DINAKARAN NEWS

It is time we reclaim our right to safe food and usher in a revolution

We are what we eat. This adage had been long established by our traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda.

Since modern science has also verified it through a series of experiments, we are much more willing to accept that whatever we consume from our environment, decides our physical well being, social behaviour and thinking.

Chemical fertilizers are a byproduct of World War II (Photo Courtesy: GOI Monitor)

However, despite being granted this wisdom, we have added poison to the food we eat in last 60 years.

Starting from chemical fertilisers in the soil, spraying of pesticides and insecticides on plants, unnatural processing methods and now the efforts to introduce genetic modifications, we are not moving but running towards destruction.

From World War to Green Revolution
We all are familiar with homeopathic and allopathic medicines. Even a small quantity of medicine (milligrams in allopathy and nanograms in the case of homeopathy) taken on a routine basis for 2-3 days, can treat a disease.

Just imagine how adverse the impact would be of heavy dosage of chemicals in the food we eat. Doctors will tell you that even a minor change in concentration of chemicals can turn a normal person insane.

However, the impact of agro chemicals on our mind, hormonal system, enzyme release et al has not been researched. Whatever work is done in this regard is systematically aborted under influence of vested interests.

Now, let's talk about how these chemicals ended up on our plate. The genesis of agro chemicals can be traced back to World War II, the biggest damage-causing exercise of modern world.

Besides the loss of human lives and destruction that occurred at that time, the far damaging impact of that war is visible today. At the end of the war, the industrial nations were staring at the huge stockpile of chemicals used to produce weapons.

To save the industries from getting bankrupt, it was proposed that the left-over chemicals should be used in controlled quantity to increase agriculture productivity.
It was claimed that that the usage will only kill the insects and there would not be any adverse impact on human body. So, what we term as green revolution was the result of this business model meant to promote corporate interest.

The laws we make
Food is very important to live which is why 'Right To Safe Food' is naturally linked to 'Right To Life'. And it's an inherent right of every living being, not just humans.

Article 21 of Indian Constitution grants us the 'Right to Life' which is an all encompassing law essential for survival of any nation.

The Article 47 of directive principles defines the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health whereas Article 48A calls for protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life. Unfortunately, these laws are being tweaked on the pretext of economic liberalisation.

The international organisations working in the field of agriculture are making policies clearly favourable to the corporates of developed countries like US. This is why, the treaties being forced down on Indian government result in domestic laws which have little public interest element in them.

The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, which is the main law addressing contamination, only deals with those components added after food production which is why there is no law to regulate usage of pesticides and other chemicals in the farms.

Though the definition of “unsafe food” does include food items in which level of pesticide and other contaminants is in excess of quantities specified by regulations, there are no proper testing laboratories to check the amount of pesticide/insecticide usage. Also, none of the food items we consume are subjected to any such checks.

Besides the 'Right to Safe Food', we should have the 'Right to Choose our Food' so that if the government is not serious about giving us safe food, we are able to make our own decisions by looking at labels.

The labels should indicate whether the food item is organic, laced with chemicals or genetically modified. The list of chemicals (if any) used and their quantities should also be mentioned on the label so that people can make informed decision.

Ironically, India had this system of labelling till some time back before the US complained to the World Trade Organization calling it an unfair practice and our government accepted the contention, putting the lives of all its citizens at risk.

Labelling of food items is linked to our right to safe food which is why we need to reclaim it. If the medicines have counter indications mentioned on them, why should not the food grown with use of agro chemicals be subjected to this condition?

We should also remember that as a consumer, our demand affects the supply side. If we seek safe food, it will make the farmers grow organic and we can return to the good old days of completely nutritional food.

Now, vendors to get hygiene lessons

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to meet food vendors on the city streets and five other district in the state to instruct them on hygiene and check that they comply with these requirements.
A pilot project will be launched next month in select food places in the city as well as Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Nashik, FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade said.
The department has been considering registering food business operators (FBOs), particularly the roadside food stalls, across the state under the Food Standards and Safety Act (FSSA) for some time now.
"These vendors will be tracked over a period of time to ensure that they have been registered under the FSSA and are complying with the hygiene standards," Zagade said.
Under revised rules in force since August last year, FBOs are required to register with the FDA to convert their licences under the 1954 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act to the 2006 FSSA.
Zagade said that workshops will be conducted for vendors and hawkers will be instructed in the use of plastic gloves and caps when preparing food, checking the quality of materials like vegetables, and proper washing of utensils.
"The state has an estimated 15 lakh FBOs, which include hawkers, vendors, shopkeepers, wholesale suppliers, grocers and restaurateurs. So far, 2.6 lakh licences have been issued and we are reaching out to roadside stall owners in the pilot project to ensure due compliance under the FSSA," Zagade said.

DINAMALAR NEWS

State safety seal on edibles in sight

Ranchi, Sept. 28: After several hiccups, the Rs 2-crore state food and drugs laboratory is expected to start operations next week on the Namkum health directorate campus, paving the way for authentic tests of food and medicine that Jharkhand consumes.

A selection panel set up by the health department has finally recruited 14 technical personnel, seven for each of the twin facilities, including a food analyst and drug specialist.

Though the recruitment process began in January and advertisements were floated in March, the final list became ready only yesterday.

Of the duo, the food lab had started in 2008 with World Bank aid during former chief minister Madhu Koda's tenure, but shut shop within a year, succumbing to staff crunch and power bills to the tune of Rs 29 lakh. Its counterpart for drugs will make its debut.

The state government passed its Food Safety Act in January, leading to an urgency to open laboratories for regular food and drugs testing and audits. The need became imperative with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India sounding an alarm over adulterated milk sold in the state.

"Our teams are in place," state food controller T.P. Burnwal told The Telegraph. "The food lab has seven personnel, including analyst J.K. Singh, who headed the facility after inception and then went to Bihar when it shut down. We have brought him back now," said Burnwal.

Heading the drug control team will be Satendra Singh. Six persons, including lab assistants and technicians, will report to him.

National Rural Health Mission (Jharkhand) will fund the salaries of the 14 experts.
On why the hiring process trundled slowly, Burnwal said they were raring to start, but the health department took a "little extra time" as it wanted to launch both the food and drug testing facilities together.
Director-in-chief (drug) S.K. Mukhopadhyay, Burnwal's counterpart, couldn't be contacted for comments, but an official, who did not want to come on record, said it was only proper that facilities on the same campus started together.

A panel member said there were a number of formalities to reckon with. "Even now, a compulsory formal notification on the recruitment of lab chiefs J.K. Singh and Satendra Singh, is awaited from the health department," he said.

