State-run oil marketing companies to buy biodiesel made from used cooking oil

The scheme is being launched in 100 cities across the country. 

Government pushes for green fuel as FSSAI order cracks down on re-using oil.

In a bid to encourage the biofuel sector, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday announced that the state-run oil marketing companies would procure the entire supply of biodiesel produced from used cooking oil for a three-year period.

The move, announced on World Biofuel Day, means that biodiesel plants using used cooking oil as their raw material will be assured that their entire production will be procured by the oil marketing companies to be blended with normal diesel. The scheme is being launched in 100 cities across the country.

To pay producers

Under the scheme, the OMCs — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum — will pay biodiesel producers ₹51 per litre in the first year, ₹52.7 per litre in the second, and ₹54.5 per litre in the third year. The oil companies will also bear the cost of transportation and GST for the first year.

The Minister’s announcement comes just a day after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) has directed Food Safety Commissioners to ensure that Food Business Operators (FBOs), whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 litres per day, stop reusing the oil more than three times.

Mr. Pradhan also launched a ‘Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO)’ sticker and a phone app to enable the collection of used cooking oil. Restaurants and hotels interested in supplying used cooking oil can affix the sticker to show availability.

“Prime Minister has given a target to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to bring down import dependency of oil products by 2022, and this can be achieved by enhancing production, improving energy efficiency, promoting conservation and encouraging alternate fuels,” Mr. Pradhan said speaking at an event to launch World Biofuel Day 2019.

“The government is promoting the alternate sources of energy in a big way.”

He added that his Ministry was working on a four-pronged strategy by promoting ethanol, second-generation ethanol, compressed biogas and biodiesel.

“Ethanol blending in petrol has gone up from 1.5% to about 8% and is likely to touch 10% soon,” Mr Pradhan said. “The government is planning to allow production of ethanol from surplus foodgrains which now sometimes go waste and also entail expenditure on storage.”

“Biodiesel is low hanging fruit in the scheme of alternate source of energies, and abundant raw material is available for the purpose,” the Minister added. “It is a good waste-to-wealth concept.”

The National Policy on Biofuels 2018, released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a blending target of 20% for ethanol in petrol and of 5% for biodiesel blending in diesel by 2030.

After extending the deadline twice for FBOs consuming more that 50 litres of oil a day for frying to strictly maintain the usage records and stop reusing the oil more than three times, an August 9 order from the FSSAI has directed Food Safety Commissioners to conduct inspections and ensure that the oil does not enter the food chain again. The order was issued by FSSAI Joint Director (Regulatory Compliance) Pushp Vanam.

The order says all FBOs should compulsorily dispose off their used cooking oil to authorised collection agencies or aggregators and lists eight biodiesel manufacturers enrolled with agency so far.

FSSAI Chief Executive Officer Pawan Kumar Agarwal told The Hindu on Saturday that the agency will soon come out with a mobile application for tracking and tracing used cooking oil.

“All FBOs whose consumption of edible oil for frying is more than 50 litres per day will now have to maintain records including date, name of the oil, quantity of oil taken for frying, quantity discarded at the end of the day, date and mode of disposal of the used oil and discarded oil collected by agency. This will be enabled through an app,” he said.

“When used multiple times, cooking oil becomes acidic and darkens in colour. This may alter the fatty acid composition of the oil. FSSAI will also ask cooking oil manufacturers to come out with colour charts (either on the product or in a booklet along with the product) that will help people to identify if the oil is fresh or re-used. A prominent oil manufacturer is already doing this and we plan to ask others also to follow the same concept,” Mr Agarwal added.

He said the directive was aimed at ensuring that reused cooking oil is neither directly used in food preparation nor re-enters the food chain. “We have done this to set in safety standards in the food industry. The August 9 Order is to make sure this rule is strictly enforced henceforth,” he said.

The order on prohibiting reuse of edible oil was initially issued on January 30, 2019, and was directed to be effective from March 1, 2019. Subsequently, another Order was issued on February 28 extending the deadline by three months.

Following the initial Order, food safety officials voiced the several challenges in enforcing it, especially in the absence of a strong ecosystem that can facilitate the registration of biodiesel manufacturers and collection aggregators.

Although Karnataka is the first State to have a Bio Energy Development Board and used cooking oil is being collected from big chain of restaurants by biondiesel manufacturing units, the main issue is regarding the registration of such units and empanellment of re-purposed used cooking oil (RUCO) collecting aggregators. Without empanellment, many aggregators are finding it difficult to collect used cooking oil from hotel chains. These challenges were discussed at a meeting of top officials from FSSAI in Bengaluru on March 1. Similar concerns were raised by other States.

Following this, FSSAI issued an Order on May 6 requiring bio diesel manufacturers to enrol with FSSAI for collection of used cooking oil from FBOs.

Cars to run on cooking oil? Govt works on new program for fuel

To reduce India's dependence on energy imports, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, along with the state-run fuel retailers (IOC, HPCL and BPCL), launched a programme to procure biodiesel made from used cooking oil (UCO) from 100 cities across the country.

This could encourage private entrepreneurs to set up Biodiesel plants and get remunerative price and assurance on complete offtake of production.

To reduce India's dependence on energy imports, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, along with the state-run fuel retailers (IOC, HPCL and BPCL), launched a programme to procure biodiesel made from used cooking oil (UCO) from 100 cities across the country. This will also help India meet its fuel demand in the near future.

On the Occasion of the World Biofuel Day today, Dharmendra Pradhan, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, launched the programme that involves 3 Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) inviting Expression for Interest (EOI) from private entities for setting up plants to produce biodiesel from used cooking oil, processing plants and further utilising the existing potential of UCO-based biodiesel in India.

This could encourage private entrepreneurs to set up Biodiesel plants and get remunerative price and assurance on complete offtake of production.

As part of EOI, biodiesel would be procured by the OMCs at Rs 51 per litre, which would be increased to Rs 52.7 in the second year and Rs 54.5 per litre in the third year. Moreover, the oil companies will also bear the cost of transportation and GST for the first year.

"PM Modi has given a target to the ministry to bring down import dependency of oil products by 2022, and this can be achieved by enhancing production, improving energy efficiency, promoting conservation and encouraging alternate fuels", said Dharmendra Pradhan, adding the abundance of the raw material could turn this from 'good waste to wealth concept'.

Moreover, a sticker on Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) was released by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The food joints, hotels and restaurants supplying UCO for producing biodiesel will affix this sticker on their premises.

Additionally, a mobile app, RUCO App, was also launched, which will enable stakeholders track all transactions and facilitate the UCO collection.

"Presently there is no established collection chain for UCO. Thus, there is a huge opportunity in the production of biodiesel from UCO," the Ministry of Oil and Natural Gas stated.

Pradhan said the government was promoting alternate sources of energy in a big way, and added that the Centre was working on a four-pronged strategy to promote ethanol, 2-G ethanol, compressed bio-gas and bio-diesel.

