PLASTIC IN YOUR SALT Samples From Tuticorin Salt Pans Contain Microplastics, Study Finds

SERIOUS HEALTH RISK

That plastic wrapper you flip or coffee cups you bury in beach sands could be coming back, in a different form, in your table salt.

A study by researchers in Tamil Nadu has triggered concerns that the food on our table could contain microplastics. Researchers found microplastics smaller than 100 micrometre (one micrometre is one thousandth of a millimetre) in 25 samples of salt collected from sea salt pans in Tuticorin, which are sold across the country and exported to China and Japan.

In Tuticorin, salt pans closer to the coast use seawater, stored in ponds and left to crystallise, under controlled methods. Experts said there is no separate technique to remove microplastics during the processing of raw salt.

While 60% of the pollutants studied were microplastics, a majority of them were identified as polymers- polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon and cellulose, as researchers traced their sources to domestic waste, fishing nets and textile industry waste, which are routinely dumped into the sea.

“Out of samples we collected in 25 locations, those from salt pans in Tuticorin had microplastic levels higher than those collected outside city limits. This could have a link to plastic waste dumped in Buckle Channel connecting the sea,” said Prof S Selvam, department of geology, V O Chidambaram College, Tuticorin.

So far, studies have shown evidence of microplastics in refined packaged salt. This is the first time a study has been conducted for salt pans, he said. The study was jointly conducted by researchers from various institutions like Bharathidasan University, Presidency College and universities in Vietnam and South Korea.While researchers studied crystallised salt picked up directly from the salt pans, the study did not involve analysing the same samples after processing in refineries.

Two IIT Bombay researchers had found 626 microplastic particles in salt brands in a 2018 study. 63% of microplastic particles were in the form of fragments and 37% were fibres. “As of now there are no technique where microplastics can be removed,” said Prof Amritanshu Shriwastav, one of the researchers of the 2018 study.

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Worrisome stats: Telangana lags way behind in enforcing food safety laws

Telangana was identified as one of the ten poorly performing states in-country in the enforcement of food safety laws by FSSAI.

HYDERABAD: In the last three years penalty was imposed in less than 10 per cent of the cases wherein sub-standard or unsafe food samples were detected by the food safety officials in Telangana, making it one of the top 10 states which are lackadaisical in enforcing food safety laws.

Between 2016-17 to 2018-19, 673 food samples were found to be non-confirming to food safety standards in the State but penalties were imposed in only 54 cases, which is around eight per cent.

Replying to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday regarding enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and cases registered under it, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey presented data according to which in 2018-19 although 168 food samples were found non-conforming to food standards, only in 17 cases penalties were imposed. Similarly in 2017-18, 20 out of 175 cases and in 2016-17, 17 out of 330 cases were penalised.

As per the data, in 2018-19, the food safety authorities in Telangana registered 33 criminal cases and 191 civil cases for violation of food safety laws but convictions were issued in just three cases.

In 2017-18, 25 criminal cases and 15 civil cases were registered whereas only one conviction was achieved and in 2016-17, 103 criminal cases and 85 civil cases were registered but convictions were given in only 15 cases.

Telangana was identified as one of the ten poorly performing states in-country in the enforcement of food safety laws by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its 2018-19 report on food safety enforcement.

Speaking to Express, a food safety official said, “When offence is related to labelling, penalty is issued immediately but when it comes to food samples not confirming to standards, the process is time consuming. Food safety lab delivers test results within 14 days but the complaint is processed by higher officials including Commissioner of Food Safety, then either Joint Collector or District Collector depending upon the type of case, which takes time.”

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Crackdown on roadside eateries

Three roadside eateries were found to be operating without licences during an inspection carried out by the Food Safety Department on Thursday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three roadside eateries were found to be operating without licences during an inspection carried out by the Food Safety Department on Thursday. Another food joint that was located near Pattom Junction was found to be using a non-permissible colour in a non-vegetarian dish. “Thirteen establishments including five mobile food stalls were inspected. Athazam, Irani Hotel, Keerthi (Sasthamangalam), food stalls in Manaveeyam Veedhi and near the Secretariat were among the 13 food joints inspected by our night squad. The food stalls found to be operating without a licence have been issued rectification notices,” said Sangeeth S, food safety officer. 

However, according to food safety authorities, the number of irregularities found in the food sold by roadside eateries are on the decline. Awareness drives and the raids which were carried out by the Food Safety Department two months ago were the two factors that helped improve the safety standards of roadside eateries. “A majority of the street food outlets have shifted to stainless steel and provide tissues and water dispensers for drinking and washing purposes. The use of synthetic food colours has also decreased,” said Sangeeth. Despite facing a shortage of staff, the Food Safety Department is planning to conduct at least one raid every month to check food safety violations in the city. 

The authorities had also conducted raids on major fish markets located in the district over the last few days. “Ten kilograms of stale fish were seized from a vendor at the Kesavadasapuram fish market on Tuesday. A preliminary test is needed to find out if there are any anomalies in the 29 samples that we had collected from the markets,” said a food safety official. 

To create awareness on food safety, training for 50 hotel staff will be given by the food safety authorities as part of the Food Safety Training and Certification Programme (FoSTaC) of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on February 28. “We are also planning to organise training regarding food safety for those at roadside food stalls soon. They will be given a food safety certificate after completing the training,” said Alex K Issac, assistant food safety commissioner. 

Despite facing a shortage of staff, the Food Safety Department is planning to conduct at least one raid every month to check violations

Labelling regulations: FSSAI goes for nutrient threshold study

Draft norms impractical; mayhurt product quality: industry

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is in the process of overhauling the labelling regulations for packaged food products, has begun a nutrient threshold study to assess the current market scenario.

The draft regulations propose colour-coded labelling to enable consumers to identify products that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products.

The draft regulations had proposed certain thresholds and packaged products display red-color coding if levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar are higher than the prescribed threshold levels. However, industry had called these nutrient thresholds “impractical”, and had raised concerns that if implemented in the current form, would require majority of products to display red-colour coding on their labels.

