Nestlé resumes Maggi Noodles production at three plants

The product will have to undergo fresh round of tests to comply with the Bombay HC order before it hits market

New Delhi: Swiss packaged food maker Nestlé SA’s Indian unit, Nestlé India Ltd,has started producing Maggi Noodles at three of its five plants at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa) from Monday.

“We have resumed manufacturing of Maggi Noodles at three of our plants,” said a Nestlé India spokesperson.

The product will have to undergo fresh round of tests to comply with the Bombay high court order before it hits the market. “We shall commence sale only after the samples are cleared by these laboratories. We are engaging with the relevant state authorities and other stakeholders at our other manufacturing locations to commence manufacture at the earliest,” said the spokesperson.

Nestlé has Maggi Noodles production facilities in Moga (Punjab), Bicholim (Goa), Nanjangud (Karnataka), Taliwal (Himachal Pradesh) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand). It also used to produce the instant noodles through contract manufacturers in West Bengal and Delhi.

On 17 October, Nestlé India said that three laboratories certified by the National Accreditation Board for Test and Calibration Laboratories declared Maggi Noodles safe for consumption.

The NABL tests were ordered by the Bombay high court, which set aside the Maggi ban imposed by food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 13 August.

Nestlé India moved the high court after the FSSAI on 5 June ordered the company to withdraw all nine variants of the instant noodle brand from the market, calling them unsafe and hazardous for human consumption citing excess lead content and traces of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer.

Last month, Nestlé India’s managing director Suresh Narayanan, appointed after the Maggi controversy broke, said the company hopes to bring the product back to the shop shelves by the year-end.

State governments of Gujarat and Karnataka have already lifted the ban on Maggi Noodles.

Nestlé India’s Maggi Noodles had earlier cleared tests in various countries, including the US, the UK, Singapore and Australia.

For the first time in 15 years, Nestlé India reported a loss of Rs.64.4 crore for the quarter ended 30 June after accounting for a one-time charge of Rs.451.6 crore related to the recall and destruction of Maggi Noodles, which contributed about 30% of the firm’s India sales.

The recurring impact of the ban on Maggi Noodles is likely impact the September quarter sales too. Nestlé India’s domestic sales growth for the September quarter was expected to drop by 19% year-on-year, said Abneesh Roy, associate director (institutional equity research) at Edelweiss Securities Ltd in a research note dated 6 October.

“Maggi is key to Nestlé’s franchisee in India, and would be the backbone for all future growth in the prepared dishes segment… We also look forward to seeing steps from Nestlé, to derisk its India business from this one brand,” said Sunita Sachdev, analyst with UBS Securities India Pvt. Ltd.

Noodle makers up the ante as Maggi relaunch nears

Brands such as Wai-Wai noodles which gained in the absence of Maggi, will now strengthen its presence with a distribution and marketing push

Rival brands are bracing up for the re-entry of Maggi after Nestle announced it had resumed production of the instant noodles in three states.

ITC, maker of the Yippee brand of noodles, is gearing up to introduce new variants soon apart from focusing on customer-engagement programmes. "Our products are innovative and differentiated. The Yippee Magic Masala variant has driven growth, but we will launch more variants that are under development," VL Rajesh, divisional chief executive, foods division, ITC said.

According to him, the company will kick off the second phase of a "reassurance" campaign launched a month ago. "The instant noodles category witnessed a significant decline in sales after the (Maggi) controversy. It was imperative to reinstate consumer trust in this category through a campaign, which we did," Rajesh added.

While, ITC has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to increase its sales Lalitpur (Nepal)-based Chaudhary Group (CG), which manufactures Wai-Wai noodles is focusing on its existing products. CG which had gained from the absence of Maggi, is planning a distribution and marketing push. Nirvana Chaudhary, managing director of the Chaudhary Group, said the company would soon launch a national advertising campaign and undertake on the ground initiatives in malls and housing societies.

"Developments in the past few months made us realise the trust consumers have on Wai-Wai. This prompted us to come up with a new marketing strategy to increase our visibility," Chaudhury said. Industry sources said this was the first time that Wai-Wai was undertaking such a massive exercise.

Experts said the fight for market share between Wai-Wai and Yippee was inevitable because both wanted to capitalise on Maggi's absence. The two companies also did not have competition from Indo-Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen noodles for three months following its recall from the market in June. Top Ramen has now been relaunched.

The Rs 3,500 crore instant noodle industry in India shrunk after the recall of Maggi to Rs 1,000 crore. Maggi noodles, which contributed 25-26% to Nestle’s Rs 9,800 crore revenue, was a Rs 2,500 crore brand, analysts said.

The challenge for existing players is not only to protect their market share but also grow quickly before Maggi stages a comeback.

"Nestle was quick to tap into the latent demand for Maggi right after the August 13 verdict of the Bombay High Court. Excitement is predictably high, which will result in good sales for the brand after its relaunch," said the chief executive of a consumer goods firm. "The pressure on existing players only grows," he added.

MAALAI MALAR NEWS

Maggi may face 'Maha' hurdle; state likely to reinforce ban

The Maharashtra government argues that they have sufficient powers to act under the Food Safety Act (FSA) for the interest of public health.

Nestle's flagship brand 'Maggi' instant noodles is unlikely to be on the shelves anytime soon if the Supreme Court accepts the plea that is likely to be filed by the Maharashtra government. 

The Maharashtra government argues that they have sufficient powers to act under the Food Safety Act (FSA) for the interest of public health. 

In the petition which has been accessed by CNBC-TV18’s Ashmit Kumar the state government seeks to reinforce the ban on the sale of the instant noodles, which had been lifted by the Bombay High Court. 

Sources say there were various legal arguments being raised by the state government. They have argued that there were legal remedies available to Nestle under FSA but those were not taken, and that the appeal before the Bombay High Court is not legally tenable. 

The state government also argues the veracity of the lab reports cannot be questioned because they were approved by the High Court. Incidentally, they are relying on the reports that the FSSAI had relied on in the first place. 

They state also argues that High Court’s observation that principles of National Justice were not followed are also case of erring argument by the Bombay High Court. 

So despite Nestle’s announcement that manufacturing is currently underway at three facilities they could still face legal hurdle, if the appeal was accepted by the Apex Court.

Maharashtra to move Supreme Court against HC order lifting ban on Maggi

The Maharashtra government has decided to move the Supreme Court against Bombay High Court's order lifting ban on Maggi noodles.

Earlier, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had banned Maggi noodles after finding lead levels beyond permissible limits, following which the company had withdrawn it from the market. Nestle India had then challenged the ban by FSSAI in the Bombay High Court.

Meanwhile, the Nestle plans to resume production of Maggi and launch it in markets by first week of November.

Karnataka and Gujarat had Monday revoked the ban on manufacture and sale of Nestle India's popular instant food brand.

KUMUDAM REPORTER ARTICLE

Diwali delicacies may be unsafe as food safety officers' crunch hits testing

Beware before you plan to buy sweets and chocolates for your family this festive season. For more than a year now, 60 per cent posts of food inspectors have been lying vacant.

Beware before you plan to buy sweets and chocolates for your family this festive season. For more than a year now, 60 per cent posts of food inspectors have been lying vacant. This is the peak season when the food department conducts rigorous checks on the shops selling milk and milk products. Lack of these inspectors might hamper the overall sampling process.

