May 8, 2019
Novel sensor can detect spoilt milk
Scientists have developed a sensor that can 'smell' if milk has gone bad, an advance that could make expiration dates on cartons a thing of the past.
The sensor consists of chemically coated nanoparticles that react to the gas produced by milk and the bacterial growth that indicates spoilage, said Shyam Sablani, professor at Washington State University in the US.
The sensor does not touch the milk directly.
"If it's going bad, most food produces a volatile compound that doesn't smell good. That comes from bacterial growth in the food, most of the time. But you can't smell that until you open the container," Sablani said in a statement.
The sensor detects these volatile gases and changes colour, according to the study published in the journal Food Control.
The next step for the team is developing a way to visually show how long a product has before it spoils. Currently the sensor only shows if milk is ok or spoiled.
Though still early, Sablani envisions working with the food industry to integrate his sensor into a milk bottle's plastic cap so consumers can easily see how much longer the product will stay fresh.
One problem with current expiration dates is they are based on best-case scenarios, researchers said.
"The expiration date on cold or frozen products is only accurate if it has been stored at the correct temperature the entire time," Sablani said.
Temperature abuse, or time a product has spent above refrigerator temperature, is very common, he said. And it can happen during shipment, or if a consumer gets delayed on the way home from the store.
"We'll have to work with the industry to make this work. But we're confident that we can succeed and help improve food safety and shelf life for consumers," Sablani said.
Food Safety Dept Poonch seizes 6000 packets of sub-standard salt
A team of Food Safety Department on Tuesday raided several Anganwadi centers and seized a large quantity of substandard salt in Poonch district of Jammu region.
Reports reaching GNS said that an official team led by Assistant Commissioner Food and Safety Department Tariq Mehmood alongside Inspector Zafar Ahmad Mir raided CDPO office Buffflaiz and Surankote during which six-thousand packets of substandard 'Samzan' salt were seized.
An official said that the raid was carried out in several storehouses in the border district following a specific information over the use of substandard salt in Anganwadi centres.
The official remarked that “It has come to the fore that the said salt with the name 'Samzan' is misbranded and is of substandard nature. The salt was being used for the preparation of various food items in as many as 1372 Anganwadi centres in the district.
The official said that from henceforth all the centres are directed to discontinue the use of the salt with immediate effect while the officials also said that whole of the stock of the salt will be seized throughout the district.”
After falsely claiming FDA approval, IIT-Delhi startup Sanfe falsely claim AYUSH ministry approval
On 8th of March 2019, four IIT-Delhi entrepreneurs launched a product called ‘Sanfe Period Pain Relief Roll-On’ that claimed to help with menstrual pain. The start-up group (Redroom Technology Private Limited) who launched the Sanfe claimed to have an FDA approval, after which an Alt News Science investigation reported it as a false claim. This previous press release with the FDA approval was published without any fact-checking by several news outlets such as The Indian Express, NDTV, The Times of India, The Economic Times, and India Today.
After releasing our 1st investigative report on Sanfe, the co-founder of Redroom, Archit Agarwal sent a copy of the corrigendum published in The Hindu on the 28th of March 2019, accepting that it was a mistake to suggest that Sanfe was FDA approved. However, in the corrigendum, Redroom maintained that the approval was actually from the AYUSH ministry instead. On the phone, Archit Agarwal also maintained that the formula was clinically tested before release, and was safe for use.
We contacted the AYUSH ministry, Haryana’s Dr Satish Khatkar, who approved the formulation to determine the authenticity of the certificate of approval by AYUSH. Additionally, we conducted a literature review on the research of different components of the Sanfe roll-on to determine whether it was safe and effective to use as per the claim.
Claims:
Archit Agarwal clarified that the AYUSH certificate means that Sanfe roll-on is approved by AYUSH
Sanfe, consisting of 100% natural oils, causes no side effects. (as per the packaging)
It targets the source of pain without having to take ‘pain killers’ (as per the packaging)
Fact Check:
The claim of approval from AYUSH
Both, Redroom Technology and co-founder Archit Agarwal, maintained that the certificate of approval was from the AYUSH ministry, Haryana, and not by the FDA, which was a ’mistake’. When we contacted the authority who had signed this certificate at AYUSH, Dr Satish Khatkar suggested that the document was NOT an approval for safety for the products but only a certificate of approval for manufacturing (see the image of its manufacturing licence).
Dr Khatkar from AYUSH, also suggested that the certificate meant those individual components of the product may be effective and safe according to the ancient textbook of Ayurveda, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu (B.P.N), which had not been approved as a combined specific formula that Sanfe roll-on is.
Moreover, the certificate or manufacturing licence is given after a confirmatory test by AYUSH that the product has only the individual components as per the claim of the manufacturer and that no other safety tests are conducted by AYUSH.
Khatkar also suggested that the responsibility of conducting these safety and toxicity tests was upon the manufacturer, in this case, Space Organics, Haryana. In our previous conversation, the owner of Space Organics, Mr Nagpal, had confirmed that it was not financially viable for them to conduct tests for a product that had a higher research cost than its production cost. Hence, no testing was conducted on this product before its release.