The industry associations in their submission said that stringent thresholds will have an adverse impact on product quality and may lead to loss of consumer preference. Minister for State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwani Kumar Choubey informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Friday, “The FSSAI has notified draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2019, on June 25, 2019 for inviting public comments. Around 900 comments were received. In addition, industry associations also raised concerns on the specified thresholds of salt, sugar and fat and requested to contextualise thresholds based on Indian scenario.”

He added that the Ministry of Food Processing has also urged the FSSAI to constitute a working group to review the thresholds.

“The Scientific Panel concerned deliberated upon the comments and recommended to constitute a Working Group and to initiate a study to obtain market-validated, category-wise baseline data for reviewing the thresholds. Accordingly, as per the Scientific Panel’s recommendation, the FSSAI has initiated a nutrient threshold study to assess the current Indian market scenario,” the Minister stated in his reply.

Revised ‘honey’ standards

In a separate reply to a query raised whether reduction in pollen count from 25,000 to 5,000 in the revised standards for Indian honey is disincentivising honeygrowers, the Minister said,

“The FSSAI informed that revision in pollen count requirement has been made based on the inputs received from the experts from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and the Central Bee Research and Training Institute (CBRTI), representing the true picture of pollen count in Indian honey.”

Packaged food items banned

Imphal, February 06 2020: The Directorate of Health Services has banned import of packaged food items made in China, Myanmar and other South East Asian countries which does not comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017 .

A notice issued by Health Director Dr K Rajo also asked all the people to avoid consumption of packaged food items which are made in China, Myanmar and other South East Asian countries which violate the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017 .

It also directed all the designated officers to inspect, seize such packaged food items and keep strict vigilance against them.

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Food Safety Dept asked to ensure jaggery’s quality production

Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, after reviewing the status of quality of gur (jaggery) production in the ghulaaries, on Wednesday directed the state Food Safety Department to ensure jaggery’s quality production in the State.

It was observed that few of the units, especially run by migrant labourers, are indulging in the unscrupulous practice of using unapproved chemicals for making gur, said the Minister.

The State’s Food and Drug Administration commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu informed the Minister that there are 617 ghulaaries in Punjab, which are engaged in processing of sugarcane to make gur and jaggery. These are small scale units normally functioning along the major roads, he said.

Pannu said all the unit owners have been provided one day training regarding good practices of making jaggery by Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana. It was also informed that a large number of ghulaaries in Punjab are producing good quality gur or jaggery which is even exported to other countries.

Sidhu asked the FDA Commissioner to conduct a thorough sampling of jaggery producing units.

He further asked the Commissioner to act strictly, including the closure of jaggery units, which are indulging in wrong practices which are harmful for human health.

The Minister directed that joint teams of officers of departments of Agriculture and Health should be constituted to complete the process of inspections of all the units in a period of 15 days.

In December, the jaggery processing tips were imparted to all the stakeholders under the Tandrust Punjab Mission.

Pannu, who is also the Tandrust Punjab Mission director, said that a similar exercise was conducted during the previous year as well wherein about 600 people were imparted training on ‘Sugarcane Juice Processing to Safe Jaggery’ by PAU.

During this season, nearly 200 people have been trained with the primary focus on enhancing the quality and hygiene of the produce, besides teaching them about chemical-free or organic formulation of jaggery.

Manipur raises nearly Rs 7 lakh as penalty for violation of food safety standards

Manipur collected a revenue of Rs 6,89,000 as penalty for violation of food safety standards in as many as 12 cases in the financial year 2018-19.

Manipur has the highest amount raised in the form of penalty for violation of food safety standards in the Northeast. This was reflected in the state-wise report of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on annual public laboratory testing reports 2018-19.

However, the report released through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), revealed that no one was convicted in the 12 cases in which penalties were imposed. It is learnt that 18 cases were taken up by the state government of which most of the cases were civil.

The report further said that the FSSAI received altogether 388 samples from Manipur for analysis of which 56 were found to be non-conforming, 28 found with labelling defects and 28 more substandard ones.

Of all the Northeastern states, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura could not raise any revenues as there was no case in which penalty was imposed as per the report.

Meghalaya raised second highest amount with Rs 1,93,700 in three cases including one criminal case.

While Assam moved seven criminal cases, penalties were imposed on five cases only raising Rs 77,000 only including 14 civil cases. Arunachal Pradesh also moved one criminal and seven civil cases and raised Rs 2,100 .

In terms of non-conforming samples, Manipur has the highest number followed by Nagaland with 202, added the report.

The PIB report stated that the implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 primarily rests with the state/UT governments. FSSAI has been impressing upon the states/UT the need for strengthening regulatory infrastructure at state/UT level, including the need for addressing shortage of regulatory staff and placement of full-time officers, improvement in sampling and testing facilities among others, through quarterly meetings of central advisory committee, regular video conference with officials of food safety departments of concerned states/UT, it said.

Moreover, it pointed out that the FSSAI has released a sum of Rs 269.69 crore for the upgradation of 38 state food testing labs in 29 states/UTs by way of improvement of physical infrastructure, purchase of high end equipment and setting up of microbiological laboratories.

In addition, 54 mobile food testing laboratories, called Food Safety on Wheel, have also been delivered to 32 states/UTs, it added.

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Adulterated ghee seized

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials seized 100 kg of adulterated ghee, made of palm oil and vanaspati, here on Tuesday.

FSSAI’s designated officer K. Tamilselvan said Tuesday’s raid found eight persons producing adulterated ghee on Mariamman Kovil Street, Vinayagar Kovil Street and Ammainaikar Street on Sundakamuthur Road at Kuniyamuthur.

Adulterated ghee in bottles was being sold even in places like Uzhavar Santhai, and fruit and vegetable markets, he said.

Food safety drive conducted

Feb 4 (DIPR): Food safety authority of Tamenglong with district police conducted food safety drive at the Tamenglong DHQs today.

The drive led by Th Sunilkumar Singh, Designated Officer, visited hotels, food stalls, shops and inspected the food items. Many banned tobacco products and expiry food items/products were also seized during the drive. Food items from the grocery shops found without manufactured dates and batch no, expired items and products not certified by fssai were confiscated and destroyed.

