Government takes 'serious' note of Maggi issue; FSSAI to examine

Last month, the UP Food Safety and Drug Administration had asked Nestle India to withdraw a batch of Maggi noodles "which were manufactured in February 2014" after it found high levels of added MSG, a taste enhancer, in the noodles and lead beyond permissible limits.

Taking a "serious" note of quality issues related to global giant Nestle's famous noodle brand Maggi, the government has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to look into the matter.

Besides, a class action suit can be initiated into the matter if a complaint with National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) is filed, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Last month, the UP Food Safety and Drug Administration had asked Nestle India to withdraw a batch of Maggi noodles "which were manufactured in February 2014" after it found high levels of added MSG, a taste enhancer, in the noodles and lead beyond permissible limits.

Disputing the claim, Nestle India had said: "The company does not agree with the order and is filing the requisite representations with the authorities."

"It is a serious issue. We have referred the matter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Under the current law, FSSAI has the power to take action, including imposing fine and hefty punishment," Paswan told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

There are different authorities to handle different complaints related to different consumer items, FSSAI under the Health Ministry handles food related issues, he added.

Besides FSSAI, the Consumer Affairs Ministry has also asked the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to take action against FMCG major Nestle India on the Maggi issue.

"It is a serious issue (but) the Commission has limited powers. It cannot take suo moto action. It can file class- action suit only after someone files complaint against the company," Paswan said.

NCDRC President Justice D K Jain said till now no one has filed a complaint against Nestle related to Maggi.

Till now, no one has filed any complaint. Somebody has to approach us so that we take class action suit. NCDRC does not have jurisdiction to take suo moto action," he said.

Jain further said: "There is a provision for class action. NCDRC is ready to take action after an NGO or any consumer body files a formal complaint.

Maggi issue to be tackled by three Government agencies

NEW DELHI, MAY 29: 

The storm surrounding Nestle’s Maggi noodles containing high levels of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer, is likely to be tackled at least by three Government agencies, said Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Officials from the Uttar Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had on April 30 asked the Swiss company to recall one batch containing 200,000 packets of the popular noodles that was produced in February 2014. After it found 17.20 parts per million (ppm) of lead against the 2.5 ppm norm for food items and elevated levels of artificially added MSG.

“We have received complaints regarding Maggi and have referred them to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to look into the matter,” said Paswan, on the sidelines of an event.

“The Consumer Affairs Ministry, Health Ministry and FSSAI will proceed in a coordinated manner to address the issue,” he added.

Meanwhile, actor Madhuri Dixit was served a notice by the Uttarakhand FDA for endorsing the “2-minute noodles” brand. The 48-year-old actor has been asked to respond within 15 days to an advertisement which highlighted Maggi’s nutritional value.

A Food Security Officer of the Haridwar FDA stated that a case could be registered against Dixit if she failed to respond to the notice within the stipulated time-period.

Maggi episode: UP to file court case against Nestle India

UP FDA had picked up in Barabanki a batch of Maggi contaminated with lead and monosodium glutamate

Uttarpradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon file a court case against Nestle India over detection of high lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in a batch of Maggi.

Since, the 'contaminated' batch of Maggi was picked up byFDA from Barabanki, about 25 km from the state capital here, the case would also be filed in a district court there.

"We have forwarded the recommendation to our designated district officer to file the case against Nestle India," UP FDA Additional Commissioner (Administration) Ram Araj Maurya told Business Standard today.

Barabanki FDA designated officer V K Pandey confirmed they had completed all the preliminary homework to present a foolproof case before the court.

Meanwhile, the FDA continues to collect random samples of Maggi for checking across UP. So far, about a dozen samples had been collected in Lucknow and sent to the laboratory for checking to ascertain if these batches were 'clean'.

"The lab report of three such Maggi samples has come and they have tested negative, while the report of the remaining samples is awaited," Maurya informed.

There are six FDA labs in UP at Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Varanasi, Agra and Jhansi. Besides, the FDA has been randomly checking samples of other food items sold in UP.

"We have not initiated any special drive, but in the routine nature of our job, we have been conducting frequent checks to collect food," he added.

During a similar check, the Maggi samples collected by FDA in Barabanki, were found containing MSG beyond the permissible level.

However, Nestle contested the findings. Later, the samples were sent to the central lab in Kolkata, which not only reaffirmed the findings of the UP lab about MSG, but also detected lead in the Maggi noodles.

