ARE YOU DRINKING TO DEATH? THE SODAS AND COLAS…

Everything in excess is gradual death in disguise. Everybody likes fizzy drinks (blame hyped advertisements). But, when these fizzy drinks are taken in excess, added sugar can have disastrous effects on your health. Research on these artificial sweetened drinks over the years by health experts revealed that there is alarming rate of rise in health related problems among public that even led to death of many. Millions of us consume countless gallons of soft beverages every day.
The sodas and colas are proven to be demon drinks in disguise piling up loads of sugars into your body there by adding enormous amount of unwanted calories causing serious health problems. Soda is nothing but artificial sugar water.
It’s deficient of any nutritional value. It leads to obesity and diabetes. But we have the small list of disturbing facts about what soda does to your body, whether it’s the side effects of sucralose and other artificial sweeteners or ingredients that can lead to memory loss. . Slow but sure Side Effects of Soda
SODA INCREASES THICK FAT AROUND LIVER AND SKELETAL MUSCLES.
Honest health researchers discovered that regular drinking non-diet soda leads to increase in building up fat around liver and skeletal muscles, which contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes. A study on regular soda drinker for 8 months saw a 140 to 152 percent jump in liver fat, a 120 to 240 percent increase in skeletal fat, and about a 40 % increase in both triglyceride blood fats and other organ fat. Also, it led to a 11 % increase in cholesterol, comparatively with people who drank water or milk. This is all about non-diet soda. Diet soda is not doing anything great either. Even diet soda will make you pot belly.



Health Science experts from the University of Texas closely experimented and supervised 300 adults for 5 years, and observed that those who drank diet soda had a dramatic 80 percent change in waist diameter, compared to people who didn’t drink diet soda or any soda. People who took 2 diet sodas everyday without a miss saw a 300 percent increase in waist circumference! Intrigued by these facts, health science center experts conducted a separate test on mice and found that it was the aspartame, which raised blood glucose levels, that caused the weight gain; when your liver encounters too much glucose, the excess is converted to body fat. Now you know why you need a reason to break your soda addiction.
THE DANGERS OF DRINKING COLA
Cola is nothing but caramel coated drink that leads to cancer. In 2013, many Public Interest Litigation petitions were filed with Supreme Court Of India and with India’s food safety and standards regulation (FSSAI), to ban Coca Cola .
Unfortunately, Supreme Court declined to ban Coca-Cola and it’s Co. beverages, saying that the pesticides are present in the water used in the manufacturing and, hence, form a component of the drinks. The court said “soft drink bottles packaged or containers” may be ordered to have a declaration that “level of pesticide residue is well within the applicable standards”, as suggested by the Union government.

Cans carrying the beverages may have to carry a declaration that the level of pesticide residue is well within applicable standards. It is to note that “Presence of pesticide residue in food and beverages is not prohibited as per the current standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminant, Toxins and Residues) as per Indian Regulations, 2011. Permissible quantity of pesticides such as arsenic and D.D.T are mentioned in the regulation. The rules currently permit pesticide to the tune of 1 part per billion (ppb) in edible products. “These are norms that most large beverage manufacturers are following so it does not make sense (to) say that permissible levels are already present in a given product,” an official expressed on condition of anonymity.
It is now up to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Union government to decide on requiring soft drink companies to add information on pesticide levels on their containers Like in India, the Food and Drug Administration in USA saw petitions to ban the artificial caramel coloring used to make Coke, Pepsi, and other colas brown. Petitioners argued that 2 hazardous contaminants in the coloring, 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, have been found to cause cancer in animals, a big threat and the coloring is purely cosmetic.
As per California’s strict Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, just 16 micrograms per person per day of 4-methylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer threat, and most popular brown colas, both diet and regular, contain 200 micrograms per 20-ounce bottle It Leads To Fast Aging Diet cola or regular cola, have phosphates, or phosphoric acid, a weak acid that gives colas their tangy flavor and improves their shelf life.
Excess of phosphoric acid can lead to heart and kidney problems, muscle loss, and osteoporosis, and majorly it may accelerate aging. After tests it is proven that too much phosphate levels found in sodas caused lab rats to die a full five weeks earlier than the rats whose diets had more normal phosphate levels.
This is a serious and disturbing trend that these beverage industries have been jumping the levels of phosphoric acid in their drinks over the decades.
SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
The artificial sweeteners such as soda or cola don’t digest in our bodies easily, nor do wastewater-treatment plants catch them before they enter waterways. Indian and Swiss scientists experimented samples from wastewater-treatment plants, and samples from rivers and lakes in Switzerland and found components of acesulfame K, sucralose, and saccharin, all used in diet sodas.

Aerating Ponds, Sewage Treatment Plant
Not only drinks Even the Cans Are Dangerous
Do you think it’s just the soda or cola that’s causing all the health issues?. Almost all cola cans are made up of aluminum and coated with an epoxy resin called bisphenol A (BPA), used to keep the acids in soda from reacting with the metal. BPA is known to hamper hormones, and may cause infertility to obesity and diabetes and some forms of reproductive cancers. The most vulnerable are the restaurant, school, and fast-food meals, which are a major source of exposure to the chemical.
DO YOU CARE FOR BIRDS?
Birds, mistake the debris for food and eat large quantities of aluminum and plastics, which they can’t digest. Eventually leading them to starve and die. It’s estimated that thousands of sea animals and birds die eating debris every year. Here is the link to photographs of Chris Jordan, an environmentalist and photographer who visited the Midway Atoll area in 2009.

It’s near the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a mass of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean where things like soda caps and plastic fish nettings, float just beneath the surface of the water. Here is the video.
With so much bad effects, you seriously got to think whether you want to still drink to death or embrace life.
Time to do good
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MBL gets ISO17025 standards for food, water analysis

Mangaluru: National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration of Laboratories (NABL) has accredited Mangalore Biotech Laboratory (MBL) with ISO17025 standard for analysis of food and water for biological and chemical parameters. Currently there are less than 10 such NABL accredited laboratories in the state for analysis of food and water and these are in Bengaluru and Mysuru, P Tauro, founder director of Mangalore Biotech Laboratory said.

With companies such as Infosys, MCF, BASF, KIOCL availing services of MBL, this is mainly on account of establishment of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), he said.

Enforce ban on calcium carbide use to ripen fruits: PIL in HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today sought response of the Centre, AAP government, police, municipal corporations and the food safety authority on a PIL seeking enforcement of ban on use of calcium carbide to artificially ripen fruits.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said the plea contains good suggestions and issued notices to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Delhi government, Commissioner of Police, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as the north and south MCDs and sought their replies by August 10.
The petition has sought directions to the authorities “to enforce the ban on using calcium carbide which is illegally being used for ripening of fruits and leads to health hazards in the general public and to the labourers engaged in mixing the calcium carbide in the fruits”.
It has said that use of the “carcinogenic” chemical to ripen fruits was a violation of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and sought directions to the authorities to also “take necessary and appropriate action against the persons” who are indulging in such activities.
The petition by NGO Society Standing for All Youth Mass Awareness has contended that “calcium carbide has carcinogenic properties and is used in gas welding. Being cheap and easily available in the local markets, it is indiscriminately being used in preference to other recommended practices of inducing ripening in fruits”.
The PIL, filed through advocate Deepak Mahapatra, has also said that “ingestion of calcium carbide, popularly called ‘masala’ in the market, can affect the neurological system of a person and causes several side effects” apart from “arsenic or phosphorus poisoning”.
It has said that under food safety laws, use of calcium carbide can be prevented by strong implementation and enforcement of law.
It has also said that the fruits ripened out of calcium carbide are unsafe food as defined under the FSSA Act which prescribes punishment of imprisonment ranging from six months to life as well as penalty for use of calcium carbide.