The team also advised meat vendors to maintain hygiene and store the meat covered in glass cases.

All workers engaged in hotels and restaurants should cover their mouths with masks, wear hand gloves and aprons when preparing and serving food, he advised the food business operators. He also advised people to make sure all packaged products they buy bear the trade mark 'FSSAI' (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India).

All shops and food business operators must obtain license from the office of the Food Safety Authority Tamenglong, situated at CMO's Office, said Th Sunilkumar.

Stale food seized from hospital canteens, notices issued

The raid was conducted in the wake of coronavirus cases reported in the state

Food safety officers inspecting the kitchen of SAT Hospital canteen inside the Government Medical College during the raid conducted in Hospital canteens of the city on Monday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stale cream buns and banana fritters were seized from the SAT Hospital canteen, located inside the Government Medical College during a food safety raid on Monday. The canteen which also sells aerated drinks was fined and issued a rectification notice by the Commissionerate of Food Safety for selling old food to the public.

“Rectification notices were also issued by the authority to the Regional Cancer Centre and the main canteen located inside the Government Medical College Hospital and cafes at GG Hospital, Cosmopolitan Hospital, General Hospital and SUT Hospital,” said S Sangeeth, food safety officer, Vattiyoorkavu circle.

“Improper storage of food inside the freezer and water logging in the kitchen were the major anomalies found during the inspection. One canteen was found to be making cutlets in an unhygienic condition,” said Sangeeth.

If the eight hospital canteens fail to rectify the anomalies within two to three days, a re-inspection along with fine will be imposed on the offenders. 

According to the food safety officials, the raid was conducted in the wake of coronavirus cases reported in the state. “It was necessary to carry out inspections as the virus is partially food borne. We are also planning to conduct a similar raid on other hospitals of the city by the end of this month,” said Sangeeth.

Food safety officers, Anilkumar N (Nemom circle) and Shini V S (Parassala circle) were also part of the inspection.

“Quality of drinking water, use of synthetic food colours, food additives, reusing of cooking oil, medically fit food handlers and safe and hygienic storage conditions were a few parametres on which the inspection was conducted,” said Alex K Issac, assistant food safety commissioner. The commissionerate is also planning to conduct further raids in markets within the city limits soon.

Restaurant fined for serving substandard food

Adjudicating officer cum District Magistrate Bokaro slapped a fine of Rs one lakh under the Food Safety and Standards Act, to a multicuisine restaurant – ‘Mansarovar’ at City Center, Sector-04 in Bokaro Steel City.

Mansarovar Restaurant has been fined Rs 1 lakh for being found guilty of serving substandard quality food to customers, informed R K Bharti DPRO Bokaro.

On 14 October 2018, during the search conducted by Dr. Anil Kumar, Food Safety Officer, Bokaro, under the Food Safety Standards Act - 2006, necessary samples of food items were collected at Mansarovar multi-cuisine restaurant, Sector-04 in City Center. After analysis, the analyst found that the quality of food samples are substandard and not suitable to eat, informed DPRO. 

“The owner of the restaurant was consistently found absent in the court during consecutive hearings even after being given the last chance during the hearing of the ongoing chance in such a serious case. Following which, the said restaurant has been fined Rs one lakh,” he added.

According to the instructions the fine amount has to be deposited through a Demand Draft in the favour of the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate, Bokaro within 15 days from the date of issue of the order. DC also directed to the

Sub-Divisional Officer, Chas to take necessary action in order of cancelling the license of the restaurant, informed DPRO.

Substandard food served in eateries at Secretariat: customers

Over 5,000 govt. staff and hundreds of outsiders visit them

With inadequate inspections and lack of monitoring, eateries in the Secretariat in the city are serving substandard food to over 5,000 government employees working on the campus and hundreds of visitors.

Staff from various departments, who frequent the eateries, allege that food items served are substandard. In the absence of competitors, they are forced to eat at the eateries. “Many a times, we realised food from the previous day is served the next day. Just because there are no major players on the campus, these eateries are taking us for a ride,” an official said.

The only relief is the cooperative canteen. “At least in the cooperative canteen, our feedback is taken seriously and they rectify if we make a complaint. The private eateries are not under anyone’s control. You can see people urinating near one of the eateries,” said a Section Officer from a department.

Banned 20 years ago

After a G.O. that banned private eateries on the campus 20 years ago, the eateries took refuge in the buildings under the control of the Army on the campus. “One of them got a stay from the court. Presently, a few of them are in State government buildings and others operating from Army buildings. Unless there are regular inspections by the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Health Department and FSSAI, these eateries cannot be controlled,” pointed out an employee.

Only if well-known hotels are allowed to function on the campus, the eateries will be forced to supply quality food, a cross-section of the government staff said. At least about 2,000 people visit the Secretariat during the Assembly session and about 1,000 people visit the campus on other days.

Deputy Commissioner (Health) of the Greater Chennai Corporation P. Madhusudhan Reddy said the inspection for quality of food was by the Food Safety Department. “However, hygiene and public health are our subjects and we will send a team to check the claims. If the complaints are found true, we will take action,” he said.

The Public Department officer in-charge of the Secretariat campus A.R. Rahul Nadh was not available for comment.

FSSAI destroys artificially coloured eggs

Food Safety officials destroying artificially coloured leghorn eggs in the city on Sunday. 

3,900 leghorn eggs destroyed

Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Coimbatore on Sunday destroyed 3,900 leghorn eggs that were artificially coloured to look like eggs of country chicken, which are superior in terms of quality.

They found that the sellers were using colourants, including decoction of tea, to give the brownish tint to the egg shell.

K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of the FSSAI in Coimbatore, said that simultaneous checks were conducted at various markets namely the whole sale fish market and retail fish market at Ukkadam, Uzhavar Santhais at Vadavalli, Singanallur and R.S. Puram, and MGR Market Anna Market on Mettupalayam Road.

