FOOD SAFETY LATEST

Sep 13, 2017

Use web-based inspection platform, FSSAI tells states

Food safety regulator FSSAI says the platform will ensure that inspections of food businesses are done transparently

New Delhi: In a bid to ensure that Indian food businesses comply with food safety and hygiene standards in an effective and transparent manner, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed states to implement a web-based real-time inspection platform for food safety officers (FSOs).

The ‘Food Safety Compliance through Regular Inspections and Sampling’ (FoSCoRIS) system launched on Monday uses instant geo-tagging, time stamping, real-time data collection and multiple levels of verification and can be used via hand-held devices like mobile phones and tablets.

The technology will help ensure periodic inspections of food businesses are carried out by regulatory staff on a regular basis in an objective and transparent manner, the food safety regulator said in New Delhi on Monday.

“Such inspections would use standard compliance matrices to ensure consistency in approach of inspections across the country. This would replace the current system of ad hoc and subjective inspections and sampling that are currently carried out by the regulatory staff,” Pawan Agarwal, chief executive of FSSAI, said in an interview.

“This would use a nationwide information technology (IT) platform to bring together all key stakeholders—the food businesses, FSOs, designated officers (DOs), state food safety commissioners (FSCs) so that such inspections and sampling is done by maintaining a high level of integrity of the process and the process itself is effectively monitored at various levels. Inspection, sampling and test result data will be shared seamlessly by all officials, right from field level to district, state and national level,” Agarwal said.

FSSAI will develop the FoSCoRIS system and put in place infrastructure required for its operation and maintenance at the national level. The food regulator will provide the devices and reimburse internet charges.

During inspection, samples could also be picked and noted.

The evidence and traceability will follow, based on the unique ID generated for the sample.

Through FoSCoRIS, details of the food safety officer’s location and the area of FSO will be collected on a real-time basis.

Every detail of log-in and log-out time and location will be collected on the central server of the system.

Interestingly, random four-to-five pictures will automatically be captured by the device using the front as well as the rear camera on a mobile phone or a tablet.

“The collected data in the system includes geo tags of location, time, date, inspection report and pictures of FSOs and his location. The FSSAI and the State Food Safety Commissioners would be able to monitor each and every inspection on a real-time basis and afterwards as well,” Agarwal said.

The data collected from inspection reports and samples will be analyzed to understand the areas and food products to be focused on, identify hot-spots, trends and pattern in food safety to take corrective measures and for policy interventions.

“This will also help assess the performance of field level officers and help improve their efficiency,” said Agarwal.

FDA to train temple trusts in food safety

To ensure that the temple offerings are healthy and hygienic, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be conducting training sessions on food safety for over 254 temple trusts across the state.

The initiative will be flagged off in Mumbai on Wednesday, September 13, at Iskcon Temple, Juhu.

The initiative called the Blissful Hygienic Offering to God (BHOG) was launched by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Prabhadevi-based Siddhivinayak Temple.

Training will be conducted in various districts across the state throughout September.

FDA Commissioner Dr Pallavi Darade said 53 temple trusts and vendors who prepare various kinds of prasad will be attending the first session. The topics to be covered include food safety, ingredients, packaging, and hygiene.

The session will help temple trusts maintain proper standards of food hygiene. Participants would be introduced to a scientific approach to safety concerns and learn about the rules and regulation of food safety," Darade said.

"More training sessions will be planned depending upon the number of temple trusts that come forward. We will be training 3,000 people and 254 temples," said CD Salunke, Joint Commissioner, FDA. In October, restaurant and hotel staff in Mumbai will also receive training by the FDA.

AT A GLANCE

In August this year, over 70 Ganpati mandals were trained before the Ganeshotsav festival
Through this initiative the FDA plans to train over 254 temples across the state

Govt bans sale of Grorich

State Government on Tuesday ordered ban on manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of food product namely “Grorich” which is manufactured by M/S Utility Pharmaceuticals, Solan (HP).

“In exercise of powers conferred by clause (a) of subsection (2) of section 30 of Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, and as an abundant precaution, in the interest of public health, we hereby prohibit in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, manufacture, storage, sale, distribution of the food product “Grorich” with immediate effect. The notification shall come into force at once,” reads an order issued by Drugs and Food Control Organization.

The prohibition order notes that a sample of food product namely “Grorich” bearing lot No. G-1025, Mfg. Date: Dec 2016 Expiry Date: 18 months from Mfg date, manufactured by M/S Utility Pharmaceuticals, Solan (HP) was lifted and sent to National Anti-Doping Agency for quality opinion.

