Jan 21, 2018
Conflict of interest slur on India's top food safety regulator FSSAI
NEW DELHI: Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate on economic issues has raised serious concerns about the country’s top food safety regulator FSSAI’s tie-ups with Nestle Nutrition and some other MNCs saying it involves “conflict of interest” and has demanded a thorough government investigation.
The body has strongly objected to the regulator’s recent move to allow imported infant speciality food in the country by four multi-national food giant companies, with whom, it has also entered into “social awareness partnerships.”
The Manch, which is set to register its complaints to the Prime Minister Office, Niti Aayog and the Union ministry of Health and Family Welfare, says that the FSSAI’s links with the MNCs are “dubious and should be investigated thoroughly”.
“In June 2015, Maggi, a product by Nestle, was in the eye of the storm for some extremely harmful ingredients in it. The issue has completely vanished now and FSSAI has joined hands with it and some other companies to raise awareness on nutritional safety—that’s alarming,” Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convener of the Manch told this newspaper.
FSSAI has recently partnered with four MCNs Abbot, Danone Nutricia, Mead Johnson Nutrition and Nestle India for its Diet 4 Life scheme that aims to address the challenges faced by infants suffering from Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM).
These four MNCs jointly run an NGO-Infant and Young Child Nutrition Council (IYNCI) that aims at providing "Optimal nutrition for all Indian mothers, infants and young children".
“It’s a clear-cut case of conflict of interest as these four companies are immensely going to benefit from the FSSAI’s order to allow imports of infant speciality food which was earlier not permitted to be imported and sold in the country,” said Mahajan.
“It also needs to be checked whether due process has been followed in granting the permissions and consultations were held to assess repercussion of such a move.”
Pawan Aggarwal, the chief executive officer, FSSAI, however, defended the authority’s decision saying all the legal concerns were studied before entering into the partnership.
“Apart from regulatory role, we also have a promotional role to ensure food safety in the country – as the initiative is part of that endeavour,” he said. “As far as Maggi controversy is concerned that was resolved long ago after the contended ingredients were removed from the product—we can't dwell on the same issue forever.”
Toxic plate: Just 24 inspectors in Telangana for food vigil
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) held a meeting of state health ministers recently to chart out plans to deal with the menace. It was decided that one food inspector for every mandal in rural areas whereas one food inspector for every 1000 Food Business Operators (FOB) which includes restaurants, shops, vendors and manufacturers will be the standard . Telangana's requirement was pegged at over 400 food inspectors. However, given the acute shortage of food inspectors in most states, more focus will be on creating awareness among people about what they eat and in sellers and food operators about compliance with the norms.
" A request for adding 30 more food inspectors to the list is currently under process. The government approval is awaited for the same. While more inspectors might be asked for as per the norms of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the focus will be more on raising awareness to bring in self-compliance," said a senior official from the state health department.
The issue of food safety was also dealt with few months back by the Hyderabad High Court . The court had directed the chief secretaries of Telangana and AP to consult experts and prepare a comprehensive plan to contain rampant food adulteration in the twin states.
Growing preference for organic food
Food is something that appeals to all our senses and sections of society, but how nutritious is your food?
This question alone can raise a thousand other worrisome queries in your head. The heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides over the decades has considerably deprived farm grown vegetables of its nutrients. And this is where the rising popularity of organic food steps in. It all started with vegetables and fruits and has now moved on to grains, pulses, spices, oil-seeds and even tea. As per news reports, the organic food market in India has experienced a 20-22% annual growth. Read This - Monologues festival comes back to Kolkata
Organic farming not only helps small farmers to get a fair price for their produce but it also benefits the environment by encouraging the growth of a number of natural varieties of food.
"Organic food contains no chemical pesticides and fertilizers and are grown naturally with the help of manure or compost. Organic food does not contain growth hormones or antibiotic residues, which therefore do not threaten a child's future. Various farms give growth hormones and antibiotics to the animal and poultry, and on consumption of those, the hormonal effects are directly passed onto the consumers of dairy, meat and poultry. Organic farming does not practice this method and believes in feeding the cattle and birds outside in the natural surroundings. Antibiotic-containing foods consumed frequently makes these antibiotics ineffective in humans," informs Dr Saurabh Arora.
"Any food offered for sale as "organic food" in India, needs to comply with the provisions laid down under either the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) administered by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) or the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) operated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare," says Dr Arora. Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) advice that foods that are labelled organic but are not certified cannot be considered safe.
Food Safety Standards and Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations 2017 along with the unified logo for organic food products, supported with the tagline 'Jaivik Bharat'.