“The checks were conducted based on a complaint which said that vendors were selling white leghorn eggs as country chicken eggs after colouring them. Food Safety officers found that egg sold by at least 10 vendors were coloured white leghorn eggs. A total of 3,900 coloured eggs were seized and destroyed,” he said.

According to Dr. Tamilselvan, most of these vendors were procuring white leghorn eggs of small size from poultries in Namakkal and Salem and later colouring them to give the effect of country chicken eggs.

“While one leghorn egg is sold for ₹5 to ₹5.50, the vendors were selling coloured eggs for ₹7 and above.

They were selling such coloured eggs as eggs of free-range country chicken which is superior to eggs laid by chicken grown in farm,” he said.

Food Safety officials did spot checks to find the adulteration by soaking suspected eggs in water and the colour was found dissolving in the water. Apart from destroying the 3,900 coloured eggs, officials warned the vendors not to sell adulterated eggs in the future.

Joint action to curb smuggling and sale of banned tobacco products

Banned tobacco products seized during a joint raid by the police and food safety officials. 

‘Spot fine will bring down the sale of gutkha in Coimbatore’

The crackdown by the police and Food Safety Department on the sale of banned tobacco products is yet to cut the inflow of the contraband from other States to Coimbatore.

On Friday, the police seized 214.5 kg of banned tobacco products from a resident of P.N. Pudur on Maruthamalai Road. The seized products included multiple brands of gutka, manufacture and sale of which are banned in many States, including Tamil Nadu.

The police and Food Safety officials cite manpower constraints as a hurdle for full-fledged and dedicated action against the smuggling and sale of banned tobacco products. On an average, five to 10 cases are registered by the Coimbatore city and rural police a day under provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003. The numbers go up on days when special drives are conducted, say officials.

Coimbatore city police alone registered close 1,400 cases under the COTPA in 2019, majority of which were registered against those running petty shops. Sources with the Coimbatore rural police said that around 1,500 cases were registered in the rural limits for the offence in the same period.

In Coimbatore city, Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan has tasked Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) L. Balaji Saravanan to enforce the ban by deploying police personnel attached to the 15 law and order police stations. A senior police officer attached to the city police said that the main challenge in enforcing the ban was manpower constraints. The official admitted that police were also not able to take investigation to the next level to trace the supply chain of the contraband due to the same reason.

Officials with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said they were hopeful of bringing down the sale of banned tobacco products as the Food Safety Department recently empowered Designated Officers in each district to issue spot fine to those found stocking or selling the items.

K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of the FSSAI in Coimbatore, said that it booked 50 persons, most of them running petty shops and grocery stores, for stocking and selling prohibited tobacco products.

“We expect that the spot fining will bring down the sale of gutkha in Coimbatore as the fine amount slapped on the offender is high. Fine amount to the tune of ₹2.5 lakh was collected from the offenders during special checks conducted to enforce spot fining in the last one month,” he said.

While first time offender is slapped with a fine of ₹5,000, the fine amount doubles to ₹10,000 when a person is caught selling the products for a second time. A fine of ₹25,000 and cancellation of FSSAI’s registration certificate are the penalty for third-time offender.

District Collector K. Rajamani said that a meeting of officials from the police, FSSAI, Revenue Department and the local bodies will be held soon to discuss modalities to enforce the ban.

Food safety workshop held at CMC

K.S. Devaraj, Food Safety Officer, Ranipet, inspecting food samples at CMC, Vellore on Saturday. 

Objective is to create awareness about nutritious food

A workshop on Food Safety—our responsibility to learn and share was organised at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore-Bagayam campus on Saturday. Food Safety Officer, Ranipet, K.S. Devaraj who inaugurated the workshop for Post Graduate and final year students of Department of Dietetics, CMC, Vellore, gave a detailed account of identification of food samples and asked the participants to be cautious on food adulteration.

Food safety lectures by experts were part of the programme, where the eminent speakers shared their knowledge at the discussions held later in the day and panellists discussed issues regarding food safety in current scenario at hospitals as well as at home.

The objective of the workshop was to create awareness and disseminate food safety measures to be followed in a hospital dietary kitchen to deliver safe nutritious food for patients, said B. Manimegalai, senior lecturer from the Department of Dietetics, CMC.

Food street certified by FSSAI at Hitec City

GHMC distributes ID cards to vendors to check authenticity.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a corporation official said even municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Rao has been impressed by a demonstration arranged by GHMC on hygienic street food.

Hyderabad: After Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Hyderabad will have a food street certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) opposite Shilparamam near Hi-Tec City.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has recently completed a certification programme for street vendors on use of specific cooking oils, preparing vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes at particular temperatures, and keeping the food items covered.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a corporation official said even municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Rao has been impressed by a demonstration arranged by GHMC on hygienic street food. The minister wanted that food streets be located in all the zones of the corporation for the benefit of people.

Serilingampally zone is slated to have the city’s first green vending street food zone. The food street at Shilparamam will be located near the underpass since it would not interrupt the traffic in the area and be pedestrian friendly.

The initiative for having food streets had been taken following a study conducted by third party agency Ernst & Young (EY) LLP.

When asked about the failure of implementing the street food vending policy in Hyderabad so far, the corporation official claimed that HMRL and traffic police have played spoilsport in this regard. While HMRL disturbed the location of vending zones, traffic police did not agree with remaining locations citing traffic issues.

The GHMC official said the corporation has distributed identity cards to street food vendors so that people could check their authenticity.

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‘Eat Right School Kerala’ begins

Campaign aims at including children in conversations about healthy eating

Nearly 300 students from five city schools signed up to become ambassadors of the Eat Right School Kerala 2020 campaign here on Friday.

Implemented by the Food Safety Department as part of the Aardram mission in the district, Eat Right School Kerala aims at creating healthy food habits among children, helping them identify food with adulterants, and reduce junk food intake so as to grow into a healthy generation.

Eat Right School is a campaign of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to get children to eat food that is safe and right (Safe and Nutritious Food at School). The aim is to engage with children and include them in conversations about healthy eating, especially in the wake of a high burden of lifestyle diseases.

The FSSAI recently released draft regulations on safe food and healthy diet for students.

