Mar 11, 2014

பொதுப்பணி துறை அனுமதி பெற்ற குடிநீர் நிறுவனங்களுக்கு அனுமதி

சென்னை: 'பொதுப்பணித் துறையில் தடையின்மை சான்று பெற்ற, தனியார் குடிநீர் நிறுவனங்கள் செயல்படலாம்' என, தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.
தனியார் நிறுவனங்கள் விற்பனைக்கு அனுப்பும், 'கேன்' குடிநீரின் தரம் குறித்த சர்ச்சை எழுந்த நிலையில், தென்மண்டல தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் தானாக முன் வந்து, வழக்குப் பதிந்து விசாரித்து வருகிறது. இதில், உரிய அனுமதி பெறாத நிறுவனங்கள் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்டது. நிலத்தடிநீர் எடுக்க, பொதுப்பணித் துறையின் தடையின்மைச் சான்று பெறாத, 252 நிறுவனங்களின் செயல்பாட்டுக்கும் தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டது. தடையின்மை சான்று பெற, கால அவகாசம் தரப்பட்டது. பெரும்பாலான நிறுவனங்கள், பொதுப்பணித் துறையின் தடையின்மை சான்று பெற்றன. நேற்று நடந்த விசாரணையில், இத்தகவல் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது. இதையடுத்து, 'பொதுப்பணித் துறை சான்று பெற்ற குடிநீர் நிறுவனங்கள் செயல்படலாம்' என, தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாய தலைவர் சொக்கலிங்கம், உறுப்பினர் நாகேந்திரன் உத்தரவிட்டனர்.

Imported fruits, vegetables to come under pesticide watch following recommendations from Court panel

Are those beautifully packed and fresh looking exotic fruits displayed on the stands in posh markets really healthy? We'll find it out very soon as for the first time, imported fruits and vegetables are set to come under pesticide watch following the recommendations from a court appointed committee.
In the wake of the reports of rampant contamination of vegetables and fruits in Delhi's markets, the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court have initiated several steps to curb the use of pesticides and artificial colour for enhancing their size and appearance.
The amount of pesticides in fruits and vegetables in India, and especially those sold in Delhi markets, were as much as 750 times the European standards, NGOs Center for Public Interest Litigation and Consumer Voice claimed in the SC and HC, respectively. The NGOs claimed in their pleas that the fruits were a toxic cocktail of banned pesticides capable of causing headache, cancer, heart disease, infertility and pose a risk to the nervous system and liver.
The banned pesticides included chlordane, a rat poison that affects the nervous system and endrin, an insecticide that causes headache.
"Surprise checks will be conducted at major markets once in a month and there will not be any differentiation between local fruits and vegetables and those imported. The court panel's report says an eye has to be kept on them also as they too are susceptible to contamination because of lucrative business," Meera Bhatia, the lawyer for Delhi government said.
Terming the situation as "alarming", the court said 1.7 crore Delhiites everyday consume fruits and vegetables unfit for human consumption. It had recently asked the Delhi government to publicise the short-term measures and Dos and Don'ts suggested by the expert committee to minimise the presence of pesticides residue. Ordering intensification of the crackdown against the contamination, the court has sought a status report on April 15.
"No such consignment should be allowed to enter the country without pre-dispatch pesticide testing report by the exporter. Samples of imported fruits and vegetables should be drawn by plant quarantine stations at international arrival points and monitored for the presence of pesticide residues," said a report filed in the court by the panel headed by Sandhya Kulshreshta, additional deputy DG in the health ministry.
"Surprise inspections were conducted in many markets like Azadpur Mandi, Kotla, Mayur Vihar, Sarojini Nagar, INA, Defence Colony, Vasant Vihar and Lodhi Estate in the last three years. We found that pesticides, toxic colours and hormones are being used by farmers and traders to speed up growth, ripen and improve colour," said Bhatia.
The expert committee said results of tests should be posted on the website of the Delhi government's food department along with the name of the market.
The SC said: "Right to life and human dignity encompasses, within its ambit availability of articles of food without insecticides or pesticides residues. But the fact remains that food available in the market contain insecticides or pesticides residues, beyond the tolerable limits, causing serious health hazards. Fruit-based soft drinks also contain pesticides in alarming proportion, but no attention is made to examine its contents.
Harmful for kids
"Children and infants are uniquely susceptible to the effects of pesticides because of their physiological immaturity and greater exposure to soft drinks". The SC directed Food and Safety Standards Authority of India to coordinate with counterparts in all the states and conduct periodical inspections and monitoring of major fruits and vegetable markets.

