FOOD HAZARDS-FILTHY KITCHENS AND UNSAFE SERVICE

Does the "Name and shame" strategy that is in force in some country really desist the eateries from indulging in food preparation practices and service that are considered unacceptable by known safety standards? Obviously not if the experience in Australia is to be considered. According to safety authorities there almost 10% of the eateries fail the hygienic tests carried out by them raising serious concerns about the well being of the consumers. Here is take on this issue which may be of relevance to many countries like India where consumer protection situation continues to deteriorate over the years. 

"The first full release of data from the Food Authority's Name and Shame register reveals that more than 3500 of the 36,000 eateries inspected across the state failed hygiene tests.The first full release of data from the Food Authority's Name and Shame register reveals that more than 3500 of the 36,000 eateries inspected across the state failed hygiene tests. One in 10 restaurants and cafes across NSW have been fined for food safety breaches, from preparing meals in filthy kitchens to failing to control bug infestations. More than 1000 of the 8042 penalty notices issued in the past five years related to cockroach infestations, rodent activity and droppings in commercial kitchens. Unsanitary food preparation areas, dirty equipment and lack of easily accessible hand-washing facilities made up nearly half the offences. The data, obtained under freedom of information laws, also revealed that since 2008: City of Sydney Council was home to state's most hazardous kitchens with 820 fines". 

If a relatively rich country like Australia with almost 100% literacy can face such a situation what chance others with large population of illiterate citizens like India has to put in place a workable system to discipline the catering industry? The FSSAI in India is a toothless organization with a paper tiger like status and it is very apparent that neither the  quality standards nor the safety parameters set by this bureaucratic organization evoke ant fear or respect among the industry players. It is time that the safety monitoring infrastructure and testing facilities are strengthened immediately and the degree of punitive punishment is raised to instill a deterrent effect on the violators.

V.H.POTTY
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AIR LINE FOODS MORE RISKY?- NEW FINDINGS

Air travel, especially of long duration, is both tiresome and boring. In-flight music and video entertainment facilities make such travels some what tolerable while the foods served are supposed to be of mouth-watering quality. Modern Air Lines companies even offer diverse menu options to cater to different ethnic and cultural back ground of potential travelers. It is in this context that recent reports damning the safety of these foods emanating from the US are raising some alarm among travelers using US Carriers. While FDA is to be complimented for bringing to surface gross violations of hygiene and sanitary standards in kitchens where the foods are prepared for supply to the air lines. What is appalling is the response of the Carriers brushing aside these allegations lightly and probably FDA may have to take severe deterrent action against such repeat violators immediately lest the passenger confidence on airline foods is shattered. Here is a gist of the report culled out from reliable international media which provides a sad reading.

Airplane food has long been the butt of jokes for being bland, unimaginative and generally unappetizing, but now there is evidence to suggest that the meals served by airlines are not just lackluster, but they might actually make passengers sick. Inspections of airlines and outside caterers conducted by the Food and Drug Administration have revealed facilities crawling with mice, roaches and ants, and food preparation areas swarming with flies. According FDA health violation records obtained by ABC's 20/20, over the past four years, there have been more than 1,500 violations in the airline food industry. The federal agency said that 'significant' problems were found at a much higher rate than in other industry it inspects.

No one is arguing that in-flight catering is an easy job but unless some minimum safety precautions are taken health of many passengers may be adversely affected. It was not along ago that under recessionary trends, air traffic volume started declining and with fierce competition among the players to attract traffic, food was being considered as an instrument to cajole passengers to travel by air. There were even a few reports that some major air line companies were planning to upgrade their menu to offer very high quality preparations on par with 5-star restaurants. Alas that proved to be a non-starter once the air traffic became normal. All air line must understand the basic fact that passengers are not yearning for home foods while they travel but they will never compromise with products prepared in infected and infested kitchens which can put their life in danger. It is time that kitchens preparing foods for air line passengers are brought under a global safety regime and protocols that can be easily monitored by competent food safety specialists on a 24/7 basis.

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

  

ETHNIC RESTAURANTS-TENDENCY TO IGNORE SAFETY ASPECTS

Restaurants are expected to maintain certain minimum sanitary and hygienic standards that will ensure safety of their customers from health angle. Many countries have varying requirements vis-à-vis these requirements and the efficacy of monitoring and punitive measures targeted at defaulters also vary widely. In India restaurant customers are at the total mercy of the restaurant owners as the safety rules as well as their enforcement can, at best, be an apology with no teeth. Indian citizens are fortunately blessed with strong immunity through constant exposure to foods of indifferent quality being peddled by the catering sector including the street vendors. One would think that ethnic restaurants like those with Indian or Asian origin would be more careful when operating in a country like the US or in Europe. How ever recent reports point to the lax attitude of ethic restaurants in maintaining safety standards in force in these countries.

