Tamil Nadu named best state for active participation in Swasth Bharat Yatra

A pan-Indian cycle rally was organised under 'Swasth Bharat Yatra' to sensitize people about eating safe food and being healthy.

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu has been declared as the best state for its active participation in the national campaign 'Swasth Bharat Yatra', which was launched on October 16 last year under which a pan-India cycle rally was organised to sensitize people about eating safe food and being healthy, food regulator FSSAI said Monday.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the 105-day cyclothon will culminate in a grand finale scheduled at Connaught Place in the central Delhi.

The cyclothon began from six different locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkota and Agartala on six different tracks in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered over 20,000 km across 36 States and UTs spreading the message of 'Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Fortified', he added. "The campaign has re-energized the food safety departments at States level," Agarwal said, adding that this movement would go a long way in meeting the objective of ensuring safe and nutritious food to every citizen.

The relay cycling is a part of the 'Eat Right India' movement, a one-of-a-kind, pan-India, public health revolution to create a sustainable culture and habit of safe and healthy diets. "The goal of this campaign (cyclothon) was achieved through engagement activities and events in more than 2,100 locations along the Yatra and the creation of over 21,000 local, community 'Eat Right Champions' who would sustain this movement in the future," the regulator said in a statement.

With more than 10 lakh participants and 2.5 crore people reached, the yatra has made 'Eat Right India' a people's movement, it added. Agarwal said about 250 awards and certificates will be distributed to recognize the tremendous effort of states. Tamil Nadu has been declared the 'Best State Overall' for its exemplary participation.

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were adjudged the best states with a population above 3 crores. Punjab, Goa and Delhi have been recognised as the best states having a population less than 3 crores, the statement said. Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand were given special awards for their participation despite their hilly and difficult terrain.

Several associations will be recognised for their commendable effort in spreading the message of 'Eat Right'. NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra would be honoured for their enthusiastic participation and commendable efforts throughout the yatra.

Tamil Nadu named best state for active participation in Swath Bharat Yatra: FSSAI

Tamil Nadu has been declared as the best state for its active participation in the national campaign 'Swasth Bharat Yatra', which was launched on October 16 last year under which a pan-India cycle rally was organised to sensitise people about eating safe food and being healthy, food regulator FSSAI said Monday.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the 105-day cyclothon will culminate in a grand finale scheduled at Connaught Place in the central Delhi.

The cyclothon began from six different locations - Leh, Panaji, Thiruvananthapuram, Puducherry, Kolkota and Agartala on six different tracks in which more than 10,000 volunteer cyclists covered over 20,000 km across 36 States and UTs spreading the message of 'Eat Safe, Eat Healthy and Eat Fortified', he added.

"The campaign has re-energised the food safety departments at States level," Agarwal said, adding that this movement would go a long way in meeting the objective of ensuring safe and nutritious food to very citizen.

The relay cycling is a part of the 'Eat Right India' movement, a one-of-a-kind, pan-India, public health revolution to create a sustainable culture and habit of safe and healthy diets.

"The goal of this campaign (cyclothon) was achieved through engagement activities and events in more than 2,100 locations along the Yatra and the creation of over 21,000 local, community 'Eat Right Champions' who would sustain this movement in the future," the regulator said in a statement.

With more than 10 lakh participants and 2.5 crore people reached, the yatra has made 'Eat Right India' a people's movement, it added.

Agarwal said about 250 awards and certificates will be distributed to recognise the tremendous effort of states.

Tamil Nadu has been declared the the 'Best State Overall' for its exemplary participation. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were adjudged the best states with population above 3 crore. Punjab, Goa and Delhi have been recognised as the best states having population less than 3 crore, the statement said.

Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand were given special awards for their participation despite their hilly and difficult terrain.

Several associations will be recognised for their commendable effort in spreading the message of 'Eat Right'. NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra would be honoured for their enthusiastic participation and commendable efforts throughout the yatra.

Do-at-home tests can ensure purity of oil, ghee

Govt, public should work together to deal with problem

The authorities concerned should collect oil and ghee samples from the market and examine them at regular intervals. 

The authorities concerned should collect samples from the market and examine them at regular intervals for quality and purity. Samples which are not up to the mark should be immediately banned. Sale of such adulterated ghee and oil should be stopped and strict action should be taken so as to teach those guilty a lesson for playing with the lives of others. Shopkeepers selling adulterated ghee and oil should be punished by cancelling their licences.

Ekroop Kaur

Strict rules must

Adulteration not only in milk and ghee but in every commodity has become common. To prevent consumption of such adulterated goods, strict rules and laws must be formed to regulate and to monitor activities in the market. It should be treated as criminal offence and guilty must be pushed behind the bars. To earn a few extra bucks, they are playing with the life of others. A nodal agency must be formed to ensure purity and quality of ghee and milk being supplied to the public. Each milk vendor and trader must seek permission from this agency for selling products. If anyone becomes victim to any sort of health problem after consuming anything edible, he/she must claim compensation from supplier.

Farzana Khan

Food inspectors should be vigilant

All needed steps must be taken to make sure that adulterated ghee and oil do not reach consumers. The first step required is to check that such adulterated ghee and oil are neither available in the market nor sold. For this, food inspectors must be vigilant and keep checking shopkeepers dealing in these commodities by collecting samples, getting them tested and confiscating the adulterated bulks on sale and punish the guilty. The delay in testing must be stopped to control the availability and sale of such food stuff in the market. The Food Department must know a number of quick methods for detecting adulteration in ghee and oil. These methods must be repeatedly published in local newspapers for public use. The public in turn must also learn these testing methods and use them for checking the purity of food stuff and inform the authorities about the details of defaulters. Also, the Food Department must support research to find new quick methods for testing ghee and oil.

Dr G Dev

Need for joint efforts

Food adulteration is a burning issue these days. It goes on with impunity and the culprits are least bothered about laws. Even the government authorities have turned a blind eye to such malpractices. The problem can only be solved through joint efforts of consumers, producers and the government. The first and the foremost step is an aware consumer. Just for the sake of saving some money, a majority of consumers are ready to buy low-quality food products. The consumers should be educated about not compromising on quality and producers need to realise their moral duty to supply good quality food products to consumers. The final authority is with the government. It should never ever ignore such malpractices rather they should deal with them with severity. They should adopt a zero-tolerance towards such activities. But the root cause of all problems in India is corruption. Even if some food inspector or any other authority dares to take action against these adulterators, muscle power suppresses his /her sincere efforts. Therefore, consumers, producer and the government have to work together to curb the menace.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

Establish monitoring agency for checking

Ethics are the basis of running any business or providing society with services. But in today’s world, each person is in a race to reap maximum profits by hook or by crook. The easiest way from the view point of those who in the business is adulteration — whether it is oil, milk or ghee — and the victims of such foul practices are consumers. A curb can be put on these practices and loss to consumers may be avoided by establishing a controlling and monitoring agency by the local government. There must be periodical inspection of those who are dealing in the business. Heavy fine should be imposed on those who are guilty. A certificate must be issued by the agency on defaulters. The government should assign the duties for the distribution of ghee and milk to its staff and producer should supply their goods only to the government.

