Mar 28, 2018
FSSAI to align licensing norms with GST
NEW DELHI, MARCH 27
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working on amending the registration and licensing regulations for food businesses. It will look at reclassifying food businesses on the basis of their turnover, in a bid to align these norms with GST.
FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said: “We are working on bringing a comprehensive amendment to the licensing and registration regulations for food business operators. The amendments will include classification of licences for food businesses on the basis of turnover in line with GST and MSME norms.”
All food business operators need to register with, or obtain licences from, the authorities at the State or Central level. But small food business operators with a turnover of ₹12 lakh, also known as ‘petty food manufacturers’, are only required to register but not obtain a licence.
Agarwal said the FSSAI proposes to raise the turnover limit for ‘petty food manufacturers’ to ₹20 lakh in line with the GST norms. In addition, it proposes to reduce the number of kind of businesses (KOB) categories from 17 to eigth categories.
At the same time, FSSAI is also focusing on revamping its existing online portal used by companies to register or apply for licences. “We are now developing a new-generation e-portal which will focus not just on registration and licensing applications but also create a compliance history of food businesses. We will call this portal the Food Compliance System and it will be launched in three to five months,” Agarwal added.
The regulator will look at the company’s track record with regards to compliance with standards and labelling norms before issuing fresh licences through the revamped portal.
In a bid to raise the bar of quality and hygiene at restaurants, the FSSAI is launching a framework for voluntary hygiene rating mechanism. The aim is to promote self-compliance of food hygiene and safety among restaurants and inform consumers about hygiene quality in the eateries, he explained.
FSSAI is exploring the option of hiring a third party agency to do the hygiene ratings for restaurants. It is in the process of training food safety advisers for food businesses to promote self-compliance of food safety norms.
It has conducted 800-odd training programmes for food businesses, and The could look at making the hygiene ratings mandatory in a few years.
Cholera cases in Chennai hospital: Food safety and public health officials begin probe
CHENNAI: A day after two patients in a private hospital at Teynampet here tested positive for cholera, food safety and public health officials Wednesday morning initiated an investigation into the source of the water-borne disease.
Three other patients in the same hospital are suspected to have the infection. This is the first time in two years that the state is seeing cholera cases.
Food safety officials will collect 10 food and water samples from the hospital.
Preliminary inquiries have made public health officials suspect that the carrier of the infection could have been a patient from Uganda, one of the two confirmed cases, who showed symptoms of cholera a day after he was admitted to hospital.
"He had carried food from his home country. But we are investigating other angles too -- how the remaining patients got the infection and if there are other cases in the city," said a health official.
Director of public health K Kulandaisamy, designated food safety officer in the city R Kathiravan and Greater Chennai Corporation health officer Dr N A Senthilnathan are probing.
Chennai Corporation deputy commissioner, health, P Madhusudhan said, “As of now the infection is contained within the hospital. We are doing an end to end search to ensure that there is no spread.”
The patients were moved to the isolation ward to prevent spread of the infection. All of them were stable, sources told TOI on Tuesday. They had been admitted to hospital for various reasons, including cancer.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae. Public health experts say it is an extremely virulent disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhea.
Railways told to take action on transport of gutka into Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Taking note of railway officials’ reluctance to check the transport of banned gutka into Tamil Nadu by train, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has written to Indian Railways on March 14 seeking an action taken report on recent seizures in the state.
This comes after Tamil Nadu food safety commissioner P Amudha wrote two letters to FSSAI stating that railway officials in the state appeared to be unaware of the 2016 Supreme Court order banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of gutka. A TOI report on March 3, describing how gutka was being brought in through the Delhi-Kanyakumari Thirukkural bi-weekly express and unloaded at Madurai junction in violation of railway rules, was also attached by Amudha with the letter. Gutka was found to be smuggled through containers on railways by the Chennai police as well.
After a tip-off by social activist Jayaram Venkatesan, railway vigilance and Railway Protection Force (RPF) raided the train and seized a consignment of 200 bundles in February. But they couldn’t file an FIR as they were waiting for the food safety department to test the sample in their laboratory. Authorities also said at the time that as per railway rules, tobacco was not acontraband.
The train was found to be illegally stopped for 20 minutes to unload the consignment, while its scheduled stoppage time is only five minutes.
Asenior railway official in the Madurai division told TOI that they have declared the consignment as contraband. “There is no doubt from our side. The food safety authority has taken the samples on March 15 and the test reports are awaited, after which they will destroy the contraband,” he said. Until the test report comes, the government railway police (GRP) will not be able to file an FIR, he said, adding that two commercial clerks have been chargesheeted in the case.
Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 states that anybody who manufactures, sells, stores or distributes food which is unsafe — causing non-grievous injury — can be imprisoned for one year and fined up to ₹3 lakh.
Venkatesan said there was acollusion of railway employees in the racket. “How can a driver prolong stoppage at a station without collusion? There’s clearly a network which has to be investigated,” he said.
‘Stern action against illegal manufacture, export and sale of creatine monohydrate in Kerala'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Food Safety Commissionerate has put its foot down on the unlicensed manufacture, import and sale of creatine monohydrate, a popular supplement used by bodybuilders and athletes as performance enhancers, in the state.