FDA seizes artificially-ripened mangoes worth Rs 5 lakh

PANAJI: The officials of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Friday, seized around 4000 kg of artificially-ripened mangoes worth Rs 5 lakh from a fruit vendor’s house at Siolim. The mangoes were destroyed at the Mapusa housing board.
“The mangoes were found to have been artificially ripened with ethopen/etheryl chemical which is a plant growth regulator commonly used by farmers. Through this treatment of chemical, mangoes get artificially ripened in 24 hours with a yellowish colour while the natural ripening process takes around four to five days,” said a senior food safety officer.
The raid was conducted following a tip-off regarding use of chemicals to artificially ripen the mangoes. During the raid, the FDA officials found artificially-ripened stocks of mangoes in the custody of S Banaulikar and several empty plastic bottles of ethopen/etheryl chemical in the backyard of the premises. Plastic buckets and tubs, that were used for preparing the chemical solution, were also found.
Officials said these methods make mangoes appear bright yellow and have a longer shelf life but are dangerous for consumption.
The person carrying out artificial ripening of fruits could get punishment upto 3 years of imprisonment or fine of upto Rs 5 lakh or both under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. “We are in the process of conducting further investigation before initiating any final action as per the Act against the vendor,” director of FDA Salim Veljee said.
The official further informed that “we had also done a similar surveillance last month in Siolim but only found discarded empty chemical bottles.” Also the food safety analysis on mango, after lapse of several hours, does not show positive results, hence no action can be taken.
A special team of laboratory analysts of the FDA, which accompanied and assisted the enforcement officials at the site, conducted spot analytical identification tests of the chemical used for the artificial ripening.
With the mango season arriving in the state, the food safety department has tightened its noose on the sale of artificially-ripened mangoes and in last 15 days it has kept constant surveillance in Siolim area in the north, Gandhi Market, Malbhat, Zari waddo in South Goa and the area near Apollo hospital.
With use of calcium carbide not allowed to ripen the mangoes, the traders have now started using ethopen chemical to do the same, which is a plant growth regulator. The chemical is often used by wholesalers who want to offload large stocks before the arrival of the main season, so that they can capitalise on the initial demand.

DINAMALAR NEWS

DINAMALAR NEWS

பழக்கடைகளில் திடீர் ஆய்வு உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரி அதிரடி

வானூர், மே 6:
வானூர் தாலுகா திருச் சிற் றம் ப லம் கூட் டு ரோட் டில் கோடை காலத் தை யொட்டி திடீர் பழக் க டை கள், குளிர் பானக் க டை கள் உத ய மாகி உள் ளது. குறிப் பாக சப் போட்டா மற் றும் மாம் பழங் கள் வரத்து தற் போது உள் ளது.
மாம் ப ழம் சீசன் தற் போது ஆரம்ப கட் டம் என் ப தால் நல்ல விலை போ கி றது. அத னால் ரசா யன கற் களை பயன் ப டுத்தி பழம் பழுக்க வைத்து விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றதா என் பதை மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு நிய மன அதி காரி வர லட் சுமி உத் தர வின் பே ரில் அதி கா ரி கள் திடீர் ஆய்வு செய் த னர்.
திருச் சிற் றம் ப லம் கூட்டு ரோடு, புளிச் சப் பள் ளம் உள் ளிட்ட பகு தி க ளில் வானூர் உதவி பாது காப்பு அதி காரி சந் தி ர சே க ரன் ஆய்வு மேற் கொண் டார். அப் போது ரசா யன கற் கள் பயன் ப டுத்தி பழுக்க வைத்த 3 கூடை சப் போட்டா மற் றும் 1 கூடை மாம் ப ழம் ஆகி ய வற்றை பறி மு தல் செய்து அப் பகுதி யில் வைத்து அழித் த னர். மேலும் இது போன்ற செயல் க ளில் வியா பா ரி கள் ஈடு பட் டால் கடு மை யான நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும் என் றும் எச் ச ரித் தார்.

Food Fraud: A Growing Global Evil

How often have you felt that the milk you consume seems to be more watery than usual? How often have you noticed the uncharacteristic red stain left behind on your fingers after the use of chili powder? How often have you bitten into a forlorn sand grain while consuming your staple? Food, which is our basic sustenance and fuel for our life force is now being contaminated and wasted in large proportions for the sake of personal monetary gain. Even the milk that we drink is not as pure as it may seem. For all we know it may contain adulterants that have been used as thickening agents.

Food fraud hasn’t just been a thing of the recent times but has its roots in times that date back to a millennium where the most commonly adulterated items included olive oil, tea, wine and spices. The most common food items and substances adulterated today however are honey, meat and other grain based food; fruit juices, organic foods, coffee and processed foods.

With the latest Maggi fiasco, it may seem as though India has suddenly woken up to the troubling problem of the lack of Food Quality and Safety, but in actuality this situation is not just for India to deal with but the world as food fraud is a global evil. Due to tough laws and weak regulation in matters concerning the Maggi situation, thousands of people have lost their jobs and many industries and companies that depended on the Maggi stock and shares have gone into a loss on their business worth more than several hundred crores. Nestle Maggi faced an estimated loss of up to ₨ 320 crores where instant noodles worth ₨ 210 crore were withdrawn from the market and destroyed and another ₨ 110 crore worth of finished and related material stock remained at its factory outlets and distribution centers.

It is very rare that food frauds are picked out as most of the cases go unnoticed adding to the growing losses affecting the nation’s GDP. The criminals generally use adulterants that do not cause drastic physical harm or public menace in order to go undetected by authorities. Consumers too, largely don’t pay much attention to the quality, allowing food fraud to go incognito.

India’s corruption rank out five in the Global Food Security Index is a staggering three when the world average is just a mere 2.6. This indicates that corruption has a major role to play in the likes of food adulteration. One of corruption’s many faces is food adulteration, which has caused people to compromise food quality and public health along with the nation’s economic growth for the sake of their voracious pockets.

According to the reports sent to the Union Health Ministry, milk and water too haven’t been left out in the race for the most adulterated goods. They too are adulterated along with instant noodles and pasta. Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seem to be the worst offenders among other states in milk and water adulteration as indicated in the reports made to the Union Health Ministry. The production of milk was at an estimated 146 million tons in 2014-15 alone. Large scale importing of milk and milk products is also being done and food fraud in these sectors results in major losses to the government. Milk from cows have often milk from other animals added to it apart from chalk but also adulterated with reconstituted milk powder, urea, and rennet, among other products (oil, detergent, caustic soda, sugar, salt, and skim milk powder). Another common occurrence with milk is it’s watering down and then adding of a chemical, melamine, to hide the dilution.

As part of a 2009 public meeting, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adopted a working definition for Food Fraud as “fraudulent, intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a product for the purpose of increasing the apparent value of the product or reducing the cost of its production, i.e., for economic gain.”

Economically Motivated Adulteration, in the global sense has a much more devastating impact than in India alone. The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that food fraud may cost the global food industry between $ 10 billion to $ 15 billion per year, affecting approximately 10% of all commercially sold products. Food fraud occurs in a variety of forms ranging from replacement and addition to removal.

Food Adulteration will cause a loss of the consumer’s trust in the food supply chain, and a loss in trust among regulators, industry, and may result in market and trade disruptions causing economic injury to the nation’s economy. Economically motivated adulteration is often a significant financial and public relation crisis for food industries and companies.

So what has the world and India done to combat this growing evil?

