100% horse meat in food leaves Britons shocked

London: Britain’s school children and hospital patients may have been unknowingly eating horse meat for the past six months.
UK’s Food and Safety Authority (FSA) also fear that the horse meat being consumed across Europe contained veterinary drug phenylbutazone or bute, which is banned from entering the food chain.
Bute can cause blood disorder and aplastic anaemia in humans and was banned from use in humans after it was found that about 1 person in 30,000 recipients suffered a serious side effect.
Shocking details coming out in what in one of UK’s worst food scandals in recent years, some brands of frozen beef products, being sold in London’s leading supermarket chains have tested for atleast 30% and in some cases 100% equine meet.
10 Downing Street called an emergency meeting on Friday night with FSA ordering all food companies to test their beef products and provide results by February 15.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson said on Friday, “It’s totally unacceptable that people have been sold
something that is not what they think it is. Evidence from investigations across Europe so far suggests that it’s either criminal activity or gross negligence”.
Paterson said, “I want to be absolutely certain that they’re confident about where their meat comes from and that it is what they say it is. As soon as there was any suggestion of horse meat in the food chain, the FSA told food suppliers to conduct urgent checks. As a result, findus on Friday notified the FSA that significant quantities of horse meat had been found in its frozen beef lasagnes.”
He added, “In addition, the FSA has ordered food businesses to test all their processed beef products and is conducting its own survey of beef products, including those supplied to schools and hospitals.”
UK has found that frozen burgers from Tesco and the lasagne from Findus which had high quantities off horse meat were from suppliers in Ireland and France. Paterson said “about 92,000 food safety and food authenticity tests are carried out by the FSA every year. Clearly there are some who believe they can get away with selling cheap meat. Our investigations will find them and they will feel the full force of the law”.

Organic food fast catching on with the Indian consumer

Yoav Lev was a 22-year-old backpacker when he first came to India in 1987. A graduate from an agricultural boarding school in Israel, he came seeking inner peace from his 'spiritual guru', the late H.W.L. Poonja of Lucknow, better known as Papaji. "The quest was to find my true purpose and true self," he says. He eventually stayed on in India, taking on a new name, Bharat Mitra, and is currently the Founder and President of Organic India, one of India's leading organic foods companies. It ended 2012 with Rs 60 crore revenues and hopes to reach Rs 90 crore this year, with about half of its sales in India. Organic foods are those made from agricultural products grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers. It was from Papaji that Lev learnt the healing power of tulsi (basil plant). By 1997, he had begun cultivating three types of tulsi organically in Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In 2006 he launched Organic India with tulsi tea as its flagship product. Today, the company makes 18 different flavours of tulsi tea and 33 different herbal formulations or supplements, which are said to have medicinal value. He is gearing up to launch a complete range of organic food items, including rice and pulses. "We are in the final stages of a very promising joint venture to launch a comprehensive range of products both for the Indian market and for exports," says Lev. He prefers not to reveal the name of the well known Indian company he is negotiating with. Lev is not alone. A clutch of entrepreneurs in India is betting big on the domestic organic food market . Consider Raj Seelam, an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad alumnus. When Lev first took up tulsi cultivation, some 1,200 km down south in Hyderabad, Seelam was still selling pesticides and fertilisers. From 1988 to 2000, he worked in the farm inputs division of E.I.D Parry, a Murugappa Group company, one of the largest industrial groups in India. "It gave me a chance to interact closely with farmers and see the havoc that indiscriminate use of pesticides can create," he says. This spurred him to consider organic farming, even though he was aware agribusinesses rarely succeed in India, because of low margins and excessive government control. Today, his company, Sresta Natural Bioproducts, sells a range of 200 organic products in India and overseas from rice, pulses, sugar, and juices to breakfast cereals and jams. "Five years ago, 75 per cent of our revenue came from exports and the balance from the domestic market. Now both markets have equal share," he says. Indeed, the demand for organic foods in India has seen a sharp growth in recent years. While earlier, organic food producers primarily aimed at exports to Europe and the United States, there is now a gradual shift. "The demand for organic foods has been growing and today we stock a range of around 38 different organic foods in 40 stores as against just about half a dozen stores three years ago," says S. Jagdish Krishnan, Chief Operating Officer of the retail and bakery divisions of Heritage Foods, an organic food company with a big presence in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Most of the big retail chains now stock organic products, including Godrej Nature's Basket, Hyper City, Food Bazaar, More, Nilgiris, Spencers and Tesco - Starbazar. While no of-ficial figures are available, industry estimates put the organic food market within India at close to Rs 100 crore, having grown five-fold in the last six years. When Seelam began organic cultivation in 2004, not a single domestic retailer was willing to stock his products. They feared stocks would not move, since organic foods are significantly more expensive than conventional foods. That is partly due to higher processing costs, since they choose to eschew chemical additives, as well as higher packaging costs, to ensure a reasonably long shelf life. A kilo of Sona Masuri rice, a well known brand, for instance, sells at Rs 40 per kg while organic rice of the same variety costs Rs 60 per kg. Again, tur dal (a commonly used variety of pulses in India) is available at Rs 90 per kg while its organic version costs Rs 140 per kg. This is despite the doubling of prices of these commodities in the past three years, while the organic variants have stayed at almost the same price levels. Seelam was forced to focus on exports. But unwilling to give up on the local market, he set up his own retail stores in four cities - Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai - to promote organic products. Today, almost every major retail outlet is willing to stock his products. He has a presence in close to 40 cities and towns, ranging from Patiala in the north to Guntur in the south, and broke even last year. So, why have domestic consumers taken to organic foods despite their cost? Mukesh Gupta, Director of Morarka Organic, which mainly focuses on the domestic market, attributes it to rising disposable incomes and improved awareness about the health benefits of organic foods. "From 2007 to 2012, the average middle class income in India has shot up. The consumer is willing to pay more for good quality food," he says. The demand for organic foods will only grow in India, organic food producers claim, with the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act from February this year. The new law sets more stringent standards of food safety - raising the bar on the quality of food manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import. The stress on quality under the new Act will push up prices of foodstuff made using conventional techniques, reducing the price differential with organic food, and boosting sales, asserts Gupta. However, consumers would do well to ensure that they only buy certified organic products, say producers. Organic food products manufactured in and exported from India are marked with the 'India Organic' certification mark issued by certification agencies accredited under the the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and monitored by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). Most of the ing organic food companies in India voluntarily opt for this certification, though it is not mandatory for domestic sales. "The demand for certified organic foods has been growing since 2001. These are produced by about 570,000 small farmers in India with 500,000 hectares under cultivation," says P.V.S.M. Gouri, Advisor, National Accreditation Body, NPOP (under the Ministry of Commerce). Health Benefits A cross section of consumers BT spoke to said the high prices of organic food were a deterrent, but given the perceived health benefits they still opted for it. Says Sunitha Morampudi, 35, wife of a Hyderabad-based IT professional and a mother of two: "I prefer to take food that is produced organically. Yes, it is priced higher but I think it is better for our health." There has been considerable debate on whether organic food is, indeed, healthier than conventional food. A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2009 had concluded that there was no evidence of any difference in the nutrient quality of organically and conventionally produced food. "The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods," it said. The debate continues in India too. "We should not have fertilisers and pesticides in the food we consume but the nutrient quality of grains grown organically and conventionally is the same," says Dr Brundavani, consultant nutritionist at the Rainbow Children's Hospital in Hyderabad. But organic foods may have added benefits even if their nutritional value is the same as that of the conventionally grown. "In terms of the vitamin C content, an orange grown organically and another conventionally may be the same, but that is only half of the story. The chemicals present in conventional food make it difficult for the body to absorb the vitamin C," says Lev of Organic India. For the moment, with rising demand for their products, the organic foods industry in India appears set to flourish over the next few years.