"The budget this year has underlined the transformation of Annadata to Urjadata," Pradhan added.

Indian eateries spice up food choices in Australia

From ‘no, no way’ to spicy food, it has been a fast transition to a curious and welcome ‘yes, why not’ to Indian offerings

Mouthwatering: The Australians have developed a taste for Indian delicacies such as butter chicken and roganjosh.

Monica Sharma

There was a time when the instant reaction of an Australian to the idea of having Indian food was “no way”; it was just too spicy for the palate. With the exponential increase in the number of Indian restaurants across Australia over the last two decades, the curiosity and mild adjustments to the recipes have made the food and curries hot favourites. It all started with the opening of Indian grocery stores, followed by eateries, restaurants and fast-food joints. Butter chicken and roganjosh soon became familiar names, and despite the difficulty in pronouncing these, the Australians developed a taste for the Indian delicacies. Chicken vindaloo, cheese naan, golgappas and samosas also caught the fancy of many.

Hailing from Jagraon, Kamal Sidhu, who came to Australia in 1995, recalls there were very few Indian restaurants in Sydney at that time but many more came up in the next 10 years. Sidhu landed a job at an Indian eatery and eventually bought an Indian restaurant in 2000, which he sold off later. He now runs an Indian restaurant, New Mantra, in Adelaide. “Indian cuisine was not much sought after and the dishes were prepared to taste mild. However, with the influx of students since 2005, the Indian population started growing and the number of eateries increased manifold,” he says.

Sidhu remembers it was not easy getting jobs in Australia back in 1995. A major problem for immigrants was the language barrier: the strong English accent of the natives made it difficult to get into customer dealing. But what restaurateurs like Sidhu had to really work on was quality control. The Australian hygiene standards are very strict and health inspectors regularly carry out checks. His restaurant, he confesses, got half a star out of the five stars marked for safety because of the low battery of the thermometer used to check the temperature of the meat. Cleanliness and hygiene have to be maintained at all times. Every fortnight floors are cleaned up with high-pressure water.

The failure to ensure clean and hygienic conditions, rusty pans, greasy drains and improper food storage have resulted in heavy penalties for the restaurants, including the ones specialising in Indian cuisine. They have been found falling short of complying with Food Act regulations.

An Indian restaurant in Perth was fined $25,000 for Food Act breaches in May this year. The restaurant was found lacking on different counts — unclean utensils, water leakage and filthy work conditions. Last year, another Indian restaurant in Perth was fined after pet food was found on the premises. Another Indian restaurant in Melbourne was fined $25,000 for not maintaining safe food practices. The utensils in the kitchen were oily and greased.

Khushi Mehra, a worker at an Indian restaurant, says they make all possible efforts to maintain cleanliness while cooking. “However, some of the recipes include deep frying and, as you know, a lot of spices are added to the gravy or curries. So, the cookware gets sticky,” she says.

Talking about the procedures, councillor Kim McAliney says that Wyndham City in Melbourne checks different food premises regularly and if the inspectors are not happy with any aspect, they work with the proprietors to achieve a positive resolution without the need for further action.

“If the restaurants do not comply with the council’s advice, the outlet is given a formal order and the council ensures the food safety issue is dealt with in a timely manner.”

City of Gosnells Chief Executive Officer Ian Cowie says the common issues encountered during routine inspections of all food premises relate to cleanliness, maintenance, food storage and handling. While there may be defaulters, there is a long list of successful Indian eateries in Australia, such as Cinnamon Club, Indian Temptations, Beyond India, Charminar, Cafe Chennai, Billu’s, to name a few. 

Kids to be sensitised to food nutrition

Amritsar, August 10

Keeping kids’ health on mind, the Health Department is all set to create awareness among stakeholders under the guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to inculcate wholesome eating habits among children.

The department has already held a meeting with social and trade organisations to sensitise them to the health issues arising due to the increased use of junk and fast food. The next plan is to take the issue to the children by asking them to keep track of junk and fast food items they consume every day.

District Health Officer Dr Charanjit Singh said, “Food safety is core to the human health. Children, being the future, need to be taught about right choice of food and other aspects of good health.” He said they would include schools in the drive so that children could be made aware.

Dr Singh said nutrition in food is important but equally important is to learn the nutrition is not destroyed or affected by outside factors before the food is consumed. “Children need to know how bacteria, fungi, etc. can affect the food. They need to know about the need for cleanliness and hygiene. Most people would not have thought about it but jewellery, such as ring, worn by cooks can impact the food quality as it gathers dust and bacteria,” she said.

Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, a pediatrician, said, “The health issues arising out of increased use of junk food are frequently reported nowadays.” He said that by asking a child to keep a track of whatever he eats daily would let him know about the quantity of junk food he is having. “First we have to recognise the problem. Once the child knows that he is having more of junk, it will be easier to draw him to healthy diets as veggies and greens,” he added.

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Madras HC says police cannot probe charges under Food Safety Act

Seven months after a man was booked for smuggling 3,500 Kg of the banned tobacco, the high court asks police to drop charges under the Food Safety Act.

Chennai The Madras high court on Friday made it clear that cases registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act cannot be investigated by police as the Act provides a different procedure to prosecute offences under the Act by a designated officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

Justice Anand Venkatesh while passing the order, however, refused to quash the FIR filed against Thangarasu of Namakkal District who was an accused in the case for transporting the banned gutka, pan masala items of 3500 Kgs from Bengaluru.

The judge in his order observed, “In so far as the offences under Section 52 & 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is concerned, it indeed provides for a different procedure to prosecute, for those offences, by a designated authority and there is a special statute which lays down the procedure for prosecuting an offence under the said Act. The offences under this Act cannot be investigated by the respondent Police and the respondent Police shall drop these offences in the course of an investigation and leave it to the appropriate authority to take action following the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.”

According to the prosecution, the Sub- Inspector of Police, Paramathi Police Station, of Namakkal District on January 14, 2019, stopped a lorry near Keerambur toll plaza and found that it contained the banned items.

On enquiry, it was found that it was transported from Bengaluru to the godown owned by the petitioner. The entire property was seized and based on the complaint given by the Sub-Inspector a FIR against four persons under various sections of IPC and COTPA Act, 2003 and Section 52 & 59 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was registered.

The court in its order observed that the police are not the competent authority to register the FIR for the offence under the Food Safety and Standards Authorities Act, 2006. Therefore, the charges registered

by the police for the offences under Sections 52 & 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is not sustainable, said the court.

Food safety dept to ensure biz operators follow rules

Dindigul: The food safety department has undertaken a month-long drive to create sensitization for food business operators (FBO) to make them comply with the licence and registration rules under the food safety and standards rules.

