Oct 26, 2015

TAMIL MURASU NEWS


DINAMALAR NEWS


FSSAI to seek Maggi reports from laboratories

Gujarat and Karnataka may have announced lifting of ban on Maggi, but its manufacturer Nestle India will have to wait for some more time before it could make plans to sell the instant noodles across the country.
Refusing to believe the claim of the Nestle India that all its samples have passed the safety parameter test from the labs, the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to ask the labs to share the reports with it.
A senior official in the top food regulator said that the authority cannot go by the claims of the Nestle that its products are safe. “We are yet to get the report. While Nestle has not shared the report with us, which they should have, we are writing to the three labs to send the results of the sample test. Our next course of action will depend on the lab report outcome,” the official said.
He further said that the FSSAI, an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry will give clean chit to the company only after it is satisfied with the results.
In June this year, the food regulator had ordered Maggi to be recalled after tests in some laboratories had shown lead levels above the permissible limit.
Nestle India challenged the ban in the Bombay High Court. In August, the court asked the company to get the samples tested at specified laboratories. Last week, the Nestle India claimed that “we have received test results from all three laboratories mandated by the Bombay High Court to test Maggi noodles samples. All the 90 samples, covering 6 variants, tested by these laboratories are clear with lead much below the permissible limits.”
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has announced its decision to challenge the lifting of the ban. The Uttarakhand Government too is not in a hurry to lift the ban on production and sale of Maggi noodles with the State officials saying that they were seeking legal advise in the matter. A case is pending in the Uttarakhand High Court at Nanital pertaining to the Maggi noodles. The next hearing is on November 3.
Nestle’s largest manufacturing facility for Maggi in India is located at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

Rani juice safe, says JK Govt

Srinagar, Oct 25 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday said that famous beverage product, Rani Juice, was safe for human consumption.
Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Kashmir, A. R War in an official communication said that the Rani juice conforms to the parameters prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Regulation 2011.
The director said that earlier the public at large was advised to refrain from consuming Batch 05 (240ml) of Rani Juice initially for a period of 15 days. He informed that it has come to notice that Drug and Food Control Organisation, Kashmir and Jammu Province had taken various samples of Rani juice for analysis and as per the report FSSA/Legal/5219, FSSA/Legal 5220, FSSA/Legal5221 dated 15,10,2015 of the Food Analyst , Kashmir Province NO FSSA/J/860, dated 15-10-2015 of Food Analyst, Jammu Province, the Rani juice confirms to the parameters prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products and Food Addivities) Regulation 2011. Earlier the directions from the government had come after a Srinagar resident, Yaseer Ahmad complained to CAPD against the product.
Meanwhile Srinagar based Pan-India, importer of Rani Juice and Managing Director, IY Impex Company, Imtiyaz Bhat claimed that the beverage product, Rani Juice, has maintained high standards of the production from the day one.
“We are dealing with Rani Juice since three years now. In beverage we are maintaining number one position in imported section across India in terms of volume and quality. It has been only possible because of our international standard qualities,” Bhat said. “This has earned us as one of the resected beverage companies in India. We have never been penalised for any wrong act or disservice to people,” Bhat said. “The particular batch of our product had gone for testing and it has come clean. But the public is still scared,” he said.
He urged officials to maintain their ethics while dealing in such cases because as per him, the unnecessary “intervention and harassment” discourages entrepreneurs to come forward for the business.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a job starved state and people (entrepreneurs) who start their one unit need to be appreciated not harassed or discouraged,” he urged.

1 Out of 4 School Children Obese Due to Junk Food

 
CHENNAI: City doctors confirm something long suspected and worrisome. One out of four children today suffer from obesity. The number continues to increase alarmingly on a monthly basis, they claim as obesity has swept up the metropolis with fancily-wrapped snacks and sugared treats. With the increase in sales of junk food and a dip in healthy eating habits, experts suggest that Chennai is knee deep in obesity with over 26 per cent of private school children affected and 4.5 per cent corporation school students. A nation-wide statistic from 1988 had this figure at a mere two to three per cent.And obesity, they opine, can bring a host of issues to a child as young as six or seven, like low cardiovascular performance, Type 2 diabetes and even fatty liver condition which is touted to be dangerous. “Ninety per cent of kids with obesity in city have some sort of liver problem,” warns Dr Ramkumar S, Pediatric Endocrinologist. A sedentary lifestyle and the burden of their school syllabus, are the main causes for obesity points out Dr Anbezhil Subbarayan, who is also a senior Pediatric Endocrinologist. “There is no time for children to come back home and get the necessary exercise. They have so much homework and assignments. Nor is there space anywhere in an urban set-up for natural fitness. Schools must seriously start stressing on this through physical exercise classes and fitness routines,” he says.