The Doping Agency in its report No. 05/13/2017/NADA dated: 14.08.2017 has reported that the above sample contains 2-phenethylamine which is a prohibited substance and is likely to pose health risk to the end users.

Meanwhile, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India had requested all the Commissioners of Food Safety to check the use of such substances (narcotic drug or a psychotropic substance as defined in the schedule of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) and rules made there under, and substances listed in schedules E and EI of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945) in food supplements and in case of any suspicion, samples may be drawn and sent to National Anti-Doping Agency.

It (order) said Food means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed which is intended for human consumption and included primary food to the extent defined in clause (zk), genetically modified or engineered food or food containing such ingredient, infant food, packaged drinking water, alcoholic drink, chewing gum, and any substance, including water used into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but does not include any animal feed, live animals unless they are prepared or processed for placing on the market for human consumption, plants, prior to harvesting, drugs and medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances.

Sep 12, 2017

இறக்குமதியாகும் தாய்லாந்து 'ஸ்டார்ச்' மாவு: உள்நாட்டு உற்பத்தி புறக்கணிப்பால் மரவள்ளி விவசாயிகள் பாதிப்பு

ஆத்தூர்: தாய்லாந்து, இந்தோனேஷியா நாடுகளில் இருந்து, குறைந்த விலையில், ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு இறக்குமதி செய்யப்படுவதால், உள்நாட்டில் உற்பத்தியாகும் மரவள்ளி சார்ந்த பொருட்களின் விலை சரிந்துள்ளது.

தமிழகத்தில், சேலம், நாமக்கல், தர்மபுரி உட்பட, 17 மாவட்டங்களில், மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு சாகுபடி செய்யப்படுகிறது. 2016ல், பருவ மழை இல்லாததால், மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு உற்பத்தி குறைந்தது. ஸ்டார்ச், ஜவ்வரிசி தேவை அதிகமாக இருந்ததால், இந்தாண்டு மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு ஒரு மூட்டை (73 கிலோ), 800 முதல், 1,050 ரூபாயாக விலை உயர்ந்துள்ளது. இதற்கிடையே, உணவு பொருட்கள் தயாரிப்பில் முக்கிய பங்கு வகிக்கும், 'ஸ்டார்ச்' மாவு, ஆந்திரா, கர்நாடகா, கேரளா மாநிலங்கள் மட்டுமின்றி, தாய்லாந்து, இந்தோனேஷியா போன்ற நாடுகளில் இருந்தும் இறக்குமதி செய்வதால், மரவள்ளி சாகுபடி விவசாயிகள் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.

இதுகுறித்து, தமிழக ஜவ்வரிசி, ஸ்டார்ச் உற்பத்தியாளர்கள் முன்னேற்ற நலச்சங்க மாநில தலைவர் துரைசாமி கூறியதாவது: நாடு முழுவதும், ஆண்டுக்கு, 25 லட்சம் ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டைகள் தேவைப்படுகின்றன. ஜவ்வரிசி, ஸ்டார்ச் மாவுக்கு தேவை அதிகரித்துள்ளதால், கடந்த, 2016 நவம்பரில், ஜவ்வரிசி ஒரு மூட்டை (90 கிலோ), 4,023 ரூபாயும், ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு ஒரு மூட்டை (90 கிலோ), 2,841 ரூபாயும், மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு, 650 ரூபாயாக விலை உயர்ந்தது. நடப்பாண்டு, ஜன., 27ல், ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டை, 6,275 ரூபாய்; ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு, 4,605 ரூபாயாக விலை உயர்ந்தது. கடந்த, ஆக., 29ல், ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டை, 5,687 ரூபாய்; ஸ்டார்ச், 4,051 ரூபாயாக இருந்த நிலையில், நேற்று, ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டை, 5,760 ரூபாய்; ஸ்டார்ச், 3,951 ரூபாய் என, ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டைக்கு, 70 ரூபாய் மட்டுமே விலை உயர்ந்துள்ளது. இருந்தும், தமிழகத்தில், ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு விலை அதிகளவில் இருப்பதால், தாய்லாந்து, இந்தோனிஷியாவில் இருந்து, உணவு பொருள் தயாரிக்க அதிகளவில் இறக்குமதி செய்கின்றனர். மத்திய, மாநில அரசுகள் இவற்றை தடுக்க முன்வரவில்லை. தவிர, நாமக்கல்லில், எட்டு லட்சம் மூட்டை, சேலத்தில், இரண்டு லட்சம் என, 10 லட்சம் மூட்டை ஜவ்வரிசி பதுக்கி வைத்துள்ளனர். அரசியல் கட்சியினர், உறவினர்களின் சேகோ ஆலைகள் என்பதால், இந்த பதுக்கல் மீது அதிகாரிகள் நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பதில்லை.