Observing patterns in guest preferences and requests, getting wind of new ingredients from farmers and suppliers, and staying attuned to the innovations emerging across the international scene, Chef Prem Pogakula – Executive Chef at The Imperial, has predicted some food trends that might take over Indian restaurants in 2018.
"Now more than ever we're becoming more globally conscious of what's going on with our food, where it's coming from, and how it was grown. Everyone loves farm-to-table and supporting local, organic farmers, but with such great products, we need to respect every part of the ingredient. I believe diners will respect the idea of less waste," expressed the Chef.
Chef Prem also suggests the appropriate utilisation of ingredients with minimum waste. When we prefer to choose organic produce, it must also be kept in mind that minimal amount of food wastage will maintain balance in the environment. "A chef's job is to create something amazing using a less favorable cut of meat or an overlooked vegetable.
One should think of how one can blow someone away with something as simple as a carrot." "With chefs connecting more with diners on a personal level, I think diners will continue to gain an understanding of the food they're enjoying and become aware that 'what they put in their bodies makes a difference to their lives.' More and more organic, non-GMO, vegetarian, and vegan restaurants would come up in the future," opines the chef.
The chef predicts the comeback of local flavours from villages across the country. With people's concern for health, small bite-sized desserts are becoming more popular with the rise of Asian flavours in general. For most of us, the healthy concept of eating gluten-free, organic food rests only on social media channels and on New Year resolution notes, but a strong commitment to a healthy lifestyle with these alternate ingredients is the biggest challenge to aim for in the coming years.
Patanjali store without licence sealed in Sector 110
A case will be filed against the store owner and it will be pursued in the court of the chief judicial magistrate. "The store was running without a licence. NOIDA: The food and drug department has sealed a Patanjali mega store running without a licence in Sector 110 Two samples of coconut oil and an energy bar being sold at the store have also been seized for testing and will be sent to the Rajkiya Khadya Evam Aushadhi Vishleshak Progshala in Lucknow.The progshala is a state-level laboratory for sample testing. "If the samples fail the test and are found to be below standard, both the manufacturer and the store owner are liable for action," he said.Store supervisor Pankaj Kumar told TOI: "We had applied for a licence on Saturday itself. Sources said reports of such samples usually took months to be prepared.
NOIDA: The food and drug department has sealed a Patanjali mega store running without a licence in Sector 110 Two samples of coconut oil and an energy bar being sold at the store have also been seized for testing and will be sent to the Rajkiya Khadya Evam Aushadhi Vishleshak Progshala in Lucknow.The progshala is a state-level laboratory for sample testing.
Sources said reports of such samples usually took months to be prepared.
"The store was running without a licence.
A case will be filed against the store owner and it will be pursued in the court of the chief judicial magistrate.
A fine of Rs 1 lakh can be imposed on the store owner and he is liable for a punishment of up to one year," said Sanjay Sharma, the designated officer of Gautam Budh Nagar food safety and drug administration (FSDA) department.Sources said the store had been running in the main market of Sector 110 for the past two months.The officials said they would probe how it got a Patanjali franchise without getting a licence from the food and drug department.According to Sharma, the manufacturer could face action if the samples collected from the store were found contaminated.
Two traders get imprisonment
IMPHAL | Jan 20 : Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West, Langkhanpau Tonsing on Saturday sentenced two non-local traders simple imprisonment less than three months with fines for selling expired food items and tobacco products.
The accused persons are identified as Karan Singh, son of Jainrina of Mahendragarh, Haryana presently staying at MG. Avenue, Thangal Bazar, Imphal and Jokhu Ray son of Rambharosh Ray of SBI building, Paona Bazar.
The accused Karan Singh was running wholesale shop at Allu Galli, Thangal Bazar and during November 2016 an official team of Food Safety and Standard Enforcing Wing, Imphal West under the supervision of food safety officer seized many edible packing food items having expiry dates.
The same official also seized tobacco products from the shop located at Ngari Galli Thangal Bazar owned by accused Jokhu Ray during April 2017.
Aftermath of the seizure of items from the accused shops inquiries have been conducted against the accused persons by the Court of Adjudicating Officer (Food Safety) Additional District Magistrate, Imphal West and later on the inquiry reports were submitted.
The CJM, Imphal West sentenced accused Karan Singh and Jokhu Ray to simple imprisonment below three month with fines of Rs.40,000 and Rs.60,000 respectively for the offence under Section 26 (I) & (II) of the Food Safety and Standard Act and in default the accused are to undergo a simple imprisonment for 2 months.
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