Oct 10, 2017
Tamil Nadu government to give free nilavembu in eateries, siddha doctors frown
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadugovernment will provide 'nilavembu' powder - the anti-dengue siddha drug -- free of cost to all eateries through the designated officers of the food safety department in every district, so they can make the decoction and give it free to the public, health minister C Vijaya Baskar said on Monday.
'Nilavembu kudineer' is already distributed free in government hospitals and public places such as bus stops and railway stations. It is available for a cost in retail outlets and pharmacies. Siddha practitioners, however, say taking the drug without adequate medical supervision can do more harm than good. "Some patients should not be taking the herbal decoction at all. It can worsen their illness," said Dr Selvin Innocent Dhas, president of the Indian Siddha Medical Graduates Association.
"If you give the decoction to pregnant women or people with stomach ulcers, acidity or digestive problems, it can trigger vomiting. In severe dengue, where patients are already dehydrated, this medicine can be deadly. It's a herbal medicine that should not be used indiscriminately," he said.
The minister, who met members of the hoteliers association as part of the government's anti-dengue measures, said the department of Indian medicine and homeopathy will be instructed to make the powder available free of cost to all eateries. "Designated officers will ensure that hoteliers are trained to make the decoction which boosts the immune system," he said.
"The government designated officers should ensure every eatery makes the right dosage. It can be a tough task, but if they manage to do it correctly, it will help bring down dengue cases," said National Institute of Siddha director Dr V Bhanumathi.
Central Council of Indian Medicine state representative Dr Muthukumar said the medicine must be taken twice a day for at least three days for it to work. "It is important for hoteliers to keep people informed. Taking it once will be ineffective," he said.
FIR in gutkha scam has no mention of Minister, two DGP-rank officers
Only 17 middle-level officials named in the first information report filed by anti-graft watchdog
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered an FIR in the gutkha scam naming 17 middle-level officials belonging to various departments in the State. After preliminary investigation, it has been concluded that there is prima facie evidence of bribery in the case, according to sources.
While there was no mention of a State Minister or two Director-General of Police (DGP) rank officers who allegedly received payments from the gutkha manufacturer, the agency had sent a detailed questionnaire to the then Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigation) B.R. Balakrishnan, former Chief Secretary P.S. Rama Mohana Rao and former DGP Ashok Kumar seeking details of the case. The accused have been booked under Section 109 [dealing with punishment of abetment] of the IPC and Section 13 (1) (a) and (d) and 13(2) [dealing with “criminal misconduct by a public servant”] of the Prevention of Corruption Act, an official handling the case said, adding that “detailed investigation” was on.
As for allegations about the involvement of a Minister and top officials, he said a clear picture would emerge before filing a chargesheet, which was likely in six months.
Pointing out that those named in the FIR are from the departments such as Police, Chennai Corporation, Food Safety and Drug Administration and Commercial Taxes, all from the State government, besides the Central Excise, the official said that the DVAC had received a reply from Mr. Balakrishnan to its questionnaire. He refused to divulge the names of the accused persons.
How it all started
The genesis of the case can be traced to a letter sent by Mr. Balakrishnan as Principal Director of I-T (Investigation) in August 2016 to the then Chief Secretary Mr. Rama Mohana Rao and the then DGP Ashok Kumar following a search in Red Hills, on the northern outskirts of the city, on the premises of a leading Chennai-based gutka manufacturer. The books of accounts seized from the premises of the suspects revealed payouts to the turn of ₹39 crore made to a Minister, at least three IPS officers and many other Central/State government employees. However, the crucial papers went missing both in the offices of the Chief Secretary and the DGP.
The issue hit the headlines after The Hindu exposed the issue with documents, triggering protests from the opposition parties who demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the scam.
Following the submission of Chief Secretary Girija Vaidhyanathan to the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that no communication dated July 9, 2016 was received by the State government from the I-T department, the DVAC, as directed by the court, decided to launch an investigation into the “missing documents.”
While one team, led by an additional superintendent of police, is looking into this issue, another team has been entrusted with the task of collecting all relevant documents from the I-T department. A questionnaire has been sent to Mr. Rao, who retired in September, and Mr. Ashok Kumar. “We are awaiting their response,” the official says, adding that “if required, they will be called for interrogation.”
No objection certificate mandatory to utilise groundwater
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) must be obtained for the drinking water companies to avail the groundwater.
There are more than 1300 private companies providing drinking water services in cans under licence from BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards. Most of these companies use the groundwater as their main source of drinking water.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a letter all the State Food Safety Commissioners to prevent unauthorized siphoning of the groundwater, especially in the regions where it is already dangerously low.
The letter mentions that in order to implement the rules set by Indian Green Service, the companies which utilise the groundwater must obtain NOC (No Objection Certificate) before 31st December. They have to submit an application for this to the concerned state government department.
