Fear psychosis in the industry has been curbed: FSSAI

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) With industry fearing excessive regulation in the wake of Maggi controversy, food regulator FSSAI has said it has taken a number of steps to check any "fear psychosis" among companies.

The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has relaxed the product approval process for proprietary food products and nutraceuticals. It had also last week issued clarification about the standards of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

After the ban on Maggi in June last year, the food industry had complained about inspector raj. Even Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had said that the regulator has created an environment of fear in the industry.

When asked about whether there is any fear psychosis after the Maggi ban incident, FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said that it has taken number of steps to ease approval process without compromising on the quality norms of the products in order to address any fear among the industry.

"... the fear psychosis has been curbed up to a large extent with various landmark initiatives taken by the FSSAI in easing the approval of food products and nutraceuticals,? Agarwal told PTI.

"But at the same time, utmost importance has also been given to ensuring quality of the food items," Agarwal said.

Maggi noodles was banned by FSSAI in June last year for allegedly containing lead beyond the permissible limit. It came back into the market in November 2015.

Elaborating on steps taken by the FSSAI, Agarwal said the food products for which standards were not laid down in the Food Safety and Standards Act but have approved ingredients, now may not require any approval.

He also mentioned that the restricted enforcement activity against nutraceuticals and health supplement companies to only testing of products till new standards are notified

To empower the consumers, Agarwal said FSSAI has launched an app through which general public can get information about the standards.

The authority has also started awareness and training programmes for the food business operators about how to implement the food safety standards.

As FSSAI has been streamlining its regulations to ease product approval process, Union Minister Harsimrat Badal had also said that there will more investment and innovation in the food sector. She has been raising industry and quality issues with the food regulator.

Welcoming the latest initiatives by the FSSAI, CII last week had said that the recent notifications by the regulator on proprietary food, and notice on harmonisation of Food Additives with Codex, mark the beginning of a new chapter in developing and promoting India as the global hub for food industry.

Think twice before eating your next Maggi

The FSSAI that banned Maggi noodles has now said that there is no analytical method to determine whether the Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is naturally present in a product or is added.

The food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that banned Maggi noodles last year owing to high content of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) has now said that there is no analytical method to determine whether the 'flavour enhancer' is naturally present in a product or is added. The FSSAI, the apex Indian food regulator, has also said that consumers should be facilitated to exercise informed choices in respect of what they eat. Paving the way for MSG in food stuffs, the FSSAI, in an order has said, "Under regulation of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives), Regulations, 2011, MSG, a flavour enhancer may be added to specific foods subject to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) level and under proper declaration of the of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011."

At present, there are no specified limits fixed by FSSAI or by global standards for MSG. "It is widely known that glutamate is naturally found in several common foods such as milk spices, wheat, vegetables etc, MSG is the sodium salt of Glutamic Acid and one of the many forms of glutamate. Presently, there is no analytical method to determine whether MSG was added to a product during its manufacture or was naturally present in the product. This can however be checked through inspection of the manufacturing premises," the FSSAI order said. The food regulator under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has, however, said that in order to ensure that consumers are facilitated to exercise informed choices in respect of what they eat, proceedings may be launched against FBOs only when the labels states 'No MSG' or 'No added MSG' and MSG is actually found in the impugned foodstuff.

FSSAI has issued instructions to the Commissioners of Food Safety that specific enforcement and prosecution may not be launched against the manufacturers of noodles or pasta on account of presence of MSG/Glutamic Acid unless it is ascertained by the department that MSG flavour enhancer (INS E-621) was deliberately added during the course of manufacture without required declaration on the label as indicated. MSG is found naturally in tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, potatoes, mushrooms, and other vegetables and fruits. MSG is used in the food industry as a flavour enhancer with an umami taste that intensifies the meaty, savory flavour of food, as naturally occurring glutamate does in foods such as stews and meat soups. MSG as a flavour enhancer balances, blends and rounds the perception of other tastes. It is particularly popular in Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisine. The US Food and Drug Administration has given MSG a "Generally Recognised As Safe (GRAS)" designation.

Experts say that large doses of MSG can cause headaches, nausea and other feelings of discomfort collectively known as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome", although controlled studies have failed to identify such symptoms. MSG, available under the trade name Ajinomoto is used in dishes such as chilly chicken, chilly paneer, fried rice, chow Mein, chicken soup, chicken Manchurian etc. Amidst controversies and court cases, in June 2015, Nestle had to withdraw its one of the most popular instant noodles brand Maggi off the shelves from the market over allegations of having high lead content and presence of MSG. FSSAI had earlier ordered recall of all nine approved variants of Maggi instant noodles from the market, terming them unsafe and hazardous for human consumption.

FSSAI limits enforcement activity against nutraceuticals companies to testing products Nutraceuticals

This will address the operational issues of the industry.

Food regulator FSSAI has restricted enforcement activity against nutraceuticals and health supplement companies to only testing of products till new standards are notified.

"It has been decided that till standards of nutraceuticals, food supplements and health supplements are finally notified, the enforcement activities against such food business operators may be restricted to testing... with respect to requirements given in the draft notification on such products," the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said in an order.

This means that the companies getting relief will be those whose products were launched before the Food Safety and Standards Act came into force in 2011 and whose product approvals are pending as on August 19, 2015.

Following a Supreme Court order on August 19 questioning the procedure followed for approvals by the food regulator, FSSAI had decided to discontinue the approval process.

Welcoming the FSSAI's latest order, CII Chairman on National Committee on Food Processing Industry Piruz Khambatta said this will address the operational issues of the industry.

After Maggi, Patanjali Atta Noodles found “substandard”

MEERUT: After alleged adulterants were found in Maggi noodles, leading to the brand being withdrawn by its maker, a team of Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) based in Meerut has now found a Patanjali Atta Noodles sample "sub-standard", with ash content in the tastemaker exceeding the prescribed limits by nearly three times, even higher than Maggi or Yippee samples.

The tests were carried out on samples of Patanjali Noodles, Maggi and Yippee collected from Vishal Mega Mart outlet in Meerut on February 5, 2016, the report of which reached came out on Saturday. In all the three samples, ash content found is invariably high. The samples were sent to the Lucknow-based testing laboratory.

The permissible limit for ash content according to law is 1%, but all the three samples failed the test and were found "substandard" for consumption.

Giving details about the report JP Singh, chief food safety officer said, "The ash content in the tastemaker of Patanjali Atta Noodles was found to be 2.69%, which is the highest among all three. The ash content in the tastemaker of Maggi Masala Noodles and Sunfeast Yippee Noodles Classic Masala was found to be 1.63% and 2.1% respectively. Going by the report, the most harmful for consumption is Patanjali, followed by Sunfeast Yippee and then Maggi."

Asked as to what will be the procedure adopted after the high levels of ash content found in the tastemakers, Singh said, "Now, these brands can challenge our report in a month's time, following which out of the four-part sample that we collect, the second sample of the noodles will be sent to the referral laboratory in Kolkata. But if they do not challenge our decision, we will file a case against each one of them."

When TOI contacted Ram Bharat, brother of Baba Ramdev and head of the food and herbal wing of Patanjali, he said, "I don't have any such report with me as of now. I will be able to comment on the mAtter only when I have the report in front of me."

Fruit juices sold at Salem bus stand raise health concerns

Quality of water and fruits used

A glass of fruit juice sold at less than Rs. 10 on the old bus stand premises may not be safe as the quality of water and the fruits used for preparation of the juice are questionable.

With intense heat prevailing across the district, the demand for fruit juices, sugarcane juice, watermelon and palmyra fruit (nungu) has picked up. But consumers are unmindful about the quality of readymade juices sold in bus stand areas and roadside shops. Their only concern is that those juices are available at fewer prices that are stored in stainless containers. A glass of lemon juice is sold at Rs. 7, orange, grape, mango and other readymade juices are sold at Rs. 10 per glass.

Commuters from villages throng the old bus stand premises in large numbers as they consume these juices without caring about the quality. During the summer season last year, officials of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department raided these shops and found rotten fruits and artificial flavorings used in these readymade juices. Also, unprotected drinking water was used. Shopkeepers were let off after warning.

Officials warn against consuming these unsafe juices as it may cause health problems.

Four held for selling tobacco products

Four persons who stocked and sold banned tobacco products were arrested by the police here on Saturday.

On Friday, the police informed the officials of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration that banned tobacco products were stocked in a godown in Five Road area. Officials found tobacco products and gunny bags of fake tea powder of a reputed brand in the godown. The Alagapuram police registered a case and arrested Harish (30), Pavaram (25), Dinesh (38) and Moonsingh (23). They were produced in the court and lodged at Salem Central Prison.