Bid to implement Assam Health Act, 2013

GUWAHATI, March 10 – In an effort to effectively implement the recently enacted "Assam Health (Prohibition Of Manufacturing, Advertisement, Trade, Storage, Distribution, Sale and Consumption of Zarda, Guthka, Panmasala etc., containing Tobacco and/or Nicotine) Act, 2013," the Deputy Secretary of the State Health and Family Welfare Department has issued a notification to the Director General of Assam Police, all Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of the state informing that the said Act has come into force from February 20, 2014.
Other bodies/authorities/departments who have been informed about the same are Commissioner of Taxes (Assam), the Legal Remembrance (Assam), Mission Director-NRHM (Assam), Principal Secretary-Finance Dept. (Assam), the Principal Secretary (Home & Political Dept.-Assam), Board of Revenue/Chairman-Assam Administrative Tribunal, CEO-Food Safety & Standard Authority of India, PS to Parliamentary Secretary (Health & FW Dept)-Assam, PS to Health & Welfare Minister (Assam), Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister (Assam), the Commissioner & Secretary (to the Governor of Assam) and the Secretary to the Government of India (Ministry of Health & FW).
The notification further requested the DIPR to widely publicize the above piece of information. This has been done in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 1(3) of the above mentioned Act.
The Act, if implemented efficiently, is expected to control tobacco-related health issues in the state, which coincidentally has a very high rate of tobacco consumption and an alarming rate of tobacco-related oral cancer cases.

World Health Organisation slashes recommended daily sugar intake

TIMES VIEW
Scientific method works
The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) is proposing new draft guidelines that recommend people should consume less than 5% of their total daily calories from sugar, down from 10% according to current guidelines. The new guidelines mean not more than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons a day for an adult of normal body mass index. WHO's advocacy on sugar is in response to the growing incidence of non-communicable disease and obesity. Its recommendations are based on collation of extensive research. This approach is based on the scientific method, which has been the basis for all improvements in human health outcomes in the last couple of centuries.
Advocacy on sugar intake comes from identifying behavioural risk factors to a healthy and productive life. An unhealthy diet is a key risk factor and the extent of sugar intake is closely linked to it. Increasingly, as processed food comes to exercise dominance over our diet, sugar is consumed in insidious ways. For instance, WHO says one tablespoon of ketchup contains as much as one teaspoon of sugar. This kind of information is not widely known and WHO's advocacy plays an important role in raising the level of public awareness.
Following a scientific method does not imply that guidelines are definitive. Research will continue to push the envelope and subsequent conclusions will depend on new findings. But in the meantime it is WHO's job to reflect the current state of scientific knowledge, even if this isn't to the liking of the food industry. Information is power. Advocacy based on research has had beneficial spin-offs. For instance, once public awareness increases, it may trigger a demand for enhanced transparency and finer detailing of ingredients in food products. It could also lead to the invention of healthier alternatives to sugar. This can only be for the public good.
COUNTERVIEW
Take it with a pinch of salt

The warning on the consumption of sugar and the need to cut down use of the stuff has to be taken with a pinch of salt. After all it is only the most recent in the long list of products of daily use that have been labelled dangerous. Of late it has become such a fashion for health authorities, multilateral agencies and even independent establishments to bring out innumerable warnings based on so-called scientific studies, that it has become impossible to take them seriously any more. Very often these studies made by different agencies bring out unconvincing and even contradictory results.
Thus we find that while some studies extol virtues of white wines over red another set would argue quite to the contrary. Similarly, while some bring out the positive health impact of having coffee many others would focus on the medicinal impact of drinking tea or the benefits of regular consumption of alcohol in small doses. The mess created by such unilateral pronouncements is best brought out in the case of GM food. In this case while the US Food and Drug Administration finds nothing harmful in its consumption, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine argues physicians to issue health warnings on its use while the World Health Organisation calls for safety assessments on a product by product basis.
While too many such warnings leave the consumer confused, crying wolf too often also ensures that there will be little vigilance when a real threat emerges. In many cases recurring warnings have an impact opposite to what is intended. Consumers habitually forewarned about intake of red meat, oil laced snacks, salty processed food, pesticide laden vegetables and fruits, alcohol, tobacco and soft drugs slowly develop immunity against alarmist views, consuming more of these very products with added gusto.