Pharmacy associations urge FSSAI to make B Pharm qualification for FSO

Several pharmacy associations urged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to include Bachelors of Pharmacy (B Pharm) as the qualification for food safety officers (FSO) under the Food Safety and Standard Regulations (FSSR), 2011.

These include the Maharashtra Pharmacy Welfare Association (MPWA); the Indian Pharmacy Graduates Association (IPGA), the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and the Drugs Inspectors Welfare Association (DIWA).

The latter is a government-recognised association of drugs inspectors in Maharashtra. These bodies advocated that this would help deliver safe and unadulterated food products to the citizens of the country.

This demand has been pending since 2011, and must be addressed on an urgent basis, considering that the eligibility criteria of having a degree in pharmacy was nullified with the enactment of FSSR, 2011.

The now-scrapped Maharashtra Prevention of Food Adulteration (MPFA) Act stipulated that to be eligible for such posts as FSO and assistant commissioner (food), one had to be a degree-holder in pharmacy.

In a letter to FSSAI, R P Choudhary, president, DIWA, said, “A number of serving food inspectors hold B Pharm degrees. We felt it was essential to include a pharmacy degree as one of the qualifications.”

“A graduate degree in pharmacy was one of the qualifications for food inspectors, as stipulated by Rule 8 of MPFA Rules, 1955. The said legislation has now been replaced by FSSR, 2011,” he added.

As per Rule 2.1.3 of FSSR, 2011, food inspectors should hold degrees in either food technology, dairy technology, bio-technology, oil technology, agricultural science, veterinary science, bio-chemistry, micro-biology or a masters’ degree in chemistry.

They would have to obtain these from recognised universities, or possess equivalent qualifications recognised by the Centre, or be graduates in medicine and have received training in food safety, sampling and surveillance approved by the Centre or the state.

Pharmacy education covers such subjects as human anatomy, physiology and genetics, jurisprudence, analytical chemistry, instrumentation, good manufacturing practices (GMP) and process control, pharmacology (the effect of drugs on the body) and toxicology.

Hence, professionals holding B Pharm degrees are believed to be well-versed with both the technological aspects and the forensic part of the enforcement of the food and drug rules.

“In view of the aforesaid, it is essential to have B Pharm holders in the enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 and FSSR, so the government would have trained professionals for the effective enforcement of the Act,” Choudhary said.

“Therefore, we requested FSSAI to note our objection and include graduate in pharmacy as one of the qualification for food safety officers under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011,” he added.

A new clean-up act

 Watch, no, wash, what you eat

“A vigorous scrub and a long soak in plenty of water with some salt and turmeric will do the trick. Who knows whether it’s really effective?” is the reaction of many when asked whether they would use a commercial product to clean their fruits and vegetables. Marketers in the category know that this is exactly this mindset they have to counter. It does not help that there is little visual proof they work, either. How can marketers convince consumers fruit and vegetable washes actually do?

Do the popular bathroom cleaners and disinfectants of the day provide any visual proof, asks a spokesperson for TTK Healthcare, the latest entrant in the category with its Good Home Vegetable & Fruit Wash. There are some organoleptic elements, such as a burning sensation when one uses Dettol, for instance, but for any company that is launching an anti-bacterial product, it’s a “leap of faith”. Why were hand sanitisers such a hit? Because after the H1N1 epidemic, a need was felt and they filled the gap, he says.

Jegsons Industries of New Delhi has been marketing its Veg Fru Wash since as far back as 2000. JS Dhingra, Managing Partner, claims it’s the only patented product of its kind in India. It uses sorbitol which is a food-grade ingredient licensed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. TTK uses chlorohexidine gluconate, which institutions with F&B businesses, such as hotels, stopped using, he says. His product is priced ₹70 for 100 ml and is distributed in North India, Bangalore and Mumbai.

These washes make varying claims. Some promise to get rid of bacteria and fungi, some that they will also reduce the agro-chemicals present in the vegetables. Nikunj Desai, CEO of Hyderabad-based Prakruthik Health Care says his product, Nano Cleanse, will also work on meat and poultry. “Bacteria and pesticides are only the first level of contamination; you have to account for the grime accumulated during transportation, from the handlers at the markets who apply oils and waxes to make them look appealing – produce changes not less than five hands before reaching the shelves,” he says.

