Milk vendor fined

A branded milk packet was found to have 0.4 per cent less milk solids content than what was stipulated. Officials slapped Rs. 1 lakh penalty on a grocery shop owner M. Hidayathullah, from whose shop they collected the sample, instead of the manufacturer.

Food Safety Officer of West Arani block Koteeswaran conducted a surprise check at his shop on March 21, 2012 and collected a sample of the Shruthi Milk packet, a homogenised, pasteurised and double toned milk that he was selling in the shop.

After a gap of 20 months, Hidayathulla got an intimation sent by District Supply and Consumer Protection Office, Tiruvannamalai. DRO S. Valarmathi told The Hindu that the milk samples collected from his shop by Food Safety Officer were found to be substandard in a laboratory . When asked if any action was taken against the manufacturer, she said, “If he had bills to prove his purchase from the manufacturer we would have taken action against the manufacturer, but the vendor had no bills. So, we had to take action against the shop-keeper.”

Mr. Hidayathullah’s advocate S. Prakash said , “The manufacturer’s address is printed on the packet and the seller is in no way responsible for the alleged quality compromise. Hence, it is not just to penalise only the seller.”

Cheese and snack sample of a super market fail food test

LUCKNOW: The food samples collected from Lucknow's Khoya mandi and two major stores have failed the authority's test. Around 33% of food samples collected from the market during Diwali time have been reported to be violating Food Safety and Security Authority of India's norms. The team had taken around 34 samples, out of which 12 could not pass the laboratory test.

The official in charge of FSSAI JP Singh said that according to the report collected from food analysis laboratory of Varanasi, the cheese and snacks' samples collected from a prominent super market in Aashiyana colony have been found to be of inferior quality. Officials said that labeling norms were violated in the packed snacks of the store. Another big store for food purchase in the locality also came under FSSAI scanner during Diwali.

Packets of raw material of sweets being sold in the store also violated packaging norms. The khoya samples picked from Pandit Khoya Mandi, Thakurganj Khoya Mandi and Kursi Road Khoya Mandi have also been reported to be substandard during Diwali time. Similarly sweet samples collected from a Rahimnagar shop and cheese collected from a dairy shop in Khurram nagar near Picnic Spot Road were of inferior quality.

The ghee samples picked from Biharipur Saadatganj and sample of mustard cooking oil from various shops have been found to be ignoring the standards. The curd collected from a famous dairy shop in Chowk was of substandard quality. FSSAI officials said they would soon file case against shopkeepers selling inferior quality food material to consumers in the ADM court.

If their guilt is proved in the court, the shopkeepers in question would be charged a penalty of Rs 1-5 lakh, said FSSAI officials.

HO seeks registration of FCI, CAPD outlets

Srinagar, Feb 15: Finally the health authorities are planning to shut government-run ration depots which do not confirm to health and hygiene standards and have often been accused of being breeding ground for rodents like rats.
 Official sources said City’s Health Officer Dr Shafqat Khan on Saturday shot missives to Regional Director Food Corporation of India (FCI)  and the Director  Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) seeking details of its godowns and depots in the City.
 In a communication vide No SMC/PS/HO 1329-32 dated February 15, 2014 addressed to Regional Director FCI and Director CAPD the Health Officer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation  sought registration of “all food storage and distribution outlets of FCI and CAPDD in Srinagar City.”
 The registration aims at “monitoring the quality of food stuffs like rice, sugar and atta, which are distributed for public consumption.”
 “Regular inspections shall be made by the Food Safety Officers of the SMC to the outlets to ensure hygiene and sanitation. Those outlets which are found in insanitary conditions shall not be allowed to operate and also regular food sampling will be conducted of all the food items distributed for public consumption at these Shali stores,” the Health Officer said.
 When contacted Dr Khan while confirming the development said: “This step has been taken in interest of public health and rules and regulations under Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.”
 People often complain of poor stocking of food stuff at the ration depots and that presence of rodents are synonymous with such facilities.”

Delhi food safety commissioner’s claim on FBO license conversion false

Saturday, February 15, 2014 08:00 IST
Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi

                                                                        There is no truth to Delhi’s food safety commissioner K J R Burman’s claim that food business operators (FBO) in the capital got 2,500 licenses converted before the February 4, 2014 deadline lapsed. This was stated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator.

Only 645 licenses have been obtained so far, while the process of registration is yet to commence. In fact, it has been sluggish since August 5, 2011, the date the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, came into effect. It is, however, expected that the capital would be on track by the time the extended deadline – August 4, 2014 – lapses.