மக்காச்சோளம் மாவு, கிலோ, 23 ரூபாய்க்கு கிடைப்பதால், ஸ்டார்ச் மாவில் கலந்து, நாமக்கல், ராசிபுரம், நாமகிரிபேட்டை, மல்லூர் உள்பட, பத்துக்கும் மேற்பட்ட பெரிய ஆலைகளில், தரமற்ற ஜவ்வரிசி தயாரிக்கின்றனர். கலப்படமான ஜவ்வரிசி குறித்து பலமுறை மனு செய்தும், அதிகாரிகள் உடந்தையாக இருப்பதால் நடடிக்கை இல்லை. வறட்சியால், சில மாவட்டங்களில் குறைந்தளவில் தான் மரவள்ளி அறுவடை உள்ளது. ஜவ்வரிசி மூட்டை, 8,000 ரூபாயும், ஸ்டார்ச், 5,000 ரூபாய் மற்றும் மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு, 1,500 ரூபாய்க்கு மேல் விற்க வேண்டும். இதனால், தமிழகத்தில், ஜவ்வரிசி, ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு மற்றும் மரவள்ளி கிழங்கு விலை குறைந்து வருகிறது. இதேநிலை தொடர்ந்தால் சேகோ தொழில் அழிந்துபோகும். வெளிநாடுகளில் இருந்து, ஸ்டார்ச் மாவு இறக்குமதி செய்வதை, மத்திய, மாநில அரசு முழுமையாக தடை செய்ய வேண்டும். இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

Why our plates, fields must have more millets than rice

Contamination of eggs poses high risk to food safety in India: study

Unhygienic rearing practices and lack of quality control measures can easily lead to egg contamination.

Developed countries take measures to sterilise the egg surface from contamination especially from Salmonella enteritidis

New Delhi: According to a research study, Indian poultry farms lack the technical knowhow of European nations and also follow poor rearing practices.

There are chances that they could be using contaminated feeds or using feed ingredients without any knowledge of their nutritive value which can effect egg production.

Also unhygienic rearing practices and lack of quality control measures can easily lead to egg contamination. It is not just the poultry farmers but traders, exporters and even consumers are unaware of the health risks of egg contamination.

Developed countries take measures to sterilise the egg surface from contamination especially from Salmonella enteritidis. In India no such measures are taken and risk of egg contaminationincreases.

"India has become a leading poultry producer but the potential to reach the global markets is not very bright as the quality of the products does not meet international standards. Indian eggs are often rejected for export because of the presence of chemical residues on egg shells," says Dr. Saurabh Arora, Founder of Food Safety helpline and Food Safety Mobile App.

Recently, a number of eggs in the domestic market, in retail shops were collected and tested and were found to contain large amounts of salmonella both on the shell and inside the egg.

However, fresh eggs collected from farms indicated less salmonella contamination. Since most consumers buy eggs from retail outlets the chances of contracting salmonella infection increases.

Lack of food safety procedures, improper storage facilities and poor transportation are some of the other causes of deterioration in eggs. The FSSAI has proposed standards for fresh eggs in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2017.

These standards will come into force once they are approved. The FSSAI has laid down parameters which state that the eggshells must be free of blood rings, must not be soiled or have faecal matter and they must not be cracked or leaking.

FSSAI has laid down the amount of water, protein, fats and carbohydrates that eggs must contain as also the hygienic parameters and hygienic controls, like time and temperature, that must be observed during production, processing and handling which includes sorting, grading, washing, drying, treatment, packing, storage and distribution to point of consumption. FSSAI has laid emphasis on the storage conditions like moisture and temperature so as to reduce microbial contamination as microbial pathogens are a risk to human health.

Food Safety practices for eggs

A number of surveys have been conducted which suggest that consumers have less awareness of food safety risks of eggs as compared to other foods. Most people will follow the hygienic practices when handling chicken meat and fish but will overlook the recommended practices for eggs. It is not a wrong observation that people do not wash their hands after handling eggs or even after breaking raw eggs when cooking.