Later, Nestle India was asked to recall the batch.

Maggi controversy shows Indian consumers are taken for granted

Senior associate editor Ajita ShashidharIndia, with a population of 1.2 billion, is one of the world's largest consumption economy, where every global consumer products company wants to have a share of the consumption pie. Unfortunately, this is also a market which allows brands to take their consumers for granted due to lack of proper regulations.

Maggi Noodles has been facing the brunt of consumer wrath due to high contents of MSG and lead. The brand is being bashed and abused on social media. Nestle, which earns over 50% of its revenue from Maggi , has even called back the product.

But one can't really take Nestle to court as there is no regulation which states the permissible levels of MSG and lead that can be used in a product in India. One can also now argue why Nestle couldn't adhere to the global norms in India.

The Maggi controversy is not the first of its kind. Almost a decade ago, there was a furore over worms being found in Cadbury chocolates. The company had said that since most stores in India didn't have refrigeration facilities, it affected the product.

The company then came up with packaging which would keep the freshness of the product intact even if there was no refrigeration. However, it is a known fact that chocolates need to be refrigerated and if cold storage is an issue in the Indian market, the question to be asked is: Why did Cadbury have to wait for the worm controversy to change its packaging?

Even when the pesticide crisis hit the cola companies in early 2000 and wiped off their growth for over two years, the companies couldn't be blamed of violating norms as there was nothing to prove that the cola companies had violated norms. In fact, there was no norm in place. The level of contamination in our ground water is so high that any beverage using that water is bound to have pesticide contents.

The pesticide crisis had, in fact, raised the question of the existence of the cola majors in the country. Their growth in the country was virtually wiped out for close to three years. Both the companies had consciously stayed away from promoting their cola beverages and began to push their fruit-based drinks. PepsiCo began to position itself as a food and beverages company and not a beverage-only company.

When controversy hit them, Nestle, the cola majors and Cadbury did respond at once by improving their offerings, but in all the cases it came as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, sales of Maggi Noodles have dipped, though not wiped out. Kirana store owners in Mumbai say that die-hard Maggi loyalists are trying out other brands such as Sunfeast or Top Ramen. "Many of them are switching to other variants of Maggi such as Maggi Atta and Maggi Oats," points out the marketing head of a modern retail chain.

Raghu Vishwanath, MD of brand valuation company, Vertebrand, says that Nestle should actually use this crisis as an opportunity to look at further developing the product. "They should come up with a new variant that is completely devoid of MSG and lead," he says.

While a dip in sales at least in the short-term is inevitable, marketing gurus are confident that Maggi would bounce back in the long-term. If the cola brands could bounce back, there is no reason why Maggi won't. "For the kind of equity the brand has built, the consumers will forgive them," says Vishwanath.

However, there are certain things that the company should do at once in order to make sure that the consumer sentiment doesn't turn against them, says Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults. "They must publish a white-paper in consumer interest. This white-paper must be open and frank and must pack brand and product transparency in its submission to the public at large. This will enhance the image of nestle in India for sure," he says.

Tests on Delhi eateries show high level of faecal matter in street food

The study by Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Pusa, shows extremely high volume of E. coli bacteria, which can cause severe infections, in these snacks

NEW DELHI: If you were so far unable to fight the urge of digging into spicy water-filled crispy golgappas or steaming momos, here's a very strong - and shocking - reason: the latest study has found high faecal contamination in such fast food and junk food items, especially in several west and central Delhi localities.

Underlining that street food and hygiene have always been strange bedfellows, the study by Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Pusa, shows extremely high volume of E. coli bacteria, which can cause severe infections, in these snacks.

Taking note of the report, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has written to Delhi's food safety commissioner to check the quality of street food items.

"We conducted the study to analyse the microbial load in Delhi's street food. It was done with a survey of commonly consumed street food by 100 individuals," said Dr Arpita Sharma of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition.

"We chose five locations in West Delhi, where daily sales were the maximum, for collecting samples. For microbial analysis, five street and five franchisee food products were taken from the most popular shops. We collected food samples (samosa, golgappa, burger and momos) twice from the street shops and franchisee outlets at a one-month interval," she said, adding that the samples were drawn from west and central Delhi. Also read: Milk and oil used by street vendors under govt scanner

To the surprise of scientists, even samples from posh areas like Connaught Place were found infected with bacteria. Other famous markets from where samples were lifted are Rajouri Garden main market, Rajendra Place and Subash Nagar.