Banned tobacco products, fake tea powder seized

Officials of Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department seized banned tobacco products and fake tea powder, all worth over Rs. 4 lakh, from a godown at SIDCO in Five Road on Friday.

When police personnel were involved in vehicle check in the city, they attempted to intercept an Omni van.

But the vehicle did not stop. Suspecting that money could be transported in the vehicle, a team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Law and Order (West Range), P.V. Vijeya Karthickchased the vehicle which entered the godown.

The team found tobacco products and fake tea powder packets of a reputed company.

They informed the District Designated Officer T. Anuradha, who inspected the godown.

பதுக்கிய குடோனுக்கு சீல் வைப்பு 5லட்சம் மதிப்பிலான புகையிலை கலப்பட டீ தூள் பறிமுதல் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு துறையினர் அதிரடி

சேலம், ஏப்.2:

சேலம் 5 ரோடு அடுத்த தொழிற் பேட்டை பகு தி யில் உள்ள ஒரு குடோ னில், புகை யிலை பொருட் களை பதுக் கி வைத்து, வௌியூர் க ளுக்கு விற் பனை செய் வ தாக அழ கா பு ரம் போலீ சா ருக்கு தக வல் கிடைத் தது. இதன் பே ரில், சூர மங் க லம் போலீஸ் உதவி கமி ஷ னர் விஜய கார்த் திக் ராஜா, அழ கா பு ரம் இன்ஸ் பெக் டர் பொன் ராஜ் தலை மை யி லான போலீ சார் அப் ப கு தி யில் வாகன தணிக் கை யில் ஈடு பட் ட னர். அப் போது, அவ் வ ழி யாக வந்த காரை நிறுத்தி சோதனை செய் த தில், காரின் உள்ேள தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யிலை பாக் கெட் டு கள் மற் றும் பிர பல நிறு வ னத் தின் டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு கள் இருந் தது கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட் டது. இது கு றித்து, காரில் இருந் த வர் க ளி டம் விசா ரித் த தில், அரு கில் உள்ள குடோ னில் இருந்து ஏற்றி வந் த தாக தெரி வித் த னர். தொடர்ந்து அந்த குடோ னில் சென்று பார்த்த போது, அங்கு பண் டல், பண் ட லாக தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யிலை பாக் கெட் டு கள் மற் றும் டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு கள் இருந் தது.

இது கு றித்து போலீ சார் அளித்த தக வ லின் பேரில், மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா தலை மை யி லான அதி கா ரி கள், சம் பவ இடத் தில் சோதனை செய் த னர். அப் போது தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யி லையை வாங்கி வந்து, பாக் கெட் டு க ளாக செய்து பல் வேறு ஊர் க ளுக்கு அனுப்பி வைக் கப் பட் டது தெரி ய வந் தது. மேலும் பிர பல டீ தூள் நிறு வ னத் தின் பேரில், கலப் பட டீ தூள் தயா ரித்து விற் ப னைக்கு அனுப்பி வரு வ தும் கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட் டது. இத னை ய டுத்து, குடோ னில் இருந்த ரூ.5 லட் சம் மதிப் பி லான 10 மூட்டை மற் றும் 13 பெட்டி புகை யிலை, 6 பெட்டி பான் ம சாலா, 60 கிேலா கலப் பட டீ தூள் மற் றும் பாக் கெட் டு க ளில் அடைக்க பயன் ப டுத் தப் பட்ட ரூ.3 லட் சம் மதிப் பி லான இயந் தி ரம் ஆகி ய வற்றை உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை அதி கா ரி கள் பறி மு தல் செய் த னர். மேலும் அனு ம தி யின்றி செயல் பட்டு வந்த குடோ னுக்கு சீல் வைத் த னர். உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை அதி கா ரி கள் கொடுத்த புகா ரின் பேரில், குடோ னின் உரி மை யா ளர் கள் ராஜஸ் தானை சேர்ந்த ஹரிஸ் (30), பாவா ராம் (20), அங்கு பணி பு ரிந்து வரும் டெல் லியை சேர்ந்த தினேஷ் (38), நாக் பூரை சேர்ந்த மூன் சிங் (22) ஆகிய 4 பேரை அழ கா பு ரம் போலீ சார் கைது செய் த னர்.

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சேலத்தில் ₹5 லட்சம் மதிப்புள்ள தடை செய்யப்பட்ட புகையிலை, கலப்பட டீ தூள் பறிமுதல்

சேலம், ஏப். 1-

சேலம் 5 ரோடு தொழிற் பேட்ைட பகு தி யில் உள்ள குடோ னில் தடை செய் யப் பட்ட ரூ.5 லட் சம் மதிப் பி லான புகை யிலை, கலப் பட டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு கள் பறி மு தல் செய் யப் பட் டுள் ளது.

சேலம் 5 ரோடு தொழிற் பேட்டை பகு தி யில் சூர மங் க லம் போலீஸ் உதவி கமி ஷ னர் விஜ ய கார்த் திக் ராஜா, அழ கா பு ரம் இன்ஸ் பெக் டர் பொன் ராஜ் தலை மை யி லான போலீ சார் நேற்று இரவு வாகன தணிக் கை யில் ஈடு பட்டு வந் த னர். அப் போது அந்த வழி யாக வந்த காரை நிறுத்தி சோதனை செய் த தில், காரின் உள்ளே தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யிலை பாக் கெட் டு கள் மற் றும் பிர பல நிறு வ னத் தின் டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு கள் இருந் தது கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட் டது. தொடர்ந்து காரை ஓட்டி வந் த வ ரி டம் விசா ரித் த தில், அதே பகு தி யில் உள்ள குடோ னில் இருந்து ஏற்றி வந் த தாக தெரி வித் தார்.

இதைத் ெதாடர்ந்து போலீ சார் அந்த குடோ னுக்கு சென்று பார்த் த னர். இதில் அந்த குடோ னில் பண் டல் பண் ட லாக தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யிலை பாக் கெட் டு கள் மற் றும் டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு கள் இருந் தது தெரிய வந் தது.

இது கு றித்து போலீ சார் அளித்த தக வ லின் பேரில், மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா தலை மை யி லான அதி கா ரி கள் சம் பவ இடத் திற்கு விரைந்து ஆய்வு செய் த னர். இதை ய டுத்து விசா ர ணை யில், குடோ னில் தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புகை யி லையை வாங்கி வந்து பாக் கெட் டு க ளாக பிரித்து பல் வேறு ஊர் க ளுக்கு அனுப்பி வைக் கப் பட் டது தெரிந் தது. மேலும் பிர பல டீ தூள் நிறு வ னத் தின் பேரில் கலப் பட டீ தூள் தயா ரித்து பல் வேறு இடங் க ளுக்கு விற் ப னைக்கு அனுப்பி வரு வ தும் கண் டுப் பி டிக் கப் பட் டது.

இத னைத் தொடர்ந்து குடோ னில் இருந்த ரூ.5 லட் சம் மதிப் பி லான புகை யி லை கள் மற் றும் கலப் பட டீ தூள் பாக் கெட் டு களை உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை அதி கா ரி கள் பறி மு தல் செய் த னர். இதை ய டுத்து அந்த குடோ னுக்கு சீல் வைக் கப் பட் டது. இது தொடர் பாக குடோ னின் உரி மை யா ளர் கள் ராஜஸ் தானை சேர்ந்த ஹரிஸ் (30), பாவா ராம் (20) மற் றும் குடோன் பணி யா ளர் க ளான டெல் லியை சேர்ந்த தினேஷ் (38), நாக் பூரை சேர்ந்த மூன் சிங் (22) ஆகிய 4 பேரை பிடித்து அழ கா பு ரம் போலீ சார் தீவிர விசா ரணை நடத்தி வரு கின் ற னர். இச் சம் ப வம் அப் ப கு தி யில் பெரும் பர ப ரப்பை ஏற் ப டுத் தி யது.

Chandigarh launches mobile food testing van

Residents can get samples tested for Rs 30

Ut Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki flags off the “Mobile Food Testing Laboratory” at Haryana Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh, on Friday. 

CITY RESIDENTS will now be spared the ordeal of running from pillar to post for getting food samples tested as the Chandigarh health department on Friday launched a mobile food testing laboratory.

The laboratory, which is first in the country, is equipped with electronic milk testing and chemical testing kits for conducting on-the-spot test of the food samples. Residents will be charged a nominal fee of Rs 30. The mobile laboratory was launched by UT Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki.

