Sweet sellers gets warning

The health department has directed all sweet sellers of the district to strictly adhere to the Food Safety Act and maintain good quality of food items and during the coming festive season.

The health department has geared up with surprise check at the sweet shops to ensure the quality of food items served ahead of festive season.

Dr. RL Bassan, civil surgeon said that the sweet sellers had been asked to avoid selling coloured sweets and prepare sweets that can be consumed within a day.

"The sweets sellers should not use artificial 'khoya' and ghee and should not indulge in adulteration in view of the coming festive season. The sweets and other food items should be covered and the sellers should maintain hygienic conditions where the sweets are being prepared. Also the cooks should cut their nails before making sweets", he added.

"The sellers have also been directed to ensure that sweets kept on display are guarded against houseflies and mosquitoes," said Dr Bassan.

He added that according to the Food Safety and Central Act 2006 if the sweet seller prepares 100kg of sweets, they could add just 20gm of artificial colour to it because excess of artificial colours could lead to cancer.

"They should use artificial colour of standard companies", said Dr Balwinder Singh, district health officer.

 He said the raids have been initiated to check adulteration of food items.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the department had seized 95 kg spurious ghee contained in a big plastic drum. The food safety officer Dr. Harjotpal along with ASI Surjit Singh Rurka Kalan, Goraya raided tailor's shop of Paramjit Singh Pamma of village Mithra when they found that he was providing desi ghee on reasonable rates.

The material was recovered from his tailor shop at village Pasla. The samples of the ghee have been sent to the laboratory.

"We got the information that the accused was selling ghee at low cost to the customers. The further action will be taken as per the report of the food analyst expected to come in two weeks", Dr. Harjotpal added.

Innovations needed for growth of Indian traditional foods: Ashok Sinha

Traditional foods from India are gaining recognition all over the globe, but according to Ashok Sinha, former secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), they need innovations for their growth. He was in Mumbai for a seminar titled 'Traditional Foods: Challenges and Innovations', held at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Matunga, on September 28, 2013.

At the seminar, which was co-organised by ICT and the Mumbai chapter of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists, India (AFSTM), and supported by the second phase of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP-II), Sinha appreciated the country's rich cultural background, of which a host of traditional foods, containing a variety of herbs and spices, are a part. 

A book – titled 'Nutrition in Tradtional Therapeutic Food' and co-authored by G Subbulakshmi and M Subhadra – was launched at the event by Sinha; K D Yadav, all India president, Association of Food Scientists and Technologists, India (AFSTI); A I S Kumar, deputy director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI); N P Kawale, director, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and other members of AFSTI.

Concurring with Sinha's observation that traditional foods have always been appreciated across the country, Yadav said, “In the past, the kitchen was the domain of women, and they experimented with a number of things there. Now, we are faced with a number of challenges while reviewing the traditional foods.”

Kumar said the focus was on the safety standards for these foods, and if the international standards are adhered to, Indian traditional foods would go a long way. And terming Indian cuisine colourful and flavourful, Kawale said it was necessary to bring about a lot of innovations in traditional foods to face the challenges.

ICT's role
Rekha Singhal, head, food engineering and technology department (FETD), ICT, spoke about the institute's work on traditional foods.

Quoting Thomas Merton, she said, “Tradition, which is always old, is at the same time ever new, because it is always reviving, born again in each new generation, to be lived and applied in a new and particular way.”

“This describes the status of traditional Indian foods as they exist in the present times. Surviving thousands of years of civilisation, getting modified in the natural course of time, spreading its taste, flavour and a feeling of warmth to millions of its savourers all over the world, traditional Indian foods have stood the test of time,” Singhal added.

Technical sessions
The seminar featured two technical sessions.

First technical session
The first of these was titled 'Innovations, Technology and Processing Aspects'. It was chaired by Ashutosh Upadhyay, associate professor and head, Department of Food Science and Technology, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), and co-chaired by Harpal Singh Sokhi, chef and television anchor.

