22 firms found marketing unauthorised 'herbal' drinking water

were adding 'nannari', 'athimathuram' and some other herbs saying these were good for health. (AP)

Government has issued notice to 22 firms which sold what they claimed herbal drinking water without proper license in an alleged bid to avoid the ongoing crackdown on unauthorised packaged drinking water units as directed by the National Green Tribunal.

The notices seeking to know why action should not be taken against them were issued recently by the Food Safety and Standards Department as it found that the units were using different nomenclatures to sell water without necessary permission.

According to Food Safety Officer here Dr Suguna, the department officials were inspecting the quality of water sold in cans and bottles under various brands following directive of the Green Tribunal which has initiated suo motu proceedings taking into account media reports about poor quality of water supplied by several packaged drinking water units.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has recently told the tribunal that as many 814 units out of 967 in the state did not have its approval for functioning.

Also though the government had made it compulsory that the bottles used for packing water should get ISI certification, the same was not being followed by many companies.

Of late, in order to slip out of the noose being tightened around them, the drinking water firms were using a different nomenclature to sell their product-viz herbal drinking water.

The units claimed they were adding 'nannari', 'athimathuram' and some other herbs saying these were good for health.

Though the herbal drinking water did not require quality seal, like ISI seal, they were being monitored under Food Safety and Standard Act.

Companies marketing herbal drinking water should obtain proper permission from the Food Safety and Standards Department for production and obtain certificate for marketing them. But the 22 firms were found lacking these and hence show cause notice had been issued to them to reply within 15 days.

Rise in use of synthetic khoya in sweets

Even as the health officials seized a huge quantity of synthetic khoya being sold in the open market yesterday but it also pointed towards the possible sale of the same in sweet meats and other preparations in the market.

A vigilant citizen HS Dawar said the sale of sweat meats and other preparations made from spurious khoya and other sub-standard items cannot be ruled out. “The sale of traditional sweet meats pick up in the festive season and the fear of adding of spurious ingredients is also high in this season,” he said.

Traditional halwai shops churning out mouth-watering delicacies are situated in the nook and corner of the city. Apparently, the task of checking these products became a hilarious task for the Health Department.

A resident of Sultanwind road Surjit Singh said every year around Diwali and other festivals the news of adulterated khoya being confiscated gains currency and hogs limelight.He felt that the government’s department concerned must accelerate its activity to stop spurious khoya and other ingredients being pushed into the market. He expressed his apprehension that other adulterated food items and ingredients must also be pushed into the market by unscrupulous elements to multiply their profit margins. This despite the fact that the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was introduced in the country.

The District Health Office, which is tasked to nab the people involved in adulterating food and other eatables, has been deployed two Food Safety Officers (FSO), besides a trainee FSO has also been attached for the field duty.

Headed by a District Health Officer it has office staff in shape of a clerk and class fourth. Besides, the district does not have any food testing lab and each sample has to be dispatched to the Chandigarh laboratory. It took around 20 days to get the result of the food test.

Dr Shiv Karan Kahlon, District Health Officer (DHO), who is the designated officer for the implementation of the act, said Amritsar was not the only city that does not have a lab and each district in the state send its samples to Chandigarh.

He stressed that the confiscation of synthetic Khoya yesterday should not be seen clubbed with the festive season. He said that confiscation of adulterated eatables was a continuous process and his department was regularly spotting spurious khoya and destroying the same.

About the exact number of halwai shops in the city he said the data was not yet available as the registration under the new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, was undergoing.

He shared that so far 6,000 shops got registered under the act while 700 licenses were issued as the deadline for registration has been postponed to February 4, 2014. It is relevant to mention that the food businesses, with an annual turnover of Rs 12 lakh are required to get registered while those establishments with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 12 lakh are required to obtain a license.

Grain transport ill-monitored

KOZHIKODE: Even as complaints are aplenty regarding rotten and worm-infested grains supplied through the public distribution system, officials with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are least bothered about ensuring the safe transportation of grains from its warehouse to the stores of wholesale dealers.

Though a mechanism is in force to ascertain that trucks transporting grains are covered properly, no such measures are taken by officials at the FCI warehouse in West Hill.

As per the conditions, FCI officials and representatives of wholesale ration dealers, present at the warehouse while loading grains have the task of insisting that the truck drivers cover the grains properly, said an official with the district civil supplies office, preferring anonymity. It is inappropriate to allow the grains to get wet in the rain, he said.