Cooking a controversy

The delicacies at several swanky city restaurants are not as healthy as their ambience. The eateries' employees cook and serve delicious dishes flouting the norms set by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Bypassing the rules, cooks prepare food without sporting caps and gloves with brazen support from the restaurant owners or the managements. Serving with hands is more of a rule in the city eateries than an exception. (See graphic)
According to the norms of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, cooking food without wearing caps and gloves is a strict no-no. Wearing gloves while serving is mandatory. Packaged drinking water should be used for cooking and drinking purposes. The penalty for flouting the norms is Rs 2 lakh, life imprisonment or both.
The state eateries came under the purview of the norms on October 1, 2011. The officials of State Food Safety Authority collected 1,230 samples of food in the city. Of them, almost a third ' 380 samples to be precise ' were substandard. None of the eateries serving unhygienic food has been taken to task yet.
Ashish Kumar, the designated officer of the State Food Safety Authority, said: "Around 3 months ago the judicial panel was set up. Checking the status of trials is not a part of my duty."
Taking advantage of the callousness of the authorities concerned, most the eateries are minting money at the cost of the citizens' health. The Telegraph spotted unhygienic practices in the kitchens of some leading food joints. But their managers and owners brazenly claimed that only the footfall matters to them, not the health of the clientele.
Bipin Kumar, the manager of Banjara Fast Food at Mauryalok Complex, said: "Using gloves doesn't signify hygiene. If the government officers come, we will pay the fine."
Indradev Kumar, the owner of Blue Moon, echoed Bipin. He said: "Taste matters to customers, not the use of gloves or caps. If we use gloves, will there be a rise in the number of customers?"
Caps and gloves are still "strangers" at Banjara Fast Food and Blue Moon. A peek into the kitchen of Kaveri Restaurant at Mauryalok Complex gave The Telegraph a shock. A youth was spotted dressing a chicken placing it under his foot with hands.
When the incident was brought to the notice of the restaurant's manager, he refused to speak.
The ignorance of the customers has made the job of the food joint owners easier. Hardly anybody challenges them.
A teacher, requesting anonymity, said: "I didn't know that cooks of food joints should wear caps and gloves while making food. Nor did I know, gloves are mandatory while serving."
Rakesh Kumar, an engineer, said: "People should be made aware of the standard norms."

Need to prescribe limit for iron filings in tea: UPASI

Coonoor, Sept 28:  United Planters’ Association of Southern India said on Friday said there is an urgent need in prescribing the limit for iron filings in tea to avoid unwanted harassment faced by the trade and industry.
As per the Food Safety and Standard Act of India (FSSAI) regulations, there is no permissible limits prescribed for iron filings in tea, which has resulted in considerable hardship to the members, UPASI President D Hegde said at the 119th Annual Conference of Association.
Stating that the iron filings in tea is not an adulteration but an inevitable manufacturing problem, he said the Centre had earlier issued a circular prescribing the maximum limit of 250 parts per million (ppm) or iron particles in tea, which was subsequently withdrawn.
Hegde also felt the need for revamping some of the legislations, which were archaic to suit the current situation, including amendments made to the Employees Provident Fund Scheme which makes it mandatory to deduct PF for an employee employed even for a day.
He also requested the Centre that Chairmen of UPASI’s coffee, rubber and spices committees be nominated to the respective boards, like in Tea.

Survey finds substandard food items

NEW DELHI: Next time you decide to buy your favourite sweets like boondi ka laddoo or ras bari be sure that they are safely prepared. A recent survey by the food safety department of the Delhi government has found that many of these food items contain sub-standard, extraneous matter or are mis-branded. They pose serious health risks too.

"Eight out of 48 samples lifted by the department were found to unsafe — one sample each was sub-standard and misbranded whereas two samples contained extraneous matter," said a senior official.

He said that four samples of 'boondi ki laddoo' were found to have synthetic colour beyond the permissible limit."One sample of red chilli powder contained more colouring matter than allowed. A sample of sweetened carbonated water contained microbial contamination. A sample of kebab roll also had more synthetic colour. A sample each of kaju roll and ras bari was found to have extraneous matter," the official added.

Sources said challans have been issued to all food operators. Delhi health minister A K Walia, who held a review meeting with top officials of the food safety department, has asked officials to step-up strict prosecution action against the violators in view of the recent findings.

FDA to offer tips on healthy cooking to street food sellers

MUMBAI: Street food will soon don the "healthy" tag with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) planning to hold training sessions for vendors and give them lessons on how to cook and serve hygienic fare. The pilot project will include vendors at Nariman Point, Girgaum chowpatty, Juhu chowpatty and Khau Galli at Marine Lines.

FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade said the plan was aimed at sensitizing street food hawkers about the health hazards that unhygienic cooking might cause. The department will start with registering eating joints and then holding workshops and seminars for the sellers. "They will be taught to use fresh raw material, wear caps while preparing food and put on gloves while serving food," Zagade said. The project will also be held in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Nashik.

The FDA on Thursday announced how it has cracked down on food and drug adulteration a year after the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, came into effect. Zagade attributed their "triumph" to increased raids and checks. Food inspectors across the state have been carrying test kids and conducting on-the-spot checks to see if the food and medicine samples complied with the safety standards. In the festive season, Zagade said, the checks would be intensified.

Since the beginning of September, the FDA collected 62 samples of mawa and 47 of sweets to check their quality; following a test, the officials seized both the items, collectively worth Rs 3.28 lakh, for poor quality.

Zagade said efforts to curb milk adulteration, too, seemed to have yielded results. Of the 944 milk samples tested in the state, 690 conformed to set standards. "While 226 samples were substandard, meaning they had less fat content, only 1.8% was found to be unfit for consumption," he said. Unsafe milk powder, worth Rs 49 lakh, was seized and destroyed immediately.

Adulteration has been found to be less in medicines manufactured in the state. This was revealed by 20,833 samples of drugs brought from other states in three years; of them 1,488 or 7.14% tested below standard. Among the 9,148 samples of state-manufactured drugs tested, only 2.67% was of poor quality.

FDA to check sale of impure food products

Sirsa, September 27
With the festival season drawing closer, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has drawn a strategy to check the sale of substandard and adulterated food products in Haryana.
GL Singal, joint director, FDA, was in Sirsa and Fatehabad recently to interact with officials of the Health Department in this regard. “After the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, in Haryana earlier this year, the enforcement measures in the food items have witnessed a number of changes,” said Singal while talking to The Tribune. “Earlier, only the government food inspector (GFI), now rechristened as food safety officer (FSA), was authorised to take samples of food product. Now, medical officers working at primary health centres, senior medical officers, working at community health centres and general hospitals and deputy civil surgeons (health) working at the district level have been notified as FDAs by the government,” he said.
While earlier one FSA worked for two to three districts due to several vacancies in their cadre, now the FDA has 20 to 25 FSAs in each district, depending upon the numbers of PHCs, CHCs and GHs there, he added. As an earlier practice, under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, all cases where samples taken by the GFI failed to comply with the standards, complaint cases were filed in the courts where these dragged for years due to heavy rush of work on an average 400 to 500 cases went to courts every year in Haryana.
Later, these cases went to the district courts and the high court. Now, with the implementation of the new Act, the cases are filed before the Additional Deputy Commissioners, who have been notified as adjudicating officers under the FSSA-2006 and the cases are disposed of in a few months by imposing fine as prescribed under the law. ADC Rajiv Rattan in Fatehabad has become the first adjudicating officer to decide a first lot of five cases, filed before him in April this year, in a period less than five months.
Only those cases in which the food item is found injurious to health are filed in special courts notified under the new Act.

FSSAI CEO Mohanty emphasises on risk-based approach to food regulation

Food regulation is not a one-sided affair, and it is imperative to migrate from a hazard-based system to a risk-based system, according to S N Mohanty, chief executive officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Mohanty was delivering the keynote address on Thursday at the two-day Federation of Indian Chambers of Chambers and Industry (FICCI) Food World India 2012, the sixth global convention for food business and industry.

