Adulterated peas seized from factory

Jaipur: If you are purchasing frozen peas or having its curry in a restaurant or dhaba, beware. A team of food safety officers on Thursday raided a factory ‘Sai Boil Peas’ situated at Saket colony of Adarsh Nagar. The team found that rotten peas were boiled and were laced with refined oil, caustic soda and synthetic green colour to make them “saleable” and “tempting”. The factory was supplying these adulterated peas to restaurants and dhabas in Adarsh Nagar, Raja Park, Tilak Nagar and nearby colonies. 

Acting on directions of Dr Narottam Sharma, chief medical and health officer, a team of food safety officers raided the factory. “It was found that these peas were packed and supplied to restaurants, dhabas and to bakeries and were used in curries, sandwiches and other food items. We have collected two samples from the spot and have destroyed nearly 200 kg of peas produced in the factory,” said an officer. Officials said that usually, frozen peas are sold at Rs 100 to Rs 120 per kg, but to entice the customers, these adulterated peas were sold at Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg.

“These were also being supplied to some of the vegetable shops,” said an officer. “The consumption of such peas can lead to stomach ailments including ulcers and in the long run, it can also affect the kidney and liver,” said Sharma.

Kerala takes the lead in tackling trans fat hazard

• The year-long action plan has specific components on building awareness on trans fat amongst food business operators (FBOs) and giving them scientific sessions and training on how they can keep their food TFA-free.

Key highlights

• In a first, Kerala has formulated a draft action plan against trans-fat. Trans-fat are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. It is used to increase the shelf life of foods. The WHO estimates that consumption of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs) high in trans-fat leads to more than 5lakh deaths annually due to cardiovascular disease.

• Kerala’s action plan against trans-fat envisages

a) massive awareness campaign on harmful effects on trans-fat and high fat, sugar, salt (HFSS) foods,

b) identify supply and monitor retail sale of PHVOs,

c) provide scientific sessions and training to food business operators on using TFA free alternatives,

d) monitor and test food samples to keep use of trans-fat at check.

• Kerala’s initiative has been supported by Vital Strategies-a global public health organization, the nutrition wing of the World Bank, WHO, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

• FSSAI- the regulatory body for food safety and quality in India-had launched “Heart Attack Rewind”, a mass media campaign. It calls for eliminating industrially-produced trans-fat in the food supply.

• The FSSAI has set a target of less than 2% TFA content by 2022 in India.

• In 2018, WHO had launched REPLACE- a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat from the global food supply by 2023.

GOACAN to start consumer rights awareness month

PANJIM: Starting Friday, the consumer and civic rights forum - GOACAN will observe Consumer Rights Awareness Month with a focus on the Right to Seek Redressal as part of its ongoing Consumer Literacy Campaign. 

The month long awareness drive which seeks to remind consumers to Assert their Rights and Assume their Responsibilities will end on March 15, World Consumer Rights Day.

Forum’s coordinator Roland Martins said besides participation of consumer forum volunteers in different villages, GOACAN would also take the assistance of the Consumer Welfare Clubs (CWC) in High Schools, Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges during this awareness drive.

“The awareness drive will highlight the rights of consumers under the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the Standards of Weights & Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977, the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and the BIS Act 2016. We will give special focus to the consumer's Right to Seek Redressal with regards to LPG cylinders, cable TV, fair price shops, electricity, post offices, mobile & landline telephones, bus transport and service at public toilets among other issues,” he said. 

During the month, GOACAN would also publicise official email IDs and telephone numbers of the Grievance Redressal Officers of government departments and highlight the redressal avenues available such as Consumer Conciliation Committee, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums and the Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

FSSAI introduces restriction on eatery owners from using same batch of cooking oil more than thrice

In order to curb the consumption of 'frying fats', the FSSAI and the FDA have brought in a restriction for eatery owners prohibiting them from using the same batch of edible/cooking oil more than thrice.

March 1 has been set as the deadline for eatery owners to adhere to the new guidelines 

Mumbai: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is all set to impose a new rule on eateries and restaurants which will prohibit them from cooking more than three times with the same batch of cooking oil. The central body has sent notices to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) departments of all states asking them to ensure that the practice is implemented by March 1.

In its notice, the FSSAI has asked FDA to ensure that the new rule is imposed and adhered to by restaurant and eatery owners before the stipulated deadline. This rule will apply for all eateries and restaurants using more than 50 litres of oil per day. The rule has been brought into effect as per Section 16 (5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The FSSAI also said that starting March 1, it will conduct inspections across the country to ensure that the rule is being adhered to by eatery and restaurant owners. These owners have been asked to prepare and maintain a daily chart recording their daily consumption of oil in addition to keeping a log of their purchase of edible oils.

Pallavi Dadare, commissioner of FDA (Maharashtra division) told media outlets that repeated use of cooking oil leads to changes in the physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties. Total polar compounds (TPCs) formed in the oil during frying are called 'frying fats' and the rule is aimed at curbing the consumption of these 'frying fats'.

Kochi: Stale food seized from eateries

KOCHI: The health officials of Tripunithura municipality conducted raids in three leading hotels in the town on Tuesday.

The stale food seized from these restaurants – dishes of meat, fish and egg – were displayed at the reception of the municipal office along with the name tag of eateries.

Officials of the food safety department had earlier conducted a raid at a prominent juice chain in Tripunithura following complaints by customers who were given stale pani puri. A woman who ate pani puri from the outlet on Saturday had vomited immediately. Aluva food safety officer V Shanmukhan rushed to the eatery after they complained to the state food safety commissioner. “We have sent the food samples to Kakkanad lab for analysis. After getting a detailed lab report, we will take stringent action against the outlet,” the food safety officer said.

The raid by municipal health officials on Tuesday was carried out to ensure food safety in eateries.

Food safety officials in the district on Tuesday conducted inspections in shops and food-processing centres in select panchayats. Raids were also conducted in bar hotels and restaurants and tankers transporting drinking water.

Food safety nodal officer for the district said around 110 inspections were carried out by the department on Tuesday. The inspections were carried out in Varapuzha and Payipra, which are among 11 panchayats selected in the district as food safety panchayats.

Food safety officer for Muvattupuzha said they mostly checked licences of eateries.

“We have issued around 50 notices across the district following this,” said a department official.

The department would also conduct food safety awareness programmes in the 11 selected panchayats from Friday. The process of making these panchayats safe for food consumption would be complete by March 31.

The department officials in association with the excise department also conducted raids in select bar hotels in the district. This is following a directive from the excise commissioner asking for joint raids to ensure quality of food served in bar hotels.

The officials also conducted inspection of water tankers to ensure safety of drinking water supplied to apartments and regions with water scarcity. “All the tanker lorries that we inspected had proper licence. We have collected water samples and we would take action if they are found to be filthy,” an official said.

Food watchdog FDA to ensure Mumbai restaurants do not keep reusing stale oil

From next month, the food watchdog will scrutinise restaurant records to check whether they are re-using stale oil beyond the permissible limit

Reusing oil too many times can lead to severe health issues. 

Soon citizens won't have worry whether their French fries or bhajias were cooked in stale oil. Come March 1, restaurants and eateries will find it hard to keep re-using stale oil, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carefully watching their oil consumption.

Re-using oil can cause severe health issues like high cholesterol, blood pressure and liver issues. The new rules of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) now prohibit cooking more than three times with the same oil. To ensure that the rule is followed, eateries will be required to keep a log of their purchase and use of edible oils from March 1. The FSSAI has directed all Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) across the country to notify restaurants using more than 50 litres of oil per day to maintain a daily chart.

As per the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) First Amendment Regulations, 2017, use of edible oils more than three times is forbidden, as it leads to severe health consequences. "Repeated usage of cooking oil leads to changes in the physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties which cause severe health issues. During frying, total polar compounds or TPCs are formed in the oil, which are also called frying fats. The regulation has been introduced to stop this," said Pallavi Dadare, commissioner of FDA (Maharashtra).

As per the new rules, the TPC limit is 25 percent, beyond which the oil is not suitable for use. "To ensure that such used cooking oil is neither directly used in the food preparation nor reentered into the food chain, it has been decided that all Food Business Operators whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 litres per day, shall maintain the records and dispose used cooking oil to agencies authorised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India or Commissioner of Food Safety of States/UTs from time to time," reads the notification sent by FSSAI.

Restaurants will have to submit data such as name of the oil, quantity of oil taken for frying, quantity discarded at the end of the day, date and mode of disposal and which agency the oil was handed over to. "Overuse of edible oils can lead to health issues like high cholesterol, blood pressure and liver issues. It is always advisable not to use same cooking oil on a regular basis. This accountability can help to control this habit in hotels," said Dr Saurav Mehta, a general physician.

