PAPER LAID ON THE TABLE ON 25.11.2011 IN PARLIAMENT

SHRI SUDIP BANDYOPADHYAY to lay on the Table:-
(1) (i) A copy of the Annual Report (Hindi and English versions) of the  Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, New Delhi, for the year 2009-2010, alongwith Audited Accounts.
(ii) A copy of the Review (Hindi and English versions) by the Government of the working of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, New Delhi, for the year 2009-2010.
(2)  Statement (Hindi and English versions) showing reasons for delay in laying the papers mentioned at (1) above.3
(3) A copy each  of the  following Notifications  (Hindi  and English versions) under Section 93 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006:-
(i) The  Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011  published in Notification  F. No. 2-15015/30/2010  in Gazette of India dated 1st August, 2011.
(ii) The  Food Safety and Standards (Laboratory and Sample  Analysis) Regulations, 2011  published in Notification  F. No. 2-15015/30/2010 in Gazette of India dated 1stAugust, 2011.
(iii) The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales) Regulations, 2011  published in Notification  F. No. 2-15015/30/2010 in Gazette of India dated 1stAugust, 2011.
(4) A copy of the Notification  No. F. No. P-15025/41/2011-DFQC (Hindi and English versions) published  in Gazette of India dated  4thAugust, 2011 repealing the enactments and orders in the Second Schedule of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Milk and Milk Products Regulations, 1992, with effect from 5thAugust, 2011, issued under Section 97 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Restaurenters not happy with new food licence law

Say licensing by state or Centre instead of PMC would mean increased licence fee and submission of more documents

Hotel owners in the city are unhappy with the new rule that allows food licences to be issued only by the central or state licensing authority. With the new rule, hotel owners said the licence fee would increase and more documents would have to be submitted. 


Representation Pic

With the amended Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, now coming into force, it is mandatory for all the food manufacturers, including small eateries to register or renew their existing licence from Food and Drug Association (FDA). 

Earlier, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) used to issue the food licences in the city. Congress leader and former standing committee chairman Arvind Shinde has raised this issue in General Body (GB) meeting held on November 22, which was supported by few corporators across the party.      

"Although the central government has amended the FSSA, which will now be applicable to all hotel owners, we were expecting that the issue be discussed in GB and brought before the Standing Committee, but it never happened," said Shinde. Shinde said the PMC would lose its revenue to the state, as the powers of issuing food licences would now be with the state government. 

Hotels owners in the city are also confused, as they have to submit a bunch of documents, which was not necessary when the PMC was regulating and issuing the food licences. Ganesh Shetty, president of Restaurant's and Hotelier's Association, said: "Those hotel owners who want to renew their licence will now have to submit a number of documents like income tax returns, PAN card, sales tax returns and so on, which were not mandatory when municipal corporation used to issue the licences." 

Shetty said that although it would make the procedure transparent, hoteliers would have to pay nearly 10 times more the amount than the existing licence fee. Chandrashekhar Salunke, assistant commissioner of FDA (Pune district), said: "All street food vendors who are having an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh will get registration for manufacturing the food instead of license. 

Those having a turnover of over Rs 12 lakh will have to obtain a licence. The food inspectors from the PMC and the PCMC will now be known as food safety officers and will work under the supervision of FDA's designated officer," said Salunke.

MAHARASHTRA FDA's New Year resolution: Get eateries to toe food safety law

As the countdown to 2012 begins in December, restaurants and pubs in the city are in for an inspection for food safety. The state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department will be examining the eateries across the cities just a month before New Year's eve.

After issuing notices to bars and restaurants to comply with the new Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, the FDA has deployed teams across the state to check the hygiene levels in haunts both popular and obscure.


Clean drive: FDA officials say non-compliance with food standards on
the part of diners will invite a penalty of Rs 100 daily. Representaion pic

"This year we will take stringent action against eateries that fail to comply with the amended FSS Act. We are giving them a month's notice so that they get enough time to adopt the new law. Hygiene and food safety will be our priority," said Suresh Deshmukh, assistant commissioner (food).

Deshmukh revealed that teams of food inspectors have already been put on the job to scrutinise eateries and they will issue an improvement notice to the eatery if needed. 

From getting registered with FDA to wearing gloves, submitting water reports, making food and safety management plan, testing of food extra all will be monitored before the new year commences.

"Restaurants have been given enough time to get registered with the FDA and make changes as per the
amended law. Now onwards, whoever fails to get registered with the FDA will have to pay the penalty of Rs 100. We do not want them to take the law lightly. Also mandatory chances before the New Year too is on cards," he said.