Whenever an application is submitted, a copy of the same and also a copy of the application for renewal request should be submitted to the Department of Food Safety. If this proof is not given, NOC must not be given and also, the licence must not be renewed.
A senior official from the Food Safety department explained that the letter issued by FSSAI has been sent to all the State Food Safety Officials. When issuing license for the can drinking water suppliers, the rules mentioned in this letter must be followed strictly.
The Secretary of the packaged drinking water Suppliers Association, T. Sureshkumar, explained that there are certain procedural regulations to be followed in getting approval from the Pollution Regulation Board. One of them is the NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the State PWD (Public Works Department).
Food Safety Department Is All Set To Ensure Hygienic and Safe Production of Diwali Sweets
Now that Diwali is around the corner, the Department of Food Safety is all here to ensure the manufacturing of the food items is done as per the food safety standards. The advisory on the standards of food to be maintained will be done by the Food Safety Officer, and the advisory will be accompanied by an inspection to check the hygiene maintenance at all sweet manufacturing units.
CLEAN AND SAFE PRODUCTION
Along with the regular inspection to curb the adulteration of raw materials, the workers will also be inspected in term of personal hygiene. ““Last year, it was found during the inspection that working in high temperatures, workers fail to maintain proper hygiene and clean working environment. Such issues will be kept under inspection this year,” said DR R Kathiravan, designated officer, Food Safety Department.
The advisory on the standards will focus on the usage of colours in sweets, and only approved colours which are less than 100 ppm will be allowed to use in the manufacturing of sweets. The quality of raw materials like milk, ghee and oil needs to be checked thoroughly before using them.
DISTRICT FOOD SAFETY DEPARTMENT TO HOLD WORKSHOP FOR HALWAIS, FOOD TRADERS TODAY
In a novel initiative, the District Food Safety department has decided to hold a workshop for the dairy owners, halwais and sweet shop merchants and inform them about measures they should undertake to ensure the quality of the stuff they are selling.
The Designated officer, Food Safety GC Kandwal told The Pioneer that the workshop would be held at Press club on October 10. He said that the participants would be informed about the regulations of the food safety act and the precaution they should take.
“We will inform them about the standard of the skimmed milk they should use to prepare sweets. Similarly the quality of mawa, edible oil, permissible colours and essence would also be taught to them. Our plan is to increase awareness among those who prepare the sweets,’’ he said.
Kandwal said that more than 120 participants are expected in the workshop. He said that a drive of the department against adulteration and maintaining quality is presently going on the district and from October 11 the drive would be further intensified. Kandwal claimed that no discrimination would be allowed during the drive.
Meanwhile, the teams of the health department are continuing their drive inside the city and neighbouring areas. The teams have taken samples of gulab jamun, Batisa and Mustard oil from Big Baazar. Similarly samples of kaju barfi were taken from a sweet shop on Rajpur road. In Selaqui mustard oil and batisa samples were taken.
Icrisat finds way to combat aflatoxins in groundnuts
High levels of toxins impact immunity, stunts growth in children
HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 9:
Aflatoxins, a poison produced by the Aspergillus fungus that grows naturally on food crops, is a hidden burden that is estimated to affect over 500 crore people. Daily intake of small doses could reduce immunity and stunt growth of children.
A new study by a team of international scientists, including from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), brings in a ray of hope. It talks of double defence approach to reduce the toxin levels.
“Using innovative biotechnology approaches, researchers have developed groundnuts free from aflatoxins,” Kiran Sharma, Principal Scientist at the Icrisat, and co-author of the publication, said.
This could mean a lot to farmers. Besides groundnut farmers,it will also benefit those growing maize, cotton, chillies and almonds.Small protein lines
To boost the groundnut’s immunity against the fungus, researchers developed peanut lines that are able to produce small peptides known as defensins, that are often produced as immune responses to pathogens by some plants, animals and humans.
“By producing small proteins called defensins, these groundnuts can stop the deadly fungus from multiplying and infecting. At the same time, the groundnut seeds also emit gene-silencing RNA molecules to help shut down the synthesis of aflatoxin by the fungus,” he said.
Kiran Sharma points out that the toxin-producing moulds thrive in poor soils, droughts and damp storage conditions.
This means farmlands in the drylands are at a higher risk.Health issues
An Icrisat study recently revealed that in southern India, aflatoxin levels in peanuts may be 40-times higher than allowed by Indian food safety limits.
“High level of aflatoxin ingestion could lead to numerous cancers, including the deadly liver cirrhosis which is on the rise and kills over 6,00,000 persons every year,” the institute said in a statement.
Icrisat researchers plan some extensive field tests with partners from Asian and African breeding programmes to cross these promising aflatoxin-resistant lines.
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