The objections or suggestions, if any, may be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Food and Drug Administration Bhawan, Kotla road, New Delhi. 110002 and mail to rulesfssai@gmail.com on or before 30.04.2013.
Apr 9, 2013
In Public Interest
Institutions interested in streamlining administrative mechanisms for responsibility and accountability cannot be unaware of the roaring trade in duplicates, be it pharmaceuticals, electrical goods and components, automobile spares and packed food items. Recent reports of an extensively used antibiotic being supplied in sub-standard form are only the tip of the iceberg in the highly lucrative pharmaceutical trade. That this lethal business should have gone unchecked for so long is a commentary on the efficiency and probity of the state’s drug control authority, and an apt indicator of how other such government agencies work. As proved conclusively by the fate of a central report on massive milk adulteration in Kashmir, violators have powerful political patrons and can literally get away with murder. The courts could not have failed to notice that absolutely nothing has happened on the explosive milk adulteration report of over a year ago, even when some officer designated as the state’s food safety commissioner popped up at an opportune time to declare that identities of the adulterating dairy producers would be obtained from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India which had conducted the tests. It is a widely known fact that figures at the very top of the state’s political spectrum have financial and partnership stakes in widely-selling milk brands. Ergo the hush-up. Ditto for mutton. It is not mere happenstance that retailers have been charging Rs 40 to Rs 70 extra per kg of the commodity over and above the supposedly government-fixed rate of Rs 280. Surely, it should not have fallen to the lot of the High Court to remind the government of having regular market checking squads to monitor the sale and rates of mutton and other commodities. Now that it has, it remains to be seen what move the mafia’s political patrons make.
வடசென்னை பகுதியில் அதிரடி 2,000 லிட்டர் போலி குளிர்பானம் மாவட்ட அதிகாரிகள் பறிமுதல்
தண்டையார்பேட்டை, ஏப்.9:
சென்னை
நகரில் வெயில் அதிகரித்து வருகிறது. வெயிலின் தாக்கத்தினால் பொதுமக்கள்
மோர், இளநீர், மற்றும் குளிர்பானங்களை அதிகம் நாடுகின்றனர். இதனால் குளிர்
பானங்களின் விற்பனை அதிகரித்துள்ளது.
இதையடுத்து,
பல்வேறு போலி குளிர்பானங்கள் தயாரிக்கும் நிறுவனங்கள் தரமில்லாத,
சுகாதாரமில்லாத குளிர்பானங்களை தயாரித்து விற்பதாக சென்னை மாவட்ட உணவு
பாதுகாப்பு அலுவலருக்கு புகார்கள் வந்தன.
இதையடுத்து,
உணவு பாதுகாப்பு ஆய்வாளர்கள் சதாசிவம், இளங்கோவன், ஜெயகோபால், செந்தில்
ஆறுமுகம் ஆகியோர் வடசென்னையில் உள்ள திருவொற்றியூர் நெடுஞ்சாலை, மணலி சாலை
உள்ளிட்ட பகுதிகளில் உள்ள குளிர்பான கடைகள், குளிர்பானம் தயாரிக்கும்
நிறுவனங்கள் ஆகியவற்றில் நேற்று அதிரடி சோதனை நடத்தினர்.
அப்போது,
தரமில்லாத, சுத்தமில்லாத குளிர்பானங்கள் தயாரிப்பது தெரியவந்தது.
அங்கிருந்து பிரபல நிறுவனங்களின் பெயரில் தயாரிக்கப்பட்ட 2000 லிட்டர் போலி
குளிர் பானங்களை பறிமுதல் செய்தனர். இதையடுத்து அந்த நிறுவனங்களுக்கு
அதிகாரிகள் எச்சரிக்கை நோட்டீஸ் அனுப்பினர். கைப்பற்றப்பட்ட
குளிர்பானங்களின் மாதிரிகள் ஆய்வுக்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டு ஆய்வறிக்கைக்கு
பின்னர் அந்த நிறுவனங்கள் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும் என அதிகாரிகள்
தெரிவித்தனர்.
Enforcement of Food Safety Act hit in State
With a 60 per cent shortage in the number of food safety officers, implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011, has become a problem in Karnataka. Unable to meet the targets of registrations of and issuance of licence to firms/units under the new Act, the deadline has been extended twice.