However, the monitoring system is practically non-existent at the FCI warehouse, allowing truck drivers to transport grains in any manner they prefer. Uncovered trucks filled with rain-soaked sacks of grain are a common sight for West Hill residents.

"Trucks transporting goods for private companies use quality polythene or tarpaulin sheets to protect goods from the rain and sun, but not many trucks moving out of the FCI warehouse are seen using such measures," said K K Ali, a trader at West Hill.

Retail ration dealers in the district have also been crying foul against officials of the FCI and civil supplies for supplying poor quality, rotten and worm-infested grains. "No measures are taken to keep these grains clean and free of worms. The grains are always transported in open trucks, even during rains," complained C P Mohammadali, secretary of All Kerala Ration Dealers Association.

The condition of the warehouse under the civil supplies corporation at Vellayil is more pathetic, said Mohammadali. It does not have the facility to preserve rice, wheat, sugar or other commodities separately, he alleged. "Most of the time we have no choice but to distribute the rotten grains that we are supplied. But the blame always falls on the dealer," Mohammadali said.

While it is the responsibility of officials with the Food Safety Commissionerate to monitor the quality of edibles and

provisions supplied by private distributers, the government has not yet entrusted these officials the task of monitoring PDS. "As of now we are not in a position to inspect or interfere in the PDS," said Mohammed Rafi, designated officer of food safety.

Meanwhile, an FCI official claimed that they have been making sure that food grains are covered properly ahead of transportation, especially during the rainy season. However, we can't check whether they remove the covers once they are out of the FCI compound, he said.

Industry lauds FSSAI's new regulations related to quality of olive oil

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued regulations for the olive oil industry. These clarify a number of issues related to the description, composition, quality characteristics, additives, contaminants and labelling of the product. 

An official with the country's apex food regulator said this was done to standardise the product against impurities, adulteration and other issues (particularly those related to the consumers' health), because olive oil is now highly in demand as a cooking medium. 

FSSAI set parameters for the maximum permissible concentration for heavy metals like arsenic and lead as 0.1mg/kg, while labelling should only be allowed as per the regulations already prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006. 

It also stipulated that the composition of refined olive oil as oil obtained from refining methods without alteration in glyseridic structure with free acidity be not more than 0.3g per 100g, whereas olive oil fit for human consumption with free acidity be not more than 1g per 100g. 

For extra virgin olive oil, the acidity was not more than 0.8g per 100g. The acidity for virgin oil was set at 2g per 100g. Similarly the free acidity of pomace oil, consisting of blend of refined olive pomace oil and virgin olive oils, was set at 1g per 100g, and for refined olive pomace oil, it was set at 0.3g. 

The regulations further define the quality characteristics as follows:

Parameters	Virgin olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil and ordinary virgin olive oil	Refined olive oil	Olive oil	Refined pomace olive oil	Pomace olive oil
Moisture and volatile matter (Max)	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Insoluble impurities (Max)	0.1%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%	0.05%
Trace metals (Max) Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu)	3mg/kg 0.1mg/kg	3mg/kg 0.1mg/kg	3mg/kg 0.1mg/kg	3mg/kg 0.1mg/kg	3mg/kg 0.1mg/kg
Refractive index at 20 degree C	1.4677-1.4705	1.4677-1.4705	1.4677-1.4705	1.4680-1.4707	1.4680-1.4707
Saponification value (mg KOH/g oil)	184-196	184-196	184-196	182-193	182-193
Iodine value (Wijs)	75-94	75-94	75-94	75-92	75-92

While the regulations do not permit any additives in virgin olive oil, additives are allowed in others, but their quantity should not exceed 200mg per kg
The industry called it a step in the right direction, adding that it would help in the standardisation and clarification of the issues related to olive oil.
Experts state that India is becoming a leading importer of olive oil. Its imports have seen a 50 per cent rise in recent times. During the last fiscal, they amounted to 12,000 tonne. Spain is the largest importer of olive oil to India, followed by Italy.
Atul Kumar, president, Indian Importers Association, lauded the decision and added that it would fix a number of issues related to standards of olive oil.
“Olive oil was earlier a generic term, but now the new regulations have specified the characteristics and compositions that would help in the trade of olive oil after imports,” he said.
“The product would then have to be tested in labs, and with set parameters, this would help the industry as well as most of the olive oil is repackaged after imports,” Kumar added.