Jan 25, 2018
New low-cost tool developed for bacteria detection in food, water
Washington D.C. [U.S.A.], Jan. 24 (ANI): A team of scientists has reportedly developed a new low-cost method for detecting bacteria in food or water samples.
A team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst along with food scientist, Lili He, developed the tool which could be of use to cooks for fresh fruits and vegetables, once available commercially.
An analytical chemist and expert in detection methods for food contamination, Lili said, "People around the world cook their vegetables before eating, but here in the U.S. more and more people like to eat these foods raw. This gave us the idea that a quick test that can be done at home would be a good idea."
Insisting on the importance of microbial contamination research, she added, "It has been a problem for a long time, but it is now the number one concern for food safety in the US".
Lili, along with Lynne McLandsborough, a food researcher, reported on their two-step method - one chemical, one optical - in two papers this year.
They designed a reliable and sensitive bacteria-detecting chip that can test whether food or liquid samples carry a bacterial load. The chip, used with a light microscope for optical detection, relied on what Lili called a "capture molecule," 3-mercaptophenylboronic acid (3-MBPA) that attracts and binds to any bacteria.
According to the accompanying report, the chemical detection method, "surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy" or SERS, relied on silver nano-particles. The techniques are now in the patenting process.
Over the past few months, the optical detection method was adapted for possible home use. With the smartphone microscope adapter that is widely available online for about $30, it could be used to detect contamination in food items.
It would require samples of water, juice or mashed vegetable leaf to place the chemical-based chip in for detection. Lili reported that a summer high school student had developed a simple app for smart phones that can visually detect bacteria in samples containing the chip.
Lili called it just a "beginning of the work" and is hoping to get appropriate funding to continue this practical application.
The study is published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal, Analytical Methods and an online issue of Food Microbiology.
Maharashtra food adulteration cases: Special hearings to be held in February
In a special drive, the lower courts of the state will in February take up as many as 5,265 pending cases pertaining to sub-standard food, adulteration and false food labelling, to dispose of backlog. The cases have been filed by food safety officers under The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, before it was replaced in 2006 by the Food Safety and Standards Act. Several cases date back 20 years or more, officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
“Some cases are older than 20 years but because of delay in hearings, these are not getting disposed of. We approached the Bombay High Court to clear the backlog,” said Pallavi Darade, the FDA Commissioner. Maharashtra is the third state in the country to conduct such a drive to clear cases under the now non-existent Prevention of Adulteration Act after Gujarat and Kerala.
The cases, officials said, may attract a fine of Rs 2 to Rs 10 lakh from offenders with most related to adulteration of food products or pertaining to raids conducted by food safety officers.
Following the FDA’s request, the High Court had issued a notification to sessions, metropolitan, and magistrates’ court across Maharashtra to take up all cases related to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. The Maharashtra FDA has also started a state-wide drive to register food business units, ranging from street food stall hawkers to caterers or home-based dabba services. “Any one with a turnover of beyond Rs 12 lakh per month has to get a licence from the FDA,” said S Salunkhe, the Joint Commissioner, FDA.
Currently, the state has nine lakh food business units registered with it with 2 lakh licence holders who have a turnover above Rs 12 lakhs each. In case of street hawkers or fruit vendors, the FDA officers are conducting a special drive to reach out and register them.
In the past one week, the FDA has collected 742 milk samples from various dairy outlets to test them for dulteration. The drive was ordered after a series of complaints regarding milk adulteration reached the FDA commissioner. “Laboratory results are awaited. Our officers also inspected 127 vehicles near highways and toll nakas that transport milk,” commissioner Darade said.
Ban on sale of food items at shops selling tobacco
Ban on areca nut extended; vehicles carrying illegal products to face action
Mumbai: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Maharashtra on Wednesday banned the sale of tobaccoand food items on the same premises. The move follows an advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on September 22, 2017, which said tobacco shopkeepers should stop selling non-tobacco FMCG items like toffee, candy, chips, biscuits, and soft drinks.
“We are the first state to implement the advisory. We drafted a notification, which was approved by the State government. The notification comes into immediate effect,” Pallavi Darade, Commissioner, Maharashtra FDA, said.
The FDA has also extended the ban on ‘scented supari’ (areca nut) by six months. The ban was to come to an end on January 31. In last July, the State had lifted the ban for a few days, but had come in for criticism from health experts.
The food regulator plans to crack down on vehicles transporting banned products. “While products such as gutkha are not manufactured in the state, we have noticed that they are being transported, especially in border areas,” Dr. Darade said. The FDA will work with other State agencies to ensure that licence of drivers and registration of such vehicles are revoked.
The FDA has decided to conduct a drive to dispose of as many cases as possible under the repealed Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1956. Since 2011, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has been in force.
“We are utilising a lot of resources and hope to resolve the 5,265 cases. The FDA is fighting these cases in lower courts across Maharashtra,” Dr. Darade said.
The Bombay High Court has asked all lower courts to hear matters under the old Act in February. Most of the cases are in the Mumbai–Thane belt and were registered between 1995 and 2011. “Some of the cases are nearly 20 years old,” the FDA chief said.
Milk adulteration
The FDA conducted an inspection drive at milk centres between 10 p.m. on January 20 and 6 a.m. on January 21. The FDA collected 742 milk samples from across the state and have sent them for tests. In Mumbai, 127 milk tankers were checked at five entry points. Of these, two tankers carrying 2,700 litres of milk were not found to be up to the requisite standards and were sent back, and eight samples were sent for further tests.
Mobile food safety checks on the anvil
Food safety checks can now be performed on the go in the State, thanks to an equipped-vehicle Telangana has been provided by the Food Safety Standards of India. The vehicle, a van with equipment to test food for consumption, arrived at the Institute of Preventive Medicine here on Tuesday.
It will tour the State and also be part of campaigns to raise awareness about food safety. “The van will go around the State once a week. It will have a food inspector and a technician. It will supplement the existing testing facility in the city,” IPM Director K. Shankar said.
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