The order comes in the wake of an instruction issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in December to all states asking them to stop the unlicensed manufacture, import and sale of the supplement. The commissionerate on Tuesday urged the public to inform it about over-the-counter sales and sales through e-platforms on the toll-free number 1800-425-1125.
According to the FSSAI, creatine monohydrate is a product/ingredient for which no standard has, so far, been prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations made under it. “It is also observed that some food business operators having food licences issued by licensing authorities are selling food products in the name of the product containing creatine monohydrate. These activities carried out by the FBOs are illegal and unauthorised,” the FSSAI said.
Creatine monohydrate is one of the supplements that athletes use to build lean muscle mass, increase strength and maximise performance. While formal studies have not been conducted, its indiscriminate use has been on the rise among youngsters.
In December, FSSAI director (Regulatory Compliance) Garima Singh had asked the states to keep an eye on the sale of such products and slap notices on e-commerce businesses that sell these products through their websites. FSSAI had issued notices to e-commerce giants including Amazon and Flipkart and also notified 13 companies engaged in the manufacture and sale of creatine monohydrate.
153 people fall sick after consuming panakam during Srirama Navami celebrations at A Konduru
VIJAYAWADA: As many as 153 persons fell sick with food poisoning after drinking ‘panakam’ (a traditional drink made with jaggery and black pepper powder on the occasion of Srirama Navami festival) at A Konduru in Krishna district. Those who participated in Srirama Navami celebrations at Adda Road and consumed panakam fell sick with the symptoms of diarrhea.
All the victims were from Chaitanya Nagar Thanda and Mantriya Thanda two small habitations located on either side of the road under A Konduru village. The population of the two villages is about 500 of which 39 people were severely affected and rest of them also developed symptoms of diarrhea. The villagers participated in the festival celebrations on Monday evening and had pulihora and panakam distributed as prasadam.
People started falling sick with vomiting, diarrhea and fever over the night and by the morning the number went on increasing in both the habitations. The revenue officials swung into action immediately and shifted them to Tiruvru and Mylavaram government hospitals.
The officials took preventive measures by conducting door to door survey in the two habitations and shifted everyone even with little symptoms to hospitals. A Konduru tahasildar M Suresh Kumar and health officer M Anusha visited every home to make sure that no one was left behind.
Speaking to TOI, Suresh Kumar said, "primarily it appears that the diarrhea was because of food poisoning which took place in panakam. We have noticed that the panakam was mixed in the fertilizer cans. We suspect that the cans might have not been properly cleaned and people fell sick because of chemical contamination. However, the food safety officials have collected samples and a detailed analysis is being done."
Krishna district collector B Lakshmikantam visited the villages and oversaw the measures being taken by the officials. A medical camp was set-up in the villages. Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas and Tiruvuru MLA Rakshana Nidhi also enquired about the incident.
Mar 27, 2018
FSSAI wants food companies to set up teams for manage recalls
In a letter to food companies such as ITC, HUL, Dabur and Nestle, FSSAI said the food companies will also need to submit a ‘fresh plan on the recall management’
New Delhi: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s food regulator, on Monday said it has asked the top 200 food companies that have procured licences from the FSSAI headquarters to set up exclusive teams to manage food recalls if the situation arises in the future.
In a letter written to companies such as Kolkata-based ITC Ltd, the country’s largest packaged goods company Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), New Delhi-based Dabur India Ltd and Nestle India Ltd, the local unit of Swiss packaged food company Nestle SA, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said the companies will also need to submit a “fresh plan on the recall management”.
A copy of the letter has been reviewed by Mint.
The move is part of the food regulator’s plan to “implement food recall regulations across India” that it notified in November 2017, putting the onus on companies by stating that the primary responsibility of implementing any recall lies with food companies, as it believes a recall is directly linked to “serious defects in the manufacturing process”.
It outlined a 10-step process that companies will have to follow for a recall.
The regulator has also asked companies to submit details of the food recall team within 30 days and the fresh recall plan within 60 days from 20 March, 2018.
The directive comes almost three years after FSSAI ordered Nestle India to recall Maggi instant noodles for alleged presence of monosodium glutamate and excess lead on 5 June 2015, which turned out to be the largest food recall in India ever.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, we always abide by all relevant norms and regulations,” a Nestlé India spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
According to the FSSAI letter, the food recall plan will be reviewed by FSSAI’s regional offices every time any of the 200 food companies applies for renewal of its licence.
“Recall is not a common thing in India. The regulator’s directive is part of preventive measures to assure consumers that companies make and sell safe food. This might have some cost pressure on companies, but that is not unjustified,” said Rajat Wahi, partner (management consulting) at consulting firm Deloitte India.
Siegwerk seeks Inks based on Toulene banned
Mr Pradhan, however, admitted that by switching to non-toluene based ink, the company will lose out on nearly 85 per cent of the market.
Hyderabad: While the European Union has strict norms on ink used for packing of food to prevent health hazard, India, in comparison, has norms that are voluntary.
With the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) initiating talks to implement stricter norms, Siegwerk, which produces ink for the flexible packing industry, on Monday, urged regulators to include toluene-based ink in the list of banned substances.