From Monday to Friday, the mobile van will be stationed at five different locations from 9 am to 4 pm.

Asserting that the test results would be available immediately, UT Adviser Parimal Rai said that the initiative would sensitise the general public to being cautious. “The van will act as a warning to suppliers, especially the milk vendors, to ensure that the product supplied by them conforms to food safety standards,” he added. 

UT Home Secretary-cum-Secretary (Health) Anurag Aggarwal said the samples found not conforming to the food safety standards would be further examined in the food testing laboratories for confirmation. He added that the mobile van would be regularly monitored to ensure that the services were being provided satisfactorily. 

According to food safety officer Sukhwinder Singh, the lab is capable of testing adulteration in milk and related products, spices and mustard oil. The department has deployed a lab technician, lab assistant, helper and driver each on the van. 

The department will publicise about the van by distributing pamphlets, holding awareness camps and putting out advertisements in newspapers and radio.

Fish outlets lack sanitation, refrigeration

SRINAGAR, Apr 1: Flouting Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the fish outlets in summer capital of Srinagar are selling fishes without any proper refrigeration, display cans and information labels on containers thereby transferring the food borne diseases to people.

The fish is seen displayed in open trays without proper refrigeration or casing. No kitchen sanitizers can be seen around cutting boards and counter tops and shops are often untidy thereby inviting microbes which cause food borne diseases, experts said. Unavailability of separate display cans also makes it vulnerable to cross- contamination.

Khadija, a fisherwoman, who sells indigenous fishes at Amira Kadal here, said they bring these fishes from outside State. “It did not smell good. There is clear smell of some chemical which makes it look fresh. These are slippery; eyes are not clear and are sunken. Just touch it, it would not spring back. Most of them are already rotten. They also sell some raw fish meat. Who knows what kind of meat it is?” she said.

Dr Qayoom Khan, who is Assistant Registrar at SKIMS Soura, said the low temperature slows down the growth of micro organisms. Warmth may encourage the growth of microbes which may get into your hands and utensils and cause food poisoning, he said.

Claiming that 50 percent of fish outlets have cold chain, Assistant Commissioner Food and Drug Control Srinagar, Hilal Ahmad, told Excelsior that major fish dealers like Kaloo Fish Shop, Bismillah Fish Shop and Iqra Fish Shop have also been ordered to either maintain the cold chain or stop selling fishes and within one week every fish outlet will have proper refrigeration.

“We have recently closed one fish outlet in Bemina which was violating the Food Safety Act and right now fifty percent of the fish outlets have cold chain. Fish shops at Places like Nowhata and Khayam have been given one week’s time,” he said. He refused to divulge further details.

However, another official wishing anonymity when asked about the reasons of letting them sell fish without refrigeration and other requirements, said that there were some hurdles from some Municipality officers in the execution of Food Safety Act.

“Recently Food Commissioner has brazenly de-notified the food inspectors so that food safety standards should be achieved. This was done in line with the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 after lapses were spotted by the High Court. Now there will be single line administration without any interference,” he said.

Food labels must for ‘informed choice’

Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has suggested that warning may be displayed on fast foods just as it is done for cigarettes. South American countries Chile and Ecuador have already made it mandatory for sellers to display warning on foods high in sugar, salt and fats that they are harmful for health. Such foods do not provide the minerals and other micro-nutrients necessary for good health. This is especially harmful for children. They become fat. This leads to stunting of their overall growth.

The government had imposed a ban on the sale of Maggi noodles because of higher than permissible levels of lead found in them. While this stringent action was welcome, it constituted only a small part of the larger problem of fast foods. Big companies produce unhealthy foods like pizza, candies and soda that are heavy in fats and sugars and low in other essential nutrients. They launch massive marketing campaigns and persuade the public, young school going children in particular, to consume these harmful foods. The World Health Organisation has said that diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases cause a large number of deaths every year.

Big companies target school going children to expand their market of these harmful food items. They place advertisements of these foods in middle of children’s programmes. Cartoon characters are printed on the boxes of these items. Free samples are distributed in schools. Promotional campaigns such as sponsoring school events are undertaken. A picture of fun is painted in the minds of the young; and the harmful effects of these foods are hidden. Children are unsuspectingly led to consume harmful foods which results in them being fat and malnutritioned. There is an excess of fat but shortage of essential elements in their diet which leads to disease.

The government is aware of these negative impacts. The taxes on soft drinks were increased in the last budget to curb the spread of such foods. But the government also wants to attract FDI. Coca Cola has promised to invest five billion US dollars. This investment will create demand for bottles, transport, and labour. Thus the government is reluctant to regulate these companies more thoroughly lest they run away and the possible economic growth does not take place. These economic benefits of large companies are true; but only one side of the story. The consumption of fast foods leads to bad health and deaths which leads to a huge loss to the economy. The WHO has assessed that India will suffer a loss of national income from diabetes and cardiovascular disease at 336.6 billion US dollars corrected for purchasing power. This means that gains to the economy from the entry of big companies is small in comparison to the loss from the deterioration of health of our people. Yet the government is pushing for such investments because the benefits from establishment of these factories are directly visible while the losses from deterioration of health are “invisible.”

People are shortsighted like the government. Economic theory holds that the consumer knows how to maximise his welfare. We must assume that his welfare is increased by the consumption of pizza and carbonated drinks if he chooses to buy them. It is forgotten though that a condition underlying this economic theory is of “informed” choice. It is assumed that the consumer knows the harm that is done to his health by the consumption of these fast foods. Here lies the problem. The companies launch large campaigns to communicate the benefits from expanded choice, good ambience of restaurants and quick energy obtained from the consumption of fast foods. But the harm from obesity and malnutrition are not told. Thus the consumer is surreptitiously led to believe that his welfare will be increased by the consumption of these foods while actually it is reduced.

Government intervention is accepted for rectifying such situations. For example, the government has banned the placement of advertisements for liquor and cigarettes. The idea is that people do not truly understand the negative impacts of consumption of these goods hence the government should step in as a trustee of people’s health and act. People might like to consume more liquor but the government says no; and dissuades them from this consumption to enhance their welfare that they do not themselves understand. It is necessary for the government to step in and dissuade the consumers from consuming fast foods in the same way.

Many developing countries have made rules to prevent such advertising aimed at school children. Costa Rica has banned chips, cookies, candies and carbonated sodas from elementary and high schools. In Mexico, schools are barred from serving or selling sugary sodas, juices or processed snacks; and directed that all tacos, burritos and salads are to be low in fat. Peru requires sale of only healthy food in school cafeterias. Philippines has prohibited sale of carbonated drinks, sugar based synthetic or artificial flavoured juices, junk foods and any food product that may be detrimental to the child’s health in schools. Only nutrient rich food like root crops, noodles, rice and corn products in native preparation, fruits and vegetables in season and fortified food products labeled rich in protein, energy, vitamins and minerals, milk, shakes and juices prepared from fruits and vegetables are allowed to be sold.

The Foods Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sets the standard for foods that are sold. The ban on Maggi noodles came because the amount of lead was found to be in excess by its standards. But the role of FSSAI is restricted to ensuring safety of the food items. FSSAI does not have the mandate to assess the health impacts of fast foods, let alone regulate the marketing campaigns to promote these items. It is necessary that the government enacts a law to regulate the manufacture, sale and marketing of fast foods.

The need of the hour is to go beyond the marketing campaigns held in schools and regulate the entire economic system of these harmful goods. The suggestion given by Consumer Affairs Minister to display warnings on fast foods is a step in the right direction and must be welcomed.

Author was formerly Professor of Economics at IIM Bengaluru

மாவட்டத்தில் புற்றீசல்போல் பெருகும் கம்பெனிகளால் சுகாதாரமற்ற குடிநீர் விற்பனை

ராம நா த பு ரம், ஏப்.1:

ராம நா த பு ரம் மாவட் டத் தில் சுகா தா ர மற்ற குடி நீர் விற் கப் ப டு வ தாக புகார் எழுந் துள் ளது. நோய் கள் பர வும் அபா யம் நில வு வ தால் அதி கா ரி கள் உட ன டி யாக நட வ டிக்கை எடுக்க வேண் டும் என பொது மக் கள் வலி யு றுத்தி உள் ள னர்.