Recently, a team of retailers and hoteliers appealed to the FDA commissioner to withdraw the clause of penalty. "Orchestra bars are the major violators during new year's eve, so we have decided to start our drive with them, followed by restaurants and hotels."

However, Sudhakar Shetty, president, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) said, "The new law is not feasible. November 30 is the deadline for registration or else we will have to cough up a Rs 100 fine per day. We have appealed to the FDA commissioner to simplify the amended act and extend the registration process till March 30. With Christmas and New Year round the corner to keep us busy, making all the necessary changes is not possible."

Wipro’s Trace Solve – unique solution that can ensure Food Act compliance

Wipro, the information technology major, has a unique offering for the food industry - Trace Solve - that ensures enterprise-wide continuous compliance visibility at more than one location in the food industry.

With the Union government working to implement the Food Safety Standards Act across the country in total, the company is looking at opportunities in the industry to chip in its expertise.

The Trace Solve solution will continuously monitor attributes of received material, compare these with operating specification. There is also an alert management system which signals when incoming attributes are out-of-specification, according to Ravi Purohit, GM and global head, food, beverages, agriculture and tobacco sectors, CPG Vertical, Wipro Limited.

Other notable features of the solution are that it also monitors the associate downstream outcomes with upstream events which cover the product capabilities, equipment, events, processes, etc.) to find profit and quality leakages. In addition, it also manages temperature information and predicts remaining shelf life when the product arrives and provides bi-directional traceability for products which are bought from third-parties.

Now with the FSSA insisting on food recall, the company is looking at participating in this at the national level offering solutions to the food processing industry. “We have worked in similar initiatives in the European Union and can participate in bringing our technology and consulting expertise to help this initiative,” added Purohit.

“Now we bring in our rich background working with leading food & beverage companies in different areas of the supply chain. We work with leading product vendors to deliver solutions to the customers for traceability. Wipro has developed solution in niche areas within the scope which is not addressed by the vendors, for instance interfacing with the POS (point of sale) system to block product sales in case of a recall,” he said.

Food recall is a relatively new concept in India but it is well defined in most of the developed countries. According to Purohit, all international brands have a stringent quality system and are applicable in India as well, as they and the local brands are monitored by the FPO, BIS and other regulatory authorities. Moreover companies have voluntarily recalled products earlier based on their quality analysis but not structured. For exports we have government organisations such as APEDA and MPEDA which monitor this.

The challenges that most of the companies face in food recall are primarily due to lack of visibility at different stages of the supply chain. The information to track and trace is available in silos within the system. There needs to be investment into traceability system which will pull all these silos of information into one platform and provide alerts. We have constantly heard prevention is better than cure. There is a lack of or less automation and information available electronically for providing alerts to respond quickly. The major reason is maturity in technology and cheap labour cost, according to him.

“In India, the food recall though stringent has not been implemented as intended. The international law comes down very severely on the companies forcing them to close down. But in India this has not been the case as there are a lot of legal and operational hurdles. The companies still face significant challenges on spurious products and there are still no answers this,” pointed out Purohit.

In early November this year, Wipro was chosen by Premier Foods, the United Kingdom’s largest food producer, as a strategic technology partner. The company’s partnership with SAP, delivery innovation, outcome-based service models and competencies in cloud- based services will be leveraged for this engagement with the UK-based food major. “The company adopts the consumer packaged goods practice which is a value chain-based approach enabling it to provide customised, industry-specific solutions that complement our deep technology background,” he added, on a concluding note.

CII Recommends Actionable Agenda for Effective Implementation

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) calls for effective implementation of food safety and standards regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Multiple agencies specifying mandatory requirements for food products need to be looked into with focus on harmonizing inter-ministerial standards, says a CII press release. This would cut down the current operational and compliance complexities faced by the industry.

“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India seeks to introduce a paradigm shift in the food regulatory environment in the country, bringing India at par with international regulations. While the new rules and regulations are welcome step, there is need to address several challenges that are likely to hamper its effective implementation,” said Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

The FSSAI has recently notified the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations, 2011, which brings into force a new set of requirements for compliance by the food industry.

In a survey of food businesses conducted by CII on impact of the new Regulations, some major bottlenecks in effective implementation of FSSAI were highlighted.

Inadequate preparedness of the implementation machinery coupled with lack of awareness and clarity amongst industry and enforcement officers especially with respect to licensing provisions are the foremost issues identified by the CII survey. Existence of multiplicity of agencies governing food and duplication of mandatory licenses, inadequate centre-state coordination, severe shortage of laboratory infrastructure, trained officials for testing and analysis, inadequacy of field level officers are some of the key regulatory and infrastructure challenges faced.

