Action against FBOs failing to convert licences by Feb 4: Chandramouli

Thursday, January 23, 2014 08:00 IST
Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi

                                                                                                     Speaking on the sidelines of a conference held at the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, K Chandramouli, chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the apex food regulator would take action against food business operators (FBO) failing to convert their licences, as prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, by February 4, 2014. However, he said he was hopeful that the work pertaining to conversion would be completed by the prescribed date. “The deadline of February 4, 2014 is not for new licences. It is for conversions only. We expect that the conversions would be complete by the deadline. If not, we will take action. As far as new licences are concerned, it is a continual process,” he informed.
It must be mentioned here that the deadline for FBOs to obtain licences and get registered under the new set of rules is approaching, and reports suggest that the process has been sluggish in many parts of the country. While Maharashtra and Gujarat are leading, Delhi is at the bottom.
However, industry sources felt that it was highly unlikely that the conversion would be complete by the deadline. Most of them said they expected FSSAI to extend the date given the slow process of licensing and registration and the huge backlog which remained to be cleared.
When quizzed about the database for packaged drinking water, the FSSAI chairman stated that it was also a continuous process, and actually was an enforcement issue, which had to be checked constantly. Chandramouli said, “Wherever we find shortcomings, we will take action.”
When asked if there was a proposal from FSSAI regarding ban on junk food in schools, Chandramouli said that the matter had come up in the court. Only after the court’s direction would the apex regulator implement it.

Formalin Found in Fish Samples from Other States: Government to HC

The state government has informed the Kerala High Court that the samples of fish brought from the neighbouring states and ice used as preservatives had the presence of formalin.

The state government has informed the Kerala High Court that the samples of fish brought from the neighbouring states and ice used as preservatives had the presence of formalin.

The report was filed in response to a writ petition filed by advocate Basil Attipetty seeking a directive to restaurants and eateries in the state to sell food in terms of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act and Rules.

The state pointed out that a communication was sent to the food safety commissioners of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa to immediately take necessary steps to prevent such actions. The government said that it had ordered the closure of 18 ice plants across the state for not maintaining necessary standards. The officials of the food commissionerate had intensified inspections across the state. The commissioner of food safety had issued certain guidelines for hotels, bakeries, fast food units, drinking water suppliers and drinking water tanker lorries. Besides, special drive was conducted to ensure quality of drinking water and vegetables sold in the state.

As part of a special drive conducted during Onam season, two tanker lorries suspected to be carrying cheaper oils for adulterating coconut oil was confiscated and the license of the consignee firm was suspended.

The report said that the absence of scientific slaughter houses is a cause of concern, as the state is a major consumer of non-vegetarian foods.

Honour for Catering Company

Castle & Cook Caterers Ltd. (CCCL), the catering company focusing on the healthcare industry in Kerala, has been awarded the ISO 22000:2005 certification for its excellence in implementing food safety management systems.

CCCL is the first hospital-caterer in India to achieve this certification. CCCL was founded in 200, and has been operating in Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre Ltd, Kochi, for the past 12 years. The company has now expanded its hospital-catering portfolio to include Kinder Women’s Hospital and Fertility Centre, Chertala, and CIMAR Fertility Centre, Kochi.

In 2010, CCCL opened its first world-cuisine restaurant, Lokah Restaurant and Cafe, at Vyttila, NH 47 Bypass, Kochi. Amidst rave reviews for its selection of authentic dishes from across the globe, Lokah has further been recognised with Trip advisor’s Certificate of Excellence in 2013.

The outdoor catering wing of CCCL hosts buffets for private events and special occasions and also organises sightseeing trips in luxury boats across  backwaters with onboard lunches or dinners. The ISO 22000 standard combines generally recognised key elements to ensure food safety along the entire food chain, including interactive communication, control of food safety hazards through pre-requisite programmes and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plans, and repeated improvement and updating of the food safety management systems.