Food business operators welcome extension of registration deadline

Food business operators in the city have welcomed the decision to extend the registration deadline by a year. Following a slew of representations,the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had granted time till February 4,2014 to comply with the licensing and registration rules laid down.
R Srinivasan,secretary of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association,said,We are not against the Act.But some provisions are not friendly.So we filed representations with the Centre to extend the deadline.
P Kulanthavel,a road-side vendor in Anna Nagar, said the food safety department should conduct registration camps in every ward.Most street vendors dont even know about the rules, he said.
After the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006,which includes new licensing and registration norms for food business units,was implemented in August 2011,this is the second time the deadline has been extended.Sources said very few eateries and restaurants in the city had enrolled with the state food safety department despite several notices being issued.Of the identified 22,441 food outlets in the city,only 7,000were registered,they added.District foodsafety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said,We will continue to conduct awareness programmes among food business operators.
All food business operators with an annual turnover of less than 12 lakh will have to obtain a certificate,while those with a turnover of more than 12 lakh will have to obtain a licence.

Dinakaran

Mother’s milk banks save babies in India

Jaipur: It’s a bank unlike any other. It saves the lives of the smallest and the weakest when their mothers can’t. The growing demand and importance of human milk banks will see the first one in North India being opened in Mewar region this month and another in Kolkata at SSKM hospital.
    Called Divya Mothers Milk Bank, the Mewar bank will be in tune with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, says Devendra Agarwal, founder of Maa Bhagwati Vikas Santhan, the NGO supporting this initiative. Mewar’s milk bank will be the fourth functional one after Pune, Mumbai and Surat, and will be established at Panna Dhai Hospital, Udaipur.
    This initiative will help Mewar region which is battling high infant mortality rates. A recent state health department survey has found that 42% of newborns in Rajasthan are undernourished and need mother’s milk. Breastfeeding and donated milk can reduce infant mortality rates by 22 %. “We intend to identify such children to provide milk to them,” said Agarwal. “Lack of mother’s milk has hindered their growth.” Milk, which is free, will be available after doctors and hospitals prescribe it. The bank can daily accommodate 60 donors and has a storage capacity of six litres.
    Dr RK Agarwal, one of the founders of the bank, says, “Seeking donation is, however, a challenge and requires counseling of potential donors. Our vision is to increase the availability of mother’s milk throughout the nation.”
    Milk banks are a boon for pre-term babies whose mothers don’t usually have milk for the first 2-3 days. “In such cases, human milk is better than formula or cow milk,” says Dr Jayashree Mondkar, head of neonatology at Sion Hospital, Mumbai.
    The likely donors, says Agarwal, will be mothers who give birth to stillborn infants and those with surplus milk. Medical tests to exclude HIV/ AIDS will first be conducted on the donors. The milk, after being expressed with suction machines, will be transferred to storage containers.

City water tankers flout rules Don’t Have Mandatory Certificate From Food Safety Dept

Chennai: Water tankers are revving up as a severe summer awaitsChennaiwhich received less than half the expected monsoon rain.TOIhas found that none of the 2,000-odd private water tankers crisscrossing the city has the mandatory certification from the food safety department.
    Neither do peoplewhobuy ‘drinking water’ from these tankers know about the food safety certificate nor do the tanker owners care to get the licence under the Food Safety Standards Act. Officials said that all private drinking water tankers should have a food business operator (FBO) licence under the Food Safety and Standards(Licensing and Registration) Regulations, 2011. It is also a must for the tankers to be certified for hygiene. The water quality has to be tested every six months at recognised laboratories.
    Many residents said they are forced to depend on these private tankers because of poor supply by Metrowater. Chennai Metrowater Tankers Association president N Nijam Lingam said he, and many others, were not aware of the licence system. “If there is such a law, we will abide by it,” he said.
    District food safety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said the department was trying to spread awareness among water tanker owners and buyers of tanker water. “We will tell tanker operators to ensure quality of drinking water which should be collected only from licensed sources,” he said.
    Private tanker operators supply water to apartment complexes, hospitals and hotels among other establishments. Complaints have been pouring in that most of these tankers draw water from borewells and open tanks without any purification. “Drinking water samples should have a minimum chlorine level of 0.2 parts per million (ppm), but water sourced from borewells and open wells rarely meets the standard,” said an officer.
    It is also a concern that the vehicles used to transport water were earlier used to ferry oil. Officials said all drinking water tankers should be certified to carry drinking water.
    The inside of the water tanker lorries should also be coated with a material to prevent water contamination. “If the water is being used for other purposes, they should mention it as ‘not for drinking’.
    Meanwhile, hundreds of packaged drinking water units also flourish in and aroundthecity,butonly 89 are registered with the department.A Shakespeare, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Association said the organisation is trying to spread awareness among packagers.    

Licensing relief for hotels again!

Thiruvananthapuram: The Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare has extended the deadline for hoteliers and restaurants to get the mandatory licence and registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act by one year. City folks feel that the relaxation can lead to more unsavory incidents of spicy hot food served with dead cockroaches and centipedes.

This is the second time the extension has been given, making a mockery of efforts to rein in eateries. The last day that was fixed earlier was February 4, 2013. The order issued by the food safety and standards authority of India, Ministry of health and Family Welfare stated that in continuation of the statutory advisory dated July 25, 2012 it has been decided to extend the time to February 4, 2014 for food business operators who have not obtained licence or registration under the new act.
Sisy Roy, the mother of Sachin Roy Mathew, who allegedly died after consuming shawarma on July 16, 2012 from a city hotel, said, “ I don’t know why the government has taken such a decision, every day we hear that bad food is being served in hotels. The government is supposed to take strict action against these hoteliers; instead they are giving more time.”
She added that it has been eight months since the death of her son but the case has not made any progress. “Does any government understand the pain that I am going through? My son is no more, and what was his fault? He paid money and bought the food. One second I was calling my son and the next I was not able to reach him because tragedy struck him.”

Food Safety Act framed to promote 'Packed food' only: CAIT

CAIT National President B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal have said that the Food Safety Act and its rules have been framed in keeping the interest of foreign companies which will promote 'packed food? in the Country and will prove much detrimental to the interests of existing food business in the Country.

There are many provisions, which is impossible for the domestic food business operators in the Country.CAIT has that under the Act it is provided that any such food business operator which means any institution which either with a profit motive or not , whether public or private engaged in the activities of any type of food including processing, packaging, storage, transportation, import, distribution of food articles or any type of food service will be treated as food business operators are bound to obtain registration and licence from the concerned department.
Both trade leaders said that under the provisions of the Act not only the person engaged in food business or even in any function where food articles are used will be required to obtain registration.
Khandelwal has demanded the Government to re-examine the rules and regulations and a CAIT delegation will soon meet the Minister of Health Gulam Nabi Azad and Chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority and by presenting a memorandum will demand to constitute a Joint Committee of Senior Officials and Trade representatives to review the rules and regulations.

