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Chandigarh: Sale of chewing gum, bubble gum, paan masala prohibited
Principal Home Secretary Arun Gupta, who also holds the charge of Commissioner Food Safety, had issued these orders on Monday. The orders triggered confusion either merely spitting has also become a criminal offence in Chandigarh.
Sources said different teams of food supply and safety department are given the task of checking the sale of these prohibited products.
The sale of chewing gum, bubble gum, paan masala and other allied products along with spitting of these products was prohibited in Chandigarh under clause (a) of Sub-Section (2) of Section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The food safety department of Chandigarh was authorised to implement this prohibition for next three months.
Principal Home Secretary Arun Gupta, who also holds the charge of Commissioner Food Safety, had issued these orders on Monday. The orders triggered confusion either merely spitting has also become a criminal offence in Chandigarh.
Gupta said, “As per the World Health Organisation, COVID-19 transmits through droplets. This order prohibiting the sale of chewing gum, bubble gum and paan masala products is aimed for minimising the possibility of spitting in Chandigarh. Neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh already adopted this provision. Indeed, merely spitting is not banned but ideally we urge the people not to spit in the open. They can use napkins, tissue papers or hanky for covering mouth while spitting.”
Sources said different teams of food supply and safety department are given the task of checking the sale of these prohibited products. Section 38 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, authorises a Food Safety Commissioner to seize any product from a shop or department store and other places, which is intended to be dangerous to the human consumption and prohibited for sale.
According to sub-sections of Section 38, the Food Safety Commissioner will give a receipt of the seized products to the shopkeeper. Further, a detailed report/challan will be produce in the courts concerned for further legal proceedings. The local court can slap a fine along with imprisonment against the violator of these orders.
However, a police officer said, “Food safety department of Chandigarh is liable for implementing these orders. We can only assist the food safety officers, who will be appointed by Food Safety Commissioner, for executing the orders. We will assist the teams wherever these will go for checking/seizing the prohibited products.”
Apr 7, 2020
15,641 kg of stale fish seized
Raids in 216 centres in State
Special squads of the Food Safety Department seized and destroyed 15,641 kg of stale and contaminated fish in Statewide raids on Monday.
This includes 8,056 kg of inedible fish that was set aside by the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department to be used as fertiliser, Health Minister K. K. Shylaja said.
The 8,056 kg of inedible fish was brought from Colachel in Tamil Nadu for sale in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. Raids were carried out in 40 centres in Thiruvananthapuram, 14 in Kollam, 25 in Pathanamthitta, eight each in Alappuzha and Ernakulam, 10 in Kottayam, 27 in Thrissur, 33 in Kozhikode, 17 in Kannur and 11 in Malappuram.
Restructuring our food system for a healthy world
Many disease outbreaks show that within the welfare of animals lies the welfare of people
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is an opportunity for us to analyse our food system, ideate and make changes for a healthier and more sustainable future. It is widely believed that the disease is zoonotic, which means that it got transferred to humans from the exotic animals stored in the ‘wet markets’ in Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the outbreak. Like SARS-CoV-2, SARS too was believed to have spread from civet cats to human beings in 2002. There are similar theories about Ebola and HIV. What lessons do these various outbreaks offer us?
Antibiotic resistance
The first is for us to rethink the ways in which we farm animals. India has the world’s largest livestock population, is the largest producer of buffalo meat and produces about a 100 billion eggs annually. Animal agriculture is moving away from backyard operations to larger industrial facilities which aim to produce more meat with fewer resources. Industrialising animal agriculture comes at a huge cost to the environment, animals and to human beings. One concern is antibiotic resistance. According to the World Health Organization, the large volume of antibiotics given to farm animals contributed to the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria particularly in settings of intensive animal production.
A majority of Indian households buy meat from local meat shops which, much like the wet markets, follow no regulations in the way the animals are kept or slaughtered. Most of the standalone meat vendors do not follow the standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Further, while welfare standards of animals are often neglected, one thing is clear: immunocompromised animals are the most likely to pass on an infection. It is thus imperative that India understand the risk of zoonosis and antibiotic resistance in terms of following FSSAI regulations and adhering to welfare standards in animal husbandry.
The second lesson is to undertake greater investment in the alternate protein industry. India has a high rate of malnutrition among children under the age of five and is trying to combat this by encouraging meat production. With a paucity of space, this can only be done by giving a boost to industrial agriculture. Before India does that, it must explore the potential behind plant and cultivated meats. Plant-based meats are made from plants and are cholesterol- and antibiotic-free, but taste and feel like meat. Cultivated meat is produced by taking a small sample of animal cells and replicating them outside of the animal; the resulting product is real meat, but without the antibiotics, E. coli, salmonella, or animal waste. These foods represent an enormous opportunity to solve the problems of rampant malnutrition, low farmer incomes, antibiotic dependency, and inhumane factory farming of animals.
In the Western world, these plant-based meats are already popular and two plant-based companies – the Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat – won the Champions of Earth award, the United Nation’s highest environmental honour. India, an agrarian economy, could export raw materials to make these products and feed its people.
Every act has an impact
Finally, we must understand the interconnectedness of the world. Advocates of animal rights have argued that within the welfare of animals lies the welfare of people. Every act we undertake has an impact on us all. Pursuant to global lockdowns, wild animal populations have returned to cities and pollution levels have dropped globally. We need to innovate and encourage technologies that allow us to maintain the standard of living we are used to while ensuring that we are working towards a healthier world.
Ambika Hiranandani, Strategic Partnerships for The Good Food Institute, India
Apr 5, 2020
Apr 3, 2020
FSSAI nod to e-inspect businesses for food permits
After lockdown, food inspectors can schedule physical inspection of units
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to allow State licensing authorities to conduct e-inspections to avoid any delay in grant of licences and registrations to certain food business operators (FBOs) during the ongoing lockdown to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
This applies to licence and registrations applications where licensing authorities need to conduct inspection of food units before granting permits. These FBOs will be now be allowed to submit photos/videos or do live-streaming of their units or premises to the licensing authorities for the purpose of e-inspection.
In a letter sent to all State Food Safety Commissioners, the food safety authority stated: “FSSAI has, from time to time, issued directions emphasising post-license inspection instead of pre-licence/registration inspection due to limited manpower and to avoid undue delay in sanctioning licenses. However, the licensing/registration authorities may, in certain cases, particularly high-risk food categories, decide to have pre-licence inspection.”
“Since during the lockdown period this would not be possible, it has been decided to consider e-inspections in place of physical inspections,” FSSAI stated, adding that this is being done to avoid undue delay in granting licenses and registrations during the period.
It said that the licensing authorities can do e-inspection by recording their observations on the basis of videos and images submitted by the concerned FBOs.
“The mode of submission of videos or image related to inspection during the lockdown situation may be through any media available possible, including livestreaming. Upon receiving satisfactory video or images, the licensing/registering authority shall further process the applications without any delay,” FSSAI said in the order.
Once normalcy is restored, the food inspectors can then schedule physical inspections of such units. The regulator emphasised that e-inspection is being allowed only during the current lockdown period.
The food safety authority also reiterated that since food is an essential commodity, the authorities involved in licensing and registration should make all efforts to process such applications without delay.
Apr 2, 2020
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