There are 32 sanctioned posts of food safety officers of which 20 posts have been lying vacant for more than a year now. The food safety officer assists the designated officer in all matters related to field inspections, including collection of samples and instituting prosecution proceedings in a court of law in defaulting cases.

The department has been waiting to get food inspectors for long but nothing has happened. The Food and Drug department of Delhi keeps surveillance over the market by organising surprise inspections and raids and collecting samples of such food articles which can be potentially adulterated, sub-standard or misbranded.

The department, on an average, receives 125 food samples in a month for testing. Sources in the health department added that due to the vacant posts, the overall process gets hampered.

Officials added that due to large number of food business operators in Delhi, the role and availability of such officers is extremely important. In 2014-2015, the department collected 1,480 samples of food items and sent them for testing.

"The posts have been lying vacant for more than a year now. We have escalated the matter to Delhi government and soon new people will be hired. Such posts should not remain vacant for long, as these officers have a direct link to people's health," Dr Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner, Department of Food Safety, Delhi government told Mail Today.

The food inspectors are hired by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB). There are 11 districts in the capital, for which there are 12 food safety officers. Interestingly, apart from conducting regular inspections, these food officers have other duties.

With these 12 officers, the department has begun the rigorous checking of the food items. "Our focus is to check the raw materials. During this season, the shopkeepers mix the old and stale food with the new packets and try to sell it to the customers," added Dr Darswal.

The department is also working on getting a hi-tech upgraded lab for testing food samples. Experts add that the lab will have better infrastructure, more people and upgraded equipment.

As per the official process, the food department receives a complaint about an adulterated food item, the report is then marked to the designated district officer, who along with the food safety officer visits the shop to collect the samples. The samples are then sent for testing where the food analyst supervises the work and sends the reports back to the concerned department.

FSDA launches drive against adulterated sweets in festive season

Agra: With the festive season in progress, cases of adulteration of food items are increasing. Keeping this in mind, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Agra is taking action against adulterers and is conducting regular food checking and testing at different places around the city.

The department after receiving information about adulteration in milk, spices, tomato sauce and paneer, has seized 40 sacks of powder used in making sweets. Shops were found offering sweets and petha with aluminum foil dressing in place of silver foil. In the name of pistachio sweets, groundnut flakes excessively coloured with hazardouse green food pigment was being used, officials alleged.

"On Monday two petha samples collected along NH-2 from two locations were found unsafe. One sample had aluminium dressing in place of silver, while another had excessive synthetic food colouring (288 parts per million). The shops belonged to Roopkishore Agarwal and Santosh Singh," said Ram Naresh Yadav, designated officer, FSDA Agra. "Sweet samples from Shri Ram Traders, Peepal Mandi, collected on Sunday, were found to have aluminium foil dressing foil dressing and coloured groundnut flakes in place of pistachio. The samples collected will be tested at our laboratory and further action will be taken based on report findings," Yadav added.

The FSDA official explained that the law allows silver to be used in its edible form on sweets for decoration, but use of aluminium is not allowed as it can lead to serious health hazards. As per the food safety norms, colours up to 100 parts per million, a way of expressing very diluted concentrations of substances, are allowed in food items, beyond which they are harmful to humans.

Adulteration causes serious risk to health. Presence of harmful starch, urea-mixed milk, caustic soda, artificial sweetening chemicals, non-approved colored sweets and unhygienic cooking conditions lead to acute gastritis, serious diarrhoea, dysentery, dehydration and kidney inflammation among others, officials pointed out.

"On a complaint of adulterated sweet-making powder brand, two men had been arrested for copyright violation. A joint team of local police and FSDA seized 40 sacks of sweet-making powders. Samples collected are being sent for laboratory testing," FSDA officials added.

40% eateries in district operating without licence

There are about 20,000 eateries in the district, but as many as 8,000 food operators are operating without proper licences and are violating safety norms.

Despite getting an extension on the deadline for online registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, about 40% vendors in the district are yet to get themselves registered with the district health department. 

The deadline for registration has been extended thrice in the past one-and-a-half year. After the expiry of the previous deadline on August 4, the health department had further extended the deadline to February 4, 2016. 

However, sources in the health department said that only around 1,000 registrations have been made and 260 licences have been issued in the district through the online portal over the past 19 months. 

There are about 20,000 eateries in the district, but as many as 8,000 food operators are operating without proper licences and are violating safety norms. 

The department had stopped issuing manual registration and licences after the facility for online registration was started in the district in 2014. As per details, before the launch of the online facility, 848 eateries had got licences and 9,543 food operators, including kiosks, hotels, restaurants, dhabas, sweetmeat shops, canteens, tea stalls, meat sellers, milk sellers and grocery stores, had got themselves registrated under the act. 

Officials in the health department said that food operators such as local vendors and eateries hesitate to apply online as the process is more complex than the manual process and most are not familiar with the use of computers. 

Moreover, there is no provision of fine against violators as the state government had extended the deadline for applying. “If the government did not extend the date, we could have started issuing challans to violators,” said a senior health official, on the condition of anonymity. 

District health officer Rajpal Singh said, “We are doing our level best to create awareness and motivate food operators to get registered under the act. But there is no fear of fine among people.” 

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, states that food operators who have an annual turnover of above `12 lakh should have mandatory licences while the remaining operators should get a registration certificate, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 

The registration fee per applicant is Rs 100. To get a licence under act, the applicants have to pay `2,000, `3,000 or `5,000, depending on the kind of business. 

Registration process 

An applicant can log on to the government website http://foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in/and can register with the health department after furnishing complete details of the business and submitting the fee amount. 

Later, applicants will have to fill in a form seeking issuance of a licence or registration certificate and upload scanned copies of documents on the website. 

After completing the online process, health officials will visit the shop or eatery for physical verification.

Nestle to resume sales of Maggi by November

 

Swiss food giant Nestle has begun production of Maggi from three of its plants in India and the popular noodle can be expected to be back on shop shelves in a few weeks.The final date, however, has not been fixed yet, the company said on Monday .

The move to start production of Maggi comes after all 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by three laboratories mandated by the Bombay high court, were found to be safe, with lead content much below the permissible limits.

The imminent resumption of Maggi's sales marks an end of nearly six months of turmoil for the brand which has remained a favourite with consumers for years.

In June, Maggi was ordered off the shelves as the country's food regulator found high lead content in some of the samples of Maggi. The tough stance of the regulator triggered a scare among food companies and foreign investors.

“We have resumed manufacturing of Maggi noodles at three of our plants, at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa). In compliance with the orders of the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay , fresh samples from these batches will be sent for testing to the three accredited laboratories designated by the HC,“ said a Nestle spokeswoman. Nestle will commence sale of Maggi only after the samples are cleared by these laboratories, said a company spokesman. “We are engaging with the relevant State authorities and other stakeholders at our other manufacturing locations to commence manufacture at the earliest,“ she said.

The controversy over Maggi had dealt a huge blow to the com pany , its suppliers, factories, employees, truckers and distributors. “Consumers love Maggi the way it is and it's my job to give them Maggi the way it is,“ Nestle India managing director Suresh Narayanan had told TOI in an interview last month.