"When a risk-based approach is adopted, inspection will become prioritised. To put it simply, the regulatory authorities across India urge food business operators (FBOs) all over the country - estimated to be about 5 crore now and likely to double in the next two or three years - to up their guard. There is no dichotomy between the regulators and the FBOs. Co-production will be the keyword. Both will have to be on the same page. The onus of self-regulation and compliance will now be on the FBO," he said.

He further said, "It wouldn't be possible to migrate seamlessly to the risk-based approach without making sure that the FBOs have noted that it applies to both products seeking import clearance and those which will be sold in the domestic market, and risks are of two types, namely inherent risks and controllable risks."

Uniformity in licensing is another aspect the chief of the country's apex food regulator dwelled upon. He said, "Bundled licensing software, which enables the process and the product to be along the same lines, is being rolled out for each state, because it would be impossible to streamline the process without computerising it. The data available online is inadequate, and that has held the sector back for a long time. Moreover, the ability to create standards is also limited. With the passage of time, all the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954, will be repealed, so the inadequacies will be ironed out, and import control will also become smooth."

Product approval has not been clearly defined under Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 and Regulations, 2011, which came into effect on August 5 last year. Genetically-modified foods await notification. The onus for food safety is not on the FSSAI but on the FBO, according to Mohanty.

"Obtaining a no-objection certificate may take some time because the product available in the market is not necessarily safe and may have to undergo preliminary scrutiny. Certain minimum checks are mandatory," Mohanty said, adding that the nutritional matrices will be taken into consideration while determining the type of scrutiny. Some foods may just have a quick pass-through, while closer scrutiny will become mandatory for others.

He spoke about proprietary foods, a term rapidly gaining currency now, but from the perspective of the apparent ambiguities. It encompasses novel food, food additives, and functional foods. As for traditional foods, he said, "In India, the main issue hindering their approval is inadequate resources, including manpower."

Since it is a science-based process, an obvious drawback is the fact that there isn't enough laboratory infrastructure. "There are 60 National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-accredited labs, and another 55 are being set up currently. By the end of the Twelfth Plan, there will be about 200 labs. In addition, there will be 70 intermediate labs, and 30 referral labs."

Among the proposed scientific panels, according to Mohanty, are panels dedicated to fisheries and spices (the latter being a category in which there is immense potential for export growth). There is a proposal to set up a national food science body, whose primary objective is risk analysis. "The licensing regime, the food safety management system (FSMS) plan and safety audit are interlinked," he said.

"There is a huge communication gap. The modernisation and strengthening of laboratories is the need of the hour, and the Centre has earmarked funds for this purpose. There should be an orientation programme for the industry by the industry," Mohanty concluded.

The second half of the session was a panel discussion on the industry's expectations of the Act. The panelists were M M Chitale, vice-president, Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) [AFST(I)]; Raji P Srivastava, food safety commissioner, Punjab, who spoke about the implementation of the Act and the industry's expectations; A S Upadhyay, joint director, export inspection agency, ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India, whose topic was quality control and food safety audits under FSSAI for domestic and international trade; J Padmaja, member, scientific panel for methods of analysis and sampling and assistant director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, who spoke about how FSSA encourages safety and innovation; and S N Bhat, food regulatory affairs manager, Nestle Pvt. Ltd, who spoke about the approval of additives (drawing pointers from the Food Code).

'Even Farmers have to register under Food Safety Act'

NAGPUR: The CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), S N Mohanty while replying to a question posed by a delegation of Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA) said that under the new Food Safety Act even farmers are required to obtain a registration before selling their produce in the market.

The statement came after the VTA delegation asked as to why farmers and milk societies are excluded from the purview of this law. On this Mohanty replied that FSSAI was formed after the Food Safety Act came into existence and hence only the Parliament can answer this question. However he categorically said that farmers are also required to obtain registration under the act before selling their produce claimed a press release issued by VTA.

VTA claims the new Food Safety Act in force since August this year, is threatening the very existence of several operators in the eatery and other food related businesses. They termed several provisions of the law to practically impossible to comply claiming that it may also lead to Inspector Raj as tremendous powers have been vested with the officials.

Secretary of VTA Tejindersingh Renu, questioned the CEO as to why the law failed in creating a logical balance and gradation between different types of businesses to be covered under the act. The act practically covers all the kinds of businesses including those even slightly related too food or food material. ""Under the new law there will be similar norms for a dhabha (highway eatery) to a seven star hotel,"" said Renu.

Baba Ramdev’s unit given another chance to get products tested

Baba Ramdev may be famous for starting the yoga revolution, but he is also quite well known to be skilled at dodging accusations thrown at him. Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Department department has given Baba Ramdev yet another chance to prove his stand and get his Kankhal-based unit’s food samples re-tested in the central laboratory in Pune within a month. Reacting on reports about his ‘misbranded’ food products, the yoga guru on Wednesday had termed the shocking findings as ‘misleading’ and ‘politically motivated’. He accused the State and Central investigating agencies of trying to defame him and threatened to take legal actions against the Food Safety and Standards Department also.
While addressing the local media, Ramdev said “It is a conspiracy to defame our trust and also sabotage our movement against corruption and black money”.
According to senior officials of the Food Safety and Standards Department, failure to get products re-tested within the given time will instigate adjudication of the case against Baba Ramdev’s unit. The department had collected samples of six food products after conducting a surprise raid at the unit in August this year. The samples were sent to Rudrapur for testing and the laboratory findings that the food products had failed the tests were made public on Tuesday.
District food safety officer RS Rawat admitted that there is no problem with the quality of the products being manufactured by the unit. “However, many products are manufactured elsewhere and their marketing is done here. Like the Patanjali salt is procured from Kutch in Gujarat and mustard oil from Rajasthan and both are sold as Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd products,” Rawat added.
According to sources, the yoga guru could possibly be fined to the tune of Rs 90 lakh for misbranding  six products. The misbranded products include Patanjali salt, Patanjali mustard oil, Patanjali lychee honey, Patanjali gram flour and Patanjali pine-apple jam.

5 penalised for selling substandard food

Fatehabad, September 26
The additional deputy commissioner-cum-adjudicating officer, Rajiv Rattan, has imposed penalties on five persons and firms for keeping substandard food items with them for sale to the public under the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.
Hearing complaints filed in his court by the Food Safety Officer, Fatehabad, the adjudicating officer imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Manish Kumar from Dangra road Tohana, proprietor of Gem Ice Candy.
Samples of ice candy taken from his factory in April this year were found substandard.
In another case, Om Parkash, a resident of Naya Bazaar Tohana, was ordered to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 as the sample of ghee taken from his grocery shop was found below the prescribed standards.
Ajit Kumar, a milkman whose sample of milk taken in April this year was found substandard in laboratory tests, has been imposed a penalty of Rs 3,000 by the ADC, while Surinder Kumar from Hansi, whose barfi was found below the prescribed standards, will have to pay Rs 2,000 as penalty.
Gulshan Kumar Grover, who runs Gulshan Hotel opposite the Panchayat Bhawan in Fatehabad, has been penalised by the adjudicating officer for keeping substandard dahi for serving his customers.

