DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

Model food safety panchayat tag for three civic bodies soon

KOCHI: The food safety department of Ernakulamhas plans to develop three grama panchayats in the district into model food safety panchayats by the end of the month. The three panchayats - Nayarambalam, Chengamanad and Avoly - were selected by the food safety department, Ernakulam.

Seminars and awareness classes will be held extensively this month for the public, food vendors and hoteliers towards achieving the goal.

"The project is being carried out as a three-fold programme. In the first stage, we will give awareness to the community at different levels - initially to food business operators. Then we move on to the educational institutions, which will include colleges, schools and anganwadis, wherein both the working staff and the students will be given guidelines on healthy eating," said assistant food safety commissioner, Ernakulam, Shibu K V said.

Other local bodies functioning in the area including Kudumbashree, resident associations and other clubs will also be included in the purview of the awareness campaign. Around 14 food safety officers along with local primary health care doctors have been deployed in the area for the same.

"Important sources of drinking water in the area are also surveyed as part of the project. Food samples are also being collected from shops that are suspected of storing stale items," Shibu added.

The initiative, which is being done as a pilot project, will be extended to every other panchayat in the district after the evaluation of the results of the drive. "If the initiative is found to be effective after assessing the evaluation report, the project will be extended to other panchayats so as to cover all rural areas in the city," Shibu said.

Dealing with food and faith

 

New Delhi: Faith and reason seldom go together. While the latter remains open to debate, the former is too sacred to be touched. And the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is soon going to get a taste of it. The country's apex food regulatory body plans to implement the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) to ensure quality of food in places of worship. But the idea that something sacred needs to ascribe to external standards of purity is likely to make the implementation of FSMS a bumpy ride. 

 FSSAI stumbled upon one such bump in the last week of January, when the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), managing trust of Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, refused to allow the state's food safety officers to inspect the temple kitchen. In August 2016, FSSAI asked the state's food safety commissioner to take appropriate action on a complaint about unhygienic and unsafe practices during the preparation of prasad (edible religious offering) in the temple. Bengaluru-based RTI activist T Narasimha Murthy, who had filed the complaint, told Down To Earth (DTE): "Cooks who prepare laddoos in the Tirupati temple kitchen do not wear gloves, aprons or caps." Media reports have in the past highlighted nuts, bolts and key chains being found in Tirupati temple laddoo, which has a Geographical Index tag indicating its uniqueness. 

 But TTD is adamant. In its response to the complaint, TTD says the laddoo is a sacred item and not food. It further says the prasad of Hindu temples is prepared as per customs and any intervention will potentially demean the feelings of Hindu pilgrims all over India. Since prasad is distributed at subsidised prices to pilgrims, it cannot be termed as goods for sale. 

TTD's arguments run contrary to the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, which says laddoo is a food item and TTD is a food business operator (FBO). In its letter to the state's food safety commissioner, FSSAI had written that the Act is applicable on all food items, whether purchased or distributed for free. TTD, therefore, must obtain a licence and fulfil the responsibilities of an FBO as stipulated in the Act, and comply with its rules and regulations. "But executive officer of TTD refused to apply for the licence, saying TTD does not come under FSSAI's purview," says Vishwanath Reddy, assistant food controller in Andhra Pradesh. TTD did not respond to DTE's emails till the story went to press. 

A humongous task 

The unsuccessful attempt by Andhra Pradesh food safety officers to inspect Tirupati kitchen indicates the huge hurdles FSSAI is likely to face while implementing FSMS. According to the 2011 Census, India has more than 3 million places of worship, which are visited by millions every day. The Tirupati temple alone is visited by over 50,000 devotees a day. In the absence of any guidelines, food is often prepared and handled with bare hands. Food handlers, at most places, are seldom tested for infectious diseases. Many devotees have fallen ill in the past due to unsafe and unhygienic food practices at places of worship. 

 In April 2014, around 350 people fell sick after drinking panakam (jaggery-based drink) offered as prasad at Sri Kodandarama Swamy temple at Damarcherla in Telangana's Nalgonda district. In 2013, two people died and 50 showed symptoms of food poisoning after consuming panakam and buttermilk at Bengaluru's Sri Muthu Mariamma temple. 

Slow but steady acceptance 

FSMS ensures that food safety hazards and unsafe conditions at places of worship are minimised, says Prabodh Halde, president of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India), Mumbai chapter, which has designed the system for FSSAI. "Under the system, raw material for prasad are standardised and tested for contamination. We have put safety norms in place and trained food handlers and those who prepare the prasad in good manufacturing practices," says Halde. 