After the first Alt News investigative report, Space Organics and Redroom released a document that listed the research on 79 women as per the original claim. This document was not a peer-reviewed published document, did not contain any data, nor it was tested for safety in various conditions. Khatkar suggested that such ‘research’ is likely to be a market survey where a group of women are given the product and later verbally asked to report efficacy. This unsystematic measure of efficacy cannot be considered as clinical research as suggested by the founders of Sanfe.
The claim of a safe and natural composition
As suggested above, the safety certificate from AYUSH is only for individual components in the roll-on and not for the formula as a whole. As per AYUSH, this safety certificate was backed by the ancient Ayurvedic text Bhavaprakasha Nighantu (B.P.N).
Any remedy that affects will, evidently, have unwanted side effects. Hence, the dosage is studied to extract the most desired effect with the maximum tolerable adverse effect. It is false to claim that herbal drugs will be completely free of side effects just because they are ‘natural’. Some of the most potent drugs in medicine have been derived from natural substances which also carry the same adverse effects as any other laboratory synthesized compounds.
The use of medicinal plants and oils as a form of topical pain treatment has been widely studied, where detailed adverse effects have been described (Bakkali et al. 2008). Prolonged use of any of the Sanfe’s ‘natural’ ingredients, standalone or in combination, can lead to strong unwanted adverse reactions.
Sanfe roll-on consists of 6 components, and there is no prescribed method to limited the frequency of its use. Apart from the described oils (see the manufacturing licence), reportedly, lavender, gandhipura (wintergreen), nilgiri (eucalyptus), rosemary and base oil, the strongest active ingredient is an extract of the mint in the crystal form. While the packaging shown in the image below doesn’t mention crystalline Menthol (mint) as one of the ingredients, the Space Organics certificate above does. Since mint in the herbal form does not contain high quantities of this active ingredient, a crystalline form of the compound menthol is used which can act on the cold receptors in the skin to give pain relief. This is a low-cost compound synthetically manufactured in the lab and is not safe or natural, if not used correctly.
Mint essential oil can contain up to 40-90% menthol which is a potent pain killer acting on the cold receptors in the skin. Several topical anesthetics and nasal decongestants such as Vapour-Rubsalso contain menthol.
Additionally, menthol also enhances the penetration of other transdermal drugs, which means that the absorption of other compounds is increased when mixed with menthol. Drug development companies should issue expert advice on consumption of menthol based compounds as it may be toxic and sub-lethal in higher doses starting from 50-500mg per kg of body weight.
The claim of suggesting it as devoid of traditional pain-killers, which target the source of pain.
The Sanfe formulation contains several ‘pain killer’ compounds in the form of essential oils that is equivalent (in specific dosage) to over the counter pain killers. For example, an American patent describes a mixture of wintergreen oil, olive oil and/or eucalyptus oil as a topical pain killer.
Although Sanfe doesn’t directly claim that its composition has no pain killers, it is contended that pain is reduced without having to take pain killers. Using this roll-on is equivalent to a topical application of consuming a ‘pain killer drug’, provided it gets absorbed into the system in the required dosage.
For example, wintergreen oil (8% in Sanfe roll on) contains about 98% of methyl salicylate, a compound closely related to acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin- which is a class of ‘pain killers’. Also, if used excessively, wintergreen oil can lead to toxicity from ingestion of methyl salicylate compound. This toxicity varies for different age groups and is the most harmful in small children. For example, 5 ml of methyl salicylate is equivalent to 5 aspirin tablets (325 mg each). Various toxicity studies have confirmed that while low dose skin application was safe or can cause mild-acute irritation to the skin, dosage over 7 gm for a 70 kg adult can result in severe neurological disturbances (Chin et al. 2007).
Other ingredients of Sanfe, such as eucalyptus, lavender, and rosemary have shown limited pain-relieving effects, but have known to cause several skin related, systemic problems and other adverse effects similar to an anaphylactic reaction in higher doses (Darben et al. 1998, Pozadski et al. 2012, Ulbricht et al., 2010). Use of rosemary is also dangerous for anaemics and pregnant women.
Lastly, the claim that it penetrates deep into the source of pain is made without understanding the research in pain mechanisms. Pain during menstruation arises deep within the muscles, while this roll-on is applied only on the skin. The muscle and the skin is separated by several other layers of tissue that do not allow deep penetration of topical drugs unless the drug is in systemic circulation through the bloodstream. Hence, the effect of pain relief with Sanfe may be not be attributed through deep absorption through the skin. This claim shows the developers of Sanfe’s meagre understanding of pain emergence during menstruation.
Conclusion
Hence, once again, the founders of Sanfe, used government institutes such as AYUSH to promote drugs without any background research or understanding of menstrual pain.
Sanfe’s founders also claimed a to have an approval certificate which, through our investigation, turned out to be a manufacturing licence from AYUSH.
The Sanfe formulation is packed with several compounds used as pain-killer medications, as well as other compounds that increase the absorption of such pain-killers, which should be evaluated in toxicity and dosage studies before marketing and administration similar to any other drugs.