750kg of adulterated tea seized

COIMBATORE: A team of officials from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India along with revenue officials and police raided a residence at Gandhipuram third street extension on Wednesday and seized 750kg of low quality tea dust and 100kgs of chemical dye which was ready to be packed and distributed in the open market. The dye according to the officials was to be mixed with the tea dust so that it would have a deep brown tinge when served for consumption. "All these chemicals are carcinogens and prolonged use could lead to serious health complications. We will send the seized samples for detailed lab analysis. The owner of the establishment is absconding at the moment," said R Kathiravan, Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Officials raided the spot on the basis of adulterated tea samples seized from a tea stall near Somanur early Wednesday morning. They traced the location of the tea distributors to Gandhipuram 5th street and later traced the warehouse and packing centre to a rented portion of a residential building on third street extension.
"We have also recovered the packing and blending materials inside. He has been running this business for the past couple of years," said K Chandran, Food Safety Inspector who was part of the operation.
The tea dust packed under the label of 'Three Star' tea was packed in polythene packets and the address of the manufacturers mentioned on it was found to be fake claimed officials. The house owner also claimed that he was unaware that something illegal was being carried out in the rented portion of the building. Officials have sealed the building after collecting samples for examination. The operation was carried out on the orders of district collector M Karunagaran.

FDA to crack down on sale of loose edible oil

PUNE: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) will ensure strict implementation of the ban on the sale of edible oil in loose form across the city and adjoining districts from Thursday.
Almost 45% of the city's population purchases oil in loose form, sale of which is banned as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
"The ban on selling edible oil in loose form will henceforth be enforced in letter and spirit. Our officials will start inspecting shops and firms selling edible oil in loose form," Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune, told TOI on Wednesday.
The officials will fine shops registered with the FDA Rs 25,000 if found selling oil in loose form. If shops/firms having an FDA licence are found indulging in such sale, they will have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh.
The oil should not only be sold in packets, but must also have proper labelling and information about its package date, type of oil, price, etc, according to the act.
Most shops in and around slums sell oil in loose form. "So we are going to focus on those pockets in city where this practice is rampant. The aim is to enforce the ban across the division," Kekare said.
Currently, 80% of edible oil is sold in loose form in the country, which, according to trade sources, is in the blended form. For example, refined sunflower oil or soybean oil in loose form is a blend of the respective oil and palm oil in the proportion of 65:35.
According to experts, such impurities are difficult to for a layman to identify, as the blending of palm oil does not change the physical property or taste of the product. But it changes the chemical property, which affects the consumers' health in the long run. Selling of loose edible oil is not permitted in developed countries.
What the Act says
No person shall sell or distribute or offer for sale or dispatch to any person for the purpose of sale any edible/vegetable oil
a) which does not conform to the standards of quality as provided in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and rules/regulations made under, and
b) which is not packed in a container, marked and labelled in the manner as specified in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) regulations

Small food vendors taste a sour tang - THE HINDU

A street food vendor in the city, thinks a strict food safety regime will do good to the trade. 

 

Impact of food-poisoning death on wayside eateries 

The times are not good for the food vendors in the streets of the capital city Thiruvananthapuram. Already facing action from authorities, including the police, as part of attempts to ensure hygiene and to maintain law and order, the sector is anticipating tougher days as more operational norms are to be brought into force.

The turmoil created by a recent food-poisoning death has had its impact not just on big eateries, but also on the little pushcart and makeshift ‘thattukada’ traders as well. They, who stay awake while the rest of the city sleeps, serving spicy omelettes, piping hot ‘dosas,’ and steaming tea to late-night office-goers, the techie crowd, and other passers-by, are now worried over their very existence.

“We do not have any problems in a stricter food safety regime coming. But yes, before that is brought into force, we would like the authorities to ensure basic facilities like supply of clean water, proper drainage garbage disposal facilities, and adequate power supply,” says Gopakumar, who operates a mini tea-stall adjacent to the compound wall of the Transport Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr. Gopakumar, who has been in the business for 28 years now, says the ‘field’ is very competitive, and hence ‘99.99 per cent’ of his colleagues in the sector would be ready to embrace better hygiene practices to stay afloat.

“I have not faced any losses after the recent developments, since my clientele is largely the same set of people, including employees from the Transport Bhavan and surroundings. They know I offer only safe food. But it has not been the same for everyone,” he says, adding that many were reluctant to make more investments into what they already had because there was no guarantee that they would be allowed to continue.

Padmini, who runs a pushcart eatery along with her brother Manikandan near the Museum, is one among those hit hard by the raids, revelations, and their impact on public psyche.

“Our revenue on weekdays used to be around Rs.3,000 a day before all this. That has fallen to less than 1,000 now, and the profits are far lesser. On top of that, there are officials who tell us repeatedly that our surroundings are not hygienic. We submitted several complaints to the Corporation pointing out that there were no public toilets here and that garbage from the surroundings are washed towards our carts whenever it rains,” she says. The onus, many of them feel, is not just on them to make affairs better, but on civic authorities as well.

'Ban gutka or we will', High court tells Akhilesh Yadav government

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court has ordered the UP government to implement central government's directions under the Food Safety Act to restrain manufacturing, sale and distribution of 'gutka' or other products containing tobacco as an ingredient in the state and inform the court after 14 days steps taken in compliance of the order.

Fixing October 10 as the date filing compliance report, the court, in its order passed on a public interest litigation filed by Indian Dental Association, also said that if the state government failed to act within in stipulated time, it may be consider to pass an order banning gutkha.

Earlier, standing counsel for the central government submitted before the court three letters sent by the special secretary, union ministry of health and family welfare, between May-August 2012 directing the UP government to prohibit the sale and distribution of gutkha or pan masala containing tobacco, in the light of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act putting restrictions on adding tobacco and nicotine to any food product.

In response, the state government on September 10, filed an affidavit in the court assuring that it would take necessary action to ban the sale of guthka in UP in 14 days. However, contrary to its assurance, the UP government has not banned gutkha so far. As a result, a division bench comprising Justice Amar Saran and Justice Anurag Kumar, which is hearing the case, in its order observed that as many as 13 states have already imposed ban on manufacture, distribution and sale of gutkha.

Also, it said, no stay orders by the high courts of those states or the Supreme Court on decision to ban gutkha by any state has been passed. The high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Kerala and Patna have affirmed the decisions of their state governments imposing restrictions, it said. "There can hardly be any dispute that use of gutkha is highly addictive and causative of oral cancer and periodontal and other diseases including being a risk factor for strokes and cardiac arrests and that according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India (GATS) 2010 an estimated 20.6 crore Indians are using this harmful product which poses a grave health risk to our people in general and to the younger generation in particular.

It is also stated that India enjoys the dubious distinction of being the oral cancer capital of the world due to the high levels of smokeless tobacco use,"" the bench stated in the order.The court recalled that UP government had earlier assured on May 23, 2012 that it is seriously considering prohibiting the sale of gutkha.

"But instead of putting a ban on the manufacture and sale on gutkha, the UP government has lowered the tax so as to facilitate increased sale of this product. We have already expressed regret over this development in our on September 10," the bench said. In the light of thse facts, the sincerity and commitment of the UP government to care for the health of citizens by restricting the use of gutkha which is a health hazard is under examination now, the court stated in the order.

The court also observed that the Right to health is a fundamental right flowing from the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 47 casts a fundamental duty on the State to improve public health, and to endeavour to prohibit consumption of intoxicating substances which are injurious to health. The state government counsel told the court that there is no doubt that gutkha is harmful but only the central government can put a restriction on its use. However, court's view was that both the central and state government are responsible for enforcement of the Food Safety Act.