The company had planned to bring Maggi back in the market by the end of the year but with the results of the tests they would want to hit the shelves in the festival season and seek to help nurse the brand which has been a comfort snack for millions.

Nestle India has conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories and all reports are clear. In addition to these, various countries including USA, UK, Singapore, Australia and others have found Maggi noodles manufactured in India safe for consumption.

Paswan in the thick of Maggi ban

After Nestle obtained official clearance for Maggi Noodles, union minister of consumer affairs Ram Vilas Paswan finds himself in the hot seat and having much explaining to do on charges that he took a hasty step in ordering the ban on Maggi Noodles which has cost Nestle a colossal loss of over Rs.600 crore in sales.

Despite Nestle pleading that the laboratory tests on Maggi Noodles were questionable and rejecting requests for a review, Paswan reportedly went ahead in ordering Maggi out of the shelves.

Now that Maggi Noodle is back with a bang, after recent tests show that the lead content was well within the safety limit, there are voices demanding to know why Paswan ignored the pleas for more tests.

Maggi Noodle was banned after the June 5,2015 order of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and a similar order by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority (FDA) directing it to withdraw all variants of the noodles, citing the presence of excessive lead. However 

The Bombay High Court on August 14,2015 set aside the countrywide ban on nine variants of Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles, saying the national food regulator had acted in an “arbitrary” manner and not followed the “principles of natural justice” while banning the product. The court, however, ordered Nestle India to conduct fresh safety tests on the product before relaunching it. 

Interestingly, a recent sting operation carried out by India Today, exposed the whole fraud of food tests being done when food inspectors in UP were caught on tape agreeing to pass a product despite having high lead content for some money. The Maggi ban, which now has been laid at the doorstep of Paswan appears to have given rise to speculations that he had hastily ordered the ban after Nestle for reasons best known to him.

Aquafina Admits That It’s Just Selling Tap Water Bottled & Labelled As Mineral Water In US

Brand loyalty is a phenomenon that has gripped the modern world and has led people to believe that they must pay a certain decided price just for a label. But what if people were to discover that apart from the labels, the product they are paying from is no different from something they procure anywhere else?

There's some interesting news for all those people who insist on drinking "bottled mineral water" for the sake of personal health and hygiene. As per a recent admission by Aquafina in the US, reported by ABC News, it's just tap water behind those labels showing glorious mountains.

The revelation comes after Aquafina in the US was forced to specify PWS (Public Water Source) on its labels, under pressure from Accountability International. The company said it was reasonable to make people understand that they were paying for water that is easily available in their bathroom sink.

The development has also sparked off a debate about tap water being unhealthy. Making people pay more for nothing is one thing, but the tonnes of plastic waste generated from the billion dollar industry, which is floating in the sea and polluting the environment, is a major cause of concern.

On its part PepsiCo India issued a statement saying, “As stated on the label, Aquafina is packaged drinking water with purity guaranteed. As per PepsiCo’s standard process, water used in Aquafina goes through stringent quality checks and treatment to ensure that it is potable. Once this process is complete, the water is further treated through a rigorous, five-step state-of-the-art purification process to ensure that all physical and chemical impurities and harmful microbes are removed. We at PepsiCo, rigorously adhere to the requirements set out in applicable Indian Food Safety and Standards Regulations and Bureau of Indian Standards requirement for packaged drinking water. That's how we ensure that you get a clean, pure taste every time you open a bottle of Aquafina.”

Of course, tap water in the US is drinkable. So in no way was this endangering the drinkers. And this issue is restricted to the US alone. The water sold in India is pure and much, much cleaner than what we get in our taps.

TAMIL MURASU NEWS

DINAMALAR NEWS

FSSAI to seek Maggi reports from laboratories

Gujarat and Karnataka may have announced lifting of ban on Maggi, but its manufacturer Nestle India will have to wait for some more time before it could make plans to sell the instant noodles across the country.
Refusing to believe the claim of the Nestle India that all its samples have passed the safety parameter test from the labs, the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to ask the labs to share the reports with it.
A senior official in the top food regulator said that the authority cannot go by the claims of the Nestle that its products are safe. “We are yet to get the report. While Nestle has not shared the report with us, which they should have, we are writing to the three labs to send the results of the sample test. Our next course of action will depend on the lab report outcome,” the official said.
He further said that the FSSAI, an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry will give clean chit to the company only after it is satisfied with the results.
In June this year, the food regulator had ordered Maggi to be recalled after tests in some laboratories had shown lead levels above the permissible limit.
Nestle India challenged the ban in the Bombay High Court. In August, the court asked the company to get the samples tested at specified laboratories. Last week, the Nestle India claimed that “we have received test results from all three laboratories mandated by the Bombay High Court to test Maggi noodles samples. All the 90 samples, covering 6 variants, tested by these laboratories are clear with lead much below the permissible limits.”
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has announced its decision to challenge the lifting of the ban. The Uttarakhand Government too is not in a hurry to lift the ban on production and sale of Maggi noodles with the State officials saying that they were seeking legal advise in the matter. A case is pending in the Uttarakhand High Court at Nanital pertaining to the Maggi noodles. The next hearing is on November 3.
Nestle’s largest manufacturing facility for Maggi in India is located at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

Rani juice safe, says JK Govt

Srinagar, Oct 25 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday said that famous beverage product, Rani Juice, was safe for human consumption.
Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Kashmir, A. R War in an official communication said that the Rani juice conforms to the parameters prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Regulation 2011.
The director said that earlier the public at large was advised to refrain from consuming Batch 05 (240ml) of Rani Juice initially for a period of 15 days. He informed that it has come to notice that Drug and Food Control Organisation, Kashmir and Jammu Province had taken various samples of Rani juice for analysis and as per the report FSSA/Legal/5219, FSSA/Legal 5220, FSSA/Legal5221 dated 15,10,2015 of the Food Analyst , Kashmir Province NO FSSA/J/860, dated 15-10-2015 of Food Analyst, Jammu Province, the Rani juice confirms to the parameters prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products and Food Addivities) Regulation 2011. Earlier the directions from the government had come after a Srinagar resident, Yaseer Ahmad complained to CAPD against the product.
Meanwhile Srinagar based Pan-India, importer of Rani Juice and Managing Director, IY Impex Company, Imtiyaz Bhat claimed that the beverage product, Rani Juice, has maintained high standards of the production from the day one.
“We are dealing with Rani Juice since three years now. In beverage we are maintaining number one position in imported section across India in terms of volume and quality. It has been only possible because of our international standard qualities,” Bhat said. “This has earned us as one of the resected beverage companies in India. We have never been penalised for any wrong act or disservice to people,” Bhat said. “The particular batch of our product had gone for testing and it has come clean. But the public is still scared,” he said.
He urged officials to maintain their ethics while dealing in such cases because as per him, the unnecessary “intervention and harassment” discourages entrepreneurs to come forward for the business.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a job starved state and people (entrepreneurs) who start their one unit need to be appreciated not harassed or discouraged,” he urged.