Recently, the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) issued a draft regulation aiming to control FSS junk food rich in (Fat/Sugar/Salt) by removing them from school premises. Speaking along those lines he says, “Something must also be done about bringing healthy alternatives in school canteens instead of junk food that’s so readily available. Kids spend a significant amount of time at school, and its every school’s responsibility to ensure healthy alternatives and a yearly health screening are available,” he says.

Weaning children off junk isn’t easy, as common sense goes. From stress eating, to being habituated to consume food at odd hours, various practices pave way to obesity, or its milder form, being overweight. “Schools and parents should keep a look out for strange eating habits in their kids. Obesity caused by over-eating might sometimes be indicative of some psychological issue they’re not handling,” says Radhika Inuganti, child psychologist.

But this can only be done by early intervention, medical practitioners jointly opine. The later teen years tend to exacerbate the issue, as it can blow into complications like Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder (PCOD) in girls and chestal-flab enlargement and skin discoloration in boys, which can take a toll on their body image as well.

FSSAI move to curb junk food near schools - guidelines for wholesome food

New Delhi
The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued draft guidelines for providing wholesome and nutritious food to school children. The move is expected to help control consumption of junk food by kids.
The guidelines also lay emphasis on maintenance of sanitation and hygiene in preparation of food for schoolkids that includes storage and handling of food.
Further, the guidelines say that benefits of balanced, fresh and traditional food cannot be replaced while schools should not promote foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as children are not the best judge of their food choices.
Foods high in fat, salt and sugar such as sugar-sweetened beverages, chips, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, fried foods and confectionery items are to be restricted in schools and nearby. Also advertisement and promotion of such foods targeted at children will be regulated.
The guidelines stress on schools to have a canteen policy for ensuring availability of healthy foods.
The apex food regulatory body released the draft recently, which is available on its website. It would become regulations after receipt of final comments from the stakeholders.
Reacting to the development, Sunita Narain, director-general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in a statement, said, “We welcome the order issued by the food authority. It is important that junk food is regulated in schools. However, we are not sure why it is taking so much time to be implemented.”
It is pertinent to mention here that in March 2015, the Delhi High Court had directed FSSAI to give guidelines in the form of regulations or directions within a period of three months to enforce their implementation across the country.
FSSAI was granted an extension of three months by the court in July. “The court had emphasised on time-bound enforcement across the country and had put immense faith in FSSAI,” added Narain.
These guidelines, developed by an FSSAI-constituted expert committee, provide a scientific background on how consumption of junk foods high in fat, salt and sugar is linked with growing incidence of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension among children. The key principles on which the guidelines were based include ‘benefits of balanced, fresh and traditional food cannot be replaced, ‘schools are not the right places for promoting foods high in fat, salt and sugar’ and ‘children are not the best judge of their food choices,’according to Narain.
Guidelines
• Most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar such as chips, fried foods, sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages, sugar-sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato fries and confectionery items should be restricted in schools and 50 m nearby.
• Advertisement and promotion of such foods targeted at children is to be regulated through a framework that includes all types of media, celebrity endorsements and promotional activities. The guidelines note that the issue has been referred to ministry of information and broadcasting.
• A canteen policy should be implemented based on colour-coding. Green category foods - the healthy food options - should constitute about 80 per cent of available foods. Red category of select most common junk foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar should not be sold or served in schools. Suggested, healthy menu options should include fruit salad, fruits, paneer / vegetable cutlets, khandvi, poha, uthapam, upma, idlis and kathi rolls, low-fat milk shakes with seasonal fruits and no added sugar, fresh fruit juice and smoothies with fruits, fresh lime soda, badam milk, lassi, etc.
• FSSAI should fix limits of unhealthy ingredients such as trans fats to 5 per cent at the earliest. The guidelines note that FSSAI has already issued a notification in this regard.
• Schools should promote nutrition education and awareness for children. A well-structured curriculum on balanced diet and its health impacts should be introduced.
• Labelling regulations must be strengthened by FSSAI to enable complete and transparent information on the amount of fat, salt and sugar with reference to recommended daily allowed limits. The guidelines note that FSSAI is looking into this.