The panel comprised four members – Samana Tejani, director, production, Gits Foods Products Pvt Ltd (who spoke about technology updates); Prathap Shetty, associate professor and head, department of food science, Pondicherry University [who spoke about research and development (R&D) innovations]; Sunil Patel, associate professor, dairy engineering department, College of Dairy Science, Anand Agricultural University (AAU), who spoke about equipment innovations, and Sanjay Idnani of QSAFE Consultants, who spoke about quality certification.

Second technical session
The second technical session was titled 'Traditional Food: Challenges and Opportunities'. It was chaired by S B K Warrier, former scientist, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and co-chaired by P N Shastri of AFSTI's Nagpur chapter.

The four-member panel comprised Girish Chitale, partner, Chitale Dairy (who spoke on marketing and consumer needs); Shashank Mhaske, assistant professor, Department of Polymer and Surface Engineering, ICT (who spoke on packaging); J I Lewis, food consultant (who spoke on regulatory challenges), and Priti Amritkar, director, Envirocare Labs (who spoke about analytical challenges).

Group discussion
Prabodh Halde, head, regulatory, Marico Ltd, was the moderator of a group discussion. The panel comprised Rajesh Awchat, managing director, Actchawa Ready-to-Cook Food; Iravati Barsode, director, Relief Phytopharmaceuticals; K U Methekar, food safety officer (FSO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra; Girish Pai, director, Natural Ice creams, and V G Pendse, consultant.

Recipe for Success: Pollo Tropical CEO relishes fast food & challenges

Manjit Singh Saini, chief executive officer and executive director, Paramount Group, took a liking to the scalability that the restaurant sector offers, which, he claims, inspired him to open the first outlet of Pollo Tropical, the US-based chain that specialises in tropical food, in New Delhi, where he was born, raised and embarked upon an interesting entrepreneurial journey.

In the late-1980s, the commerce (honours) graduate from Delhi University – who took specialised management courses at the Indian Insitute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon – joined the textile testing and quality control instrument business founded by his father in 1964.

“It is during this period that the group diversified into the textile testing instrument business, and today, we are regarded as one of India's leading firms in both textile testing and quality control instruments,” Saini said, adding that he is also looking forward to the opportunity to go to countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Japan for specialised management training.

He is fond of eating fast food, and has always enjoyed spending time at McDonald's. He said, “From the very beginning, the atmosphere and ambience of the restaurant would energise me. In my childhood, there was no McDonald's in India, but while abroad, I always used to enjoy the time I spent at a fast food restaurant, which I cherish.”

Saini had to face his share of hurdles while setting up Pollo Tropical in India, primarily because he was new to the industry. Upon turning restaurateur, he said he learnt a number of new things, including construction glitches, equipment procurement and license procurement. He added, “We also face, and enjoy, such challenges as supply chain management, mastering operational excellence and alluring more customers to the restaurant.”

When quizzed about naming his eatery Pollo Tropical, he said, “Pollo (pronounced poyo) is the Latin word for chicken. So it means Chicken Tropical. But at our outlet in Saket, New Delhi, we serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes with a Caribbean flavour. Our chicken and paneer are marinated in tropical juices and spices. Moreover, the ambience, music and decor are inspired by the tropical theme.”

The unique selling point (USP) of Pollo Tropical, according to Saini, is the fact that they serve fresh grilled and healthy food. “You will rarely find this combination of fresh food, which is grilled and tasty. We do not fry. We bake. Even our signature sauces are prepared anew every day,” he said, adding that he wants to open ten Pollo Tropical outlets in northern India.

Saini stated that in order to get into this kind of business, one needs to have a clear vision of what type of restaurant they want to run and a strong passion for the same. He added, “When the going gets tough, it is your passion which will help you overcome the hurdle. Remember, from the very beginning, you will face a lot of difficulties and crises. It is imperative that you are calm and persevering.”