This is probably because of the perception that eggs are generally safe. They are indeed safe if they have been cooked properly, which means that they must be cooked till their yolks and whites have become firm. Dishes that contain eggs as ingredients must reach an internal temperature of 160o Fahrenheit which is the temperature required for salmonella to be destroyed through cooking.

Besides cooking eggs thoroughly there are other food safety practices that you need to follow when handling eggs to prevent cross-contamination.

-Egg handlers must wash hands with soap and clean surfaces and utensils that have come in contact with raw eggs.

-Containers that have been used to process raw eggs must not come in contact with ready-to-eat food.

-Separate eggs in the grocery bags when shopping and in the refrigerator when storing.

-Temperature of the refrigerator must be maintained at 33 to 40o Fahrenheit.

-If eggs are left outside after refrigeration then they need to be discarded within two hours.

-Refrigerate eggs only after they have been washed.

-Eggs must be consumed within two weeks.

-It is advisable not to eat raw eggs.

Regulator FSSAI launches online platform for food inspection, sampling

The new system will bring together all key stakeholders - food businesses, food safety officers, designated officers, state food safety commissioners - on a nation-wide IT platform.

To bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling, food regulator FSSAI on Monday put in place a nationwide online platform and asked states to adopt this system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make food safety officers accountable.

The web-based ‘FoSCoRIS’ system will help verify compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per the government norms.

The new system will bring together all key stakeholders -- food businesses, food safety officers (FSOs), designated officers, state food safety commissioners -- on a nation-wide IT platform and data related to inspection, sampling and test result data will be shared seamlessly by all the officials.

“This system will give a clear picture to the FSSAI on the real-time basis and helps eliminate any discrepancy, hence inspection is accountable,” the regulator said in a letter written to states.

The system will ease out the process of sample collection, make it transparent and traceable and controls the quality of compliances, it said.

Directing the states to adopt the new system, the FSSAI said this requires a hand-held device with internet connectivity with FSOs.

It has asked those states that have already provided hand-held devices to FSOs to straightway adopt the system while other states have been asked to provide such devices to FSOs or on rental and even reimburse mobile expenses to them.

The states have been told to appoint a nodal officer for this purpose and send the details of the officers of the state food authority for integrating them with FoSCoRIS.

In the initial phase, the FSSAI said, it has decided to bear the cost of rental plans for first three months to a maximum of Rs 500 per month per connection to first ten states and UTs.

“This would replace the current system of ad hoc and subjective inspections and sampling that are currently carried out by the regulatory staff,” it noted.

Safeguarding milk and meat supply in Kashmir

Myths and realities amidst growing concern

The contribution of livestock sector to the food basket in the form of milk, eggs and meat has been immense in fulfilling the animal protein requirement of ever-growing human population. Jammu and Kashmir has huge livestock wealth. In spite of its big potential because of large livestock population, the meat and milk industry in Jammu and Kashmir has not even been able to meet the local requirement of meat, milk and eggs, leave aside the export of these products. There are a number of reasons for this. The issues of low productivity, lack of significant commercial farming, poor hygiene, inferior quality and food safety are considered as real stumbling blocks in the growth of livestock products industry. However, a number of steps have been initiated at the national level recently, which has given an impetus to the meat and milk industry. India is already world’s largest milk producer and is set to become the largest meat exporter. The meat industry is expected to grow annually by an estimated 8 percent over the next five years. The processed meat industry is growing even much faster, at about 20 percent. Jammu & Kashmir not only lags behind in the production of meat and milk but state has miserably failed in ensuring availability of safe milk and meat.

MILK

Though in last few years a number of milk processing units have come up in the state, however they have not exerted any positive impact on the production scene. There has not been any significant improvement in the local production of milk (in comparison to national level growth rates). This is because most of our dairy processing ventures doesn’t focus on working with farmers at the grass- roots level, which explains why there has been no impact of such dairy ventures on the local production scenario or on socio-economic lives of farmers. As an example Nestle, the global giant in dairying, revolutionized milk production in many countries by adopting an innovative model referred to as ‘Swiss milk district model’, which involves a strong farmer centric approach. Yet our dairy companies have been preferring importation of liquid and skimmed milk powder from northern Indian states to sell in the local market for sheer profit making. In absence of a strong local dairy cooperative movement (like AMUL), the local dairy industry is still primitive in structure and is highly dominated by traditional milkmen. Now coming to the food safety part, as we know milk is consumed by almost everyone, it is intricately linked to the public health. Organized dairying involves many processing steps -- farm, packaging plant, delivery – before reaching the consumers who drink it. Milk is moved, processed and stored in huge batches that get distributed and consumed quickly. Should a toxin be injected (adulteration ) or safety checks not taken care of somewhere along the supply chain, experts believe it could have devastating human health and economic consequences.

