Lotika Khajuria were also present.

In his address, Atul Dulloo said that the need of the hour is to create awareness about healthy food habits among people, particularly youth to avoid non-communicable diseases. He said that the purpose of the Yatra is to create awareness among the people regarding Food Safety Act. Message of Yatra ‘eat right, eat healthy, eat fortified’ should be conveyed across every nook and corner of the state as well as country, he added.

Kohima boots five bakeries for lack of hygiene

These photographs stating to show a bakery establishment in the capital town Kohima were issued by Kohima’s health authority, on Wednesday. Five bakeries in the town have been issued with an ‘improvement notice’ for what the administration said were unhygienic conditions and questionable production practices.

Dimapur, Nov. 28 (EMN): The ingestion continues for food establishments in Nagaland. The Kohima administration has issued what it called an “improvement notice” to five bakeries in the capital town. The establishment of the Chief Medical Office of Kohima district issued a press release on Wednesday informing about the enforcement.

The health authority cited unhygienic conditions, use of ingredients that had exceeded the best-before date; storage of finished products in bedrooms; ‘use of newspapers’ etc.

The establishments that have been served with the notice are M/S United Bakery, New Minister Hill, Kohima; M/S JA Bakery, Lerie Chazou, Kohima; M/S Modern Bakery, Middle AG Colony, Kohima; M/S Baby Bakery, AG Colony, Kohima; M/S M Bakery, AG Colony, Kohima.

The health authorities stated: ‘In view of the Hornbill Festival and the coming of the festive season, Food Safety Officer and staff carried out inspection of bakeries.

During the inspection, the stated bakeries were found in unhygienic conditions, using of ingredients which has exceeded best before date, storing of finished products in the bedroom, using of newspaper etc.’

‘Therefore, an Improvement notice under Section 32 of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 was served to the proprietors for compliance,’ the press release stated.

FSSAI writes to IT Ministry on fake social media videos on food quality

Seeks mechanism to track perpetrators of such videos to initiate action against them

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 27

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has written to the Ministry of Electronics & IT expressing concern over the proliferation of fake videos and messages on social media that spread rumours on the safety and quality of food available in the country.

In its communication, it has urged the Ministry to put in a place a mechanism to track such fake videos so that “perpetrators of such mischievous videos could be brought to book and penal action can be initiated against them.”

In the past, FSSAI has had to counter rumours and public fear regarding presence of “plastic rice and plastic eggs” which was triggered by circulation of fake videos on social media.

FSSAI said more recently a “fake video” on the presence of melamine in milk went viral on the social media which “maliciously projected that FSSAI had given permission for use of melamine in milk.”

The food safety authority clarified that under the food safety regulations, the use of melamine as an ingredient or as an additive is not permitted in any food product. It added that it has prescribed maximum limits for melamine in food, including milk, under the regulations only to address the “incidental presence” of melamine as a contaminant.

In a statement, Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said, “Such false propaganda is neither good for citizens nor for food businesses. This erodes confidence of the public in the food control system in the country. It also erodes global trust in our food system and food businesses and potentially has far reaching public health, social and trade implications.”

On its part, the Ministry of IT & Electronics has been pushing messaging app Whatsapp to set up a mechanism to clamp down on fake messages and videos on its platform.

Companies face ordeal

FSSAI’s efforts to tackle fake social media posts and videos come at a time when several packaged food companies have also been going through the ordeal of fake and malicious social media posts regarding their food products. Some food companies also have had to take legal measures to counter such posts.

According to the interim report of the National Milk Quality Survey 2018, released earlier this month by FSSAI, less than 10 per cent of the milk samples were found to have contaminants, which were largely due to poor farm practices. The survey findings are based on tests done on over 6,400 samples of raw and processed milk across States, for quality parameters, adulterants as well as contaminants.

FSSAI said it is currently engaging with stakeholders for “root cause analysis” so that appropriate corrective and preventive action could be taken.

Rs 5000 fine for selling stale food at Bali yatra

Over 650 food joints and eateries are under the scanner of the special quads at the fair venue

A fast food kiosk at Bali yatra venue in Cuttack on Monday.

The civic body on Monday decided to impose heavy penalty on eateries at Bali yatra trying to stale and unhygienic food following large scale seizure of stale food over the past three days.

“We have decided to invoke the Food Safety Act and impose a fine of Rs 5,000 on eateries on every instance of seizure of stale and unhygienic food,” city health officer Umesh Panigrahi told The Telegraph on Monday.

Special squads are on job to continuously check the quality of food being served at various food joints at the fair right from 7.30 in the morning till 11 at night.

“We are focusing on the quality of food taking into consideration the heavy turnout of people and the hazards of unchecked consumption of stale and unhygienic food,” Panigrahi said. He said the food safety drive would continue till the end of the fair.

Official sources said the civic body’s food safety wing had so far destroyed more than 6.6 quintals of food following seizure from various eateries and vendors.

Three special squads — one led by a food safety officer and the other two by sanitary inspectors along with ten health workers and supervisors in each 51 had started off with destroying 70kg, followed by 1.4 quintals on Friday and Saturday respectively. More than 3.5 quintals of stale food was seized and destroyed on Sunday alone.

More than 650 food joints and eateries are under the scanner of the special quads at the fair venue.

Cuttack collector Arvind Agarwal and municipal commissioner took stock of the food safety drive on Sunday.

Several hotels across the city that had opened kiosks were found to have brought leftovers of the day from their restaurant to sell at Bali yatra on the first evening.

“During raids, we have detected attempts to sell stale and leftover chicken and rice-based food items and,” the health officer said.

He said huge quantities of milk-based products along with around 500 rasagolas were also seized and destroyed.

The special squads are also keeping an eye on the use of colour in the food items. The civic body has also been making announcements through mikes to create awareness among people to avoid unhealthy food items and lodge complaints at its counter.

“We are receiving numerous complaints from the public,” a health wing official told The Telegraph.

“The civic body has made it mandatory for all food joints to display their food licence in their kiosks. Those food sellers or vendors of Cuttack Municipal Corporation area who do not have food licence have been directed to apply for it at our counter,” the official said.

No food vendor registered with UT health department

CHANDIGARH: If there is typhoid or any food-borne disease on an epidemic scale, then there is no way for the health department in the city to catch the culprits as none of the food vendors are registered with the food safety and standards department in the UT health department. The reason being the municipal corporation here does not give specific address of food vendors that makes it difficult for the health department to locate the defaulters.

Chandigarh has around 9,000 registered street vendors and the MC has been receiving a monthly fee of Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh. “The street food vendors have slips issued by the MC, which mentions the fee they pay and the sector with regard to their location. But their exact position is not mentioned on it. We have taken this up with our department so that the same can be followed up by the MC,” said an official in the UT health department.

The official said that, “In case there is any complaint of food-borne disease or infection, how can we locate those vendors who are still not registered with us due to this incomplete information.”

On the contrary, the MC officials believe that it’s not the responsibility of their department and it solely lies with the health department. “According to the street vendor act, we are not supposed to specify any business or trade to the vendors. It is with the respective departments to decide and regulate it,” said K K Yadav, MC commissioner, Chandigarh. He said that, “In case the health department requires details of these vendors, the same can be provided any time.”

A health official on the condition of anonymity explained that they often get calls from consumers about contaminated food. But it gets tough to act as there are so many vendors who come with slips issued by the MC, which has licence fee and name of the sector mentioned only. “We want to regulate the food standards and for that all these vendors have to be registered with us too. But with this incomplete information from the MC, we cannot register and keep vigilance on the food quality,” said a senior official in the health department.

DINAKARAN NEWS