Food Safety officials said Eat Right School was also connected with other initiatives such as setting hygiene parameters for street vendors such as training and certification. The students ambassadors should make others students aware of the importance of eating safe and right, they said.

As part of the launch of Eat Right School Kerala, yoga, a session on mental health, and walkathon from Kanakakkunnu to Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium’s Bhagyamala auditorium were organised for students.

V.S. Sivakumar, MLA and former Health Minister, who inaugurated the programme, said communicable diseases and lifestyle diseases were the biggest health challenges in these times.

Food safety department launches ‘Eat right’ campaign

A talk on junk food was delivered by nutritional expert, Tara Kumari as part of the function.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Demonstration on importance of safe consumption, talks on adulteration, health hazards of junk food and a walkathon to promote food safety awareness were some of the programmes organised by the Food Safety Department as part of its ‘Eat right’ campaign on Friday. The event which kickedoff with a walkathon from Kanakakunnu Palace saw the participation of over 400 students from five schools. 

Government GHSS (Peroorkada), Cotton Hill GHSS (Vazhuthacaud), Carmel GHSS and Sarvodaya Vidyalaya (Nalanchira) participated in the walkathon which finished at Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, Palayam. A session on the importance of avoiding stress in daily life was helmed by Dr Kiran Kumar, psychiatrist at Mental Health Centre, Peroorkada. 

A talk on junk food was delivered by nutritional expert, Tara Kumari as part of the function. “Junk food can be made in a healthy manner at home. Children should eat only a small portion of junk food,” said Tara. Students also had the opportunity to taste burgers, pizzas, cookies and snacks made from healthy ingredients during the one and a half hour session. 

“Cookery contests need to be conducted at the school level to explore the possibility of making food healthier. This will help students to be more conscious of their food habits and promote better health,” added Tara. A quiz on food safety which saw the participation of 17 teams from various schools of the city was another highlight of the event.

Health Dept collects seven food samples

Patiala, January 31

The Health Department issued notices to five food handlers for not possessing registration certificates today.

The District Health Officer (DHO), Shelly Jetly, served notices for violating the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.

Dr Shelly said they would continue to issue notices to food handlers who violate the guidelines. The DHO collected seven food samples from various shops located on Patiala-Sirhind Road. The food samples included daal, tea, sugar, eggless mayonnaise, channa and wheat flour. The DHO said the samples would be sent to the state laboratory

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IIFPT signs pact with FSSAI to ensure food safety in preparation, distribution of temple prasadam

THANJAVUR: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated a project to encourage all places of worship to adopt and maintain food safety and hygiene in the preparation and distribution of ‘prasadam’, FSSAI chairperson Rita Teaotia said.

After inaugurating a modern food testing laboratory-cum training centre on the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) campus in Thanjavur on Thursday, Rita said that global food safety has to be ensured in the country by promoting modern food safety practices. It has been a big challenge to cover the population of 1.35 billion people with minimum facility and resources in the country.

While speaking about BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God) project, she said that the places of worship are a very important part of Indian society and food served at these places is regarded as pure and sacred. Food safety measures also need to be implemented at such places. 

“FSSAI has initiated a project to encourage all places of worship to adopt and maintain food safety and hygiene in the preparation of prasadam. All the places of worship that distribute prasadam, including vendors are required to obtain FSSAI licence or registration and they also need to follow the sanitary and hygiene practices as per the food safety standards regulations. In this context, IIFPT has signed an MoU with the managements of Brihadeeswarar Temple, Punnainallur Mariamman Temple and Shirdi Saibaba Temple in Thanjavur for ensuring safe distribution of prasadam,” she said.

“It is high time to bring street vendors and restaurants under the regulations of the FSSAI. The testing-cum training centre established by the IIFPT will serve public, farmers, researchers and students in a big way for the production of safe food and would serve as a skill promotion hub for food safety and hygiene,” she said.

The newly-created the centre has essential facilities for testing potential food contaminants such as microbial identification system, genetic analyser, and pathogen screening, director of IIFPT Dr C Anandharamakrishnan said.

“The centre is unique in screening and testing a wide range of pathogens and microbes in food. The MoU signed with the temple managements will enable skill development for personnel handling at temple kitchens, periodical quality check on food safety and hygiene. The IIFPT also plans to join hands with FSSAI local authorities for testing and safe food distribution in the forthcoming consecration at the Big Temple on February 5,” he said.

Earlier, IIFPT officials signed an MoU with temple managements for the safe distribution of prasadam in the presence of FSSAI chairperson Rita Teaotia. Over 700 people participated in an awareness campaign organized during the event on ‘Eat Right India’.

‘Use of chemicals to ripen fruits amounts to poisoning consumers’

Sending culprits to jail will have deterrent effect: HC

The Delhi High Court has observed that use of pesticides and chemicals to ripen fruits amounts to poisoning the consumer, while noting that invoking penal provisions against the culprits would have a deterrent effect.

A Bench of Justices G.S. Sistani and A.J. Bhambani said, “Using chemicals like calcium carbide to ripen mangoes is like poisoning somebody. Why should the Indian Penal Code be not invoked against them?”

“Send such persons to jail, even if for two days and it would have a deterrent effect,” the Bench said while hearing a petition initiated by the court to monitor use of pesticides on fruits and vegetables.

The High Court asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India [FSSAI] if calcium carbide was still being used to ripen fruits, like mangoes and sought the presence of its Chief Executive Officer to assist it on the next date of hearing.

It also asked the Ministry of Agriculture if any kit was available for consumers to test for calcium carbide at home. The Ministry replied that no such kit was available as the presence of calcium carbide can only be tested in laboratories with the help of proper equipment and additional chemicals.

The Delhi government told the High Court that it has been picking up samples from the various markets in the Capital for tests and also carrying out awareness drives. It also told the court that some of the samples were tested and no chemicals were found and the results of other sample tests were awaited.

Apart from the petition initiated by the court on its own, the High Court was also hearing two other pleas by private individuals seeking directions to the authorities to curb the use of pesticides and other chemicals on food products, especially the agricultural produce, coming into the national capital.