The United States of America has formed two important agencies or associations in order to combat the problem of food security and fraud. The first being the Food and Drug Administration FDA, one of the principle federal agencies and the other being the United States Department of Agriculture USDA, the second principle agency that works to protect the food supply from food safety risks, unintentionally and intentionally introduced contamination as a part of its border inspections. These two agencies are the most noted and leading food regulatory authorities. The FDA is responsible for cross checking the safety of all the domestic and imported food products and the USDA is responsible for regulating most of the meat, poultry and egg products.

According to Commissioner of the Department of Food Safety in Delhi, the government of India has enacted and notified a new law namely, “Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006” and the “Food Safety and Standard Rule, 2011”. However, food safety laws for anti-adulteration of food have already been in place since 1954 in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Since the quality and safety of food is a major concern for the people, the FSSAI has strengthened its regulations towards domestic and imported goods to ensure no contamination or adulteration takes place.

Despite all the measures being taken to ensure safe consumption of food, this malevolence will not be eradicated unless one of its root causes is taken care off, that is corruption. As the years move on, it is our hope that we don’t end up drinking water as a substitute for milk.

கார்பைடு மாம்பழங்களை கண்டறிவது எப்படி...ஒரு உஷார் ரிப்போர்ட்

முக்கனி என்று அழைக்கப்படும் மா,பலா,வாழை யில் மாம்பழத்திற்கு மயங்காதவர்களே இருக்கமுடியாது. அந்த அளவிற்கு அதன் சுவை நம் நாவை சுண்டி இழுக்கும்.மேலும் மேலும்சாப்பிட வைக்கும்.

மாம்பழ சீசன் துவங்கிவிட்ட நிலையில் காணும் இடங்களிலெல்லாம் மாம்பழக்கடைகள் முளைத்துள்ளன. சீசனும் மாம்பழத்தின் மீதான மக்களின் ஆர்வமும் பல இடங்களில் மாம்பழக்கடைக்காரர்களை தடுமாற வைக்கிறது. விற்பனையை அதிகரித்து லாபம் ஈட்ட செயற்கையான முறையில் மாம்பழங்களை பழுக்கவைக்கின்றனர். மாம்பழ ஆசையில் அதை பரிசோதிக்காமல் வாங்கி உண்டுவிட்டு உடல்நிலையை கெடுத்துக்கொள்கிறார்கள் பலர்.

தற்போது தமிழகத்தின் சராசரி வெப்பநிலையே 100 டிகிரி ஃபாரன்ஹீட் என்று சொல்லும் அளவு வெயிலின் தாக்கம் அதிகரித்து வருகிறது. கோடையில் அதிகம் விளையக்கூடிய மாம்பழம் தற்போது விற்பனைக்கு வந்துள்ளது. கார்பைடு மூலம் பழுக்க வைக்கப்படும் மாம்பழங்கள்தான் அச்சுறுத்தலுக்கு உரியது. அதற்கு காரணம், கார்பைடு கல்லில் இருக்கக்கூடிய அசிட்டிலீன் வாயுவின் மூலம் மா, வாழை போன்றவைகளை 12 முதல் 24 மணி நேரத்துக்குள் பழுக்க வைக்க முடிகிறது. காய்களில் இயற்கையாக உள்ள எத்திலின் வாயு மூலம் சாதாரண ஒரு காய் 48 முதல் 72 மணி நேரத்துக்குள் பழுத்துவிடும். எனினும், அதிக விற்பனையை கருத்திற்கொண்டு பழ வியாபாரிகள் செயற்கையாக பழங்களை பழுக்க வைக்கின்றனர். 

இதுபோன்று செயற்கையாக பழுக்க வைக்கப்பட்ட பழங்களை உண்பதன் மூலம் நரம்பு மண்டலம் பாதிக்கும். கல்லீரல், குடல், இரைப்பையும் பாதிக்கும். குழந்தைகள், முதியவர்கள் இதுபோன்ற பழங்களை அதிகம் உட்கொண்டால், அவர்களுக்கு கடும் வயிற்றுப்போக்கு, ஒவ்வாமை ஏற்படும். கார்பைடு மூலம் பழுக்கவைக்கப்பட்ட பழங்கள் நல்ல கனமாகவும், தோல் பகுதி வெளிர் மஞ்சள் நிறத்திலும், தோலை நீக்கிப் பார்த்தால் உள்ளே காய்வெட்டாக இருக்கும். காம்பு பகுதியில் லேசாக கீறினால் புளிப்பு சுவைக்கான மணம் வீசும். இதன்மூலம் செயற்கையாக பழுக்க வைக்கப்பட்ட பழங்களை மக்கள் கண்டறிய முடியும். 

அவசர உலகத்தில் இதனை கண்டறியும் மனமோ,நேரமோ இல்லாத அப்பாவி மக்கள் ஏமாந்து வாங்கி உண்டு உடலை கெடுத்துக்கொள்கின்றனர். ஆனால் வியாபாரிகள் மத்தியில் கார்பைடு மூலம் பழுக்கவைக்கப்படும் மாம்பழங்களைப்பற்றி வேறுவிதமாக சொல்லப்படுகிறது.

“அந்தக் காலத்தில் பழங்களைப் பழுக்கவைக்க புகைமூட்டம் போடுவார்கள். அதற்கு அவசியமான காற்றுப் புகாத அறைக்கு வாய்ப்பில்லாததால் அதற்கு பதிலாகத்தான் நவீன முறையில் கார்பைடு கல் வைத்துப் பழுக்க வைக்கிறோம். இதனால், வயிற்றுப்போக்கு, வாந்தி ஏற்படும் என்பதெல்லாம் அப்பட்டமான பொய். மருத்துவ ரீதியாக கால்சியம் கார்பைடால் எந்த கெடுதியும் கிடையாது. கார்பைடு பழங்கள் பற்றி வருவதெல்லாம் பெரும்பாலும் வதந்திகள்தான்” என்று மறுக்கின்றனர். 

பழ வியாபாரிகள் மனசாட்சியோடு நடக்கவும், அதனை உண்பவர்கள் தங்களது குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்கள் என்று எண்ணி இது போன்ற செயலில் ஈடுபடுவதை தவிர்க்கவேண்டும். மேலும் சம்மந்தப்பட்ட அரசு சுகாதாரத்துறை அதிகாரிகள் இப்படிப்பட்ட கடைகளை தொடர்ந்து இரவு பகல் பாராது திடீர் திடீரென்று ஆய்வு செய்து கண்காணித்து கார்பைடு பழங்களை அழித்து மக்கள் நலன் காக்கும் நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளவேண்டும்.

FBOs in Zbto asked to obtain license

Dimapur, May 5: In pursuance of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Licensing and Registration of Food business) Regulations, 2011, the District Media Officer, CMO Office, Zunheboto, Shekho Sophie has issued final reminder to the Food Business Operator (FBO's) within Zunheboto District to obtain FSSAI license or registration or renew on or before May 31 next from CMO Office Zunheboto.

Informing that operating food business without a license of registration is an offence as per Section 63 of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, he warned that there will be surprise inspection/checking and defaulters will be penalised without further warning in the interest of the consumers.

FSSAI: The new ad censor board

People pray at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai on Wednesday. ‘Prasada’ at this temple will now have to be approved by FSSAI. 

Just when the Maggi fiasco ended, Pawan Agarwal found himself in a whirlwind of challenges. In Decemeber, the newly appointed CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was lost. “I had never dealt with food,” he said, but on his mind were a bunch of reforms, some conventional and some radical.

Four months later, he is in control, and Agarwal is not making anything less than a statement – be it the role of large food companies, street food vendors, temples, mosques and churches, and even what should be right kind of food advertisement – there is no shirking from giving hygienic food. Soon, FSSAI’s whip can come cracking down on anyone. “There is a very thin line of what is unsafe and what is unhealthy,” said Agarwal.