Thus, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945, it can be considered as attempts to misbranding the product as defined.
The Ministry of AYUSH in a document lists ethical principles to be followed during a clinical trial for Ayurvedic drugs, the launch of the Sanfe product did not seem to follow those guidelines.
References
Chin, R. L., Olson, K. R., & Dempsey, D. (2007). Salicylate toxicity from ingestion and continued dermal absorption. The California Journal of emergency medicine, 8(1), 23–25.
Bakkali, F., Averbeck, S., Averbeck, D., & Idaomar, M. (2008). Biological effects of essential oils–a review. Food and chemical toxicology, 46(2), 446-475.
De Groot, A. C. and Schmidt, E. (2015), Eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil. Contact Dermatitis, 73: 381-386.
Darben, T., Cominos, B., & Lee, C. T. (1998). Topical eucalyptus oil poisoning. Australasian journal of dermatology, 39(4), 265-267.
Posadzki, P., Alotaibi, A., & Ernst, E. (2012). Adverse effects of aromatherapy: a systematic review of case reports and case series. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 24(3), 147-161.
Ulbricht, C., Abrams, T. R., Brigham, A., Ceurvels, J., Clubb, J., Curtiss, W., … & Isaac, R. (2010). An evidence-based systematic review of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. Journal of dietary supplements, 7(4), 351-413.
Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945 http://www.cdsco.nic.in/writereaddata/Drugs&CosmeticAct.pdf
http://ayush.gov.in/acts-rules-and-notifications/good-clinical-practice-guidelines-clinical-trials-asu-medicine
May 7, 2019
Food poisoning: Mystery yet to be resolved
Since the group, who went to Ramalkalmedu in Idukki, cooked their own food, the police are clueless as to what caused the adulteration.
KOCHI: Mystery surrounds the case of the poisonous substance that claimed the life of a 30-year-old due to food poisoning in Angamaly on Sunday, even as the other 13 of the 30-member group were discharged from the hospital on Monday.
Since the group, who went to Ramalkalmedu in Idukki, cooked their own food, the police are clueless as to what caused the adulteration. Nedumbassery police have registered a case under section 174 (unnatural death) of CrPC and commenced a probe. The deceased was Anilkumar N P, of Nayathod, Angamaly.
“Though the postmortem report suggested that death was due to food poisoning, clarity can only be shed after getting the chemical examination results,” said Nedumbassery SI.
Chemical contamination of fruits allegations are baseless, say Kochi fruit merchants
With Ramadan month here, fruit vendors in the district are aiming at a major spurt in sales.
KOCHI: With Ramadan month here, fruit vendors in the district are aiming at a major spurt in sales. While they anticipate a manifold increase in sales, the merchants are worried about the "negative campaign going on in the social media about widespread chemical contamination of fruits". According to the All Kerala Fruit Merchant's Association, there are many baseless videos and texts doing rounds in online platforms which are threatening the existence of vendors.
"Some allegations are totally unscientific like plastic painting on watermelons and large scale contamination of grapes. There is no measure to curb these campaigning on social media," says P M A Hussain, general secretary, All Kerala Fruit Merchant's Association.
He said the association wanted to address such rumours before the fasting began when the sales would soar. "We too are responsible citizens. We have been ensuring the supply of good fruits to people here for years. In a meeting held in 2006 and 2012 while implementing the Food Safety Act, we had promised to ensure only good quality produce in Kerala. Many times, the Food Safety Department had conducted inspections and collected samples for testing. But, so far, no complaints have been registered against us," says Hussain.
According to Hussain, it is impractical to conduct contamination like the allegations in social media. "How can anyone coat tonnes of grapes and watermelons with plastic. It is humanly impossible. But, people tend to believe what is shown in WhatsApp videos. We want to bring attention to this," says Hussain.
The fruit merchants say they ensure the produces are healthy and devoid of chemical contamination. "We have agents who approach the farmers and middlemen and inspect the farms in Nettoor, Bengaluru and Mysuru markets. We too are responsible for the item we sell. No product will be bought from farms that resort to such tricks," says Dasappan, a vendor at Broadway. The association officials add the change in shape and colour of the fruits are mostly due to climatic changes and has little to do with the fertilisers or insecticides used.
Food safety office to conduct drive against Adulteration
A spurt in the number of fruit and vegetable sales are observed every summer.
KOCHI: A spurt in the number of fruit and vegetable sales are observed every summer. Adulteration, the addition of calcium carbide to fruits to trigger speedy ripening, and pesticide residue in vegetables are not uncommon during this time of the year. To substantiate, graphic images of contaminated fruits and vegetables are doing the rounds on online platforms. Amidst such allegations, the Food Safety Office will be conducting a drive to investigate samples of fruits and vegetables in the district, in accordance with the instructions from the Food Safety Commissionerate.
"The date will be decided upon the meeting convened today. Currently, we plan to collect samples from across the district. The drive will also be implemented in check-posts through which fruits and vegetables are brought in from other states," said Rani Chacko, food safety officer at Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety Office, Tripunithura.