Dr Mohd Saleem farooqui

Home tests useful

Ghee is a regularly-used ingredient in an Indian kitchen and is considered to be a symbol of prosperity. However, there have been several cases of adulteration of ghee. Adulteration of ghee can be checked in several ways at home and these tests need chemicals which may not be readily available at home, but can be bought at chemists. There are other tests that need to be conducted in a laboratory environment. Though the laboratory tests are more accurate in determining adulteration, some home tests are also useful.

BISMANPREET KAUR CHAWLA

Frame quality standards

Adulteration is an addition of another substance to a food item to increase its quantity, which may result in the loss of actual quality of the item. Adulteration of oil and ghee will not reach the unsuspecting consumers only if the government would take strict action in this regard. The government needs to organise awareness programmes for consumers to buy FSSAI-approved ghee and oil. People who buy loose edible oil across the country run the risk of cancer, paralysis, liver damage and cardiac arrest. The FSSAI have to frame standards and to take strict action against those not complying with those standards. There is need to develop such techniques or devices by which consumers can check adulteration levels of ghee and oils on their own.

Ravleen Kaur

Buy packaged products

Food items of daily use — ghee, butter and oil — are prone to adulteration and contamination. So the consumer must be aware before buying the product and they should buy packed and labeled products because they are more likely to be genuine and packaged in hygienic conditions. They should also check the seal and expiry date of oil and ghee. Look for a quality mark of FPO or AGMARK. They should also make sure that the lid is dent-free or bulge-free.

Devna Munjal, Model town

Raid manufacturers on regular basis

With the changing times, methods of making ghee and oil have also changed. So, it is essential to keep a check on its production methods. Ghee and oil production centres should be raided regularly and ways to ensure purity of ghee and oil should be introduced to manufacturers. They need to be introduced to equipment and trained labour.

Laveena Sharma

Check for quality marks

Adulteration can be in the form of animal fat, crushed bones or palm oil. We should take only packed items from reliable retail shops and outlets. ISI mark or AGMARK should be checked before buying. There should be awareness on the part of consumer.

Sakshi Verma, Manpreet Kaur

Awareness the only solution

Awareness is the primary solution for dealing with adulteration. People should make safe choices and should know how to check the quality of ghee, oil and other products at home. Government should take necessary steps weed out the problem. ‘Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954’ was enacted, the objective of which was to ensure pure and wholesome food for consumers and preventing fraud or deception.

KAMALDEEP KAUR

Regular checking of samples required

Edible oils should be checked for iodine value and refractive index to confirm if it is genuine or adulterated. The provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, should be properly implemented so that those guilty are penalised. Awareness programmes on health safety should be organised. Regular raids should be conducted and samples should be drawn by the Health Departments regularly.

Jasdeep Kaur

Impose penalty

Adulteration is now a part of every edible item, especially ghee and oil. Awareness should be generated among people regarding this and steps should be taken to ensure purity of milk products. The authorities should take measures and impose heavy fines on those playing with the lives of others for the sake of money.

Deepnayan Kaur

Form policies, regulations

Due to lack of effective implementation of graded penalties, regular surveillance, monitoring and sampling of food products by the state/UT governments, under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) and Consumer Protection Bill, India is still fighting against food adulteration. This practice (a gross violation of various human rights) reveals the plight of the country. It has become difficult to find safe food in the pile of adulterated foods such as milk/milk products, edible vegetable oils, spices, pulses and vegetables. Besides this, a large quantity of spurious drugs is also being sold in the market. To keep a tab on adulterated food items, the food industry (public or private) should be subjected to regular scanning in terms of manufacturing, packaging, processing, wholesale and distribution. The menace of food adulteration can only be curbed by strengthening food safety structures and effective implementation of policy and regulations to deal with it. In addition, increasing public awareness is imperative to protect an unsuspected consumer’s right.

RAVI CHANDER GARG

Launch mobile vans for checking food

The best way to make sure that adulterated ghee and oil are prevented from reaching the unsuspecting customers is holding awareness camps in rural and slum areas. Also, mobile vans must be designed in a way that adulteration could be checked easily and accurately. Vigilant control and checking must be done by food and nutrition departments.

Sanskriti Verma

Raise awareness through advertisements

It is the duty of the government to ensure fair practices in trading and FSSAI should make stringent laws. Advertisement on mass scale should be made so that awareness can be created among consumers. Authorities should raid factories. Moreover, consumers should purchase products which are authenticated by the FSSAI.

Ritu Priya

OPEN HOUSE COMMENT

Adopt zero-tolerance approach

Food adulteration, according to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, is an act of deliberately debasing the quality of food offered for sale either by admixture of inferior substances or by removal of some valuable ingredient. Adulterated food is dangerous because it may be toxic and can affect health and could deprive the consumers of nutrients essential for growth and development. The worst part is that the consumers are often caught unawares. They are oblivious to the fact that they may be consuming adulterated ghee and oil. The only solution in such cases is creating awareness among the masses and having a zero tolerance for adulteration in food. Any act of food adulteration should invite social censure and legal action against the offenders. — Minna Zutshi

Food industry agrees to cut trans fat

World Bank to offer appropriate technology to State government

The food industry, especially the bakers’ association and manufacturers of pickles and condiments, has expressed its willingness to hold hands with the Health Department and the State Food Safety wing, in the latter’s efforts to reduce the high content of trans fatty acids (TFAs), salt and sugar in commercially available foods in the State.

At a meeting called by the Health Department here on Monday, industry stakeholders said they were willing to join the State’s safe food initiative, if the technology to reduce trans fat, sugar and salt content in foods were made available to them.

While the details of the action plan are yet to be finalised, the World Bank has expressed its willingness to transfer alternative technologies to the State.

Bakers’ association representatives said they would move to trans fat-free alternatives in baked goods, if they did not affect the taste and consistency of their products. Pricing of products was another concern.

The top-end bakers had already switched to margarine, which was either low in trans fat or was trans fat-free, in baked goods but this option was unaffordable to most small-scale operators.

Representatives of the pickle and papad manufacturers said the high salt content in these foods was to prevent contamination and enhance shelf life. However, good manufacturing practices and hygiene practices can bring down salt content in pickles by 8-10 %.

Self-regulation now

Commissioner of Food Safety Rathan Kelkar said the State wanted the food industry to self-regulate. Enforcement would only come later.

The Health Department has launched the trans fat-free drive as part of the non communicable diseases (NCD) control project as there is ample evidence now that unhealthy diet is a major factor pushing up metabolic syndrome and premature deaths due to lifestyle diseases among Keralites.

Students throw up after consuming midday meals

Taken to hospital; doctors have said there is no cause for concern

Nine students of Government Lower Primary School, Nimbekaipura vomited allegedly after consuming midday meals in the school on Monday.

The teacher in the school rushed all the 25 students to a private hospital. Doctors have said that all the children are fine and there is no cause for concern.

The midday meals are supplied by International Society for Krishna Consciousness’s subsidiary Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF). The students were served puliyogere and rava payasa on Monday.

Officials of the Department of Public Instruction said six students vomited twice. They were kept under observation before being discharged in the evening.

"After lunch, the students were playing on the ground. One child vomited, followed by the other children. However, doctors have told us that there is no reason to panic," an official said.

The department has initiated an inquiry.

APF has run into loggerheads with the government after refusing to include onion and garlic in the meals. The State government has not yet signed the Memorandum of Understanding to continue the programme with APF that supplies food to 4.49 lakh students in government and aided schools.