‘Obesity rate doubled in State in 10 years’

Lack of nutritious food or unhealthy eating habits, both seem to have a major impact on the population of Jharkhand. Sharing data on obesity and malnutrition in State, Deepika Anand, nutritionist at World Bank, informed obesity and overweight has doubled in both men and women in a decade.

Comparing the data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 3 conducted in 2005-06 and NFHS 4 conducted in 2015-16, she said, “When in 2005-06, 4.9 per cent men and 5.4 per cent women were overweight, it has increased to 11.1 and 10.3 per cent respectively in 2015-16.”

She also shared non communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart problems are responsible for 48 per cent of total disease burden of the State and cardiovascular diseases are among top 10 leading cause of death in the State for people above 40 years of age.

At the same time under nutrition indicators in the State also show that underweight children and anemia among the population in general is a major problem in Jharkhand.

“Anemia among women in Jharkhand is 65.2 per cent, which is much higher than the national average of 53 per cent. However, a more shocking indicator is anemia among men, which is 29.9 per cent in State, as compared to 22.7 per cent in the country,” Anand said.

As far as children under the age of five is considered, 45.3 per cent children are stunted (low height for age) in Jharkhand as compared to 38.4 per cent in country, 29 per cent are wasted (low weight for height) against 21 per cent in country and 47.8 per cent children are underweight against the average of 35.7 per cent at national level.

A programme organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and World Bank in the city on Wednesday focused on the Eat Right India Movement in order to prevent the citizens from falling prey to malnourishment, overweight or other health issues caused by unhealthy eating habits.

The Swasth Bharat Yatra to spread the message of Eat Right Movement was flagged off from six districts across country, including Ranchi on October 16, 2018 and culminated at New Delhi on January 27, 2019.

Anand said, “Now that the yatra is over, we are aiming to spread the message of healthy eating through awareness programmes like these. Our three focus areas are eat healthy, eat safe and eat fortified.”

She pointed out that the largest increase in the disease burden from 1990 to 2016 was observed for diabetes with a growth of 80 percent.

“Of the total disease burden, 1/10th was caused by a group of risks including unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and overweight,” she said.

The data further showed that the per capita consumption of sugar has risen from 22 gm/day in 2000 to 55.3 gm/day in 2010. Likewise, salt consumption ranges from 9 to 12 gm per capita per day which is twice the recommended dietary intake of 5 gm/day by World Health Organization.

The programme focused on reduction of health risks by eating healthy. Some of the major tips shared included gradual reduction of oil in daily diet, tracking the consumption of oil in the home on monthly basis, measuring cooking oil with spoon rather than pouring directly from bottle, avoiding reheating the oil, choosing lean meat over red meat among many others.

Anand said, “Follow 7Cs, check for spoilage, clean hands and food, cover food, cook properly, control temperature, consume food hygienically and avoid cross contamination in order to provide food contamination.”

Govt eases rules for budget hotels seeking food licences

• Budget hotels will not require star rating certificates for seeking food safety licences
• The hospitality industry in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.1% in 2022, according to a report by KPMG

NEW DELHI: The government has relaxed norms for budget hotels in procuring food safety licences to promote ease of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the hospitality industry.

The move comes in the wake of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) receiving several representations from stakeholders to review the provisions requiring hotel food business operators (FBOs) to furnish star rating certificates from the ministry of tourism’s Hotel & Restaurant Approval & Classification Committee (HRACC) while applying for a fresh licence or to renew a licence.

FSSAI, the food safety regulation arm of the health ministry, has said budget hotels will not require star rating certificates for seeking food safety licences.

“It has been brought to the notice of FSSAI that the scheme of certificate of star ratings to the hotels by the ministry of tourism (HRACC) is voluntary and many hotels particularly small hotels do not go for star certification under the scheme. However, licensing authorities insist on the production of the certificate of ratings even from small or tiny hotels at the time of applying for fresh licence or renewal of licence. As a result, the hotel industry is facing difficulty in getting licences for hotels," Parveen Jargar, joint director (regulatory compliance), FSSAI said in his order dated 7 February.

Mint has reviewed a copy of the order.

“As per the licensing criteria, hotels with ratings of five star and above require central licences and hotels with rating four star and below with a turnover above ₹12 lakh require a state licence. It is clarified that the criteria for hotels for state licence includes both star category hotels (one star to four star) as well as non-star category hotels, including all those hotels that have not opted for star rating," the order said.

The ministry of tourism has formulated a voluntary scheme for classification of operational hotels under the star category—5 Star Deluxe, 5 Star, 4 Star, 3 Star, 2 Star, and 1 Star—and the heritage category—Heritage Grand, Heritage Classic, and Heritage Basic. The aim is to provide contemporary standards of facilities and services available on the hotels.

“Small and budget hotels will now have an opportunity of improving their services instead of running around for paper work. This will encourage the hotel industry," said Arup Mitra, professor, health policy research unit at the Institute of Economic Growth. The hospitality industry in India is expected to grow at 16.1% CAGR in 2022, according to KPMG.

India Brand Equity Foundation, a trust established by the department of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry, said the travel and tourism sector in India comprised 8% of the total employment opportunities generated in India in 2017, providing employment to about 41.6 million people during the year.

The FSSAI decided that hotel FBOs will have to upload on the online food licensing and registration system (FLRS) a declaration stating whether they are star or non-star hotel. In case of star hotels, they will be required to submit a star certificate issued by the ministry of tourism.

Soon, your street food will have much needed hygiene

Kozhikode: Street food is usually considered unhealthy and it’s frowned upon to indulge in your favourite treats. This reputation has been built on the assumption that street foods have questionable hygiene standards.

But all this is about to change as the district assistant commissioner of food safety will launch an initiative to convert the beach stretch into ‘clean street food hub’. 

A proposal in the regard has been submitted to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). 

The project will ensure that street food vendors at the beach stretch (city corporation office to Lion’s Park) maintain quality and hygiene of the food delivered to customers. 

FSSAI will conduct a pre-audit before giving final approval to transform it into a clean street food hub. The vendors who sell food items must comply with stipulated norms of FSSAI will be issued licence.

The project aims at ensuring healthy, hygiene and safety standard of street food and holistic development of the street food vendors.

There are framed guidelines for upgrading the existing infrastructure of street food clusters to make it safe and hygienic.

The parameters include best practices for garbage disposal, maintaining personal hygiene, demarcating cooking and non-cooking area, working street lights, pest control and overall cleanliness among other things.

The scheme will bring them all under the Food Safety and Standard Act. The project will also empower street vendors with basic knowledge about food safety and ensure that they maintain personal hygiene and uses safe drinking water.

It will also ensure that the food is protected from pests and dust and the vendors use clean utensils to cook. 

Proper disposal of waste will be carried out. The officials will also conduct a training programme to create awareness about the norms of Food Safety and Standard Act. 

According to the office of the assistant commissioner of food safety Kozhikode, preliminary survey has identified a total of 98 street vendors at the beach stretch. 

P K Aleyamma, assistant commissioner of food Safety, said FSSAI officials will conduct a pre-auditing before giving the. “Only licensed vendors will be allowed to operate on the stretch,’’ she added

“Reuse of oil and usage of artificial colours that pose threat to your health will not be allowed once the project is implemented,’’ she said adding that the scheme will be extended to other streets as well.

The ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ initiative will raise hygiene standards and revolutionise street food vending in the city, making it popular among both domestic and international tourists while also preserving rich culinary heritage.

The initiative will nudge the street food vendors into a food ecosystem where the Indian street food vending will be looked up with high esteem at a global level.

Non-branded ice creams found contaminated with high bacterial presence: CERC findings

Many micro-organisms, including dangerous ones, thrive between 20°C and 40°C; the temperature of most rooms. Frozen food, which is stored well at below zero°C, is therefore not a hospitable environment for them. In a freezer, microbes become dormant, but don’t die (you can’t kill them with cold). Danger, therefore, could lie just outside the freezer door.

With ever-increasing varieties of flavours and combinations, ice creams are a gourmand’s delight, but a majority of brands available in the market are contaminated with dangerous bacteria and fungi.

The common health issues associated with contaminated ice cream are diarrhoea, vomiting and skin rashes to serious ones like gastroenteritis and typhoid. Listeriosis can cause nasty stomach pains, a fever and vomiting.

Sometimes having our favourite non-branded ice creams may render us to harmful bacteria, said a study by Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC). In the findings, atleast 70 per cent of the samples of non-branded ice creams showed presence of Coliform count which is much above the prescribed limits. This is an indication of possible faecal contamination which through no proper hygiene maintained at the disposal end due to unhealthy manufacturing practice.