The company, which has shunned Toluene-based inks from its portfolio, hopes that the chemical — a health risk — should be included among the list of banned
substances.
Siegwerk India CEO Ashish Pradhan said, “Over the past decade, the EU has strengthened its norms on food packaging after scandals emerged that toluene-based ink used in packaged foods migrate past to contaminate the food. Although India already a standard in place on packaged foods, it’s voluntary.”
“Even a country like Sri Lanka has made a stand against such ink. However, about 90 per cent of the market in India is still using toluene-based inks," he added.
When asked about possible substitutes and its impact, Mr Pradhan said, “There are alternatives already available that are on par in cost or slightly on the higher side.
Companies in the EU have switched to alternatives. There would hardly need to upgrade their machineries as non-toluene-based inks can be used in the same machines.”
Mr Pradhan, however, admitted that by switching to non-toluene based ink, the company will lose out on nearly 85 per cent of the market.
Food Adulteration On A Rise In Maharashtra
The cases of food adulteration have risen to double the amount in Maharashtra in the last three years says a report by the Free Press Journal based on the data given by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry. The publication talked to a senior official of the ministry who said the adulteration had risen from 1162 to 2529 between 2015 and 2017 in the state.
NO ARRESTS MADE
The report further said that no arrests have been made so far in the case of food adulteration in the state. 10,716 food samples were collected and 10,030 were tested in 2016-17 and out of these 2,529 were found to be adulterated. A recent report claimed that the government had decided that the persons’ involved in milk adulteration will be arrestedon a non-bailable basis.
“It is strange as no one was convicted in 2016-17 compared to 75 and 24 who were convicted in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. They all had to face legal action for selling and marketing adulterated food items,” said RPY Rao, president, Society for Awareness of Civil Rights to the Free Press Journal. He also told the publication that the adjudication process of the Foods and Drug Administration (FDA) is faulty due to which no arrests were made.
“But against the norms, in Maharashtra, the adjudication process is headed by four joint commissioners who are not fit to hold legal proceedings. Although the state has collected more than Rs 1 crore in fines, the total cost of efforts and time invested by employees is much more than that,” he added.
4 fall sick after ‘eating prasad’
GURUGRAM: Four persons fell sick allegedly after eating prasad at a temple in Gurugram late on Sunday evening. They were rushed to Civil Lines hospital, where doctors suspected that they might have had laddoos laced with sedatives or narcotic substance.
A preliminary probe revealed that Sumitra (70), Manju (45), Hitesh (38) and Rashmi (35), all of the same family from Shyamnagar in Hapur (UP), had gone to offer prayers on the occasion of Ram Navami and ate laddoos offered as prasad at the temple. A close family friend, who had also gone to the temple, said the four complained of sickness soon after and were rushed to the general hospital around midnight.
“We kept them under observation for a few hours and then referred them to the Safdarjung hospital for toxicology tests,” said Pradeep Sharma, the principal medical officer at the general hospital.
Police said the four persons were out of danger now. No FIR has been filed in the case.
Mar 26, 2018
FDA turns tap off for six packaged water plants
“The demand for packaged drinking water usually shoots up during summer. Besides, there is a tendency to offer packaged drinking water at all kinds of events where people gather in large number including wedding functions, social and cultural events taking place not just in the cities, but also in rural areas,” said SS Desai, the joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune division.
“To cash in on the increasing drinking water demand, people start packaged drinking water plants without acquiring the mandatory licences. Without the licences, the functioning of such plants is illegal,” Desai added.
Of the six plants found operating without the mandatory licences, one was from Pune city and the remaining five from Kolhapur.
“It has been found that such illegally operating packaged drinking water plants do not even have a laboratory, which is necessary to check water potability. They also have no test reports of the processed water from other laboratories,” Desai said.
“Most illegal plants fill the bottles from taps or groundwater sources and sell them as processed drinking water. Many even supply water without ISO certification. The demand for packaged water is so high that consumers often don’t even ask about the certification,” said health activist Sanjay Dabhade.
Bottling unit owners have to invest up to Rs 2 lakh, while a standard water-processing plant needs about Rs 20 lakh to set up. According to an estimate, the city consumes between 30,000 and 40,000 bottles of 20-litre capacity per day.
Mar 25, 2018
Arsenic contamination in ‘boro’ rice: FSSAI cautions farmers on excessive use of ground water
KOLKATA, MARCH 24
Increased dependence on groundwater during ‘boro’ cultivation could lead to arsenic contamination in crops.
According to Ashish Bahuguna, Chairman, FSSAI, farmers could look at alternatives like drought resistance paddy; high yielding varieties or other long stem crops where chances of contamination are much less.
FSSAI or the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is the autonomous body looking after food safety and regulations in the country.
“The excessive use of sub-surface or ground water during boro irrigation could lead to arsenic contamination. Farmers could look at different variety of drought-resistance seeds, go for long stem crops or other solutions,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a CII seminar organised in the city.
Citing Bangladesh as an instance, the senior bureaucrat pointed out how the neighbouring country discouraged ‘boro’ rice cultivation and reduced its dependence to avoid such contamination.
Bengal, he said, could also take a cue from Bangladesh, for areas which are prone to arsenic contamination.