Quality control is an essential component of any milk processing industry whether small, medium or large scale. Milk being made up of 87 percent water is prone to adulteration by unscrupulous middlemen and unfaithful farm workers. Moreover, its high nutritive value makes it an ideal medium for the rapid multiplication of bacteria, particularly under unhygienic production and storage at ambient temperatures. We know that, in order for any processor to make good dairy products, good quality raw materials are essential. A milk processor or handler will only be assured of the quality of raw milk if certain basic quality tests are carried out at various stages of transportation of milk from the producer to the processor and finally to the consumer.

I don’t know if our local processing units are conducting approved tests to ensure the application of safe practices, standards and regulations concerning the milk and milk products. The tests are designed to ensure that milk products meet accepted standards for chemical composition and purity as well as levels of different microorganisms. A comprehensive range of various general, instrumental, physical chemistry and residue testing (like acidity, alkalinity, fat, pesticides, nitrites, bulk density, gravity, antibiotic residues etc ) is mandatory before supplying finished product to the market.

We have been regularly hearing about the cases of willful adulteration of milk with detergents and urea, which points towards the fact that state quality regulatory system is inefficient and the local dairy processing companies either don’t take quality seriously or they don’t have effective quality management systems in place to ensure safety of milk from farmers gate to consumers table. Regulatory authorities have to play more pro-active role in order to ensure strict compliance to laid down parameters by the dairy food processing industry.

MEAT

Meat is one of the most nutritious foods in the world. Meat contains biologically high quality protein and is an excellent sources of several other nutrients, containing all of the essential amino acids, and in most cases is a good source of zinc, vitamin B12, selenium, phosphorus, niacin, vitamin B6, choline, riboflavin and iron. Several forms of meat are also high in vitamin K. Jammu and Kashmir is one of the top meat consuming states of India and most of our supplies come from outside the state.

Is their any risk associated with meat consumption?

Some people argue that meat causes several diseases like cancer and heart disease. Does meat really cause cancer and heart disease? Well, recent evidence based scientific studies conclude that unprocessed fresh and moderately cooked meats don’t significantly increase the risk of cancer and heart diseases. A 1999 metastudy combined data from five studies from western countries. The metastudy reported mortality ratios, where lower numbers indicated fewer deaths, for fish eaters to be 0.82, vegetarians to be 0.84, occasional meat eaters to be 0.84. Regular meat eaters and vegans shared the highest mortality ratio of 1.00. Similarly Key et al. found that "there were no significant differences between vegetarians and non vegetarians in mortality from cerebrovascular disease, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer or all other causes combined." Truswell reviewed numerous studies, concluding that the relationship of colorectal cancer with meat consumption appeared weaker than the "probable" status it had been given by the World Cancer Research Foundation in 1997. However, most of the researchers conclude that, consumption of processed meats (which is hardly available in a developing state like Kashmir) may significantly increase the risk of heart diseases and some types of cancer. In conclusion, a moderate intake of fresh unprocessed and moderately cooked meat poses no health risk.

Is the meat we consume safe?

Many people argue that dangerous additives, chemicals and hormones are used to raise commercial food animals. Although use of antibiotic growth promoters in poultry/food animals is dangerous and poses a serious public health risk, the levels of antibiotic residues found in Indian poultry meat is well below the maximum permissible limit (a study done by Venkys Group found out that antibiotic such as ciprofloxacin, the residue of which found in Delhi/NCR region was 0.00355 to 0.06459 ppm, the EU Standard recommends a range of 0.1 to 0.3 ppm. Similarly EU Standard recommends enrofloxacin range to be 0.1 to 0.3 ppm and in Delhi/NCR region it was found to be in the range of 0.0037 to 0.131 ppm, and for Oxytetracycline the international standard varied from 0.1 to 0.3 ppm under EU Standards and 2.0 to 12 ppm under the US Standards, among others). The rapid growth in poultry now-a-days had been made possible by advancement in the field of genetics and superior nutrition, it has got nothing to do with use of steroids. Buffalo, sheep and goat are mostly raised organically on natural diets, and thus there is no food safety issue linked to meat from such animals.