An earlier report by amicus curiae Rajul Jain had stated that due to excessive usage of pesticides in fruits and vegetable, “various countries have banned the import of Indian vegetables and fruits and many more were under scrutiny”.

Food business operators fined

Officials from the Food Safety Department conducted a special drive here recently and fined food business operators for various violations under the Food Safety Act.

The drive was conducted on January 24 and 25. The officials checked the premises of bakeries, beeda stalls and other general stores. They raided around 33 places and fined 20 shops to the tune of ₹1 lakh for use of banned products like hans and 13 shops to the tune of ₹26,000 for use of banned plastic items. The officials warned that action would be taken against repeat offenders.

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Rice, plastic items seized

Personnel from the Civil Supplies Department on Tuesday seized 16,000 kg of rice, meant for distribution through the PDS. Officials intercepted a lorry on the K.V. Kuppam-Katpadi Road, and found the rice.

In a separate incident, a surprise raid carried out by Food Safety Officials and Revenue Department officials in Natrampalli on Tuesday, under instructions of the Tirupattur District Collector, and over 2.5 tonnes of banned plastic items were seized.

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to be strict on food safety from February 1

The civic body will also initiate the registration for Subhojanam project that aims at food safety from February 1.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: February is going to be a busy one for Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation. After making it clear that only registered water tankers can ply in the city from February, the civic body will also initiate the registration for Subhojanam project that aims at food safety from February 1. To improve the productivity in the city corporation, punching and CCTV cameras will also start functioning in the main office from February.

The packed schedule is a result of the 100-day action plan which was launched last November on the fourth anniversary of the LDF-led Corporation.

Mayor K Sreekumar promised better meat waste disposal system and stricter implementation of the meat waste collection by corporation as part of the 100 day plan while he addressed the media on Friday at Mascot hotel here.

Subhojanam

The project aims at carving a hygienic food culture and to ensure that food safety standards are met across the corporation limit. A licence will be provided to all associated with food making and distribution after providing them training and a health test.

“The registration is free of cost and the process should be completed within one month. The test and training will be completed within six months. After six months since implementation, we will fix a licence fee. The project is a key in ensuring safe and hygienic food in the city,” said Mayor K Sreekumar.

9 food handlers issued notices

Officials issue a notice at Kalyan village on Tuesday.

Patiala, January 28

The food wing of the Health Department today issued notices to nine food handlers for not possessing registration certificates. The notices had been issued for violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSAI), 2006.

Issuing a warning to the violators, the department said they would impose fine if the violators failed to get registration certificates in seven days.

The notices were issued during a raid by District Health Officer (DHO) Shelly Jetly. She said no food handlers would be allowed to sell food products without registration.

“We have given seven days’ time window for the violators to get themselves registered as per the Act. If they fail to comply with the notices, they will be slapped fine,” the DHO said.

The Health Department had been conducting several camps to make food handlers aware of registration certificates. However, a majority of the food handlers have been reportedly selling food products without licence.

The department collected as many as six food samples from various villages. The DHO said the samples were sent to the state lab.

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One arrested, gutka worth Rs 2.6 lakh seized in Nellore

Acting on a tip-off, the Santhapeta police conducted raids on Venkatesh’s shop and house on Saturday evening and seized the contraband. 

NELLORE: The Chinna Bazar police arrested a person and seized gutka packets worth Rs 2.6 lakh and 2 kg of ganja worth Rs 20,000 from him. The accused was identified as N Venkatesh (42) of Macleans Road here.

According to Nellore city DSP J Srinivasulu Reddy, Venkatesh of Old Hospital Area had been indulging in sale of gutka and ganja. He used to procure them from Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam Agency and store them at his house. 

Acting on a tip-off, the Santhapeta police conducted raids on Venkatesh’s shop and house on Saturday evening and seized the contraband. 

The Santhapeta police registered a case against the accused with Cr.No.24/2020 under Sections 272, 273, 188, 420 and 328 of IPC, Section 59 of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and Section 8 (c) r/w 20 (B) (i) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

FDA team collects 12 food samples

Food and Drugs Administration officials during a raid on a shop in Ambala City.

Ambala, January 25

A team of Food and Drugs Administration on Friday took samples of milk, cheese sandwich, pizza, pasta, spices, and soup from eateries in Ambala City. The team took a total of 12 samples for analysis.

Designated Food Safety Officer Ambala Subhash Chander said “The samples of different food items, including milk from dairy, sandwich, pizza, pasta and chilli powder from different food joints have been taken while seven samples of food items have been collected from the roadside vendors. The samples would be sent to Food Laboratory, Karnal, for analysis and the results are expected to come after 15 days.”

Yewale tea adulterated with dye, says lab report

The findings of central government-run food laboratory are based on samples sent by FDA

Yewale Food Products — which has multiple tea shops in Pune — has now come under the scanner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after it found that samples collected from them were adulterated.

The organisation received a lab report on Tuesday which said that the samples contained synthetic colour used to dye tea powder.

The FDA had sent the tea samples a month ago to the central government-run food laboratory in Mysuru, Karnataka.

The report said that a synthetic dye called tartrazine was used to dye the tea powder. This is not allowed as per the food safety rules and can be harmful to health, said FDA officials.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), 2011, regulation 2.10.1 (1) on tea says, “The product shall be free from extraneous matter, added colouring matter and harmful substances.”

Earlier in September 2019, an inspection was conducted by the FDA at a Yewale Food Products facility in Katraj and it issued a stop-work notice after finding violations of the food safety rules. FDA officials, during the raid, found tea powder, tea masala and sugar manufactured and packaged by Yewale under its brand name.

Mandatory details like content, manufacturing date, expiry date and others were missing from the packaging. There was also no quality check from an FSSAI-approved laboratory. Samples from these products were sent for testing.

“The reports were found which approved the standard of preparatory food but I was suspicious about the findings. I decided to send it to the referral food laboratory in Mysuru, run by the central government,” said Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA, Pune region.