Strict food safety regime soon - THE HINDU

A strict food safety regime, where people will not have to be apprehensive about eating out, will be in vogue in the State within three years, Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar has said.
Inaugurating a one-day workshop on ‘streetside vendors and food safety’, jointly organised by the SEWA-Union and the Kerala Street Vendors’ Forum (KSVF) here on Monday, Mr. Prabhakar said the recent happenings in Thiruvananthapuram and elsewhere after the death of one person due to food poisoning had got the public thinking more on the safety aspects of eating out.
Hotels had already lost about 60 per cent of their business, according to hotel sources themselves, he said, stating that only few hotels had managed to get back to normal business.
A fast food trend that was rapidly catching up in the State had brakes applied on it, though the department had not taken any drastic step other than making clear what the law said.
Street vendors or the ‘thattukada’ sector was yet to feel a serious impact of the developments, most probably because there was no stocking of food for the next day.
Still, unless street food vendors upgraded their hygiene levels, they were bound to lose customers gradually, Mr. Prabhakar said.
Stating that a grading system, based on the hygienic practices and standards adhered to by each hotel and food seller, would soon be introduced, Mr. Prabhakar said street vendors too would have to go in for food safety registration and certification, which was being made mandatory.
It would cost only Rs.100 a year, he told the gathering of street vendors at the workshop, adding that future training programmes, rehabilitation programmes, campaigns and the entire gamut of government initiatives for the sector would require such registration.
The aim was to bring into force a strict food safety regime, in which hotels or street vendors who were not registered or did not adhere to safety and hygiene norms would not be allowed to do business, he said.
Citing examples of the law already being enforced strictly, Mr. Prabhakar said the Indian Coffee House at Thampanoor had been served an ultimatum to shift base from its current location, since there was a drainage adjacent to it and that could not be allowed under any circumstance.
Joint Food Safety Commissioner K. Anil Kumar, SEWA-Union State secretary Sonia George, and KSVF State president Sadashivan Nair spoke.

Medical staff given work of food safety officers

The state government has notified that deputy civil surgeons, senior medical officers (SMO) and medical officers (MO) serving with the health department would also enjoy the power of food safety officers (FSO) in districts where the posts of food safety officer were lying vacant or where the workload was more in order to implement the Food and Safety Standards Act-2006.
Dr G.L. Singhal, Drug Controller and Joint Commissioner Food and Drug Administration of Haryana, said since there was a shortage of food safety officers in the state, the medical officers had been assigned the powers of the food safety officer so that there was no violation in the field.
He said Haryana was, perhaps, the first state to take action regarding the sale of infant milk substitute. It had raided the premises of a wholesale distributor of infant milk substitute food products here in July and seized some samples for testing.
The state government had also banned the sale of bottled white fluid used as corrector (eraser) in typed documents and nail polish remover sold in bottle type of container, he said.

Violators of food safety act going scot-free

With all the stir that the recent food safety inspections and the Food Safety and Standards Act 2011 has brought in, the prosecution against the food outlet owners and other food manufacturers have been practically wiped out. Or at least, such has been the case for the last one year since the passing of the Act.
“We have not had to prosecute anyone as yet,   owing largely to the fact that the food safety campaigns, raids and the fines have been  acting as powerful deterrents in themselves. In the earlier Prevention of Food Adulteration  Act, such deterrents were not given priority and prosecution was resorted to in most of the  cases. Hence, there has been thousands of pending cases. Even now, we have more than 2,000 cases pending under the Act. This means that a large number of the officials would be involved in appearing for the cases before the court, which can now be prevented,” said Biju Prabhakar, Commissioner of Food Safety.
But a few critics have pointed out that though the campaigns of the Food Safety and Standards Department have had some effect, the new Act has implied the suspension of the rigorous sampling and prosecution measures against the defaulters in the last one year.
“Earlier, it was mandatory for the food inspectors to take at least 30 samples each month and test the same. If found adulterated,  the defaulters were immediately prosecuted, which acted as a deterrent for the food manufacturers. But in the last one year or so, after the new Act coming into being, the measure has been suspended. Now it is only under the emergency cases or filed complaints  that the samples are being tested,” said a food safety inspector from Ernakulam.
Another issue pointed out is that none of the labs in the state that tests the food samples  have the NABL accreditation as recommended under the Act, making it difficult to execute the penalty. The Food Safety Commissioner countered the point by saying that the onus of proving the authenticity of the samples rested with the accused and not with the authorities.
“The lack of accreditation will not be a factor in the prosecution. If the accused has doubts on the authenticity of the charge, the onus is on him to test the sample in a  NABL-accredited lab. Moreover, we are working towards getting the NABL accreditation for the lab in Thiruvananthapuram by March 2013. The funds for more labs are yet to be allocated by the Twelfth Finance Commission,” he said.

Food safety wing lacks staff

The understaffed Warangal zone’s food safety department is likely to get some respite under recently enacted The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which came into force in the state with effect from December 2011 in place of the old Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
Out of the official sanctioned strength of over 30 food safety officers (FSOs) in Warangal zone, comprising 6-8 each for Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts, the regional Food Safety department is presently being manned by only six FSOs.
Out of the six FSOs working in Warangal zone, Adilabad has only two FSOs followed by Karimnagar (1), Warangal (1) and Khammam (2).
The regional unit has two other higher-level officers above the FSOs, namely food safety designated officers (four are presently working in four districts) headed by an assistant food controller, who is the supervising authority in the regional unit.
As the only department playing watchdog role over food safety aspects like adulteration, sub-standard food and misbranding, sources said the understaffed department officials had little time to take up surprise raids under the old 1954 Act, which had no provision to take up compounding of cases registered by the department.
Presently, the lone Food Safety Officer (FSO) working in Warangal district is burdened with attending 220 court cases filed in various courts leaving no time for conducting raids on suspected shops selling adulterated or sub-standard food items in the market.
Sources pointed out FSOs in each of the four districts under the Warangal zone are facing a similar situation attending pending court cases numbering about 150-300 in each district.
What is more, once a case is registered by the FSOs of the respective district, official sources pointed out that the case often drags on for an average period of 5-7 years before it is disposed of by a competent court.
This also explains why the department never carries out en mass raids over hundreds of roadside eateries and hotels selling sub-standard food items to customers.
However, department officials hope the new 2006 Act would bring in positive change as joint collectors of the respective districts have been designated as ‘adjudicating officer’ with power to compound the offence of the accused by levying fines.
According to D. Ramakrishna, food safety designated officer, Warangal district, the new Act brings offences such as ‘misbranding of products’ and sale of ‘sub-standard eatables’ under the compoundable category.
“These offences can now be decided by joint collector under the new Act without approaching the courts,” he said.