FSSAI will soon ensure that consumers are not misguided by what they see, hear or read as advertisements. There are 167 million households with television sets. But, what is alarming is that the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) in January alone upheld 51 companies out of which 12 were food makers for misleading advertisements. Some of the companies were yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Atta Noodles, Coca-Cola and Perfetti Van Melle.

Patanjali failed to prove that Atta Noodles was oil-free, and Dabur didn’t substantiate how Chawanprash helps fighting pollution. According to Agarwal, health claims and nutritious claims are different. “In advanced countries there are systems in place for verification of every such claims. As we move forward, we would like to put in place very robust systems of verification of such claims,” he said.

The industry has a mixed reaction to this development. Ad-guru Prahlad Kakkar expects this move to bring discipline in the food business. “Consumer trust ads but this does not mean that ad makers can claim everything and anything under the wrap of creativity,” he adds.

Companies like Nestle, Coca-Cola and many others decided not to talk. However, Agarwal said that it is also the companies’ responsibility. So far, the Maggi ban has been FSSAI’s biggest success. But, if Agarwal is able to pull off these mega projects, FSSAI will be able to bring a lot more than 15% of India’s food consumption under its purview. “We want to increase our reach to the balance 85% of the business that’s not under FSSAI, now,” Agarwal said.

And, at the other extreme, Agarwal sees FSSAI’s role in ensuring that lakhs of people visiting the celebrated religious places shouldn’t fall sick after consuming “prasada” or the food for religious offering. “God will take care of you, but even the FSSAI is taking care of you,” Agarwal laughs.

To begin with, Shree Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, Sai Baba temple in Shirdi and Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati will play the role of seeding good food practices into the religious system. “They are very forthcoming… the role of priests in serving lakhs of devotees is limited… it’s the role of the large kitchen, which are adopting food safety management systems,” Agarwal said.

He isn’t leaving it there. He will be talking to other prominent churches, mosques and gurudwaras, but, “we will have to move very cautiously.” Agarwal wants to impact large scale centres to spread awareness – more than 300 million people worship at these places every day.

Now, govt to crackdown on tobacco shops in state

Patna: After alcohol ban, the government is pulling its socks up to crack down on illegal tobacco shops mushrooming in the state.

At a workshop held here on Thursday, the state health brass announced a series of measures to rein in the tobacco traders. Executive director of State Health Society, Bihar, Jitendra Shrivastava admitted that despite the ban, smokeless tobacco products are being openly sold across the state. He said the food safety officers have been given a specific target of 10 raids per month on tobacco shops which sell smokeless tobacco products in violation of the ban order. "Action would be taken against anyone found guilty of not complying with the order," Shrivastava said.

He said the government is also planning to use the 38 alcohol de-addiction centres for tobacco cessation as well. "The modalities are being worked out. Anti-tobacco activists have hailed the move as they have been demanding setting up of such cessation centres for long," he added.

Shrivastava said all the cinema halls in the state would be instructed to play a five-minute movie on harmful effects of tobacco before screening of every movie show.

He added that all the district magistrates have been asked to ensure implementation of the Supreme Court's directive that 85% of space on cigarette packs and other tobacco products is covered with warnings.

Deepak Mishra, executive director of SEEDS, which jointly organised the workshop with the health department and IPRD, said, "The percentage of population consuming tobacco is much more than that of alcohol in Bihar. More than 50,000 people die of cancer every year in Bihar mainly due to tobacco consumption," he said.

Take steps to appoint food safety officers: HC to AAP govt

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Delhi High Court today directed the AAP government to take necessary steps for appointment of food safety officers (FSOs) to check presence of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables available in the national Capital.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said this after the counsel appearing for the Delhi government informed it that he would file a status report on the issue pertaining to appointment of the officers.

The bench was informed that as per the affidavit filed by Delhi government in November last year, there was requirement of FSOs.

"There is requirement of food safety officers. What have you (government) done?," the bench asked.

Responding to this, the counsel said that advertisments have been published for this and report have been forwarded to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).

"You will have to fix a time for this," the bench said.

The counsel representing the government, however, sought time to file a status report in this regard.

"Let them first satisfy this court about appointment of food safety officers. Then we will see this," the bench said and fixed the matter for hearing on August 10.

Earlier, taking suo motu cognisance of a media report, the court had directed the Union Agriculture Ministry to set up a committee and frame guidelines to prevent use of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.

The move had come after some NGOs had submitted surveys that vegetables and fruits sold in the city markets contained pesticides capable of causing cancer and harming the nervous system and liver.

One of the petitioners had said the quantum of pesticides in fruits and vegetables in India, especially those sold in markets here, was as much as 750 times the European standards.

It had claimed that out of the five internationally-banned pesticides, four were found to be common in vegetables sold here. They included a central nervous system toxin endrin which caused nausea and dizziness and heptachlor (a compound used as an insecticide) that can damage the liver and decrease fertility.

Appoint food safety officers within eight weeks, HC tells Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the city government to appoint, within eight weeks, food safety officers here, to keep a tab on use of pesticides in vegetables and fruits sold across the national capital.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked the government to file an affidavit indicating what steps they have taken on appointment of food safety officers.

Posting the matter for August 10, the court asked the government to take necessary steps for appointment of food safety officers in terms of Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The court's direction came after amicus curiae Saket Sikri told it that there is scarcity of food safety officers in Delhi for collecting samples, and the Delhi government had also accepted that in its affidavit filed in November last year.

A report submitted by the amicus curiae had earlier said that in a number of vegetables and edible items, pesticide residue was found to be beyond permissible limits.

A large quantity of vegetables and fruits sold in the capital contains dangerous pesticides that can cause serious health problems, the report had said. The high court had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of an NGO report that said the amount of pesticides used by farmers in India was as much as 750 times higher than European standards.

Rajya Sabha MPs seek stringent laws to check food adulteration

Naresh Agrawal (SP) raised the issue of growing menace of adulteration in food products including essential items such as milk, as also in fruits and vegetables.

Terming rising incidents of food adulteration as a “serious matter”, Rajya Sabha members, including those from the BJP, today asked the government to make stringent laws to check the menace.

During the Zero Hour, Naresh Agrawal (SP) raised the issue of growing menace of adulteration in food products including essential items such as milk, as also in fruits and vegetables.

“It is a very serious issue. There are growing cases of liver and heart diseases as well as cancer and the reason for this is food adulteration. The current laws are not very strict to check this menace,” he added.

Agrawal said there are reports of plastic rice imported from China being mixed in rice and sold in the market as well as synthetic milk being sold in the national capital.

Several MPs, including those from the BJP, associated with Agrawal’s concerns.

Even Deputy Chairman P J Kurien supported the issue saying that there was a rise in cancer cases and the reason for this adulteration in food items.

“It is a very, very serious matter. Report it to the Minister concerned and come out with a legislation which has more teeth,” Kurien said.

In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 tabled in Parliament last month, a Parliamentary Standing Committee suggested legal teeth to advertising watchdog ASCI to curb misleading advertisements and proposing severe penalties, imprisonment and cancellation of licenses of those involved in food adulteration.

According to a report on public laboratories released by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India in December last year, every fifth sample of food items tested by public food safety labs have been found “adulterated and misbranded”, with maximum cases in UP followed by Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

Food in India untested for diabetes-linked chemical

Alloxan is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats

Alloxan, a chemical allegedly used in the manufacture of refined flour, faced the prospect of limitations on its use after a litigant approached the Madras High Court to request a ban on the mixing of alloxan in white flour. Alloxan is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats and to test the efficacy of anti-diabetic medicines but no tests have been scientifically done to detect its presence in India.