What are the quality challenges associated with meat and meat products?

There are many diseases which are caused by consuming meat contaminated by pathogenic (disease-causing) micro-organisms such as bacteria and their toxins, viruses and parasites. They enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract where the first symptoms often occur. Some of the diseases can be fatal. Many of these micro-organisms are commonly found in the intestines of healthy food-producing animals. The risks of contamination are present from farm to consumers table and require prevention and control throughout the food chain. Mainly contamination can occur at farm, during slaughter, during further processing, and in the kitchen.

How is quality of meat controlled?

Globally an integrated approach to meat safety is applied from the farm to the consumer’s table. Main steps include:

a. Ante-mortem & Post-Mortem inspection of meat by qualified veterinary doctors.

b. General Meat microbiologic testing and detection of pathogenic germs.

c. Detection of organic/inorganic containments and organic residues.

2. Analytical tests

a. Rapid and reliable identification of meat species by real time PCR, DNA sequencing, and ELISA test.

b. Monitoring of public health risks through veterinary drug screening and testing in meat by using latest High resolution LC-MS technology.

We all know such broad-based integrated approach to safety of meat and meat products is lacking in our state. Job of ensuring safety of livestock origin food has been handed over to municipal authorities, which are professionally speaking, unfit to carry out this vital task. In order to ensure superior hygiene, quality and meat safety, government needs to come up with an innovative quality management plan, which must involve human and veterinary public health officials. We need a state of the art quality control and analytical laboratory for meat and meat products to meet the required domestic and international meat quality standards.

A veterinarian tunred entrepreneur, Fayyaz Ganie is the founder & CEO of Truevet Biosciences a Srinagar based biotechnological company

Fortifying food ecosystem with safety audits

The scale of the Indian food ecosystem has expanded incredibly with increasing organised food (retail and e-commerce) businesses, surge in investments and innovative models being used to reach consumers. But unlike mature economies, India is still treading on the path to build robust food quality and safety standards. Recent cases related to adulteration of food products, export rejections due to quality issues and court cases around disputes have raised multiple questions on the availability and consumption of safe and healthy food in the country.

Regulatory initiatives

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the apex body governing the food safety and standards to develop an ecosystem that protects consumer health, augments product acceptance and enables businesses to be competitive globally. With various initiatives taken by the regulator to maintain stringent quality and hygiene standards, the adoption of the food safety and quality mechanism still remains voluntary.

Keeping the above factors in view, food businesses in India should strive to: (a) develop a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) plan for their product and supply chain compliance. An importer can also have a FSMS plan that assumes responsibility of the safety and standards of imported products; (b) develop an internal audit schedule and perform corrective actions, as deemed necessary; (c) have a qualified food safety supervisor to uphold the FSMS plan.

It is critical to address the risk factors in the entire food value chain -- from the point of origin to the point of consumption -- and take appropriate measures to adopt leading global practices. As businesses grow and the demands of stakeholders increase, organisations may inadvertently cut corners, leading to non-compliance issues. This can augment threats related to safety and hygiene. Hence, it would be prudent to involve an intermediary neutral body that assesses potential risks and highlights gaps to create a healthy food ecosystem.

Third-party auditors

Food Business Operators (FBOs) are mandated to have regulatory inspections either prior to getting the licence or within a year of obtaining a FSS licence. FSSAI is in the process of recognising third party auditors and agencies for carrying out independent food safety audits of FBOs in the country. This is a positive step that will prompt the food industry to work together and get the sanctity of products ratified by an independent food safety auditor.

The three important elements of a food safety audit by an accredited audit agency or an independent auditor who have met selection criteria as per the third-party food safety audit regulations will involve: (a) conducting the audit; (b) monitoring the audit process; and (c) reporting the audit results to the regulator.

However, the selection of an auditor may be through the FSSAI’s list of empanelled auditors or directly assigned by FSSAI themselves.

Steps toward self-compliance

Traditionally, organisations have been conducting internal and external audits of certain business functions regularly, thereby adhering to ‘self-regulation’ mandates. While these controls may be in place, organisations may still be subjected to limited regulatory reviews for added monitoring and scrutiny. Similarly, the food regulator is looking to assist the FBOs in adopting a ‘self-compliance’ approach and eventually contribute toward providing safe and healthy food for consumers.