There are about 19,000 private and 5,000 public sector FBOs, including Tasmac outlets, bars attached to Tasmac, canteens and hostels in Dindigul district, of which only 75% have registered with the department. Nearly 6,000 private and government FBOs are operating without any licence or registration certificate.

Designated officer for food safety, Dindigul district, Dr K Natarajan said that they have prepared a schedule to reach out to food item manufacturers and traders. “Earlier, 86% of the FBOs were registered. There was a drop during the election time as our manpower was busy with election-related work. Our aim is to cross the 90% mark in the coming days. However, our ultimate aim is to bring each and every FBO into the fold,” he said.

As per rules, FBOs, whose yearly turnover is less than Rs 12 lakh have to get a registration certificate from the food safety department. FBOs with yearly turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh have to get licence by paying Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 a year, depending on the business type. In the absence of registration or licence it becomes difficult for officials to track the FBOs and make sure they supply safe food.

Natarajan said that they are recommending the FBOs to go for five year licence so that they need not repeat the process of renewing every year. “We will conduct periodical inspections throughout the district after streamlining FBOs and necessary action will be taken against those who are found violating the rules,” he added.

Two arrested under National Security Act for selling adulterated milk products

The firm’s premises were raided on July 25 and ghee, cottage cheese and other products made from adulterated milk were seized for violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

Two persons including the owner of a private firm were arrested on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly selling adulterated milk products. Siddharth Jain (30), owner of a firm in Sitabagh area here, and his sales in-charge Shubham Sadafule (23) were booked under the NSA, a police official said.

The firm’s premises were raided on July 25 and ghee, cottage cheese and other products made from adulterated milk were seized for violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

The state government is currently cracking down on manufacture and trade of adulterated food products, especially that of milk and products made from adulterated milk.

FSSAI has new formula for quality train food

To make services more transparent for the passengers, FSSAI this week proposed printing QR code (matrix barcode) and the name of the railway kitchen on food packets.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in Delhi has come up with a plan to bring in transparency in the Indian Railways services and ensure higher hygiene standards. To make services more transparent for the passengers, FSSAI this week proposed printing QR code (matrix barcode) and the name of the railway kitchen on food packets.

"Food and Drug Administration checks the quality of food served on trains regularly. But to ensure better surveillance, FSSAI has decided to appoint food safety supervisors at kitchen units. They would be able to check all the parameters of food safety," said FSSAI state official. "It is customers' right to know about the food they are consuming, hence, FSSAI has instructed to put QR code, manufacturing date and name of the kitchen," he said. He added, FSSAI would also suggest selling more ready-to-make food packets as freshly made food may spoil during transfer.

The FSSAI is also considering installing CCTV cameras at the kitchens and uploading the footage on the official website. However, a final decision on this has not been taken yet. As the plan has just been proposed, the railway departments have not received any instructions yet. "So far, we haven't received any letter from FSSAI. When an order comes, we would certainly implement it. We anyway check the foods served on a regular basis," a senior IR spokesperson told mid-day.

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Firms booked for supplying substandard Atta under PDS

JAMMU, Aug 8: Teams of Food Safety, Food and Drugs Administration conducted surprise inspection of various manufacturing units and booked two firms for supplying substandard Atta under Public Distribution System (PDS).

According to an official spokesperson, on the direction of High Court to check food products manufacturing units, Commissioner Food & Drugs Administration, Vinod Sharma constituted special teams comprising of Designated Officers and Food Safety officers, Jammu Division, headed by Dy Commissioner Food Safety of respective Division.

The team conducted surprise checks and in the process, booked M/S Shalimar Flour Mills, Udhampur; Trikuta Flour Mills, Udhampur along with various other manufacturing units.

These firms are engaged in manufacturing and supplying Atta to Food Civil Supplies & consumer Affairs (FCSCA). Samples of PDS Atta and wheat were lifted from manufacturing unit M/S Shalimar flour Mills, Udhampur, which have been declared as substandard, misbranded and unsafe whereas sample of PDS Atta lifted from M/S Trikuta Flour Mills, Udhampur has been declared as substandard due to alcoholic acidity in excess of limit prescribed under FSS (Food Product Standard & Food Additives) Regulations 2011.

During surprise inspection of M/S Shalimar flour Mills, Udhampur, it was found that 1823 bags of Atta for supply to the consumers through PDS were lying in the store in very bad condition and even the date of manufacturing was not clearly mentioned on these bags. The store was sealed for investigation after taking one sample of Atta for testing, which has been declared as substandard and misbranded by the food Laboratory Jammu due to presence of moisture and alcoholic acidity in excess of prescribed limit, besides batch number , food license number and date of packing have not been mentioned on the label as per provision laid down under the FSS Regulations.

A sample of wheat was also lifted after seizure, which has been declared as unsafe and substandard due to presence of moisture ,foreign matter, damaged grain in excess of prescribed limit as well as hairs and rats faecal matter.

The samples were collected in presence of representative of FCSCA department and representative of manufacturing units. FDA will initiate further action in terms of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

'40% of slaughter houses fail to meet hygiene norms'

NEW DELHI: Slaughter houses have come under the scanner of the food safety regulator with around 40% of those inspected in the first phase failing compliance. To ensure supply of clean and safe meat, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has started audits and inspections of slaughter houses that supply fresh meat to shops across the country. 

"There is a huge concern about hygiene and safety of meat and meat products as there is an unprecedented increase in the demand for animal proteins, not only in India but globally as well. To ensure safety, we have started with slaughter houses that supply fresh meat but we will audit all kinds of facilities and products manufactured from there, including processed and packaged meat," FSSAI chief executive Pawan Agarwal told TOI.

There are nearly 486 government licensed slaughter houses. Of this, around 306 have been permitted by state governments whereas 178 are licensed by the Centre. The regulator has so far inspected only 25 of these units in the first phase through a third party agency, of which 11 were found non-compliant, failing on criteria like cleanliness, hygiene and pest control. Even some animals were found having infectious diseases, officials said.

In the second phases, FSSAI proposes to conduct food safety audit of all central and state licensed slaughter houses to assess compliance with prescribed standards. Agarwal said inspection of these 486 units is likely to be completed in six months and FSSAI may review action accordingly.

The regulator has issued improvement notices to units that have failed to meet safety standards and may order shutdown of these slaughter houses if they still fail to comply with the norms. It has also written to state food commissioners asking them to be vigilant and conduct special drives for inspections of all slaughter houses in their state.

Anti adulteration drive: Two traders penalised by NSA

In the ongoing campaign against the adulteration, action under the National Security Act (NSA) has been taken against two traders, Hardik S/o Dwarikadas Mahajan of Khargone district and Ummed Singh Rawat S/o Hukum Singh Rawat of Gwalior district.

Total 1884 samples of milk, ghee, paneer, milk products, adulterants and food items have been taken till now under the campaign being conducted from July 20. The State Food Laboratory has tested 129 samples and found 40 samples of sub-standard quality, 13 of misbranded, 3 Adulterant, 72 of confirm quality and one of prohibitive level.