CERC tested 10 samples of non-branded ice cream from different parts of Ahmedabad as per norms of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Out of ten, seven ice cream samples had a very high content of Coliform count in it. CERC suggested that manufacturers should obtain ingredients from licensed sources only and store both ingredients and final product at proper temperatures. All equipments should be cleaned and sterilized, hygienic practices be followed during preparation and at the times of serving. The surrounding area of outlet also counts into the vicinity of cleanliness.

Children of vulnerable age groups, especially from poorer families form the bulk of its consumers, hence greater care to be taken by test-labs to check the microbiology of the ingredients, said a statement from CERC.

Rajesh Gandhi, president IICMA (Indian Ice Cream Manufacturing Association) and MD Vadilal Ice Cream said, “It is difficult to conclude in a situation like this but IICMA can take up a lead role in educating the manufacturers and training them to follow hygiene practice at all the levels of ice cream making”.

“It is necessary to create awareness among the manufacturers to improve the microbiology standards in the product which will make food safe for the consumers by good manufacturing practice”.

According to Gandhi, raw materials and ingredients added before the process of pasteurization of milk can kill the bacteria but after the process is complete and then adding ingredients no re-pasteurization process can be performed on the finished product. Contamination can even occur after pasteurization by mishandling of the product, unclean tanks and utensils, areas of manufacturing and serving areas.

“Basically faecal contamination is present from small-time ice cream makers who manufacture at small scale where there are no test labs or testing equipments.

Beside awareness and support from FSSAI and state government, good manufacturer must follow production procedure with greater responsibility.

Bigger brands need to be more careful and have strict parameters to follow to give healthy products to the consumers”, concluded Gandhi.

Shabbir Patel, Director, Fun India Dairy, is of the opinion that the contamination is found in the product where sanitization is not handled properly.

In hand-made ice cream we find contaminants more than the automated ice cream making. When the surrounding area of factory is not clean, the product manufactured is infested by coliform bacteria. These bacteria cannot be seen with naked eyes. Another issue is dirty water which is a prime source of bacteria contaminant. Though water when boiled kills the bacteria, but doesn’t necessarily kill it. It stays dormant till the ice cream is back in liquid form. CIP (Cleaning In Place) is process where the machines are sterilized with chemicals and hot water and cleaned thoroughly to kill maximum germs.

Many a times big brands too overlook or bypass certain criteria of cleanliness. The government can help by implementing certain rules and policies to keep a close check on these brands of ice cream. They can take stricter action so that the ice- cream makers organized or unorganized must follow the sanitization procedures and adhere to it strictly. Times have changed recently as there is more awareness of clean food. Food operators and Environmentalists are closely following the food safety laws stringently abiding to it”.

Mukesh Kothari, Managing Director Manmohak Ice cream and Vice President All India Association of Small Scale Ice Cream Manufacturers, said, “As things are getting costlier day by day things, the manufacturers are thinking on the cost-cutting grounds resulting in use of cheap raw materials which can come with contamination. Therefore to draw more customers to the shop they sell cheap ice creams”.

Usually in India there is shortage of clean drinking water. Small manufacturers opt to take unclean water basically from washrooms already contaminated by coliform which comes from human faecal.

Kothari replied, “People don’t know what they are consuming. It’s cold, sweet and tasty, that is what they count on. According to me it is better to consume ice cream from reputed brand only, because big producers take ultimate care while manufacturing. They can’t stake their name in the industry, so they more often than not follow stringent rules and stick to it with no compromise of any sort”.

To summarise the finding of CERC, the Regulatory bodies should constantly monitor quality to ensure food processing standards are maintained at production, processing, packaging and storage stages. Primarily, food handlers need to be educated on the importance of good sanitary practices along with consumers who also need to follow similar pattern. The contaminations can also happen from the consumer end too.

On the part of consumers, CERC suggested that consumers should buy ice cream from reputed shops only after checking the expiry date. They should store ice cream in the freezer after purchase. Never consume re-freezed ice cream. “Ice cream can pose a danger after purchase if it has melted and then been re-frozen. It can cause food poisoning.

Ice cream melts fairly rapidly at room temperature and the milky, the sugary, liquid concoction is a perfect petri- dish for certain bacteria like listeria, essentially the second time you dig into the tub.

The Impact 

Coliform bacteria can cause bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections and typhoid.

Overuse of synthetic food colour is linked to cancer, DNA damage and attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity in children.

Cross Contamination

Another way in which ice cream can become dangerous is through cross contamination with other harmful food stuffs. The main concern here is that spoons and scoops used to distribute the ice cream from tub to bowl have many nasty bugs and tiny organisms on them: for instance, if they’ve come into contact gone-off ice cream.

Colour coding your equipment is always helpful in keeping cross contamination to a minimum.

Bad ingredients

Unfortunately, there are certain ways in which ice cream can poison someone by no fault of their own. One example is that of contaminated ingredients.

Like shampoos, soaps, body washes; commercial ice cream is also filled with toxic ingredients. In addition to the usual milk, sugar and cream, ice cream is made with harmful emulsifiers and additives including:

Calcium sulfate, Polysorbate 80, Magnesium hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Artificial Flavors etc…

Each one of these is added to the ice cream you see on store shelves and in shops the with the sole purposes of making this treat look, feel and taste better. In other words, they are used to make ice cream more appealing to the human eye and to our taste buds, though none of these ingredients provide any form of nutritional value. What’s more, they can have harmful effects.

For instance, while Polysorbate 80 is used as an emulsifier, Polysorbate 80 has been found to negatively affect the immune system and cause severe anaphylactic shock which can kill. Other ingredients have been found to have carcinogenic effects and are poisonous to humans.

It’s better to suspend operations after any incidental reports of the deadly outbreak of contaminants by the ice cream and entire food industry on the whole.

The message: manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and so forth are all capable of causing accidental harm to the consumer. There’s not much consumers can do about this, however, beyond only buying from trusted brands. But, then again, even the best brands need to trigger recalls now and again, holding no proper guarantee of the best food. So perhaps it’s better to simply hold your nose and chew (or… wait, how do you eat ice cream?…)

DINAKARAN NEWS

Requirement of documents for license to Hotels

India doesn’t define ‘Junk Food’, invites manipulation

New Delhi, Feb 11: When the whole world is fighting against the ill effects of Junk Food, India is yet to define what junk food is. 

'Junk Food' is not defined under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations thereunder, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare, informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. 

Junk food is a pejorative term for food containing a large number of calories from sugar or fat with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals. 

Instead, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prepared guidelines, that too as per the directions of the Delhi High Court. 

The guidelines titled as 'Guidelines for making available Wholesome Nutritious, Safe and Hygienic Food to School Children in India' have been prepared by an expert group /central advisory committee. 

 The Delhi High Court had issued directions while hearing the petition No. 8568 of 2010 titled 'Uday Foundation for Congenial defects and Rare Blood Vs UOI & Others'. 

Since India has not 'officially' defined Junk Food, it has left open the door for the multinational junk food giants to manipulate country's health policies in connivance of government officials. Here is the latest example how efforts are on to manipulate India's food policy, which if successful, will not only affect current population but also future generations. 

The FSSAI, country's top food regulator, launched 'The Eat Right India' movement in July, 2018 to improve public health in India and combat negative nutritional trends to fight lifestyle diseases and spends crores of taxpayers' money on advertisements to keep Indians healthy. However, a watchdog organisation has accused the FSSAI of providing a 'government platform' to the multinational torchbearers of junk food to influence India's food policies. 

The India Resource Center (IRC), an international campaigning organisation based in Berkeley, California, has written a letter to Pawan Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), FSSAI, and highlighted the conflict of interest in the FSSAI. Amit Srivastava, Coordinator, IRC, has also marked the copy of letter to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda. 

Citing a BMJ report entitled "Making China safe for Coke: how Coca-Cola shaped obesity science and policy in China", Srivastava apprises Agarwal of how Coca-Cola and other companies worked through the China branch of International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) to influence China's public health policies, including a "shift aligned with Coca-Cola's message that it is activity, not diet, that matters-a claim few public health scholars accept". 

ILSI is a non-profit organisation founded by Alex Malaspina, former senior vice president at Coca Cola, and acts as a front group for food, beverage and agrichemical companies, says the letter. However, ILSI Global website describes itself as a nonprofit, worldwide organisation whose mission is to provide science that improves human health and well-being and safeguards the environment. Srivastava further adds that ILSI has a chapter in India as well, and counts Coca-Cola India's Director of Regulatory Affairs as its Treasurer, and representatives from Nestle and Ajinomoto among its board of directors. 

"Not surprisingly, ILSI has organised conferences in India downplaying the role of sugar and diet, and promoting increased physical activity as the solution to obesity. What is particularly disturbing is the central involvement of key FSSAI functionaries - who are meant to regulate these junk food companies - in the ILSI organisation itself," says the IRC letter. 