1 Out of 4 School Children Obese Due to Junk Food

 

CHENNAI: City doctors confirm something long suspected and worrisome. One out of four children today suffer from obesity. The number continues to increase alarmingly on a monthly basis, they claim as obesity has swept up the metropolis with fancily-wrapped snacks and sugared treats. With the increase in sales of junk food and a dip in healthy eating habits, experts suggest that Chennai is knee deep in obesity with over 26 per cent of private school children affected and 4.5 per cent corporation school students. A nation-wide statistic from 1988 had this figure at a mere two to three per cent.And obesity, they opine, can bring a host of issues to a child as young as six or seven, like low cardiovascular performance, Type 2 diabetes and even fatty liver condition which is touted to be dangerous. “Ninety per cent of kids with obesity in city have some sort of liver problem,” warns Dr Ramkumar S, Pediatric Endocrinologist. A sedentary lifestyle and the burden of their school syllabus, are the main causes for obesity points out Dr Anbezhil Subbarayan, who is also a senior Pediatric Endocrinologist. “There is no time for children to come back home and get the necessary exercise. They have so much homework and assignments. Nor is there space anywhere in an urban set-up for natural fitness. Schools must seriously start stressing on this through physical exercise classes and fitness routines,” he says.

Recently, the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) issued a draft regulation aiming to control FSS junk food rich in (Fat/Sugar/Salt) by removing them from school premises. Speaking along those lines he says, “Something must also be done about bringing healthy alternatives in school canteens instead of junk food that’s so readily available. Kids spend a significant amount of time at school, and its every school’s responsibility to ensure healthy alternatives and a yearly health screening are available,” he says.

Weaning children off junk isn’t easy, as common sense goes. From stress eating, to being habituated to consume food at odd hours, various practices pave way to obesity, or its milder form, being overweight. “Schools and parents should keep a look out for strange eating habits in their kids. Obesity caused by over-eating might sometimes be indicative of some psychological issue they’re not handling,” says Radhika Inuganti, child psychologist.

But this can only be done by early intervention, medical practitioners jointly opine. The later teen years tend to exacerbate the issue, as it can blow into complications like Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder (PCOD) in girls and chestal-flab enlargement and skin discoloration in boys, which can take a toll on their body image as well.

FSSAI move to curb junk food near schools - guidelines for wholesome food

New Delhi
The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued draft guidelines for providing wholesome and nutritious food to school children. The move is expected to help control consumption of junk food by kids.

The guidelines also lay emphasis on maintenance of sanitation and hygiene in preparation of food for schoolkids that includes storage and handling of food.
Further, the guidelines say that benefits of balanced, fresh and traditional food cannot be replaced while schools should not promote foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as children are not the best judge of their food choices.
Foods high in fat, salt and sugar such as sugar-sweetened beverages, chips, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, fried foods and confectionery items are to be restricted in schools and nearby. Also advertisement and promotion of such foods targeted at children will be regulated.
The guidelines stress on schools to have a canteen policy for ensuring availability of healthy foods.
The apex food regulatory body released the draft recently, which is available on its website. It would become regulations after receipt of final comments from the stakeholders.
Reacting to the development, Sunita Narain, director-general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in a statement, said, “We welcome the order issued by the food authority. It is important that junk food is regulated in schools. However, we are not sure why it is taking so much time to be implemented.”
It is pertinent to mention here that in March 2015, the Delhi High Court had directed FSSAI to give guidelines in the form of regulations or directions within a period of three months to enforce their implementation across the country.
FSSAI was granted an extension of three months by the court in July. “The court had emphasised on time-bound enforcement across the country and had put immense faith in FSSAI,” added Narain.
These guidelines, developed by an FSSAI-constituted expert committee, provide a scientific background on how consumption of junk foods high in fat, salt and sugar is linked with growing incidence of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension among children. The key principles on which the guidelines were based include ‘benefits of balanced, fresh and traditional food cannot be replaced, ‘schools are not the right places for promoting foods high in fat, salt and sugar’ and ‘children are not the best judge of their food choices,’according to Narain.
Guidelines
• Most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar such as chips, fried foods, sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages, sugar-sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato fries and confectionery items should be restricted in schools and 50 m nearby.
• Advertisement and promotion of such foods targeted at children is to be regulated through a framework that includes all types of media, celebrity endorsements and promotional activities. The guidelines note that the issue has been referred to ministry of information and broadcasting.
• A canteen policy should be implemented based on colour-coding. Green category foods - the healthy food options - should constitute about 80 per cent of available foods. Red category of select most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar should not be sold or served in schools. Suggested, healthy menu options should include fruit salad, fruits, paneer / vegetable cutlets, khandvi, poha, uthapam, upma, idlis and kathi rolls, low-fat milk shakes with seasonal fruits and no added sugar, fresh fruit juice and smoothies with fruits, fresh lime soda, badam milk, lassi, etc.
• FSSAI should fix limits of unhealthy ingredients such as trans fats to 5 per cent at the earliest. The guidelines note that FSSAI has already issued a notification in this regard.
• Schools should promote nutrition education and awareness for children. A well-structured curriculum on balanced diet and its health impacts should be introduced.
• Labelling regulations must be strengthened by FSSAI to enable complete and transparent information on the amount of fat, salt and sugar with reference to recommended daily allowed limits. The guidelines note that FSSAI is looking into this.

AUTHORITIES CLUELESS ABOUT FSSAI GUIDELINES

In order to keep a tab on sale of junk food products and rising health problems among the schoolchildren, recently the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued guidelines on sale of junk food items within the radius of 50 metres of school premises. However, so far no initiative has been taken by the authorities to implement the guidelines in the State capital.

FSSAI guidelines restrict sale or availability of food which are high in fat, salt or sugar content within 50 metres of schools’ premises. This includes a wide range of food items & beverages consumed by school children including chips, noodles, pizzas, burgers, soft drinks, fries etc.

The FSSAI have issued guidelines on availability of wholesome and nutritious food in schools to control junk food consumption among children.

Unaware about the FSSAI guidelines on junk food sale, Director Health Services, Dr Praveen Chandra, said, “Presently we have not received any guideline from the FSSAI regarding the sale of junk food. Once we receive the directives from the concerned authorities, we are going to implement it. The food safety officers will be instructed to make regular inspection around the radius of 50 metres of school premises.”

“Currently we only have tobacco control guidlines. Moreover, the department also keeps advertising on issue of hazardous effects of junk food. Apart from the FSSAI guidelines it is also important for the guardians to create awareness regarding the ill-effects of junk food,” Chandra further added.

The FSSAI guideline also suggests creation of a canteen policy and school health education programmes for awareness. “I am not aware about the FSSAI guidelines but CBSE too had issued one circular few years ago. Since then our school management is following strict rules regarding this aspect. We conduct regular parents meet and have given instructions to the teachers to check student lunch boxes. Regular inspection is done upto class 8. As far as canteen is concerned we have restricted the sale of chips and cold drinks,” said Principal of Oxford Public School, AK Singh.

“I try giving only nutritious food items in lunch box but it is very common for the children to consume junk food inside school canteen. This can only be checked by school administration. The school should completely put a ban on sale of junk food items in canteen apart from putting other restrictions of junk food sale within radius of 50 meters of school,” said Mitali Dey, a concerned mother.

The FSSAI issued the guidelines after the Delhi High Court’s directive on sale of junk food products.