Primary target group

NanoCleanse, which is made from citric acid, fruit vinegar, double distilled water and sodium bicarbonate, is compliant with EU safety standards and as its hotel clients insisted it do, procured HACCP certification from Acerta of Spain. Despite several attempts to get its certificate, the FSSAI has told them it is not in their purview as it is not a food product, says Desai. NanoCleanse sells at ₹149 for a 500 ml pack in retail stores in Hyderabad and there are 5-litre packs to institutions. Earlier, hotels used chlorine-based ingredients to clean their produce but chlorine leaves its own residue and produces THM (trihalomethane) which is carcinogenic, says Desai.

His primary target group is the upper middle class and the rich, the health-conscious and the highly educated who are likely to use it in their homes. It’s another matter that they may themselves not do the cooking and not be able to enforce the discipline of washing the vegetables with these products. Prakruthik wants to raise venture capital for a national launch. Kent RO Systems launched an ozone purifier for produce around two years ago. Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, says it’s been slow going as people are apprehensive whether it will really work. It sells about 20,000 pieces a year. It costs ₹6,000.It will take four-five years to become popular, says Gupta, who says that RO systems, launched in 1999, have still not made it big in the market — their penetration is under 1 per cent even after 15 years.

Awareness is the need of the hour, say the marketers, pointing out that only a few can afford organic food everyday, even if were widely available. Fruit and vegetable washes are now available only in select supermarkets and vegetable mandis.

Most of the marketers have set up websites to educate consumers about their products. They have also got their products tested by NABL-accredited laboratories to prove they work. It seems to be a product ahead of the times and consumers too will be making a leap of faith when they buy it.

Adulteration suspected: sago unit sealed

A sago unit was sealed by the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (TNFSDAD) officials near Alanganatham Road Junction on Thuraiyur Road in Namakkal district on Thursday for allegedly adulterating sago with corn flour.

The action was initiated after a raid conducted by the officials.

Quality not guaranteed

With the demand shooting up, manufacturers, and dealers of packaged drinking water are unable supply the required quantity. There are complaints that some of them are supplying unprotected drinking water to customers.

There are 30 licensed packaged drinking water plants in the district. They process around four lakh litres of drinking water for distribution.

The inadequate drinking water supply by local bodies, and increase in demand because of summer, have forced manufacturers to run plants for additional hours. Even then they are unable to meet the demand of around eight lakh litres a day.

This gives the scope for scrupulous elements to resort to unethical practice by supplying unprotected drinking water to customers.

Many a time, the water carrying cans are found to be unclean, and the water unprocessed despite being charged between Rs. 25 and Rs. 30 for a 20-litre can.

“It is just plain water, and not purified,” said Murugan, a resident at Mittapudur.

Doctors warn of contracting diarrhoea, fever, and jaundice if untreated water is consumed without boiling.

The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 mandates that the drinking water be packed in clean, hygienic, colourless, and transparent containers made of polythene that conform to the standards. The package should contain the date of packing, maximum retail price, and details of the manufacturer.

T. Anuradha, District Designated Food Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department told The Hindu that complaints regarding poor quality of canned water were being received from the consumers. Samples of water would be tested. If found to be unsafe for consumption, action would be taken, she added.

Many packaged water suppliers say they are unable to meet the high demand

Health officers raid bakeries in Kalamassery Municipality, seize items

Officials of Ernakulam’s District Health Department raided over a dozen bakery establishments in Kalamassery Municipality recently, upon receiving several complaints of food poisoning from citizens.

Kalamassery is a suburb of Kochi, and an important industrial area with heavy density of population. There are numerous labour camps in the suburb, where labour from different parts of the country work.

A S Nawas, health inspector, Kerala health department, said the shopkeepers and their staff failed to adhere to the hygiene norms prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006. “The labour camps house more people than the prescribed number, and have fewer toilets,” he added.

The raids were supervised by district medical officer Dr Haseena Mohammed and rural health officer P N Srinivas. Other health inspectors who conducted them included K P Santosh, P Sabu, M M Zakir and Rafiq Joseph.
 