Increased risk

Global health literature suggests that its presence in flour implies that consumers of popular Indian food such as parathas and puris are at increased risk of diabetes as well as heart disease.

In a 2013 report The Hindu quoted several Madurai-based cardiologists who suggested that alloxan and other agents in flour may be associated with heart disease.

Alloxan has been banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Delhi-based central body that has the final say on what additives are permissible in food.

Independent food testing labs in Delhi say that they have yet to detect the presence of the substance. “So far we haven’t noted alloxan in our tests,” said Sunil S., a food chemist at the Shriram Institute of Industrial Research.

Alloxan’s chemical existence has been known since the 19th century, when it was discovered in human excretions, indicating that it could be synthesised in the body.

Alloxan’s structure mimics that of glucose, which allows it to be absorbed by the pancreas and once inside the organ, it destroys insulin-producing beta cells.

However, according to the American Chemical Society, it cannot be taken up by the human pancreas, though it has been shown to be associated with liver and kidney toxicity.

No known studies have yet specifically discovered alloxan in Indian foods. However other bleaching agents that are used to make flour white, such as benzoyl peroxide and chlorine oxide — and also named in the petition before the Madras High Court — are permitted by the FSSAI provided they appear below specified limits, according to a notification on the agency’s website.

There have been no studies that examine the issue of alloxan in street food, said an official with Delhi’s Food Safety department, who did not want to be identified. The United States Food and Drugs Administration has also not issued specific notifications on alloxan.

Centre mulls Amending Act to prescribe life imprisonment for Milk Adulteration

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has formed a high level committee to consider amendment of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 to make the offence of milk adulteration punishable by life imprisonment. 

The apex court has said the menace has become rampant especially in North Indian states. 

The submission, during the hearing of a PIL which has sought stringent punishment for milk adulteration as the present provision of a maximum of six months in jail had “hardly proved to be a deterrent” comes a month after union minister for science and technology Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha that two out of three Indians drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint. 

Vardhan had said over 68% of the milk sold did not conform to standards laid down by India’s food regulator FSSAI, quoting figures from a nationwide survey conducted by the agency in 2011. 

The centre has agreed to the view of the court that the present penalty of six months in jails “was hardly a deterrent” for the menace, which is most common in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. 

An affidavit in the court by Rakesh Nayal, a senior official in the Union Health Ministry said the panel, headed by R.K. Jain, secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority, and representatives from Food Safety and Standard Authority of India will take a decision within three months. 

The court had on December 12, 2014 taken serious exception to the Centre’s refusal to amend the law to make the offence punishable with life term. 

Yesterday however the court said: “You are asking for life imprisonment for milk adulterators. But we would say even the present maximum term of six months jail would be sufficient if the violators are caught promptly, booked and prosecuted. It can create a fear. If they are not caught and prosecuted what do we do? These are enforcement issues. We are not saying adulteration is not going on. It is rampant. But what do we do? Stop sale of Urea? If the centre has some plans, let us wait for it”. 

The bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur made this remark to Anurag Tomar, the lawyer for petitioner in a PIL on the issue.

The court had on December 12, 2014 taken serious exception to the Centre’s refusal to amend the law to make the offence punishable with life term. 

“What are you doing about it? In March we had given an ultimatum to the Centre to inform us if you are amending the law and we are now in December,” the Bench said when Tomar pointed out the delay. “After perusing the reports submitted by various states, prima-facie we are of the opinion that milk is being laced with white paint, caustic soda, detergent, shampoo, urea, starch and blotting paper and the practice is going unabated. 

“The Centre must come out with necessary amendment to the Act with all seriousness to curb adulteration. We hope the Government will take appropriate decision during the winter session of Parliament,” the court had said. The Bench had earlier said it would be foolish to go lightly on adulterators just because no grievous illness or death has been reported immediately after someone drinks milk laced with such poisonous substances. 

“The poisoning in the body is gradual and once it happens people think they are afflicted with cancer and nobody blames milk. Are you waiting for them to add cyanide in milk? Only then instant death will be caused for you to take action,” the court had said during the earlier hearing. 

The Bench suggested an amendment to the law after the Uttar Pradesh government said they faced a hurdle in prosecuting adulterators under the IPC and seeking their life imprisonment after the Allahabad High Court ruled in 2010 that the IPC cannot be invoked when the FSSA should prevail.

State fails to act against ‘powerful’ companies: HC

‘CS's application rejected, people fed poison’

Srinagar, May 4: The State High Court today observed that Food processing companies are so powerful that State is unable to proceed against them and it rejected the application of the Chief Secretary of the State seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court.

The Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice MH Attar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey today made these observations and passed the directions while hearing a PIL on Food Safety in the State.

Court during the proceedings of the case pointed towards Advocate General of the State that on one side the health of the people is involved and on the other side, companies are so powerful that State is unable to act against them. “Today it is we; tomorrow it would be our children. Our children would be born deformed because of this adulterated food. “They (offenders, like Khyber) have become so powerful that State is unable to proceed against them, money power is now in action”, court observed.

Court took serious note of the functioning of Food Testing Laboratories and observed to the Advocate General: “Do you think 1960’s model labs would cope with the requirements of 2016 and health of public is involved. They are literally being fed poison. There won’t be any compromise with the health of the people. Court is aware of its Constitutional obligation. Court would make the system work even if the Government forgets its duties. Mr. AG it is unfortunate you are defending them.”

Court also directed Chief Secretary of the State and other officials to remain present before the court. The application for exemption of personal appearance was moved by the authorities and court rejected it and reiterated all these authorities be present before the court on next date of hearing.

Court directed the Commissioner Food Safety to provide the full information and particulars of outsider food manufacturers and companies who supply food items to Jammu and Kashmir.

The court in order to ensure implementation of provisions of ‘Food Safety and Standards Act 2006’ practically also directed the Commissioner Food to provide the information to court about the Jammu Division as well.

“All the said authorities shall ensure publication of public notice in newspapers one each at Srinagar and Jammu, informing the aforesaid manufacturers/ processors/ suppliers/ persons/companies to comply with the directions of court passed on April 27”, directed the Division Bench.

Court also directed all the unit holders and food manufacturers to submit their undertakings before the court in terms of previous orders as various owners of food processing and manufacturing units were present before the court through their counsels.

It may be mentioned here that in view of the alarming situation of food adulteration in the State, the High Court has taken suo-moto proceedings with regard to issue of food adulteration after it was reported in media reports asserting that consumption of adulterated and carcinogenic food items in the Valley are at alarming proportion.

Court had made it clear that the stay of proceedings from the Supreme Court would not mean that these manufacturers and companies have been given license to manufacture and process of such food items which are adulterated. “The Act of 2006 is not stayed by the Supreme Court”, DB had said.

Court had summoned Chief Secretary of the State for his personal appearance before the court on next date as also impleaded all food processing and manufacturing unit holders as party respondents to the PIL.

Court had directed all those food processing unit holders to file their affidavits before next date of hearing of the matter, detailing therein as to how and in what way they are following the provisions of Act and rules.

FOOD ADULTERATION: HC puts lens on outside suppliers

‘Earn, but don’t destroy health of others’

Jammu and Kashmir High Court Wednesday directed the Government to provide full particulars of outside companies supplying food items to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Commissioner Food Safety shall provide full information and particulars of those food manufacturers, suppliers, persons, companies who originate from outside the state and supply food items to Jammu and Kashmir,” a division bench of Justices MuzaffarHussain Attar and Ali Muhammad Magrey said in its order.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation against food adulteration, the court directed the Food Commissioner to provide similar information about Jammu division.