Absence of standardization of sampling and analytical methods and similar procedural constraints, have been highlighted as major impediments in the new regulatory regime, according to the CII survey.

The CII statement adds that while licensing and registration processes have been notified under rules and regulations, there needs to be an enabling transitory regime to allow the industry to meet these new requirements and realize the benefits from modern and scientific regulatory framework, as envisaged in the Act.

CII has made following recommendations to make the legislation effective and sustainable:

• More clarity and awareness regarding jurisdiction of licenses and renewal processes is needed. Awareness programmes for all stakeholders and proper training to implementing authorities including food safety officers, analysts, etc would facilitate compliance of rules and regulations.

• Capacity building for food testing and analysis, specifying sampling procedures as well as focus on creating adequate accredited laboratory infrastructure that meets international standards, is the need of the hour.

• Going forward, revision of existing regulatory standards for keeping pace with scientific advancements; scientific and technical evaluation of new and upcoming regulations like recall, import, nutrition guidelines, etc need to be taken up by the regulatory authority.

• Building on consumer awareness and creating a demand-driven compliance regime would help inculcate food safety culture.

Finally, to create an enabling regime of food safety, there is need to identify key issues such as food borne illnesses, and linking these back to process failures in the system. This will require building the appropriate food-borne disease surveillance infrastructure and appropriate recall systems in the country, added the CII press release.

Authority sounds caution against frozen desserts

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory regulatory body set up by the union government, has asked the State units of the authority to keep vigil against misguiding practices in the sale of ice creams resorted to by certain manufacturers in the country. A statement to the effect has been circulated among the State units, according to sources.

Ice cream is considered as a dairy product, but frozen desserts camouflaged as ice creams are marketed by various food processing companies, an expert in food safety affairs and senior official of a milk marketing company which manufactures ice-cream, said. The product is marketed usually with the picture of the cream which resembles ice-cream. Selling frozen desserts as ice-cream violates the new rules of FSSAI which have been enforced recently.

Manufacturers of frozen dessert use vegetable oils which cost only about one-third in comparison to the cream derived from milk, the expert said.

The misrepresentation of facts tempts the customer to believe that the frozen dessert is ice-cream.

The practice is rampant among several catering companies. There is chance of utilising adulterated vegetable oils available in the market for the production of the frozen dessert and being served to the gullible public. The consumers, misguided by the flavours, tend to believe that the product is ice-cream even though the product name as such is not mentioned on the label.

In fact, the new regulations make it compulsory to mention the ingredients and the name of the product.

A note circulated among the district officials of the State authority of FSSAI said stabilising agents such as propylene are allowed in ice-cream at 0.5 per cent. But manufacturers were making ice creams only by mixing the stabilising agents and selling them in the market. Stabilisers are reportedly used to improve the texture of ice cream.

These ice creams were injurious to health, it said. As per present provision of food law, there should be at least 10 per cent of milk fat and milk protein in the ice cream made from cow milk and buffalo milk. But an official of the FSSAI told The Hindu that no complaints on the issue were received so far in the State.

Thanks to The Hindu

Crop research start-up plans commercial foray

Vijayawada-based BR KuKing Spray, incubated at the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), Hyderabad, is planning to commercially roll out its cooking oil spray technology by mid-January 2012.
After four years of development including formulation, process and machinery with an investment of Rs 4 crore, BR KuKing recently received an approval from the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for its cooking oil spray technology (sunflower and groundnut) and the patented and FDA-compliant product has been granted a licence as a proprietary food.
“Our pilot plant is presently running at Pamarru, 40 kilometre from Vijayawada. We are in the process of setting up a commercial plant, initially with a capacity to make 5,000 dispensing cans (each costing Rs 150 for 250 ml) per day, besides exporting our technology to east European and West Asian countries beginning next year,” said managing director B Rami Reddy.
He was speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Food 360-degree, a two-day international conference-cum-exhibition on agribusiness and food processing which began here on Monday. BR KuKing, in which Icrisat holds close to 28 per cent stake, is in talks with a couple of venture capital firms to raise about Rs 6 crore to fuel its marketing and brand-building exercise for its product across major cities down south.
Cooking oil spray, a mechanism for dispensing formulated cooking oil in an aerosol form, helps in reducing the viscosity of oil and providing it with non-stick properties. This technology, Reddy said, will help in uniform spreading of oil in pans or other cooking surfaces, thereby reducing the consumption of oil by 10-15 times as against the regular oil.
In the domestic cooking oil spray market, which at present has only a handful of players like the US-based SprayLite and Agro Tech Foods’ SundropSlimLife, BR KuKing is primarily looking at tapping into the health sector like dieticians, heart specialists and diabetics.
“Once the venture captial fund is in place in the next two months, we will launch the off-the-shelf product. We have already developed products based on coconut and ghee, for which we are planning to file for global patents by the end of this month,” Reddy said, adding the company was in negotiation with all the top three players in the edible oil market in the country for technology licencing and custom-manufacturing, which is expected to crystallise by March 2012.