Food safety and standards regulations: Vidarbha businessmen hail move to extend registration date

NAGPUR: Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA) a local body of businessmen taking up various issues related to their sector has welcomed the move by Food Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), of extending the date of getting a registration or obtaining licence till February next year.

According to a press release issued by VTA, the food safety and standards regulations came into force from August 5 2011. One of the clauses in the document stipulates that all food business operators (FBO) shall have to apply for conversion or renewal of their licence within one year of the date of notification of the rules.

This is the second time when the deadline for registration has been extended. Earlier the FSSAI had given a six month extension.

As per the definition, a food business operator (FBO) is any undertaking whether for profits or not, public or private, carrying out any activities related to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation distribution, sale import of food or food ingredients.

All such business establishments having annual income of Rs 12 lakh and above should have to get a licence to operate over and above getting registered.

It is only registration if it is below Rs 12 lakh an year. Since the definition is too broad it can cover even the roadside vendors and small eateries within its ambit, said VTA press release VTA has been claiming that too stringent laws will only encourage corruption

Food Safety and Standards Authority unable to implement a uniform licence scheme in Noida

NOIDA: February 4 was the deadline to get the FBO licence - for all eateries be it small restaurants or a chain - from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). If a restaurant is found without licence, the authority can penalise it with hefty fine and even shut it down.

However, there are challenges for both FSSAI and restaurants. "FSSAI has begun with a few random checks to see if licences have been renewed or fresh licences have been attained for starting a food business. However, the central food authority faces trained manpower crunch but will surely act upon consumer complaint," Ashwin Bhadri, business relations head at Equiniox Labs, which works as a consultant for FSSAI and does lab checks on its behalf.

There are anywhere between 50 lakh and 60 lakh eateries in the country. Food safety has been a perennial challenge in India with frequent cases of food adulteration and food poisoning.

Noida restaurateurs and other food business operators have welcomed the central food authority, FSSAI's push for the implementation of the food business operator licence and registration to operate. It is an attempt to streamline and regulate the country's burgeoning Rs 50,000 crore eating-out industry.

The deadline was for food business operators, who need to renew their licences but those starting a new business will have to mandatorily acquire FSSAI licence in order to operate.

"FSSAI will not be able to penalise restaurants because numerous state food authorities, including Delhi and UP government, have still not created the infrastructure to issue licences. However, FSSAI can go ahead with random checks for compliances," emphasised Samir Kuckreja, president of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI).

According NRAI, the current food retail market size is worth around Rs 50,000 crore but it is predominantly unorganised (over 80 per cent). Contribution from organised players is only about Rs 8,000 crore. Within the organised market, Delhi-NCR accounts for nearly 18-20 per cent share.

"It is surely a progressive move and as an association we have been giving our recommendations to strengthen the Food Safety and Standards Act. Apart from centralising numerous Acts like PFA, FPO and others into one, it will also create accountability for all stakeholders across the food supply chain," said Kuckreja.

Manas Wadha, who owns Desi Vibes, Kaffia and Nysha in Noida Sector 18 is quite happy with the introduction of FBO licences. "Though it requires detailed documentations (around 35), I wouldn't say it is tedious but a step towards getting more organised. It was due for the restaurant industry and I am happy that it is happening."

Adding further, Manas said, "All serious operators will take the pain and the rest will move out. This exercise will make things easier for us."

For Rishabh Saxena of Kebab Plus in Noida, the devil is in the detail. "In practicality the guidelines need to be more user-friendly for all kinds of operators."

Under the guidelines, every restaurant in every city will require a separate licence from the state authority. In addition, a food business firm will need a central licence obtained from the head office - FSSAI.

A food business - whose annual revenue is Rs 12 lakh and above but less than Rs 20 crore - will require FBO licence from the state food authority but for businesses churning revenue over Rs 20 crore will have to get a central licence from FSSAI.

To get the 'food business operator' licence, all restaurants and hotels, snack bars, cafes, school and office cafeterias, and cafes within hospitals will need to comply with a series of stringent guidelines. To continue operations, they need to display copies of the licence at prominent places within the restaurant premises and employ at least one technical person to supervise the production process.

The compliance measures include: eateries must install chimneys; follow systematic cleaning schedules; follow procedures in sourcing raw material; and, install specific temperature control.

Ashish Kapoor, owner of Yo! China and Dimsums India is in favour of the move. "Deadlines are a a must. Otherwise nobody will take it seriously."

FOOD SAFETY rules deferred for 1 year; CAIT alleges Act to facilitates foreign companies entry in food business

New Delhi, February 6, 2013: While accepting the demand of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), apex body of the trading community of the Country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has extended the implementation of rules and regulations of till 4th February , 2014. The FSSAI has issued a notification on 5th February to extend the date.
Welcoming the decision of the Authority CAIT National President B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement issued here today said that since last more than one year, the trading community is bitterly opposing the Rules and Regulations of the said Act since the Act and its rules have been framed in keeping the interest of foreign companies which will promote ‘packed food’ in the country and will prove much detrimental to the interests of existing food business in the country. There are many provisions which are impossible for the domestic food business operators in the country.
Both Bhartia and Khandelwal said that under the Act it is provided that any such food business operator which means any institution which either with a profit motive or not , whether public or private engaged in the activities of any type of food including manufacturing, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, import, distribution of food articles or any type of food service will be treated as food business operators are bound to obtain registration and licence from the concerned department.
Both trade leaders said that under the provisions of the Act not only the person engaged in food business or even in any function where food articles are used will be required to obtain registration. They said that which means that even the ‘prasad’ in temple or ‘lunger’ in Gurudwara, Wedding functions or social functions, hawkers, street vendors etc. are also liable to obtain registration and even a minor lapse will led such people for punishment as prescribed in the Act.
Bhartia and Khandelwal has demanded the government to re-examine the rules and regulations and a CAIT delegation will soon meet the Minister of Health Gulam Nabi Azad and Chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority and by presenting a memorandum will demand to constitute a Joint Committee of Senior Officials and Trade representatives to review the rules and regulations.

FSSAI extends deadline for licensing, registration to February 4, 2014

After getting the notification from the health ministry, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has further extended the licensing and registration deadlines to February 4, 2014. This is the third time the country's apex food regulator has granted an extension to the FBOs.

Even after a two-year time frame, which included a six-month extension, FSSAI was able to register 11 lakh out of the country's 5 crore FBOs and given license to only 3 lakh FBOs so far agaisnt the target of 50 lakh. Even though FSSAI was not in a mood to extend the deadline the pressure from the health ministry compelled them to extend the deadline for registration and licensing for one more year.

The first deadline to obtain licensing and registration was extended from August 4, 2012 to February 4, 2013 under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and now the deadline has been extended to February 4, 2014.

As per the new rules, anybody who are engaged in selling anything edible – roadside tea stalls, dhabas, fruit and vegetable hawkers, grocery shops, milk vendors, canteens, caterers, restaurants, hotels and food processors failing to get license and registration by February 4, 2013, were to be penalised by the food regulator.