During the campaign, the Food Safety Officers has seized 3000 kg flour in Guna, 119 kg vanaspati (visible like ghee) in Ujjain and 125 kg namkeen of substandard quality in Hoshangabad district on Sunday.

The Pradeep Masala Factory of Adhaartaal Industrial Area of Jablapur has been sealed due to the irregularities.

Earlier, a Ujjain trader was held on Thursday for adulterating milk products.

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90 children take ill after noon meal in Krishnagiri District

Kid falls ill after consuming toy packed as ‘free gift’ in food item

Nagpur: Plastic and rubber toys distributed as free gifts in packets of chips, cakes, chocolates and biscuits can bring serious health hazards for kids. A recent incidence in Wardha in which a kid fell ill after consuming a plastic toy received as a free gift in pack of fryums made the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to take action against the manufacturer based in Nagpur.

Following the latest directives issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Nagpur FDA has ordered city-based Ms Sunder Food products Pvt Ltd to recall its product ‘Rock and Roll — Taggy corn rings’ from market and stop production until next order.

Joint Commissioner (Food) Shashikant Kekre informed that distribution of promotional toys in packed food items is banned now. “Wardha FDA received a complaint that a kid suffered from health problems after consuming a plastic toy distributed inside a pack. Food safety officer from Wardha Raviraj Dhabarde investigated the matter and later reported it to Nagpur FDA as the manufacturer was from Nagpur,” he said.

According to Dhabarde, the product contained plastic toy which resembled with food item and as a result the child consumed the toy and it became hazardous to his life.

In Nagpur, food safety officer Anand Mahajan visited the company M/s Sunder food products. Here, the FDA team was told that entire stock of the said food item has been dispatched to markets.

“We immediately ordered them to recall the stock from market and stop its production. A copy of FSSAI’s recent notification was also handed over to the owners,” Kekre added.

TOI tried to contact the manufacturers in Nagpur but they were not reachable.

Activists raise objections to FSSAI panel on genetically modified foods

The Coalition for a GM-Free India is a loose, informal network of scores of organisations and individuals from across India, campaigning and advocating to keep India GM-free.

We demand from the FSSAI an explanation to the citizens of India: Coalition statement 

HIGHLIGHTS

• GM-Free India said that some of the panel members are GM crop/fish developers themselves
• Activits alleged that chairperson of this panel will turn body into promotional body for GMOs and GM foods
• Coalition said that FSSAI should understand GM crop development science is not the same as safety science

Activists, under the banner of The Coalition for a GM-Free India, have raised objections to the constitution of the panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Foods under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The FSSAI has recently notified a 11-member panel - Genetically Modified Organisms and Foods headed by Dr SR Rao.

In a statement released on Friday, GM-Free India said that some of the panel members are GM crop/fish developers themselves and it appears to be a promotional body for GMO and Foods; on the contrary such a panel is supposed to have food safety as its main mandate.

The Coalition for a GM-Free India is a loose, informal network of scores of organisations and individuals from across India, campaigning and advocating to keep India GM-free.

"We find that the panel is populated with agricultural sciences experts including plant and fish breeders with biotechnology as their specialisation. Some of the panel members are GM crop/fish developers themselves," the activists alleged.

In their statement, activists alleged that having Dr SR Rao as the chairperson of this panel will turn the body into a promotional body for GMOs and GM foods.

"He is not qualified to fulfill the mandate of this panel and it is not clear why a GM crop promoter, and an agriculture scientist [with specialisation in plant pathology] is heading a food safety panel," the statement said.

Activists pointed out that Dr Rao is a member of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board which comes as a direct conflict of interest with the role assigned in this panel.

The coalition has said that the FSSAI should understand GM crop development science is not the same as safety science.

"We demand that the panel be scrapped and re-constituted, especially now that applications are being sent from GEAC [Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee] to FSSAI for various GM foods,"a coalition statement said.

"We demand from the FSSAI an explanation to the citizens of India on what are the terms of reference of this panel on GMOs and Foods, how and why were these particular experts chosen [whose expertise is not the question being asked here, but about the relevance of that expertise in this panel], and how a citizen is supposed to be assured about the safety of food from the risks of GMOs and transgenic foods," the statement added.

"We demand that a re-constitution take place with independent food/health safety experts including genetic toxicologists, nutrition scientists, epidemiologists, other public health experts, experts from Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) since food constitutes an important part of these systems," the coalition said.

MP: Reward of 11,000 for information about food adulteration

The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday announced a reward of Rs 11,000 for information about food adulteration.

The district collector would give the reward to anyone who gives information about food adulteration, health minister Tulsi Silavat told reporters here.

"The informant's identity should be kept secret," he said.

The minister had launched a drive against adulteration of milk and manufacturing of products using adulterated milk on July 19.

"We have arrested a man (for adulteration) under the National Security Act on Thursday in Ujjain," he said.

Those who adulterate food products should "leave Madhya Pradesh or be ready to stay behind the bars," he said.

The state government has also started the process of amending the law to provide it more teeth for curbing food adulteration, Silavat said.

Health Department's Principal Secretary Pallavi Jain Govil said Rs 7 crore in fine were recovered from the culprits in food adulteration cases in 2018.

Laboratories would be set up at Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior for detection of adulteration of food products and medicines, she said.

Besides, a network of laboratories certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) would be set up, she said.

She also informed that on the lines of Mohalla clinics in Delhi, 25 clinics would be opened in Madhya Pradesh under a pilot project.

These clinics would be called 'Sanjeevani clinics', she said.

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Coming soon: Safety norms for food banks

NEW DELHI: It will soon be mandatory for food banks and organisations distributing surplus food to register and comply with safety norms such as hygiene practices and labelling besides maintaining surplus food records and facilities for transport, storage and reheating.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is set to come up with draft regulations for recovery and distribution of surplus food to ensure that the food distributed among the poor and needy is safe for consumption, official sources said.

The draft regulation – a copy of which has been accessed by TOI – has been approved by the health ministry and is likely to be placed in the public domain by the food regulator within a week, seeking comments from stakeholders.

The move comes in the wake of efforts by the government to prevent food wastage, resulting in a number of food recovery and distribution organisations coming up in the recent past. At present, there are over 150 such recovery and distribution agencies across the country.

In 2017, FSSAI had launched an initiative to create a web-based common platform to establish a network of agencies that collect surplus food and distribute among the needy.

In the first phase, the regulator has already verified and registered nearly 50 agencies.

"The idea is to increase the outreach and encourage safe collection and distribution of surplus food," FSSAI chief executive Pawan Agarwal told TOI.

Official statistics show more than 50,000 tonnes of food is wasted in social gatherings annually, whereas around 15.2% of people in the country are undernourished and 38.7% of the under five children are stunted. As per the 2018 Global Hunger Index, India ranked 103 out of 119 qualifying countries.