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in the State are now concentrating on registering and issuance of licences to firms and units in the business of manufacturing, transporting, processing, storing and selling easily perishable items (milk, vegetables, ice cream et al) to bring them under the ambit of the new rules, on a priority basis.
“Registration of other units will be carried out later,” one of the designated officers said, adding that the law mandates these registrations so that they fall under the purview of the Act.
A senior official from FSSAI told Deccan Herald over the phone: “The first deadline was September 2012, and it was extended to February this year and now it has been extended again.”
Statutory advisory
A statutory advisory issued on February 5, 2013, a copy of which is with the Deccan Herald, reads: “In continuation of the statutory advisory dated July 25, 2012, issued by the Authority, it has been decided to extend the timeline to February 4, 2014, for FBOs (full business operators) seeking conversion/renewal of their existing licences and also for FBOs who have not obtained licences/registrations under the new Act.”
One of the main reasons for such extensions is the shortage of staff. “While the Centre fixes/extends the deadline, it does not mean that all registratons have to happen voluntarily. It is fine if FBOs do it otherwise; it is also our duty to inspect places and register them. But given the shortage, this has not been possible,” a source said.
A designated officer from one of the districts, who is responsible for issuance of licences and registration, said: “Given the kind of shortage we have, we have no choice but to concentrate on easily perishable items, as there is maximum quality issues there.”
Many vacancies
V V Patil, food safety commissioner, Karnataka, while conceding that there is severe shortage of staff, said that an executive order has been passed recently to fill the vacancies.
“There is a problem, but we will have to work around it,” he said. According to Patil, there is a basic requirement of 210 food safety officers (FSOs) across the 30 districts in Karnataka of which only 84 have been recruited. In Belgaum, for example, there are 10 taluks but only four FSOs, a source said, without revealing the figures for Bangalore.
Further, the 30 designated officers are on additional charge. “We will also be recruiting full-time designated officers soon,” Patil said.
Use of ethylene to ripen fruit suggested at FDA workshop in Aurangabad
The Aurangabad division of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently organised a workshop on the disadvantages of using calcium carbide for fruit ripening at Shetkari Niwas Krishi Utpanna Bazaar Samiti, Jadhavwadi, Aurangabad. It was attended by Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner, Aurangabad FDA, wholesale fruit vendors and other senior officers.
The workshop was organised to point out the unsafe ripening practice carried out by the fruit vendors by the use of harmful chemicals like calcium carbide, which are hazardous to the human body. It focussed on how to curb such harmful practices. It was suggested that farmers and sellers use ethylene to ripen the fruit instead.
Ganesh Kulkarni, chief executive officer, Greentech India Ltd – a key speaker at the workshop – said, “More than 95 per cent of the fruit sold in local markets are artificially ripened and may take a toll on the health of the consumers. The compound calcium carbide is used to ripen huge quantities of mangoes, bananas and other fruits.”
“By bringing artificially-ripened mangoes into the market before those which go through the natural ripening process enter it, the traders make a quick buck. Only the outer layer of a fruit that has been artificially ripened becomes yellow in colour, while the flesh inside remains raw,” he said.
Kulkarni stated, “Although the government has banned the use of the chemical for the purpose, a large number of traders and fruit growers continue to use it for commercial gain. Consumers who eat these fruits could develop mouth ulcers, gastric problems and skin rashes, and in the long run, it could also cause asthma and even cancer.”
Discussing the scientific method of ripening, which is safe, he said, “Ethylene is one alternative. When the fruit is exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity, a uniform rate of ripening can be achieved. Moreover, the quality of fruit that ripens naturally is also superior.”
“Calcium carbide reacts with the moisture in the air and releases acetylene, which stimulates the ripening process. It changes the colour of the fruit very fast, but the fleshy part does not become sweeter. But when natural ethylene is used under controlled conditions, the fruit ripens as a whole,” Kulkarni explained.
The workshop was organised to point out the unsafe ripening practice carried out by the fruit vendors by the use of harmful chemicals like calcium carbide, which are hazardous to the human body. It focussed on how to curb such harmful practices. It was suggested that farmers and sellers use ethylene to ripen the fruit instead.