Ban Guthka It's a grave health concern, it spoils lives of our youth

The increasing consumption of Guthka, Pan Masala and such other chewing tobacco products in Jammu and Kashmir is a matter of deep concern.  Unfortunately, even the children and young adolescents have access to these products as they are freely available and at affordable costs at every nook and corner of the State. These products thus act as a gateway to drug addiction for this vulnerable population. Besides, poor section of the society consumes it as a leisure product. The impact can be seen in the form of rising number of cancer cases, especially oral cancer in the State.
            As per, Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-India Report 2009-10, among 26.6% adult tobacco users in the State of J&K, 8% exclusively use smokeless form of tobacco. Shockingly, usage of Guthka, Pan Masala and such other chewing tobacco products are found to be significant among females and young adults in the State. Among 4.1% of the current women users in the State 3.7 % are consuming it on a daily basis. In other words, a majority of them are addicted to the Guthka products.
It is in this context of greater health concerns, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a notification in 2011 that clearly states “any food product should not contain tobacco and nicotine”. Therefore, Guthka, Pan Masala and such other chewing tobacco products falling under this category are prohibited by virtue of the above mentioned notification. 14 states including Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Mizoram, Sikkim and Uttarakhand have already banned and complied with the notification, by issuing orders and taking appropriate measures to prevent the sales, manufacture and use of these lethal products.
Government of Jammu & Kashmir should also take measures to ban Guthka and other chewable food products containing tobacco and nicotine as ingredients, to show its commitment towards greater health concerns of the citizens. This would be a milestone and progressive step towards making J&K a tobacco free State.

(A. M. Mir, IAS (Retd.) is Executive Director J&K Voluntary Health Association)

Working towards healthy eateries - THE HINDU

Food contamination to be traced back to material suppliers

The government has plans to bring raw material suppliers to hotels into the ambit of the food safety regulations, Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar has said.

Delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on ‘‘Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006’’ here on Saturday, he said a proposal to reward informants disclosing the source of food contamination was also being considered.

Mr. Sivakumar stressed the need to trace food contamination to the source, rather than book hotels where it was served to the customer. “Our objective is to ensure that only safe, healthy food is served in all hotels,” he said.

The FSSA, he said, had shifted the focus to food safety. “There is a need for local bodies to adopt scientific measures for supply of safe meat from abattoirs.”

The Minister said the government’s approach was to get the hotels to rectify their shortcomings rather than prosecute them. He called upon hoteliers’ associations to support the implementation of the FSSA. “The government will iron out the difficulties being faced by hotels. The Chief Minister himself has convened a meeting to sort out the confusion over certain provisions of the Act,” Mr. Sivakumar said.

Grading system

Commissioner of Food Safety Biju Prabhakar said a grading system would be introduced for hotels in association with organisations representing food business operators (FBOs). The grading, he said, was part of a quality assurance mechanism.

He said the proposed rating system would cover wayside eateries, star hotels, and Janata hotels. Establishments would be graded into four categories, A to D, based on their compliance with food safety standards.

The inspection and rating would be done by an accreditation agency in food safety acceptable to the Commissioner of Food Safety as well as the stakeholder FBOs. The rating would come down if standards were found to be diluted at any stage. Manufacturers, food growers, wholesalers, transporters, and sellers would also be brought into the system, he said.

Mr. Prabhakar said the commissionerate had identified the hotspots of food safety in Kerala. “We are issuing improvement notices to the establishments with shortcomings.”

He said moves were on to computerise laboratories for testing food samples. “Manual registration of FBOs has been initiated and online registration will be introduced soon. Mobile laboratories will be pressed into service.”

Mr. Prabhakar said many raw materials used by hotels were often found to be adulterated and carcinogenic. “There is a need to keep a tab on the suppliers so that the source of contamination can be identified.”

He said investigations carried out by the commissioner had revealed appalling conditions at poultry farms supplying hotels.

Representatives of the South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum, Kerala Bar Hotels Association, Bakers Association, Kerala, and Association of Approved and Classified Hotels, Kerala, were present.

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Proposal to reward informants: Minister

Grading system planned for hotels

Adulteration: Government plans to reward whistleblowers

The government is planning a ‘whistleblower system’, by introducing rewards to informers on adulterated food and ingredients, said Health Minister V S Sivakumar here on Saturday, inaugurating a seminar on Food Safety and Standards Act,2006.
“It has become clear that right from salt to meat, fish and vegetables, adulteration has become common. It is not the retail traders who are indulging in malpractices but wholesalers and those who are bringing commodities from outside the state. But there are limitations for the Food Safety Commissioner and other officials to trace it. It is against this backdrop that a mechanism to engage the civil society also for better results is being probed,” the Minister said.
He also said that the State Government would initiate concrete steps to establish scientific abattoirs in the state, in view of the fact that many a case of food poisoning occurs due to processing of meat under unhygienic conditions.
“By joining hands with the state veterinary varsity,the government will take the lead to make modern abattoirs a reality in the main Corporations and municipalities of the state,” he said. Sivakumar also put forward an idea of linking tribals and the vast, isolated stretches of land for poultry and livestock development, and thereby ensuring the requirements of the state-owned Meat Products of India. “Since there are many constraints in promoting such activities in urban areas, scientific studies to tap interior pockets are needed,” he felt.

Food Safety Commissionerate firm on bringing in grading system in hotels

The recent inspections and arm-twisting by the Food Safety Commissionerate against erring hoteliers and food outlets in the state, against the backdrop of a few instances of food poisoning, was just to demonstrate the powers of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and to regularise standards for those involved in the food business operations, Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar told a seminar on ‘Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006’ here on Saturday.
 “We are not hostile to the sector as is being made out. None need not be afraid of it. As an Act which is bound to be implemented at any cost, setting standards would ward off many difficulties in future for those running various ventures, such as stringent punishment and compensation. Looking at the emerging scenario from the people’s point of view is very important,” he said, delivering the keynote address.
“Achieving European standards in the food sector may not be possible. But definitely there should be some standards, for which a grading system from A to D will be brought in up to wayside ‘thattukadas’ with a unique logo issued for an adequate period, subject to periodical monitoring and evaluation. What we have in front of us is a three-year road map,” he said. “If the Commissionerate officials have gone wrong, including me, the matter can be taken up with higher authorities or the court.
“The Act is a well thought of law and there are no draconian problems at all. But an attitude of a section of hoteliers bordering lawlessness as if this is Kerala and everything is possible here, even after the conduct of 3,000 awareness sessions across the state, cannot be allowed. Also, none should  have an approach to reap profits in one day,”  Biju Prabhakar  said.
 The Commissioner said that after demonstrating the powers of the Act and make hoteliers aware of the fact that things have to change for the better, the Commissionerate has identified hotspots such as sources of  adulteration including the rampant use of carcinogenic materials. It has been found that the role of additives which goes into the making of food is quite alarming, he disclosed.  “It is not unhygienic conditions which is the real villain. Much more danger comes from invisible hazards,” he pointed out.
The Commissionerate  is analysing the steps taken by Dubai in the past couple of years to streamline the food business operations in that country, Biju Prabhakar added. The seminar was jointly organised by the Association of Approved & Classified Hotels of Kerala, South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum, Kerala Bar Hotels Association and Bakers Association, Kerala.