Common Regulation
According to Bahuguna, the FSSAI is also in favour of unified regulations regarding organic food products. Labelling norms are expected to be in operation soon. Pegged as a premium offering, organic products command at least 30-40 per cent more price than their non-organic counterparts.
When it comes to organic farming in India, Sikkim has shown the way.
Declared the first ‘Organic State’ in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, Sikkim State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd (SIMFED) recently launched its brand of organic products.
SIMFED works with more than 40,000 farmers on almost 35,000 hectares of agricultural land in 10 states of the country.
Warning to manufacturers
The Food Safety and Standards wing of the Health Department has warned manufacturers of fake and unbranded beverages with penal action, including a fine of Rs. 5 lakh. In a statement here, the competent authority for Dakshina Kannada said that several beverages were found to be sold in fictitious names or without any brand name and without food licence or registration thereby violating the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.
11 illegal drinking water plants shut, pipelines ran through sewage canals
VIJAYAWADA: As many as 11 water plants were shut down in Vijayawada on Saturday.
In a joint operation conducted by food control and revenue department sleuths, it was found that most water plants, which supply drinking water cans, were breaking prescribed rules. The officials noted that almost all water plants were not fit to supply drinking water. The rules which were commonly broken were poor hygienic conditions, no Bureau of Indian Standards licence, no license from local bodies, no labour licence and no licence from revenue department for borewells.
Further, sources said a number of water pipelines are passing through sewerage canals where the lines have developed leakages. Assistant controller of food safety in Krishna district N Purnachandra Rao was shocked to find that most water plants do not have necessary licences.
“They should get Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) licence but they are conveniently escaping the routine by using loopholes. They bracket themselves under purified drinking water instead of packaged drinking water. Technicalities of Food Safety Act are aiding them,” said Purnachandra Rao.
Food Safety Act only applies to packaged products and every packaged product should have a label with product description, manufacturer details and also the customer care contact details. However, water plants in the city do not even have licences from local bodies, labour department or even the licence for bore-well from the revenue department.
Only 14 water plants have BIS licence in Vijayawada city. According to an estimate, more than 100 water plants are being operated in Vijayawada alone and about 1,000 plants across Krishna district. Speaking to TOI, Purnachandar Rao said they are booking cases under section 133 CrPC for causing damage to public health. The drinking water that these plants are supplying is not at all safe and can cause many diseases including diarrhoea. Interestingly, the NTR Sujala Sravanti water plants initiated by the state government are also running without BIS licenses.
Mar 24, 2018
Packaged food companies may have to stop using toluene-based ink for packaging
Suppliers of packaging material don't need any major capital investment to shift to toluene-free inks.
Leading packaged food giants such as PepsiCo, Nestle, HUL and ITC may have to change their packaging practices owing to safety concerns about certain chemicals currently being used to print labels and packages.
Under the new standards, which are currently being formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), several harmful chemicals including toluene, a chemical used in paint thinners, may be banned for printing ink for food packaging, Times of India reported.
Toluene is known to cause liver and kidney damage and has already been banned for use in the food industry by several countries including Sri Lanka, where printing associations have voluntarily taken a stand to stop its use.
Most packaged food companies in India, however, use toluene-based solvent for printing ink.
“Around 80 perecnt FMCG companies in India still use toluene-based solvents in packaging materials,” Ashish Pradhan, CEO of the Indian arm of Siegwerk, a German firm that supplies printing ink solutions to companies, told the paper.
However, major packaged food companies like Nestle and Hindustan Unilever said they comply with the existing consumer safety norms.
A Nestle India spokesperson assured that all packaging material coming in direct contact with food is toluene-free, adding that the firm is planning to stop using toluene altogether by the end of this year.
An HUL spokesperson also told the paper that they conform to global and local guidelines.
Several studies have revealed that toluene can migrate between layers of packaging, the report said.
Suppliers of packaging material don't need any major capital investment to shift to toluene-free inks.
“The current printing equipment, which runs toluene-based inks, can also run toluene-free inks,” an industry expert told the paper.The the cost implication of this transition, however, depends on several factors like type of print job, type of equipment, and printing expenses apart from the cost of ink, the expert added.
FSSAI had sealed Guruvayurappan College mess
The college authorities have also suspended the hostel warden and mess in- charge for acting irresponsibly.
Students on protest at Guruvayurappan arts and science college
KOZHIKODE: After the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India officials here sealed the hostel mess of Guruvayurappan Arts and Science College, the department started getting more complaints from the inmates of various other colleges and private hostels here. According to the officials, more than 10 complaints have been received in the office about the poor quality of food supplied in some of the hostels here.
This has led the department to prepare an action plan to conduct stringent inspection of both private and Government owned colleges and other hostels here. “After our inspection at Guruvayurappan college, we were appalled seeing the condition of the college mess, that has stored all its food under unhygienic conditions”, said FSSAI assistant commissioner P.K. Eliyamma.
“The quality of the food being supplied to student hostels is worse than that of the food given to animals. In the college we even found food grains already passed their expiry months ago. Batter and dough for dosa and chapathi respectively are more than three weeks old. Adding to the woes is the terrible condition of the place in which these food materials are stored,” she added. Samples of food items including rice and other pulses and cereals, refined oil has been taken and sent for food safety test. Guruvayurappan college authorities have been directed to clean and rectify all the drawbacks of the hostel mess by Monday. The college authorities have also suspended the hostel warden and mess in- charge for acting irresponsibly.