The avid reader of biographies and management books, who also loves watching inspirational movies, taking long walks and yoga, said being passionate in every chosen pursuit is what has helped him gain ground in his areas of interest. He strongly believes in having a vision, having passion and persevering. “If we have a clear vision of our goals, and can pursue the same with passion and keep moving towards it with perseverance, we are destined to accomplish our goals,” he said.

Creambell launches range of smoothies in mango and strawberry flavours

Creambell, one of India’s fastest growing ice cream brands, has launched the country's first-ever range of ice cream smoothies, which offers consumers the taste and texture of real fruit smoothies.

The smoothies will be available at all retail outlets and on push-carts in two flavours – mango and strawberry – in 400ml triangular tubs which are priced at Rs 90 and easy to grip.

Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Arora, chief executive officer, Creambell Ice Creams, said, “At Creambell, consumer delight is our driving force.”

“With each new product, we strive to offer our consumers something unique. Smoothies have always had a yoghurt base,” he added.

“But with our new products, we have given it an ice cream base and added real fruit pulp,” Arora added.

Bali of HP urges Centre to provide wheat flour under Food Security Act

At the food ministers' conference, held in New Delhi on Monday, Himachal Pradesh's food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister G S Bali urged the Centre to provide wheat flour instead of wheat grains under the National Food Security Act.

He said that the remote, rural, backward, tribal and difficult areas of the state had no grinding facilities, and its people demanded wheat flour. He added that under the Act, the state government had to bear the expenditure of grinding the wheat to make flour.

Bali added that government of Himachal Pradesh did not have sufficient funds to convert wheat grain to flour, and demanded that the full expenditure incurred by it to do so be reimbursed to it.

Increasing storage capacity

Stating that the state had the capacity to store foodgrains for just 45 days, he requested the Centre to assist in enhancing the storage capacity of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as well as that the state's civil supplies corporation.

“Owing to the difficult topographic condition in the state, we urged the Centre to increase the storage capacity so that at least three months' ration requirements could be stored in order to meet any eventuality,” Bali added.

He said that the state had a storage capacity of 55,371 million tonne (MT), and that of  FCI was 34,730MT, and added that the state civil supplies corporation was in no position to construct scientific warehouses to store foodgrains due to the paucity of funds.

The minister also requested the Centre to provide grants for the construction of warehouses for the state civil supplies corporation, and direct FCI to increase its storage capacity in the state.

Fair price shops

Bali said that 100 per cent of the state's population was covered under the targeted public distribution system (TPDS), and foodgrains, as per the scale fixed by the Centre, were being provided to all the ration cardholders through a network of 4, 762 fair price shops (each of which cater to about 1,600 ration cardholders).

Schemes

The minister thanked the Centre for providing subsidised foodgrains, and added that the Rajiv Gandhi Ann Yojna, which was launched in the state under the Food Security Act by its chief minister Virbhadra Singh on September 20, 2013, would be implemented from  October 1, 2013.

He said that under the Act, only 36,82,000 people had been covered in Himachal Pradesh, and added that 56.23 per cent of the rural and 30.99 per cent of the urban population would be entitled to get subsidised foodgrains.

The minister also requested that the coverage of beneficiaries be enhanced to 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population as mandated in the Act.

Bali said that Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) and below poverty line (BPL) households, Annapurna beneficiaries, households getting welfare pension and Tibetan permit-holders were automatically included in the eligible households under the Act, which covers a population of 26,78,804.

He added that it was upto the state to identify the rest of the beneficiaries (10,03,196), and the guidelines for the same have been issued to the urban local bodies and Gram Panchayats, and assured that the government would complete the entire selection process by the end of October 2013.

MoU

The minister said that the state government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the implementation of an end-to-end computerisation project in the state, for which a proposal to the tune of Rs 16.67 crore had been sent to the latter for the grant of funds.