While the new regulations are aimed at ensuring safety of surplus food, it will also facilitate systematic recovery of such food and prevent wastage at weddings, birthday parties and other public functions.

In fact, various companies selling food products such as cereals, rice, dry fruits, confectionaries and baby milk products are also interested in giving away surplus stocks closer to expiry but find it difficult in the absence of a regulated mechanism as there are concerns about such products finding their way back into the retail even after the expiry date. "The proposed regulations are aimed at facilitating such distribution," says Agarwal.

The proposed regulations state that "no surplus food distribution organisation shall distribute surplus food after the expiry of its shelf life".

It also defines the responsibilities of food business operators and distribution agencies dealing with surplus food.

To ensure regular monitoring, the draft regulation suggests setting up of monitoring committee at state level consisting of members from state enforcement agency, department of consumer affairs and NGOs. It also defines the functions of the monitoring committee and gives detailed guidelines about handling and distribution of surplus food.

Food Safety seals two manufacturing units, seizes food products

Srinagar: The Food Safety department on Wednesday sealed two manufacturing units in Kashmir and Jammu and seized goods worth Rs 6 lakh for serious violations of the Food Safety and Standard (FSS) Act.

According to officials, many food business operators and manufacturers were found violating sanitary guidelines under FSS act by the market checking teams constituted by Commissioner Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Kashmir and Jammu under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Food Jammu and Deputy Commissioner Food Kashmir

“In Jammu, during the last 2 days, the team conducted inspections of the Manufacturing units Viz JK Food Industries opposite Kotbalwal Jail, M/s Dairy King Food Product Gharaota Block Kotbhalwal, M/S sunrise Bread Box Bakery Purkhoo, M/S quality Fruit Ice cream, Machine Domana, M/s Vaid Milk Products Pvt. Ltd. Gangyal, M/s J.K Oil Industries, Gangyal, M/s Sansar oil Mills, Sansar Dal Mills & Sansar Flour Mills, Gangyal,” they said in a statement.

It said that during the drive, it was observed that Jammu and Kashmir Food Industries opposite Kotbalwal Jail had no proper basic infrastructure as mandated under law for manufacturing of noodles (Dry) and accordingly food license issued in favour of the firm was suspended, and directed to stop the activities till proper infrastructure is put in place.

“Improvement Notices under section 32 of the FSS Act, 2006 & Challan under section 56 for manufacturing food articles under insanitary and unhygienic conditions have been issued to Manufacturing unit Viz M/S Dairy Kind Food Product, Gharota Block Bhalwal , M/S JK Oil industries, Gangyal, M/S sunrise Bread Box Bakery Purkhoo, M/s Vaid Milk Products Pvt. Ltd. Gangyal, Sansar Dal Mills & Sansar Flour Mills, Gangyal,” the statement said.

As per the officials, one of the Manufacturing Unit M/S Sansar Flour Mills, Gangyal who was found carrying the manufacturing process in unhygienic conditions and without mandatory FSSAI Food License was sealed on spot.

“During the Special drive 8 samples of various categories of food articles viz, Sewain, Frozen Dessert, Biscuits, Toned Dahi, Mustard Oil, Refined Soyabean Oil, Besan & Atta have been lifted and sent to the Food Laboratory for analysis,” they said.

Similarly, in Kashmir Division, during last two days, various food manufacturing units at Industrial Estate, Rangreth Budgam viz, Kashmir Dairy, Aqualite Waters, Aroma Sweets, Golden Sweets, Shaw & Shaw Foods, Royal Fast Food, Royal Bakery, Royal Sweets, Adfar Spices, Kanwal Spices, HR Spices and FIL Industries Ltd. were inspected by the team.

“A total of 7 Food Samples were lifted from various Food Business Establishments and were sent to Food testing Lab for analytical purposes,” the official statement said.

“The manufacturing process of M/S Royal Fast Foods was prohibited and stocks of snacks worth Rs. 6.00 lacs were seized from the said manufacturing unit. The license of M/s Aroma Sweets was suspended for a period of ten days with the direction to carry necessary renovation of the unit to meet sanitary parameters as mandated under the Act,” it said adding that improvement notices were issued to M/s Kashmir Dairy, M/s Aqualite Waters, M/s Adfar Spices, M/s Kanwal Spices and H.R Spices for rectification of packaging material and up-gradation of in-house testing labs and sanitary conditions and proper documentation.

Uttar Pradesh tops in food adulteration; govt collects Rs 38 crore penalty in over 4500 cases

The government has collected over Rs 50 crore as a penalty in convicted cases of food adulteration in the last three financial years.

A penalty of Rs 38 crore has been collected from Uttar Pradesh. 

The government has collected over Rs 50 crore as a penalty in convicted cases of food adulteration in the last three financial years. In 4,590 cases of food adulteration, the state of Uttar Pradesh has paid the highest amount of penalty in this duration. A penalty of Rs 38 crore has been collected from Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and Tamil Nadu are the other states where the rate of food adulteration is high. Over 60 per cent of the total convicted cases of food adulteration in India were from Uttar Pradesh in 2017-18.

“States undertake regular monitoring, inspection, and sampling of food items to check the compliance of the prescribed standards and take penal action in cases where the food products are found adulterated, misbranded or are of inferior quality,” Danve Raosaheb Dadarao, MoS, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said in a reply to a query in Lok Sabha.

Food adulteration refers to a food product that fails to meet legal standards. It can lead to many harmful effects on health. Not only toxicity, but it can also make the body paralysed or lead to death. This makes it very important to detect adulterants. 

Around 68.7 per cent of milk and its products sold in India did not follow the FSSAI standards, said a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India last year. Heart failure, liver disorders, kidney disorders are a common consequence of toxic adulterants. Adulterated food also hinders the nutrients and can make the body nutritive deficient. 

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up standards to ensure safe and nutritious food to the consumers through various regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act. Implementation and enforcement of these standards is primarily the responsibility of state governments, said Danve Raosaheb Dadarao. The minister further informed that the states regularly monitor, inspect and collect samples of food items and wherever the prescribed standard is not followed, the penalty is imposed.

August is ‘hygiene month’ for restaurants

Awareness sessions, cleanliness and quality monitoring to be organised

Rattled by the frequent ‘hygiene raids’ by Health authorities and municipal officials on eateries in several places in the State, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association has decided to observe August as a ‘hygiene month.’

“We are asking our members to give top priority to cleanliness of the restaurant premises, hygiene in cooking and use of quality ingredients,” Moideenkutty Haji, association president, told The Hindu.

During the month, the staff of restaurants, particularly those from outside Kerala, would be sensitised to the hygiene standards. Awareness sessions would be held for staff and owners. A hygiene monitoring squad of the association would randomly inspect the eateries.