Milk vendor fined Rs 1 lakh

A judicial magistrate court on Thursday imposed Rs 1 lakh fine on a vendor for selling non-standardised milk at Hadapsar. Official sources said a special squad had checked the milk sold by A P Confectionary in November after complaints. The squad had sent a sample of frozen milk to a laboratory. The lab analysis showed it contained skimmed milk, starch and a sweetener. The vendor was fined Rs 1 lakh under Sections 50 and 51 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Eatery Chain FINED Rs.1 Lakh, highest in State

The Pune branch of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has levied a fine of Rs1 lakh to AP Confectionery based in Hadapsar. According to Shashikant Kekare, FDA’s joint commissioner (food), this is the highest fine levied in Maharashtra on any party for using sub-standard milk under the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
“Food safety inspector VA Unavne had visited the Hadapsar unit of AP Confectionery and drew samples of frozen milk on November 4, 2011. The samples were sent to state laboratory in Pune and declared sub-standard. It had presence of sugar, skimmed milk powder and starch. I presided over a hearing on this subject on September 20 and fined the company Rs1 lakh,” said Kekare.
On September 19, Kekare had in a separate hearing fined the company Rs35,000 for using sub-standard frozen milk at its eatery chain on FC road.
Meanwhile, Ameet Pahilani, founder-director, AP Confectinery Private Limited, slammed the action stating that it was unfair and misleading.
“When they arrived at our unit, they asked us which milk we were using. So we produced the samples of the milk. We prepare our milk using skimmed milk cow powder and sugar but according to FDA officials, unless specified, milk means buffalo milk. It is cow milk they consider sub-standard and I think it is ridiculous. Also, they say presence of sugar in milk means adulteration, but has anyone drank a milkshake without sugar?” questioned Pahilani.

ORGANIC SAFETY

A proposal worth Rs 153 crore has been submitted to Kerala government to spruce up food safety measures. Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 in state will encourage Organic Farming to curb use of harmful pesticides in crops to prevent contamination of food produced at source. It will be implemented through evaluation, education and enforcement with a grading system assigned by the Food Safety Commissioner to the food producers, manufacturers and suppliers to ensure food safety standards.

 Now the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 will be in place in Kerala. It will be governed by a sole authority that will stipulate the mandate for all food producers, food business operators including hotels, restaurants, manufacturers, processors, transporters, sellers and food growers like vegetable, meat and dairy products. Violators will be slapped a penalty of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and in case of serious offences upto Rs 10 lakh and life imprisonment. --

17 hospitalised after consuming Hawaijar

IMPHAL, Sep 20: At least 17 people including a pregnant woman and a minor girl have been admitted to JNIMS and RIMS hospitals after consuming dish made of fermented soya-bean.
Those undergoing treatment at RIMS Hospital have been identified as Athokpam Ibemcha (30), her husband A Tiken, father-in-law Mangi (60), mother-in-law Maipakpi of Canchipur Pichu Lampak, and two guests namely Thongam Bijeta (18) of Thoubal Khekman and Ningthoujam Naresh (12) of Tentha Mathak Leikai.
Ibemcha is said to be in the fourth month of pregnancy.
Those admitted to JNIMS Hospital have been identified as Tensubam Sanajaobi (44) w/o Rushia, Tensubam Kanankumar (25), Tensubam Bebe (28), Tensubam Athoi (2), and a guest of the Tensubam family Ningombam Sangita (22) of Wangkhei Khunou.
Condition of some is said to be serious.
The other victims of apparent food poisoning case are Wangkhem Ahanbi (60), W Ichal (40), W Abe (22), W Tomchou (65) and W Ruhinikumar (45), all from Kakwa Lamdaibung.
These people are said to have been admitted to the hospitals last evening and this morning.
They reportedly consumed the fermented soyabean dish on September 17 and 18. According to relatives of some of the victims, the fermented soyabean was purchased from a local lady identified as Wangkhem Pramo (60).
Pramo is informed to have bought the soyabean from SK Variety Store, Kakwa Bazar.
Speaking to news-persons, Imphal West Food Safety standard Wing’s Food Safety Officer Yumnam Satyajit said that he had personally assessed condition of the patients and soon a test would be conducted on both the soyabean seeds as well as the fermented soyabean.
Some of the victims have reportedly returned for further treatment as they continued to suffer from loose motion and vomiting after discharge from the hospitals.

Government to introduce new food standardisation norms

 

New Delhi: The government will further strengthen food safety in the country by introducing standards regulations to bring quality of Indian food items at par with international quality levels, a senior official said Friday.

“The new norms and the policies for standardisation are in place and we have consulted all stake holders in that. The new norms will harmonise the Indian and international standard,” said K. Chandramouli, chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)  on the sidelines of the annual Indian Beverage Association (IBA) meet held here.

“This (process) will be run in consultation with all the stakeholders, including experts. This will strengthen the food safety measures we are taking,” Chandramouli said in his address.
The FSSAI is expected to notify the standard norms by next week, and will be available on its website. The norms will be implemented in phases.
On its part the IBA’s president S.R. Goenka said that food safety is critical for the growth of the non-alcoholic beverage industry and that all stake holders should put forth their views.
“As safety is critical to the growth of the beverage industry, we have brought key stakeholders on a common platform to address the issues of safety, standards and quality and discuss potential solutions to promote growth in the sector,” Goenka said.
The non-alcoholic beverage industry players also felt that research and development (R&D) is key to suit the local palates and increase low per-capita consumption of packaged beverages.
The association was formed to act as an interface between industry, government and the public, besides providing a unified and focused viewpoint on legislative and regulatory matters.
The association also comprises leading beverage makers like Del Monte, Red Bull India, Coca-Cola India, Pepsico India, Dabur, Cadbury, Reliance Industries and Parle Agro.

Drinks with 320ppm caffeine to be labelled 'caffeinated drinks': FSSAI

Currently, the prescribed upper limit of caffeine in soft drinks and aerated sugar water is 145 ppm

Drinks that contain caffeine should be categorised as ‘caffeinated drinks’ and packs should clearly mention statutory safety warnings, said K. Chandramouli, chairperson, Food Safety & Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).

“We are separating these drinks with other soft drink items, creating a new category called ‘caffeinated drinks’. Consumers should have such a drink after knowing what it contains,” Chandramouli said, on Friday. Labelling these as energy drinks is misleading for consumers, said the FSSAI chairman.

As per the FSSAI guidelines, which would be published soon, drinks that contain caffeine of more than 320 mg per litre or parts per million (ppm) would be labelled as caffeinated drink, said Chandramouli. Currently, the prescribed upper limit of caffeine in soft drinks and aerated sugar water is 145 ppm.

“Most of the energy drinks are likely to come under the caffeinated drinks category,” he added.

Packs should contain the statutory safety warnings, specifying “not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons”, as per a FSSAI note.

"We already declare caffeine on Burn. It says it “contains caffeine”," said a Coca-Cola spokesperson. PepsiCo said that the company does not sell energy drinks in India, and Red Bull officials were not available for comments.

The government has, in July, given approval to Coca-Cola to produce energy drinks in India, as reported in Business Standard. The company, however, is yet to chalk out the detailed plan.

Coca-Cola sells its energy drink Burn in India. According to Coca-Cola website, Burn contains 0.03% of caffeine in a can of 300 ml.

The energy drink market in India is dominated by Red Bull, Cloud 9 and Power Horse that are marketed by two Australian companies. Indian energy drinks market is estimated at Rs 500 crore and is expected to grow at CAGR 25%, according to a study by Technopak Advisor. The carbonated drinks market is close to Rs 6,000 crore and is growing by 10-12% annually.

PepsiCo, in 2008, had launched SoBe in India. The company does not sell the product anymore, said a company spokesperson.

Coca-Cola launched its energy drink Burn in India in December 2009. Prior to this, Coca-Cola had launched another energy drink – Shock in 2001, which failed to penetrate Indian markets.

Energy drinks, mostly those with more caffeine, are favourite among young generations, and mostly consumed before gym activities and at pubs.