Officials from the APF stated that the food is cooked in batches, and students from surrounding schools who were given food from the same batch did not have any complaints.

The Foundation, in a press statement, said samples of the food had been sent for testing as part of the investigation. “We have not received any complaint of children taking ill after consuming the food supplied by us from other schools on the same route, or any of the 1,002 beneficiary schools in the city. The meals served to this school were cooked at our centralised unit at Vasanthapura. All our centralised kitchens follow high standards of hygiene, food safety and quality to ensure that nutritious food is cooked and delivered to the beneficiaries.”

DINAKARAN NEWS

Two dead, twelve in hospital after prasadam intake

Big brands to try reuseable packing

Gopi Talav food plaza declared clean street food hub

SURAT: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has declared Gopi Talav food street as a clean street food hub in the city. Kankaria and Urban Chowk in Ahmedabad were earlier declared clean street food hubs by FSSAI, an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. 

FSSAI officials conducted spot audits of Gopi Talav located in the walled city area of Gopipura on November 21, 2018 and January 07, 2019. Gopi Talav has undergone a major makeover in the past two years.

Dr Aashish Naik, deputy commissioner of health, Surat Municipal Corporation, said an area is declared clean food street hub only when it is clean and covered, has sitting space and also toilets.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Fried chicken and fish up risk of early death

Students get awareness lessons in testing food quality at home

MADURAI: The food safety officials on Wednesday gave the higher secondary school students in the district a taste of ‘rapid’ tests that can be used at home to verify the quality of ingredients in their everyday meals. 

Hundreds of students from across the district attended the two-day awareness camp titled Detect adulteration with rapid test (DART) beginning on Tuesday, with a view to sensitising them on simple tests to ensure food quality.

Split into eight sessions, the programme was held in four places like Usilampattti, Thirumangalam and a few schools in Madurai, with the rules allowing only a team of four students with a teacher from each school in the camp. They will then hold sessions in their respective schools and spread the word. Among the practical sessions are those explaining the tests that can be conducted to detect adulteration in milk, oil, honey, tea powder and dhal, and detect artificial colours to shine vegetables and fruits.

A session saw the official let a drop of milk fall on polished slanting surface and checked whether it either stayed or flowed slowly leaving a white trail behind. While adulterated milk will flow out immediately without leaving a mark on this surface, the pure one would either stay or move only slow.

The official said using similar tests on various food materials at home, one could determine their quality of the food they take every day. District food safety designated officer Dr M Somasundaram said awareness was also given on checking the ingredients of a product, expiry date and approval from food safety department before purchasing food materials.

Fast food kiosks in UP to display FSDA officers’ contact numbers

Bareilly: The food safety and drugs administration (FSDA) department has ordered all fast food kiosk owners across Uttar Pradesh to display the mobile number of food safety officer concerned of their respective districts to ensure quality food being served to the customers and making the area of their service litter-free.

According to FSDA designated officer Dharmraj Mishra, during the drive, the kiosks will also be checked for registration and licences.

Issuing letters to all assistant commissioners (food safety) and designated officers in all UP districts, FSDA state additional commissioner Ministhy S directed them “to ensure all roadside vendors selling food items are keeping covered dustbin and displaying mobile numbers of food safety officer concerned of the district”.

Ministhy also directed the officials to conduct random visits to kiosks to check raw food material and sanitation arrangements, and “take strict action if lapses are found”.

According to FSDA officials, a large number of food joints running on the roadsides are yet to register themselves with the department.

“We have 7,600 registered kiosks selling foods on the roadsides in the district. Similarly, 1,600 odd traders running restaurants and food joints have been issued licences. But, we believe the actual number of traders in food business are higher than the people registered with us,” said Mishra.

Obtaining FSDA licences is must for those whose annual turnover is higher than Rs 12 lakh, while small traders only need to get themselves registered with the department.

Nine eateries operating without licence

Rajkot: The health department of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) raided food joints on Thursday and found nine well-known eateries operating without a valid food licence. 

During the raid, officers found that London Curry, Crispy Barns, Maraki Denis Coffee Bar and Pizza Hut on Kalawad road were functioning without licence. The Food Smith on Kalawad had obtained licence earlier but it had expired. The officers found that food joints in other areas like Freni Food product, Balaji Foods, Dhaval Gruh Udhyog, in Vavdi and Rasiya Restaurant on Jyotinagar main road too were operating without licence.

RMC health officer Dr Pankaj Rathod said that under the Food Safety Act every establishment serving food including hotels and restaurants must have valid licence under FSSAI. “We gave seven days to the food joints to obtain licence or face action,” he added.

Have home-cooked food to your heart’s content

On FoodBuddy, consumers can choose their own choice of cuisine. 

FoodBuddy delivers meals of your choice, all cooked in home kitchens

The aroma and taste of home-cooked food, for many, is irreplaceable and inimitable. This is the idea that drives city startup FoodBuddy. A few taps on your smart phone and you are a few minutes away from that ghar ka khaana.

Founded by Anup Gopinath, an IIM-A product, Rachna Rao from IIM-B, and Akil Sethuraman, FoodBuddy has reached the city now.

“While the company was founded in 2015, it was in 2017 that we ran pilots,” Mr. Gopinath says. Thus far, the platform has clocked 20,000 meals cooked in home kitchens and has reached 1,500 homes in the city.

The company claims that its network comprises gated societies from where buyers can either pick up or get meals dropped at their respective locations. One can find food from one’s own region, which includes a mughlai, Rajasthani, Gujarati and Andhra cuisine, and anything in between.

It’s easy for sellers or home chefs to register on the platform. All they have to do is submit relevant documents such as ID proof and address proof. The company then runs its internal checks for authenticity. Once that is done, the home chef is good to go. Buyers, on the other hand, can choose their preferred dish and cuisine. But since the platform is for home kitchens and not restaurants, how does the company ensure standards in terms of quality and hygiene? The consumer gets to decide it as the platform is largely feedback-based.

According to Mr. Gopinath, home chefs and kitchens do not require permissions from civic authorities as those with less than ₹12 lakh income can get a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India registration.

The company has thus far raised ₹6 crore and its operations are live in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

FSSAI direction regarding use of Jaivik Bharat Logo

Industry fears about new labelling regulations unfounded: FSSAI CEO

After a hectic year of notifying nearly 28 new regulations, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is gearing up for the more challenging task of implementing these laws. FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal told BusinessLine in an interview that building consumer confidence in the food available in the marketplace is most crucial. Excerpts:

After a year of notifying many new regulations, what will be FSSAI’s focus in 2019?

As a regulator, finalising regulations is just the beginning, not the end. Now that the regulations are in place, the bigger challenge is ensuring implementation. We are adopting various strategies to ensure that businesses comply with these regulations. Ultimately, citizens need to have confidence in the food they get in the marketplace — they should not think twice before buying a food product or eating out.

Inspections of food businesses so far have been fairly ad hoc. But now we will focus on a mechanism of risk-based inspections, which means food businesses or products where the risks are higher will get inspected more often. Since there is limited manpower, these inspections will be done in collaboration with third-party audit agencies. The focus will be to ensure compliance of food safety regulations across the entire value chain. This is a paradigm shift from the time when the focus was only on the safety of the final product.