The court directed Chief Secretary, Commissioner Secretary, Health and Food Commissioner Food Safety, Financial Commissioner/ Commissioner Secretary Finance & Planning, besides owners and MDs of food manufacturing and processing units to remain present on next hearing on May 13.

Expressing displeasure over non-appearance of these authorities in the court today, the bench on assurance of Advocate General, D C Raina accepted their applications exempting them from personal appearance for today.

“On next date of hearing all officers shall remain present before the court,” the bench said.

Extending time for owners of food manufacturing and processing units for filing affidavits indicating the manner in which they follow provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the court directed them to file the same by May 13.

On April 29, the companies had been directed by the court to file the affidavits.

Expressing displeasure over non implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act, the court observed, “Money power has taken control of everything now”.

“Few people have made empire out of food adulteration, they want quick buck and for it they can go (stoop) to any extent,” the court observed.

In response to the submissions by some counsels representing Kashmir-based food manufacturing units pleading that the government has double standards as no company supplying food stuff from outside J&K was convicted, the court said: “No one will be spared”.

“This is politics, don’t play it here. Everybody will be brought within the net of law,” the court observed.

While a counsel representing a local company pleaded that the Court cannot order closure of a business unit unless found culpable of wrong, the bench observed that in its earlier order it had used the expression “such units are liable to be closed”.

Observing that Dal lake may not live but issues relating to health of the people have to be taken seriously, the court said: “This is human life. Today it is we, tomorrow it will be our children”. The bench was apparently referring to remiss on part of government to implement its directions to save Dal lake.

“We will only implement statute in letter and spirit,” the bench said while warning the food manufacturing companies against destroying health of others.

“Earn, but don’t destroy health of others,” the court said.

Amicus Curie Bashir Ahmad Bashir (senior advocate) pleaded that DCs of all districts are supposed to monitor food items in keeping with the food safety act.”

In response to the state counsel’s argument that there are two state laboratories for carrying out food testing, the court said: “Shun the habit of subverting everything and stick to your earlier stand.”

“You have already stated before the court that the two existing laboratories are dysfunctional and outdated.”

The Advocate General, however, candidly admitted that the two laboratories were not functional to the extent of analyzing ingredients like pesticides.

“These laboratories with old equipment have to cope up with burden of 2016. Realize this, the government is in slumber,” the court observed.

Meanwhile, the court directed the authorities concerned to ensure publication of a notice in newspaper one each in Srinagar and Jammu informing the food manufacturers, suppliers, persons, companies to comply with the court direction dated April 27, 2016.

On April 27, the court had directed the owners of food processing units to file affidavits indicating that the food items they supply in the market are fit for human consumption.

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Bottled water not safe, study finds bacteria, chemicals

Contaminated water poses a massive health risk to India, as millions suffer from diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and gastroenteritis every year.

The next time you pick up a bottle of water from a roadside shop to beat the punishing summer heat, better be safe than sorry, say authorities. India's food safety regulator FSSAI is planning a crackdown on companies selling packaged water without proper certification, after tests revealed a deadly cocktail of chemicals and bacteria in samples.

Contaminated water poses a massive health risk to India, as millions suffer from diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and gastroenteritis every year. This has triggered a boom in the country's packaged water industry, which has reached nearly Rs1,500 crore.

"The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has informed us that they have received several complaints that a large number of Food Business Operators are engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of packaged drinking water without FSSAI/BIS Certification Mark," said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of FSSAI. "BIS has also received complaints regarding mushrooming of units in various states for especially manufacturing and selling packaged drinking water without licences."

The bureau has established standards for packaged drinking water and packaged natural mineral water, with set quality parameters. The rules come under mandatory BIS certification according to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition & Restriction on sales) Regulation, 2011.

As per this regulation, "No person shall manufacture, sell or exhibit for sale, Natural Mineral Water and Packaged Drinking water, except under the BIS Standard Mark."

Agarwal said states have been asked to provide details of enforcement activities such as numbers of inspections, samples collected, contraventions found as well as action taken.

"As the scorching summers have arrived, the sale of drinking water is expected to rise," he said. "We have also written to all state food commissioners to strengthen the enforcement activities on unauthorised manufacture and sale of packaged drinking water without FSSAI and BIS mark."

A study published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research found several drinking water samples exceeding various chemical and bacterial parameters, which could pose serious threats to consumers.

Over 20 samples were tested at Ghaziabad's National Test House, which showed that sachets of water sold in Delhi had a slew of hazardous qualities. "The bottled water samples showed negative growth for total coliform bacteria, while sachet and local bottled water samples had positive total coliform bacterial counts, which confirmed that they were unfit for consumption," said Dr Ashish Singla, the author of the study. "Keeping in mind the rising demand of packaged drinking water, it becomes important for officials to monitor quality and ensure it's licensed by concerned authorities to safeguard the consumer's health."

According to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, 6,513 licensed companies were manufacturing packaged drinking water in India as on March 6 last year.

Experts say growing awareness about drinking water safety among urban residents and increasing tourist traffic is driving the market in a country where tap water is seldom potable. BIS ensures compliance of the standards of packaged drinking water and packaged natural mineral water manufactured by its licensees.

As part of a well-defined certification scheme, regular surveillance of the firms is done through site inspections as well as drawing of samples from factory and market followed by independent testing to check if the products conform to specifications.

If such the licensees are found at fault, warning, stoppage of marking and expiry or cancellation of licence can be initiated depending upon the seriousness and frequency of the transgressions.

As the implementation of Food Safety Act is done at the state level, random samples of packaged drinking water and mineral water are drawn by state officials.

Strict action against milk adulterators can stop menace: Supreme Court

It has agreed to the view of the court earlier that the present penalty of six months in jail "was hardly a deterrent" for the menace, which is most common in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly A month after Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan told Parliament that two out of three Indians drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said only prompt action against milk adulterators can stop the menace.

"You are asking for life imprisonment for milk adulterators. But we would say even the present maximum term of six months jail would be sufficient if the violators are caught promptly, booked and prosecuted. It can create a fear. If they are not caught and prosecuted what do we do? These are enforcement issues. We are not saying adulteration is not going on. It is rampant.

But what do we do? Stop sale of urea? If the centre has some plans, let us wait for it", a bench headed by chief justice TS Thakur told Anurag Tomar, the lawyer for petitioner who filed a PIL on the issue. Meanwhile, the Centre told the court that it has formed a high-level committee to consider whether or not to make the offence of milk adulteration punishable by life imprisonment.

It has agreed to the view of the court earlier that the present penalty of six months in jail "was hardly a deterrent" for the menace, which is most common in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

An affidavit in the court by Rakesh Nayal, a senior official in the Union Health Ministry said the panel, headed by RK Jain, secretary of the National Disaster Management Authority, and representatives from Food Safety and Standard Authority of India will take a decision within three months.

The court had on December 12, 2014 taken serious exception to the Centre's refusal to amend the law to make the offence punishable with life term. "What are you doing about it? In March we had given an ultimatum to the Centre to inform us if you are amending the law and we are now in December," the Bench said when Tomar pointed out the delay. "After perusing the reports submitted by various states, prima-facie we are of the opinion that milk is being laced with contaminants and the practice is going unabated.

"The Centre must come out with necessary amendment to the Act with all seriousness to curb adulteration. We hope the government will take appropriate decision during the winter session of Parliament," the court had said.

About 20% of alcohol samples found adulterated, misbranded

Interestingly, in Bihar -- under prohibition now -- 1,763 samples were collected, 1,320 were analysed, but only 7 were found to be adulterated

Nearly 20% of analysed alcohol samples from across the country were found to be either adulterated or misbranded in 2014-15, with a much higher incidence in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, as per official data.