Mentioning the conflict of interest, the letter says the Board Member of ILSI-India Dr. Debabrata Kanungo is also on the FSSAI's Scientific Panel on Pesticides Residues and Scientific Panel on Food additives, Flavourings, Processing aids and Materials in contact with food. ILSI- India website displays name of Kanungo as Member of Board of Trustees and introduces him as "Consultant (Medical Toxicology and Risk Assessment), CIB & RC. Govt. of India, (Retd.), Faridabad". 

The letter further states that Dr. B Sesikeran, who is on the Board of Trustees of the global ILSI as well as ILSI-India Board member, is also a member of FSSAI's Scientific Panel on Functional foods, Nutraceuticals, Dietetic Products and Other similar products. 

In April last year, the FSSAI had come out with the draft of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018 that propose mandatory red-label marking on packaged food products containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt. But, the government had to put on hold the draft after some stakeholders expressed concerns. 

The FSSAI then set up a group of experts to look into the issue of labelling and made B. Sesikeran head of the group. The other members are director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) Hemalatha, and Dr. Nikhil Tandon. Srivastava has also questioned Sesikeran's appointment at the FSSAI's expert committee to look into the draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018. 

"The presence of these two individuals (Kanungo and Sesikeran) in such critical positions within FSSAI constitutes a significant conflict of interest. They are representing the industry front group, ILSI, and their inclusion in the scientific panel runs counter to the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006," the letter says and demands removal of Kanungo and Sesikeran from FSSAI panels. Sesikeran's name has been displayed on ILSI Global website as well as ILSI-India website as Member of Board of Trustees. 

Citing a 2011 Supreme Court, Srivastava writes that "the inclusion of the two members mentioned above violate the spirit and intent of the Supreme Court decision given the central roles that both members play as board members of ILSI". 

The apex court had pulled up FSSAI for keeping Pepsi and Coca-Cola representatives on a committee looking into the alleged use of harmful chemicals in soft drinks and directed the food regulator to renotify all such panels within two weeks and remove names associated with industrial houses. 

However, how seriously the FSSAI takes directions of the Supreme Court could be gauged by a news report of last year. Also Read | Government bans junk food advertisements on cartoon channels FSSAI CEO Agarwal was quoted by PTI on August 17, 2018 as saying that FSSAI will go ahead with the labelling norms even if there is no consensus on the matter after the (Sesikeran) panel's suggestions. 

Know all about Ashwini Kumar Choubey Political CareerNetworthContactBiography Now, the ball is in the court of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda. It will be interesting to watch what action he takes on the matter that involves a larger public interest.

Nescafe “Instant” Coffee: HC asks FSSAI & Health Ministry to take action against Counterfeit product manufacturers.

Delhi High Court Judge, Justice Pratibha M. Singh in the matter of SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A & ANR v. MOHD ZAHID AND SONS & ORS has asked Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for taking steps for curbing the menace of manufacturing of counterfeit goods.

Nestlé, a world renowned company in the FMCG sector had filed a John Doe suit in the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi for preventing various third parties that were found by Nestlé to have been actively involved in facilitating the illegal distribution, manufacturing, offering to sell and sale of counterfeit NESCAFÉ instant coffee.

The present John Doe suit was filed by Nestlé in the interest of its brand and the public at large who ought to be protected from being subject to counterfeit edible products, which was granted by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. During the raids conducted by the Local Commissioners, multiple manufacturers were found to be counterfeiting food products.

The matter recently came up before the Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Pratibha M. Singh who, considering the gravity of the issue of Food counterfeit sought involvement of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to investigate about the license status of counterfeit manufacturers listed in the suit and also suggest steps already taken and can be further taken in order to stop sale of counterfeit food products revealed in the suit vide order dated 20.12.2018.

Over 5 tonne tobacco products destroyed

Trichy: Food safety department officials destroyed more than five tonne banned tobacco products at Panjappur in Trichy on Monday afternoon.

The team led by designated officer (DO) of food safety department in Trichy Dr S Chithra carried out the process at a location away from the residential area. The destroyed tobacco products were seized in the raids conducted by the food safety department and police in Gujili Street, Kammala Street and Palakkarai areas in the city since August 2018. The seized products were stored in the premises of the food safety department near Kajamalai in Trichy.

The latest seizure was nearly 4 tonne of banned gutka and tobacco products on January 21, 2019, and arrested 2 people for stocking it at a godown illegally. The officials found that they played a major role in supplying the banned items to the retail shops who sell them clandestinely.

Sources said that the raids at the godowns and the subsequent seizure will increase the retail price of the tobacco products. Though Tamil Nadu government led by chief minister J Jayalalithaa had put a ban on chewable tobaccos in 2013, the prevalence of the products remained unstoppable even after six years despite the officials taking action on the violators. The officials pointed out the demand among tobacco lovers.

As far as Tamil Nadu was concerned, the officials said that the banned items were being transported to the state through Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri, said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Whenever the officials carry out the raids at the godowns and retail shops in Trichy, there will be less activity of the violators. The situation will become normal making the products available freely after some time. “We will conduct surprise raids and seize the banned products besides arresting such offenders,” said DO Dr Chithra on Monday.

Poor quality milk supplied for wedding feast, samples sent for testing

Jaipur: Receiving a tip-off about sub-standard milk, paneer and mawa supplied to a marriage garden, health department officials rushed to the spot and destroyed 200kg curd, 150kg ras malai and 20kg paneer in the city on Monday. 

Food safety officers said that a firm based at Dhoodh Mandi in Subhash Nagar had supplied 400kg milk, 25 kg paneer and 50kg mawa for a wedding feast. 

Health department officials said that the supplier had extracted all the fat from the milk and supplied it to the marriage garden.

“When we checked the quality of milk at the marriage garden, we found that it had no fat, it was solid not fat (SNF),” said a health department official. 

He said that the dishes prepared from the milk were destroyed. “The cooks at the marriage garden tried to prepare ras malai and curd from the milk but all efforts went in vain as the milk did not have any fat,” the official said.

The health department officials have collected samples of milk, curd and paneer and sent them for testing in the laboratory. “We have sent the samples for testing to know if the milk was adulterated,” the official said.

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Threat of Microplastics looms large in groundwater

Kerala's action plan against trans fat within this week

According to Health Department authorities, the state will come out with an action-plan to combat the scourge of trans fat within this week.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to Health Department authorities, the state will come out with an action-plan to combat the scourge of trans fat within this week. A state-level committee formed for the task will also come out with a blueprint for setting up adequate infrastructure to analyse trans fat content in food items in the three state-run analytical food testing labs.

“The draft action-plan has been prepared. The state-level committee will now examine the same. It is expected that by this week we could finalize the same and roll out the campaign against trans fat,” said Dr Bipin Gopal, state nodal officer for non-communicable diseases.

Gopal said that the fight against trans fat in the state will be of a three-pronged strategy. In the first phase, a random sampling of food items for testing trans fat will be carried out in selected districts it will be followed by a meeting of stakeholders in which the findings of the sampling will be briefed to them and alternatives for trans fat will also be proposed. The enforcement comes in the last phase.

According to him, in a meeting convened with representatives of bakery association, pickle manufacturing association, catering association and hoteliers and restaurant association in the last week of January were sensitized about the ill effects of trans fat and to avoid the same.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Community Medicine Department of the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College (GMC) has begun a multi-pronged study on trans fat. The study aims to find the content of trans fatty acids, salt and sugar in snack foods, baked foods, and fried foods.

“The study is part of a nation-wide study mooted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) against trans fat. In south India, the Bangalore Medical College and Thiruvananthapuram GMC were the centres. The study will take time to complete,” said Dr P S Indu of Community Medicine Department GMC. It was following a finding that increased trans fatty acid consumption leads to adverse health impact, particularly cardiovascular diseases that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India decided to spearhead a campaign that could bring down the trans-fatty acid content in edible oils and vanaspati to two per cent from the current 5% by 2022.

According to WHO, trans fat intake leads to more than 5lakh deaths due to cardiovascular disease and it proposes the REPLACE strategy to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply.

Garnering global support

The fight against trans fat in the state is bolstered by the support of the World Bank (WB), World Health Organization (WHO), and Vital Strategies- a US-based NGO.

FSDA pastes officers’ phone numbers on makeshift food stalls

Meerut: The Food Safety and Drugs Authority (FSDA) has pasted phone numbers of food safety officers on makeshift food stalls so that quality food is served and the space around is free of litter. Now, customers who find any adulterated food items being sold or any sanitation issues can directly contact the food officer concerned.

The FSDA authorities said unlike other eateries and food stores, it becomes difficult to keep a tab on makeshift stalls. Therefore, notices with the numbers of food safety officials have been pasted on such food stalls.