Despite the directive from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to prevent the use of calcium carbide and acetylene gas for the artificial ripening of fruits, claims have asserted their usage across the district. "Carbide is widely used to ripen seasonal fruits, especially mangoes. But as it is banned, the permitted ripening agent is ethylene. Last month, a certain species of jackfruit with carbide was found by the police and we fined the dealers. Carbide affects the quality of fruits. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to trace carbide as it evaporates post ripening the fruit," said Rani.
Experts from the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory, Kerala Agriculture University, cite vegetables to be more contaminated than fruits. As per their study last November, around 11 per cent of the products labelled to be organic were found with pesticides while farm-based samples were 3.8 per cent. Samples ranging from eco-shops run by the agriculture department to the open market are examined.
"Grapes are the most adulterated. Spices such as red chilli and cardamom are also highly corrupted. Once in every three-four months, the lab test results are updated. Awareness classes are given to farmers to reduce the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers," said a professor.
Maintaining fridge hygiene for quality food
Food Pi monitors the hygiene level of food items inside a refrigerator and sends notifications to a user's smartphone
Keeping in view food safety concerns, four engineering graduates have developed a device that can monitor the hygiene level of food items kept inside a refrigerator.
Tanmay Baranwal, Ajitesh Dixit, Nitika Rajput and Chandrasena Sai Srikanth who graduated with a BTech degree in Computer Science Engineering from Lovely Professional University (LPU) in 2016, took seven months to develop the device namely 'Food Pi'. After conceptualising the idea in October 2015, the team along with the help of their professor Harshpreet Singh, completed the product in May 2016.
Talking to Education Times, Nitika says, "Keeping stale food items for days inside a refrigerator disrupt the inside environment. However, due to our fast-paced life, we hardly get time to constantly keep a tab on the food items. Hence, we decided to create a device that will keep a check."
Food Pi comes with an app of the same name, which is available on both Android and iOS platforms. Users need to install the device inside the refrigerator and install the app on their smartphones as well. When a food product starts decaying, Food Pi will send notifications to the user's smartphone in the form of a hygiene score as well as graphs. "On a scale of 0-100, the user can learn about the hygiene level of the food items. The graphs will illustrate the current state of food items and if they are close to getting rotten," says Tanmay, who works as a Computer Engineer in Hyderabad.
The device consists of four sensors namely temperature and humidity monitor, volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor, Carbon Monoxide (CO) sensor and Ammonia sensor.
Tanmay says that getting hold of all the sensors and carefully implementing them in the device was one of the major challenges for the team. "VOC sensor is not easily available in India unlike the other three sensors; hence finding it was a big challenge for us."
A Delhi-based agricultural entrepreneur, Nitika says that implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the device was another challenge. "A refrigerator contains several food items, which means each item releases variable readings. Calibrating these readings and using ML to make the device process all the information, and send notifications to a smartphone was a tough task."
"We began working on Food Pi from third year of college when we were yet to learn AI and ML. Therefore, we had to read and do a lot of research to use our understanding for the development of the device," adds Tanmay.
The product is yet to hit the market. The team had applied for patent in 2016 and are awaiting the same. Currently, they are working to build a custom-built processor so that the cost of the device lessens. "We built the prototype with a pre-developed processor that cost us around Rs 23,000, but a custom-built processor costs Rs 700-800. Hence, with that the cost of the device will go down to Rs 5000-7000, which in turn will make the device affordable to most Indians," says Tanmay, adding that the team aims industrial bases such as cold storages and urban households as their target audience.
Harshpreet Singh says that currently he is working with the team to add more features to the device. "Presently, Food Pi can monitor the hygiene level of food products for several categories such as milk products, green vegetables. We are working to add a feature through which users can be notified about the hygiene level of a particular food item such as cheese, milk, butter, etc. and even packed and unpacked items," he says, adding that he hopes to launch Food Pi within another two to three years.
FSSAI issues new guideline for branding food products
GUWAHATI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has announced a new regulation prohibiting brands from using words such as ‘Pure’, ‘Natural’, ‘Fresh’ and ‘Authentic’ on their various food products from July 1 next.
As per the new FSSAI mandate, if the brands need to utilize such words, they will either have to take permission or convey a disclaimer about the same. In the event that the brands neglect to do so, the manufacturers will be charged with a fine of Rs.10 lakhs for the infringement.
FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said in a statement, “We have decided to redefine our role as an organisation that helps align the expectations of key stakeholders, including scientists, testing labs, food businesses, state governments and consumers.”
An official from the Health Department reportedly said that people generally believe what is written on the packaging and seeing such words like ‘real’ or ‘natural’ leads to compulsive buying.
To keep a check on companies randomly using these words, FSSAI has made it mandatory for brands to either take permission before using these words or carry a disclaimer that states- ‘this is only a brand name or trademark and does not represent its true nature’.
Only food items which have been cut, peeled, chilled and trimmed and which has undergone other processing required to make it fit for consumption, can be referred to as ‘Fresh’.