Sources stated that the Mayur Bhavan office, where the registration and licensing would take place, was to be ready by April 2013, but it remains incomplete.

Only the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (331); Dadra and Nagar Haveli (200); Daman and Diu (258); Manipur (394); Meghalaya (633); Mizoram (228); Nagaland (160); Puducherry (332) and Sikkim (360) have issued fewer licences than Delhi.

Officials destroy expired soft drinks in Vellore

Expired soft drinks of several leading brands that were on sale in different shops in Vellore were destroyed on Thursday.

In view of death of a Cuddalore girl after consuming soft drink of a leading brand recently, food safety officials in Vellore district started crackdown on soft drinks that bear the same batch number of the bottle the girl reportedly consumed.

The team of officials checked lots of shops in new bus stand, a godown of a stockist of the beverage, shops in Tirupatthur, Jolarpet, Arcot and Ranipet.

Though they were on lookout for the soft drink bottles bearing the same batch number that was allegedly responsible for the death of the girl, they found and destroyed large number of expired soft drink bottles.

Worth of the soft drinks destroyed on Thursday is reportedly around Rs. 10,000.

CAT order to UT on food safety officer’s plea for appointment

Chandigarh, February 14
In an order passed today, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today directed the UT Administration to consider the UT’s senior-most food safety officer for appointment as designated officer under the Food Safety and Standards Act and fill the post on a regular basis in three months than filling it by way of deputation.

The CAT disposed of the application filed by Food Safety Officer Sukhwinder Singh, who had moved the tribunal in 2011, seeking direction to the UT administration for considering him for the post. He had challenging the UT Administration move to fill the post by way of deputation.

Singh had claimed that he was the senior-most food safety officer, thus was eligible to be appointed a designated officer under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

In his application in September 2011, He had submitted: “The post of designated officer is being occupied by an official who has come on deputation, in addition to his own duties. He is on deputation for medical services as SMO from Haryana whereas as per the Act and rules, a whole-time officer is required to be appointed designated officer for performing duties under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules framed thereunder in 2011.”

Laxity undoes hi-tech food packing

Experts Urge Consumers, Retailers To Be Vigilant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Chennai: Significant technological advances in the packing industry may have increased the shelf life of food products but lack of enforcement of safety norms remains a serious concern in the state.
    The death of an eight-yearold girl — reportedly after she consumed a soft drink — in Cuddalore has again trained the spotlight on food adulteration and lack of checks.
    Low levels of consumer awareness make the situation more dangerous, say activists. Santhana Rajan of Consumer Association of India says few customers check the shelf life of food products.
    Health experts say the problem is exacerbated by the hightemperature, high-humidity conditions, which cause food to go bad fast, in Chennai and other parts of the state.
    The perils of consuming spoilt or adulterated food cannot be stressed enough, doctors say. Deaths are rare, they say, but consumption of adulterated food increases the risk of cancer and liver and heart damage in the long term.
    Tamil Nadu Bakers Federation (TNBF) president S Kumar says soft drink wholesalers, for example, regularly visit outlets that stock their products in urban areas and shopkeepers return beverages past their use-by date. “But this is not the case in rural areas where retailers sell soft drinks that are several months old,” he said.
    But customers say fake products, including soft drinks, are a major problem in Chennai where unscrupulous retailers are ready to sell them for a marginally higher profit.
    TNBF secretary S P Natarajan says it is the responsibility of retailers to alert distributors well before products reach their use-by date.
    “The standard practice for bakeries is to use bread and milk that goes bad to make other bakery products like rusk and paneer that are safe to consume,” he said.
    Sources in the soft drink industry say some companies divert old stock for sale on trains. “The passengers buy the soft drinks because they don’t have many alternatives,” he said.
1,000 soft drink bottles seized
    The food safety and drugs administration department on Thursday seized in Anna Nagar more than 1,000 bottles of the drink of the same batch which caused the death of an eight-year-old girl. District food safety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said they seized 1,080 bottles of pet bottles with batch number AH 46 L4 with manufacturing date 23-01-2014 from a distributor. “We have stopped the sale of the soft drinks carrying the batch number and manufacturing date. The department has also created awareness among vendors to stop the sales of the affected batch”. Complaints can be made to the food safety department at 04423813095 or emailed to commrfssa@gmail.com. TNN