Focus will also be on testing food products through surveillance, sampling and testing. Through strategic surveillance activities such as large-scale food surveys, we can identify hot-spots or areas where there are bigger concerns and understand the nature of these concerns. Training and capacity building within food businesses through the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme is another focus area.

Have you identified sectors where such strategic surveillance and large-scale surveys are required?

Milk was a big area and we conducted a large-scale survey last year to understand the issues there. Similarly, value-added dairy products, spices, meat and meat products are segments where we plan to take up large-scale surveys. Some work has already begun on testing of honey and edible oil products for a survey.

There has been a lot of debate around the proposed new labelling regulations...

The idea behind the new labelling regulations is to enable citizens to know more about the composition of food products, so that they can make informed choices. Bringing in any labelling regulations without making citizens aware about eating healthier food products — and the consequences of eating food which is high in salt, sugar, saturated fats and trans-fats — will not cut much ice.

Our societal behavioural change initiatives such as the Eat Right Movement are in this direction and we plan to scale them up. Once the foundation for healthy eating habits is laid, the labelling regulations will have a greater impact.

I think there is more interest in the industry than among consumers over the new regulations and this interest is largely driven by a fear that we might be unreasonable. The fact that we have taken a lot of time to discuss and deliberate on these regulations suggests that many of their fears may be unfounded. We are trying to see that while the labelling laws provide useful information to consumers, it does not hit the industry.

Are you working towards setting up a mechanism to handle the issue of fake videos regarding food safety after discussions with the IT Ministry?

They have connected us to various platforms. Players such a Twitter, Facebook and Google have a grievance redress mechanism in India. Once a particular post is identified, we can inform them; they have agreed to co-operate with us. We are also engaging with WhatsApp to find a solution to this issue.

How about plans for a hygiene rating scheme for restaurants ?

We are in discussions with restaurants for the implementation of the Hygiene Rating Scheme. Soon, several thousand restaurants will be rated under this scheme and these ratings will become more and more visible across outlets.

Will the government’s nod to FSSAI to create additional posts add a new dimension?

We are currently engaged with external consultants to do two kinds of reviews. One is to focus on benchmarking our practices and processes with global standards. The second review is focussing on the internal working system of FSSAI and involves a review of our HR practices such as performance management. Soon, the hiring of over 800 people will begin in a phased manner. We would like to be seen as a modern organisation with a positive work ethos and culture that values its people .

TN may ban sachets, biscuit wrappers

Cos Put On Notice Over Multilayered Plastic Material

Chennai:

Three weeks after the ban on 14 single-use plastic items kicked in across Tamil Nadu, the government has cracked down on all multilayered plastic material used to pack items like biscuits, creams and shampoo. Ninetyfive companies have been issued notice, saying they will not be able to market their products packaged with such material in the state until they regsieter with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and comply with clause 13 (2) of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, within a month.

The order, issued by TNPCB chairman Shambhu Kallolikar on January 22, has set the companies the near-impossible task of owning responsibility for after-use collection and disposal of the packaging material in coordination with the urban local bodies concerned.

The rules mandate the manufacturer and the brand owner to register with the state pollution control board if operating in less than two states and with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) if operating in more than two states.

The CPCB defines multilayered packaging as any material used, or to be used, for packaging and having at least one layer of plastic as the main ingredient in combination with one or more layers of material such as paper, paper board, polymeric material and metalized layers or aluminum foil, either in laminate form or a coextruded structure.

‘Notices issued to cos violating norms’

In general terms, it means polyethylene, aluminum foil and other copolymers of polyethylene combined with paper, plastic and other items. A TNPCB official said, “As per the rules for selling and marketing, they need to get valid registration. All these companies are violating that norm. We have issued notices even to companies using tetrapacks and PET bottles as they have also been brought into this ambit. Apart from these 95 companies, we will issue notices to others as well using multi layered plastic.”

The companies issued notice include Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Dabur India, Bikaji Foods, Bisleri International, Britannia Industries, Pepsico India Holdings, Reliance Industries, Britannia and Co, Aachi Masala, Sakthi Masala, Amul Dairy, Everest Limited, Parle products, MTR Foods, AAVIN and Cadbury India. The 95 companies, which have been directed to apply and obtain registration from the CPCB or TNPCB in a month, should furnish the TNPCB with details of suppliers/sellers of multi-layered plastic products. They should coordinate with the United National Development Programme India to work out the Extended Producer’s Responsibility (EPR) in line with the Tamil Nadu model. “This model was discussed with associations of brand owners at a three-day meeting from January 7 to 10. The minutes of the meeting have been sent to the secretary for further orders,” said an official. Under the EPR, producers will be responsible for introduction of plastic in the market and managing it until the end of its life. B Swaminathan, chairman of environmental committee, Tamil Nadu Plastic Manufacturers Association, said, “How can EPR be framed without urban local bodies involvement? The municipal administration and water supply department should provide infrastructure and cooperate with the brand owners. Industry cannot be part of it unless it is discussed and all the departments are involved. It is very premature to discuss all this and ban all these products,” he said.

பப்ஸில் இருந்த இரண்டு இன்ச் ஆணி... கோவையில் உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத்துறையில் பகீர் புகார்!

கோவையில் பப்ஸ்க்குள் ஆணி இருந்தது தொடர்பாக உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறையில் புகார் அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இது தொடர்பாக நூர் முகமது, சண்முகம் மற்றும் தினகரன் ஆகியோர் கோவை உணவு பாதுகாப்புத்துறை அலுவலகத்தில் அளித்துள்ள புகாரில், ``ஆவின் பால் ஏஜென்ட் எடுப்பதற்காக, ஆர்.எஸ்.புரத்தில் உள்ள ஆவின் அலுவலகத்துக்குச் சென்றிருந்தோம். அப்போது, அருகே பப்ஸ் விற்பவரிடம் ரூ.20-க்கு 6 வெங்காய பப்ஸ் வாங்கி சாப்பிட்டோம். அதில், சண்முகம் சாப்பிட்ட பப்ஸில் 2 இன்ச் நீளமுள்ள ஆணி இருந்ததைக் கண்டு நாங்கள் அதிர்ச்சியடைந்தோம். விற்பனையாளரிடம் கேட்டதற்கு, நான் இதை வெளியில் இருந்து வாங்கி வருகிறேன் என்று கூறினார். இதுதொடர்பாக, ஆர்.எஸ்.புரம் காவல்நிலையத்தில் புகார் அளிக்கச் சென்றோம். அவர்கள் உணவுப் பாதுகாப்புத்துறை அலுவலகத்தைத் தொடர்பு கொண்டபோது, மனு அளிக்கச் சொன்னார்கள். இதனால், அவர்களிடம் புகார் மனு அளித்துள்ளோம்.

எனவே, இந்தப் புகார் மனுவை ஏற்று உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும். மேலும், பொது மக்கள் மற்றும் பள்ளி மாணவர்கள் பாதிக்கப்படாமல் இருக்க, இதுபோன்ற உணவுப் பண்டகங்களைத் தயாரிக்கும் இடத்தை நேரில் சென்று கண்காணிக்க வேண்டும்" என்று கூறியுள்ளனர்.