Archana Dheeran, designated officer, FSDA, Meerut, said, “In the backdrop of the instructions given by the state authorities, notices with contact numbers of food safety officers of that area have been pasted on the makeshift stalls and carts. The notices also have an advisory that if the customers have any problem with the sanitation or the food being served there, they may contact the food safety officer concerned.”

The move, officials say, is aimed at reducing cases of adulteration at food stalls and provide ways of keeping a tab on quality of food being served at roadside stalls.

“The city residents can also send pictures of adulterated food items — if any. Previously, the city residents complained that they did not have any contact number of FSDA officers when they wanted to complain about any adulterated item. But now, with such notices being pasted, things will become more transparent,” said Dheeran.

Private hospital canteen asked to shut shop

JAIPUR: A private canteen serving food in a private hospital was found functional without renewing its food licence, during an inspection by food safety officers of health department on Saturday. During the inspection, the officials found that the bottles of sauces and other items did not have labels of manufacturing and expiry dates.

Besides, there was no warning board of ‘tobacco prohibit area’ at the canteen. The officials said that fitness certificate of food handlers is necessary but the norms were flouted by the canteen. The fitness certificate is necessary to ward off risk of spread of infectious diseases. When food safety officers took up the matter with hospital administration, it assured action against the canteen. Within few hours, the hospital terminated the contract with the proprietor of the Jaipur-based Shree Shyam Green Chilli. Hospital gave three days’ time to canteen proprietor to vacate the space provided to it by the hospital administration.

Raipurians eat, gorge and repeat at this food festival

The Local Food Fest has brought with it the best of food and beverages from Chhattisgarh for Raipurians. With over 60 stalls showcasing the best of food from cafes, dhabas, street food, home cooks to fine dine, the fest is a foodie's paradise in Raipur.

The Local Food Fest has variety of dishes, food truck items, an assortment of beverages and amazing desserts and live performances to go with to make sure there is something for everyone and that all home kitchens in Raipur stay shut for 2 days.

The Local is an effort to bring to the fore, artists, musicians and entrepreneurs from the community. It is also a reflection of creativity in various forms and highlights the limitless manifestation of one’s artistic expression.

"After 5 successful editions of the same, we are starting a new chapter with The Local Food Fest, the first ever food festival in Chhattisgarh," reads the press release shared The Local Raipur.

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Clean sreet food hubs in Kerala Soon

BHOG evokes huge response

Clean street food hubs in Kerala soon

Bid to raise hygiene standards, preserve culinary heritage.

The first ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ was set up near Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad and the FSSAI awarded it a certificate recognising it as India’s first hub. (Representational image)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: You will soon be able to taste the rich culinary treasures of the state not in five-star hotels, but at street corners. No need to worry about quality, for they will offer you food at its hygienic best.

The Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety (KCFS) is gearing up to implement the ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ — an ambitious initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to revolutionise street food. The commissionerate has tied up with the District Tourism Promotion Councils of all 14 districts in the state for finding suitable vending zones for setting up the hub.

The initiative aims at preserving the rich culinary heritage of each state. The first ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ was set up near Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad and the FSSAI awarded it a certificate recognising it as India’s first hub.

A 10-member team from FSSAI will soon visit the state to inspect the locations identified by the commissionerate for setting up the zone.

“FSSAI will approve our project only if we meet all the prerequisite set by them. But it’s impossible to set up a hub on the lines of the one in Ahmedabad. Our culture and geography are different and they have agreed to customise the prerequisite as per the condition of our state. Identifying a cluster of vendors and the street would be a challenge for us. But it’s possible and around four DTPCs have come up with the location,” said the official.

The initiative is meant to raise hygiene standards and preserve the culinary heritage of the state giving it a global appeal. Indore and Surat are the other places which have implemented the initiative and Goa will do it soon, the official said.

“Everybody likes street food and people are hesitant because of the poor hygiene standards. The tourism industry will benefit from the scheme and hence the department is positive about it. If they have a suitable location for the hub at a prime tourism destination, they can use it for the project,” said the official.

FBOs using edible oils for frying > 50 ltrs per day required to maintain records as per FSSAI orders March 3 onward

FBOs using edible oils for frying > 50 ltrs per day required to maintain records as per FSSAI orders March 3 onward

New Delhi, Feb 8 (KNN) Food Business Operators (FBOs) whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 litres per day are required to maintain the records as per the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India's (FSSAI's) notification.

The record should contain information that includes name of the oil, quantity of oil taken for frying, quantity of oil discarded at the end of the day, date and mode of disposal of used cooking oil and discarded oil collected by authorized agency.

In this regard, FSSAI issued a notification to ensure that such used cooking oil is neither directly used in the food preparation nor re-enter food chain.

The FSSAI said “All FBOs whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 litres per day shall maintain the given records and dispose used cooking oil to agencies authorized by the FSSAI or Commissioner of Food Safety of States/UTs from time to time.”

Further, it added that the cooking oil having developed Total Polar Compounds (TPCs) of more than 25% shall not be topped up with fresh oil.

In view of the above, FSSAI said “Food safety commissioners of all States/ UTs are directed to initiate enforcement of the requirements with effect from March 3, 2019.”

Repeated frying of oil leads to changes in physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties of edible oil. During frying TPCs are formed in the oil which have adverse effects on health.

In this regard, Food authority has notified Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) First Amendment Regulation, 2017 on October 24, 2017 which prescribes the limit for TPCs to be maximum 25% beyond which the vegetable oil is not suitable for use.

The milk you drink could be carrying unsafe bacteria!

Vijayawada: On one hand where Andhra Pradesh stands as the fifth largest producer of milk in India, milk-borne diseases have become a cause for concern on the other. A study by NTR Veterinary College revealed that a majority of raw and chilled samples contained bacteria such as E. coli, S. aureus and Salmonella.

Alarmingly, pasteurised milk too has been found contaminated. The study tested 600 milk samples and found that 13% of raw and chilled samples contained Listeria - a causative agent of one of the most severe Foodborne diseases. 

The samples also lacked the presence of dangerous bacteria Brucella and it was further found that around 17% of the samples had antibodies against Brucella. But on the contrary, it has been revealed that a large number of brucellosis cases have been reported in the state of which a maximum number of people consume raw milk. 

The study also cites that the expansion of dairy production in India and AP has taken place without food safety challenges being fully addressed.

Factors that currently hinder effective management of milk safety in Andhra include: largely informal milk supply chains with very diverse factors and dominated by small-scale producers, insufficient food safety legislation, monitoring and enforcement, lack of data on which to base systematic prioritization of hazards. 

“Lack of standardization and limited resources make food safety regulation challenging. With AP having third highest per-capita milk consumption in India, there is an importance of the dairy sector in the state, however, there is a limited adoption of good farming practices by producers and safe handling practices by actors along the supply channels,” the study explained. In this regard, NTR Veterinary College also held a meeting with various people from the scientist community and few other animal sciences universities on Thursday.

A collaborative research project will soon be undertaken between Royal Veterinary College London, NTR College of Veterinary Science, Gannavaram and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana on ‘Modelling exposure to biological hazards in the dairy chains of Andhra Pradesh to inform food safety policy’ funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. A MoU in this regard has also been signed at NTR Veterinary College with the Gates Foundation. Around $820,823 are expected to be spent on the project which would take place for a period of 36 months.

Telangana: Food court penalises customers for wasting food

A food court in Adalath Centre penalises customers for wasting food.

'Kedari Food Court' which is owned by Lingala Kedari, has introduced a 'carrot and stick' policy to keep a check on wastage of food. Kedari had introduced this policy around two years ago and since then he has been ensuring that no customer leaves the place without paying the fine in case he or she wastes food.

Speaking to ANI Kedari said, "I do not like people who waste food. We serve good quality food here. I tell people very frankly that if you waste food you are not invited here. Also, I do not serve food to those who come to our food court after consuming liquor. People should learn to respect food."

Kedari also informed that his family including his wife and their two sons work at the food court.Furthermore, he claimed that TRS working president KT Rama Rao is fond of the fish curry made by his wife.

Elaborating upon the food that is severed at the 'Kedari Food Court', owner's son Akash Raj told ANI: "Customers can have a meal with chicken curry, egg curry or fish as accompaniment and in vegetarian, we have 15 varieties of dishes. Till a couple of months ago, 300 to 400 customers would eat here on a daily basis but now the number has touched 800.

FSSAI’s FoSTaC programme trains 1 lakh supervisors

Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) Programme, a capacity building initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has crossed the 1 lakh mark of trained and certified supervisors. The programme aims to build capacities of trained food handlers across the value chain in micro, small, medium and large companies in the food sector.

In a statement, the food safety authority said that it has created a pan-India training network comprising of 169 training partners and over 1500 empanelled trainers. “Under the FoSTaC program, over 80,000 people have been trained in the organized sector and almost 18,000 people in un-organized sector including street food vendors and self-help groups till date,” the statement added.