Companies and brands can also use the word ‘Fresh’ if the food items are unprocessed and “all the nutritive values in them are intact”.
The FSSAI statement further stated, “These regulations are aimed at establishing fairness in claims and advertisements of food products and make food businesses accountable for such claims /advertisements so as to protect consumer interests.”
According to the new guidelines, organizations can't go tub-thumping about their products that they have been suggested by restorative professionals or medicinal affiliations.
In the event that they do so, each of the declaration should be substantiated. In this way, whenever anyone goes out to shop, no one will get carried away by the high claims made by the brands of its different food products.
An examination done by two analysts of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune a year ago on 1,200 Indian food commercials revealed that almost 60% of such promotions are 'deceiving in nature'. The analysis further found that FSSAI principles and codes of the Advertising Standards Council of India are 'tossed out of the window'.
May 6, 2019
Food Safety team organizes awareness camps
JAMMU, May 5: In view of upcoming holy Ramadan month, Food Safety wing of Drug and Food Control Organization today organized two awareness camps for food handlers, one at Gujjar Nagar and the other one at Residency Road, Jammu.
The camps were conducted on the directions of Commissioner, Food Safety, J&K, Vinod Sharma by a Food Safety team led by Dr Parvesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, Jammu Municipal Limits. The main motive of organizing the camps was to sensitize the food handlers regarding proper sanitation and cleanliness in their food establishments and to ensure that customers are provided good quality foods.
A large number of food business operators/food handlers of respective areas attended the camps at Gujjar Nagar and Residency Road. They were asked by Food Safety officers to maintain proper sanitation and personal hygiene in their food establishments and follow all the norms of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006.
Addressing the food handlers, Dr Parvesh impressed upon them to prepare food under hygenic conditions and sell good quality food articles to the customers. He advised them to use different chopping boards for fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry and avoid keeping cooked food for longer time.
The Assistant Commissioner stressed upon the food handlers to maintain proper temperature for storing the food articles and keep their lanes and drains neat and clean to avoid cross contamination. He also told them to keep dusbins in their establishments for waste products. He further directed them not to use news papers for packing of food. Dr Parvesh warned them of stringent action if any of them found violating FSSA norms.
The team was comprised of Food Safety Officers (FSOs), Ajay Khajuria and Hans Raj.
Fortified milk to take over state’s dairy market
Thiruvananthapuram: The recent rise in number of vitamin deficiency cases in the state has prompted milk product manufacturers to venture into production of fortified milk.
After Muralya Dairy Products, leading milk product manufacturer Milma launched its first fortified milk product last week. Muralya launched fortified milk on April 8 and the product was received well in city markets. Sasikumar Menon, CEO of Kattakada-based Muralya Dairy Products, said, “Our fortified milk provides required supplementation of vitamin A and D”.
Fortified milk is a value-added variant of milk with increased vitamin A and D content. The product is made as per food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) norms.
Deficiency of vitamin A and D leads to rickets and osteoporosis. The Union government has launched a food fortification scheme to take on this issue.
Kerala co-operative milk marketing federation (KCMMF) chairman P A Balan said that the production of the unfortified version will be stopped once the new fortified version reaches across all markets. Balan also said that though the milk is made more nutritious, the price will remain the same. “We give dairy farmers Rs 34 for one litre of milk and the same produced in Tamil Nadu is sourced by private agencies at Rs 22 and sold in Kerala by giving a high commission to agents. Basically Milma agents receive a commission of Rs 1.68 whereas private agents get around Rs 4-5 per litre. This is resulting in an unhealthy competition,” he said.
Milma also announced a home delivery scheme called ‘AMneeds’. Thiruvananthapuram regional milk producers’ union (TRCMPU) chairman Kallada Ramesh said that the AM in AMneeds implies ‘the morning hours’. Our services will be available in the morning contrary to the 24-hour service offered by many food delivery chains. Customers can download the AMneeds app from Playstore and register their orders. Initially, a service charge will be applicable but we will minimize it to the lowest possible amount once the system becomes popular,” he said.
'கப்' காபி டீ! பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட் கழிவறை நீரில் தயாராகிறது... உறங்குகிறதா உணவு பாதுகாப்பு துறை ?
கோவை : பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட் அருகே செயல்படும் உணவகங்கள் என்றாலே, இனி கொஞ்சம் யோசித்துதான் சாப்பிட வேண்டும் போலிருக்கிறது. காந்திபுரம் பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட்களில் செயல்படும் உணவகங்கள், டீ ஸ்டால்களில் சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையில் உணவு தயாரிக்கப்படுவதுடன், அதிக கட்டணமும் வசூலிக்கப்படுவதாக, புகார் எழுந்துள்ளது. காந்திபுரத்தில் மத்திய மற்றும் டவுன் பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட்கள், அரசு விரைவு போக்குவரத்துக் கழக (எஸ்.இ.டி.சி.,) பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட் என மூன்று உள்ளன.