KMC conducts drive on Dacres Lane, finds chemicals in food
"We have found chemicals used in spices at a number of street food stalls on Dacres Lane. We have given them the last warning.
At some registered restaurants, we have found harmful chemicals being used to give reddish colour to curries," Ghosh
said.
The food inspectors also found that turmeric powder used at various eateries were of inferior quality.
In a particular restaurant, chemical was found in cooked egg curry and the entire stuff was destroyed by the inspectors.
"We have collected samples of cooked as well as raw chicken from both restaurants as well as street food stalls and will examine them in our food laboratory to ascertain whether chemical like formalin is used," Ghosh said.
The civic body in the wake of complaints about dead chicken being supplied to the city from Baduria in North 24-Parganas have started their drive right from Monday and have been picking up samples of cooked and raw meat from various
eateries across the city.
"If irregularities are found with the eateries that are registered with the civic body action will be taken as per law on violations on Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act. In case of roadside eateries, we will lodge complaint with the Enforcement Branch of Kolkata Police urging them to take action under Section 272 and 273 of Indian Penal Code," a food safety officer said.
Rs 1.40 lakh fine imposed on 12 food traders
SRINAGAR, Mar 23: The court of Adjudicating Officer (Addl Deputy Commissioner), Vikas Kundal, imposed a fine of Rs 1,40,000 on food business operators for allegedly selling sub-standard and misbranded food items.
Against whom the action has been taken by the Department of Drug and Food Control Organisation are: Mustard Oil manufacturer namely Vishal Goel Prop. of M/s PD Foods Punjab and spurious Groundnut Chakki manufacturer namely-Danish Sidique operating from Safa Kadal who have been slapped a fine of Rs 40,000 and Rs 30,000, respectively.
Meanwhile, 40 fresh cases have been instituted by the Food Safety wing of Drugs and Food Control Orgnisation in the court of Adjudicating Officer Srinagar against various food business operators for violating different provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act.
Another lassi-making unit, two outlets closed in Kochi
KOCHI: Officials of the food safety department (FSD) sealed one more lassi manufacturing unit at Kunnumpuram in Edappally on Friday after they found that it was operating without a food safety licence. Two lassi shops, one near Ernakulam North railway station and another at Kaloor, were also closed for operating without licence.
“Unlike the other day, we didn’t find any unhygienic conditions in the lassi manufacturing unit at Kunnumpuram but it was operating without a licence and necessary legal documents. We have also carried out inspections in five lassi shops in the city and of them, three were given closure notices for functioning sans licence,” said Zakeer Hussain, food safety enforcement officer.
The units will remain closed until the food safety norms are complied with, he added.
FSD officials said that samples of all the flavours and mixes collected from the warehouses in the last two raids have been sent to the regional chemical laboratory at Kakkanad.
“We expect a detailed report in two weeks’ time. The samples have been given to check whether any chemical other than permitted flavours have been added,” said K V Shibu, Ernakulam food safety officer.
Officials said that the warehouses in which the mixing was done ahead of supply to shops had unhygienic conditions. The lassi manufacturing unit at Karukapilly in Kaloor was sealed on Wednesday after officials found old worm-infested buttermilk, buckets of buttermilk buckets lying open next to the toilets and even dog poop.
The unhygienic conditions were first noticed during an inspection carried out by the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) officials. They conducted raids after it came to their notice that the lassi shops mushrooming in the city have been evading tax despite huge turnover in sales. GST enforcement wing immediately alerted the food safety officials following which a surprise raid was carried out.
Meanwhile, the Kochi corporation’s health wing and food safety department have decided to intensify raids on all the lassi shops and manufacturing units operating in the city to assess the quality of beverage being served there.
Mayor Soumini Jain said that most of the lassi shops in the city have been functioning without the licence of corporation’s health wing.
Health standing committee of the Kochi corporation has directed the secretary of the local body to prepare a report on all juice vending shops in the city.
“Stringent action will be taken against those shops selling unhealthy juices prepared in unhygienic conditions as well as those operating without license,” said Minimol V K, health standing committee chairperson.
Mar 23, 2018
No market access to organic farmers if not certified
NEW DELHI: If you are an organic farmer, now you cannot sell your produce through a retailer or other channels unless it is certified to be organic and carries a label with information on the organic status of the produce. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notification recently laying down the requirements organic foods need to comply with. But farmer groups believe making certification a pre-requisite to sale of organic produce is an impediment for both existing organic farmers and farmers who are trying to transition to organic farming.
Only “small original producer or producer organisation” who market their produce through direct sales as determined by FSSAI will be exempted from the conditions in the notification. Farmer groups including Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) have pointed that not giving organic farmers access to the markets without first getting certified is going to slow down the organic food momentum. Certification by third party auditors is going to come at a cost to both the farmers and consumers, most farmers will not be able to do the paperwork needed to obtain and maintain organic certification or pay for it. “As the food safety regulator, you are aware of the all-pervasive contamination by agro-chemicals, including of groundwater. We believe that organic farming has to be supported in all ways possible for it to spread to larger areas in a short span, given the need of the hour…When certification is made legally mandatory on all organic farmers, with very limited exemptions, that has cost implications for both farmers and consumers. The regulation could deter farmers to shift to, and pursue safer food production systems, because it will involve higher burden on farmers, beyond their financial and other capabilities,” members of ASHA stated FSSAI in a letter recently.