Drops stir plan

Mr. Moideenkutty said the association had earlier planned to go on an indefinite Statewide shutdown of all eateries in protest against the raids by the Health Department authorities and officials of the municipalities and Corporations on the restaurants. The strike plan has now been dropped.

He alleged that the raids had not followed any standard criteria or norms. The officials simply seized allegedly stale food and gave wide bad publicity to the eateries. This was unfair and showed the entire industry in poor light.

He said the Food Safety authorities, on the other hand, had their own definition of stale food and had a set of criteria for hygiene.

Black sheep

He claimed that, like in any industry, there were black sheep in the restaurant sector and these few were bringing bad name to the industry. He noted that there were around a million workers in the hotel and restaurant industry in the State.

Close to a half of them were migrant workers, mainly from Bengal, Assam and Odisha.

FDA raids: Is this what we are eating in our restaurants?

FDA finds rotten vegetables, unhygienic conditions and poultry, meat and masalas (spices) beyond their ‘best before’ use in kitchens of top restaurants in Lonavla

On June 14, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under FDA commissioner Suresh Deshmukh undertook a special drive to check the quality of food being cooked and served at 10 restaurants randomly selected in Lonavla.

The drive was undertaken to primarily check the state of hygiene and food safety standards at these restaurants, especially as the monsoons witness a large tourist presence in Lonavla and the season sees an increase in food-related disorders due to contamination of food and water.

The FDA said in a release that it was shocked to note that in a majority of cases, vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients being used in the kitchen were beyond the expiry date; raw vegetables being used had started rotting and the conditions in the kitchen were extremely unhygienic. It took action against the restaurants for violating the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The charge against Lagoona Resort Private Limited,Tungarli, was “presence of 28kg raw chicken beyond its ‘best before use’ for cooking, as also masalas (spices) for fish fingers, kebab and chicken, which were beyond the best before use”. The FDA inspection team also found rotten tomatoes, potatoes and spinach kept for cooking.

When asked about this, the Patio restaurant manager, Sudhir Panda showed a certificate from the FDA, and said “it was a a routine check”. “We had already kept the expiry date chicken and vegetables in the store room to be returned when the raid happened. We didn’t do anything wrong,” said Panda.

In the case of Obetel Grande Resort, Tungarli, the FDA team found “expired mutton masala (spice) being used, uncovered dustbins in the kitchen, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food stored together and rotten tomatoes, onions and cabbage kept for cooking. The restaurant’s manager, Javed Sheikh, refused to comment on the issue.

At Sterling Holiday Resort, Valvan, the FDA inspection team reported “expired boneless chicken in the kitchen, uncovered waste bin and edible and non-edible items being kept together. About this, the restaurant’s general manager, Vasantha Mani Sreejidh, said, “It was a routine FDA check, but for rest of the details please contact the corporate office in Mumbai.” The restaurant’s corporate office did not respond to a query from this newspaper.

At Hotel Kailash Parbat, Tungarli, the FDA inspection reported “expired milk packets, rotten vegetables like tomatoes and cabbage among other issues. About this, Jay Kumar, the general manager, said, “We regularly check the material for expiry dates. On that day, the FDA conducted a sudden raid and just as we had sorted our material, they caught us. We do not keep rotten vegetables and we are changing our equipment and keeping it clean.”

At Chidambaram Mulraj & Company’s Rhythm Hotel, the FDA team reported “expired boneless chicken, potato chips, juice, and expired paneer (cottage cheese) in the kitchen while the ridge gourd had mould and fungus. Ganesh Kadam, operations manager, said , “We get live feed and poultry so the moment we get it, we clean it and freeze it and it can stay for 90 days for usage. We will keep a check on products and material, it was a special visit with a huge team, they had an agenda of targeting all the popular resorts.”

At Kumar Resorts & Amusement Park, which was charged by the FDA with “unclean kitchen, unsatisfactory drainage system, and uncovered dustbins in the kitchen, the operations manager Afroz Khan, said, “It was a routine FDA raid. We accept that the painting, tiles and fumigation was an issue, so we immediately shut the kitchen for a week and got the necessary repairs and fumigation done. It is our mistake that we took longer to keep the kitchen better.”

At JJ Hotels and Resorts, Valvan, which was charged by the FDA of “unhygienic conditions in the kitchen, dirty deep freezer, cobwebs and dirt in the kitchen and collective storing of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items, the general manager Saurav Mukherjee was apologetic.

The restaurants were found to be serving the customers not only stale food, but the food was also found to be rotten and expired as well. Noticing the grave violation of norms under the Food Safety and Standards Act, the FDA immediately issued warning notices along with filing applications before the quasi-judicial body to impose penalty and fine on the restaurants.

BOX-1: WHAT FDA HAD TO SAY

Suresh Deshmukh, commissioner, FDA Pune (Food), said, “We were shocked to notice that the food in these restaurants was not only cooked in unhygienic and dirty conditions, but it was also rotten and expired and beyond ‘use before’ dates. The food products included chicken, milk, bread, spices, flour, among others, which we found had expired and stored with the restaurants.”

They were also found to have stored vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items together which is highly inappropriate because if any customer is allergic to non-vegetarian food, the customer may get an allergic reaction and fall severely ill, said Deshmukh.

SB Naragude, assistant commissioner, FDA Pune, said, “We have charged the restaurants for using expired products, be it poultry or dairy. The ‘best before’ tag itself means use it before the product expires or it loses its quality. Hence, such products are not safe for use or consumption and serving food made of products that have expired is playing with human lives. This can result in not only severe cases of gastroenteritis, but also other bacterial infections which will only lead to hospitalisation.”

BOX-2:

Between April to July this year

415- Restaurants inspected

104- Notices issued

11- Adjudication applications filed

12- Licences suspended

FDA has demanded that all the 10 restaurants found violating norms on June 14, must be penalised and fined at least for Rs 1 lakh for violating the food safety act.

Illegal health supplement manufacturing unit raided

Food safety and drug administration (FSDA) officials on Monday raided an illegal plant producing health supplements and selling it after pasting labels of foreign brands.

Food safety officer Suresh K Mishra said FSDA officials got the tip-off that Ashraf Ahmad of Meerut was running the illegal unit in an under-construction building in Bazarkhala. "During the raid, we found plastic jars containing supplements and sacks full of gluten and cereals, besides drugs," he said.

Mishra said the supplement was being supplied to various gyms in the city with labels disguising as a product made in the USA and approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

He said the plant neither had FSSAI registration number nor an import licence. Three samples were sent to laboratory for tests.

Nandini milk fortified with Vitamin A, D launched

Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) on Tuesday launched Nandini milk fortified with Vitamin A and D to market across the State.

KMF, in a press release, said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had earlier issued orders to fortify the milk, as it was a good strategy to address micro-nutrient malnutrition.