They seized and destroyed large amounts of illegal food items, stale bakery items and confectionery. Nawas said, “Shopkeepers were caught repacking and relabelling such items as halwa, chips and jalebi with new dates of manufacturing.”

“Serious health concerns were raised about the confectionery and bakery items owing to the over-use of oil, which had turned black as a result,” he added. Students who consumed these items repeatedly suffered headaches.

“A better level of awareness among students must be created to tackle such problems. While the health department is creating awareness programmes in schools and colleges, teachers and parents have a bigger role to play in the issue,” said Santosh.

The confectionery was manufactured and sold in small shops, but their production remains untraced. Following the issue of notices by the health department, the shopkeepers confessed to the malpractice, and promised not to repeat it.

Earlier this year, the District Health Department conducted Operation Hot Water wherein it raided over 500 hotels and bakeries. Two establishments were shut down and notices were sent to over 100 outlets for violating the Act.

Food adulteration

General observation is that one of the reasons for more people contracting various types of ailments of digestive system, respiratory system, and diseases like arthritis, tuberculosis etc. is of adulterated and impure food items of daily consumption. Water, milk, cereals, pulses, oils, vegetables etc. are among the daily consumable articles for human beings. If these items are adulterated, it means our daily intake of adulterated food items will produce cumulative effect which leads to one or other anti-body formation only to cause a health problem. It is for this reason that administration takes various steps to ensure that food items are not adulterated.
Last year a case of food adulteration by a couple of leading food processing companies came to notice and it was given much media hype.  Three companies in particular were mentioned, and these are M/s Khyber Agro Milk Farms, M/s Avon Agro and M/s Kanwal Agro Food. Samples of food products of these companies were lifted and sent tor laboratory tests and the case was taken up by the court for prosecution. What happened to that episode is not known.  More recently the Government has filed status report before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. According to this report out of 1663 food samples taken in Jammu division, 287 samples were found substandard, misbranded or unsafe. Out of 1405 samples taken from Kashmir division last year 344 samples were found substandard, misbranded and unsafe. Cases were processed against not all but only some of the defective samples and most cases the culprits were let off. Reacting on the status report, the Court has first of all touched on the issue of number of samples lifted from Srinagar district which is bare 351, no doubt far less keeping in mind the size of the population of Srinagar. The court is not convinced that this small number of samples can give a comprehensive picture of the level of adulteration in food item in the valley. Additionally, samples have been taken by the Srinagar Municipality Corporation officials and not a single sample has been taken by the Food Safety Authority. This and other declarations in the status report have disappointed the Divisional Bench which has asked the Food Safety Authority to file an affidavit why it has not obeyed and implemented the orders of the High Court. The understanding of the court is that functionaries who are required to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 have not understood it properly and maybe it is one of the reasons why full implementation of the Act has not been undertaken.
From observations made by the court it appears that the Food Safety Department is not fully equipped with all the gadgets, machinery, manpower and other infrastructural requirements enabling it to discharge its functions efficiently. Actually this exposes the department to public criticism. Why has it been sleeping over these requirements and allowing food items to be adulterated by unscrupulous elements.  The court has expressed its disappointment and anguishes on lack of sense of responsibility on the part of the Food Safety Department and has issued strict orders that prosecution of companies or persons indicated for food adulteration should be expeditiously resolved.
The point is that the Government cannot play with the health and welfare of the people in general. If the prosecution of the culprits of adulteration is delayed for one or the other reason, it indirectly means that the Government is not much concerned about the adulterate food items people are consuming on daily basis. With laboratory tests showing that some items are adulterated, what should immediately follow is that these items should be banned forthwith and the company blacklisted. Unless strict action is taken, there will be no stopping of the criminal activity of adulterating food. Thus one may appreciate the Government collecting samples and sending these for test to laboratories but why there is no follow up action is the point that needs to be highlighted. Are the food products manufacturing companies as powerful and influential as to subvert the public health and run away scot free? It is for the administration to deal with adulteration cases with speed and determination in the interests of the health of ordinary citizens.