He requested the Centre to provide financial assistance to the state for the implementation of e-PDS (electronic public distribution system) and the establishment of CCTV cameras and GPS systems for stopping diversion in transportation and other malpractices in TPDS.

Grievance redressal

Bali said that the district food and civil supplies controllers had been designated as district grievance redressal officers at the district level. The divisional commissioners had been designated as state food commissioners, who would function within their respective jurisdiction. He added that fair price shops were being opened by public demand as per the guidelines issued by the government and orders of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

He added that urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions were involved in the identification of beneficiaries under AAY and priority households as per notification dated August 1, 2013. They would also be a part of the vigilance committees already operating in the state.

“These are already functioning under TPDS and fresh vigilance committees are being constituted for monitoring the distribution of foodgrains under the NFSA,” Bali added.

NGO People's Forum directs health officials to conduct raids regularly

With the festive season around the corner, People's Forum for Transparency and Social Concern, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has directed health officials in Punjab to conduct regular raids at prominent sweet shops to check adulteration.

Unable to fathom why the health officials in the state fear collecting samples from well-known establishments, M S Gill, the NGO's president and a long-standing crusader against adulteration, asked why mobile vans are not deployed in each district of Punjab to test food items.

He added that it seems that the health officials did not do their work honestly, merely conducted checks and raids at small shops and punished them, but were lenient towards the prominent shops, perhaps because they have some interest in them.

“People from our NGO, as well as the common man, have complained to the health officials on numerous occasions about the involvement of prominent shops in adulteration,” Gill said.

“The officials visited prominent shops in Model Town and Sarabha Nagar markets and destroyed unhealty sweets, but did not collect samples,” he added.

“While collecting the data, I found that the health officials collected 31 samples of sweets this year. Of them, five failed the test. However, the health officials from Ludhiana did not collect any samples from big sweet shops in the city,” Gill informed.

When quizzed, Ludhiana's district health officer, on the condition of anonymity, said, “We had destroyed sweets at prominent shops in Model Town and other places, and found that the sweets was unfit for the consumption. But since the complainants who compromise, we don't collect the samples.”

Senior officials from Punjab's ministry of health and family welfare said that officials do not take action on the prominent sweet shops owing to corruption and political pressure.

Health team destroys five quintals of unsafe sweets at Salem Tabri factory

Ludhiana-The health department on Tuesday seized and destroyed around five quintals of unsafe sweets and raw material at Muskan Sweets Factory being run in the residential area of Salem Tabri on Tuesday.

The health team found the sweets being prepared under unhygienic conditions and duplicate silver leaves being used on “barfi” and coconut “pedas”. According to the team, non-permitted synthetic pink, green and other colours were being used for preparing sweets. “The owner, who was identified as Vinod Prasad, used to collect waste ‘chashni’, condensed sweetened water, at very low rates from different shops in the city and then prepare sweets in unhygienic way. We found that non-permitted synthetic colours, which are harmful for human body, were being used,” Dr Abnash Kumar, district health officer, Ludhiana said.

Dr Kumar, who was leading the health team, said, “We raided the factory following a tip-off. These sweets were to be supplied in the market during the upcoming festival season.”

Giving further details, Dr Kumar said, “Non-permitted synthetic colours and adulterated sweets can lead to cancer and kidneys stones, besides other diseases. I warn all sweet shopkeepers to sell only safe and healthy sweets. We will continue to carry out such raids to ensure only safe products are sold in the festival season. The residents can inform the civil surgeon’s office if they have complaints about adulterated sweets.”

Manoj Khosla, food safety officer, said duplicate silver leaves were being used on these sweets, adding that some items were destroyed on the spot, while some were seized. The reports of collected samples would come within two weeks, he added.

Harpreet Kaur, food safety officer, who was also part of the department’s team, said according to the Food Safety and Standards Act, the cases of adulteration and labelling matters came in the categories of “substandard” and “misbranded”, while the use of synthetic and major adulterated products, including harmful chemicals fell under the “unsafe” category.

