WATER SAFETY-A SYSTEM FAILURE!

Access to safe water is one of the fundamental rights of a citizen living in a civilized world. Drinking water sources are often contaminated and it is the legal responsibility of the civic bodies administering an habitat to clean up the water before distribution through fool proof delivery system. While in India protected water supply is a joke, as none exists qualifying for such a description, spawning a multi crore bottled water industry at the expense of the hapless citizen. One would have thought that in a rich country like the US, the citizens should be much better off than their counterparts in developing countries. It is not so is borne out by the recent revelations about the situation prevalent in that country.

"That law requires communities to deliver safe tap water to local residents. But since 2004, the water provided to more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic or radioactive substances like uranium, as well as dangerous bacteria often found in sewage. Regulators were informed of each of those violations as they occurred. But regulatory records show that fewer than 6 percent of the water systems that broke the law were ever fined or punished by state or federal officials, including those at the Environmental Protection Agency, which has ultimate responsibility for enforcing standards. Studies indicate that drinking water contaminants are linked to millions of instances of illness within the United States each year".

It is true that the water supply system in the US is so gigantic that it covers 54700 schemes across the nation under the control of local authorities with safety monitoring being the responsibility of the federal agencies. But water being a causative factor in millions of illnesses every year it is scandalous to see such a situation existing for years and being a rich country financial resources might not be the constraint for overcome the grim reality. Probably, with such a dismal record of the local execution authorities, the BPO model may have to come to the rescue of water management in the US in the coming years! Is India ready? With a dismal record to boast of in the domestic scene, India does not have any credibility to offer such services in designing and implementing safe water projects at international level.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT-FOCUS ON CONSOLIDATION

Food safety concerns are exercising the minds of the consumers, industry and the national governments all over the world. The fact that safety management is not effective is borne out by the spate of food poisoning and costly recalls of suspected products from the market during the last 2-3 years. It is true that there are well laid down guidelines under the GMP and HACCP protocols as to how foods are to be handled for avoiding food contamination and ensure their safety to the consumers. Unfortunately most of the food industry do not follow these practices in spite of their proven benefits. If voluntary efforts do not yield results, it is time governments step in to protect the consumers through mandatory action.

Even a country like the US is vulnerable to management failure when it comes to ensuring safety to the consumers from food contamination, reflects the magnitude of the problem and suggestions are made from time to time for addressing these concerns. "A single agency that handles food safety in America would probably have a better chance of addressing nationwide cases of food-borne illness, such as the hundreds of cases of salmonella poisoning resulting from contamination at a peanut factory in Georgia earlier this year. That's especially true if that agency didn't have to rely on corporations to voluntarily recall unsafe food products. We've long advocated for the consolidation of the food safety system under a single government agency, creation of a national food-tracking system, and the granting of authority to federal agencies to recall food products".

In a country like India effective consumer protection measures just do not exist with several agencies involved with practically no coordination. Added to this no reliable recording and reporting system exists to understand the seriousness of food borne illnesses caused by consumption of unsafe raw as well as processed foods. With the food portfolio coming under the State government jurisdiction, there is precious little GOI can do in this regard. It is time that a national approach is considered for monitoring and enforcing food safety uniformly across the country, rather than leaving it to the States, most of which seem to have other priorities.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com