"In a study of independently owned restaurants in 14 Kansas counties, Kansas State University researchers found a significantly higher number of food safety violations in ethnic restaurants than in non-ethnic restaurants. The next step for their research is to understand the reasons for these differences and to work alongside restaurant operators to remedy the problems. Leading the study were Junehee Kwon, associate professor, and Kevin Roberts, assistant professor, both of the department of hospitality management and dietetics. They found that independently owned ethnic restaurants had significantly more violations for several food safety categories, including time and temperature control, hand washing and proper use of utensils. The independent ethnic restaurants in the study also had more inspections than their non-ethnic counterparts. Kwon said many of those repeat visits were driven by customer complaints".

Basics of sanitation and hygiene ought to be a part of the social and cultural features of a society which can be inculcated at young age through schools and parental intervention. This aspect is grossly neglected in a country like India and this is reflected by the wide spread operation of sub-standard catering joints not only within the country but also where ever Indians go for doing restaurant business. GOI must wake up and do some thing to reverse this undesirable and dangerous trait amongst its catering entrepreneurs.

V.H.POTTY

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FOOD SAFETY VIOLATIONS-AIRPORT RESTAURANTS IMPLICATED

Most air travelers are under the impression that the foods offered by the airport caterers and on board are safe. The excellent ambiance, apparently clean appearance and high cost of the food probably are reasons for such an impression amongst the traveling public. While in India no reliable information is available to come to any conclusion about the safety of foods served in airports and on board, here is a report emanating from the US which looked from any angle is disturbing indeed.

"A new report by USA Today has found that the food you're eating in airport terminals might not be as safe as you think. Reporters have reviewed the food safety reports from 800 restaurants at 10 national airports and have found hundreds of food safety violations. Serious violations, which can significantly increase the risk of food-borne illness, are common, says the newspaper. On the most recent inspection, for example, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport had at least one critical violation at 42% of its 57 restaurants. Reagan National Airport in Washington DC had 77% of its restaurants with violations".

Probably the safety standards in India may be too dilute and if at all any study is carried out there may not be any serious violations. But if international safety standards are applied to Indian conditions, restaurants in many airports may have to down their shutters while on board foods may be just able to muster a pass. Probably this country is unlikely to wake up to the dangers of real health hazard posed by the low quality foods being forced on the flying public, unless some thing dreadful happens affecting some VIP travelers!

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

THIRD PARTY AUDITING-A NEW INITIATIVE FOR FOOD SAFETY

Food safety is linked to factors like quality of raw materials used, efficiency of the process and the hygienic status of the manufacturing facilities. While most of the organized sector players take adequate precaution to ensure food safety, there can be slips occasionally due to inadvertent causes or negligence. Inspection of processing facilities regularly by enforcement authorities can bring out deficiencies not noticed by the processor. Of course there is no guarantee that such government inspections can be 100% trust worthy as has been shown in the salmonella contamination last year in peanut products in the US, in spite of inspections by the safety personnel who failed to note any thing amiss. The proposal in Australia to involve third party auditors for inspection of some of the food handling facilities may be inevitable considering the enormity of the job.

The new PPP model unveiled recently calls for selecting independent technical auditors who will be deployed only for inspection of facilities having a good track record in hygiene and sanitation. "A new Government scheme to allow independent experts to review food safety management systems will cut red tape and costs for food businesses while maintaining food safety standards. Suitably qualified, skilled and accredited independent auditors can now apply to the Food Authority for registration as eligible third-party auditors. The Authority's Director of Industry Liaison, Mr Peter Sutherland, says the new arrangement from October will initially apply for mandatory audits of hospitals, aged care facilities and delivered-meals organizations". The mandatory requirement for these auditors to report within 24 hours any violations ensures quickly addressing the problem.

The above scheme needs to be introduced for the entire food processing sector and if implemented it will lead to establishment of many independent consulting auditors with right qualification and experience. The current practice of going for ISO label or HACCP protocol does not ensure proper evaluation of the facilities and in India at least these independent auditors have some what low credibility as far as consumers are concerned. Besides these are voluntary schemes involving payment of fees to the organizations administering them where as a linkage with safety enforcement authorities will provide teeth for the government blessed third party auditors as being introduced in Australia..

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