The normal Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliform bacteria is 50 or less as per the Central Pollution Control Board, but it was found to be over 2,400 in the samples of branded burger, vegetarian and non-vegeterian momos and other food items.

The bacterial pathogens commonly found in street eateries are Bacillus cereus (causes vomiting and diarrhoea), Clostridium perfringens (abdominal cramps and diarrhoea), Staphylococcus aureus (vomiting, appetite loss, abdominal cramps and mild fever) and Salmonella species (typhoid, food poisoning, irritation and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract).

"This is a matter of great concern. I would never eat street food after reading this report," said Dr Shobha Broor, microbiologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). "The report literally means that whatever we eat, we are ingesting faeces."

The presence of coliform in the samples indicates the absence of clean water as well as unhygienic conditions at the place where the food was prepared. "E. coli ends up in food through faecal matter. The source could be contaminated water. At most of the street vendors, or even branded outlets, the quality of water and handling of food lack supervision," the report states.

Other experts Mail Today spoke to also confirmed that the study's findings were worrisome. Dr Manoj Singh, professor at department of pathology, AIIMS, said: "E. coli can cause many diseases, like typhoid and cholera. Street food handlers should be trained for maintaining health and hygiene."

Dr Sharma said: "A positive coliform test in golgappa water is a direct indication of faecal contamination. There was high bacteria count in burgers, momos and samosas too . In burgers and momos, the vendors use raw vegetables that increase chances of cross-contamination of various disease-causing bacteria.

Contamination

As far as samosas are concerned, potatoes and spices get contaminated due to unhygienic food handling practices. Bacterial and fungus contamination depend on weather too. In summers and rains, bacteria and fungi get conducive environment to circulate freely."

In India, the Food Safety & Standards Act of 2006 covers food items and regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import for safe human consumption. According to the Act, any person who manufactures or processes any food item in unhygienic or unsanitary conditions shall be liable to a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh. Harmful food which may cause death can also get the seller imprisoned.

"We frequently check the quality of food items. I need to see the complaint and the concern expressed by FSSAI. Then we will lift samples from the said areas and test these in our laboratories. If the shops are found guilty, proper penal action will be taken against them," said B.P. Mishra, administrative officer with the department of food safety, Delhi government.

"As for street vendors, we are streamlining the community. We have made it mandatory for them to register with the government so that we know who is operating where. We are also arranging training programmes for them and providing them with safe drinking water," he added.

No standard method to find 'added MSG' in food products: Food scientists

Food scientists in the country are questioning the credibility of testing food products to find 'added Monosodium Glutamate' (MSG) and authenticity of such recent claims by food safety authorities in light of the recent case of Maggi noodles.

In a serious blow to the food safety authorities of the country, which claim to have detected 'added MSG' in some products and in a mission mode to find more, food technologists underlined that there is no standard method to differentiate between 'added MSG' and the naturally occurring glutamate in any food product, though the high content of lead found in the sample is a serious concern. In fact, there is no regulation to control the naturally occurring MSG in a food product. 

In the above-mentioned recent case, Uttar Pradesh Food Safety & Drugs Administration (UP FSDA) had detected presence of MSG and lead in samples of Maggi noodles beyond permissible limits.

Apart from triggering nationwide testings by respective FDAs and FDCAs, the case has brought into focus the issue of 'added MSG.’ However, experts feel that the issue will die down soon, as there is no way to find ‘added MSG’ nor are there any regulations in place to control it. Further, Maggi noodles, manufactured by Nestle, do have ingredients such as hydrolysed vegetable protein, that can produce glutamate naturally. Also scientists and technologists have acknowledged that it is a smart strategy adopted by Nestle to have MSG in its products, while claiming “no added MSG.” 

Harshdeep Kamble, FDA commissioner of Maharashtra, acknowledged the fact that there is no scientific method to differentiate between 'added MSG' and naturally occurred one in a recent meeting of scientific community. He stated, “We need and will to work together with scientists and technologists to develop any such laboratory technique or method for further regulations and implementation which would definitely help in transparency.”