Put a drop of iodine liquid on khoya. If a blue layer is formed, it indicates the presence of starch in khoya. Rub the silver leaf layer on sweets with two fingers if it becomes powder then it is original. If after rubbing it forms a wick then it could be aluminium foil which is dangerous for health.

Food safety officer Harpreet Kaur said two samples of chicken curry and fish curry collected from Aman Chicken shop, near railway crossing in Shastri Nagar, failed laboratory test. These samples were found unsafe during the test. One sample of bread pakora, which was collected from Sharma Sweets, Model Town in September, also failed test. The sample was of substandard quality.

“Adulterators are one step ahead of safety agencies”

The TÜV Rheinland Group is a leading provider of technical services worldwide. TUV Rheinland India was started 17 years ago  as a 100% subsidiary of the parent group. In 2010, the company  opened material testing laboratory to cater to industrial safety by analytical testing. In India, as also in many other developing countries, adulterators are always one step ahead of the safety agencies when it comes to detecting adulteration and their techniques are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated with time, reveals Enrico Ruhle, managing director, TUV Rheinland India, in an email interaction with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:

How would you describe the current food adulteration scene in India?
Food adulteration in India seems to be getting deadlier by the day. First we had some unscrupulous dairy farmers in western Uttar Pradesh inventing synthetic milk  which was  a deadly cocktail of urea, caustic soda and vegetable oil. Then we had reports of fruits, particularly mangoes, being ripened with calcium carbide and now, there are reports of fish being made to appear fresh with formalin.

In India as also in many other developing countries, adulterators are always one step ahead of the safety agencies when it comes to detecting adulteration and their techniques are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated with time.No other country can beat India when it comes to food adulteration because this is a country where everyone has unlimited freedom to indulge in such activities with no possibility of retribution. Though food laws that exist are comparable to international ones, there is very little activity at the ground level to monitor or detect adulterated foods in the market or punish the guilty. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, passed in 1954 was enforced only on June,1, 1955. Successive amendments have been made to this Act to plug the loopholes and to make it more effective. But in spite of several measures adopted to enforce the Act,  agencies and  institutions created to put an end to this nefarious practice, could not check adulteration. The   ingenuity of the adulterators has now left no food unadulterated.

What are the issues in the Indian market for global majors like yours to seek test assignments?
Indians are no longer restricted to a certain kind of food and local cuisines. Thanks to the lucrative nature of the Indian market, which attracted  variety of manufacturers globally  to introduce their products here. So now the urban Indian household has multiple options for products and price ranges. As promising as this sounds, this also makes the Indian food market vulnerable in terms of safety and quality. In the battle of the suppliers to establish themselves here and reap as much monetary benefit as possible, quality cannot be forsaken and should be assessed not just as a regulatory requirement.

I picture TUV Rheinland India’s food services to spread its wings and be the approachable partner of quality to everyone from farm to fork, to extend a helping hand to the food ministry for spreading the values of food safety all around and to act as a knowledge base. Having harboured the global icon for quality and safety, we wish to exercise our practices and principles to help reduce the vulnerability of the food safety scenario in India and help the consumers enjoy the multiple options in peace.

As the head of the leading food test company, TÜV Rheinland, what are the efforts slated to control this adulteration in Indian food industry?
TÜV Rheinland has a long history of providing materials testing and inspection services to global customers in accordance with numerous domestic and international requirements. A fullfledged food chemical and microbiology laboratory at Bengaluru, caters to the needs of quality monitoring of food products and trace level analysis of the chemical and microbiological contaminants. Food submitted here is tested for contaminant identification including ingredient cross-contamination, off-colours, off-flavours, or off-odours analysis, packaging trouble-shooting, extractable and leachable testing, foreign object identification, emergency response, hazard analysis, toxicity risk assessment using our latest equipments and advanced test methods.  Along with testing, we also work towards building awareness among people as to the nature and extent of food adulteration.