FSSAI said that food safety is a shared responsibility and the FoSTaC programme promotes a culture of self-compliance in food businesses by making them more diligent toward food safety and hygiene in their premises through effective training of their own staff.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO , FSSAI said, “ This would definitely raise the bar for food safety and build a culture of self-compliance for food safety in food businesses in the country.” “The success of this initiative lies in the power of partnership between stakeholders across the value chain as policing through licensing & enforcement alone does not ensure food is safe for consumption,” the regulator added.

DINAKARAN NEWS

Vitamin deficiency on rise in Hyderabad

Trains will soon have food inspectors

Indore: Passengers travelling in trains operating via Ratlam division soon won’t need to go the extra mile to raise a complaint over poor quality of food served on board as railways have appointed ‘food inspectors’ to keep a check on it. 

These staff will randomly taste food provided to passengers. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has appointed these staff, who would be called food safety supervisors. 

They will be present on board to taste food and also collect feedback from passengers. They will also keep a check on food preparation from time to time.

Fourteen trains of Ratlam division are going to have these food safety supervisors. “Trains like Malwa Express, Kochuveli, Yashwantpur Express, Indore-Guwahati, Kamakhya Express will have supervisors soon. Each train will have at least one supervisor,” said a spokesman with Ratlam division of Western Railway.

“Apart from keeping a check on quality of food, these supervisors appointed by IRCTC, would also check for overcharging. They will also have right to take action in case of overcharging by a vendor by crosschecking bills issued to passengers on purchase of any item from railway vendors,” he added. 

Officials said that these supervisors will submit feedback to IRCTC office in Indore. “This initiative has been taken up under new catering policy aimed at improving quality of food served to passengers,” they said, adding that food in trains is now being served by IRCTC.

They also pointed out that passengers often complained about bad quality of food served to them on board. “This will ensure provision of quality and hygienic food to passengers,” they said.

Not just cigarettes, alcohol bottles in India will have a loud and clear warning soon

Liquor bottles in India to soon have a statutory warning 

The FSSAI has directed companies to carry a statutory warning of 3 mm for alcoholic beverage bottles of more than 200 ml. 

India ranks 5th in the world for the most pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. 

Indian government had introduced regulations for alcoholic beverages in 2018.

Next time you pick up a bottle of alcohol, it’s going to be difficult to miss the cautionary message on the bottle. 

Following a directive from 2018, FSSAI has revised the statutory warning to be placed on alcohol bottles. After accommodating industry feedback with industry representatives, the FSSAI has directed that for alcoholic beverage bottles upto 200 ml should not be less than 1.5 mm whereas bottles above 200 ml in size, will have to carry the warning message in a font size of 3mm. All companies have to follow the guidelines and transition to the same by April 1, 2019. 

In 2018, India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, had directed alcohol companies to carry a statutory warning saying “Consumption of Alcohol is injurious to health” and “Be safe - Don’t drink and drive.” It also said the font size should be be less than three millimetres. 

India already ranks 5th in the world for the most pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. 

The Indian government had introduced regulations for alcoholic beverage bottles for the first time in 2018 to control drunk driving incidents in the country. According to reports, fines from drunk driving in India in 2018 was around ₹6 crore. 

Earlier an NGO called Community Against Drunken Driving had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) requesting the Delhi high court to include a pictorial warning on all alcohol bottles to spread awareness against drunk driving. However, the court had refused the same then, while also directing the FSSAI to look into the matter. 

Since 1995, the government has banned advertising of tobacco and liquor to ensure that the wrong message is not sent out the adverse health effects are known to people – which has also led to surrogate advertising in India.

Bottled water woes continue

He alleged the KWA officials have not yet paid the full amount promised during the trial run.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Aruvikkara Water Bottling plant, mooted by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and scheduled to be launched this month, will be further delayed owing to the tussle between the contractor and the KWA authorities. The contractor is not taking interest in submitting the documents to BIS and FSSAI, KWA officials said.

A Noushad, executive engineer of Aruvikkara Water Bottling Plant said the water bottles will be launched as soon as BIS and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) provides the approval. "Hi-Tech Sweet Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Gujarat is responsible for receiving the clearance from BIS and FSSAI.

The contractor is not taking interest in submitting the documents to BIS and FSSAI," Noushad added. Hi-Tech Sweet Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the contractor for the project, said they have already forwarded the documents for approval to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). However, KWA officials deny their claim However, a higher official from Hi-Tech Sweet Water Technologies said the documents required for the BSI was given to them only by the end of January. "We submitted it online as soon as we received the documents," he said.

He alleged the KWA officials have not yet paid the full amount promised during the trial run. "Our company has received only Rs 3.94 crore of Rs 5.5 crore till date," he said. Meanwhile, KWA officials denied the claims by the contractor that the trial run has been conducted. "A test run was held in the absence of electricity in a diesel-operated-engine.

That cannot be considered as a trial run," he said.

Speaking on the due amount to be paid, KWA officials said they plan to pay Rs 1 crore after the commissioning of the project, while the remaining 50 lakhs will be given after three years of warranty period."The official inauguration of the plant will probably be held before Lok Sabha elections but the launch of the plant will be delayed till we receive the clearance from BIS and FSSAI," said Noushad. 

Aruvikkara project

So far, the government has spent Rs 13.4 crore on the project. The bottling plant is designed to produce 7,500 litres of water per hour.

Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage Act were amended for the project in 2008.

The foundation stone was laid in June 2010 by former Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran. It was initially delayed due to non-participation of bidders for tender. Comptroller and Auditor General of India Report in 2013 criticised KWA for the delay in implementation of the project.

It was revived in 2015 after it floated the tender in three packages - civil, electrical and mechanical. 

The work resumed in 2016. Water Resource Minister K Krishnankutty promised the project will be launched soon. Again, the minister reiterated the project will be launched in March.

Recently, difference of opinion has arisen among the contractor and the KWA officials regarding procedural clearance from the BIS and FSSAI.

19 students had worm-infested soya chunks, proves test

A day later, all the 19 students were discharged on Wednesday afternoon.

MADURAI: A day after 19 school students were admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) due to food poisoning, officials of the department of Food Safety said that laboratory tests confirmed that worm-infested stale soya chunks were used in the mid-day meal that were served to the students.

On Tuesday, 34 students of CSI Primary School (government-aided) in Velliankundram village near Kallandhiri were taken to Primary Health Centre in Kallandhiri when they complained of stomach ache, dizziness and vomiting after taking meal at school. 

The students said they had found small white worms and tiny insects in the fried soya chunks (meal maker) and by the time, some of them had already finished eating. 19 students – 12 girls and 7 boys – were referred to GRH. Their condition is said to be stable. 

A day later, all the 19 students were discharged on Wednesday afternoon.

FDA skirts RTI plea on food delivery operators under scanner for flouting hygiene norms

It may be recalled that the Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) had recently raided the popular online food delivery services, namely, Swiggy, Foodpanda, Zomato & Uber Eats in Mumbai and Pune. These raids had revealed that 112 outlets of these fashionable companies in Mumbai and over 400 in Pune procured food for their customers from dingy cooking units that possessed no licence, showed utter neglect of food safety and food hygiene norms and conducted no health checkups of those who cooked and served the food.

Information about these raids should have been put up on the FDA website suo motu under Section 4 of the RTI Act, as it is now a public concern since takeaway food has become trendy and popular with large sections of the population. Instead, crucial information has been denied to the RTI application filed by this writer on 10 January 2019. (Track FDA Raids on Eateries by Filing RTI) 

The public information officer (PIO) KN Dabhade, has only given partial information and has denied crucial information such as the names of the outlets which violated all norms of health and safety; photographic and video evidence of the raids; the proposal for further action against Swiggy, Foodpanda, Zomato and Uber Eats. He has pushed the responsibility over to the additional commissioner, FDA, to reply to these important requests in his reply dated 19th January. 

He has only provided me with a copy of the directive sent by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the central authority which governs the FDAs of all States and Union Territories. The copy of this crucial letter clearly states that FDAs of all States including Maharashtra had been asked to give a report by 31 December 2018, on the action they have taken against erring outlets from where these fashionable online food service companies procure food but this information has not been given to me, despite the request in my RTI application.