Problems start brewing at Indore mandi

INDORE: The traders at the Chhawni mandi have decided not to buy stuff from the farmers from now on in case they find the same to be sub-standard one. Also, they stopped few vehicles, which had been brought by the farmers for sale at mandi, on Tuesday on the same ground.

Talking to ToI, president of Indore Dalhan tilhan Vyapari sangh, NK Agrawal, said, "We found that the stuff being brought by the farmers, at the mandi, was containing impurities like dust, pebbles and stained ones. Hence we asked them to go back. ON this the mandi samiti decided not to purchase any such sub-standard stuff from farmers now on, keeping in view the Food safety and Standards Act."

As a result, the traders could buy merely 150 sacks full of crops like pulses, soybean and chillies at the mandi here on Tuesday. Normally, they buy 20,000 sacks of crops on a daily basis.

Not to mention that Indore's mandi is the biggest mandi in the entire central India, which supplies pulses and other agricultural commodities to various parts of the country. Even some of the traders, who buy their stuff at the mandi also export them to various countries.

FDA registers 150 women self-help groups

NASHIK: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started registration of women self-help groups (SHGs) involved in preparing midday meals for schoolchildren. As part of the initiative, the FDA registered 150 such groups last week.

The FDA had organized a special camp to register self-help groups, who are providing meals or 'khichadi' to schools as well as anganwadis in Niphad tehsil. During the drive, the FDA generated revenue amounting to Rs 75,000 through registration.

As per the new Food Safety and Standard Act which came into effect from August 5, 2011, it is mandatory for businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 12 lakh to have licences. A business with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh is required to get registered by paying only Rs 500 and annual renewal charge of Rs 100, while the licence fee is Rs 2,000.

Food businesses like pan kiosks, fruit/vegetable vendors, traders selling food items on handcarts, grocery shops, bakeries, professionals engaged in food packaging, caterers, inns, dhabas, tea stalls, onion/potato traders and meat shops have been included under the Act from.

With an aim to register all food-related businesses across Nashik division, the FDA has commenced a fresh drive for registration as well as issuance of licences.

Speaking to TOI, Chandrakant Pawar, joint commissioner (Nashik division), FDA, said, "Our major objective is to register all food-related businesses across the division. We have appointed teams of officials in all five districts in the division to conduct spot registrations. The drive will continue for the next few days. We will take legal action against those who have not registered their businesses."

"We have still not counted the number of businesses registered during the spot registration drive," he added.

The FDA's Nashik division includes five districts - Nashik, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar and Jalgaon. Till date, around 35,561 businesses have been registered in the division, including 8,346 in Nashik district, 5,193 in Dhule district (including Nandurbar district), 7,425 in Jalgaon and 14,597 in Ahmednagar. Licences have been issued to 16,137 businesses, including 7,331 in Nashik, 2,866 in Dhule, 2,409 in Jalgaon and 3,531 in Ahmednagar districts.