Expedite cases related to food safety, says HC

Officials of the Food Safety Wing checking private milk selling vendors for adulteration of milk, in Vellore. 

Wants adulterators to be brought to book at the earliest

The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed all civil and criminal courts in the State to ensure that cases filed against food adulterators were taken up on an urgent basis and disposed of as early as possible.

A Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and Anita Sumanth issued the interim direction on a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate A.P. Suryaprakasam in 2017 seeking a CBI probe into Dairy Development Minister K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji’s claim that milk sold by some private dairies was unhealthy.

During the last hearing of the case on December 13, the judges grilled Food Safety Commissioner P. Amudha over the action taken against those selling adulterated milk in the State. She had expressed her inability to conduct more number of raids because of limited manpower available in her department.

Rejecting such excuses, the Bench directed her to crack down on every other adulterator and submit a comprehensive report in the court. Accordingly, the Commissioner filed a report in the court on Tuesday and the judges were surprised to see the number of raids having gone up considerably without any change in the manpower.

After recording the submission of the Commissioner that as many as 790 samples of milk were lifted from various establishments and subjected to quality checks in December alone, the judges wondered why no action had been taken though 113 of those samples were found to be sub-standard.

Cases in lower courts

On a perusal of a chart produced before them, they also found that criminal cases launched against food adulterators were pending in the lower courts for long.

A direction was issued to the lower courts to dispose of the cases at the earliest and a direction was issued to the Registrar General to obtain a list of such cases pending in the courts.

Civil proceedings pending against food adulterators before the District Revenue Officers should also be concluded speedily and details thereof must be submitted in the court by February 26, the judges ordered.

The Bench also took serious note of the Food Safety and Standards Rules, framed by the government in 2001, exempting those who sell less than 500 litres of milk per day from obtaining a licence under the Act. “Does that mean a person who sells one litre of milk each to 500 families is entitled to poison them?” the senior judge in the Bench asked and said that his Bench shall examine the issue in detail during the next hearing.

Codex committee to draft standards for a variety of spices

The fourth session of the codex committee on spices and culinary herbs (CCSCH) that got underway in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday will draft standards for oregano, basil, ginger, garlic, chilli pepper and paprika, nutmeg, saffron and cloves. They are in the form of reports of electronic working groups established by the previous session held at Chennai in February 2017. In this fourth session of the codex committee, more than 100 delegates from 30 countries are participating.

Codex committee to draft standards for a variety of spices

The agenda is two new work proposals; one is to draft standards for turmeric and small cardamom, and second is to develop harmonized standards for global trade for these two high-demand spices.

Kerala governor P Sathasivam inaugurated the fourth session of the codex committee on spices and culinary herbs established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). On this occasion, he said spice cultivators should be encouraged to think globally and make use of the latest farming technologies. He said Indian farmers should be provided with better infrastructure like better storage facilities so that they could stay up-to-date with their counterparts from other countries.

The governor also said, “Ensuring transparency and equality in fixing global quality standards for spices and herbs can strengthen the global food safeguard without compromising on safety.” He added, “Kerala has suffered a production loss of more than 25,000 tons of spices valued at Rs1,254 crore in recent floods. This session’s plan to deliberate draft standards for cardamom and turmeric is truly laudable since they are among the crops that dominate the spices cultivation in Kerala.”

Rita Teaotia, the chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said in the previous three sessions, the CCSCH succeeded in getting the approval of the CAC for three standards; black, white and green pepper; cumin and thyme.

‘Bhog’ to feed gods, devotees hygienic food

FSSAI has set specific rules for maintaining food safety and hygiene in the preparation of the offering.

The initiative mandates adoption of hygienic practices by the food handlers which requires wearing of aprons, gloves and head covers.

Thiruvananthapuram: Blissful Hygienic Offering to God or Bhog aimed at maintaining food safety and hygiene in places of worship mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will be implemented in the state by February 28.

On Tuesday, the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety held a meeting with the officials of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar Devaswom boards to enforce the project at 10 prime temples.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Mannarasala, Guruvayoor, Sabarimala, Parassinikadavu, Lokanarkavu are some of the places of worship chosen by the Commissionerate for launching the pilot project.

However, apprehensions loom large over the enforcement of Bhog which makes licensing and registration mandatory for places of worship offering ‘prasadam’ to devotees. FSSAI has set specific rules for maintaining food safety and hygiene in the preparation of the offering. 

“We have initiated discussions with Devaswom officials. The Commissionerate will be giving proper training and all technical support,” said a top official.

The initiative mandates adoption of hygienic practices by the food handlers which requires wearing of aprons, gloves and head covers. Proper cleaning and waste management facilities are a must for getting the license.

“We will sensitise them about the need for food safety regulations and health hygiene. We have pressure from the Centre to implement the project and report its progress,” said the official.

As per the guidelines, the procurement of raw materials for prasadam should be from authorised traders with FSSAI licenses.

However, Devaswom officials didn’t give a specific reply on whether they will be taking licenses and registration from the Commissionerate.

“We are very positive about the initiative, and most of our temples are maintaining high-quality standards in the preparation of prasadam,” Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar said.

However, the food safety authorities are very hopeful that regular auditing by them will improve the standards at these temples.

Eateries without licence will face legal action now

Mysuru: After finding that only around 30% of eateries in the city run without permission, the health department has taken up a massive drive to identify such establishments and bring them under the ambit of trade licence. Department officers have already started issuing notices to such eateries across the district.

In the notice, the health department stated that as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Rules 2011, it is mandatory to have trade licence for establishments with an annual turnover of over Rs 12 lakh and registration for those with less than Rs 12 lakh. The act covers all the establishments including food manufacturers, hotels, bakeries, sweet stalls, wine stores and bars, restaurants, canteens, clubs, canteens, food malls, roadside vendors, dhabas, wedding halls, fruits and vegetable vendors.

A district health department officer told TOI that some owners, especially in the rural areas, fail to apply for license due to lack of knowledge about the rules. However, there are people who deliberately avoid taking licenses.

“It is like starting from zero. We have taken up the drive to make the traders apply for license. From 2011, we are intimating the traders for license and registration. Till 2014, traders were prompt in taking license, but due to lack of strict implementation of rules, traders started to show negligence. Now, we are starting the drive from the beginning,” officers said.

Authorities stated that in the MCC limits, only 10% of the establishments possess license. “This time, we are very strict and have been issuing notices. If the trader does not respond positively, we will take legal action. We will call squad from the state and levy hefty fine or close the establishments,” officers said.

The health department has initiated the drive by deputing district surveillance officer Dr Kusuma to cover the district and district vector-borne disease control officer Dr S Chidambar the MCC limits.

Chidambar told TOI that the problem is with the hotel and bakery associations who refuse to obtain license and argue with officers.

He said that the problems regarding the hotels, bakery and street vendors have been brought to the notice of higher authorities. “Despite resistance from hotels and bakeries, we have managed to increase the percentage of license holders from 15-20% to 30%. This time, legal action will be initiated for failing to possess license,” he said.

Letter keep check on labelling defects on Package of Health Supplements

Over 4.5 tonnes of banned tobacco products seized

Food Safety officials and police seized banned tobacco products in Tiruchi on Monday. 