“The FSSAI is basically saying that farmers will not have access to markets unless they are certified. Its not possible for all farmers to pay for or maintain the records needed for certification. Instead we are suggesting that the government certify by verifying their produce from time to time free of cost. Or, all farmers who are selling directly to consumers or to a retailer should be exempted because in that case the farmer and consumer know each other," said Kavitha Kuruganti, convenor, ASHA. The notification allows for certification by participatory guarantee system of India (PGS-India) but “only some farmers who are covered under some flagship organic farming programmes are getting government support mainly through the PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) quality assurance vehicle,” ASHA’s letter added. “Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA’s) TRACENET (for organic certification) system for instance, is premised on an assumption that farmers are being supported by others to deal with onerous systems like TRACENET, where access to internet, loads of paperwork and English based transactions is a must.” Farmers added.
Meanwhile, the FSSAI has set up an expert panel for implementation of notification. “We received submissions from organic farmers on this issue. But what is their proposal? We cannot allow any product to be called organic and allow the consumer to be cheated. The notification says small farmers who have earned the trust of consumers may be exempted. We are still deliberating on the submissions we have got and will not go against the interest of farmers,” said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI.
Food companies may be forced to change printing norms
- The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working to update the current standard (IS 15495) for printing ink for food packaging and several harmful chemicals
- However, studies have revealed that toluene can migrate between layers of packaging
- Toluene, a chemical used in paint thinners, has been known to cause liver and kidney damage in humans
NEW DELHI: Packaged food companies in India, including ITC, HUL, PepsiCo and Nestle, may soon have to change their printing and packaging norms due to safety issues with certain chemicals currently being used to print labels and packages.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working to update the current standard (IS 15495) for printing ink for food packaging and several harmful chemicals, including toluene, may be banned with the new standards coming into effect.
Toluene, a chemical used in paint thinners, has been known to cause liver and kidney damage in humans. It has been banned in the food industry in several countries, while in others such as Sri Lanka, printing associations have voluntarily taken a stand to shun it.
“Around 80% FMCG companies in India still use toluene-based solvents in packaging materials,” said Ashish Pradhan, CEO of the Indian arm of Siegwerk, a German firm that supplies printing ink solutions to companies.
In reply to an email, a Nestle India spokesperson said, “As a responsible corporate citizen, we are always committed to comply with all existing regulations and guidelines. As regards to your query, we ensure that all packaging material coming in direct contact with food is toluene free.” The company plans to stop using toluene altogether by 2018.
An HUL spokesperson said, “At Unilever, we design all our packaging based on product requirements, using global and local guidelines, meeting consumer safety norms.”
However, studies have revealed that toluene can migrate between layers of packaging. ITC and PepsiCo did not reply to emails from TOI.
If the new norms are put in place, printing experts said, FMCG companies have to mandate the usage of toluene-free inks in their technical specifications of packaging material to their packaging suppliers. For instance, Swiss food giant Nestle has done the same in certain markets.
“For the packaging suppliers, there is no requirement for any major/capital investment to run toluenefree inks,” said the industry experts. “The current printing equipment, which runs toluene-based inks, can also run toluene-free inks. It is difficult to estimate the cost implication of this transition as it depends on several factors like type of print job, type of equipment, printing expenditure, apart from ink cost. Having said this, it is important to keep in mind that the ink costs are a fraction of the total packaging cost of any product.”
Kochi's lassi shops under scanner
KOCHI: A day after a lassi manufacturing unit was sealed at Karukappilly for operating under extremely unhygienic conditions, the Food Safety Department and the Kochi Corporation's heath wing have decided to inspect all lassi shops in the city to assess the quality of the beverage being served there.
The corporation and food safety officers said sample from each lassi will be taken and tested to assess whether any type of chemical contents are used in the beverage, which normally is a blend of yoghurt, water, spices and fruit.
“We cannot act against lassi shops straightaway. Since most of the shops were getting the lassi supplied from the now-sealed manufacturing unit, samples from all the shops will be collected and sent to the Regional Analytical Lab at Kakkanad for inspection. Only after getting the lab report can we take action against the shops,” said district food safety officer K V Shibu. “We will not let any shop sell unhygienic drinks to the public,” he said.
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The lassi manufacturing unit at Karukappilly had been sealed on Wednesday after officers found dog poop, artificial chemicals and worm-invested vessels adjacent to the area where the lassi was being prepared.
An inspection by the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Department had found over 100 lassi shops had been opened within the city limits recently.
The Corporation is yet to identify the owner of the sealed lassi manufacturing unit. “We have got information a man from Kannur ran the firm. He has been asked to come to the Corporation, but is yet to do so. Strict action will be taken against him. We are also planning to register a case against him,” said Mayor Soumini Jain.
Meanwhile, the items seized from the lassi manufacturing unit at Karukappilly have been disposed of at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant.