இந்த பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட்களில் இருந்து வெளி மாவட்டங்களுக்கும், வெளி மாநிலங்களுக்கும் நுாற்றுக்கணக்கானோர், தினமும் பயணிப்பதால் கூட்டத்துக்கு பஞ்சம் இருக்காது.இவற்றை சாதகமாக்கிக்கொண்டு, பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட்களில் செயல்படும் சில உணவகங்களும், டீக்கடைகளும் கட்டண கொள்ளையில் ஈடுபடுவதுடன், சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையில் உணவு வழங்கி வருவதாக புகார் எழுந்துள்ளது.கழிவறை தண்ணீரில்...எஸ்.இ.டி.சி., பஸ் ஸ்டாண்டில் செயல்படும் ஒருசில கடைகள், அங்குள்ள கட்டண கழிவறைக்கு செல்லும் தண்ணீரை, 'சின்டெக்ஸ் டேங்க்' களில் சேமித்து வைத்து பயன்படுத்தி வருவதாக பயணிகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.
வெளி மாநில பயணிகளிடம் இரவு நேரத்தில், டீ, காபிக்கு, 25 ரூபாய் வரையும், பரோட்டா ஒன்றுக்கு, 40 ரூபாய் வரையும் தங்கள் இஷ்டத்துக்கு உயர்த்தி, கட்டணம் வசூலித்து வருகின்றனர். விலைக்கு ஏற்ற தரமான உணவு கிடைப்பதில்லை என்பதுடன், சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையில் உணவு தயாரிக்கப்படுவதாக புகார் எழுந்துள்ளது. பயணிகள் கூறுகையில், 'இங்குள்ள கடைகளில், விலை பட்டியலை வெளியே வைக்காமல், இஷ்டத்துக்கு கட்டணம் வசூலிக்கின்றனர்.குறிப்பாக, பொது கழிப்பிடத்துக்கு செல்லும் தண்ணீரை சேமித்து வைத்து, சுகாதாரமற்ற முறையில் உணவு தயாரிக்கின்றனர்' என்றனர்.
மாவட்ட உணவு பாதுகாப்பு நியமன அலுவலர் விஜயலலிதாம்பிகையிடம் கேட்டபோது, ''காந்திபுரம் பஸ் ஸ்டாண்ட்களில், ஆய்வு செய்து நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும்,'' என்றார்.கழிவால் ஆன கிணறு!எஸ்.இ.டி.சி., பஸ் ஸ்டாண்டில் உள்ள பயனற்ற கிணற்றுக்குள், கடைகளில் இருந்து வெளியேற்றப்படும் கழிவுகளும், கெட்டுப்போன உணவுப் பொருட்களும் கொட்டப்படுவது, சுகாதார சீர்கேட்டுக்கு வழிவகுத்துள்ளது.
May 5, 2019
City foodies express concern over growing cases of adulteration
The foodies of the city seemed to be in spin after the food safety department, Kamrup (Metro), on 30th April, served a closure and improvement notice two restaurants in the city after they were found serving food in unhygienic conditions.
Nehars, located at Christian Basti and Emperor China at RG Baruah Road, have been shut down for ten days. The closure and improvement notice was issued by the officials of the department under Section 32 of the Food Safety & Standard Act 2006.
An inspector with the food safety department said that the raid was carried out after a complaint was received by the department regarding both the restaurants maintaining low hygiene standards.
The official who didn’t wish to be named said that the kitchens of these restaurants were found dirty and were below food safety standards. There was no sufficient space for storage and poor ventilation systems. During the inspection, the officials also found the kitchens to be cramped with very less space for movement.
"While inspecting, we saw the floors and walls to be unclean, insects were roaming in the kitchen. Neither there was any net fitted on the windows nor it had a proper drainage system as per the Food Safety Act," said the official.
Further, he stated that the staff of these restaurants was not found to be using proper gear like hand gloves, aprons and headwear. The department officials also found a huge pile of spices which had already crossed its expiration date. "We have served them a notice to close the restaurant and fix everything within 10 days, and if found that the situation is still the same then further course of action will be taken.”
It’s not the first time that the food safety department has carried out such raids in city hotels and restaurants. In July last year the food safety department along with Minister of State for Health, Pijush Hazarika, carried out surprise raids at various hotels and restaurants at Paltan Bazaar where a few hotels namely Hotel Raja, Hotel Green View and Hotel Kamakhya were shut down for three days after they were found operating in unhygienic conditions.
Raids were constantly carried out by the district administration in city since last year. Heavy fines amounting to even Rs 8 lakhs were imposed on traders of the Fancy Bazar area of the city for selling low quality food products. Atleast 82 cases were registered against these business establishments.
During the raid fines were imposed against oil traders who were found selling low quality product to the customers. Fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakhs were slapped on them.
Even fruit vendors were fined for ripening bananas and mangoes using carbides and other chemicals. A total of 12.5 quintals of mangoes were seized during the raid.
Apart from all these, many famous and reputed restaurants also came under the scanner because of serving rotten meat and stale food to its customers. The food department collected samples from their kitchens after receiving complaints.