Fortification of milk with Vitamin A and D is necessary in India to overcome deficiencies found in 70 to 80% of the population.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Display of ‘trans-fat free’ logo on food items voluntary: FSSAI

India is committed to eliminate industrial trans-fats in fats or oils and in foods containing fats or oils in a phased manner

Bakeries, sweet shops and other food business operators can voluntarily display ‘trans fat free’ logo on food products and in their outlets, according to the food safety regulator FSSAI.

The logo ‘trans-fat free’ can be used provided the food establishments uses trans-fat free fats oils, and do not have industrial trans-fat more than 0.2 gram per 100 gram of the food, it said in a letter written to state governments.

“The use of trans-fat free logo is voluntary,” the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said.

It will be the responsibility of the food business operators to comply with the requirements as specified in the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations 2018, it said.

India is committed to eliminate industrial trans-fats in fats or oils and in foods containing fats or oils in a phased manner, it added.

It has already limited trans-fat content in fats and oils to 5 per cent and the notification to further reduce it to 3 per cent by 2021 and to 2 per cent by 2022 is under process. The regulation is also being extended to food products having fats or oils, the FSSAI said.

Industrial trans-fats are toxic compounds that are the cause of cardiovascular and other related diseases. They are formed during hydrogenation of vegetable oils and other processes such as heating of oil at high temperature and bakery shortening and in vanaspati, it added.

Street food hub to come up near Fort Kochi beach

KOCHI: The state food safety commissionerate has identified Fort Kochi beach as a potential spot to be declared as ‘Clean Street Food Hub’, an initiative of FSSAI, in the district.

In order to get the tag, the vendors, location and facilities should have to undergo a major makeover to ensure hygiene and proper waste disposal. Clean Street Food Hub is a cluster of street shops where food items are sold in hygienic conditions. The declaration will have one-year validity and vendors should meet all the benchmark prescribed by the department to continue with the recognition.

The hub will be set up near the beach after identifying a suitable spot with adequate space for each shop. The cluster will have 25 to 60 street shops. Food Safety Training and Certification, training partner of FSSAI, will give training to vendors on safe food practices.

The funding partner will give aprons, chopping boards, ladders, hair nets, stainless steel kitchen utilities, gloves, ice cream scoops and glass jars to each vendor at the cluster. Cochin heritage zone conservation society will run the hub.

As per FSSAI guidelines, covered waste bins should be kept and it should be of a material which can be cleaned and washed. Facilities like toilet, hand wash area and dining arrangements should be set up in a manner to prevent food contamination. Sufficient areas for cleaning, washing and sanitization of kitchen utilities should be arranged. Only rust-resistant knives can be used at the shops.

“We have already held meeting with district collector regarding the setting up of the street food hub,” said a food safety official.

Medical cost due to food, water diseases in India was Rs 32,941 crore in 2016-17: Study

The total direct medical cost due to food and water borne diseases in India was estimated to be Rs 32,941 crore during 2016-17, claims a recent study.

If the situation is not checked, the total economic cost due to food and water contamination in India could touch the Rs 9,50,000-crore mark by 2022, said the study jointly conducted by the Foundation for Millennium Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Thought Arbitrage, a research firm.

The study says it is imperative the government, policymakers and other stakeholders set appropriate evidence-based priorities in the area of food safety with a view to effectively reduce the burden of food and water contamination.

Releasing the report 'Economic burden of food and water contamination in India' on Monday, foundation chairman D S Rawat said food safety measures were not up to the mark in the country.

Rawat, who is also the chairman of MSME Export Promotion Council supported by the Union Ministry of MSME, said analysis indicated that communicable diseases posed a greater threat to the economy and society than other factors.

He said the total direct medical cost due to food borne and water borne diseases was estimated to be Rs 32,941 crore in 2016-17.

He said the food sector in India is dominated by unincorporated enterprises, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the sector's volume.

In 2015-16, the total number of factories in the formal food sector in the country was 39,318; in the informal sector, the total number of unincorporated enterprises stood at 23 lakh.

The study has warned that rich rural and urban households will be more affected than others due to their preference for luxurious types of food. such as meat, fruits and vegetables, where every third person could fall sick from food borne diseases.

The study recommended a six-pronged strategy -- scientific analysis of various contaminants in the food chain, integrated working of various arms of the government, integrating incorporated units with food safety/regulatory mechanisms, ensuring safety of domestically produced food as per set standards, developing proper data base of burden by foodborne/waterborne diseases in the country and mobilising adequate infrastructure and food safety system.

It also recommended use of safe agricultural practices, quality control and laboratory testing, hygienic preparation of food in the unorganised sector and complying with inspection procedures of food establishments.

11 food vendors challaned for violation of Food Safety rules

JAMMU, July 29: Eleven food vendors in various parts of Jammu were challaned for violation of Food Safety rules by a Food Safety team of Municipal Limit Jammu (FDA) headed by Dr Parvesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety Jammu.

The team conducted inspections of various food vendors at Gole Market (Gandhi Nagar), Trikuta Complex (BC Road), Dogra Hall, Bantalab, Barnai Road and Paloura. During the drive, 16 vendors were challaned for insanitary and unhygienic conditions and other contraventions of Food Safety & Standards Act 2006.

Amongst those challaned were Greedy Gutts (Buffet Hutts) at Gole Market Gandhi Nagar, Verma Bar & Restaurant at Bantalab, Tara Pahalwan Da Dhaba and India Fast Food Restaurant at Trikuta Complex, Kashmiri Halal Meat Shop at Panama Chowk, Surinder Naan Shop at Gandhi Nagar, Sharma Vaishno Dhaba at Railway Station, Bismillah Halal Meat Shop at BC Road, Punjabi Soup Corner at BC Road, Sharma Dhaba at Janipur, SP Traders at Paloura Talab, SA Enterprises at Paloura Talab, Aggarwal Agencies at Dogra Hall, Thakur Bakery at Bantalab, Gupta Traders at Barnai Road Jammu and Bral Sweets at Preet Nagar.

Moreover, samples of cooked food from Hot Billions (BC Road), Milk & Milk Products from Bral Sweets (Preet Nagar), mustard oil, bakery items etc were lifted and sent to the Food Testing Laboratory Jammu for ascertaining standard of purity.

Further, all the food vendors were warned not to prepare unhealthy food otherwise strict legal action shall be initiated against the violators. The Food Safety officers advised public to check each and every eatable before they consume.

Meanwhile, an awareness camp at Railway Station was conducted by the Food Safety team to aware the street vendors about hygieness and norms of FSSA 2006.

The drive was conducted by Food Safety Officers– Ajay Khajuria, Hans Raj Andotra and Pervaiz Ahmed under the overall supervision of Commissioner, FDA, J&K.