Meanwhile, Sanjeev Sharma, a food technologist and owner of Food Pathshala (an online food safety portal), said, “There is no standard method, at least in India, to detect 'added MSG' in any food product because the glutamate in MSG is chemically indistinguishable from glutamate present in food proteins. MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolysed vegetable protein, autolysed yeast, hydrolysed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate, as well as in tomatoes and cheeses. And there is no regulation by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to control the naturally occurring glutamate.”

Himanshu Manglik, spokesperson, Nestle India, explained, “We do not add MSG to our Maggi noodles sold in India and this is stated on the concerned product. However, we use hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour to make Maggi noodles sold in India, which contain glutamate. We believe that the authorities’ tests may have detected glutamate, which occurs naturally in many foods. We have in place strict food safety and quality controls at our Maggi factories, including thorough quality checks at each stage of our raw material sourcing and manufacturing process.” 

The only regulation on MSG by FSSAI read, “Every advertisement for and/or a package of food containing added Monosodium Glutamate shall carry the following declaration, namely, This package of (name of the food contains added) Monosodium Glutamate.” In fact, US FDA has a regulation which reads, “foods with any ingredient that naturally contains MSG cannot claim “No MSG” or “No added MSG” on their packaging,” which controls the naturally occurring MSG in food products. But no such regulations are present in the FSSAI norms. 

Nilesh Lele, secretary, Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFSTI), said, “We are not standing with food safety authorities or the manufacturers of the brand in this issue of MSG, in fact, high level of lead found in the sample is the real issue. We need to find a proper solution by developing a scientific method to detect 'added MSG' and should also have the right regulations to control any food safety violations. In the same time no regulations should be misused, which could be counter-productive. In case of Maggi noodles, it has already affected the sales and image of the brand.”

Maggi, Lead and Ajinomoto

"My job is to protect the health of US citizens and we will not allow sale of any food or drug item that compromises on the quality standards we prescribe whether it be from India or any other country," Michael R. Taylor, the US Food and Drug Administration(USFDA)'s Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine told Business Today in March after inspecting many food processing companies in India.

Can India's food regulator YS Malik, CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), say this with the same confidence of Taylor?

It is interesting to probe this in the wake of the 'Maggi controversy'.

Reportedly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Uttar Pradesh government says its sample-testing recently revealed that Swiss multinational Nestle's Indian arm Nestle India's flagship brand 'Maggi' noodles contained more than the 'permissible' amounts of lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Nestle claims it has not done anything against the laws prescribed by the Indian authorities.

For many, it is hard to believe Nestle-which has enough resources for ensuring the best quality for its products and services-will compromise on such a sensitive food item, its main revenue earner in India and a product consumed mostly by millions of children. For many anti-multinationals, especially on social media, it is another glaring example of how multinationals make huge profits, while compromising on the health of our people and rules of the land. 

In 2004, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) had published an article saying India's Ayurvedic herbal medicine product (HMPs) contained high levels of lead, mercury, and arsenic, all harmful to health. Following this, many drug regulators banned Indian Ayurvedic products, despite the fact that India's Ayurveda is over 5,000 years old and our forefathers knew the science to turn even toxic metals into medicines.

Here the story and issue is different. Nestle confidently says there are no stated levels of MSG in India and since it does not add any artificial glutamate in Maggi, it is not bound to mention the chemical on the packets. 

MSG is a popular taste enhancer, especially in Chinese, Korean and Japanese foods. It is popularly known in India for a Japanese company's brand, Ajinomoto. Nestle says the contamination could be due to presence of MSG naturally in many foods, like tomatoes, parmesan, potatoes, mushrooms and other vegetables and fruits.

But Nestle may not be able to sell Maggi in the US like the way they sell it in India.

"The Food and Drug Administration (US) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that's 'generally recognised as safe,' but its use remains controversial. For this reason, when MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that it be listed on the label", says a Mayo clinic (one of the world's best cancer and disease research centre in the US) note on MSG. The adverse reactions to foods containing MSG, known as 'MSG symptom complex', include headache, flushing, sweating, facial pressure or tightness, numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, weakness etc. However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms, says the Mayo note.

Then how does Nestle confidently say there are no 'stated levels of MSG in India'?

Here is the key. Malik's FSSAI approved the 'Standards for Food Additives in Foods' following its meeting on January 16, 2015, among many other food standards like that for milk and milk products. But these are yet to be framed as rules since further discussions and amendments to the Act are required. The regulator had issued guidelines in 2011 including the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 and the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) 2011. India formulated the rules for food only in 2006 with the Food Safety and Standards Act, which consolidates various acts and orders, governed by various ministries and departments. FSSAI's job is to lay down science based standards for food and to regulate the sector. 