ராம நா த பு ரம் மாவட் டத் தில் குடி நீர் பிரச் னை யைப் போக்க அரசு காவிரி கூட்டு குடி நீர் திட் டத் தின் மூலம் குடி நீர் விநி யோ கம் செய்து வரு கி றது. தற் போது காவிரி நீர் வ ரத் துக் குறை வால் ராம நா த பு ரம், பர மக் குடி, ராமேஸ் வ ரம் உள் ளிட்ட மாவட் டத் தின் முக் கிய நகர் பகு தி க ளின் அனைத்து இடங் க ளுக் கும் குடி நீர் வரு வது கிடை யாது. அத் யா வ சி யத் தேவை க ளுக்கு பொது மக் கள் பலர் மின ரல் வாட் டர், பாக் கெட் குடி நீ ரையே அதி கம் பயன் ப டுத் து கின் ற னர்.

தற் போ தைய நிலை யில் குடி நீரை பாட் டில் க ளில் அடைத்து விற் கும் கலா சா ரம் தவிர்க்க முடி யா த தாக மாறி வரு கி றது. தமி ழக அரசு பாட் டில் க ளில் அடைத்து குடி நீரை விற்று வரு வது குறிப் பி டத் தக் கது. பாட் டில் கள், கேன் கள், பாக் கெட் டு க ளில் விற் கப் ப டும் குடி நீர் ஐஎஸ்ஐ முத் தி ரை யு டன் விற் கப் பட வேண் டும் என சட் டம் உள் ளது. இருப் பி னும் மாவட் டத் தில் பலர் சட் டத் தைப் பின் பற் று வது கிடை யாது.

பெட் டிக் கடை க ளில் வாங் கப் ப டும் பாக் கெட் குடி நீ ரில் பிளாஷ் டிக் வாடை அடிக் கி றது. கேன், பாட் டில் க ளில் விற் கப் ப டும் குடி நீ ரில் ரசா ய னப் பொருள் நெடி வீசு கி றது. பல கடை க ளில் இதை பிரிட் ஜில் வைத்து குளி ரூட் டப் பட்டு விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு வ தால் இதை குடிக் கும் மக் க ளுக்கு தொண்டை சம் மந் த மான நோய் கள் பர வு கின் றன. மாவட் டத் தில் ஏற் க னவே நடத் திய ஆய் வு க ளின் போது பல பெட்டி கடை க ளில் ஐஎஸ்ஓ தரம் இல் லாத தண் ணீர் கேன் கள், பாக் கெட் டு கள் இருந் தது தெரிய வந் தது. அவை கள் பறி மு தல் செய் யப் பட்டு அழிக் கப் பட் டன.

வெயி லின் தாக் கம் அதி க மாக உள் ள தால் சுகா தா ர மற்ற குடி நீர் மீண் டும் விற் பனை செய் யப் பட்டு வரு கி றது. இந்த குடி நீ ரால் தொற் று நோய் பர வும் அபா யம் உள் ள தால் சம் மந் தப் பட்ட சுகா தா ரத் துறை அதி கா ரி கள் அவ் வப் போது கடை க ளில் சோத னை நடத்தி தரம் இல் லாத குடி நீர் பாக் கெட் டு கள், மின ரல் வாட் டர் களை பறி மு தல் செய்ய வேண் டும் என பொது மக் கள் கேட் டுக் கொண் டுள் ள னர்.

ராம நா த பு ரத்தை சேர்ந்த ராம் கு மார் கூறு கை யில், “நகர் பகு தி யில் விற் கப் ப டும் குடி நீ ரின் சுகா தா ரம் கேள் விக் கு றி ய தாக உள் ளது. புற் றீ சல் போல புதிய பெய ரில் தரம் இல் லாத கம் பெ னி கள் குடி நீரை விநி யோ கம் செய் கின் றன.

சில தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் டு கள், மின ரல் வாட் டர் க ளில் ஐஎஸ்ஐ முத் தி ரை யி டப் பட் டுள் ளது. இருப் பி னும் சுகா தா ர மாக இல்லை.

தாங் க ளா கவே அந்த லேபி லில் ஐஎஸ்ஐ முத் தி ரையை பிரின்ட் செய்து கொள் கின் ற னர். தண் ணீ ரில் துர் நாற் றம், பிளாஷ் டிக் வாடை அடிக் கி றது. இத் தொ ழி லில் பல் வேறு நிறு வ னங் கள் ஈடு பட் டுள்ள நிலை யில் அவை கள் அனைத் தும் அரசு அங் கீ கா ரம் பெற் றுள் ள தாக என தெரி ய வில்லை. பல கடை க ளில் காலா வ தி யான தண் ணீர் கேன் களை விற் பனை செய்து வரு கின் ற னர். இது நோயை உரு வாக் கும்” என் றார்.

சுகா தா ரத் துறை அதி கா ரி க ளி டம் கேட் ட போது, “அவ் வப் போது கடை க ளில் ஆய்வு செய்து வரு கி றோம். இருப் பி னும் குடி நீர் இல் லா மல், டீத் தூள், பருப்பு, மசாலா என அனைத் தி லும் கலப் பட பொருட் கள் சேர்ந்து விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. ஆய் வின் போது பிடி ப டும் கடை கா ரர் க ளி டம் தயவு காட் டு வது கிடை யாது. விரை வில் திடீர் ஆய்வு நடத்தி நட வ டிக்கை எடுப் போம்” என் றார்.

உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிக்கு கொலை மிரட்டல் வியாபாரி மீது வழக்கு பதிவு

அம்பை, ஏப்.1:

அம் பை யில் உணவு பாது காப்பு அதி கா ரி யாக இருப் ப வர் நாக சுப் பி ர ம ணி யன். இவர் இங்கு வந்த பின் னர், உணவு பொருட் களை சோதனை செய்து அதில் கலப் ப டம் செய் தி ருந் தால் அதை பறி மு தல் செய்து அழித்து வரு வ தோடு சம் பந் தப் பட்ட வியா பா ரி கள் மீது போலீஸ் மூலம் வழக் கும் பதிவு செய் யப் ப டு கி றது.

இது போல் நேற்று வாகை கு ளம் விலக்கு பகு தி யில் நாக சுப் பி ர ம ணி யன் சோத னை யில் ஈடு பட் ட னர். அப் போது பைக் கில் வந்த பால் வியா பா ரி ரமேஷ் என் ப வரை மடக்கி சோத னை யிட முயன் றார். ஆத் தி ர ம டைந்த வியா பாரி, அதி கா ரி யி டம் எப் படி சோதனை போட லாம் என தக ராறு செய் த தோடு கொலை மிரட் டல் விடுத்து அதி கா ரி யின் பைக்கை இடித்து தள் ளி விட்டு பைக் கில் பறந்து சென் று விட் டார்.

இது கு றித்து அதி காரி நாக சுப் பி ர ம ணி யன் அம்பை யாத வர் கீழ தெரு ரமேஷ் மீது அரசு பணி செய்ய செய் ய வி டா மல் தடுத்து, கொலை மிரட் டல் விடுத் த தாக அம்பை போலீ சில் புகார் செய் தார். போலீ சார் வழக்கு பதிந்து விசா ரித்து வரு கின் ற னர்.

DINAMALAR NEWS

Nestle: Not notified of any noodle issues in India

ZURICH: Swiss food group Nestle said on Friday it had not been informed by Indian authorities of any new health issues with its instant noodles after a newspaper reported tests had detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash in the product. 

"We have not received any notice from the concerned authorities about samples of Maggi noodles collected from Umesh Chandra, Barabanki. We have also not received any notice from the court and we have heard about this only from a media report," a Nestle spokesman in India said. 

The Wall Street Journal had cited food safety inspectors in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh as saying they had filed a lawsuit accusing Nestle of substandard practices after ash content in samples of its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles was found to exceed the legal limit. 

The Indian unit of the Swiss food giant had been grappling with a public relations crisis that hit sales after local regulators reported last year that some packets of the Maggi noodles contained unsafe levels of lead. Sales resumed in November. 

Nestle said on Friday its products were safe, adding it had come across instances in Uttar Pradesh in which standards for macaroni products were being applied for instant noodles with seasoning, which it called "erroneous and misleading".

Traders warned against ripening fruit artificially

Even as mango season sets in, fruit vendors have been put on notice by authorities against selling artificially ripened varieties. 

With mangoes started to arrive in markets in the city, officials of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has asked traders not to use calcium carbide for artificially ripening mangoes.

District Designated Officer T. Anuradha, who conducted a meeting with traders and stockiest on Wednesday, said that mangoes should ripen naturally and use of calcium carbide for ripening is against the law as it causes health hazards.

The chemical is banned under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, as it would cause diarrhoea, skin ulcers, peptic ulcer and irrigation in mouth for the consumers, she added.

Officials said that while natural ripening takes two to three days while artificial ripening takes less than 20 hours.

