Interview with CEO FSSAI

ഓണവിപണി ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് ഹൈറേഞ്ചില്‍ കൃത്രിമപ്പാല്‍ വ്യാപകം

ചെറുതോണി: ഓണവിപണി ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് ഹൈറേഞ്ചില്‍ കൃത്രിമപ്പാല്‍ വന്‍തോതില്‍ എത്തിക്കുന്നു. തമിഴ്‌നാട്ടില്‍നിന്നാണ് പാല്‍ എത്തിക്കുന്നത്. മില്‍മ നല്‍കുന്നതിന...

Read more at: http://www.mathrubhumi.com/idukki/malayalam-news/cheruthoni-1.1334101

10 years of FSSAI - From preventing adulteration to ensuring food safety

Source:http://www.fnbnews.com

In 2006, India’s Parliament adopted a new comprehensive law replacing the erstwhile Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954. It was named the Food Safety and Standards Act.

The latter aimed at looking into more comprehensively the food safety ecosystem that included a broader definition of food business operator (FBO), thousands of additives and their standards well harmonised with those of Codex, creating duly accredited lab infrastructure across the country for scientific analysis of the samples collected and placing robust food clearance systems for imports amongst others to make food safe when it comes to the plate.

“The statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Food Safety and Standards Bill 2006 refers to a multiplicity of food laws, standard setting and enforcement agencies, and the need for modernisation of laws which are non-responsive to technological developments, all of which hinder the growth of a modern food processing sector and fixation of safety standards,” wrote P I Suvrathan, the first chairperson of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in his memoir in the book released by FSSAI.

“It was in 1998 that the prime minister’s Council on Trade and Industry recommended comprehensive legislation on food, with a regulatory authority as a means to modernise the food sector and ensure safety of food,” he added.

In August 2011, FSSAI started its operations officially.

But after five years of its operations, Suvrathan felt that the regulator must reinvent itself.

To avail safety all-round need of staff arrangements - bringing on board food inspectors as food safety officers (FSO).

During the initial days of the operations, FSSAI took several initiatives to build the organisation from scratch, which appeared to have got derailed in the middle before the current dispensation took over and tried to save the cause.

Before Onam : Food Safety Officials Raid Hotels

Food safety officials Raid in MRA Hotel Karamana

എംആര്‍എ ബേക്ക് ഹൗസില്‍ പരിശോധന; ബോര്‍മയുടെ പ്രവര്‍ത്തനം നിര്‍ത്തിവെപ്പിച്ചു

സൗന്ദര്യ വര്‍ധനക്ക് ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍ പാചകത്തിന് ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നൂവെന്നാണ് സ്ക്വാഡ് കണ്ടെത്തിയത്.ആരോഗ്യത്തിന് ഹാനികരമായ ഘടകങ്ങള്‍ ചേര്‍ന്ന ഈ റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍  ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ ലൈസന്‍സില്ലാത്തതുമാണ്.

തിരുവനന്തപുരം: എംആര്‍എ ബേക്ക് ഹൗസിന്റെ തിരുവനന്തപുരം കരമനയിലെ ബോര്‍മയുടെ പ്രവര്‍ത്തനം നിര്‍ത്തിവെപ്പിച്ചു. ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ വകുപ്പിന്റെ പരിശോധനയില്‍ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ കണ്ടെത്തിയതിനെത്തുടര്‍ന്നാണ് നടപടി. എന്നാല്‍ ആരോഗ്യത്തിന് ഹാനികരമാകുന്ന ഒന്നും ഭക്ഷ്യവസ്തുക്കളില്‍ ചേര്‍ക്കാറില്ലെന്ന്
എംആര്‍എ ഉടമസ്ഥര്‍ പ്രതികരിച്ചു.

ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ വകുപ്പിന്റെ മൊബൈല്‍ വിജിലന്‍സ് സ്ക്വാഡിന്റെ പരിശോധനയിലാണ് എം ആര്‍ എ ബേക്ക് ഹൗസിന്റെ ബോര്‍മയില്‍ പ്രശ്നം കണ്ടെത്തിയത്. സൗന്ദര്യ വര്‍ധനക്ക് ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍ പാചകത്തിന് ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നൂവെന്നാണ് സ്ക്വാഡ് കണ്ടെത്തിയത്.ആരോഗ്യത്തിന് ഹാനികരമായ ഘടകങ്ങള്‍ ചേര്‍ന്ന ഈ റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍  ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ ലൈസന്‍സില്ലാത്തതുമാണ്.