Initially, the regulator has proposed to make third-party audits mandatory for only high risk foods. However, it is expected to add more categories of FBOs that would be subjected to similar third-party audits. In the long run, with an increase in the number of FBOs, independent auditors would need to be enrolled across the nation. Once the infrastructure and regulations are in place, the independent audits would potentially become mandatory for all FBOs.

Way forward

Food businesses in India can consider the following to transition to a well-defined compliance ecosystem: (a) being prepared for the possibility of an ISO compliance review by an external agency; (b) mitigating instances of conflict of interest with the chosen or assigned third-party agency; (c) taking timely and corrective actions on the audit findings; and (d) evaluating IT-based food safety audit frameworks with self-generated audit modules.

The food industry in India can look at utilising the window of the third-party food audit regulations that are currently under the draft stage to its utmost potential. The regulations can help organisations review their existing business practices, institutionalise internal controls and be better prepared for external reviews.

Sep 11, 2017

DINAKARAN NEWS

Keep your diet Gluten-Free to stay Healthy!

Bottled water contamination: FSSAI given four weeks for report

Two years ago, researchers at the BARC found the presence of carcinogen (cancer-causing) bromate in packaged drinking water available in Mumbai

After a social activist filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to look into the matter of packaged drinking water containing harmful substances, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has written a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra to look into the matter.

Two years ago, researchers at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) found the presence of carcinogen (cancer-causing) bromate in packaged drinking water available in Mumbai.

Based on this report, an activist filed a complaint on July 7 to the NHRC, who have communicated the petition to FSSAI to seek the action-taken report within four weeks. The FSSAI has further forwarded the complaint to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 22 stating that they should investigate and take action as per provisions of FSS Act 2006 and allied rules and regulations.

The activist, who did not wish to be named, said, "A report must be asked on the study conducted and various matters highlighted by it from FSSAI.

Scorpion found in plate of idli in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool

KURNOOL: A dead scorpion was found in a plate of idli purchased from a roadside eatery at Shareen Nagar in Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh Sunday morning.

M Ramudu, who runs a chicken and mutton stall in Shareen Nagar, purchased a plate of idli for his two-year-old daughter. While the child was eating the idli, he noticed the dead scorpion in it and immediately took it away from the kid.

As the little girl had already consumed one idli, Ramudu was worried and rushed her to hospital. Doctors at the hospital said checked here and said there was nothing to worry about and the girl was alright. Though relieved that his daughter was safe, the furious Ramudu stormed into the hotel along with locals and got into an argument with the hotel owner.

Ramudu decided to lodge a complaint with food safety authorities against the hotel owner for his neglect.

Sep 10, 2017

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN ARTICLE

Contamination of eggs in India and egg standards

New Delhi [India], Sep 09 (ANI): According to a research study, Indian poultry farms lack the technical knowhow of European nations and also follow poor rearing practices.

There are chances that they could be using contaminated feeds or using feed ingredients without any knowledge of their nutritive value which can effect egg production.

Also, unhygienic rearing practices and lack of quality control measures can easily lead to egg contamination. It is not just the poultry farmers but traders, exporters and even consumers are unaware of the health risks of egg contamination.

Developed countries take measures to sterilise the egg surface from contamination especially from Salmonella enteritidis. In India, no such measures are taken and risk of egg contamination increases.

India has become a leading poultry producer but the potential to reach the global markets is not very bright as the quality of the products does not meet international standards. Indian eggs are often rejected for export because of the presence of chemical residues on egg shells.

Recently, a number of eggs in the domestic market, in retail shops were collected and tested and were found to contain large amounts of salmonella both on the shell and inside the egg.

However, fresh eggs collected from farms indicated less salmonella contamination. Since most consumers buy eggs from retail outlets, the chances of contracting salmonella infection increases. Lack of food safety procedures, improper storage facilities and poor transportation are some of the other causes of deterioration in eggs.

The FSSAI has proposed standards for fresh eggs in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2017. These standards will come into force once they are approved. The FSSAI has laid down parameters which state that the eggshells must be free of blood rings, must not be soiled or have faecal matter and they must not be cracked or leaking.

FSSAI has laid emphasis on the storage conditions like moisture and temperature so as to reduce microbial contamination as microbial pathogens are a risk to human health.

Healthy add-ons: How fortified food is making up for missing nutrients

Following an FSSAI drive, companies are enriching milk, salt and wheat with micronutrients like vitamins and iodine.

Data suggests that as much as 70% of Indians suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, consuming less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance.

There could be something missing on your plate, and chances are you would never even know it.