City foodies express concern
Guwahati is a city that likes to eat and eat good food. Many food fanatics have expressed concern over the growing cases of adulteration and unhygienic conditions of the restaurants in the city.
Nabanita Sarma is foodie and a frequent visitor to various food joints and restaurants in the city.
Speaking to G plus Nabanita said that the growing number of cases of restaurants serving food under unhygienic conditions has created a sense of fear among the food lovers and for the people who visit these places to eat. "Most of the time I eat outside at various restaurants because of my work. I am now scared to eat outside because of the news that we are receiving. Everything is getting adulterated - be it fruits, vegetables and other food items. The safety of the consumers is being compromised. Restaurants operating in unhygienic conditions are posing greater health risk for the people who visit those restaurants to eat."
She further said that the government should make its food licensing norms more strict and should frequently check the food items being served at the restaurants.
Anoorag Deka who is also a foodie and frequent restaurant hopper also expressed a similar concern. Deka said that because of the increase in the number food joints and restaurants, the quality of food is being compromised. “Because of the rapid growth of the city and its population, a lot of food joints and restaurants have mushroomed in the area to cater to the growing needs of the people. And the restaurants are starting to compromise on the standard and quality of food that they serve. Quantity has become the key rather than the quality,” said Anoorag.
The growing concern about the quality issue among the general masses will hamper the food industry as many people are apprehensive of eating outside at such restaurants because of quality and hygiene issue.
Moreover, the reputation of such places will not be the same even after the corrections are made.
Government’s credibility questioned as raids yield no improvement in food standards
The health ministry last year constituted a team comprising officials from the health & family welfare department, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) to conduct surprise raids on various hotels, milk vans, sweet shops and factories. However, the raids were not conducted regularly because of shortage of manpower, said an officer of the FSSAI under the condition of anonymity.
The officer said, “The office does not have adequate manpower. The team constituted by the minister of state for health and family welfare has inducted most of our food inspectors. Frequent raids are conducted throughout the city to collect samples and follow up on those cases only.”
“The regular checking has taken a back seat. Because of such raids, several restaurants are maintaining the hygiene of the food that they serve to the customer, but again there are many who are not maintaining the standards of the food according to the food safety act. Strict action will be taken against the violators in the future surprise checking that will be done by the team,” said the officer.
May 4, 2019
May 3, 2019
Date to comply with FSSAI order on labelling for companies wheat products extended till 31 July
The deadline to comply with the order expired on April 30
Further extension has been given following a representation by the industry, FSSAI said in its latest order
NEW DELHI: Food business operators have been given three more months, till July 31, to change labels of their food products to include English nomenclature for 'atta' and 'maida' as wheat flour and refined wheat flour, respectively, according to the food safety regulator FSSAI.
The deadline to comply with the order expired on April 30. Further extension has been given following a representation by the industry, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in its latest order.
As per the earlier order, food businesses were asked to label 'atta' as whole wheat flour and 'maida' as refined wheat flour wherever it was used singly or as ingredient in food items.
The order had to be issued because the food business operators were using the term 'wheat flour' as English nomenclature for 'maida' on the label of the food products which does not convey the exact nature of ingredient used for manufacturing of various food items to the consumers as well as enforcement officials.
However, in the latest order, the FSSAI has not only given three months' extension for compliance, but also tweaked the order slightly to allow usage of the term 'atta' as wheat flour instead whole wheat flour.
In case the labels are in Devanagiri script, the businesses are allowed to use the Hindi nomenclature 'atta' and maida' for wheat flour and refined wheat flour, respectively.
May 1, 2019
Gutkha worth Rs 11.96 lakh seized in Maha; 2 held
Gutkha worth over Rs 11 lakh was seized from Palghar district in Maharashtra and two persons were arrested in this connection, police said on Tuesday.
A police team intercepted a tempo on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway near Amboli village here on Monday and found gutkha worth Rs 11.96 lakh being carried in the vehicle, police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said.
The tempo driver and cleaner, both hailing from Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district, were arrested following the seizure and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Food Safety and Standards Act, he said.
The sale and consumption of gutkha and pan masala was banned in Maharashtra in 2012.
The state government last year announced that sale of gutkha would be made a non-bailable offence.
Apr 30, 2019
Clean street food hub in capital unpalatable
An official of the food safety said that Alappuzha beach is more feasible for the project.
The rehabilitation block constructed by DTPC for foods vendors at Shangumugham beach in Thiruvananthapuram.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety (KCFS) has landed in a fix as the initiative of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) to launch 'Clean Street Food Hub', which aims at raising hygiene standards and preserve the culinary heritage of each state, at Shangumugham beach, hits a roadblock.
Shangumugham was one of the three destinations identified by the food safety authorities for the project. A team from the FSSAI has recently visited these spots to carry out an audit to check the feasibility of the initiative.
An official of the food safety said that Alappuzha beach is more feasible for the project. "The audit team visited all three spots but as per their condition, we should implement the project within six months. We would be able to pilot the project at Alappuzha as everything is going smooth and we will be able to meet all the pre-requisite mooted by FSSAI," said the official. While at Shangumugham, the authorities are yet to submit the beneficiary list. The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has constructed rehabilitation block for street vendors at the beach area. "A well-coordinated effort is required to execute the project. Because of the election, we were unable to have a discussion with various departments. A collector-level meeting should be called to finalise the beneficiary list," said the official.