"FSSAI is continuously striving to expand and update the food standards. However, as you are all aware, setting of science-based standards for food articles is a time-consuming and continuous process", says Malik in a recent internal newsletter.

Taylor's confidence stems from the fact that the US FDA is a huge organisation, employing over 8,000 people at least with well-defined rules, technology and systems developed and enacted over so many decades. As against this, the toddler FSSAI has a handful of employees spread over its head office and eight regional offices. It is up to the states to enforce regulations in the sector. Regular surveillance, monitoring and sampling of food products is being undertaken by states.

In some states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, food and drug is under one department. In other states, it comes under the health department or under food and civil supplies or under some other ministry and officials. In almost all states, the ground realities are the same as in the past, despite a central regulator and rules in place. Manpower is a big issue in most states. And their task is also herculean. Till February, FSSAI granted 18,736 central licenses, states and the union territories granted 5,50,808 licenses. There is also a registered base of 23,73,484 Food Business Operators (FBOs) in the food sector. It is practically impossible to collect samples and monitor all these units on a regular basis, even with thousands of officials.

Our testing facilities infrastructure is also pathetic. There are only 166 approved labs, including 72 in public sector, that are capable of testing samples collected from the near 24 lakh FBOs. Of this, the NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) labs are less than 90 and there are some 12 referral labs of repute. But their workload is huge.

The Central food Lab in Kolkata caters to six states. The CFTRI Mysore covers seven states and union territories. The State Public Health Lab, Pune, caters to ten states and UTs, the Food Research and Standardization Laboratory in Ghaziabad also caters to seven states and UTs. Capability wise, the four labs under the Spices Board can take care of spices, the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) in Bangalore is probably the only, and the best competent lab, to test pesticide residue in fresh and processed food. Pesticide residue, heavy metals, microbial contamination, food additives etc can be tested at Indian Institute of Vegetable Research at Varanasi. Milk and milk products have to go to Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock Food (CALF) in Anand, Gujarat. Similarly, IICT Hyderabad can only authentically test fat and oils. So, a sample collected today may be tested after many years!

No wonder YS Malik says we have to go miles, while Michael R. Taylor says 'we will not allow selling sub-standard food products'.

FSDA continues raids on noodle brand

LUCKNOW: The Food Safety and Drug Administration on Thursday informed that it will continue to conduct raids throughout the state to ensure no contaminated sample of the Maggi brand of instant noodles is left in the market.

Commissioner FSDA P K Singh said a general surveillance in this regard would be carried out by the department throughout the state and added that some more samples have been taken from Lucknow and Agra. Singh said, "There is demand to take legal action against the company and in a week's time, there should be a decision."

Recently, the FSDA of Uttar Pradesh had confirmed presence of lead and mono sodium glutamate (MSG) beyond permissible limit in samples of Maggi, seized from a store in Barabanki. Since then, three state governments - Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka - have said they will test samples too. Centre has said Food Safety & Standards Authority of India will look into the matter.

High level of lead in food is known to be harmful, MSG is a flavour enhancer commonly added to Chinese food. To most Indians, it is known as Ajinomoto, because of the Japanese company of the same name that has been manufacturing it for over 100 years.

'மேகி' பாக்கெட்டுகள் பரிசோதனை:உணவு பாதுகாப்பு ஆணையம் உத்தரவு

லக்னோ:நாடு முழுவதும் விற்பனை செய்யப்படும், 'மேகி நுாடுல்ஸ்' பாக்கெட்டுகளை பரிசோதனை செய்யும்படி, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு ஆணையம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.இதுகுறித்து, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து நிர்வாகத்தின் துணை ஆணையர் விஜய் பஹதுார் கூறியதாவது:குழந்தைகளின் வளர்ச்சி மற்றும் திறனுக்கு ஆபத்தை ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடிய, மோனோ சோடியம் குளூடமேட் (எம்.எஸ்.ஜி.,) எனும் அமினோ ஆசிட் ரசாயனம், மேகி நுாடுல்சில் இருப்பதாக கண்டறியப்பட்டது.