Prior permission must for annadhanam during Arupathu Moovar festival
To reduce food wastage during the course of the festival, Mylapore Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Saravanan has put certain rules and regulations in place this year.
According to a press release, those who wish to distribute food, water and juices as part of annadhanam must get prior permission from the police, especially on the days the car festival and Arupathu Moovar festival will be conducted.
People who are found carrying food items for distribution without permission will not be allowed to enter the streets.
“This will be strictly enforced by Police personnel and volunteers in view of the safety of the public and to reduce food wastage and waste generation on the Mada Streets,” said the DCP in the release.
Vishwesharayya, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mylapore, says, “This year, we are allowing only those who have been practising annadhanam for the last 40 to 50 years into the mada streets. Ten such members have approached us already. Others may perform annadhanam in areas away from the Mada streets; Sai Baba Koil, for example. They can come to the station and write a petition.”
Additional measures
* Temple authorities have been asked to make arrangements to install CCTV cameras at all the shops on Mada streets that do not have one.
*LED screens, which will be installed at three spots, will broadcast the car procession as well as display advertisements and public messages issued by the City Police.
* Households that perform annadhanam have been instructed to distribute food before and/or after the car festival on their respective streets.
* Each Mada street will have been assigned a Deputy Commissioner and a team, including two Assistant Commissioners. A watchtower, patrol vehicles and a crime team in muftis have been deployed.
A special security team has been arranged inside and outside the temple. “We have requested for a drone to ensure extra surveillance,” says the ACP.
* Interestingly, women devotees and visitors will be given safety pins to pin their chains to their dresses to prevent chain snatching.
Additionally, banners and posters explaining how to protect their belongings, along with phone numbers, will be put up.
FDA closes packaged drinking water plant
PUNE: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials on Thursday closed down a packaged drinking water plant in Baner for operating without mandatory licences.
As per the norms, licences from the Bureau of Indian Standard(BIS) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) are prerequisites to run a packaged drinking water plant.
“The plant was shut down after we found that it was operating without necessary licences. The owner has been directed to keep the plant closed till all the required conditions are fulfilled,” SS Desai, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune, told TOI.
The increased demand for processed drinking water, especially during summer, has resulted in proliferation of packaged drinking water plants. To make easy money, some plant owners compromise on the quality of water, which can put people’s lives at risk, FDA officials said.
FDA had drawn 136 samples of packaged drinking water from Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Amaravati, Nagpur and Pune between March 1, 2016 and April 31, 2017. Of them, 48 samples were found to be of poor quality and labels on some of the bottles were found tampered. Of the 15 samples found unsafe, five were drawn from Mumbai, four from Pune, three from Nashik, two from Aurangabad and one from Amaravati.
“The samples from Pune were detected with rod-shaped bacteria, exposure to which can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting,” Desai said.
Mar 21, 2018
FSSAI finalizes guidelines to curb doping in sports
FSSAI will now regulate both offline and online retailers, importers and makers to ensure that performance-enhancing substances are not present in nutritional supplements available off-the-shelf
New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday finalized guidelines to curb the use of prohibited performance-enhancing substances in nutritional supplements by sports professionals.
The country’s food regulator will now regulate both offline and online retailers, importers and manufacturers to ensure that doping substances are not present in food, beverages and nutritional supplements sold off the shelf, the regulator said in the guidance document on the use of supplements for sports persons. Mint has seen a copy of the document. Besides trying to squeeze the availability of products that could have possible doping substances, the food regulator has specified what sports persons should not consume to avoid possible doping. “The primary purpose of the guidance document on the use of supplements or products intended for sports person is an attempt to provide information not only on the use but also about the labelling and claims for the products. The stakeholders are ranging from sports persons to supplement manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and general public who will use the information provided in the document,” FSSAI noted.
In the guidance document, FSSAI has outlined requirements for manufacturers, retailers and importers regarding requirement of registration and licensing with the regulator, label and claims, authenticity, traceability and date marking. Companies engaged in the business must comply with the methods issued by Canada-headquartered World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) which is revised every year.
“The manufacturers must comply with food safety and standards regulations on labelling, packaging, claims and advertisement with regard to labels, claims and packaging of the health supplements,” noted FSSAI. The need for regulating food products from possible use of doping substances came after Wada, in its doping violation report for 2015, ranked India third after the Russian Federation and Italy. In 2015, 117 athletes failed to clear dope tests. The food regulator has finalized the norms based on suggestions of a working group consisting of representatives from National Anti-Doping Agency (Nada), Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Narcotics Control Bureau, among others.
The Indian government had, in 2013, drafted the National Sports Development Bill that highlighted elimination of doping practices. As per a 27 April 2017 report in The Indian Express, the government has been working on a new legislation to make doping by athletes a criminal offence and the proposed law could include coaches, manufacturers and suppliers of these products.
FSSAI on 15 September 2017 signed a five-year agreement with Nada to develop capacities at its laboratories to test for the presence of restricted or prohibited substances in food and nutritional supplements.
Food safety dept. bans wrapping food in newspaper
‘The ink contains multiple bioactive materials and might lead to adverse health issues’
The Department of Food Safety has issued an order prohibiting storage, distribution and sale of food articles packed in newspapers as it poses serious health threats. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had already banned the use of newspapers for wrapping food items.