Sweet indulgence can turn sour

AHMEDABAD: As he countdown to Diwali picks pace and free indulgence of the sweet ooth is expected, it's time that you make a closer look at what's on your platter. And with palate and tradition o egg us on, most of us down many chocolates, laddus, kaju katris, fafdas and jalebis during this festive season without realizing the danger that awaits us. In Rajkot for instance the municipal corporation seized 255 kilograms of fake butter' on Friday . All that butter was waiting to be supplied to sweet hops. The ingredients were, vegetable ghee, ,mixed with white colour and soya bean oil. Each of tinned containers seized was sold at Rs 1,600."We have not deciphered the chemical nature of the white color. We suspect t to be a banned substance," says a senior Rajkot Municipal Corporation RMC) health official. 

In Ahmedabad on Wednesday more han 100 workers and officials of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd at their Dholka plant were taken ill by food poisoning.The patients had complained of nausea, vomiting and acute abdominal pain.They had consumed 'Dudhi ka Halwa' which used contaminated mawa. 

A low conviction rate in food adulteration cases has now become a major worry for many municipal corporations as there are several nstances of repeat offenders in each city. In Ahmedabad for instance there has been just one conviction in the entire year and that too of a ghee sample that was taken in 2011. As per the Food Safety and Standards Act punishments for mislabeling, adulterating or sale of unsafe food can range from six months in jail to life imprisonment, and fines up to Rs 10 lakh. 

But the Act is useless unless courts act fast. There are close to 100 cases in which food samples have failed laboratory tests and are pending hearing with the Ahmedabad resident district collector. Another major issue is of mushrooming of unlicensed sweet shops in many Gujarat cities. In Ahmedabad for instance there are more than 1,000 such shops while in Surat there are 500 such major shops. "Most of these sweet shops are do not have building use permissions and hence under the present food safety Act they cannot be recognized as authorized sellers," says a senior AMC health official. 

Times View 

Extremely low conviction rates in food adulteration raises a finger towards a weak enforcement and will to book culprits. There is no denying the fact that health officials file cases against adulterators , but it is often seen that the evidence does not convince our courts. It is important now that special courts consisting of food safety experts be instituted to try adulteration cases. 

"Can't adhere to safety standards always" 

AHMEDABAD Surprising as it may seem, several sweet mart owners in city had bluntly told the AMC that raiding their shops or quality checks was unjust due to commotion during festivals. They had also given a written representation saying that safety standards have to be given a go by sometimes. They had made this representation just two days before Dusshera when AMC teams had collected 91 samples of sweets, mawa and farsan. Of these, 16 were found "unsafe", 13 cases pertained to false claims of nutrition and one sample tested unsafe. Laboratory tests on 400 other samples are pending. 

Maximum adulteration in mawa 

VADODARA: The civic body in city has only recently stepped up its drive to collect and check samples of food items ahead of the festive season. Officials of said that the highest adulteration was found in milk products including mava.Like every year, the VMC took samples of fafda-jalebi ahead of Dussehra and other sweet and savories during Rakshabandhan and Diwali. Besides adulteration, a major issue being faced was that of use of stale raw materials and unhygienic storage conditions . VMC's health officer Dr Mukesh Vaidya said that the sellers were still relying on old methods for adulteration. 

It's margarine not butter! 

SURAT: No amount of butter is enough for Surtis who gorge on dosas, sandwiches and paav bhaji at roadside eateries. Most foodies ask for an extra dollop. But not many know that it's not butter but table margarine that they are gulping down. Nearly 5,000 road side eateries in the Diamond City pass off table margarine as butter. Interestingly, SMC food department has provided license to just two agencies to supply table margarine in the city. "We are investigating as to how such huge quantity of margarine comes to the city as very few buy from registered margarine sellers," says KG Patel of SMC.

FOOD SAFETY OFFICIALS IN SLUMBER DURING PUJA

It is common to find vendors selling edible items outside the puja pandals but the main question arises are these food items checked according to the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) norms.

The food safety officers were unable to conduct the inspection this year during the Durga puja. However, the letter for conducting inspection was issued by the Health Department before the Durga puja started.

Citing details about the (FSSAI) guideline, Director Health Services Dr Pravin Chandra said, “The registrations of the street food vendors are mandatory. In exercise of the powers conferred under section 92 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI has proposed Draft of Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2010 under which Part 3.2 makes it mandatory for all Food Business Operators in the country to be registered or licensed in accordance with the procedures laid down in the regulation.”

“We have also issued a circular for all Food Safety Officers to conduct an inspection drive in there respective areas. Those vendors who come from other places have to get temporary registration from the local authorities. It is mandatory for vendors to have ID proofs with them,” Chandra further added.

However, the Food Safety Officer Gulab Lakra informed, “Last year the inspection was conducted but this year we just collected samples from the sweet shops owners, betel shops owners. We were unable to inspect the vendors this year. However, the officials will form teams for the upcoming Diwali festival.”

Stating about the circular Lakra said, “We received the letter from the concerned department after the Durga puja. Now I am waiting for the instructions from the authorities to conduct a meeting and form teams, so that the inspection can be conducted on the regular basis even for the vendors.”

Moreover, when contacted the other two Food Safety Officials on the matter, the officials were unavailable for the comment.

As many as 125 puja pandals are constructed for the auspicious occasion of Durga puja in the city and maximum numbers of vendors come from the adjoining areas too to earn money during the peak season.

The Registration of the food vendors has started since April 2014 in various cities across India.

Food safety regulator spots few grains of real dal in hostel dal, sends the sample to forensic department for further testing

Rourkela: Food safety regulator does not want to take any more chance after Maggi and Dadri episodes. As per the Indian food safety act 2006, the regulator needs to take proactive steps to check the food quality served in different places like hotels, hostels or the packaged foods which are readily available.

Mess cooks working hard to ensure that the Tur dal to water ratio remains 1:15

According to our sources recently the regulator did a surprise raid on Hostel number 12 mess of NIT, Rourkela. During check they found all the food materials are up to the standard expected from hostel food except dal which looked like containing too many real grains of Tur dal.

Looking at the cost of Tur Dal that is running now and historically the density usually maintained in hostel dal, this was a big surprise for the food safety regulator team and they gave special focus to the dal during their raid.

MTech Student Bhola Shankar who is a regular late comer to the mess explained to us the scenario as it unfolded on the day of the raid.

Bhola said, “Being a lazy person, on Saturday and Sundays before lunch hour, I will not wake up. Last Sunday was terrible for me; there was no water by the time I woke up. As I called the boy in charge of our corridor, he told me lot of extra water has gone to the preparation of dal. Earlier our dal preparation had 1 kg grains for 5 liter of water. Now hostel warden has instructed the cook to make the ratio 1:15 as the Tur Dal price has tripled in last few months.”

“When I reached mess, most of items were over except huge quantity of ultra-liquid dal which was left on our table for flies. Somehow I managed with papads which had become soft like rotis and rotis which had become hard like papads, when the raid happened. As some of the team members who have been ex-NITians have stayed in this hostel and have tasted similar food for years, they were surprised as soon as they found five grains dal while lifting a spoon of yellow liquid. This is when they called the hostel mess supervisor and grilled him to know if it’s real dal,” Bhola said.