“There are no provisions for use of colour in tea in the FSSAI guidelines, as it would lead to food safety and health problems. The colour has been used to make the tea look more attractive. There are some colours which are non-toxic and permitted by FSSAI to be used in products like sweets and fruit juices. FSSAI permits use of eight synthetic colours in specific food items and tea is not included in that list,” he added. Tea (finished product/made tea) occasionally contains extraneous colouring materials which are not allowed. It is called adulterant tea said the officials.

Apla Kandgule, a spokesperson from Yewale Food products, refuted the finding and claimed that this is not possible. “We follow the food safety standards and rules, and samples are sent by us to laboratories routinely to get a quality check. The FDA has earlier conducted an inspection at our centre, during which the samples were sent to the lab. The reports of these labs are clear and we are unaware about the lab reports form Mysuru,” she said.

Mirror reported on the matter on September 25, 2019

The report said that a synthetic dye called tartrazine was used to dye the tea powder

Food samples picked from 3 city shops unfit for consumption: FDA

Dehradun: The officials of Food and Drug department, who raided three city food outlets in September last year and procured ghee, cottage cheese, and other edibles, claimed that both state and central food labs have found out that those samples are unfit for consumption and substandard. The FDA officials have now sought permission to lodge case against a local bakery and ghee manufacturer for selling substandard food items.

The raids were made after locals complained that food products from these outlets taste sour and get bad very soon. 

FDA inspector Yogendra Pandey told TOI, “As per Food Safety Standard Act of 2006, the factory owner can be booked under section 52 of the Act. Under this section, a fine of Rs 3 lakh can be imposed on the offender and under section 51 of the Act, a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh can be levied. As the food samples of all the three food outlets and factories failed the quality test, we have written to the food commissioner to initiate case against the owners of the food outlets under Food Security Act at ADM’s court.” The official added that the offenders can be imprisoned for up to 7 years for selling substandard food products. Notably, Pandey was also a member of the team which raided these outlets.

According to the FDA officials, the report of the central lab was received by the department earlier this month.

Street food vendors unaware of training by FSSAI

The residents of Ranchi will now get hygienic and nutritious food served by hotels and street food vendors. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made food safety training and certification mandatory for all food traders in the City.

As per a directive issued by Sub Divisional Officer Lokesh Mishra, street food vendors caught selling any food items without undergoing the training programme will have their license cancelled. The training programme started on December 24 and is being imparted at IACT near Guru Nanak School.

However, street vendors in popular market areas are not aware of any such programme. While some are keen to receive training others don’t want to lose out on business because of it.

Santosh, a food truck owner in Morabadi was unaware of any such notice being issued. “I don’t have any information about the training programme and no notice has been given by the authorities till now. However, there is a lot of competition so if I do go for the training, I will lose out on the day’s business.”

Savan, a momo stall owner is not too keen to be a part of the training. “I have not heard of any such training programme. I am already trained in my work and have worked in a hotel earlier before opening this stall, so I don’t need any more training whatever it is.

The progamme will be of around four hours with about 40 food vendors in one batch. Under the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) there are about 500 food vans and more than 10,000 food carts set up. The food department has set of target of training about 9,000 such vendors in the first phase.

“The main objective of this project is to ensure that healthy and hygienic food is what reaches the customers. The FOSTAC- Food Safety Training Certification trainers will impart training to manufacturers, whole sellers, retailers, meat shop owners and street food vendors.

Under this an annual health check up is also included to ensure that they do not have any communicable diseases,” said Food Safety Officer (FSO) Dr SS Kullu.

The training will include information about packaging, serving clean food, and storing perishables in a proper way. Trainers will also impart information about the proper use of organic food colour, ways to reuse and recycle cooking oil.

The district administration and the department in an attempt to reach out to food vendors and suppliers is conducting a mobilization drive and localities covered include Chutiya, Kanke and Hinoo.

The programme is divided in three categories.

The basic and advanced courses are charged at Rs 600 and Rs 800 respectively while for the street food vendors it is for free.

Dr Kullu further added that registrations for the course can be done online and offline. Those with a turnover of 12 lakh and above need a license while for others registration is mandatory.

FDA proposes prohibition on OFSAs and FBOs sans hygiene rating

Exercising the powers under section 30(2)(a) of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, Commissioner, Food & Drug Administration Punjab, KS. Pannu has issued a show cause notice to the Online Food Supply Aggregators (OFSAs) as well as the Food Business Operators ( FBOs) in Punjab as to why not prohibit the distribution/supply/sale of food through OFSAs related to those FBOs who have not got their hygiene rating done.

It has also been proposed to prohibit Online Food Supply Aggregators from sourcing the food from FBÖS sans proper hygiene rating , informed the Commissioner and added that the objections to the said proposal, if any, have been invited to the FDA office by January 30, 2020.

Pannu said that information technology driven Online Food Supply Aggregators such as M/s Uber Eats, M/s Swiggy, M/s Zomato, M/s Food Panda etc have been distributing/selling/supplying food to the consumers after sourcing the same from Food Business Operators. This is a very recent phenomenon in which the direct and primary contact between the consumer of food articles and the manufacturers of food articles, especially the hot cooked food articles has snapped, opined Pannu. This mechanism of distribution/sale/supply of food by OFSA has obliterated the system of responsibility of maintaining the quality of food, which till now was being directly verified by the consumers from the food business operators at his counter.

Commissioner, Food & Drug Administration said that with the introduction of mechanism of OFSAs, it has become important to ensure that these aggregators supply only the good quality and properly hygienic food articles to the consumers. He said that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India( FSSAI) has issued instructions vide which the system of hygiene rating of the food business operators has been introduced and the FSSAI has empanelled various agencies to conduct the hygiene rating of the FBOs. He said that FDA, Punjab had advised all the OFSA in May 2019 to ensure that the FBOs from where they were sourcing the food for distribution to consumers should be asked to get the hygiene rating of their business done and the OFSA should source and supply the food from only those FBOs who secure at least three smilies out of a range of five smilies in the matter of hygiene rating.