Officials said that naturally ripened mangoes would become yellow gradually and have good aroma while the ripened mangoes turn yellowish fully.

They asked the consumers to purchase mangoes and allow it to naturally ripen in their homes. During, the mango season, despite officials conducting raid in markets and godowns, ripening of mangoes artificially is carried out by traders for making quick money. Traders were warned against such practices.

Fruit Vendors Shutdown Decrying Frequent Raids by Food Safety Department

VIJAYAWADA: All the 150 wholesale and retail shops in Vijayawada were closed on Thursday in protest against ‘frequent raids’ by the Food Safety Department.

Led by Fruit Merchants Association at Kedareswarapet in Vijayawada, they took out a protest rally in and around the fruit market raising slogans against the undue pressure being exerted by the Food Safety Department.

They said they do not produce the fruits and only sell what is being brought by the farmers, but are being wrongly accused by the Food Safety Department of using calcium carbide. They alleged that fruit shops in the city were being raided time and again whenever food-related incident happen elsewhere.

“A rumour or a news in the media that fruits are not safe as they are coated with harmful chemicals is ruining our business. Frequent raids by the authorities are giving an impression that something is wrong and people are hesitant to purchase fruits. It if goes on, we have to close our businesses,” Fruit Merchants Association secretary N Chiranjeevi Rao told Express.

When pointed out about a fruit merchant caught using calcium carbide to artificially ripen Papaya couple of months ago during raids by officials, Rao said it was an isolated case. “Since then, we have been constantly vigilant and ensured that all the fruits sold here are carbide-free. But the officials don’t believe us,” he said.

According to him during season, Vijayawada fruit market does a business of Rs. 1 crore per day and during non-season, it is less than 75 per cent business. “Today, with frequent raids, the business has come to just 10 per cent. It is not just affecting our business, but also the livelihood of the hamalis who are dependent on us,” he pointed out.

Each shop supports on an average 30 hamalis, who earn Rs. 400 per day during peak season and half that amount during non-peak season. Today, with drop in business, they are unable to earn much and the number of the workers supported by a shop has also dropped. The hamalis at fruit market also participated in the bandh.

New FSSAI rules on nutraceuticals may leave companies like Sun Pharma, GSK ailing

MUMBAI: Drug companies, still reeling from a recent health ministry ban on some of India's most popular antibiotics and cough syrups, may be facing another stiff challenge with a regulatory notice threatening the Rs 20,000-crore nutraceuticals industry, the leading lights of which include Sun Pharma, Abbott Nutrition and GlaxoSmithKline.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered companies to follow strict norms in manufacturing and testing of health supplements launched after 2011, based on a draft report. Apart from the firms mentioned above, Amway Nutrition, Mankind Pharma and Herbalife are among manufacturers of health supplements in India.

"It has (been) decided that till the standards of nutraceuticals food supplements and health supplements are finally notified, the enforcement activities against such food business operators may be restricted to requirements given in the draft notification on such products," said the FSSAI notification issued by Rakesh Chandra Sharma, its director of enforcement, on Thursday.

Companies will get an exemption if the supplements were available in the market before the Food Safety and Standards Act came into effect in 2011 or if product approval was pending on August 19, 2015, when FSSAI's product approval advisory committee was scrapped after a Supreme Court judgement. Products explicitly covered under the draft notification on nutraceuticals, food supplements and health supplements will also be allowed.

The industry's fear is that the notification could effectively mean a ban on all products launched after 2011. The notice was "too high-handed", said Ramesh Juneja, managing director of New Delhi-based Mankind Pharma, which sells popular brands such as Health OK and Nurokind.

Issue brewing for some time

The issue has been brewing for some time, starting with the Patna food and drug regulator banning all health supplements in 2014. The matter went to the Supreme Court. In 2011, FSSAI had set up the product approval committee, which was supposed to approve such products using the same parameters as those for drugs. But last year, the Supreme Court ruled against the establishment of the committee, which FSSAI had to abandon.

There was no immediate response to emails sent to the other companies cited above.

A drug company executive suggested the notification may not be in line with the apex court's decision. "A Supreme Court order last year had dismantled the advisory board that FSSAI had set up and now we are told that the products under that committee will be considered for approval," the person said. "How can the regulator approve products by a body that does not exist?"

Drugmakers said the move was similar to the ban on fixed-dose drug combinations (FDCs) that has led to sales of top-selling medicines such as Corex, Saridon and D Cold being halted. That ban imposed by the health ministry has been challenged in court.

"The regulations for health and food supplements are not in place," said RK Sanghvi, who heads the nutraceuticals committee of the Indian Drugs Manufacturers' Association, a lobby group of more than 300 companies. "If there are no regulations, we cannot rely on drafts for enforcement. This is like the ban on fixed dose combinations all over again."

The ban on FDCs that lack "therapeutic justification" threatens to put an end to sales of drugs worth about Rs 3,000 crore annually if it's upheld.

Absence of FSSAI laboratories at Indian ports hampering trade: BRIEF

The absence of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) laboratories at Indian ports is one of the major hurdles that is hampering trade. It not only delays the entry and exit of products but also leads to increased logistic costs.

Apart from it, frequent breakdowns in the Custom Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems and shortage of round-the-clock functioning container freight stations were among the key factors hampering the growth of the Indian ports.

These were some of the highlights of a comparison study of select ports in India which was released by the Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF), an economic research organisation, on Wednesday.

The study was undertaken for nine ports across the country and analysed the performance of ports in the last five years along with visits to them.

These included Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Maharashtra), Paradip Port Trust (Odisha), Haldia Dock Complex (West Bengal), Cochin Port Trust (Kerala) and Attari Integrated Check Post, Punjab. The report points out various deficiencies on each port and specific patterns of issues based on their demographies, capacity, operational aspects and measures to resolve them.

The report ‘Bridging infrastructural deficits at select trade ports in India’ funded by British High Commission said that port capacity and traffic handled by various land and sea ports in the country have remained under-utilised for the last five years and the gap between traffic handling capacity and the actual traffic handled is still wide.

The reports said that India needs to have a user information website for import data, which is a data pool for importers to look up relevant products imported in the previous three months as well as clearance related to documentation and procedures required for the same. Moreover, clearance of part-shipment cargo was also required as it was one of the major causes of increased dwell time of cargo.

It suggested that there is a necessity for more round-the-clock functioning container freight stations to reduce congestion at the ports and provide for faster clearance to cargo. Encouragement of self sealing and factory stuffing of containers at all ports is one of the habits, BRIEF says, needs to be developed in India.

HC seeks FSSAI reply on Lucknow office closure

Lucknow: The Allahabad high court has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to explain the rationale behind its decision to close its Lucknow office and delegate of control to the authority's New Delhi headquarters. The regulator has to file its reply within three weeks. The direction, issued by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, came in response to a PIL filed by Amit Kumar Mishra. The petitioner has challenged the closure of Lucknow office.

Listing the matter for next hearing on April 20, Chief Justice Chandrachud told counsel of the Union government and FSSAI to file replies "explaining the basis of the decision taken on February 9 2016 by the FSSAI to close down the Lucknow regional office and to confer jurisdiction in respect of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh upon the office of the deputy director at Delhi regional office."

The closure orders of the Lucknow office have also surprised the state government offices. While CEO, FSSAI, Pawan Agarwal, told TOI that the charge of enforcement and monitoring of food standards have been handed over to the state government, UP officials confirmed to TOI they have not received any such orders from the Authority or the ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which governs the authority.

The FSSAI decision to issue closure orders also appear in contravention of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which mandates that any change in respective areas of which a designated officer is in charge for food safety administration -- in this case, the person in charge of the Lucknow office -- must be announced through a gazette notification, and not through an internal office order. Speaking to TOI, advocate Aseem Goswami, who has in the past represented FSSAI independently, said, "All changes in rules and regulations pertaining to a designated officer must be ratified by both the houses of Parliament. In this case, however, the closure orders were neither notified, nor tabled before parliament for its approval."

Nestlé's noodles face more scrutiny in India

NEW DELHI--Months after Nestlé SA resumed selling its popular instant noodles in India following a food-safety scare, regulators on Thursday delivered a fresh jolt to the world's biggest food company, saying tests had detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash in the product.

Food-safety inspectors in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh said they filed a lawsuit accusing Nestlé of "substandard" practices on Wednesday after ash content in samples of its Maggi 2-Minute Noodles was found to exceed the legal limit, said Vijay Bahadur, an assistant commissioner at the state's Food Safety & Drug Administration.

Nestlé maintained its noodles were safe to eat and said the root of the problem was ambiguous rules for testing products like instant noodles in India. It added the ash in its noodles wasn't hazardous for human consumption, and was made up of residues from the oxidation of minerals like calcium and potassium.