A Madhavan, assistant director, enforcement-I, FSSAI, informed, “The deadline for registration and licensing for all the FBOs in the country has been extended by one year. I am sure that this year we will be able to complete our targets. The health ministry will help us in getting more man power in order to complete the job on time.”

When quizzed whether a year would be enough for FBOs or whether it will further be extended on February 4, 2014, it will further extended to which he replied, “No, we will be coming up with technologies and infrastructure will be developed in order to complete the procedure on time.”

One of the objectives of enforcement is to ensure that registration/licensing provisions are fulfilled and food items are hygienic, wholesome and free of contaminants.

Tejinder Singh Renu, honorary secretary, Vidarbha Taxpayers Association (VTA), Nagpur said, “FSSAI shown the haste in introducing the new regulation without adequate consultation with the states. With the poor awareness, now the regulators are finding it difficult to convince the food business operators, particularly middle and smaller ones, to get themselves registered under the new regime.”

He added, “Many bodies of food business operators have been opposing the regulations from the day it was implemented, because the new regulations will result into the harassment of the small vendors, who will also have to take registration in addition to all other licenses required from state government agencies.”

“They should set regulations not only by taking scientists, advisors and people from the health ministry into confidence, but also traders and leaders of the bodies for food business operators,” said Renu.

Stautory Advisory

Reconsider some provisions of Food Act

DMK President M Karunanidhi, whose party is a key ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, today urged it to reconsider certain provisions in the Food Safety Act as it would affect small traders. In a statement here, he said though the intentions of the Act, which has come into force after being ratified by Parliament, was lofty, certain provisions were not practically possible as it would affect the small traders. Claiming that the Food Safety and Standards Act had contained several provisions that would harm the interests of small traders and consumers, he said making the specifications of the items in the pack either in English and Hindi mandatory, was practically not possible.

 

Noting that consumers, especially the poor, were at present purchasing unpacked items, he said the Act makes packing of all commodities mandatory before selling. "If the packing is made mandatory, small and retail traders will face several difficulties and also result in consumers end up paying more", he noted.
"The Act cannot be wholeheartedly accepted as there are chances of intrerferences of officials as licences has to be compulsorily obtained by manufacturers and even street vendors", he said, adding, the hefty fine imposed under the Act, including jail terms, were not acceptable. Pointing out the opposition from small traders, the DMK Chief urged the Centre to take this into consideration and take effective steps to assist the small traders.

FSSAI deadline for registration, licence extended again

Even after a two-year timeframe, including a six-month extension, just 11 lakh out of the country’s 5 crore food business operators registered themselves with the apex food regulator and only around 3 lakh food licences have been issued so far against the target of 50 lakh.

This has compelled the Food and Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) again to extend the deadline for registration and licence for the food industry by six months, to August 2013.
The first deadline was extended from August 2012 to February 4, 2013 under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.
As per rules, anybody engaged in selling anything edible — roadside tea stalls, dhabas, fruits and vegetable hawkers, grocery shops, milk vendors, canteens, caterers, restaurants, hotels, food processors — failing to get licence and registration by February 4 were to be penalised by the food regulator.
One of the objectives of the enforcement is to ensure that registration/licensing provisions are fulfilled and food items are safe, hygienic, wholesome and free of contaminants.
However, given the haste shown by the FSSAI in introducing the new regulation without adequate consultation with the States and the poor awareness, the regulator is finding it difficult to convince the food business operators, particularly middle and smaller ones, to get themselves register under the new regime.
In fact, various food business associations have been opposing the regulation alleging that it will result into harassment of the small dhabas and vendors who will also have to take registration in addition to all other licences required from State Government agencies.
The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) said though the process would help vendors get some legitimacy, it would open doors for widespread harassment. “It is supposed to ensure that street food vendors observe better hygiene standards, but the deadline is unrealistic. Failure to obtain registration certificate would entail closure of operations,” Arbind Singh, national coordinator of the association, said.
Tamil Nadu Foodgrain Merchants Association Ltd (TFMA) in Madurai has appealed Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to not to implement the Act till its defects and shortcomings were removed.
Sources said the States too are not keen in implementing the legislation in view of shortage of staff and poorly equipped laboratories to test food samples.
As per the regulations, all food business operators have to be registered with the local authorities. And those having an annual turnover of above Rs 11 lakh have to procure a food licence to operate their services in the absence of which their business would become illegal.

Food safety licence: State seeks more time

Last date for registration ends today
The State government has appealed to the Centre to extend the deadline for securing licences or registrations by Food Business Operators (FBO), a mandatory requirement under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, by another six months.
The deadline fixed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) of India ends on Monday, February 4.
Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar said that he had written to the Centre seeking an extension of the deadline as an estimated one-and-a-half lakhs or more traders in the State were yet to be brought under the umbrella of the Food Safety wing through the registration/licensing process.
The Commissioner of Food Safety had earlier indicated that any person found to be engaging in food-related businesses without a licence or registration after the set deadline would have to face legal action as prescribed in the FSSA. This included a fine of up to Rs.5 lakhs and imprisonment of up to six months.
Till date over 25,000 FBO licences and over one lakh FBO registrations have been issued. Since January 15, the Food Safety wing has been organising licence/registration melas in all 69 taluks across the State. The process has been made online.

Dinakaran

Cigarette packs may show nicotine levels

In what would bring Indian cigarette companies on a par with their global peers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed to make it mandatory for companies to specify the amount of nicotine and tar on cigarette packs.

FSSAI officials told Business Standard the authority would soon issue a notification in this regard.

Citing the absence of adequate research facilities to verify the amount of nicotine and tar in cigarettes, companies in India have resisted the move for some time.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003, which regulates trade, as well as advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco-related products, has a provision for declaration of cigarette contents. However, owing to the lack of research laboratories, the government hadn’t notified the rule. “This anomaly will now be corrected,” said FSSAI officials. Six tobacco research laboratories were being set up in Chandigarh, Gujarat, Noida, Ghaziabad, Chennai and Kolkata at a cost of Rs 57 crore, the officials said, adding the World Health Organization would help establish these.

The Tobacco Institute of India, an industry body, did not respond to a mail seeking comment.

Healthy industry officials said earlier, manufacturers had resisted the move, as they felt when consumers saw the amount of nicotine and tar in cigarettes, business would be hit.

While nicotine is addictive, tar can cause cancer.

Health experts say the amount of nicotine and tar in Indian cigarettes is above the global permissible levels of one mg and 10 mg a cigarette, respectively. Indian cigarettes contain about 13-14 mg of tar and 1.3-1.8 mg of nicotine.

Experts add besides putting in place a system to determine the amount of nicotine and tar in cigarettes, FSSAI would also have to determine the permissible levels of these substances, something not yet mandated by law. “Once that is done, it would go a long way in streamlining the process,” says Monika Arora, head (health promotion and tobacco control), Public Health Foundation of India.

Indian manufacturers have graphic, as well as text warnings such as ‘smoking kills’ and ‘tobacco causes cancer’ on cigarette packs. Arora said the move to disclose the contents of a cigarette was the next step towards weaning smokers off the habit.