പാചകത്തിന് റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നുവെന്ന് കണ്ടെത്തിയതിനെത്തുടര്‍ന്നാണ് ബോര്‍മയുടെ പ്രവര്‍ത്തനം നിര്‍ത്തിവെപ്പിച്ചതെന്ന് ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ വകുപ്പ് അധികൃതര്‍ വ്യക്തമാക്കി. എന്നാല്‍ ഈ റോസ് വാട്ടര്‍ പാചകത്തിനുപയോഗിക്കുന്നതല്ലായെന്നാണ് എം ആര്‍ എ ബേക്ക് ഹൗസ് അധികൃതരുടെ വിശദീകരണം. ഉല്‍സവസീസണുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടാണ് ഭക്ഷ്യസുരക്ഷ വകുപ്പ് സംസ്ഥാന വ്യാപക പരിശോധന നടത്തുന്നത്. 17 ടീമുകളായി തിരിഞ്ഞ് സംസ്ഥാനത്ത് ഹോട്ടലുകളിലും ഭക്ഷണശാലകളിലും ഭക്ഷ്യ സുരക്ഷ വകുപ്പ് നടത്തുന്ന പരിശോധന പന്ത്രണ്ടാം തിയതി വരെ തുടരും.

Source:http://www.asianetnews.tv

മുറിച്ച പഴം,പച്ചക്കറികള്‍ പ്ലാസ്സ്റ്റിക്കില്‍ പൊതിഞ്ഞ് സൂക്ഷിക്കുന്നത് ശിക്ഷാര്‍ഹം

How unlicenced slaughter houses pose grave problem in India

Source:http://www.financialexpress.com

All urban slaughter-houses as well as the butchers and flayers working there should be licensed, and entry to slaughter-houses strictly regulated. Greater proportion of the income derived from slaughter-houses should be spent on their upkeep, efficient running and improvement.” I can quote much more in the same vein. This isn’t something NGT (National Green Tribunal) has said. It is a quote from a Committee set up in 1955 (report submitted in 1957) by the ministry of food and agriculture, on slaughter-houses and meat inspection practices. Under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960), there are the 2001 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules. Section 3(1) states, “No person shall slaughter any animal within a municipal area except in a slaughter-house recognized or licensed by the concerned authority empowered under the law for the time being in force.” The Rules go on to specify amenities in slaughterhouses and lairages and processes for slaughter. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, we also have the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations of 2011. From Schedule 1 of this, a Central license will be required for “all slaughter-houses equipped to slaughter more than 50 large animals or 150 or more small animals including sheep and goats or 1000 or more poultry birds per day.” We thus have a dual FSSAI (the Authority under FSSA) and municipal registration/licence for the high-end and only a municipal registration/licence for others.

There is no getting away for some kind of registration/licence—with slaughterhouses divided into ovine (sheep), caprine (goats), suilline (pigs), bovine (cattle), poultry and fish. Those are actually FSSAI registration heads, not municipal. We have FSSAI data from last year, when the health minister gave a written reply to Rajya Sabha. Sixty-two slaughterhouses are registered with FSSAI. Twenty are from UP. Every other state has less than ten. Assuming all those who should get registered under FSSAI do so, this is a remarkably small number. Through department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, because of a RTI query, we also have data (for 2014) on number of registered slaughterhouses. This is “as reported by states/UT governments” and is therefore about municipal ones. The total number comes to 1,623, with more than 100 in Andhra Pradesh (183), Maharashtra (316), Tamil Nadu (130) and UP (285). Bengal has a mere 11. We want registration because amenities and conditions improve and clearly, these are gross under-estimates.