This apart, 2,676 criminal and 7,860 civil cased were initiated and the number of convictions was of the order of 1,402. A total sum of Rs.10.94 crore was also collected in the process, according to a written reply given in the Lok Sabha by Consumer Affairs and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

According to the information provided to parliament, 823,265 samples were taken during the year and 74,010 of them were analysed. Out of that 14,599 were found to be adulterated or misbranded.

In Himachal Pradesh, for example, out of 725 samples analysed, 461 -- or a whopping 63.5%-- were found adulterated or misbranded. It was 42.8%in Uttar Pradesh with 4,119 samples testing positive out of 9,605; and forTamil Nadu it was 36.4 percent, with 1,047 out of 2,873.

Interestingly, in Bihar -- under prohibition now -- 1,763 samples were collected, 1,320 were analysed, but only seven were found to be adulterated or misbranded. In the national capital, out of 1,480 samples analysed, 148 were under such a category.

Among the questions posed by Bhagwanth Khuba of the Bharatiya Janata Party, representing Bidar in Karnataka, was whether 93% of the alcohol consumed in India was hard liquor and if most of what is produced is of very low quality, in comparison to other countries.

To that the reply was that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India neither maintained such data, nor did the regulator have any separate statistics to furnish on the quality of alcohol. However, an annexure was enclosed regarding the samples.

The annexure also included data on the first six months of 2015-16.

As per that, 14.5% or 4,106 samples, out of the 28,259 that were analysed, were found to be adulterared or misbranded. But it did not include data from several states, notably Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Uttarakhand.

In Tamil Nadu, the incidence of adulteration or misbranding was slightly lower at 30% and much lower at 18% in Himachal Pradesh, against 36.4%and 63.5%, respectively, for the two states during the whole of the previous year.

The minister also pointed out that implementation and enforcement of food standards was with the states.

Patanjali asked to explain edible oil ad campaign

India’s apex food regulator, FSSAI, and the ad regulator have asked Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved to explain the advertising campaign for its mustard oil.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), a body of domestic edible oil makers, had written to the Food Safety and Standards Association of India and the Advertising Standards Council of India last week saying Patanjali was denigrating rival brands even as it promoted its product.

“We have no issue if Patanjali comes out with a good-quality product. They are free to do it and we welcome it. But, saying that other brands in the market are sub-standard is incorrect. We had written to Patanjali a month-and-a-half ago to withdraw the ads because it was misleading. But, we did not hear from them. We were then compelled to bring this issue to the attention of the regulators,” said B V Mehta, executive director, SEA.

Sources in the know say Patanjali will respond to the notices received from the two regulators shortly.

Officials of Patanjali said its campaign was based on facts and that it had no intention to mislead consumers.

Edible oil companies contest this claim, though. “Our kachhi ghani mustard oil is 100 per cent kachhi ghani and not blended with any other oil or solvent extraction as indicated in the ad (by Patanjali). Commercials like this create confusion in people’s minds. SEA has explained in detail in its letter to the regulators why a campaign like this is misleading. I’m sure they will take cognizance of it,” said Atul Chaturvedi, chief executive officer, Adani Wilmar, the producer of the Fortune brand of edible oil.

This is not the first time that Patanjali has had run-ins with the regulators over its products. In the past, it was pulled up for selling noodles and pasta without licence.

Testing Prasadam

Standardising prasadams is a good idea, but getting it implemented could be a difficult exercise

After mortals, it is now the turn of the gods. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is now looking to regulate and standardise prasadam/offerings at temples, mosques, churches and other places of worship. Not that the divine need a FSSAI certificate, but given 300 million faithful—as per the 2001 Census—visit places of worship daily and partake of the food offerings, receiving it as a ‘blessing’, there is a need to ensure quality. With temples, churches, gurudwaras, etc, largely left to manage themselves with very little regulation from the state, there is absolutely no checking of standards of the prasadam—though temples insist that they use the best ingredients and produce the prasadam in a safe manner. Even so, there is no standardisation; from packaging to expiration dates, everything varies from temple to temple, church to church. The food regulator, which zealously wants to get religious institutions or the vendors they source from to apply for FSSAI licences. It has already started working with Mumbai’s Siddhivinayaka temple, Venkateshwara Swamy temple in Tirupati and the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi.

The move, in principle, is a necessary one, but the problem lies in implementing it. As per a report in Mint, not all religious institutions favour a licensing regime; rather, they say, the FSSAI should issue a set of guidelines and encourage voluntary compliance. Given the prasadam/offerings aren’t just food—they come with deeply-held beliefs about culture and divinity—any regulation will have to come only after the faithful as well as place-of-worship administrations have been duly sensitised. And for FSSAI, that is already short of manpower and resources, it will prove a tough challenge.

Food safety field staff functioning just in name

‘No funds, no support staff make monitoring of ground situation difficult’

Food safety remains a mere slogan as the field staff of the Food Control Organization is ill-equipped to carry out duties mandated under FSSAI and is ‘forced’ to compromise quality checks of food business operators. There are no facilities to carry out sampling of foods available in markets, both rural and urban.

While Kashmir’s complacency towards food safety laws has been elucidated through the rickety infrastructure at the Food Safety Lab in Srinagar, field situation is no better. The Food Safety Officers working in field are not provided requisite funds for lifting samples, nor is the material required to lift samples provided by the organization.

A number of FSOs told Greater Kashmir that they have to spend from their own pockets when it 

came to lifting samples. “For each product that needs to be tested, we have to lift four samples. The product costs may range from Rs 5 to Rs 200. We are required to lift a certain number of samples usually around 15 per month. And for all this, the money goes from our pockets,” an FSO said. The FSOs added that if they have to lift a kilogram packet of chilli powder for testing, which costs Rs 150 and four of which need to be lifted as per FSSA, the FSO will incur an expenditure of Rs 600.

The FSOs further alleged that the amount spent on sampling takes a long time to get reimbursed and quite often are they told that the funds for sampling have lapsed and therefore the payments cannot be made.

Moreover, there are no facilities required for sampling. “We require sterile jars- preferably glass, envelops, thread, tapes, sealing wax, computers and stationary for documentation. But we have nothing,” an FSO said.

The recent stress on food safety drives has cost the FSOs dearly as they are made to sample more food items each day, each of which gets heavier on their pockets. Controller Food and Drugs J&K, Lotika Khajuria agreed that sampling money was ‘an issue’. She blamed it on the lack of funds for the organization.

“In the past there have been lapses. We were not being provided the funds that we had projected. But hopefully, this is going to change,” Khajuria said. She further said that the fresh fund projections had ample amount for funding on sampling and all the liabilities of FSOs will be cleared.

Officials who have worked in FCO for many years believe that much of the problems in the department could be attributed to the fact that Food Safety had not been accorded the importance it deserved by the Planning Department of the government. “Very often, whatever the department projected would be trimmed. As if we had asked something that was superfluous and ornamental,” he said.

Nunna mango market flooded with foreign chemical ripeners

VIJAYWADA: After imposition of a strict ban on the usage of carbide for artificial ripening of fruits, the wily fruit vendors at Nunna mango market and Kedareswarapet fruit market took the international route to import ripeners from China and Italy.

Many an eyebrow is raised at the audacious and brazen manner in which the vendors are going ahead with their illegal practices showing scant respect to the rules set by the Food Safety and Health department. The lives of consumers are at high risk as chemical ripeners can cause serious health problems like heart ailments and cancer.

The overseas supply of harmful ripening chemicals came to light during the raids conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday at Nunna mango market. The FSSAI officials found boxes containing Ethiopian plant hormone solution, ethylene powder and hand sprayers.