In a statement, G.L. Upadhyaya, Deputy Food Safety Commissioner said that foods contaminated by newspaper ink raise serious health concerns since the ink contains multiple bioactive materials with known negative health effects.
Pathogenic organisms
Printing ink may also contain harmful colours, pigments, binders, additive and preservatives. Besides chemical contaminants, pathogenic micro organisms in used newspapers pose potential risk to human health.
According to Mr. Upadhyaya, newspapers and even paper/cardboard boxes made of recycled paper may be contaminated with metallic contaminants, mineral oils and harmful chemicals like phthalates which can cause digestive problems and also lead to severe toxicity.
Older people, teenagers, children and people with compromised vital organs and immune systems are at a greater risk of acquiring cancer-related health complications, if they are exposed to food packed in such material.
In view of the above harmful effects, newspapers should not be used to wrap, cover and serve food or to absorb excess oil from fried food. The Food Business Operators (FBOs) are requested not to use newspapers as food packaging material. Instead, they can use alternative packaging materials such as plantain leaves.
Mar 20, 2018
Consumer literacy is need of the hour
Adulteration of food items is commonly practised all over the world by the trade bodies. When the price of food production is higher than the price which the consumer is prepared to pay, the seller is compelled to supply a food product of inferior quality, thus occurs the adulteration.
Adulteration is one of the biggest problem faced at the present time and all food items like milk and milk products, vegetables oil and fats, spices and condiments, beverages like coffee, tea, even rice and water are adulterated from many ways.
Adulteration causes many diseases like cancer, lathyrism (neurological disease often resulting in weakness and paralysis of the legs.), liver disease, cardiac failure, kidney diseases and nervous system related diseases.
Besides the common adulterer food items, below are the items which our children and youngsters are consumed daily in the form of snacks.
Chocolates
Chocolates may be regarded as the world’s most popular snack food. An average American consumes over four kgs of chocolates annually, while in Switzerland the world’s leading chocolate producer, a Swiss consumes over double this amount.
South Asia also have a sweet tooth and consumes a considerable amount of sweet, including chocolates. However, it has recently come to light that chocolates can become contaminated in spite of the fact that it has been consumed for centuries without any complaint of any apparent ill effect.
Some of these contaminations are discussed as - heavy metal contamination: It might sound surprising, but heavy metal contamination can be a problem in the case of chocolate too! Since cocoa powder is the key ingredient for making chocolates, the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) has fixed the upper permissible levels for two heavy metals, these are lead and copper.
As per the food safety and standards (contaminants, toxins and residues) regulations, 2011, the maximum level of these heavy metals in cocoa powder are as:
Lead: 5.0 ppm by weight, on the dry fat-free substance.
Copper: 7.0 ppm by weight on the fat-free substance. (Most contaminants are expressed as Parts per Million (PPM).
This means that the concentration of the particular substance is very low, even though the regulatory agency may consider it a significant amount.
One PPM is one part of million or the value is equivalent to the absolute fractional amount multiplied by one million.
Therefore, these metals can cause health hazards in case of continuous consumption of the chocolates containing lead and copper in the upper permissible levels. The lead exposure can cause damage to the central nervous systems, leading to learning difficulties and lower IQ in infants and young children.
Copper exposure can cause general weakness, hypothyroidism, depression, constipation and low blood pressure.
Potato chips and noodles
As per the study was done by the Ahmedabad based Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) on some popular brands of potato chips/noodles and they revealed that almost all the brands available in the market contain harmful levels of sodium and fat, as excess fat content would trigger health problems like obesity and excessive usage of sodium could cause hypertension.
To make these potato chips and noodles tastier, manufacturers are using taste enhancers, commonly known as E 631.This E 631 is Disodium inosinate and comes from inosinic acid and is naturally found in a variety of animals, such as pigs or fish. This taste enhancer in the potato chips and noodles may cause diseases like Asthma and gout.
Soft drinks
The soft drink sector of the market is a much bigger money-spinner than the bottled water segment.
As per the tests, conducted by the pollution monitoring laboratory (PML) of the centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The agency analysed the content of 12 its growing popularity means that children and teenagers, who glug these bottles, are drinking a toxic potion.
Soft drink brands sold in and around Delhi and were tested for organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides and synthetic pyrethroids - all commonly used in India as insecticides.
The test results were shocking as those of bottled water samples contained residues of four extremely toxic pesticides and insecticides: Lindane, DDT, Malathion and Chlorpyrifos.
The higher level of these pesticides and insecticides present in the soft drinks may cause cancer and damage to the nervous and reproductive system in the humans.
Tail piece
There have been various instances of food adulteration in Jammu Kashmir, and people are suffering from gastric problems due to consumption of adulterated food items.
It is highly unlikely that more legislation or increase fines and jail terms alone will reduce adulteration, particularly given the corruption that exists in the enforcement area and low conviction rate.
Greater consumer vigilance and action can help to improve the situation. But such efforts are not fruitful unless consumers themselves are aware of their rights and responsibilities.
Under these circumstances, consumer literacy is the need of the hour with special attention to the low-income groups who suffer the most.
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