TIRUCHI

In a joint raid conducted by Food Safety officials and the city police, over 4.5 tonnes of banned tobacco products were seized from various places here on Monday. The raid was conducted involving 16 Food Safety officials all over the city, including Fort area, Gandhi Market, Airport, K.K. Nagar and Thennur lasting over five hours.

In one such case, the teams seized over 3 tonnes from a godown belonging to a person by name Tirupathi who runs a grocery shop in Khajapettai area. Tirupathi was later handed over to the police.

The team which went to the grocery shop of Tirupathi later went to his house nearby where they found a godown where the banned products were stocked. In another case, around 1.5 tonnes of tobacco products were seized from a godown functioning on Big Bazaar street - the city's prominent commercial hub. The godown owner Mangal Ram (25) was arrested on the charge of illegally stocking the banned products.

The banned substances were concealed in boxes and gunny bags. The value of the seized substances was around ₹ 4 lakh, said R. Chitra, District Designated Officer, Tiruchi.

The joint operation was carried out after holding discussions with the city police authorities earlier.

The raid was planned in a surprise manner and carried simultaneously by the Food Safety officials at the chosen areas roping in the police from around 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dr. Chitra said. Interrogation of those from whom the banned products were seized revealed that the products were brought from Bengaluru.

The seized substances were later brought to the Food Safety office here, Dr. Chitra said. Police sources said Mangal Ram was arrested by the Fort Police and a case booked against him.

Dr. Chitra said this was the first time that a huge haul had been seized from different places in the city. Police said a team seized some varieties from the office of a wholesale dealer involved in the sale of biscuits, cigarettes in Fort area on Sunday. The dealer by name Bawan Kumar was arrested and a case booked against him.

Schools to face surprise food-safety checks

AHMEDABAD: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will conduct surprise checks in schools in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Junagadh and Bhavnagar. The state education department has written to district DEOs to extend their support. 

A senior department official said that a number of schools in these districts have in-house canteens for cooking and serving food.

"It came to the notice of authorities that the students consume more fatty food with excessive salt and sugar which is detrimental for their health. Thus, the officials will now collect samples during the surprise checks and will later prepare a report on food quality and composition with recommendations," said an official. 

From every district, 10 schools will be chosen randomly and the sample collection will take place during surprise checks within a month.

Sources said that one such drive had failed earlier as the schools refused entry of FSSAI officials inside school premises.

FB & Google told to weed out ‘fake’ content on food

Such Videos Are Eroding Trust In India’s Food System: FSSAI

New Delhi:

The government has instructed Google and Facebook to take down ‘false and malicious’ videos and other content that spreads misinformation regarding safety and quality of food in India, saying that ‘fake’ information is eroding the public’s confidence in institutions tasked with food safety.

The IT ministry issued instructions to the global internet giants, asking them to immediately remove such content and block the accounts of people who are uploading the videos, sources told TOI. The order follows a complaint by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal to IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney.

“It has come to our notice that some miscreants are misusing various social media platforms for circulating fake and objectionable material, including false and malicious videos regarding safety and quality of food available in India,” an official of the IT ministry said in separate written communications to the two companies. “Such fake, false and malicious videos erode the public’s confidence about the institutions in India which are performing their job with due diligence.”

The IT ministry said that the FSSAI has pointed out instances where the internet platforms had been used by miscreants to spread misinformation about food quality. “Specific instances like creating false scare of plastic eggs, plastic rice, melamine in milk... One specific fake video, which went viral on social media, was related to the presence of melamine in milk, wherein it was maliciously projected that FSSAI had given permission for use of melamine in milk,” the IT ministry note said.

“… take immediate action of identifying and removing such content and warning such uploaders, including blocking of their accounts in the future.”

The ministry also told the companies to institute a system, as part of their due diligence, for prevention of uploading such imagery/video/text on their platforms.

In its complaint to the IT ministry, FSSAI had said that the false content on food safety had created fear in the minds of the public and eroded their confidence on food control systems in India. “… such false propaganda is neither good for citizens nor the food business. This also erodes global trust in our food system and food businesses, and potentially has far-reaching public health, social and trade implications,” FSSAI CEO said.

FSSAI also suggested that the internet and social-media companies should appoint a nodal officer so that it can directly take up such issues with them for quick remedial action.

150kg of spurious desi ghee seized

Ludhiana: Following a tip-off, the food safety team of the district health department conducted a raid at a house in Haibowal here on Friday afternoon, and sealed 10 cartons of desi ghee. During the raid, health officials recovered open bottles of flavoured chemicals for use in the preparation of the seized desi ghee, which was being further sold to an outlet in Amarpura Colony of Field Ganj.

Meanwhile, sources in the health department informed: “150kg (worth approx Rs60,000) of adulterated desi ghee was recovered during an extensive raid by health officials at a house on Friday afternoon. During the raid, the health team found a manufacturer preparing a huge amount of desi ghee in his house by mixing chemicals with harmful flavours.”

Speaking on Friday’s action, district health officer Andesh Kang said: “After receiving several complaints about the adulteration of desi ghee being sold in Field Ganj, the health team carried out a raid at a house and sealed the entire stock of desi ghee being prepared by them. The team has recovered an open bottle of flavoured chemicals from the house, about which health officials have suspicions it might be used in the preparation of desi ghee.”

Samples have been taken by the health officer, and sent to a laboratory for further testing. “We have sealed 10 cartons of 15kg desi ghee during the raid, which was further being sold to a dairy in Field Ganj. If the reports confirm adulteration, then a penalty of approximately Rs13 lakh will be imposed on the manufacturer, and might also result in the shopkeeper losing the licence of his shop, from where the ghee was being sold,” said Kang.

FDA slaps Rs 5 lakh fine on Maganlal Food Products for violating food safety norms​

PUNE: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have initiated an adjudication process and slapped a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh on Lonavla-based Maganlal Food Products, the manufacturer of Maganlal’s Chikki, for violating food safety norms. 

After issuing the manufacturer a stop production notice for not adhering to quality standards early in December, the FDA officials have now found that the sample of chikki they had drawn from the outlet at the time of surprise inspection in December, contained synthetic edible colour in excess amount.

The officials have tested the chikki samples at designated government laboratory in Pune. 

“The sample of Maganlal’s strawberry peanut crush chikki was found to contain thrice the prescribed limit of edible synthetic colour. As per the food safety norms, the prescribed limit of the edible colour used in the chikki is 100mg/per kg, whereas the colour used in the drawn sample of chikki was 306.55mg/per kg,” Suresh Deshmulkh, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune told TOI. The sample was drawn on December 12.

Owner of Maganlal Food Products Ashok Agarwal said, “We have been serving customers for many years and the edible colour we used was always the best. However, food handlers’ visual observation might have prompted them to add more than the required colour in the chikki product. We have decided not to use any edible colour in our products from now on."

Govt to check unhygienic roadside eateries: CS

PATNA: Chief secretary (CS) Deepak Kumar has said a survey of street food vendors in the city was being conducted in order to rehabilitate them.

“The street food carts and kiosks are mostly unhygienic. We are going to provide them either glass shields or plastic sheets to cover the food items. We may also provide them new carts with covers,” Kumar told this newspaper on Friday.

Street vendors in Patna and other urban areas in the state are supposed to be rehabilitated under the provisions of ‘Bihar State Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and regulation of Trade) Act, 2012’. Sources said the Patna Municipal Corporation has also planned vending zones at around 12 places in the city.