Ganesh Kulkarni, chief executive officer, Greentech India Ltd – a key speaker at the workshop – said, “More than 95 per cent of the fruit sold in local markets are artificially ripened and may take a toll on the health of the consumers. The compound calcium carbide is used to ripen huge quantities of mangoes, bananas and other fruits.”
“By bringing artificially-ripened mangoes into the market before those which go through the natural ripening process enter it, the traders make a quick buck. Only the outer layer of a fruit that has been artificially ripened becomes yellow in colour, while the flesh inside remains raw,” he said.
Kulkarni stated, “Although the government has banned the use of the chemical for the purpose, a large number of traders and fruit growers continue to use it for commercial gain. Consumers who eat these fruits could develop mouth ulcers, gastric problems and skin rashes, and in the long run, it could also cause asthma and even cancer.”
Discussing the scientific method of ripening, which is safe, he said, “Ethylene is one alternative. When the fruit is exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity, a uniform rate of ripening can be achieved. Moreover, the quality of fruit that ripens naturally is also superior.”
“Calcium carbide reacts with the moisture in the air and releases acetylene, which stimulates the ripening process. It changes the colour of the fruit very fast, but the fleshy part does not become sweeter. But when natural ethylene is used under controlled conditions, the fruit ripens as a whole,” Kulkarni explained.
“FSSA is helping to check adulteration at all levels”
Satej Patil, minister of state for Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, is focussing all his energies to make FDA a priority for the state. Among the various steps that he has taken include meeting finance minister P Chidambaram seeking an enhancement in FDA budget. The minister delves into the detail in a conversation with Abhitash Singh. Excerpts:
What initiatives is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) taking to curb incidence of adulteration in Maharashtra?
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) implemented a new Act all over India in 2006. And the Act is a very good one, which is helping to check adulteration at all levels. For instance, adulteration of milk takes place during transportation, distribution and logistics. But now we are having strict check to curb incidence of milk adulteration in Maharashtra. Earlier there was little punishment for milk adulterators but now strict action is taken against them. If adulterators do not abide by the new Act of FSSAI they will face the consequences. The maximum punishment for adulterator will be 10 years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
FDA Maharashtra is said to be facing manpower problems. What steps are being taken by FDA to sort out these problems?
Earlier FDA was not a priority sector for the government. But after taking the portfolio of food and drug administration, I am taking it seriously and have made the government think about it. Other departments of the government are not concerned about everyone. But food department is concerned about more than 100 crore population of the country. Now the government has come forward to make this department strong and instead of just Rs 1 crore budget provision, it is increasing the budget for this department. This new budget will help in increasing the manpower, infrastructure like laboratories and mobile laboratories and other facilities, which are needed for the development of FDA.
The deadline for licensing and registration for FBOs has been extended by FSSAI. What initiatives will be taken by FDA to complete the procedure on time?
In Maharashtra, more than 3,57,000 food business operators (FBOs) are registered and licensed and revenue worth more than Rs 63 crore has been collected. Recently, I met the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chairman K Chandramouli and had a word with him regarding outsourcing the licensing and registration work, because government cannot handle this alone. Even the registration fee should be increased from Rs 100 to Rs 200. We are leading in the country in the licensing and registration process and will be the first state to complete it before the deadline.
Let us know in detail about the separate budget for FDA.
Yes, there should be separate budget for FDA. I had a word with finance minister about having separate budget for FDA and making it priority sector to which he has given assurances. Now FDA budget is under medical and education department. If it is brought out from medical and education department we will have a major say in the working. And thus we will succeed in getting more budget for FDA. We are also proposing a separate secretary for FDA department.
What steps is FDA taking in order to provide safe food to the people of Maharashtra?
We are taking the safety measures very seriously. Those who are involved in providing unsafe, adulterated food will be booked and strict action will be taken against them. Recently the team of FDA officials raided the wheat godown at Chandrapur in Maharashtra. Wheat worth Rs 1.25 crore was raided. We stopped the wheat to come into the market.
What steps are you taking at personal level to make people aware about the safety of foods?
We have done lots of milk adulteration campaigns and continuing with them in various parts of Maharashtra. We are holding awareness camps for both FBOs as well as customers to make them aware about the importance of safety of foods. We are also creating awareness among masses through radio jingle, TV ads, pamphlets and newspaper advertisements. We also taught women in various places about the method of cutting milk packets so that they cannot be reused.
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