At 274.9 million, India had the second-highest number of tobacco users after China (300.8 million), according to a study released last year by The Lancet, a medical journal. The number of smokers in India stands at 138 million. Analysts say this number is growing rapidly.

Health experts have also pitched for other steps to check the growing tobacco consumption in the country. These include indicating the levels of carbon monoxide emitted when a cigarette is smoked.

Warning against food safety Act violation

The extended deadline for securing licences or registrations by Food Business Operators (FBO) will end on February 4. Any person found to be engaged in food-related businesses without a licence or registration after February 4 will have to face legal action as prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar has said. This includes a fine of up to Rs.5 lakh and imprisonment of up to six months. Till date over 2,500 FBO licences and over one lakh FBO registrations have been issued.— Special Correspondent

Instant Noodles: Are They A Treat Or A Trick?

 

Instant noodles is a popular snack that regularly claims to be ‘fortified with vitamins’, ‘high on fibre’, ‘a source of calcium, proteins and iron’. But guess what? Thats not true!

0Comments Read MoreCalcium [2], Fats [3], Healthy Life Style [4], Instant Noodles [5], Maggi [6], Noodles [7]

Noodles—yummy, instant and very contemporary! Today, if you are not fond of noodles, you would be considered an anomaly. The Indian noodles market stands at a whopping Rs 1,000 crore — and it’s growing.

The manufacturers want us to believe that noodles are ‘taste bhi, health bhi’, a nutritious snack that may be served to kids any time they demand. Promoted to the young and the old during the last few years, a lot of new varieties have entered the market.

This most popular snack now regularly claims to be ‘fortified with vitamins’, ‘high on fibre’, ‘a source of calcium, proteins and iron’, so that you don’t feel guilty every time you reach out for a pack of noodles. If these tall claims are not enough, some brands are even endorsed by sport celebrities implying that they are good for health.
In a user survey, Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) found that many consumers have instant noodles more than once or twice a fortnight and that too of big pack sizes. To check the manufacturers’ claims, 15 widely sold brands of noodles were tested in CERS’ in-house laboratory. The tests focused mainly on the nutritional content of instant noodles.

It was found that...

All 15 brands were high on sodium (salt), one of the banes of modern lifestyles. Many of the claims made by the manufacturers were far from the actual results shown in the lab. Most brands did not list the amount of sodium on their packets although it is the most important ingredient for consumers to know, besides the fat and sugar content.
Worse, where the brands did mention the sodium content, it was revealed that the actual content was higher than that claimed. For example, the label of Tasty Treat New Instant Schezwan Noodles mentioned a sodium content of 1.92mg/100g, whereas the tests revealed a shocking value of 1185mg/100g! The claims on proteins, calcium and iron made by various brands were also found to be at variance with the information on the label.
If you think that at a higher price you get a healthier option, you may want to think again. Knorr Soupy Noodles priced at Rs 25/100gm (the costliest among the 15 brands tested) was found to have the highest amount of salt.
This is not all. The brands claiming to have ‘oat flour’, ‘multigrains’, or just plain ‘atta’ did not fare any better in the tests than those having only ‘wheat flour’. If you are allergic to wheat flour and thought Top Ramen [8] Oat Noodles was the answer, you will be disappointed as it showed only 6.8 per cent of oat flour. The same was true for most claims in terms of vegetables, proteins and calcium. Lastly, don't be fooled into believing that they all have the same shelf life. It ranged from 6 months to 12 months.

How We Tested

There are no Indian Standards for instant noodles. CERS tested 15 brands for their nutritional characteristics. The parameters tested were moisture, total ash, acid insoluble ash, fat, crude fibre, protein, sodium, calcium, iron, carbohydrate and energy.
CERS invested around 1,725 man-day-hours and Rs 22,500 (sample cost and consumables) to test a total of 30 samples (two composite samples each of 15 brands, as explained below) of instant noodles.
Test protocol: The analysis was carried out as per the standard test protocols given in the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Manual of Meth- ods and Analysis of Food published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare [9], Government of India.
The labelling information on the sample packets was checked against the requirements as laid down under the FSS (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011. A sample of five packets, belong- ing to the same batch, of each brand was procured for testing. Out of these, three packets were opened and mixed properly to make a composite sample. This pooled sample was divided into two, the second one for a repeat test. These were then coded and tested. The remaining two pack- ets of each brand were kept as ‘counter samples’.

Key Findings

• All 15 brands tested were high in sodium content, being in the range of 821mg/100g to 1,943mg/100g. The UK FSA Standards consider 130 mg/100g to 600 mg/100g as acceptable. Knorr Soupy Noodles contained the highest sodium content of 1,943mg/100g. The lowest sodium content was in Maggi Meri Masala, at 821mg/100g.
• Only five brands – Ching’s Secret [10] Schezwan Instant Noodles, Knorr Soupy Noodles, Tasty Treat New Instant Schezwan Noodles, Tasty Treat Multigrain Noodles and Smith & Jones Masala Noodles – mentioned the amount of sodium.
• The fat content in almost all the brands was on the higher side, in the range of 14.7 per cent–18.4 per cent. As per UK FSA, 3g/100g to 20g/100g of fat is considered acceptable. Fat content was the highest in Foodles from Horlicks at 18.4g/100g and the lowest in Maggi Meri Masala at 14.7g/100g. In Maggi New Vegetable Atta Noodles the fat was found to be 17 per cent against the 13.4 per cent claimed, and in Maggi Vegetable Multigrainz Noodles it was 16.1 per cent instead of the labelled value of 13.9 per cent.
• Maggi Meri Masala had the lowest amounts of fat and sodium, and the highest amount of proteins.
• Top Ramen Oat Noodles had less than 6.8 per cent of oat fibre and about 91 per cent of wheat flour. Tasty Treat Multigrain Noodles showed about 72 per cent of wheat flour and Maggi Vegetable Multigrainz Noodles 82 per cent, with the rest containing ragi, rice, jowar and corn.
• Wai Wai X-press Instant Noodles Jain Masala and Wai Wai X-press Instant Noodles Masala Delight did not contain iron as claimed. They recorded 2.5mg and 2.6mg, respectively, against the labelled 7mg/100g.
• The average net weight of Top Ramen Super Noodles Masala and Tasty Treat Multigrain Noodles was less than the net weight declared.
• The mandatory label declaration of food additives was missing in Tasty Treat New Instant Schezwan Noodles, Foodles and Top Ramen Super Masala.

Manufacturers’ Response

As a policy, CERS conveyed the test results to all the manufacturers, irrespective of whether their brands had passed or failed. All nine manufacturers of the 15 brands of instant noodles received the results of their own products only and were given two weeks from the date of receipt to respond.
None of the manufacturers had responded till the time of going to press.

Areas of Action

CERS recommends that:

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) take note of the salt minimization efforts recommended by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of UK, and suggest limits of salt and sodium
• The labelling requirements for the declaration of the fat and sodium content in instant noodles be made more specific and the same should be prominently displayed
• Manufacturers make a conscious effort to reduce the level of sodium and increase the amounts of calcium and iron to maximize the nutritional benefits
• The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) seriously focus on advertisements and promotions addressed to children

Note: The tests of instant noodles reported here were carried out in CERS’ independent in-house test laboratory – the only one of its type run by a consumer organization in the country. The samples purchased for testing were bought incognito from reputed shops. No samples were accepted from manufacturers.