New food standards on cards: FSS To Harmonise Indian Food Standards With Global Standards

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is planning bring fresh standardisation norms for food items across categories, in order to harmonise Indian foods at per with international standards.

“Imported food items come with far better quality than Indian food items. We need to ensure that food exported and consumed here should maintain that standard,” said K. Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI.

The authority will seek inputs from experts to work on developing the strategy to frame the new standards next week, said FSSAI advisor S.

Dave. “We will notify the same on FSSAI website early next week.”

The whole process of framing the standards is likely to be completed in three to four phases, but implementation will be a continuous process, Dave said. “Details of the roadmap and strategy are yet to be finalised. We would be in a position to give more details after a few days,” he added.

The gap between Indian standards and the international standards is huge, baring a few items. “In just a few cases, we are slightly better. Our enforcement mechanism is very strong and is applicable for everybody. Once we get the standards defined, implementation would not be an

issue,” said Dave.

It would be implemented across all food categories, but a few areas will get priority, including milk and dairy, fat or oil-based products, fruit-based products, and vegetables, according to Chandramouli.

He serves as a one-man 'FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT'

The Uttarakhand Government does not look interested in tackling the menace of food adulteration. This is the inference that can be drawn from the State Government’s attitude toward the ‘food safety department.’ In fact, there is no proper “department” in the real sense of the word. There is only one Food Safety Officer (FSO) in the State Capital Dehradun who is single-handedly responsible for collection of samples and sending them to laboratories for testing and that’s all. What’s more, the officer has to pay for the samples from his own pocket and has to bear the other expenses, too, like transportation of samples etc. 
The Food Safety Act has been in effect since August 5, 2011 all over the country. The Central Government notified the State Government way back in 2009 to restructure its food safety department so that it can effectively work according to the new guidelines. But almost three years after that, all the department has is a single Food Safety Officer who has to double up as a porter to carry the samples collected by him apart from doing all the clerical work as well. This officer has no assistant, no vehicle, and no security. The officer has to pay for all the expenses from his own pocket, including the transportation of the samples to the labs and other places. The Government reimburses the money later, but like any other sarkari process, this one too is very slow.
For the uninitiated, the collection of sample is a tedious process. It requires filling up of a dozen and a half papers and sealing the samples on the spot. At least four samples have to be purchased by the officer and sealed on the spot in the presence of two independent witnesses. Many shopkeepers do not give the samples willingly and try to lure or threaten the FSO. After that begins the filling of form 5A (4 copies to be filled), form 6A (7 copies to be filled) and later panchnama — the complete details of the sample, shopkeeper, officer along with date, time and place. At present all this is done by a single person in Dehradun.
A few things are so expensive that they are beyond the purchasing power of an FSO in the stipulated quantity. For example silver foils (at least 8 gram required) and saffron (80 gram needed for 4 samples). Besides, an FSO is required to send at least 12 different samples to the laboratory in a month. In these circumstances, how effective the checking of food adulteration is can be easily gauged.

Inappropriate and Incomplete Implementation of Food Safety & Standards Act, DC N&M

Port Blair, Sept. 20: The Deputy Commissioner North & Middle Andaman has observed that, “The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, Rules 2011 and Regulation 2011 are being inappropriately and incompletely implemented. There is a need for a Commissioner Food Safety and Designated Officer as per Law”. Reliable sources inform that the Deputy Commissioner North & Middle Andaman had called up a meeting of the Food Safety Officials of his district and took stock of the problems for smooth implementation of Food Safety and Standard Act. The DC has written a Note (UO 8-24/DC(N&MA) FSSS/12/2401 dated 4th September 2012) to Secretary (Health) stating that he has been designated as Adjudicating officer under the same law but cannot exercise his duties due to inappropriate and incomplete implementation of the Act, which is a grave situation. He writes “The Commissioner Food Safety (Director of Health Services), A&N Administration, Port Blair vide order No. 92 dated 06/06/2011 has appointed the Medical Officer I/C, N&M Andaman, Mayabunder as the Designated Officer (Licensing Officer) for N&M Andaman District for a period of 01 year or till a whole time Officer Designated officer is appointed, whichever is earlier”. It revealed that the power conferred on the Medical Officer I/c, N&M Andaman, Mayabunder as the Designated Officer has already lapsed on 04/08/2012. As per qualification Rule 2.1.2.1 (iii) (b) the additional charge cannot be held by him from 05/08/2012 and no whole time Designated Officer is appointed from that date. Thus the Food Licenses and Registration issued / made by the (earlier), after 05/08/2012 will be null & void. The need now is for a full time Designated Officer to be appointed immediately. Also the Commissioner of Food Safety (State Food Authority) should be of the rank of “Commissioner and Secretary” to State Government may be notified / appointed. But at present the Director of Health Services has been conferred the power of Commissioner Food Safety. And therefore the appointment of Commissioner of Food Safety and Designated Officer is to be appointed as per the provision of the Law. “I have been designated as Adjudicating officer under the same law but cannot exercise my duties due to inappropriate and incompletely implementation of the Act. Hence your personal attention is sought in the matter. Submitted please. Sd/- Deputy Commissioner North & Middle Andaman District.” It is surprising to learn that the Administration has been simply ignoring the Note of a District Magistrate. Inappropriately and incomplete implemented Food Safety and Standards Act has rendered the enforcement officials powerless that will help learned criminals to escape on technical ground. Huge amount of salaries paid out of government exchequer is being wasted. There are no regulations to help good business people to carryout food business as some who do malpractices, practice fearlessly. And in the absences of any properly implemented regulations the consumer interests also remains unprotected.

‘Ensure hygienic, quality food at Railway outlets’ - THE HINDU

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India on a public interest litigation seeking directions for ensuring supply of hygienic and quality food at Railway outlets and in trains.
Issuing the notices, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A. K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the respondents to file replies to the petition by October 31, the next date of hearing.
The petitioner, Sardar Jagjit Singh, through counsel K. C. Mittal submitted that the respondents should be directed to implement effectively the Safety and Standards Act and the Food Safety and Standards Rules to safeguard the health of those 23 million passengers who travel everyday by train across the country.
Evidence in CD
Submitting a CD to the Court highlighting “unhygienic conditions” in pantry cars in different trains, the petitioner said the saddest part was the insensitivity and failure on the part of the respondents to take adequate steps to ensure sale and supply of unadulterated, wholesome and hygienic food to passengers.
The petitioner also urged the Court to direct the respondents to establish prosecuting and adjudicating authorities and food safety tribunals at micro levels to monitor and check food adulteration at railway stations.

Merchants to down shutters on October 3

Merchants organised under the banner of the Kerala Vyapari Vyvasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) will go on a strike on October 3 in protest against the alleged harassment by officials and seeking changes in the law governing food safety.

T. Naziruddin, president of the samithi, in a statement here on Tuesday, alleged that though the Centre had postponed the enforcement of the provisions of the food safety Act, overzealous officials were persecuting merchants misusing its provisions.

Merchants would keep shops closed on October 3 and organise demonstrations in front of food safety offices at all district headquarters.

In capital

In Thiruvanathapuram, the demonstration would be in front of the office of the Commissioner for Food Safety.

The organisation appealed to the Union government to scrap the decision to allow 51 per cent foreign district investment (FDI) in the retail sector.

DINAMALAR & DINAKARAN NEWS