The move to create vending zones has been hailed by many. “Inspection and audit officials from food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) regularly pay us a surprise visit to check for adulteration, contamination and preparation of fast food. We have nothing to worry as hygiene is our top priority. FSSAI officials also inspect our kiosk regularly,” said Om Prakash of a popular fast food kiosk at Maurya Lok Complex.

While the survey may not be a matter of concern for the likes of Prakash, it might come as a blow to hawkers who are operating in the street food sector without obtaining a licence from FSSAI.

Durga Das, a bhelpuri vendor near Dak Bungalow road, said such a move is against small and poor vendors whose survival depends on daily sales of local delicacies like chat, bhelpuri and golgappas etc. “My family of six is dependent on my bhelpuri business. If the government wants to rehabilitate us claiming that we sell unhygienic food, we should also be given an alternate source of livelihood,” said Durga.

Religious centres under FSSAI lens

Even though the regulation was mandatory in the FSSAI norms, it used to take no action.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now directed them to follow standard safety practices and made its licence mandatory.

KOZHIKODE: Consuming prasadam or eatables from any religious centres is a practice with a lot of faiths, but for authorities, ensuring its quality is a matter of concern. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now directed them to follow standard safety practices and made its licence mandatory.

Even though the regulation was mandatory in the FSSAI norms, it used to take no action. The FSSAI will now conduct special drives to ensure quality food devotees consume. 

FSSAI assistant commissioner O. Eliyamma said that they are working on how to ensure their safety especially at a time when a lot of festivals and celebrations are coming.

All the religious centres must obtain a license from the FSA for distributing any food. If they outsource the foody, the vendor must also be licensed. 

“Even though no such situation arose at any of the religious centres in our district, we don’t want to take any risk,” she said. 

“Foreseeing the upcoming festival season, we will make it mandatory to ensure the quality of the food supplied. There are even religious centres here distributing food among devotees on a daily basis. We'll take action against those who violate norms.”

Sample of Maganlal chikki had synthetic colour in excess: FDA

Pune: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have initiated an adjudication process and slapped a fine of up to Rs5 lakh on Lonavla-based Maganlal Food Products, the manufacturer of Maganlal’s Chikki, for violating food safety norms.

After issuing the manufacturer a stop production notice for not adhering to quality standards early in December, the FDA officials have now found that the sample of chikki they had drawn from the outlet at the time of surprise inspection in December, contained synthetic edible colour in excess amount.

The officials have tested the chikki samples at designated government laboratory in Pune. Under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, any person using edible colour more than the permissible limit in food products is liable to a penalty which may extend up to Rs 5lakh.

“The sample of Maganlal’s strawberry peanut crush chikki was found to contain thrice the prescribed limit of edible synthetic colour. Hence, we have initiated the legal process against the firm,” Suresh Deshmulkh, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune told TOI.

Food safety official R R Kakade had drawn the sample during inspection of the production unit on December 12. The sample was analysed at the designated laboratory between December 14 and December 26.

Elaborating, Deshmukh said, “As per the food safety norms, the prescribed limit of the edible colour used in the chikki is 100mg/per kg, whereas the colour used in the drawn sample of chikki was 306.55mg/per kg, which is three times more. It is violation of section 51 (penalty for sub-standard food) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.”

Following the inspection in early December 2018, the FDA officials observed grave lapses in sanitation and quality measures at the Lonavala-based production unit of the Maganlal Chikki and issued stop production notice to the manufacturer till it rectified the lacunae.

“The company had stopped production for first 15 days following the notice during which they complied as per the norms after which we allowed them to resume production,” Deshmukh said.

Owner of Maganlal Food Products Ashok Agarwal said, “We have been serving customers for many years and the edible colour we used was always the best. However, food handlers’ visual observation might have prompted them to add more than the required colour in the chikki product. We have decided not to use any edible colour in our products from now on."

33 shops to face action for selling adulterated sweets

GURUGRAM: Around 33 sweet shops-cum-restaurants across the district will face legal cases or administrative action and could be fined up to Rs 5 lakh for allegedly selling adulterated food.

The department of food safety has recommended registration of cases against the sweet shops at the court of the additional deputy commissioner. According to sources, the case proceedings against these commercial establishments will begin by the end of this month. Earlier, the officials had collected samples of sweets and food, such as paneer and other milk products, from these shops around Diwali. 

At the time, over a hundred samples were collected from various shops by the department of food safety and sent to the forensic laboratory in Karnal. The tests carried out subsequently have revealed that around 33 shops were selling adulterated or sub-standard quality edibles. The reports on the same have also been shared with the district and state health departments, said officials concerned.

As per rules, such shops can be asked to pay Rs 1-5 lakh in fines, besides facing other forms of strict action.

59 quintals of spurious ghee seized

Chandigarh: Continuing with its drive against spurious milk products, teams of food and drug administration have seized 59 quintals of spurious desi ghee.

Acting on a tip off, food team form Mansa inspected a dairy at Bareta Mandi village in the district along with CIA staff. The team found that a total of 59 quintals of spurious desi ghee was being prepared by mixing inferior quality product of two types, one of which was being supplied from another manufacturer and one was being prepared by the dairy owner. Huge amount of chemical was also found on the spot that was being mixed with the ghee to make the final product.

Commissioner food safety KS Pannu said during inspection, 10 quintals of adulterated desi ghee was found hidden in a milk tanker that was to be smuggled into nearby areas.

DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

High fibre intake cuts risk of diseases

VMC cracks down on food outlets

Vadodara: Food safety officers of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) conducted extensive checking of outlets in the city selling sweet and savouries for the Uttarayan festivities. The officials also checked the quality of ingredients used to make these food items.

The food safety department took up the drive to check the quality of food items as dishes like ‘undhiyu’, ‘jalebi’, ‘chiki’ and others will be consumed widely during the two-day Uttarayan festivities that fall on Monday and Tuesday. Outlets have already started preparing and selling some of these while the raw material for others has been accumulated.

VMC teams on Friday checked establishments in the Waghodiya Road, Nizampura, Warasiya, Tarsali, Ajwa Road and OP Road areas in the city. Seven samples of prepared food items as well as raw materials were collected during the drive.

According to VMC officials, checking of food business operators had commenced during the last couple of days. Earlier, 15 outlets were checked by VMC teams. The samples that were collected include edible oil, jaggery and other raw materials apart from prepared food items.

FDA Cancels License Of Top Players, Focus On Hygienic Food

After identifying several lacunae, such as lack of hygiene, the hotels were served notices on September 6, and asked to improve the quality of food, as well as step up cleanliness measures.

In the last two years the food safety and standards authority of India has played an important role to maintain and make sure that restaurant and hotels are maintaining the basic hygiene. The food safety authority has also demanded online aggregators to make sure they partner with restaurants who fits on the safety criteria and had also asked them to delist the remaining players if they are not going by the law.

In a stern action, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licenses of five hotels, including Lemon Tree Hotel Private limited, Holiday Inn Restaurant and Hyatt Place at Hinjewadi in Pune over lack of cleanliness, preparing food in unhygienic conditions and serving food items beyond their expiry dates.