• This test report courtesy: INSIGHT – The Consumer Magazine (test published in September-October 2012)
• Instant noodles tested by Testing Organization for Research in Chemicals and Health Hazards (TORCH)

Street vendors whip up a recipe for success

Street food joints cater to a majority of people in the city and if these outlets are removed the cost that one has to bear and the effort that one has to put in scouting for affordable food would be huge. 

Street food joints cater to a majority of people in the city and if these outlets are removed, the cost that one has to bear and the effort that one has to put in scouting for affordable food would be huge.

Most family outings in the city usually end up on a rendezvous with roadside stalls either for a ‘chat-pata chaat’ or a quick delicious snack. Indeed, the city is famous for its culinary dishes and street food vendors play a major role in the city’s eco-system.

In spite of this role of catering to many people on a daily basis, the street food vendors are the most neglected lot in the city, Anne Dahmen, coordinator for Sustainable Hyderabad Project (SHP) observes. Anne, a German research scholar, has been working on the problems and issues faced by the street vendors in Hyderabad since 2009.

Street vendors have a very peculiar condition in the city, Anne points out. “Street food joints cater to a majority of people in the city and if these outlets are removed, the cost that one has to bear and the effort that one has to put in scouting for affordable food would be huge,” she points out.

Unlike restaurants, where people go to eat, street food vendors identify a place where there is an unfulfilled demand and open their stall, hence these entrepreneurs are very important for the city, she explains.

Suspect quality

Some people are suspicious of the quality of food that these food vendors provide, while others, particularly government officials, view them nothing less than a nuisance in the public space. This, Anne says, is because of lack of legal sanction for this profession.

“From the moment a person starts a street food counter he has to face many troubles and one of the most important problems he faces is lack of knowledge about the policy provisions available for them along with the legal issues they have to follow,” she says.

On one hand, street food vendors face the threat of eviction on a daily basis because of a lack of legal recognition to their profession. On the other, vendors are also not aware of following legal requirements like Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, she explains.

“When compared to smaller hotels and restaurants, street food is safer as the customers can see the process of food preparation. With proper training, street food can be a source of sustenance for many families in the city,” she says.

As a pilot project, SHP, in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, trained four street vendors from four categories of street food – Chaat, ‘mirchi’ based snacks, Chinese fast food and ‘tiffins’. They in turn trained about 80 vendors in their own categories.

According to M. Vijay Kumar, one of the initial four food vendors who were trained under the ‘Aarogya’ scheme, his sales have gone up by an average of Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,000 per day after he implemented the training lessons.

“There are about 18,000 street food vendors in the city and if these results can be replicated for all these vendors, the economic benefit accruing to these many families will be phenomenal,” Anne explains.

To achieve this objective, there is a need to change the way street food vending is viewed among the people, she says. “Currently officials view the issue more as a regulatory problem, whereas to improve the sector there is a need for them to make the process more participatory,” she adds.

Last date for food safety licence: February 4

The Food Safety Wing has set a deadline for food sellers and manufacturers to obtain licences before February 4. There are around 10,000 business establishments in the district.
Designated officer of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration, Dr M S Sampathkumar said to implement the rules laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, officials are involved in registering and licensing food manufacturers.

Rally to sensitise traders to need to register under food safety Act

Carrying forward:Students taking out a rally in the city on Wednesday

Even as the February 4 deadline for food business units to register themselves under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 is fast approaching, the district administration organised a rally in the city on Wednesday to sensitise traders to the need to register under the Act immediately.

All food business operators with a turnover of Rs.12 lakh should obtain licence from the designated officer and those with turnover of below Rs.12 lakh should register themselves with the respective food safety officer as per the provisions of the Act.

Licence

Apart from hotels and restaurants, roadside eateries, grocers and departmental stores selling food products, and meat stalls would have to register or obtain licence depending on the turnover.

However, many traders in the district were yet to register themselves under the Act.

Collector Jayashree Muralidharan who flagged off the rally by students pointed out that the stay obtained by traders in this connection has been lifted and hence it was essential for them to register or obtain licences before February 4.

Failure to do so would attract penal action.

The rally was taken out through the city’s commercial areas from the Gandhi market via the Big Bazaar Street, NSB Road and Nandhikovil Street before culminating at Chathram Bus Stand.

V.P.Thandapani, Corporation Commissioner, and A.Ramakrishnan, designated officer for the district, TN Food Safety and Drug Administration (Food Wing), participated in the rally.

Food Safety AppellateTribunal mooted

Bhubaneswar, Jan 30: The State Government has put enforcement of food safety standards under single authority of Food Safety Commissioner and is mulling to set up a Food Safety Appellate Tribunal in the State. The legal and executive issues relating to the matter came up for discussion at a high level meeting here Tuesday.
Previously, the food standards were being enforced by several authorities. Now, the Commissioner will be assisted by Food Safety and other designated officers. The Government also proposes to have accredited and referral laboratories soon to intensify implementation of food safety standards in the State. It has also been proposed to declare the Additional District Magistrates as Adjudicating Officers.
Presently, Director of Public Health has been designated as Food Safety Commissioner. The existing Food Inspectors have been designated as Food Safety Officers. Twelve new posts have been created. It was decided in the meeting that there will be 38 Food Safety Officers in the State. While 30 of them will be posted at each district, the rest eight officers will be posted in urban local bodies (ULBs).
Meanwhile, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India has also started functioning as a regulatory body under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The implementation of the Standards will be governed as per the Food Safety and Standard (FSS) Act-2006, which envisages developing an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food.
The new Act has integrated eight different Acts and Government Orders (GOs) like Prevention of Food Adulation Act-1954, Fruit Products Order-1958, Meat Food Products Order-1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order-1947, Edible Oil Packaging (Regulation) Order-1988, Solvent Extracted Oil and Edible Flour (Control) Order-1967, Milk and Milk Products Order-1992 and other GOs relating to food under Essential Commodities Act-1955.
According to B K Panda, Food Safety Commissioner-cum-Director of Public Health, the business units, which have licence under Food Adulteration Act, will have to now renew their licence under FSS Act at the district level. The Additional District Medical Officers (Public Health) of the respective districts have been designated for the purpose.
All food dealing business units with an annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh will have to avail licence while shops with turnover less than that will have to be registered. No shop can carry on food business without valid licence or registration. The concerned department has been told to facilitate the process of the registration by making provisions at Common Service Centres.
It was also decided in the meeting that the State-Level Steering Committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary and the District Committees will be constituted under the respective Collectors. At the district level, the District Medical Officer will function as the Member-Conveyer.
It was also decided that five Cluster Food Testing Laboratories will be set up in the State. Each cluster will cover 4 to 5 districts. Mobile food testing laboratory will be set up to cover remote areas, large public congregations and disease outbreak areas. The clusters will be developed in urban areas like Berhampur, Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Rourkela.
While Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) will be involved in implementation of the Act with technical support from Primary Health Centres, the collected licence and registration fees will be used for awareness generation and grievance redressal activities.
Multimedia campaigns will be under taken to generate awareness among common masses and stakeholders about the new food law, institutions created for implementation, provisions relating to licensing and registration.
Accredited activists at field level will be trained and engaged in inspecting the food dealing shops on incentive basis. The department has been asked also to develop a pro-active self-compliance machinery, which will check the standards through application of science and technology.