How important is this food and beverage industry in terms of sales and revenue generation?
India is 66-year-old democracy and is still an agri-dependent economy. Agriculture employs 52% of the country’s workforce while contributing 17% to the overall GDP. With the abundant natural resources, fertile land with a wide spectrum of types of soil, India has a lot to give to its own consumers and worldwide.  The economy’s dependency on agriculture has reduced in all these years and the contribution of the food and beverage processing industry has increased as well. The growth curve of the food and beverage processing is directly proportional to the sales and revenue for testing laboratories. As much as we want food safety to reach the common man, the safety regulatory requirements form the pinnacle of the laboratory’s operations and revenue.

Give us an overview of the India operations and the kind of investment made here.
Our Indian operations commenced in the year 1996 with Indian headquarters at Bengaluru. We are now spread across the principal business locations in India with our presence in over 20 locations in India.

Under the banner of Product Safety - Testing and Certification we have established laboratories for Chemical Testing, Food Testing, Microbiology,etc. in the year 2010 in Bangalore. We  have invested  Rs 100 crore till now, of which major chunk is invested in setting up our state of the art laboratories.We have a full-fledged chemical, microbiological and instrumentation facility to cater to the food and beverage testing. The lab is  NABL accredited for microbiological and chemical analysis. We are now gearing up for other notable government approvals and contribute to the pivotal tests for various regulatory requirements.

Would the company be servicing testing needs of the emerging markets from India or do you have dedicated centres in these locations?
Currently we are only concentrating on the testing needs pertaining to the Indian market. Having said that we are keeping our eyes and ears open to the emerging markets neighbouring India. Food Safety isn’t a popular topic in this sub-continent and also other notable Asian countries and we wish to utilise our global reach and be present there as well.

Would you be able to share some of the names of the companies you are offering your services to?
The basket of products we can test are Raw & Cooked Foods, Formulated Foods, Raw Meat & Meat Products, Milk & Dairy Products, Poultry Products, Carbonated beverages, Bakery & Confectionary Products, Fruits, Vegetables & their products, Packed & Canned Foods, Oils & Fats, Beverages (Tea, Coffee etc), Gherkins, Ready to eat Foods, Pickles, Jams / Jellies / Sauces, Sea foods, Sugar, Cocoa, Chocolates, Eggs & Egg Products, Soft drinks, Fruit Juices, Cereals & Cereal Products, Spices & Condiments. In short we aim to test what the world eats!

But we uphold  confidentiality towards our customers and non-disclosure agreements.

What is the competition for TÜV Rheinland in India?
There are multiple able and successful food and water testing laboratories both government and privately based out of Bengaluru  and pan India which are  certified  facilities  that  prove to be competitors for us. Though the overall principle of testing and certification remain the same, the approach on food safety and related areas and the dynamic nature of our team differentiates us from others. We believe that we take food safety personally!

What are the likely future efforts for the company to increase its presence in the Indian food industry?
The food market in India is promising yet fragmented. The established food processing units are aware of the requirements and are thus implementing the same. We will be looking to create solutions for Small Scale businesses in R&D in food processing and production.  Small companies may not have the ability to do that, whereas laboratories such as ours would have the vast knowledge in putting that together and offering that as a valuable service.

We are looking to increase in the awareness of food safety with the common man and the working class. We have been organising talks and presentations at various company cafeterias and other groups to reach out to people and will continue to do the same at various levels.

India has already made a beginning with the Food Safety and Standards Act. Comment.
Undoubtedly the process has begun and looks promising to say the least. It would be very satisfying to ensure that the Food Safety Standards Association of India (FSSAI) is implanted completely as a standard and also reaches all nooks and corners. I respect the time this might require but with able management of resources and an aggressive drive to uphold the importance of food safety, FSSAI can be implemented faster. As mentioned by me earlier, support in any form feasible by us will be extended to the authorities by our group. With a young and dynamic team we fully appreciate the challenges ahead and willing to walk the extra mile for food safety.