“Poor supervisor had to show the chart and ratio to the hostel warden and superintendent to convince the raid team. Also he demonstrated the running test of dal which the management asked him to do before food is served to students. Dal should be able to run at least 100 meters if thrown on the floor. Raid team did not want to take it lightly; they decided to send the samples to nearby forensic lab for further testing,” Bhola added.

One of the members of regulator team told us the reason for such strict checking. He said, “We must avoid repeat of Dadri kind of incident in future, Government has empowered us with additional powers so that we can check the food prepared or stored at home. We will not check only hygienic issues which anyway most people are already adhering to after the initiation of swachh bharat abhiyan, in addition we will check what you are eating as per the law or not. The message is loud and clear, Government knows best. They would decide what our citizens will be allowed to eat and what might be bad for their health which they must avoid at any cost.”

Nestle is ready to restart plant at Maulinguem

Panaji: Nestle has written to the food safety and standard authority of India (FSSAI), Mumbai, informing them that it is ready to start the process to resume production of Maggi noodles at their Maulinguem plant.

A copy has been marked on Friday to food and drugs administration (FDA), Goa, along with reports of fresh safety tests.

The production at Nestle's Goa plant was stopped following a directive by FSSAI. The production of Maggi noodles at the Goa plant was stopped along with other states earlier this year. The FSSAI had said tests taken from across the country had found lead exceeding the permissible limits in 15 of 29 samples.

Samples which had been drawn by FDA Goa and which were independently tested at its laboratory as well outside Goa, had no negative reports.

Confirming the receipt of the communication from Nestle, Salim Veljee, FDA director, told TOI on Friday that Nestle is not required to take permission from the Goa FDA.

Nestle, apparently is gearing up to start production again, after the Bombay high court set aside the countrywide ban on nine variants of Nestle's Maggi instant noodles.

The court has however ordered Nestle India to conduct fresh safety tests on the product before relaunching it.

Over 300 contractors at Maulinguem plant who lost their employment after the production at the plant stoppped, have been agitating demanding that they be taken into service again.

Samples which had been drawn by FDA Goa and which were independently tested at its laboratory as well outside Goa, had no negative reports.

FSSAI invites suggestions on standards for alcoholic beverages

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Food regulator FSSAI has invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the proposed standards for alcoholic beverages, including beer and brandy, in the next two months.

The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) today issued a notice inviting claims, suggestions, views and comments from stakeholders within 60 days on proposed standards for alcoholic beverages.

The regulator has issued standards for both distilled and un-distilled alcoholic beverages.

Earlier this year, a meeting of the Central Advisory Committee had also discussed having standards for alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

It was also decided that once standards for alcohol and alcoholic beverages were finalised, it shall be intimated to all States and UTs so that they may suitably advise the respective excise departments.

Mother Dairy, ITC start selling items on safety plank

LT Foods that sells Dawat brand of rice, for example, will market its soon-to-be-launched atta (flour) brand as toxic metal free.

NEW DELHI: Some food processing companies now brand their products as 'adulterant free' and 'toxic metal free', and work with farmers to ensure quality raw material, to differentiate themselves amid increasing consumer awareness and safety concerns.

LT Foods that sells Dawat brand of rice, for example, will market its soon-to-be-launched atta (flour) brand as toxic metal free. "We will be launching our atta under the Devaaya brand. It will be branded as lead free and will resonate our company's philosophy of selling safe produce," said Vivek Chandra, chief executive officer for global branded business at LT Foods.

Shakti Bhog Foods, Mother Dairy, Cargill India and ITC are among other companies that have started branding their products as safe and chemicals free, or working closely with farmers to ensure quality and safety.

"Companies who are just entering the sector or a product category might highlight food safety as product differentiator while marketing. It wasn't used till a year ago but now it is used," said Siraj Chaudhary, chairman at Cargill India.

The company in July started a Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan to promote awareness around food safety for all. "Cargill believes that food safety is a shared responsibility of the farmers, the food industry, regulators as well as consumers," Chaudhary said.

Consumer concerns over food safety have been rising in the country in recent months, particularly after Food Safety and Standards Authority of India banned Nestle's popular instant noodle brand Maggi.

While the Bombay High Court lifted the ban and Nestle is readying to relaunch the instant noodle brand after it proved safe in review tests mandated by the court, the controversy and FSSAI's recent actions against several products helped increase overall consumer awareness about food safety, industry insiders said.

LT Foods' Chandra said the company will work with farmers in Madhya Pradesh during this Rabi season to ensure quality products. "India consumer wants safe and healthy produce which we will ensure," he said.

KK Kumar, managing director at Shakti Bhog Foods, said companies are now working to bring global standards to India. "There is a focus to sell quality produce and consumers are now demanding it strongly," he said.

Kumar said the moisture level in Shakti Bhog flour is only 10.5%, much lower than the 14% limit prescribed by the government. In the past, Tata group had branded its i-Shakti Dals as being much more nutritious and tastier because they did not use polished or damaged pulses, artificial stone powder, colour, or oil.

Similarly, Mother Dairy markets its pulses brand as being unpolished. "Most of the people may be aware that colours, chemicals and metals are part of the food and fruit we eat. What needs to be highlighted now is that the shining white ginger sold in the Delhi market may have got an acid wash or the brinjal must have got a colour wash," said a marketing official of a leading national retail chain.

Food companies said governments, farmers and companies need to work together to ensure quality of food. The challenge in the country is much larger than what few companies can do for their brand and sourcing. The government needs to address the larger challenge like mapping of soil or water quality in this country," said Rajnikant Rai, COO for agribusiness division at ITC.

ET View: Strengthen Regulation To Make Food Safe

Companies must ensure standards on food safety. The controversy over Maggi has reinforced the need to protect consumer interests, though it is a fact that only some laboratories found the noodles to be unsafe. Therefore, it is imperative for the government and the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to ensure that all labs which analyse the chemical composition of food are competent. The certified laboratories must have robust sampling procedures and be adequately staffed to keep an eye on foods across the country.

Inspectors endorse government hostel food mess

PUNE: Boycotting poor quality food prepared allegedly in unhygienic condition, residents of the state-run Sant Dnyaneshwar Boys' Hostel on Thursday threatened to launch an agitation if the issue was not resolved.

The students claimed that they could not even stand the smell of the food dished out to them on Thursday, forget eating. The officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) validated their claim following an inspection of the cooking area in the hostel on the premises of the social welfare commissionerate.

The FDA officials confirmed that the conditions at the hostel mess were unhealthy .They would issue a show-cause notice to the food contractor for violating the food safety norms.

Abhijit Lokhande, an engineering student who stays at the hostel, said, "The food is cooked at the hostel mess in an unhealthy condition. On Thursday, the food served to us was stinking. Hence, we walked out of the mess. Some of us even found ants and pests on chapatis. We have decided to boycott the hostel food."

Lokhande alleged that the cook at the mess was an alcoholic. "He prepares food in inebriated state. When we complain, he hurls abuses at us and even threatens to beat up us."

The state's social welfare department pays Rs 4,300 per month per student to the food contractor for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usually , breakfast comprises two eggs, an apple, a banana, poha (beaten rice flakes) and milk. Lunch and dinner consist of two vegetable dishes, chapatti, lentil (dal) and rice.