To further elaborate, the PIO has refused to give the following information that I had requested in my RTI application:

Copies of all reports of raids conducted on 350 or more outlets of online food service Apps – Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats, Foodpanda and any other

Copies of photographs and videos taken of the kitchen, toilets and any other that may have been clicked or shot, during the above raids

A list of all the outlets that were raided along with their addresses 

Copies of correspondence of the authorities of Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats, Foodpanda and any other with your office, in this matter

Copies of the proposal for further action/action taken against Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats, Foodpanda and any others for being responsible for putting their customers’ health at a risk

The PIO has only provided me with a copy of the proposal and the decision to conduct raids on Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats, Foodpanda and any other. The letter by the joint director states:

“FSSAI has launched a drive against hotels/restaurants without FSSAI licence/registration listed by leading food aggregations such as Zomato, Swiggy, Foodpanda, Uber Eats etc on their platforms. As a result, these e-commerce food business operators (FBOs) had delisted 10,500 non-compliant hotels/restaurants from their platforms. States/UTs were asked to take appropriate action against non-compliant FBOs as per the FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations made thereunder. States/UTs were also advised to conduct a special drive in this regard and ensure that such FBOs have the registration, state license or central license strictly as per their eligibility and thereupon to submit an action taken report to this office by 31December 2018.’’ – signed Praveen Jarga, joint director (this letter was addressed to the commissioners of food safety of all States/Union Territories.

That transparency is most vital for this issue, reflects in the information given by Dr Pallavi Darade, FDA commissioner, Maharashtra, to Moneylife in an interview with her. (FDA Chief Seeks Consumer Audit for Zomato, Swiggy, Foodpanda and Uber Eats) She had categorically stated therein that:

though it was promised that food had been delivered from this or that outlet, many a time it was found that the food was actually delivered from the dhaba right next to the customer’s house, or from a very small outlet and at times even from homemade kitchens where facilities were inadequate; 

there was no pest control; kitchens were dirty; 

the water in which the food needs to be cooked was not potable and was never tested for safety; 

sometimes toilets were very close to the kitchens and medical check-up of people who were serving the food under these extremely unhygienic conditions was never done;

sometimes dirty clothing was lying around;

sometimes the storerooms where raw material was kept was not hygienic.

Pending a reply from the additional commissioner, I propose to follow up with my First Appeal.

Fssai Notification

Product Recall: The big challenge for food businesses

As one of the largest producers of food in the world, India faces several challenges in ensuring the availability of safe and quality food for its millions of domestic and global consumers. Global food production, distribution and retailing have never been under greater scrutiny by consumers and regulators than today, especially following several high-profile cases of food contamination and outbreak of food-borne diseases.

Consumer safety, in particular, has become a major concern worldwide leading to an increased number of product withdrawals and recall. The problem is accentuated since food production is now highly globalised with multiple and geographically spread suppliers of raw materials, ingredients, food, additives/ preservatives, distributed processing units, multiple stakeholders and emergence of online and omni-channel food retailing.

With ambitious targets set by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, to increase processing of perishables from six to 20 per cent, value addition from 20 to 35 per cent and India’s share in global food trade from 1.5 to 3 per cent in the short term, food safety becomes of paramount importance, resulting in consumer safety and increased brand equity for India, as a supplier of safe and quality foods.

The primary reason behind the distribution of unsafe food is the lack of visibility and information sharing among various supply chain partners. This has become more of a challenge in recent years as the path from food production to consumption has become increasingly complicated with globalisation.

Today, a food product may contain ingredients sourced from multiple locations, passed through different processing facilities, and may have been handled by wholesalers, retailers, and multiple logistics partners before reaching the consumer’s shelf or refrigerator.

A number of regulations, both national and international, mandate food business operators to comply with stringent statutory requirements from a consumer protection and traceability perspective.

The list of such regulations are only growing with increasing consumer awareness and the consequent demand for reliable, trustworthy and full disclosure of information on food products. The gamut of information demanded includes verifying the accuracy of data on the product label, such as its ingredients, nutritional value, etc., all the way to the source of the ingredients, sustainability, assurance of fair trade practices in its production process, etc.

In particular, the EU 1169/2011 Regulation, which is already in force, mandates a digital imprint of product information for retail as well as online selling of food items. The new law combines two directives – 2000/13/EC (labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs) and 90/496/EEC (nutrition labelling for foodstuffs) – into one legislation.

Further, the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) enables FDA to better protect public health by strengthening the food safety system. It permits FDA to focus more on preventing food safety problems rather than relying primarily on reacting to them after they occur. The law mandates food firms to employ traceability to achieve higher rates of compliance with prevention and risk-based food safety standards, and to better respond to and contain problems when they do occur.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified several Rules/Regulations governing food safety, which require food operators to have in place a process/system to efficiently and speedily handle food withdrawals/recalls when required, while keeping the Regulator informed during the process. The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, 2015, and BIS Act, 1986, will stipulate requirements for putting in place systems to handle product recalls for consumer items.

The Big Challenge – Lack of Visibility

The lack of visibility and an absence of structured information sharing among the various supply chain partners is the root cause of letting unsafe food go unchecked, besides impeding recalls.

In recent instances of food recall, companies were seen contending with some crucial questions – How many batches or lots are affected? What will be the scope of recall? Where are these specific lots in the supply chain?

One of the prime reasons behind these uncertainties is the lack of visibility and information. Despite food products being withdrawn or recalled on a regular basis, manufacturers at best have in place processes only to recall products till their first distribution level. Beyond this, other points of distribution and trading partners are unlikely to have any kind of structured track & trace system in place that could seamlessly receive, exchange and share information on product movement in the supply chain and correlate that with the physical consignments.

This makes recalls ineffective as access and information is available only for a fraction of the contaminated batches in the marketplace, which can seriously damage the brand image of the company.

What authorities, suppliers, buyers as well as end users/ consumers need is fast, accurate and complete traceability information and full chain visibility.

To execute effective recalls, manufacturers require a recall solution overlaid on a robust track & trace system, encompassing the full supply chain regardless of state or country. This requires defining a shared minimum set of requirements and clear accountability on what action is required from each trading partner across the chain.

Another risk food processing companies in India face while sourcing raw food items is the uncertainty over the quality of raw material/ ingredients because of the lack of reliable information on the agricultural process, quality of seeds, pesticides, etc.

This gives us reason to believe that in the absence of reliable product information, food processing companies are themselves becoming victims of low quality raw material that are high on pesticides and other harmful substances.

Need for a Common Traceability Solution Using Global Standards

A common traceability standard is essential to make the product (food item) visible at all levels in the supply chain. Traceability is a key element to improve security, control quality, combat fraud and manage complex logistical chains. Public and private traceability systems are implemented by using automated data capture, electronic data processing and electronic communications. They reduce the risk and uncertainty across both the supply chain and between trading partners.

An effective traceability solution involves associating flow of information with the physical flow of traceable items in order to ensure product authenticity and information sharing among supply chain partners. Companies can achieve ‘accurate and speedy information’, food product/ consignment visibility, and execute accurate product recalls and withdrawals by implementing bottom-up and top-down traceability systems.

Food safety is all about prevention — recall prevention, protecting brand reputation etc. — as well as response. Beyond prevention and simply having the ability to effectively track recalled products, traceability solutions also play a key role in data collection, thus affecting the overall timeliness of your response. If your company is recording all of its production information manually and keying it into a system, there is the obvious chance for human error. Data collection with bar code scanning within the traceability solution increases the accuracy and timeliness of transactions.

A traceability system can help certify a food product is fit for consumption when its unique identity is authenticated at every step of the supply chain and no error or discrepancy is reported against it. Besides,it also helps locate defective or unsafe foods in order to remove them promptly from anywhere in the distribution chain including retailer shelves. In the event of any discrepancy, the unique identification system of the implicated product helps firms to identify the source(s) and the extent of the problem across the supply chain.

Empowering Consumers Through Additional Information

Traceability is an indispensable tool to fulfil the consumers’ need for additional information on a product than what is printed on the label. It is an excellent way to ensure that a food product conforms to the requirements of people’s religious beliefs or respects their lifestyle choices. As a result, various bodies around the world have been created to certify that food and food premises are halal, kosher, organic or eco-friendly.

Traceability systems can make the work of these certification bodies easier by sharing trustable information. Different labelling options, available under traceability solutions, can guarantee that the food items bearing them conform to ethical and/or religious values. Firms can, thus, build a relationship of trust with their consumers through their capability to provide information related to any item, whenever required.

Global Traceability Standard (GTS) is the key to finding the most efficient ways to produce, assemble, warehouse, and distribute products. These systems monitor internal supply as well as link suppliers with their buyers, allowing automated stock management, product master data management, end-to-end product and consignment visibility and other supply-related activities. It leads to a more efficient supply chain and, therefore, reduced costs of operation.

The ability to reduce costs often marks the difference between success and failure. This is more significant for the food industry, where margins are thin and hence supply management, including traceability, turns out to be an increasingly important area to enhance competitiveness.

Besides, brands realise that being good is not good enough anymore. They want to create consumer experiences that are exceptional—even memorable. That’s why companies are literally rethinking how they do business, re-examining every aspect of their supply and demand chains.