‘Unfit’ drug lands Kovai doctor in soup

A public interest writ petition praying for a direction to the Commissioner and the Designated Officer (DO) for Food Safety and Drugs Administration to take action against Dr Tamilselvi Periasamy and Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Coimbatore for prescribing a drug, which was unfit for human consumption, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, was filed in the Madras HC.

According to Kasthuri (46), she consulted Dr Tamilselvi for treatment of obesity earlier this year, who prescribed Slim Drink Starter Level 1 and Slim Drink Ultra Level 2. Kasthuri purchased the prescribed medicines from the hospital, but doubting its worthiness, sent them to the Food Analyst, King Institute in Chennai, for analysis.

The analysis reports stated that drugs were unfit for consumption and hence an unsafe food as per Sec 3(1) (zz) (iii) & (x) of FSS Act 2006, adding that the drugs were misbranded.

Kasthuri then made a representation on July 2 to the Commissioner here to take action against the hospital and the doctor. The Commissioner forwarded the complaint to the Designated Officer in Coimbatore with a direction to proceed against the persons accused, in accordance with law a month back, but no action was taken and the drugs were still available in the market and continued to prescribed for treatment of obesity, even to pregnant women.

The failure on the part of the DO to take appropriate penal action against the doctor and the hospital, in accordance with the provisions of FSS Act, pursuant to her complaint dated July 2, would be violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, petitioner contended.

Victoria Foods forays into processed food sector with Banchetto pastas

With the launch of the Banchetto range of pastas, Victoria Foods recently forayed into the processed food segment. It comprises three varieties of pastas (namely penne, fusilli and macaroni).

All the products are made from wheat semolina. The pastas would be manufactured in a fully-automated Italian plant and packed in a humidity-controlled environment.

The use of Italian technology and raw material would ensure that the pastas are of the right size and texture, which is necessary from the viewpoint of their ability to absorb the curries or sauces.

Udit Jain, spokesperson, Rajdhani Group, stated, “European and Italian cuisine are perceived as growing sectors, and have found their way into the kitchens of most fast-food lovers in India.”

“Gourmet pasta contributes 74 per cent vis-à-vis instant pasta's 16 per cent share in the country's total pasta market, estimated to be worth Rs 600 crore,” he added.

“We wish to tap this market, as well as to satisfy the consumers' demand for genuine Italian food products,” Jain said.

Corporator Narvekar's proposal to keep eateries open 24X7 gets BMC nod

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) gave its in-principle nod to the proposal by independent corporator Makarand Narvekar – who is also the civic body's law committee chairman – to keep eateries in malls, commercial and non-residential areas (and certain stores) open 24 hours a day and seven days a week at its recent general body meeting.

Based on the corporator's view that the 24X7 concept was a necessity, and not a luxury, in a metropolis like Mumbai, a specific notice of motion was passed in the House. It proposed an amendment to Section 19 of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, which stipulates and regulates the timing restrictions for eateries and restuarants.

Narvekar opined that the proposal would also help to boost tourism and, in turn, the state's economy, and added that the intention was to ensure that Mumbai-based professionals, as well as those arriving in the city at odd hours, enjoy its nightlife. However, he categorically stated that this would not be applicable to bars and pubs.

Eighth edition of Fi India to feature on-site seminars, Discovery Tour

The eighth essay of Food Ingredients (Fi) India – the international trade show dedicated to the food ingredient industry – will take place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre between October 3 and 5, 2013. The highlights of this edition of the event are a series of on-site seminars, an interactive session called Ask the Expert and Discovery Tours.

Organised by UBM, the fair will be co-located with Health Ingredients (Hi) India. This is, in fact, the first time India would be hosting the event, which is one of the leading trade shows dedicated to the health ingredient industry.