Still, the announcement will come as a blow to the Swiss giant, which had just begun to recover from a food-safety crisis in India.

Nestlé's woes began last year after the same state department alleged its Maggi noodles contained dangerously high levels of lead. Tests in some other states echoed these findings, leading the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the national food-safety watchdog, to ban the sale of the noodles in June.

Nestlé pulled millions of packets of noodles from store shelves and burned them in cement kilns, even though it said its own tests hadn't detected illegally-high amounts of the toxic metal.

The company challenged regulators' tests and raised questions over India's testing techniques and capabilities in court. Later, court-ordered retesting of the noodles failed to find any lead or other harmful ingredients. Nestlé resumed sales of the noodles in November.

The recall cost the company millions of dollars in lost sales and tainted its reputation in the South Asian nation. Net profit at Nestlé's Indian unit was sliced by more than half in 2015 compared with a year earlier, with sales sliding 17%. One in every five dollars the company earned in India before the recall came from its Maggi noodles, its best-selling product here.

Nestlé had just begun to claw its way back to the top of the noodle market when news of the fresh lawsuit broke Thursday.

Food-safety regulators in Uttar Pradesh said they tested the noodles as they would test ready-to-eat pastas. Nestlé said this approach was flawed.

"Standards for macaroni products are being applied for instant noodles with seasoning which is erroneous and misleading," Nestlé's Indian arm said in an email. "We categorically reiterate that testing of instant noodles against norms set for macaroni products will reflect in incorrect results and wrong interpretations," the company said.

India doesn't have specific standards to test products like instant noodles. India's food-safety watchdog attempted to set testing standards in the wake of the food-safety scare last year, and directed food inspectors to test instant noodles as they would test ready-to-cook pastas.

At the time, Nestlé and other consumer companies opposed the move. In a letter to the food-safety watchdog, the Confederation of Indian Food Trade & Industry, a body that represents companies like Nestlé, Unilever PLC, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co., among others, had asked the regulator roll back this directive.

"Noodles and pasta are two different types of food products...Kindly withdraw the advisory to avoid confusion and chaos in enforcement officers as well as within the industry," the body said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by The Wall Street Journal. It further appealed the regulator to set different standards for testing instant noodles. "This will remove ambiguity and bring transparency," it added.

Nestlé has also raised concerns over testing delays in India's overburdened and understaffed state-run laboratories. Lawyers for the company had argued in court that samples take several months to be tested, during which they could be contaminated.

Mr. Bahadur, the food-safety official in Uttar Pradesh, said his department collected samples of Nestlé's noodles from the market mid-last year. Test results, including those that detected higher-than-permissible levels of ash, came out in February, he added. It wasn't immediately clear when the noodles were tested.

Presence of natural MSG not an offence, says FSSAI

In a bid to clear the confusion over the presence of a tasteenhancer – Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – in noodles and pasta, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Thursday said MSG, originating from natural sources, could not be questioned under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

This is being seen as a clean chit for products containingMSG as there are no established procedures to ascertain if it was added artificially through laboratory testing, experts said.

Last year, the issue came to the fore when FSSAI banned Maggi instant noodles. It alleged Nestlé misled consumers by declaring that its products did not contain any “added MSG”.

While, noodles and pasta, containing MSG from natural sources cannot be probed by food regulators. Packaged food manufacturers can no longer use “No MSG” or “No added MSG” on their products if it contains the ingredient even from natural sources.

“Commissioners of Food Safety are advised that specific enforcement/ prosecution may not be launched against the manufacturer of noodles/pasta on account of presence of MSG or Glutamic Acid unless it is ascertained by the department that Monosodium Glutamate enhancer (INS E-621) was deliberately added during the course of manufacture without required declaration on the label”, FSSAI notified. It also acknowledged the beleaguered food major’s argument that MSG is found naturally “in several common foods such as milk, spices, wheat, vegetables etc”.

“To prevent, both, avoidable harassment/prosecution of Food Business Operators (FBOs) as well as to ensure that consumers are facilitated to exercise informed choices in respect of what they eat, proceedings may be launched against” manufactures in case of mislabeling, the regulator instructed food commissioners.

Food safety authority clarifies on MSG content

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31: 

In a relief for the noodles and pasta makers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on Thursday cleared the air over the presence of the controversial flavour enhancer Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in the products. MSG was in news following the Maggi controversy.

Acknowledging that there was no analytical method to check whether MSG was added to the product during manufacturing or is naturally present in the product, the FSSAI has asked food safety commissioners to prosecute noodles and pasta makers only if it was ascertained that Monosodium Glutamate was deliberately added during the manufacturing of the products. This even while their packaging claimed “No MSG” or “No Added MSG”, the order said.

FSSAI said that presence of added MSG can be checked through inspection of the manufacturing premises.Naturally found

It also said that it is widely known that Glutamate is naturally found in several common foods such as milk, spices and vegetables.

Clarification on use of Monosodium Glutamate in Noodles and Pastas

 

`Min government, Max governance' trigger behind downsize decision

FSSAI Shuts City Office From Today

Less than a year after forcing Nestle India to recall samples of Maggi, and running-in with Patanjali Ayurved for manufacturing and selling atta noodles without requisite licenses, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is quietly moving towards a `deregulation' and `self-compliance' regime.

As a first step in this direction, the country's food regulator has ordered the winding up of its sub-regional offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh, with effect from March 31.

From April 11, the Authority will carry out its regulatory work; licensing, enforcement and monitoring of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, remotely , from the FSSAI headquarters in New Delhi, and four regional offic es in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Guwahati. The closure orders were communicated to the Chandigarh and Lucknow offices through an office order of February 24, signed by director establishment, FSSAI, Rakesh Chandra Sharma. However, the order was not avilable on the FSSAI website, until the time of going to press.

Speaking to TOI, FSSAI chief executive officer, Pawan Kumar Agarwal, said, “The decision to close down sub-regional offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh was a carefully considered one.These offices had limited staff and were not adding value. Our attempt is to downsize and rationalise our resources. We dont wan't food safety officials to be a nuisance to food businesses, rather we want citizens to have confidence in them.“

Saying inspection was not the way forward in the food industry , and the FSSAI was keen to encourage self-regulation and declaration, Agarwal added, “We are using a pragmatic approach, and moving towards a regime of self-compliance. We plan to use technology meaningfully to reach out to businesses and encourage them to selftest and upload results online.Penalties can be issued online for non-compliance. Consumers are also encouraged to be more aware and act as a food safety inspector.“ While deregulation ap pears to be the key word, the FSSAI is mandated, at present, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to lay down “science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.“ The Act was enforced across India from 2011, after the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations, respectively, were notified by the Central government. It governs about 35 lakh food businesses across India of which about 27,000 licenses are issued directly by FSSAI. In comparison to the size of food business, however, the number of food safety officers under FSSAI is woefully low; less than 10%.

Citing a severe manpower crunch and the Authority's inability, as a result, to fully control the food industry , Agarwal said enforcement will now shift into the hands of the concerned state governments, while the regional office in New Delhi will monitor overall regulation of food in UP and other states in India FSSAI could not, however provide TOI a copy of an office order, or gazette notification announcing the change in procedure, authorising state governments to take over en orcement, inspections and monitoring of food business es.

Agarwal, the chief execu ive, and also the Food Com missioner of India, quoted the FSS Act, 2006 as having pre scribed `Minimum Govern ment but Maximum Govern ance,' which is the trigger be hind the Authority's decision o “downsize and rationalise“ resources. TOI could not, how ever, find a reference to any such statement in the Act.

The Lucknow office of FSSAI, in its capacity as food regulator, has issued 2672 food icenses from its inception in September 2008, until March 27, 2016. In addition to issuing licenses, it has also served show cause and improvement notices on food manufacturers, conducted over 250 inspections of food production facilities, and initiated penal action against a prominent food manufacturing business.

According to RTI information sought by TOI from the FSSAI Lucknow office, among key companies that were issued improvement or show cause notices for sub-standard or unsafe food products include Nestle for its Maggi noodles, and Mother Dairy for its `Fruit Added Lassi', which RTI information shows was being sold across India without a product license. The offices also suspended the license of JVL Agro, manufacturers of `Jhoola Vanaspati', among other oils produced by the company , and found during surveillance sampling that all brands of packaged drinking water sold in UP were sub-standard and unsafe for consumption. Among other food majors pulled up by FSSAI include Hindustan Unilever for producing substandard bread under the label “Modern“, and for illegal slaughter against Abu Dhabibased Lulu Group's Amroon Foods Pvt Ltd at its Barabanki facility.