In this new holistic retail environment, ‘Data Quality’ is a key step to create memorable experiences. It offers retailers and brand owners a chance to communicate the value of their products more completely in the eyes of consumers. As the velocity of commerce escalates (more products to sell and more channels to sell them through), the quality of the information about those products becomes extremely important—perhaps more important to the purchase journey than the actual quality of the product itself. If the product information doesn’t provide the consumer with what (s)he needs when shopping online or offline, (s)he may not even consider it. So information has truly become ‘part’ of the product.

Using GS1 Global Traceability Standards

GS1, a not-for-profit, industry-led global standards body headquartered at Brussels, Belgium, with a global network of over 110 member organisations around the world, has been dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains for more than 40 years. Their widely implemented standards enable unique and universal identification of products, assets, services, entities/locations, data capture and seamless sharing of information between supply chain stakeholders, including manufacturers /suppliers, retailers, logistics providers and also consumers enabling safety, security and sustainability in global supply chains.

The organisation, in close collaboration with key industry stakeholders across the world, has over the years built a set of effective traceability standards.

These traceability standards have been successfully implemented and used in several developed western economies. GS1 India leads the local implementation and has immense expertise and knowledge on how to implement traceability and recall systems in the country.

According to the organisation, unlike proprietary solutions for internal traceability developed by solution providers, the key differentiator of a traceability solution built and based on the GS1 Global Traceability Standards (GTS) is its interoperability and scalability feature. This provides exceptional reliability especially when identifying and locating products during a food safety problem across the entire supply chain.

By being interoperable and standards-based, the traceability solution can be flexible and vendor independent. This helps in reducing costs of the end-product to businesses and consumers. It enables automated capture and exchange of information (identify, capture and share), ensuring seamless information flow and faster data sharing/ querying between stakeholders, providing the much-needed upstream and downstream visibility in the food value chain. The GTS also enables going beyond just the ‘one step up, one step down’ approach, and can perform event-based tracking across the chain.

Using universally accepted GS1 standards help overcome barriers to commerce that can be created by using company-specific standards. Trading, tracking and tracing goods becomes less expensive as the need to fulfil different identification and communication requirements of each importing country or company can be eliminated.

The GS1 system enables efficient supply chain management and international trade by providing standard tools that allow all supply chain participants to communicate in one global language of business. Key concepts driving GS1 system application can be summed-up as:

Automation of business processes by means of automated data capture (ADC) and electronic data processing (EDP).

Communication of information in the fastest and most accurate manner by means of standard electronic messages that automatically update computer applications with data from trading partners.

Time compression, which offers strategic opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, not just by efficient produce traceability, but also by reengineering business processes across the supply chain.

Facilitating Compliance with Regulatory Requirements

The GTS includes a Compliance Criteria developed for proactive monitoring of manufacturers’ products and processes. The compliance process helps manufacturers in safeguarding product security, quality, certification, origin and content while ensuring compliance with current national and international traceability and recall regulations. The use of the GTS can help manufacturers better prepare for and meet several regulatory requirements such as:

ISO 22005:2005

ISO 9001:2008

HACCP (HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL

CONTROL POINT) standard

BRC (British Retail Consortium) Standards

IFS (International Featured Standard)

SQF (Safe Quality Food) SQF 2000 CODE

Global Gap

GS1’s GTS also helps exporters meet the EU Regulation 1169/2011, which requires manufacturers to make food labelling easier to understand and display the same information which is on the product packaging (label) digitally (online) as well. It is aimed at empowering consumers by providing greater clarity on ingredients, nutrition and allergens by standardizing food labelling.

How GS1 Global Traceability Standards Work?

GS1 standards provide the framework required to support the traceability (business) process. GS1 GTS, developed in 2005 with active participation of food industry across the world, defines the globallyaccepted method for uniquely identifying:

Trading partners

Trading locations

Trading items involved

Logistics units involved

Inbound and outbound shipments

It also defines the essential pieces of information that have to be collected, recorded and shared when designing and implementing a traceability system. A robust traceability solution can help companies answer questions like:

Where are my products?

Where, when, and in what quantities were my products produced?

What quality-assurance data is available for each of my products?

Where, when, and in what quantities were the products shipped to and from?

Who supplied the raw ingredients and when?

Were the raw ingredients used in any other products?

Because of its ability to provide globally unique identification of trade items, assets, logistic units, parties and locations, the GS1 System is particularly well suited to be used for traceability purposes.

This meets the core need to be able to trace back and track forward (one step up, one step down and beyond) at any point along the entire supply chain, no matter how many trading partners and business process steps are involved.

GS1 Traceability Standards in Action

Leading business organisations around the world have endorsed the use of the GS1 traceability solution.

A. Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, a US restaurant chain, adopted a traceability solution to advance its commitment to food safety. To deliver on its Food with Integrity mission and serve food made from the very best ingredients, the company needed to effectively engage with a large network of supplier partners to establish a company-wide traceability process.

It implemented a traceability programme leveraging GS1 Standards for sharing standardised product information at every step along the supply chain – applying proven best practices developed by various industry segments. The benefits accrued by the company are:

Increased efficiencies in quality assurance and logistics and real-time visibility of food and other products at each point in the supply chain.

Improved stock recovery process.

Ability to capture and share quality attributes throughout the supply chain and enhance reporting at the restaurant level.

More direct access to supplier-provided information on sustainability efforts.

Chipotle’s Food with Integrity mission is strengthened by the traceability programme it launched with Chipotle growers and suppliers, to attain the company’s goal of end-to-end supply chain traceability. This enables the company not only to ensure the safety and quality of the food it serves, but also that its suppliers are adhering to environmentally and socially sound practices.

B. Deploying traceability for native producers in Peru

About 300 tonnes of herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, mint, oregano and others, are produced by small and midsized herb producers in Peru for export to Europe.

To become more competitive in the export market, an association called BioAquipa (previously Ecolife) that groups 615 aromatic herb producers in the region of Arequipa adopted the GS1 traceability standards. The group established a traceability process map for the aromatic herbs supply chain, including points of control, registries of information and responsibilities, as well as a set of traceability templates and guidelines for each point in their supply chain.

The benefit came in the form of 80% time savings while retrieving upstream batch information. Furthermore, in 2008, the system passed a critical test when a European client’s quality control laboratory identified a problem that caused the export process to be halted. Immediately, teams in Peru carried out their own analyses, testing all the processes along the exact path that the flagged batch had travelled. Using the standardised traceability registries filled in at each point of the supply chain, they quickly ruled out the possibility of any local contamination. With this information, the client investigated further at their end and found that the source of contamination was caused by their own quality control laboratory.

Besides, a recall case of oregano export in 2011 also demonstrated the benefits of GS1 traceability standards for BioAquipa. In this incident, the produce was found to be contaminated by mould in a container received by a client. Such contamination is uncommon but could sometimes happen due to changes in humidity and long distance transportation. However, with the right traceability process in place, the team identified the exact contaminated batch of 36kg, saving the rest of the container – which was 5.4 tons worth of herbs.

C. Traceability for Exported Indian Grapes

Export of grapes from India to the European Union was adversely impacted after higher amounts of pesticide residue than the permissible limit was reported. The highly fragmented grape industry, with manual supply chain processes lacked visibility in the movement of grapes. The industry didn’t have the infrastructure to support sharing of information among concerned authorities and stakeholders.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) built an internet based, traceability system using GS1 Standards to integrate the grape export industry stakeholders on a single platform for full chain visibility.

With the implementation of the traceability solution, which brought all the stakeholders on a single platform, the organisation reported a rise in farmers’ earnings by 40%, FOB increased from 6 euro to 9.5 euro per carton of 5 kg. Further,the solution today benefits 40,000 farmers and 100+ exporters. The traceability solution enhanced the brand equity of India in the export of grapes, and APEDA won the National Award for this implementation.

In Conclusion

The Indian food industry presents a very large opportunity to every stakeholder. This is primarily driven by the changing nature of the Indian consumer, who is more informed and willing to try new products; and the strong production base of the country. he industry-wide adoption of global traceability standards and guidelines is critical for companies seeking to improve collaboration and coordination to ensure food safety.

GS1 Global Traceability Standards provides the ability to verify a product’s history, location or application, which is critical to manage the product quality. Once a problem is detected, traceability allows a manufacturer to identify which batch or lotthe item came from, and from there, where those potentially off-quality items went to.

GTS would enable food companies in India involved in both domestic supply and exports to comply with different Regulatory requirements as well as buyer (retailer) requirements in India or worldwide, in a single, consistent, interoperable and structured manner. It would also facilitate technology/vendor neutral solutions which are affordable for both SMEs and large food companies. Having an effective traceability solution in place enables businesses to better understand, prepare for, and exceed both regulatory compliance and customer satisfaction.