Food and drug administration to keep 'mess' safe for students

Are you being served substandard and unsafe food in your canteen? The food and drug administration (FDA) department could provide some respite. It has taken up the cause and will crackdown on such mess across the city.

"FDA would proactively inspect and collect samples from canteens and mess in colleges and hostels. Quality of food has to be safe". Complaints can also be made through it's call centre which is supervised by its joint controller. FDA action comes nearly a year after the enactment of food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) Act which provides that hostels and canteens on campus have to be registered. Selling unsafe food items carries a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh, said Agarwal. Off-campus hostel canteens would be a priority for the FDA inspectors. A private engineering college student residing in a hostel said, "Most of us avoided eating in the canteen during examinations. It is too risky. Complaints about food quality often go unheard and we are instead told to vacate the premises. Eating elsewhere means we have to shell out more."

Enforcement squads to ensure food quality

The State Government on Tuesday decided to intensify the implementation of food safety standards. “All food products manufacturing and selling units having annual turnover of more than Rs.12 lakh will have to obtain licence. Registration of units having less than Rs 12 lakh turnover will be made mandatory,” official sources said after a meeting here.
The legal and executive issues relating to food safety standards were discussed at the meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik on Tuesday.
Health and Family Welfare Secretary PK Mohapatra told the meeting that implementation of food safety standards will be governed as per the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, which envisages developing an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food.
Food Safety Commissioner-cum-Director, Public Health, BK Panda said the business units having licence under the Food Adulteration Act will have to renew their licence under the FSS Act by February 4. The renewal of licence will be done at district level.
The additional district medical officers (ADMOs), public health, of the respective areas designated officer for registration. No shop can carry on food business without valid licence or registration. The food inspectors have been designated as food safety officers and 12 new posts have been created, he said.
The State will have 38 Food Safety Officers with one in each district. The remaining eight officers will be posted in urban local bodies. It was proposed to declare the ADM as adjudicating officers.
Food testing laboratories will be set up in five clusters and each cluster will cover four or five districts. Mobile food testing laboratories will be set up to cover remote areas. The cluster testing laboratories are likely to come up in Balasore, Berhampur, Cuttack, Puri and Rourkela.
Patnaik advised the members to involve PRIs in the implementation of the Act with technical support from PHCs. Multimedia campaigns will be undertaken to create awareness about the new food laws, institutions created for implementation, provisions relating to licensing and registration.
The meeting also discussed the feasibility of engaging accredited organisations at field level for inspection of food products at manufacturing level and sale outlets on incentive basis.
Previously the food standards were being enforced by several authorities. Now it will be enforced under a single authority.
Food Safety Standards Authority of India, a regulatory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has started functioning.

Focus on food safety in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 29: From now, shops and business establishments selling food materials and having an annual turnover of Rs 12 lakh and above will require a licence from the Odisha government. The ones with a turnover below Rs 12 lakh will be required to register themselves with the Odisha commissioner of food safety. But business establishments with an annual turnover of Rs 20 crore and above will have to obtain a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. A full-fledged commissioner of food safety will be appointed in Odisha soon. The commissioner will be an officer not below the rank of a commissioner-cum-secretary charged with monitoring enforcement of rules and regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act, which came into force across the country from August 5, 2011. Food safety officers will assist him. At present, the director of public health is acting as the food safety commissioner. A decision was taken today at the level of the chief secretary to intensify enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act which envisages development of an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food. The Act has amalgamated eight existing acts and orders dealing with food adulteration, fruit products, meat products, vegetable oil products, edible oil packaging, solvent extracted, edible flour and dairy products. The meeting, which was presided over by Odisha chief secretary B.K. Patnaik, today decided that there would be 38 food safety officers in the state to enforce food safety laws. The existing 26 food inspectors have been designated as food safety officers. Besides, 12 new posts have also been created. Out of the 38 food safety officers, 30 will be posted at the district level while the rest eight will have to be posted in urban local bodies. It has been proposed that the additional district magistrates of all districts will be declared as the adjudicating officers for the purpose of the Act. A steering committee will also be constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary and district level committees will be headed by their respective collectors. Earlier, several authorities were enforcing food standards. Now, it will be done by a single authority. Food safety commissioner –cum-director B.K. Panda said business units, which had licence under the Food Adulteration Act, would have to renew their licences under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Extension of Proviso to regulation 1.1.2 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation 2011

1.1: Title and commencement
1.1.1:These regulations may be called the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
1.1.2: These regulatiions shall come into force on or after 5th August, 2011, except the regulations 2.1.7.(1)(2)(3)(4), 2.1.8 (1)(3), 2.1.11 (1)(2), 2.1.12(1), including table 14 of Appendix A and table 2 of Appendix B which shall come in to force after six months from that date.
Provided that wherever the standards given in these regulations are at variance with any of the provisions of the licenses already granted, Food Business Operator shall comply with the provisions of these regulations within six months from the date of commencement of the regulations.

Dinakaran

Now, food products need to seek approval from government-promoted FSSAI

Probiotic ice-cream, digestive biscuits or low-sugar jams may be flying off retail shelves, but food companies are no longer being allowed to sell new products without taking approvals from the government-promoted Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
According to a new and modified FSSAI advisory issued to all food companies last month, any new or existing product which is ‘proprietary’ – in other words not classified in the food act – will need to follow a regulatory ‘new product approval’ guideline, as laid down by the FSSAI. Even if food companies announce the ingredients on packs and in advertising, they will still need approvals.
According to guidelines, makers of all proprietary products will now have to submit applications to the central government for approval and can launch only after all the necessary approvals have been obtained.
For example, while cheese and butter are standard products, a low-fat ice-cream or dessert would be classified as proprietary. Another example — if the existing food law states that fruit-based jam can be made only with a specific amount of sugar, and if a company chooses to add more or less sugar than what is specified, the product becomes proprietary. Food companies say the move will delay new product development and product innovation, though it will help in filtering out incorrect product claims.
Piruz Khambatta, chairman of beverage concentrate and powder maker Rasna, called it a step backwards. “Such guidelines did not exist in the past… We welcome regulations but they should be conducive to growth instead of delaying both new product development and innovation – which is so important when the market is so competitive,” Khambatta said. Till now, proprietary food products could be approved at the state level, but with the new guidelines in place, companies need to seek approval from the central food authority.
RS Sodhi, MD of dairy giant Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which makes the Amul brand of milk, cheese, butter and ice-cream, said: “It’s a good move from the consumer’s point of view… when you deal with food products, you have to be very sure of the claims you are making. But it’s also true that this may delay new launches.”
The move comes at a time when functional foods are growing at a rapid pace. While categories like muesli are growing at 40% a year and are estimated at 100 crore, the 200-crore-plus oats market is growing at about 30%.
“We are applying for fresh approvals even for existing products which are not listed in the existing food act,” said a top official of a leading multinational food company, requesting not to be named.
FSSAI declined comment on the matter, and an official from the authority said all relevant information had been posted on their website.
The FSSAI has also set up an exhaustive set of guidelines for self regulation in all advertising of foods and beverages, along with advertising monitoring agency Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). The guidelines state that ads of foods and beverages making claims like making children taller, helping people lose weight or curing hair-loss will need to prove their declarations scientifically.