There have been writ petitions and special leave petitions in the Supreme Court since 2001. To quote from a 2014 Order of the Supreme Court, “We notice that there is no periodical supervision or inspection of the various slaughter houses functioning in various parts of the country. Action Taken Reports would indicate that, in many States, slaughter houses are functioning without any licence and even the licenced slaughter houses are also not following the various provisions as well as the guidelines issued by the MoEF, which we have already referred to in our earlier orders.” There is also Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which tell us there are 3,600 authorised slaughterhouses, compared to that other figure of 1,623. If we go back to something like 1992, that 3,600 figure becomes more specific, because we have a CPCB industry document on slaughterhouses, meat and sea-food processing. This tells us, “As reported by the Ministry of Food Processing, a total of 3,616 recognized slaughter-houses” exist. With that cut-off of 100, there are 343 in Andhra Pradesh, 633 in Karnataka, 715 in Kerala, 261 in MP, 282 in Maharashtra, 380 in Rajasthan, 183 in Tamil Nadu and 407 UP. Rather remarkably, Bengal still has 11. These are recognised/registered slaughterhouses. Therefore, the two sets of numbers (from 1992 and 2014) should be comparable.

Absence of pesticide regulation hits food safety enforcement

Source:http://www.thehindu.com

The absence of prescribed limits on the use of chemical pesticides for various crops could hinder the government move to step up enforcement of food safety during the Onam festival season, experts feel.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has not prescribed the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) of many of the pesticides used on vegetables and fruits.

This, according to official sources, poses legal hurdles in cracking down on the indiscriminate use of pesticides by domestic farmers and curbing the import of pesticide-contaminated items from other States.

MRL is the legally permitted level of pesticide residue in food items. The MRL value is fixed on the basis of a rigorous evaluation. It acts as an indicator of the correct use of pesticides and ensures compliance with legal requirements for food safety.

“It is a matter of concern that the majority of pesticides that have been detected in vegetables, fruits, spices and condiments do not have MRL values,” says a senior scientist associated with pesticide safety.

“This makes a mockery of the periodic monitoring of food items for pesticide residue,” he said.

The State government conducts regular surveillance sample testing of food items and the reports are published on the official website. But in the absence of MRL values, officials are hamstrung in taking legal action.

“For example, Profenophos is a typical highly neurotoxic insecticide registered for use only in cotton. But it has been detected in chilli, chilli powder, curry leaf, coriander leaf, mint leaf, cardamom, cumin seed, fennel seed, and curry powders. The FSSAI has not fixed the MRL for this insecticide in any of these commodities, because its use is not approved in any of these crops,” says an official.

Vice Chancellor, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), P. Rajendran said the multiplicity of pesticides used for various crops posed a problem in regulation. “Fixing the MRL value for a pesticide used on a crop is a complex, time- consuming process, often taking years. To complicate matters further, pesticide manufacturers come up with new products every now and then, by changing the formulation.”

Under a special food safety drive for the forthcoming Onam festival season, the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory under KAU is screening samples of vegetables and fruits collected from markets across the State.

FSSAI commemorates decade of Food Safety & Stds Act with 10 initiatives

Source:http://www.fnbnews.com
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) commemorated ten years of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and revealed its future plans with ten initiatives aimed at making the public and the food industry partners and an aware society.

The document released by FSSAI said, “The future of food safety and nutrition lies in an integrated approach, collaborations, engagement and surround impact.”

“These will be key dynamic to enable food safety in the country. And these initiatives are envision to connect people of all age groups across the spectrum with the simple intent of creating an aware community which is empowered to ensure food safety.”

Beginning from home, the dots connect workspace, schools, serving and corporate for food safety.

Initiatives

• Safe and nutritious food at home: FSSAI is bringing out a green book on safe food at home. It will assist homemakers in their routine dealing with the food
• Safe and nutritious food at school: This initiative is aimed at creating awareness about food safety among children and inculcating safe food habits that will last a lifetime
• Safe and nutritious food at workplace: This focuses on employees
• Safe food on the streets, at restaurants, railway stations and places of worship
• Working in close cooperating with corporates with a thought of food safety - a shared responsibility
• The apex regulator wants to connect with citizens by which public participation can be augmented to achieve the goal of food safety
• Diet for Life: This is aimed at the nutritional needs of children with metabolic disorders
• Food safety training and certification (FoSTaC): This aims at providing training to people involved in various food businesses
• IFS-Quickacess: This initiative is aimed at integrated food standards for easy and effective implementation and monitoring
• Strengthening of food testing laboratories (SOFTel)