Most Indians are not getting enough micronutrients — those vitamins and minerals that we need in really small, trace amounts, in order to remain healthy.

As diets shift towards processed and ‘refined’ foods, which are stripped of many of their nutrients, data is suggesting that as much as 70% of Indians suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, consuming less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA).

In response, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in November launched a large-scale drive to encourage certain foods to be fortified.

These will include milk, edible oil, wheat flour, rice and salt, to be fortified with iron, folic acid, Vitamin B12, A and D, zinc and other micrountrients.

“The campaign will focus on spreading awareness among food suppliers. We are looking at mid-day meal schemes and the Public Distribution System too, since those would benefit large numbers of people,” says Pawan Agrawal, CEO of the FSSAI.

One early success story is Mother Dairy, one of the largest milk suppliers in Delhi-NCR.

“We used to have our milk fortified with Vitamin A but we have added Vitamin D this year, following FSSAI recommendations,” says TSR Murli, chief R&D officer at Mother Dairy.

Independently of the FSSAI initiative, companies are finding takers for fortified food products.

ITC Foods, which already had such biscuits and noodles, launched a fortified chakki atta in Delhi a month ago, enriched with iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12.

This new atta variant is in line with the FSSAI mandate of reaching out to the masses with basic fortified foods,” says Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive for foods at ITC.

As awareness grows, consumers are responding too.

“I always try to get milk and milk products that are fortified with Vitamin D as vegetarians otherwise miss out on this important nutrition,” says businesswoman Dashma Wadhwani, 38.

“I made slight alterations in my shopping choices after a consultation with my dietitian, who spoke in favour of fortified foods.”

Experts do warn, however, against consuming such products in excess.

“People often think that if it’s vitamin-fortified juice, they can have as much as they want, forgetting that they are still taking in a lot of sugar or unhealthy preservatives, for instance,” says Richa Anand, chief dietician at Mumbai’s Hiranandani Hospital. “Also, everyone doesn’t need every fortified food out there. If you are not deficient in a certain vitamin, you may as well not pay extra for enriched juice.”

Marketing executive Kishor Varma, 40, switched to fortified biscuits and bread when he decided to improve his lifestyle in an erratic and hectic work schedule but has stopped now.

“My dietician advised against consuming too many biscuits even if they are fortified as one also consumes a lot of processed grain along with it. Now, I have a vitamin-fortified granola bar when I get hunger pangs,” he says.

The ideal, Dr Anand adds, is to focus on consuming as much unprocessed food as possible — and the best way to do that is return to the basics and eat a bowl each of raw fruits and veggies every day.

Sep 9, 2017

Drug resistant germs may spread to agri lands from poultry farms

DINAKARAN NEWS

FSSAI to introduce web-based system for food inspection

Addressing a FICCI conference on retail, FMCG and e- commerce, he said the regulator is modernising food testing labs as part of its efforts to ensure safe and hygienic food is made available to the people.

Food regulatorf FSSAI will soon introduce a technology-based system to ensure that food safety inspection and sampling are conducted in a transparent and objective manner, its CEO Pawan Agarwal said today.

Agarwal said the enforcement of food safety law is done by states and there are no food inspectors in the central agency.

"We recently held a meeting with states' food commissioners. We are introducing a new food safety inspection and sampling system using web-based approach. This will ensure that inspection and sampling is done in a transparent and objective manner," he said.

Agarwal said many food businesses face challenges at the field level with enforcement agencies and therefore there is a need to adopt transparent inspection system.

The FSSAI CEO said that there are 90 government food labs in the country and 135 labs have been set up by the private sector.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seeks to provide a robust framework of food safety in the country and is setting up standards for food products and practices, he said.

In food standards, Agarwal said a lot of progress has been made and standards for 80-85 per cent products are already in place while norms for the remaining are being finalised.

On standard food practices, he said the FSSAI is far behind but it is working with food professionals to develop food safety management practice.

Agarwal also stressed on increasing awareness level among consumers, saying that "consumers should demand best standards from food business operators".

He said compliance and enforcement would become meaningless if there are robust standards and food businesses are able to meet those norms and supply safe food to people.

FSSAI to introduce web-based system for food inspection

The FSSAI CEO said that there are 90 government food labs in the country and 135 labs have been set up by the private sector.

Food regulator FSSAI will soon introduce a technology-based system to ensure that food safety inspection and sampling are conducted in a transparent and objective manner, its CEO Pawan Agarwal said today.