The association first implemented FSMS in January 2016 at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple, which is also visited by 50,000 people a day. "Prasad hygiene and awareness about food safety among the workers improved within four months," states FSSAI, which has vetted the pilot project before adopting it for pan-India implementation. 

 Though implementation of FSMS is not mandatory, several places of worship have volunteered to follow the system. One such is Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district. Over 25,000 devotees throng the temple for prasad every day. 

 In September, FSSAI conducted a workshop on the implementation of FSMS. It was attended by 14 institutions, including the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Tamil Nadu government that manages temples in the state. It has shown interest in implementing FSMS in 20 of its temples. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), responsible for the management of gurdwaras, has also welcomed the move, notwithstanding caveats. "If they have valid suggestions, we are amenable to them. Otherwise, it is a matter of faith. Nobody can tell us how to prepare prasad," says Harcharan Singh, chief secretary of SGPC. 

Pawan Agarwal, FSSAI's chief executive officer, says their intention is not to question any faith but to reassure visitors about food safety. "This is a win-win situation. I am sure neither Tirupati nor gurdwaras want anyone to fall sick," he says. FSSAI has asked state food safety commissioners to identify five places of worship where FSMS can be implemented. The move can also come to the rescue of thousands of urban poor who do not have access to nutrition and depend on prasad for food. 

KAKE DA HOTEL UNDER FOOD SAFETY DEPT SCANNER

The Department of Food Safety has taken action against a restaurant at the central hub of the national Capital, Connaught Place. The department after taking sample of the food from the restaurant last month has not given “clean chit” to it.

“After a video went viral on social media showing a man allegedly kneading the dough with his feet on the terrace of Kake Da Hotel at Connaught Place, the Department of Food Safety, Delhi lifted the food samples of Kake Da Hotel on February 22 and as per the report of the Food Analyst, the sample of ‘Chutney’ was found substandard,” Deputy Commissioner of Food Safety Pawan Kamra said in a statement. He also mentioned that “necessary action” has been taken against the hotel.

“Necessary action as per the provisions of Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 is being taken against Kake Da Hotel by the department,” he added.

Tripura stops fish import from Bangladesh after formaldehyde scare

Agartala: After traces of formalin were found in fish imported from Bangladesh, the Tripura government has banned imports from that country through its seven Land Customs Stations (LCSs), a minister said here on Friday.

Health and Revenue Minister Badal Choudhury said the preservative -- formalin or formaldehyde, mixed with water and used for preservation of biological specimens -- was found in fish imported from Bangladesh. It is dangerous for human consumption.

"Health officials have been asked to take stringent legal action against those using formalin and other illegal preservatives.

"The government has asked customs and other authorities to prevent the import of fish from Bangladesh through the seven LCSs, except the Agartala-Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP)," Choudhury told IANS.

The seven LCSs are in Agartala, Srimantapur, Khowaighat (western Tripura), Kamalpur, Old Raghnabazar (northern Tripura), Belonia and Sabroom (in southern Tripura).

Agartala-Akhaura ICP is the second-largest trading point along the India-Bangladesh border after Petrapole-Benapole land border in West Bengal.

"Since no adequate infrastructure and manpower is present at the seven LCSs, import of fish through these border points would be risky," he said.

Choudhary said that following media reports, Health Department officials had collected 40 fish samples from Agartala, out of which formalin was found in 11.

Of these 11 samples, five were collected from two main fish markets of Agartala and six from fish imported from Bangladesh," Choudhury said.

Formalin, a poisonous and anti-decomposition chemical agent, is used as an antiseptic, disinfectant and preservative in various items.

The minister said food safety officers are collecting samples randomly from markets and getting them tested at laboratories.

Under the Food Safety Security Act and Rules, 2011, anyone found guilty faces a penalty of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, or imprisonment, or both.

An official of the Industries and Commerce Department said that, on average, 25,644 kg of fish are imported daily from Bangladesh and 26,180 kg bought from outside the state, including from Andhra Pradesh.

"These fish imported from Bangladesh and brought from other states are being sold in Tripura markets without any lab tests," the official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, making up for 85 percent of the state's 856-km international border.

However, there are no LCSs or border fencing in many areas on the India-Bangladesh border along the northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) due to which informal trade and smuggling flourishes.

"Informal trade leads to supply of imported fish which are a health hazard," said Dr Chandan Sarkar, working at the government-run GB Panth Hospital.