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

A safe-to-eat chicken dish still a huge challenge

Implementation of colistin ban will face many a hurdle at the ground-level in State

The State is gearing up to implement the Union Health Ministry’s recent ban on the manufacture, sale and distribution of the antibiotic colistin and its formulations for food producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements, a step which should curb the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Kerala.

“Colistin is the last line of antibiotic available to us to treat critically ill patients with Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae in our intensive care units. Yet colistin-resistant isolates of several bacteria are reported from all our medical colleges. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector, especially the use of colistin for non-therapeutic purposes in poultry farming, is something we had flagged when we launched Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan (KARSAP) last year ,”says K. L. Saradadevi, Head of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.

However, the implementation of the ban at ground-level is fraught with challenges.

Import from China

“How does one control the huge colistin imports from China, which may be reaching our poultry farms and backyard farms? The Centre will have to keep a close eye on the imports while the veterinary and drugs control departments in the State will have to ensure that no veterinary medicines or poultry feeds containing colistin are available,” says Robin Paul, Quality Manager, State Laboratory for Livestock, Marine and Agri Products.

The poultry market in Kerala has been growing thanks to poultry integration, a kind of contract farming wherein integrators supply chicks, feed, veterinary aid, medication as well as all inputs to farmers and then buy back the birds after five weeks.

Perils of integration

“Farmers would not have any idea if colistin is being mixed in the feed. Antibiotics are used to make up for poor production factors in farms, including hygiene,” says Dr. Paul.

The State government will have to draw up a joint action plan for implementing the ban, with veterinary and drugs control departments. This includes regular testing of feed samples in the market for colistin and creation of awareness amongst farmers.

State Drugs Controller Ravikumar Menon said the department would intensify checks in medical shops. He said that colistin misuse had not been noticed in over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and that there were hardly one or two colistin-containing veterinary OTC drugs.

Quality feed

“We have been testing several samples of chicken. Though we have found antibiotic residues, we are yet to detect colistin. The current ban will ensure the quality of poultry feed from neighbouring States,” says C. Jalaluddeen, General Manager, Kerala Chicken, a project launched last year to make antibiotic-free safe-to-eat chicken available in the market.

No control over farms

The problem is that the Animal Husbandry department has no control over the farmsteads run by poultry integrators from neighbouring States, who are running a parallel system here, he says.

“Farm licences are issued by local bodies and these farms have no link to our AH department. The department should have better control over all farms in the State so that these can be inspected regularly and use of antibiotics can be regulated,” Dr. Jalaluddeen says.

DINAKARAN NEWS

85% of food adulteration cases in Bhind pending since 2011

On July 19, authorities seized over 700 kg of milk products during raids in Bhind and Morena districts.

An inter-State racket involving spurious milk was recently busted in the M.P. district

Almost 85% of food adulteration cases, primarily relating to milk and dairy products, registered in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh are pending in courts since 2011. An inter-State racket involving adulteration of milk and dairy products was recently busted in the district, as per an RTI reply.

There have been convictions in only eight of the 55 cases registered between January 22, 2011, and September 4, 2017, in the district. The last conviction was in 2016, according to an RTI reply to a query raised by activist Ajay Dubey.

Raid on units

On July 19, the State Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Department and a Special Task Force raided units manufacturing synthetic milk and dairy products in Bhind and Morena districts. Around 10,000 litres of synthetic milk, 500 kg of mawa and 200 kg of paneer were seized. Around 60 persons, including food inspectors, were arrested.

Following this, the government cracked down on units manufacturing spurious milk and the State Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Tulsiram Silawat said that the National Security (NSA) Act, 1980, would be invoked against those involved in the illegal activity.

“It was unreasonable to invoke the NSA Act against adulterators when there were so many cases pending,” said Mr. Dubey, adding: “Those who are stalling litigation and thereby not bringing the accused to book must be held accountable for the proliferation of such rackets in the State. What is the point of the NSA Act when the pendency rate is so high?”

Forty-two cases in Bhind district relate to adulteration of milk and dairy products. Thirty-seven cases of adulteration are being investigated, including one in which the Madhya Pradesh government is the accused party. The RTI reply stated that there were no registered cases of spurious drugs in the district.

State Controller of the FDA department Ravindra Singh admitted the high pendency rate was a concern. “We have apprised the Chief Secretary of the rate and plan to fast track the process. We have also directed District Collectors to dispose of cases on a priority basis,” he said.

Meanwhile, the FDA department recently seized 5,200 litres of adulterated milk being transported by a tanker to Kanpur from Porsa, Morena district. Chemicals and skimmed milk powder worth ₹30 lakh were also seized in a raid at a milk godown in the district. A show-cause notice was issued to the Food Safety Officer of the district for negligence.

From Pipalyamira, four samples were taken from a paneer factory and 255 kg of condensed milk and 250 kg of ghee were seized from Unhel, Ujjain district. In the past few days, 233 samples of milk and dairy products from across the State have been sent to the State Food Laboratory for testing.

TOXIC METALS IN VEGETABLES

Context

According to National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) study, vegetables grown on the Yamuna floodplain have been found to contain high doses of lead, which, on prolonged consumption, could trigger a range of diseases.

Major points

• The heaviest lead contamination was found in coriander collected from east Delhi.
• Except for cabbage, lead levels were found to be above the standard in all vegetables collected from vendors, with the highest level found in spinach (14.1 mg/kg).
• While the safe limit for lead in vegetables has been set at 2.5mg/kg by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the level of the metal detected in vegetable samples collected from the floodplain ranges from 2.8mg/kg to 13.8mg/kg.
• The study was conducted in February 2019 by the NEERI and the findings were placed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in May 2019.

FSSAI for tie up with stakeholders to tackle safety concerns

​​​There is an urgent need to drive improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of overall food system, given the triple challenges of food safety, food security and nutritional security faced by the country, it said.

Regulator Food Safety And Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday pitched for partnerships with all stakeholders to address the challenges of quality and safety concerns. 

There is an urgent need to drive improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of overall food system, given the triple challenges of food safety, food security and nutritional security faced by the country, it said. 

Addressing the sixth stakeholder forum on scientific advances in food safety and food security, the FSSAI Chairperson Rita Teotia elaborated on the scale of challenges faced by India, where 1.3 billion population is vulnerable to both under and over nutrition. 

Among others, Teotia emphasized the need for partnerships and collaborations with all stakeholders to successfully address the complexities and challenges. 

The stakeholders meet was organised by CII-HUL Initiative on Food Safety Sciences (CHIFSS) in partnership with FSSAI. 

CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research Director Alok Dhawan highlighted the critical importance of timely adoption of next generation science based, risk based, objective safety evaluation approaches, application of sensors and diagnostic techniques into regulatory frameworks to keep pace with developed world. 

He also emphasized the need to focus on the origin of food supply chain, which will help deliver safe foods to the consumers. 

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) Regulatory Affairs Director A Sivakumar stressed on the need to institutionalise food safety and build capacity and capability.