He informed that in September 2019 the date of getting the hygiene rating of the FBOs was extended till 31st of October, 2019. But, in December 2019, the representatives of OFSAs namely M/s Uber Eats informed that 132 FBOs out of 521 FBOs enlisted with them have got the hygiene rating done. Similarly, M/s Zomato intimated that only 72 FBOs registered with them out of total 6108 have got the hygiene rating done.

He said that the progress of ensuring hygiene rating by these agencies was found to be woefully inadequate. Since, the issue involved is related to public health, therefore, in the public Interest it has been proposed to prohibit those FBOs who have not got the hygiene rating of their premises done from supplying their food to the OFSA. It is also proposed to prohibit the OFSA to source and purchase the food for supply to public from those FBOs which are not hygienically rated and where such rating is less than 3 marks/smilies out of 5, informed Pannu.

80% shops in city not registered with FSSAI

Officials of the Health Department during a checking in Sirki Bazaar in Bathinda on Monday.

Bathinda, January 20

Food Safety Officer Tarun Bansal on Monday conducted checking at 10 shops in various markets of the city and found none of them possessing Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence or registration. The owners of these shops were served notices and were asked to get a licence made within a week. Notably, as per the FSSAI norms, the FBOs with annual turnover below Rs12 lakh must get registered while those with annual turnover more than Rs12 lakh must possess a licence.

In a crackdown against food business operators (FBOs) operating without registration or possessing FSSAI licence, the District Health Department has launched a campaign in the district. The teams constituted, by the District Health Officer (DHO), for the purpose have started checking at markets.

The department has launched a campaign to spread awareness to exhort owners of large scale FBOs, kiosks and roadside vendors regarding the importance and significance of licence and registration. Out of the two, one team would conduct awareness and checking in the city and the other would cover all blocks in the district.

As per the Health Department records, only 20 per cent of food business operators in the district have got themselves registered or possess licence which is mandatory under the FSSAI Act 2006. Even as 12 years have elapsed since the Act was introduced only a minuscule part of FBOs are operating with required licence or registration. The Act was introduced with the motive to improve the quality of food, prevent adulteration and bring the food business in the ambit of organised sector.

Talking to Bathinda Tribune, District Health Officer Dr Ramesh Maheswari, said, “We will sensitise FBOs regarding the FSSAI norms and conduct random checking. Those who will be found operating without licence will be penalised. ”

FSSAI NOTIFICATION

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BMC sanitary inspector held for accepting Rs 1.5 lakh bribe

The ACB had also picked up a civilian for allegedly accepting the bribe money on behalf of the constables, identified as Sandip Rane, Mukund Shinde, and Sanjay Talekar.

MUMBAI: A sanitary inspector of the Mumbai civic body was arrested on Monday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh for issuing a food license, an ACB official said.

Paresh Koregaonkar attached to R South ward was picked up when he was accepting the money from the complainant at the latter's shop in suburban Malad, he said. A case is being registered against Koregaonkar.

In a separate incident, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials had arrested three police constables on January 18 for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from the owner of a street food stall in Dharavi, the official said on Monday.

The ACB had also picked up a civilian for allegedly accepting the bribe money on behalf of the constables, identified as Sandip Rane, Mukund Shinde, and Sanjay Talekar.

They all are attached to the Dharavi police station in central Mumbai.

EOW to send gutka samples for test after food safety clearance

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh economic offences wing (EOW) has decided that samples of gutka and other raw materials that the food safety department had received following purity tests, would be sent for separate testing.

Incidentally, the EOW had recently raided a factory in Govindpura and seized samples of gutka and other raw materials. On Monday, the food safety department received reports of 40 samples sent for purity test, which included 12 samples of gutka. Out of the total 40, 15 have failed the test while remaining 25 cleared the Food Safety & Standards Act (FSSA) standards.

Among the 12 gutka samples, six samples of known gutka companies were found substandard while none of them were found unsafe for consumption.

The EOW, however, has decided to send samples of the gutka and raw materials for investigations to examine whether it contains hazardous substances, sources said.

“EOW has received some complaints about the samples so they want to verify at their own level,” said an officer in the local administration. Role of some top officials of the food department are also under scanner.

Meanwhile, sample of a brand of gutka, produced in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, taken during a drive in MP were found to have magnesium carbonate content more than permissible limit, and has, therefore, been classified unsafe for consumption. Sample of betel leaves taken from New Market was declared ‘unsafe’ because it contained tobacco as well.

Besides, four milk samples taken from two establishment in the city were found substandard because they did not have the requisite fat content.

Producers/suppliers of all the samples found substandard or unsafe are being served notices under the provision of FSSA, said DK Verma, senior food safety officer based at Bhopal.

Meanwhile, mobile food lab, which is going to various localities in Bhopal to display how purity of edibles is checked can be checked at homes itself, on Monday went to Indrapuri, Anand Nagar, Gulmohar, Piplani and Bawadia Kalan areas and interacted with residents there. The sample brought by residents were put to test before them by the technicians accompanying the mobile lab and report were submitted on the spot. They were also given tips on how they can themselves check purity of goods by simple techniques. In all, 32 samples were tested in the drive against adulteration, now christened as ‘Shudh Ke Liye Yudh’.

Incidentally, it was the final day of mobile food lab on the roads of Bhopal. During past 10 days, while operating in different areas of Bhopal, the lab tested more than 300 samples brought by residents.

Food safety department opens its regional centre office at Kunnamangalam

KOZHIKODE: P T A Rahim MLA inaugurated the Kunnamangalam Regional Centre Office of the Food Safety department here on Monday.

With the commissioning of regional office at Kunnamangalam, traders and public residing in the limits of Kunnamangalam , Chathamangalam, Mavoor, Peruvayal, Perumanna and Olavanna panchayats need not visit the Mudalakulam office to register their complaints related to food safety and to renew their FSSAI license.

Kunnamangalam Block panchayat president Sunitha Puthukuzhiyil presided over the function . Food safety Beypore circle officer Dr Joseph Kuriakose; Vyapara Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi president K K Jawhar; Kunnamangalam food safety regional centre officer A P Anu, Food Safety assistant commissioner P K Alleyamma and others attended the function.