Corpn plans checks to ensure safe meat

Chennai: Meat eaters may breathe a bit easy if the city corporation keeps its promise. On Tuesday, the civic body assured the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it would regularly raid meat stalls across the city and clamp down on illegal slaughterhouses.
    In October, People for Cattle in India trustee G Arun Prasanna had petitioned the NGT pointing out unlawful slaughtering of animals in around 70 places in the city. The corporation submitted reports on November 29 and December 6, but the tribunal was not satisfied with them. When the matter came up for the third hearing on Wednesday, the corporation said in all the zones, a team comprising a health officer, a veterinary assistant surgeon, a sanitary officer and sanitary inspectors would conduct a weekly inspections at slaughterhouses and meat stalls.
    But the tribunal pulled up the civic body for discrepancies in its report. Tribunal chairman Justice Chockalingam said while the corporation had listed 850 illegal stalls at the last hearing, the number had now been reduced to 387. “How can 500 stalls disappear in 45 days?” said the chairman, adding the two reports would show the officials were “determined to either not take action or not file a report with actual facts.” The case has been adjourned to February 18 for further hearing.
    The corporation said there were 1,183 meat stalls in the city, of which 387 were either illegal or working in unhygienic conditions. Notices have been issued to them following which, 34 took license, 69 rectified the conditions, and 12 closed down. Steps have been taken to prosecute the rest. Also, the corporation removed 34 stalls which had opened shop under thatched roofs.During raids in 2012-2013, 10,324kg of rotting meat was seized and destroyed,saidthecivicbody.
    However the corporation said it could not inspect slaughter houses at St Thomas Mount, Perungalathur, Athipet, Pallavaram, Medavakkam, Tambaram, Semabakkam and Ayapkkam as they were not within its ‘limits.’ At Sholinganallur, it found illegal slaughtering of animals on Sundays near the roadside, and stopped the practice. A shop selling meat not cleared by the health department at Anna Nagar was closed, said the civic body.

Rigged panels

Conflict of interest assumes great significance when it comes to statutory regulatory bodies that deal with public health and food safety issues. Vested interests are always working to get rules or standards that work in their favour. This is what happened when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was set up to act as an ‘independent’ food safety regulator five years ago.

Industry representatives were nominated to scientific committees to set standards for a number of parameters ranging from pesticide content to food labelling. The membership of these panels read like Who’s Who of food industry – Nestle, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Britannia, Marico, ITC, GSK, Hindustan Lever and so on. It was only after being exposed in the press that the Supreme Court took note of it and directed FSSAI to purge its panels. Till then the Authority did not even have a rudimentary conflict of interest policy in place.

Like the Environment Ministry, the FSSAI too has not learnt any institutional lessons. Industry consultants and scientists working on industry projects continue as members of its scientific panels. The same is the case with the regulatory process for genetically modified food crops.

Scientific panels are infested with scientists working on seed industry projects or enjoying their grants and at the same time regulating projects of the same sponsors. In one case, a scientist in the regulatory body approved a research project proposed by his wife. Another recent case is of the expert panel that the health ministry set up to decide follow-up action after a damning parliamentary report on human clinical trials. The Ministry chose an expert who is head of clinical trials division of a corporate hospital!

Announcement made despite FSSA mandating sale of oil in packets

The Hindu K.T. Pachaimal, Minister for Labour Welfare, addressing a meeting in Madurai on Monday.

Labour Minister K.T. Pachamal on Monday announced that State government officials shall henceforth not take any action against traders selling cooking oil in loose.

The announcement was made following a joint plea made by Tamil Nadu Food Grains Merchants Association (TNFGMA) and Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA) at a meeting convened by them to discuss the features of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

In a memorandum submitted to the Minister, the two associations claimed that forcing traders to sell oil in packets would considerably increase the price of the product since small traders and merchants might have to spend most of their capital on purchasing machinery required for packaging.

The price rise would directly affect the poor and the daily wage labourers who purchase cooking oil in loose from local stores. Accepting their demand, the Minister told the gathering: “From today onwards, there shall be no impediment in selling cooking oil in loose. It can be sold without any restraint.”

Mr. Pachamal, however, did not commit anything on the demand made by the two associations to stop implementing the FSSA in Tamil Nadu. The trade bodies felt the provisions of the Act were draconian and against the interests of small and medium traders involved in food business.

Stating that the 2006 enactment was brought into force on April 1, 2011, when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government was ruling the State, he said that his government would certainly write to the Centre to amend the objectionable provisions of the legislation.

In so far as demands that were within the purview of the State government, he said those would be considered after due consultation with the officials concerned.

He also said that appropriate action would be taken on the traders’ plea to abolish the practice of forcing labour department officials to book at least 25 cases a month in every district.

Cooperation Minister ‘Sellur’ K. Raju said that the traders’ demands would be conveyed to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.