FSSAI to conduct survey to study consumer apprehensions

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in its effort to spread awareness on the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has commissioned a survey in five districts of Tamil Nadu to study consumer apprehensions.

In order to understand the problems of the consumers, the FSSAI has asked the Consumer Association of India (CAI) to conduct a study amongst the people in five districts of Tamil Nadu to understand what their main concerns or apprehensions on food safety were, Director (Enforcement) of the FSSAI S.S. Ghonkrokta told The-Hindu , on the sidelines of the Workshop on the Food Safety and Standards Act here on Friday.

By understanding the needs of the consumer, it was possible to devise strategies to tackle these issues and make the implementation of food safety stronger.

The idea was for the people in the villages to have a say in food safety, since there were a number of concerns in terms of food standards and security in rural India, he said.

When contacted over the phone, founder trustee of CAI R. Desikan said they were currently working in Chennai, Vellore, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore and surrounding villages. Although they had not yet started work on the study, planning was underway, he said.

They had, in the meanwhile, launched a drive to check various shops if they were retailing expired foods.

The CAI was also training 546 food safety officers so that they understood the importance of their job and how to conduct proper checks, Mr. Desikan added.

Speaking on the auditing that was specified under the Act, Dr. Ghonkrokta said that one of the components of the food audit was the self audit, which would be conducted by all food handlers. To help with the food audit, there were 12 agencies appointed, with 500 people working on the food safety auditing.

FSSAI had approved 70 labs in the private sector with NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accreditation, to conduct the food safety tests for the audits.

These laboratories were in addition to the 72 State laboratories that were present across the country, he said.

Consumer Association of India will conduct a study in Chennai, Vellore, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore

Claims in child food supplements should be scientifically proven

Claims to boost food supplement sales such as Complan improves memory or Boost provides three times more stamina or Horlicks helps your children grow taller will have to come with sound scientific proof before going public or else they would have to pay penalty of upto Rs. 10 lakh.

The government’s Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has asked the advertisers' self-regulating body, the Advertisement Standard Council of India (ASCI), to ask its members to refrain from making tall claims on television without “adequate scientific justification”.

Getting scientific justification would not be easy as per authority's prescription.

The companies would be required to test the product at the authority’s listed laboratories across India for the claim and get it peer reviewed by known scientific names in the field of food and nutrition. Only after that they can air the advertisement making the claim.

The authority in an advisory has also asked the supplement manufacturers to ensure that the product label provides right information to consumers about the scientific validity of the claim.

“All food business operators are advised to strictly follow provisions contained in Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 eschewing misleading claims which are not established by scientific evidence as proof beyond reasonable doubts,” the advisory issued on basis of number of complaints said.

The advisory covers all food and health supplements, nutraceutical (combination of nutrition and pharmaceutical) and risk reduction claims and has asked companies to be clean on this count.

Consumer Affairs secretary Pankaj Aggarwala said the consumers using these supplement can also approach Consumer Courts if they find that the product has failed to provide desired benefit. “There is a provision for claims and fact in the Consumer Protection Act,” he said, adding that the court can direct the manufacturer to correct the misleading advertisements.

Consumer right groups in India have made representations to the ministry and the authority stating that commercials exploit anxiety of parents for their children to do well in examinations and lead healthy life.

Food supplement companies, however, say that their claims have been scientifically validated but they failed to prove the same before the authority, which has initiated prosecution against 19 popular brands for making misleading claims in advertisements. The food safety law provides for penalty of up to Rs. 10 lakh for each misleading claim in any form.

Enforcement of food safety standards to be intensified in Odisha

Report by Pratap Pradhan; Bhubaneswar: Implementation of Food Safety Standards will be intensified in the State. The legal and executive issues  relating to the matter was discussed in a high level meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik in Secretariat conference hall today wherein Pr. Secretary Health & Family Welfare P.K.Mohapatra outlined different issues for discussion.

Deliberations made in the meeting reveal that implementation of Food Safety Standards will be governed as per the Food Safety and Standard Act,2006 which envisages developing an effective enforcement machinery to ensure safety in sale and consumption of food. The New Act has integrated 8 different Acts and Orders like Prevention of Food Adulation Act, 1954,  Fruit Products Order, 1958, Meat Food Products, 1973 ,Vegetable Oil Products (control) order, 1947, Edible Oil Packaging (regulation) Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil Deoilded Maal, and Edible Flour (control) order, 1967,  Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 and Other Orders relating to food under Essential Commodities Act, 1955. In the meanwhile Food Safety & Standards Authority of India has also started functioning as a regulatory body under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Previously the food standards were being enforced by several authorities. Now it will be enforced under single authority. The act will be enforced in the State under Food Safety Commissioner who will be assisted by designated officers and food safety officers. It has been proposed to have one food safety Appellate Tribunal, accredited laboratories and referral laboratories in the State. Chief Secretary Sri Patnaik has directed the department to develop proactive self compliance machinery which will check the standards through application of science & technology.

Presently Director of Public Health has been designated as Commissioner of Food Safety. The existing Food Inspectors have been designated as Food Safety Officers. 12 new posts have been created.  It has been decided in the meeting that there will be 38 Food Safety Officers in the state out of whom  30 will be posted at district level each district with one and  8  Officers will be posted in Urban Local Bodies. It has been proposed to declare the Additional District Magistrates of all districts as Adjudicating Officers.

Discussions in the meeting reveal that all food dealing business units having annual turnover of more than 12 lakhs will have to avail license; and, the shops having less than 12 lakh turn over will have to be registered.  Food Safety Commissioner –cum-Director Public Health Dr B.K.Panda has told that the business units who have license under Food Adulteration Act will have to renew their license under FSS Act within 4th February, 2012. This renewal will be done at district level. The  ADMO, Public Health of the respective districts have been designated for the purpose. No shop can carry on food business without valid license or registration.  Chief Secretary has advised to facilitate the process of the registration by making provisions for registrations in Common Service Centers.

It has been decided that the steering committee at the State level will be constituted under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary and the District Committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of respective Collectors. At the District level the District Medical Officer will function as the member Conveyer. It has also been decided that 5 Cluster Food Testing Laboratories will be set up in the State.  Each cluster will cover 4 to 5 districts. Mobile Food testing laboratory will be set up to cover remote area, large public congregations and disease outbreak areas. Chief Secretary has advised to develop the clusters in urban areas like Berhampur, Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Rourkela. Chief Secretary Sri Patnaik has also advised to involve PRI Institutions in implementation of the Act with technical support from primary health centers. It has been decided in the meeting that collected license and registration fees will be used for awareness generation and grievance redressesal activities.

Multimedia campaigns will be under taken to generate awareness among common masses and stakeholders about the new food law, institutions created for implementation, provisions relating to licensing and registration etc. Chief Secretary Sri Patnaik has advised to specify and prescribe the safety standards to be followed by the food dealing business units. Chief Secretary has also advised to train and engage accredited activists at field level to inspect the food dealing shops on incentive basis. The Director, Public Health, Dr. B.K. Panda along with other senior officers participated in discussions.