தற்போது சந்தையில் விற்கப்படும் மேகி மாதிரி பாக்கெட்டுகள் சோதனைக் காக சேகரிக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. உ.பி., மாநிலம், பாராபங்கி மாவட்டத்தில், 'மார்ச் 2014' தேதியிடப்பட்ட மேகி பாக்கெட்டில், மோனோ சோடியம் குளூடமேட் மற்றும் லெட் (ஈயம்) நிர்ணயிக்கப்பட்ட அளவை விட கூடுதலாக உள்ளது. எனவே, பாராபங்கியில் இதன் விற்பனைக்கு தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டதுடன் அவற்றை திரும்பப் பெறும்படி, 'நெஸ்லே' நிறுவனத்துக்கு உத்தரவிடப்பட்டது.மார்ச் 2014 தேதியிட்ட மேகி பாக்கெட்டுகளை தவிர மற்ற விற்பனை செய்யப்படும் மேகி பாக்கெட்டுகளின் மாதிரிகள் சேகரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. அதன் பரிசோதனை அறிக்கை இன்னும் வரவில்லை.

இந்நிலையில், நாடு முழுவதும் விற்பனை செய்யப்படும் மேகி பாக்கெட்டுகளை பரிசோதனை செய்யும்படி, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு ஆணையம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறிஉள்ளார்.

FDA raids 29 dairies, to test milk samples

PUNE: Officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raided over 29 dairies and milk processing units in Pune, Satara and Sangli and drew over 59 samples of milk during the two-day long drive that started on May 26. 

The officials also seized stock of milk cream worth Rs 4.10 lakh from two cooperative dairies operating in Sangli districts for unhygienic storage condition. The drive was simultaneously conducted in Mumbai and Thane. 

"We had formed 16 teams of food safety officials to carry out the drive in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. The aim of the surprise drive was to evaluate the quality of milk supplied in these areas, assess the current monitoring system and educate milk suppliers, distributors against milk adulteration and ensure that every supplier is registered with the FDA," said state FDA commissioner Harshadeep Kamble. 

The highest number of milk samples was drawn in Pune and two other districts Sangli and Satara.

"Of the 59 samples drawn in Pune, Satara and Sangli, the highest 22 samples are of pasteurized toned milk followed by full cream (6), loose cow milk (19), loose buffalo milk (9) and ghee (1). The samples are assortment of branded as well as loose milk sold in these districts. We have sent the samples to designated government laboratory. The test reports are expected within a week," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune division. 

A latest FDA report showed that about 24% of the 408 milk samples drawn between April 2014 and March 2015 in Pune administrative division was either unsafe or did not comply with the standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). 

FDA officials, who drew the samples to check if they were fit for consumption, found 15 samples to be unsafe while 83 failed to meet the standard criteria. The samples were taken from milk collection centres, tankers, processing units, local dairies and vendors and tested at notified public health laboratories in Pune and Mumbai. Officials have filed criminal cases against errant suppliers. 

"The units involved in milk adulteration in Mumbai's slum areas were razed during the drive. Our officials raided a unit which was involved in tampering milk packets of branded companies. The unit was located at a slum in Pathanwadi in Malad (East). Similarly, in an another action in Mumbai, the officials raided a unit in Jeetnagar area in Andheri (West), where all branded milk products were bring tampered," said a senior FDA official from Mumbai.

Shops Raided for Artificially Ripened Fruits

PUDUCHERRY:A team of sleuths of Food Safety led by Food Safety Officer Dhanraj on Thursday raided the godowns and markets here for mangoes ripened using chemicals. After raid at 24 places, they took samples for testing.

There had been complaints that calcium carbide was being used for ripening the fruits in godowns. The Food Safety team raided the godowns in GB Market, Uzhavar Sandhai. However, no stocks were found and it is suspected that the information on raids got leaked.

The raids would continue for the next two weeks.

Food Safety Deptt destroys 10 qtls of substandard milk in Srinagar

Srinagar:

A team of Food Safety Officers, headed by Assistant Commissioner Food Safety, district Srinagar intercepted, at Parimpora, various milk suppliers who supply milk to the consumers of Srinagar.

Seventeen milk samples were lifted for analytical purpose and ten quintals of substandard milk were destroyed on spot after conducting preliminary tests.

Some containers which were rusted were also destroyed. The milk suppliers were directed to ferry milk only in food grade containers otherwise action under FSSA 2006 Rules and Regulation 2011 shall be initiated against them.