Aug 30, 2016
Food officials to inspect water in college hostels
COIMBATORE: A week after 64 students of the Government Women's Polytechnic College were treated for diarrhoea at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital, the food safety department has ordered inspection of all college canteens and hostel mess. Meanwhile, the food safety department has confirmed that water contamination was the reason for illness of Government Women's Polytechnic College students.
Designated officer of the food safety department, Coimbatore, O L S Vijay told TOI that as a preventive measure, the department would carry out inspections at all college canteens and hostel mess. "We will be checking the standard of hygiene at the canteens and mess, and if anything concerning the safety of students is identified we will give them notice," said Vijay. "In case colleges do not act, we will issue an improvement notice, and colleges will have to respond within 15 days," he added.
While the food safety department will be inspecting all canteens after the incident at the Government Women's Polytechnic College, the department, as a routine, conducts random checks at two canteens, said Vijay. "We collect two samples every month, and carry out tests. At the same time, we ensure that the colleges renew their licences on time," the officer said. The maximum period given to a college to run canteens is five years.
The culture reports of the water and food samples collected from the college revealed that the water was the reason for the students' illness. This is the third time in the last five years that contamination of drinking water at the college has caused illness to the students.
"We collected two samples of drinking water- one at the college main building and another at the hostel. Both samples were found to have yeast, moulds, Escherichia Coli and coliform bacteria," said an officer of the food safety department. "The presence of Escherichia Coli and coliform bacteria are the reason for the illness. Faecal contamination and human or animal blood traces could be the reason for the presence of these bacteria," the officer added.
The food safety department also pointed out that the water samples did not have chlorine. "If the water had been chlorinated, the infection could have been prevented. There should be 2ppm (part per million) of chlorine," the officer added.
The department also found that annual maintenance works were not carried out for the water filters installed at the college building and mess. "The college authorities have been asked to replace the filters, and after that we will collect samples of water again and test them," a food safety official said.
As a result of the report confirming that the drinking water contamination was the reason for the students' illness, the food safety department has asked the college to clean and whitewash the sump. "A chlorine test kit has been provided to the college. They can test if the water supplied to the college has been chlorinated or not," the official of the food safety department said.
Absence of pesticide regulation hits food safety enforcement
The absence of prescribed limits on the use of chemical pesticides for various crops could hinder the government move to step up enforcement of food safety during the Onam festival season, experts feel.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has not prescribed the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) of many of the pesticides used on vegetables and fruits.
This, according to official sources, poses legal hurdles in cracking down on the indiscriminate use of pesticides by domestic farmers and curbing the import of pesticide-contaminated items from other States.
MRL is the legally permitted level of pesticide residue in food items. The MRL value is fixed on the basis of a rigorous evaluation. It acts as an indicator of the correct use of pesticides and ensures compliance with legal requirements for food safety.
“It is a matter of concern that the majority of pesticides that have been detected in vegetables, fruits, spices and condiments do not have MRL values,” says a senior scientist associated with pesticide safety.
“This makes a mockery of the periodic monitoring of food items for pesticide residue,” he said.
The State government conducts regular surveillance sample testing of food items and the reports are published on the official website. But in the absence of MRL values, officials are hamstrung in taking legal action.
“For example, Profenophos is a typical highly neurotoxic insecticide registered for use only in cotton. But it has been detected in chilli, chilli powder, curry leaf, coriander leaf, mint leaf, cardamom, cumin seed, fennel seed, and curry powders. The FSSAI has not fixed the MRL for this insecticide in any of these commodities, because its use is not approved in any of these crops,” says an official.
Vice Chancellor, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), P. Rajendran said the multiplicity of pesticides used for various crops posed a problem in regulation. “Fixing the MRL value for a pesticide used on a crop is a complex, time- consuming process, often taking years. To complicate matters further, pesticide manufacturers come up with new products every now and then, by changing the formulation.”
Under a special food safety drive for the forthcoming Onam festival season, the Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory under KAU is screening samples of vegetables and fruits collected from markets across the State.
Community kitchen gets food safety certification
BENGALURU: The Art of Living International Centre’s community kitchen has become one of the first mega ashram kitchens in the country to be awarded an ISO 22000 certification for maintaining high standards in food safety and cleanliness.The certification was awarded after an extensive audit of the food safety management practices at the Ashram premises.
The community kitchen dishes out about 23,000 meals on an average every day and 8.4 million meals per annum.
“Food safety is linked to the presence of food-borne hazards in food at the point of consumption. Since food safety can get compromised at any stage in the food value chain, it is essential that the hazards are identified and adequate control measures are put in place at each stage, which we have done at our premises,” said Venkatesh T V, administrator, Ved Vigyaan Maha Vidya Peeth, in a release issued on Saturday.
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