It is learnt that there are around 164 vendors at Shangumugham beach area and the rehabilitation block would be able to accommodate only 14 vendors. An official of the DTPC said that the beneficiary list is yet to be finalised. "There are issues as the vendors have backing from trade unions. The local body is responsible for finalising the list as they are the authority for implementing the street vendor policy," said the official.
Subramanian N, who is running a thattukada at Shangumugham for the past 30 years, said that the DTPC is yet to handover the shops to the vendors. "We are hopefully waiting. They said the handing over would happen after the election," said Mr Shanmugan. According to the authorities only eligible vendors with seniority would be given rehabilitation.
The first Clean Street Food Hub was set up around the Kankaria Lake at Ahmedabad and FSSAI awarded a certificate recognizing it as India's first Hub.
FDA Pune shuts down Modern Dairy over violating FSSAI standards
The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) Pune seized adulterated paneer (cottage cheese), curd and cream from Modern Dairy shop located in Camp area in a surprise raid.
FDA Pune shuts down Modern Dairy over violating FSSAI standards
During the FDA officials found out that the products were being manufactured in unhygienic conditions and unfit for consumption. The FDA administrative officials have seized a total of 561 kilogrammes of spurious curd, malai, paneer, and fresh cream collectively worth Rs 1,23,691.
This raid was performed as the FDA department has received a tip-off regarding adulterated food items being dispatched into the market from Modern Dairy. Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner, FDA, Pune, mentioned this when he commented on the reason to have this raid on Mordern dairy.
The products that were found not fit for the consumption were destroyed and the process to shut down the dairy was underway.
FDA had conducted several surprise checks at 100 eateries, earlier this month at creameries, milk establishments across the city. Most of the cases were attributed to unhygienic preparations, usage of acids and other colouring methods. The FDA officials said that all these things were violating the norms prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The products prepared like this are a serious threat to the public.
Restaurants found violating food safety norms in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam: In yet another raid carried out by the Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Department and Food Safety Department, about eight restaurants in urban and rural areas of the district were found violating food safety norms.
During surprise checks made by the officials, they found out that stale and leftover cooked chicken joints, mutton pieces, prawns and fish, among other stuff were stored in refrigerators and freezers waiting to be served to customers on Monday.
In another restaurant, the officials found worms in cauliflower curry and noticed that the restaurateurs continue to use domestic gas cylinders for commercial purpose. In a take-away counter at Alluri Seetharama Raju statue, Seethammadhara, non-permitted food colours were used to prepare items and chicken legs were stuck inside the freezers at the centralised kitchen for a long time.
In Narsipatnam, officials noticed eggs with stamp meant for Anganwadi centres. ICDS officials were roped in to investigate the violation further. In some restaurants, food safety licences were expired and notices were issued in this regard to the respective restaurant owners. About eight food samples were collected and sent for analysis. Cases were booked by the Food Safety Department under appropriate sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
Deputy Superintendent of Police and In-Charge Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer K Sravani, Vigilance Department officials, including Inspectors of Police R Mallikarjuna Rao and N Srinivasa Rao, among others were part of the team that conducted surprise checks at various restaurants.
Coimbatore shopkeepers asked not to sell spoilt fruits, vegetables
COIMBATORE: Days after the food safety department found a shop on Karuppa Gounder Street here selling more than 300 kg of overripened and spoilt fruits, officials have again warned shopkeepers to store their stocks at the right temperature and not have spoilt fruits in the shop for any reason.
The food safety department has formed teams to inspect and instruct fruit and vegetable sellers to ensure that their produce is fit for consumption and not artificially ripened.
“We had actually called many fruit and vegetable dealers for a meeting and issued notices to all firms on March 16 to ensure that they stock their goods at the right temperature and sell it only during its shelf life. We also instructed them not to artificially ripen their products using carbide stones or other chemicals,” said designated food safety officer A Vijayalalithambigai.
“However, since we are finding shops selling spoilt and damaged fruits, we have formed teams to inspect and instruct sellers again over the next few days,” she added.
Sellers and shopkeepers have been instructed to not have spoilt or damaged goods anywhere on their premises. “Last week, shopkeepers gave us excuses that the damaged and spoilt fruits were being kept behind the shops for them to be returned to the wholesaler or picked up for disposal. They also claimed that the fruits came damaged and were not spoilt,” said Vijayalalithambigai.
“But we can’t know and keep checking if the shopkeeper actually returns it or just mixes it with new stock and keeps it again for sale,” she added. “We have instructed them to not spoilt goods even in their godowns for more than a day,” she added.
This move comes after food safety officials, who were on a raid in Big Bazaar Street and Karuppa Gounder Street to check for fruits artificially ripened with carbide stones, ended up coming across 300 kg of spoilt fruits on shelves meant for sale. It included mangoes, oranges, sweet lime and pomegranate.
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