Speaking to TOI, sources in New Delhi said the Centre and FSSAI, as food regulator, were for some time faced with adilemma; whether to keep up its stringent regulatory check in public interest, or to resolve regulatory issues in favour of food manufacturers like Nestle and other prominent names in the food industry . An FSSAI resource person, on condition of anonymity , told TOI: “Considering that FSSAI was established in public interest, and with an aim to function as a regulatory , enforcement and monitoring agency controlling the entire food industry in India, it only makes sense to expand the Authority's network, rather than to close down its offices.“

Self-regulation new mantra for country's food security

 

Lucknow

Less then a year after forcing Nestle India to recall samples of Maggi, and runningin with Patanjali Ayurved for manufacturing and selling atta noodles without requisite licenses, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has said it's moving towards a “deregulation“ and “self-compliance“ regime.

As first step in this direction, the country's food regulator has ordered the winding up of its sub-regional offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh, with effect from March 31.

From April 11, FSSAI will carry out its regulatory work; licensing, enforcement and monitoring of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, remotely , from the its headquarters in New Delhi, and four regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Guwahati. The closure orders were communicated to the Chandigarh and Lucknow offices through an office order of February 24, signed by director establishment, FSSAI, Rakesh Chandra Sharma. Speaking to TOI, FSSAI chief executive officer, Pawan Kumar Agarwal, said, “The decision to close down sub-regional offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh was a carefully considered one. These offices had limited staff and were not adding value. Our attempt is to downsize and rationalise our resources. We don't want food safety officials to be a nuisance to food businesses, rather we want citizens to have confidence in them.“

Saying inspection was not the way forward in the food industry , and FSSAI was keen to encourage self-regulation and declaration, Agarwal added, “We're using a pragmatic approach, and moving towards a regime of self-compliance. We plan to use technology meaningfully to reach out to businesses and encourage them to self-test and upload results online. Penalties can be issued online for non-compliance. Consumers are also encouraged to be more aware and act as a food safety inspector.“

While deregulation appears to be the keyword, the FSSAI is mandated, at present, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to lay down “science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.“

The Act has been enforced across India from 2011, after the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations, respectively, were notified by the Central government. It governs about 35 lakh food businesses across India of which about 27,000 licenses are issued directly by FSSAI. In comparison to the size of food business, however, the number of food safety officers under FSSAI is woefully low, less than 10%.

FSSAI moves away from inspector raj, shuts 2 offices

Lucknow: Less than a year after forcing Nestle India to recall samples of Maggi and having a run-in with Patanjali Ayurved for manufacturing and selling atta noodles without requisite licenses, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has said it's moving towards a "deregulation" and "self-compliance" regime.

As a first step, the food regulator has ordered its subregional offices in Lucknow and Chandigarh to be wound up with effect from March 31.

From April 11, the FSSAI will carry out its regulatory work: licensing, enforcement and monitoring of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 remotely, from its New Delhi headquarters and four regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Guwahati. Orders for the closures were communicated to the Chandigarh and Lucknow offices on February 24 by FSSAI director, establishment, Rakesh Chandra Sharma.

FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal told TOI, "The decision to close down the two offices was carefully considered. They had limited staff and were not adding value. Our attempt is to downsize and rationalise our resources. We don't want food safety officials to be a nuisance to businesses. Rather we want citizens to have confidence in them."

Agarwal said FSSAI was keen to encourage self-regulation and declaration.

Citing a severe manpower crunch and the regulator's inability to, ever, fully control the food industry, Agarwal said enforcement will now shift into the hands of the concerned state governments, while the regional office in New Delhi will monitor the overall regulation of food in Uttar Pradesh and other states in India.

According to RTI information sought by TOI from the FSSAI Lucknow office, companies issued notices included Nestle for its Maggi noodles, Mother Dairy for its 'Fruit Added Lassi', which RTI information shows was being sold across India without a product license, Hindustan Unilever for producing sub-standard bread under the label 'Modern', and Abu Dhabibased Lulu Group's Amroon Foods for illegal slaughter at its Barabanki facility.

FSSAI on a ride to provide safe food to consumers'

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO at FSSAI who is on a mission to safe food for a healthy and happy India, talks to Restaurant India about his plans to take this forward.

For all street food junkies who love lip-smacking roadside eateries but disgust them too for lack of hygiene, can now relish them fully without regretting over safety issues. India’s food safety regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has come down hard on street food vendors to sanitize road side snacks through multiple initiatives. Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the man in-charge of quality testing and CEO of FSSAI share the changes underway.

Tell us about your project ‘Clean Street Food’ and how will it help India tackle the hygiene issue?

Through this initiative of capacity building of food vendors we have found a model and we can do it across the country. This will benefit the poorest section of the society and also the citizen and consumers in many ways. As a country, we are not known for good hygiene and particularly there is concern about the basic hygiene. This initiative will help us in coming out of very crucial situation that is prevailing in the country. We are working with Ministry of Skill Development and other tourism and hospitality partners under Pradhanmantri Kaushal Yogna for capacity and skill building of the food vendors.

How does the recently launched FSSAI app empowers consumers?

FSSAI app is a free mobile application developed by FSSAI which would help consumers make informed food choices and bring to light the vendors who are operating without proper licenses and violating the safety norms. The app provides food safety tips, essential information about product and establishment and a hygiene rating for food product and outlet.

Would there be any acknowledgment for these vendors from the government?

Vendors would receive a government recognised certificate that would encourage them to continue upgrading their skills and knowledge through structured training to help them achieve a formal qualification.

Are food brands and restaurants also in the frame of quality testing?

We are working on a plan to bring all the restaurants in the food safety propaganda. We will partner with all food brands and restaurants in the country, train one member from each of them at FSSAI about the basic food safety and hygiene and they will be placed at these restaurants. Hence, it will become easier for both of us to make sure that the food served is meeting the basic hygiene tool and the person looking after it is trained by FSSAI.

How are you executing this initiative of providing safe street food?

We are planning to reach out to the smallest food vendors and see if they adopt the basic hygiene rule. In Phase I of the project, over two lakh street food vendors in identified areas would be taken up including all metropolitan and major cities, pilgrimage and tourist centres. There are 23,000 street food vendors in Delhi alone who are being trained, skilled and educated by our partners on hygiene factors. Based on the results, this would be rolled out in other places in the country. We are also planning to work out for Railways and Ports.

Nestle dragged to court in UP over 'sub-standard' Maggi

Barabanki/New Delhi, Mar 30: Nestle India and its two sellers have been dragged to court over alleged sub-standard Maggi noodles, a charge denied by the FMCG major which questioned the testing standards.

District Designated Officer Manoj Kumar Verma of Barbanki said that a case was lodged in the court of additional district magistrate yesterday after Nestle failed to reply to notices sent by it after samples were found "sub-standard during lab test at Gorakhpur".

When contacted, a Nestle India spokesperson said: "We have not received any notice from the concerned authorities about samples of Maggi noodles collected from Umesh Chandra, Barabanki. We have also not received any notice from the Court and we have heard about this only from a media report."

Asserting that Maggi is "100 per cent safe for consumption" the spokesperson said: "In recent past we have come across instances where in Uttar Pradesh, standards for 'Macaroni products' are being applied for 'Instant Noodles with seasoning' which is erroneous and misleading."

She further said: "We categorically re-iterate that testing of instant noodles against norms set for macaroni products will reflect in incorrect results and wrong interpretations."

Last year, Uttar Pradesh Food & Drug Administration took samples of Maggi from the shop of Umesh Chandra in Joshi Tola, which was purchased from Ravindra Traders.

According to Verma, "samples were found sub-standard during lab test at Gorakhpur" and notices were sent to Nestle and two sellers.

JK goes for online registration, licensing of food business operators

ParvezDewan, Advisor to J&K Governor, formally launched the system, in presence of Dr M. K. Bhandari, Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department (Commissioner Food Safety, J&K), an official spokesman said. 

With reports of food adulteration pouring in every day, the Drug and Food Control Organization on Wednesday launched an online system for issuing licenses and registration certificates to food business operators throughout the State. ParvezDewan, Advisor to J&K Governor, formally launched the system, in presence of Dr M. K. Bhandari, Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department (Commissioner Food Safety, J&K), an official spokesman said. Speaking on the occasion, Dewan stressed on the need for ensuring that the check of interest of health of the consumers, registration and licensing of operators dealing with food items must be undertaken, alongside strengthening the system for better monitoring and testing. 