When TOI asked the officials how the vendors could get access to the harmful chemicals, they said the vendors are tight-lipped over the issue. "The arrested vendors are not spilling the beans on how they are managing to get the chemicals," assistant food controller ASF - Zone II Nageswaraiah said.

The officials found the solution and powder stocks in the living rooms of workers in the market. It is amply evident that Ethiopian solution and powder are being used to ripen the fruits. The food safety officials said containers of the chemicals carried the names of China and Italy indicating that they are being supplied from these countries. The officials expressed concern over the trend as many times in the past it was found that duplicate items with fake labels were produced in China.

"We can't tell about the chemical composition of the seized powder and solution by just looking at the labels. To analyse the chemicals, we have sent all the samples to the State Food Laboratory in Hyderabad. Fruit samples were also sent," Nageswaraiah said.

Vendors' association at the Nunna mango market says it has no idea on the chemical consumption and who was transporting the banned chemicals to the market. "Getting chemical powders and solutions from foreign countries is not that for small-time vendors. Some bigwigs may be behind their flow into the market," a vendor at Nunna mango market told TOI. Further, he expressed doubts that this could be a part of a statewide racket.

A Srinivasa Rao, food safety officer said the seized chemical solution and powder are being sprayed on the fruits. "The chemicals are being used for ripening bananas and mangoes, which are harmful to health. Based on the results, action would be taken against the vendors," said IPM officials.

FSSAI decisions: Public kitchens at places of worship to be regulated

The Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) has said it intends to regulate public kitchens run by temple trusts in association with state regulators.

The food regulator had approached the Siddhivinayak and Shirdi temple trusts in Maharashtra and found them open to the idea of scrutiny, said Pawan Agarwal, the chief executive officer of FSSAI. “While temple trusts do get a licence from the FSSAI to run public kitchens, we are speaking of taking public health and safety to the next level by adhering to food safety standards. This calls for greater awareness and scrutiny, which we propose to do along with state food regulators.”

Sanjiv S Patil, executive officer of Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust, said the regulator had surveyed the temple’s public kitchen two months ago and advised them on food safety standards. “We have joined hands with the FSSAI and the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists of India for standardisation and to maintain the quality of the prasadam we offer. We are committed to maintaining our quality standards.”

Nearly 100,000 devotees visit the Shree Siddhivinayak temple each day in Mumbai.

In Kerala, where the popular Sabarimala temple is located, food safety officers do checks at regular intervals to ensure the food served at the temple is safe.

In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, too, major temples have been moving to an automated process of making food, state officials noted.

“We keep a close watch on temple kitchens to ensure hygiene is maintained. Kitchens have been automated to ensure human intervention is limited,” said an official from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department, under which major temples in Tamil Nadu fall.

Mobile food-testing facility for educational institutes

After receiving good response in the tricity, the service of the mobile food-testing laboratory, which was recently started by the Department of Food Safety and Standards, Chandigarh, will now be expanded to city school, college, universities and fruit-vegetable markets.

In a communication to the chairman of the Federation of Sector Welfare Association, Bhaljinder Singh, the Senior Medical Officer (Ortho) at the GMSH- cum- designated in-charge of the Department of Food Safety and Standards, Dr Rajinder K Sharma, has sought cooperation for the initiative.

Dr Sharma stated in the letter that the mobile food-testing laboratory would be taken to various sectors and markets of Chandigarh.

The laboratory will also conduct food tests at medical health institutes of Chandigarh. The department has also announced that various activities like lectures, seminars and meetings will also be conducted by the it.

Emphasis on beverages

During summer, the department will keep a check on non-alcoholic beverages such lemonade, packed water bottles and monitor the quality of various food items such as muskmelon, watermelon, cucumber, meat products, cut fruits and milk products.

Besides milk and the products made from it, other products like turmeric, oils, salt, spices, ghee, pulses, grains are already being tested for any adulteration.

Stamp for meat products

The department has also announced that all shopkeepers selling meat and meat products should have an authorised stamp issued by the doctor in-charge of the slaughter house, Chandigarh. The department has also advised traders not to ripen fruits with banned chemicals.

Advanced EMAT machine in food-testing van

To tighten the noose around dairy farmers and milk vendors who indulge in adulteration, the department has planned to install an advanced electronic milk adulteration tester (EMAT) in the mobile food testing van. Confirming this, Sukhwinder Singh, designated officer, Department of Food Safety and Standards, said, “For our excellent performance, the department was awarded the advanced food testing machine by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India last month.”

“This will be a new addition to the inventory of mobile food testing lab and the machine will be doing a close surveillance of milk. The EMAT will test fat content, protein content, SNF (solid not fat), water content, presence of glucose and electrodes in milk,” informed Sukhwinder Singh.

15 milk samples fail test in month

According to Food and Safety Department officials, in the last one month, of 70 samples of milk and its products that were tested by the food van, 15 samples failed the test.

குஜிலியம்பாறை பகுதியில் காலாவதி உணவு பொருள் விற்பனை கனஜோர்

குஜி லி யம் பாறை, மே.4:

குஜி லி யம் பா றை யில் தொடர்ந்து காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் கள் கன ஜோ ராக விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. விற் பனை செய் யும் கடை கள் மீது அதி கா ரி கள் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக்க வேண் டும் என்று பொது மக் கள் வலி யு றுத் து கின் ற னர்.

குஜி லி யம் பா றை யில் மளிகை கடை, ஓட் டல் கள், குளிர் பான கடை கள், இறைச்சி கடை கள், காய் கனி கடை கள், பேக் கரி, மெடிக் கல்ஸ், பெட் டிக் க டை கள், டீ கடை உள் ளிட்ட 100க்கும் மேற் பட்ட கடை கள் உள் ளது. இந்த கடை க ளில் பொது மக் கள் பயன் ப டுத் தும் உணவு பொருட் கள் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. இவ் வாறு விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு வ தில் காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் க ளும் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. மேலும் குஜி லி யம் பா றை யில் அதி க மாக உள்ள பெட் டிக் க டை க ளில் விற் கப் ப டும் திண் பண் டங் கள் காலா வ தி யான நிலை யில் உள் ளது. இதனை பொது மக் க ளுக்கு விற்று விடு கின் ற னர்.

நாடு முழு வ தும் உணவு பாது காப்பு மற் றும் தர நிர் ணய சட் டம் அமல் ப டுத் தப் பட் டுள் ளது. இதை ய டுத்து தமி ழ கத் தில் உணவு பொருட் கள், பால், குடி நீர் ஆகி ய வற் றின் தரத்தை உறு திப் ப டுத்த உணவு பாது காப்பு ஆணை ய ர கம் உரு வாக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. தமி ழ கத் தில் காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் களை விற் பனை செய் வோர் மீது அதி கா ரி கள் கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுத்து வரு கின் ற னர்.

தற் போது சுட் டெ ரிக் கும் வெயி லின் தாக் கம் அதி க ரித் துள் ளது. இதன் கார ண மாக குளிர் பான கடை மற் றும் பெட் டிக் க டை க ளில் தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் அதி க ள வில் விற் ப னை யா கி றது. மேலும் குளிர் பான கடை க ளில் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டும் குளிர் பா னங் கள் மற் றும் ஐஸ் கி ரீம் உள் ளிட் ட வை கள் தர மா ன தாக விற் பனை செய்ய வேண் டும் என் றும், காலா வ தி யான உணவு பொருட் கள் விற் பனை செய் வோர் மீது மாவட்ட அதி கா ரி கள் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக்க வேண் டும் என பொது மக் கள் கோரிக்கை விடுத் துள் ள னர்.

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