The event will be inaugurated by Tariq Anwar, minister of state for agriculture and food processing. Ajit Singh, chairman, AGC Worldwide, and Piruz Khambatta, chairman and managing director, Rasna International, would be the guests of honour.

Fi India has already garnered the support of a number of key trade associations. These include the All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA); the Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association of India (HADSA); the Society of Indian Bakers (SIB); the Mumbai chapter of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists of India (AFSTM), and the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).

Co-located events

Organised by Leatherhead (a food research firm), the three co-located events-  namely the on-site seminars, the Ask the Expert sessions and the Discovery Tours - are taking place for the first time.

On-site seminars
Speakers from a host of fields allied to the food, health and nutraceutical ingredient industries would address a number of issues, ranging from the growth of the nutraceutical and functional food industries in India to the licensing issues faced by them, at the on-site seminars.

On each of the three days, there would be two modules.

The October 3 modules are titled, 'An overview of food safety regulations' and 'A rendezvous with innovative ingredients'.

The following day's modules are titled, 'Regulations intensified' and 'Ayurceuticals: Medecine traditionelle'.

And the titles of the October 5 modules are, 'Innovations in snacks' and 'MUN (Model United Nations) forum – Ingredient pricing'.

Ask the Expert
Leatherhead would conduct a series of one-on-one sessions with its in-house panel of industry experts. The topics likely to be covered include industry regulations; ingredients, and market intelligence.

Discovery Tours
Fi and Hi India have joined with Leatherhead to showcase the latest exhibitor innovations through the Discovery Tours, whose catalogue would up-to-date industry information about health ingredients and nutraceuticals.

Likely exhibitors
Over 100 exhibitors representing food, health and natural ingredient manufacturers from 44 countries would showcase their latest offerings at this edition of the event, which would witness a footfall of approximately 6,000.

The companies who will showcase their products at the show include BASF India Limited; Cargill India; ITC Colors; Matrix Flavours and Fragrances; Naturex; the Spices Board of India, and Adani Wilmar Ltd.

Visitors' profile
Leading dignitaries from the food industry, directly or indirectly involved in the production of food, food products, nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, natural foods and beverages of all kinds, would be attending Fi and Hi India 2013.

These include global researchers and food technologists; manufacturers and producers of food and beverages; food and beverage retailers, suppliers and distributors; safety and quality professionals; consultants and quality inspectors; purchase officers; chief executive officers and senior managers of nutraceutical, dietary supplement and functional food companies; government and trade associations, and institutes and universities.

The companies likely to visit the show include Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd; Rasna International; Amul; Kellogg's; Britannia; Heinz India; Dabur; Marico; GlaxoSmithKline; Big Bazaar; Reliance Retail; Cargill India; Parle Products; Haldiram's; Talwalkar's Fitness Products; ITC Ltd; Venky's; Jubilant FoodWorks; Weikfield; Jumbo King; CavinKare; Pepsico; BASF; Kraft Foods; Bisleri and Nestle.

Food security bill will benefit 76% rural and 45% urban Maharashtrians

Seventy-six per cent of Maharashtra's rural population, and 45 per cent of city-dwellers in the state, would be beneficiaries of the Food Security Bill (which would be beneficial to about 67 per cent of India's population), according to environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who visited the Sahyadri Government Guest House in Mumbai on Sunday, September 29, 2013.

Terming the Food Security Bill – which recently recived the nod of both Houses of Parliament as well as that of India's president Pranab Mukherjee – a historic achievement of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, he added that the foodgrain supply to the western state would increase from 36.5 lakh tonne to 45 lakh tonne when the bill is implemented.

Ramesh said, “When the state-wise foodgrain allocations are made, Maharashtra would rank fourth, after Uttar Pradesh (which would now get an additional 30 lakh tonne, taking the allocation to India's most-populated state to 95 lakh tonne), Bihar and Gujarat. Mukherjee also signed the land aquisition bill, which is likely to be notified in the next two months. It will also help the farmers.”