 He also noted that consumers must be made sufficiently aware about consuming healthy, safe and wholesome food. 

Dr. Bhandari informed that it is for the first time that such an online system of registration and licensing of food business operators has been introduced in the State, which will benefit more than one lakh food business operators including hotels, restaurants, manufacturers, food vendors, hawkers among others. 

The Department has worked out a detailed mechanism in consultation with Food Safety and Standard Authority of India, National Institute of Smart Governance, Department of Information Technology, J&K for ensuring that the system is available as a convenient model registration to all the Food Business Operators. It shall require the applicant to simply approach the Common Service Centres (KHIDMAT Centres) and submit the details to the CSCs, based on which, the application would be uploaded on payment of nominal prescribed fee and within a stipulated time, the applicant would get a response through SMS alert as well as through email as to the certificate/license having been issued. The same can be secured by the applicant at his discretion from the CSCs or otherwise. 

Shridhar, General Manager, NISG Hyderabad informed that J&K is the first State in India to put into place the online registration system based on Common Service Centres. 

 This shall surely ensure that the vendors do not find difficulty in approaching the District Officers for securing their certificates/licenses, which was hitherto the case. 

“The system would, inter alia, eliminate inconsistencies, improved transparency and accountability, help in better managing the time lines, ensure streamline reporting and capturing of data base. It may be recalled that the Department had stopped manual registration/licensing since 1st March, 2016,” the spokesman said.

30 More Admitted to DHH for Food Poison

JAGATSINGHPUR: At least 30 more persons, who had taken ill after consuming stale ‘Dahi Bara’, were admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) on Wednesday. With this, the number of patients being admitted to the hospital for food poison due to consumption of stale ‘Dahi Bara’ rose to 80. On Tuesday, at least 200 villagers of Gopalpur, Putting, Jaisinghpur and Ainipur under Raghunathpur and Tirtol blocks had consumed ‘Dahi Bara’ from a cycle vendor, who sells the food item by moving from one village to another. After a few hours, the villagers complained of vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhoea. Some of them were rushed to Sanra Primary Health Centre and later 50 persons had to be shifted to the DHH. Medical teams of the DHH were also rushed to all the four villages to provide treatment to the other affected persons.

Sources said there are not enough beds in the DHH to accommodate all the patients as a result of which, they are forced to sleep on the floor. On the other hand, a squad from the Health department led by Food Safety Officer Amitav Das raided different food kiosks selling ‘Dahi Bara, Aloo Dum’ and ‘gupchup’ in Jagatsinghpur Raghunathpur and Tirtol and stopped the sales. Similar raids were conducted at Gandhi Chowk, Bada Bazaar and Sana Bazaar in Jagatsinghpur town. Vendors were asked to stop selling the food items for 15 days. Samples of the food items were collected and would be sent to the State Laboratory in Bhubaneswar for tests. Till now, unhygienic and stale food were being sold in many parts of the district in the absence of any monitoring by civic body and local administration.

Das said as raids are not being conducted regularly on roadside eateries and other food vendors, sale of unhygienic food is on the rise. Das added that the municipality does not have enough staff to conduct raids. He has sought the intervention of District Food Safety Committee to stop sale of ‘Dahi Bara’ and ‘gupchup’ in different parts of the district for the time being.

Collector Bijay Ketan Upadhaya visited the patients in the DHH and interacted with the health officials. He assured financial assistance to the patients for treatment and purchase of medicines. Meanwhile, Tirtol police on Wednesday detained the ‘Dahi Bara’ seller Gopal Nayak, who hails from Barunpada under Tirtol police limits. He had sold the food item in the four villages on Tuesday.

மாம்பழங்களை பழுக்க வைக்க ரசாயன கற்களை பயன்படுத்தினால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை பாயும் மாவட்ட நியமன அலுவலர் எச்சரிக்கை

சேலம், மார்ச் 31:

மாம் ப ழங் களை பழுக்க வைக்க, ரசா யன கற் களை பயன் ப டுத் தி னால் கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும் என, மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா எச் ச ரித் துள் ளார்.

சீசன் தொடங் கி யுள் ள தால் சேலம் மார்க் கெட் டு க ளில் மாம் ப ழங் க ளின் வரத்து அதி க ரித் துள் ளது. பொது மக் க ளும் ஆர் வ மு டன் மாம் ப ழங் களை வந்து வாங் கிச் செல் கின் ற னர். இத னி டையே மாம் பழ மண்டி உரி மை யா ளர் கள் மற் றும் வியா பா ரி க ளு ட னான ஆலோ சனை கூட் டம் சேலத் தில் நேற்று நடந் தது. கூட் டத் திற்கு, சேலம் மாவட்ட மாங் காய் மற் றும் பழ வியா பா ரி கள் சங்க தலை வர் குப் பு சாமி தலைமை வகித் தார். செய லா ளர் உமா பதி முன் னிலை வகித் தார். இதில், பொரு ளா ளர் லட் சு ம ணன், துணை செய லா ளர் சேஷா, சட்ட ஆலோ ச கர் கணே சன் உள் பட பலர் கலந்து கொண் ட னர். இது கு றித்து உணவு பாது காப் புத் துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் டாக் டர் அனு ராதா கூறி ய தா வது:

சீசனை பயன் ப டுத்தி மாம் பழ விற் ப னையை அதி க ரிக்க, ரசா யன கற் க ளைக் கொண்டு மாம் ப ழங் கள் பழுக்க வைக் கப் ப டு கின் றன. குறிப் பாக கார் பைட் கற் கள் அதி க மாக உப யோ கப் ப டுத் தப் பட்டு வரு கி றது. இதி லி ருந்து வெளி யே ரும் அசிட் டி லின் என்ற வாயு, பழத் து டன் கற் களை வைத்த 10 முதல் 12 மணி நே ரத் தில், பழத் தின் பச்சை நிறத்தை மஞ் ச ளாக மாற் று கி றது. இத னு டன் ஆர் சி லின் என்ற வாயு வும் ெவளி யே று கி றது. இவ் வாறு பழுக்க வைக் கப் ப டும் பழங் களை சாப் பி டு வ தால், பல் வேறு உடல் பாதிப் பு க ளுக்கு ஆளாக நேரி டும். குறிப் பாக வாந்தி, வயிற் றுப் போக்கு, வயிறு எரிச் சல், தலை சுற் று தல், தோல் தடிப் பது போன்ற பாதிப் பு கள் ஏற் ப டும். தொடர்ந்து, நரம்பு மண் ட லம் பாதித்து ஞாபக சக்தி குறை வ து டன், சிறு நீ ர கம் மற் றும் கல் லீ ர லும் செய லி ழக்க வாய்ப் புள் ளது.

சேலத் தில் கடந்த சில வரு டங் க ளாக உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை யி ன ரால் மேற் கொள் ளப் பட்டு வரும் நட வ டிக் கை க ளால், 90 சத வீ தம் இது கட் டுப் ப டுத் தப் பட் டுள் ளது. தடையை மீறி ரசா யன கற் கள் மூலம் பழங் கள் பழுக்க வைப் பது கண் ட றி யப் பட் டால், உணவு பாது காப்பு தர நிர் ணய சட் டம் 2006ன் படி, வழக் குப் ப திவு செய் யப் ப டும். இதன் மூலம், ஒரு லட் சம் முதல் 5 லட் சம் வரை அப ரா தம் அல் லது ஒரு லட் சம் அப ரா தம் மற் றும் 6 மாதம் சிறை தண் டணை பெற்று தர நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும். தற் போது பழங் களை பழுக்க வைக்க, எத் தி லின் வாயுவை பயன் ப டுத் த லாம் என அரசே சில வழி மு றை களை அறி வித் துள் ளது.

இம் மு றையை வியா பா ரி கள் பயன் ப டுத்தி கொள் ள லாம். ரசா யன கற் களை பயன் ப டுத் தும் போது, மற்ற பழங் களை காட் டி லும் கூடு தல் எடை இருக் கும். மேலும், முழு மை யாக மஞ் சள் நிற மாக மாறா மல், ஆங் காங்கே பச்சை நிறம் தென் ப டும். இதனை பொது மக் கள் எளி தில் கண் ட றிந்து, ரசா ய னம் மூலம் பழுக்க வைத்த பழங் களை தவிர்க் க லாம். இவ் வாறு நிய மன அலு வ லர் அனு ராதா தெரி வித் தார்.

சேலத் தில் பழக் கடை உரி மை யா ளர் க ளு ட னான ஆலோ சனை கூட் டம் நடந் தது. இதில் மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் டாக் டர் அனு ராதா பேசி னார்.