Licenses of two other hotels — Fortune Select Dasve at Lavasa and Upper Deck resort at Lonavala were also suspended. The action comes after a visit by Food Safety Officer Santosh Sawant to Hyatt Place, Holiday Inn Restaurant and Lemon Tree Hotel on August 30 last year.

A statement, issued by Joint Commissioner (Food), FDA’s Pune division, Suresh Deshmukh, said the licenses of these hotels have been suspended. “The license of Holiday Inn restaurant and Hyatt Place has been suspended for 15 and 14 days respectively. The licence of Lemon Tree Hotel has been suspended for four days,” said Sampat Deshmukh, assistant commissioner (Food), FDA, Pune. The FDA Joint Commissioner has further urged hoteliers to maintain cleanliness and ensure qualitative standards, failing which strict action will be taken.

“Vigilance of food and health authorities is good steps as it will filter out players doing wrong practices and help customers have food which is not unhygienic. However, for long term, better route should be to re-work on the food and health rules and make it consistent across country,” shared Karan Tanna, CEO, Yellow Tie Hospitality adding the licenses approval should be made online so it is transparent and not subjective.

After identifying several lacunae, such as lack of hygiene, the hotels were served notices on September 6, and asked to improve the quality of food, as well as step up cleanliness measures. After the hotels submitted their compliance report on December 11 last year, the FDA conducted a re-inspection but found no change in the issue of cleanliness.

Earlier, this January, FSSAI also said that they have accelerated the process of setting standards and notified 27 new regulations for food standards.

Some of the key regulations include the ones on alcoholic beverages, food fortification, advertising and claims, packaging, residues of pesticides, tolerance limits of antibiotics and pharmacologically active substances.

"We are setting standards to ensure safe food to consumers and at the same time see to that they do no impact the businesses. Now that the standards (on food products) are more or less in place, our focus is going to be on compliance, monitoring, inspection and enforcement," shared Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI earlier this month.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on health and family welfare in a report submitted in 2018 had rapped FSSAI over weak enforcement of food safety laws and also recommended restructuring of the autonomous body that functions under the health ministry.

Hence, we can say that the food safety authority is working hard to make sure that the food is served fresh and healthy.

Eateries, shops at RTC Complex found violating MRP norms

Vigilance officials inspecting a hotel at Dwarakanagar RTC Complex on Thursday. 

Vigilance officials conduct raids

Sleuths of Vigilance and Enforcement Department, along with food safety, legal metrology departments on Thursday conducted raids on several hotels and shops in the RTC Complexes at Dwarakanagar and Maddilapalem. The officials booked cases against several outlets on charges of several irregularities including violation of MRP norms.

Acting on the instructions issued by Vigilance SP D. Koteswara Rao, the officials raided hotels and shops . They found several outlets selling food items more than the MRPs and without manufacturing details. They collected four samples while the legal metrology officers registered seven cases against cool drink shops and other vendors.

Meanwhile, raids were conducted at Maddilapalem RTC complex. Shops were found using expired tomato sauce in preparing food and storing chicken in violation of norms. “Cases will be booked under Food Safety Act,” the officials said.

Vigilance DSP P.M. Naidu, Inspectors R. Mallikarjuna Rao, N. Srinivasa Rao and Food Safety Inspectors G.V. Apparao, Legal Metrology Inspector Radha Krishna and few others took part in the raids.

'No regulation for printing of nicotine content on cigarette packets'

INDORE: Food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) has submitted its reply before high court in a petition seeking printing of nicotine and tar content on cigarette packets, denying any regulation over smoking tobacco products or cigarettes. 

FSSAI submitted that they could only regulate food items and were taking steps towards exercising the ban on use of nicotine and tar in food products, including pan masala and gutka. FSSAI also submitted that while their primary duties lie in implementation of Food Safety and Security Act 2006, they could seize samples of cigarettes along with the state government under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003.

“It had also been submitted by FSSAI earlier that a proposal is pending before the Centre for setting up a laboratory to test nicotine and tar content of cigarettes. The proposed laboratory will be the first in India and is likely to be set up in Gurgaon, Delhi,” advocate Shweta Mewada, counsel for petitioner said. PIL filed by Harsh Jhunjhunwala had alleged that tobacco companies were selling poor quality cigarettes in the market and that they were not mentioning the quantity of tar and nicotine on cigarette packets. `

Swasth Bharat Yatra to reach Pilibhit today, to spread awareness on healthy food

Pilibhit: Swasth Bharat Yatra (SYB), an outreach programme of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will reach Pilibhit on Friday.

Also known as ‘cyclothon,’ the programme has an ambitious objective of disseminating mass awareness about fortified food, techniques of detecting adulterated food materials and promotion of healthy eating habits.

As many as 70 students from different educational institutions of the district will take part in the programme and take it to Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagra district, the next destination of SBY. The cyclothon is scheduled to conclude in New Delhi on January 27.

The food safety department of Pilibhit has sought active coordination of members of Indian Medical Council (IMA) to spread awareness on the importance of healthy food.

According to Pilibhit food safety officer, VK Verma, SBY is a key element of ‘Eat Right India Movement’ and is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March and Salt Satyagraha of 1930.

Verma said, “As part of the initiative, special vans titled ‘eat right movement and food safety on wheels’ will cover all urban and rural areas of the district to spread awareness on fortified products and the benefits of their consumption.”

“Fortified foods are rich in vitamins and essential minerals, including iron, sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc among others. We are trying to spread awareness on the same,” Dr Saurabh Agrawal, IMA district secretary, said.

District magistrate Akhilesh Mishra said that ASHA and ANMs would be assigned special duties to educate villagers on healthy eating habits.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Here’s how your vegetable salad may be getting poisoned, reveals IISc-UAS study

Bengaluru:

A study published by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) has claimed that increasing incidence of vegetable salads causing food poisoning may be due to infectious bacteria sneaking into plant roots.

“In recent years, contamination of salad vegetables by e.coli and salmonella bacteria — the most common causes of food poisoning — have led to largescale recalls. Although most salmonella outbreaks are linked to contamination from post-harvest handling and transportation, this infectious bacterium can also enter the plant from contaminated soil,” researchers said in a statement.

But how exactly does it enter from the soil? In their study, the researchers said unlike other disease-causing bacteria that enter the root, fruit or leaf by producing enzymes to break down the plant’s cell wall, salmonella sneaks in through a tiny gapcreatedwhen a lateral root branches out from the plant’s primary root.

“This is the first time we have shown how different salmonella are from other plant pathogens based on their ability to colonise roots,” said Kapudeep Karmakar, a PhD student, department of microbiology and cell biology, IISc, and first author of the paper published in BMC Plant Biology.

Karmakar andhiscolleagues studied how different types of bacteria, including salmonella, colonise the roots of tomato plants. While other bacteria were spread across the root, salmonella bacteria clustered almost exclusively around areas where lateral roots emerge.

“When a lateral root pierces open the wall of the primary root to spread across the soil, it leaves behind a tiny opening. Using fluorescent tagging and imaging, the researchers figured out that salmonella bacteria were using this gap to enter the plant.”

Researchers also noticed that under the same conditions, a plant with a more lateral roots harboured a greater concentration of salmonella than one with fewer lateral roots. Similarly, when plants were artificially induced to produce more lateral roots, the salmonella concentration increased.