"Food items given for breakfast are usually of poor quality . Fruits are small in size.Even crushed fruits are served at times. Milk has no taste," said Ramdas Nirgude, another resident of the hostel.

Echoing Ramdas, another student said, "Chapatis given in lunch and dinner are often hard and difficult to chew. At times, there is hardly any lentil in dal or and on other occasions it is used in excess."

The food contractor is awarded the work contract every year. The mess staff consists of a cook for preparing vegetables, three woman assistants for rolling chapattis and a supervisor to oversee the work, bring vegetable and other cooking items.

"The present food contractor got the contract last Diwali. We have been complaining against his food quality for long. But nothing has happened. Today's (Thursday's) food was simply unpalatable," said another student.

The officials of the FDA inspected the hostel mess soon after they leant about the students' protest. "There is no denying the fact that the food is cooked at the hostel mess in a very unhygienic condition. The drainage line right outside the mess emits nauseating stench. Besides, the cooking area is unhealthy .But we did not find ants and pests in the food prepared, as claimed by the students. We shall show-cause the food contractor for cooking food in insanitary conditions," said Dinkar Mirajkar, the assistant commissioner (food) of FDA, Pune.

On if the officials had collected food samples for test, Mirajkar said, "We carried out visual inspection. Barring unhygienic condition, we didn't find any problem with the prepared food. Hence, we did not collect any sample of prepared food items."

Mumbai-based Crystal Gourmet Pvt Limited was awarded the food contract for all the 13 hostels of the social welfare department in Pune, including Sant Dnyaneshwar Boys' Hostel.

Prateek Jadhav, an employee of the company who looks after the operations for the 13 hostels in Pune, said, "We are trying to improve the food quality. The students' complaints have increased over the last two months but those are mainly against the cook. I ha ve informed my higher authorities about it as well as the FDA inspection. I am not well. Hence, can't say much about the food prepared today ."

Girish Tike, the branch manager of Crystal Gourmet Pvt Ltd, said, "We are using food ingredients of the highest quality and we never compromise on food safety norms. Some students in the hostel blow up minor issues out of proportion. Our payments are delayed for months, but we don't complain. We try our best to provide the best possible service."

Prasad Lad, the proprietor of Crystal Gourmet Pvt Ltd, said, "I have never been informed about the students' complaints. I will personally look into the issue. Things will be rectified soon."

Hostel's rector Deepak Sawant could not be contacted.

ASCI looks to broaden ties with government

MoUs with health ministry and Trai on the cards; it has signed one with FSSAI for directly processing complaints 

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is likely to soon sign agreements with the Union health ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, seeking to expand its role.

It had recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India, allowing it to directly process complaints received by the latter on misleading advertisements.

The ad regulator is also a partner of the Union department of consumer affairs, acting on allegedly misleading ads received by the latter, on a website promoted for the purpose. This website, operational for a few months, allows consumers to complain about any ad in any medium across categories.

Persons in the know say segments such as health and telecom have seen some serious ad violations of late, prompting the move by ASCI. It recently rapped Bharti Airtel, asking the firm to withdraw its 4G speed challenge ad for being misleading. Similar action was taken against ads by Idea and Vodafone.

ASCI completed 30 years of existence this month. It begins a year-long celebration of the milestone, with seminars, workshops and events. “The objective is to continue our initiative of increasing the awareness about misleading ads, how to complain about these and what are the avenues available to consumers, as well as industry, to do so,” says Shweta Purandare, secretary-general of ASCI.

The self-regulatory body will also step up efforts to educate creators of ads about the ASCI Code and what constitutes an inappropriate one. “We are not here to tell the creative community their job. This effort is simply intended to sensitise them about how to avoid misleading or tall claims in the ads they create that can harm consumer interest," Purandare said.

The ad regulator is also likely to renew its contract with TAM for monitoring print and television ads. Inked in 2012, the arrangement for a three-year period had seen the scanning of about 10,000 print ads and 350 on TV each week. This had allowed ASCI to catch errant advertisers in small towns and cities, taking action against them on its own, said persons in the know.

The body is also looking for a digital agency to monitor online ads, a space rapidly seeing incidents of tall or misleading claims by established brands and e-tailers.

Recently, ASCI said it had upheld complaints against 82 campaigns in June, for misleading consumers. It issues news of action taken against brands with a lag. Names such as Flipkart, Uber and Snapdeal had figured prominently in the list of errant advertisers for June, beside brands such as Vodafone, L'Oreal, Fortis Healthcare and Pernod Ricard. June’s action had followed what the body had done for May, when major advertisers such as Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, VLCC and Aptech were pulled up.

Purandare says most big brands and advertisers do modify ads when the body writes to them, at times within days of the misleading or errant ad being released. This is unlike in the past, when ASCI was accused of acting too late, well after the ad had run its course. Speedy action follows ASCI moving from a monthly to a fortnightly to now a weekly cycle of addressing complaints.

The number of complaints to the body against misleading ads has also shot up almost 13-fold in the past three years, from 148 in 2011. This calendar year could see ASCI touching the 2,000-mark in complaints received.

KEEPING A CLOSE EYE 

• Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is also a partner of the Union department of consumer affairs, acting on allegedly misleading ads received by the latter
• ASCI recently rapped Bharti Airtel, asking the firm to withdraw its 4G speed challenge ad for being misleading
• The ad regulator is also likely to renew its contract with TAM for monitoring print and television ads
• The body is also looking for a digital agency to monitor online ads

Post Maggi row, centre mulls rule on printing Helpline Nos. on Food Packets

 

Noodle flap lands regulator in hot water

Instant noodles, especially Maggi-brand products, are extremely popular in India. 

MUMBAI -- Nestle India is preparing to resume production and sales of its mainstay Maggi brand of instant noodles now that a court has overturned a government order to keep the products off store shelves. The focus now is on whether the food safety regulator will accept the decision or defend its sales ban, which has caused huge losses for many businesses.

A neighborhood grocery store in northern Mumbai has seen instant noodle sales tumble 30% since it stopped stocking Maggi noodles about five months ago.

The store carries other brands, such as the Sunfeast Yippee line from major local player ITC, but "customers still ask for Maggi noodles even now," the owner said.

The saga began in early June, when the government ordered Nestle India to stop production and sales of Maggi noodles, alleging that the products contained hazardous levels of lead. The company objected to the charge, filing a motion at the Bombay High Court.

The court ruled in August that Nestle India could resume sales of the noodles if they were deemed safe by three court-approved testing facilities.

Nestle India's Maggi-brand instant noodles command an 80% market share. © Reuters 

The company issued a statement on Oct. 16 reiterating its assertion that its noodles pose no health threat. According to the statement, the lead content of its instant noodles was proven to be far lower than maximum allowable level under the country's food safety laws. Nestle India also said it would immediately begin production so that it could resume sales.

Major damage

Nestle products have been available in India for over a century and have become part people's daily lives there. Of all the company's offerings, Maggi noodles are by far its most important. The brand commands about 80% of the market and generates roughly a quarter of Nestle India's sales. It is no surprise, then, that the recall order dealt a huge blow to the company's earnings. Nestle India reported a net loss in the April-June quarter.