Simple Sanitation: Five Tips to Help Prevent Pests

Imagine for a moment that your product is compromised by pests. Not something you even want to think about, right? Protecting your product is of the utmost importance to your bottom line and your business’ reputation.
The good news is that sanitation is a relatively easy way to help prevent pests from being attracted to your facility. A sanitation program must encompass daily, weekly and monthly steps, along with a thorough deep cleaning at least once a year.
Here are five quick sanitation tips to help keep pests at bay:
1) Regularly sweep or vacuum under appliances. Use a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to clean debris from cracks and crevices in walls—this can also remove any pests hiding in these areas.
2) Thoroughly clean all equipment, particularly in joints and around nuts and bolts, which can be easily overlooked. Dust and grime can collect in these spots and attract pests.
3) Clean spills immediately, even if it is just water. Pests only need a small amount of water to survive in your facility.
4) Remove floor drain covers and scrub drains with an organic cleaner and brush to remove organic debris that can act as a breeding ground for some pests.
5) Line all trashcans and make sure they are tightly sealed. Implement a regular trash-removal schedule and ensure trash is disposed of daily. Don’t let trash pile up outside entrances and near the building—this can attract pests to your building where they may find easy access through nearby doors. Move dumpsters as far from the building as possible and work with your waste management company to regularly clean and rotate your dumpster.
Remember, sanitation is just one facet of a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Make sure to document any pest sightings and work with a licensed, trained pest management professional who can help train your staff to be on the lookout for signs of pests. Staying ahead of pests today will help prevent costly problems in the future.

Raw Sugar vs White Sugar

Both are made from cane juice. Firstly, extraneous matter is removed from cane juice. If this juice is then concentrated and crystallized, the result is raw sugar (which is yellowish brown in colour). If the juice is further “refined” before crystallizing, the result is white sugar.

In Western countries, there is growing body of opinion recognizing the health benefits of raw sugar vs white sugar (both varieties are manufactured and available there). White sugar is said to be a
leading cause of various health disorders, while raw sugar is praised on health grounds.

Raw sugar contains many vital minerals (which are naturally present in cane) that are conducive to health. These are all removed during the refining stage of white sugar. Besides, the refining process uses sulphur dioxide and trace quantities of sulphur remain behind in the white sugar (sulphur is a widely used pesticide).

In India, sugar standards and rules are anachronistic. They were framed much before the acceptance of Nutrition Science as a discipline. Sugar Industry is not allowed to manufacture or sell raw sugar towards food applications. In fact there is no standard of raw sugar under Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules.

In manufacture of raw sugar, processes being fewer, the cost of manufacture is less than that of white sugar. Also, the yield per tonne of cane is higher. Most importantly, health benefits are more.

Gujarat FDCA organises 4-day training on food safety for designated officers

The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) organised a four-day training programme on food safety regulations and implementation for designated officers (DOs), in Gujarat, from November 15-18, 2011, at the Training Centre of Amul Dairy (Anand), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Anand, in Gujarat.

The training programme was organised in order to sensitise the officers on various food safety aspects, grievance redressal procedures and provide a demo of the functioning of food processing industries in Gujarat.

Around 49 DOs hailing from states and union territories of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli attended the programme.

“The aim of this programme was to sensitise the designated officials about the regulatory requirements and clear the ambiguity, if any, with regard to the new Act. This would enable them to discharge their duties efficiently,” said Dr Hemant Koshia, commissioner, Gujarat FDCA.

Technical workshops were also conducted as part of this practical training programme where visits were organised for food processing industries, including a visit to Amul Dairy at Anand. “This was done to give them a clear view on health and the hygiene ways in which such industries functioned following the implementation of the new Act.

Some of the subjects covered at the technical programme over the three days included, food safety plan, food processing technology, new technologies in food production / processing, food surveillance and risk analysis, Codex India - roles & responsibilities, concepts of food safety and quality management, food alerts, traceability and food product recall, inspection of food establishments, manufacturing units, inspection and reports, sampling of food, food laboratory, offences in food, trials (case study) and procedures to launch prosecution, implementation of food regulation – FSS Act, 2006.