Nearly two years after the Food Safety and Standards
Act (FSSA) came into effect, Kerala is still struggling with lack of
infrastructure and human resource constraints to implement the Act in
letter and spirit. The quality of food, from temple prasadam
to food served in eateries, is a big concern in the State, said a
senior food safety scientist here on Tuesday. He alleged that proper
monitoring mechanism was not still in place. However, the State Food
Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar claimed that an entirely new system
was being established from the scratch and that it would take time to
build the infrastructure. The recent reports about
broiler breeder chicken being sold in the meat market and banned
preservatives injecting in fishes call for constant intervention to
ensure quality in the food market.
Laboratories required
One of the most obvious requirements to meet the food safety standards
envisaged in the Act is setting up of more laboratories to test food
samples. Now, the food safety authority is depending on institutions
like the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) in Kochi and
Centre for Food Research and Development, Konni to test the samples.Mr.
Prabhakar said that public analytical laboratories were needed at the
district level. There are only four laboratories at present - in
Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kochi and Kozhikode. Even these
laboratories need better trained personnel and more modern equipments. The
Food Safety Authority is also hamstrung by shortage of people to
address the issues before it. Out of a total of 92 food safety officers’
posts in the State, 16 posts are vacant. A large number of officers
continue to work with the local bodies and they need to be brought under
the Food Safety Authority. Interestingly, the offices are also not
spacious enough to accommodate more number of people. Mr.
Prabhakar said that the toll free number provided to the public to make
complaints regarding unsafe food served in hotels was largely being
misused with fake calls and unspecific complaints putting food safety
officials on wrong trails.
Source:http://www.thehindu.com
No comments:
Post a Comment