But the impact has gone beyond just Nestle India. Soon after issuing the production and sales ban, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India published a document outlining plans to test instant noodles from six other companies.

The document also said that all products that have yet to receive final approval would be deemed illegal. This went against the FSSAI's existing stance that makers can produce and sell products while awaiting approval.

Scrambling to respond to the regulator's about-face, the local unit of Anglo-Dutch daily products giant Unilever and Japan's Nissin Foods Holdings recalled their instant noodles voluntarily.

This led to a 90% plunge in noodle sales to 300 million rupees ($4.98 million) over a one-month period starting in early June, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

"Indian people's awareness toward food safety has been growing sharply, particularly among the middle class," a nutrition consultant in Delhi said. "This shift is one of the reasons why the news reports of hazardous levels of lead in the Maggi noodles created such a strong response nationwide."

But various testing facilities, including one in Singapore, where Indian-made Maggi noodles are sold, started countering the FSSAI's allegation, saying they found nothing wrong with the noodles.

As a different picture began emerging, public anger at Nestle India quickly turned toward the government. And resentment over the food safety body's sudden rule change for noodle makers is still smoldering.

Lack of clarity

The FSSAI's test results differed from those of overseas labs because of the organization's lack of food-testing know-how, said Deven Choksey, CEO of Kisan Ratilal Choksey Shares & Securities. He added that while the regulator's handling of the matter has been immature, debacles like the Maggi case will probably decrease over time.

The FSSAI has not yet publicly commented on the court-ordered test results, so it is unclear whether it intends to continue pursuing the case or drop it. This means Nestle India may not be able to resume production and sales as smoothly as it hoped.

Amit Khurana, an expert on food safety issues at India's Centre for Science and Environment, does not think India has seen the end of the Maggi issue, saying lingering problems remain unresolved.

This lack of clarity from the government is a major problem that foreign companies in India have faced time and again. In the case of the sales ban on Maggi noodles, the FSSAI must clearly state its case.

Without such basic action, the dispute will likely tarnish the business-friendly image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and hurt the government's efforts to boost foreign investment.

DINAMALAR NEWS

After Maggi let's get facts right on MSG

Food body to ask labs to share Maggi test reports

 

 Days after Nestle India kicked-off its relaunch campaign for Maggi, claiming that their product was safe based on test results from some laboratories, the country’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has decided to direct the laboratories to share the recent Maggi test reports.

Nestle India claimed that Maggi has cleared all tests prescribed by the court after the court in August asked Nestle to get samples tested at specified laboratories to ensure that they conform to safety standards.

Ashish Bahuguna, chairperson, FSSAI, told this newspaper that the details of the analyses had so far not been shared with FSSAI by either Nestle or the laboratories. “Though Nestle is claiming that their product is safe, nonetheless our concern is that whatever are the results, we should be informed about them. We have decided to write to the laboratories to share the results,” he said.

FSSAI had in June this year ordered Maggi to be recalled after tests in some laboratories had shown lead levels above the permissible limit. Nestle India, which manufactures Maggi, challenged the ban in the Bombay high court. In August the court lifted the ban but asked the company to get the samples tested at specified laboratories. Nestle recently approached the court claiming that the laboratories had cleared the samples. Soon the manufacturers launched a campaign explaining that all is well with their product as around 3,500 samples of noodles were put to rigorous tests in India and in countries like Australia, UK, Canada, the US and Singapore.

A “comeback” doesn’t look easy, though. Three days after the news broke, Maharashtra food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat had announced the decision to challenge the lifting of the ban.

FSSAI chairperson Ashish Bahuguna said the company will have to wait for some more time. “We are not challenging the decision of the court. But the manufacturers look in a hurry to get their product back. It is a matter of procedure, and, at the end of the day, we are concerned about the safety of the product. If the laboratories confirm that the product is safe, Nestle is free to manufacture,” added Mr Bahuguna.

Act against officials okaying unsafe food products, U.P. told

A sting operation had allegedly shown officials demanding bribes

The Centre on Wednesday sought a detailed report from Uttar Pradesh government and directed it to take action against the guilty in a sting operation by a TV channel which allegedly showed officials demanding bribes to approve unsafe food products.

This comes after Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda took cognizance of the matter and directed officials to take up the issue with state officials while stating that there is “zero” tolerance against corruption.

Following this, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an advisory to the U.P. chief secretary seeking a report and to ensure the establishment of a review and monitoring mechanism to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the state.

“There is zero tolerance against corruption in the Health Ministry,” the Minister said even as he told officials that the Centre will provide all necessary assistance to the state.

On Tuesday, a leading television channel had conducted a sting operation in which it claimed that food safety officers demanded bribe for approving sale of various food products.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry statement said that FSSAI has clarified that the officials who have figured in the sting operation are not working in FSSAI but are employees of the state government.

The FSSAI advisory by its chairman Ashish Bahuguna, which is in possession of PTI, said that the sting operation not only depicts the food safety department and state government in “poor” light but also casts a shadow over FSSAI’s “concerted” efforts to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

“I shall be grateful if you could kindly direct your officers to send me a detailed report on the above incident and take the strongest possible action against official found guilty of corrupt practices... and ensure the establishment of a review and monitoring mechanism so as to prevent recurrence of such cases in the future,” the FSSAI advisory said.

Sources in the Health Ministry said that immediately after the matter came to light, Mr Nadda took stock of the situation and issued directives to officials to look into the matter. 

“There is zero tolerance against corruption in the Health Ministry,” says Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda

Maggi episode reinforces need for upgrading food safety standards

The tests done on Maggi at three government-accredited laboratories — in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mohali — have vindicated the stand of Nestle chief executive officer Paul Bulcke, who had said at the time of the ban on the fast-food that there was no excessive lead in it.

The laboratories, under instructions from the Bombay high court, found the lead content below the permissible limits in all the 90 samples sent to it. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had banned Maggi in June. However, quashing the ban in August, the court said: “Principles of natural justice have not been followed before passing the impugned order and on that ground alone impugned orders are liable to be set aside, particularly when the petitioner (Nestle India), had given a press release that it had recalled the product …” The court had also said the food labs under the FSSAI were not “authorised” to do the tests.

This gives rise to many worrying problems. If the action of the FSSAI in performing the basic tests has been called into question by the court, it’s time for the government and the minister concerned, Ram Vilas Paswan, to take immediate action. After all it was Mr Paswan who had ordered the tests on Maggi. The UP Food and Drug Administration, the first organisation to raise an alarm over Maggi, on its part also did some tests. And if according to the court the FSSAI labs are not authorised to perform the tests, then who is supposed to do them? Did the FSSAI not do due diligence?

The matter had been referred also to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Not much was heard thereafter. Shortly before the quashing of the ban by the court, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly asked his colleagues not to make “unnecessary fuss over the ban” till all the facts came to light. In that case, why was the ban imposed in the first place, more so in view of the fact that Nestle had agreed to recall the Maggi packets?

This paper had said at the time of the ban that India’s entire food chain was toxic and probably it might even be too late now to reverse the trend. After all that has happened since then, it must be reiterated that not only the regulator but also the consumer and manufacturer are made aware of the rules, and the food-testing laboratory infrastructure and skills strengthened and upgraded.