Food testing laboratories-See who is speaking about them!

A recent statement by a deputy director general from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) about setting up food testing laboratories in the country raises more questions than the answer it provides to the much harried citizens of the country. It is well known that most consumers are.facing severe handicaps in wading through the "mess" that is called Indian food market where adulterated and substandard foods rule the roost. It is not clear in what way ICAR is connected with food standards implementation which is the prerogative of FSSAI which is under the administrative control of Ministry of Health. Added to this this deputy director general with the portfolio of engineering making such a statement is some what odd. If he is privy to the thinking of government of India and if his claims are true, it is indeed a welcome development. Read the report further below:

"Testing for the quality of food is set to become mandatory soon as the Union government is setting up 50 more food testing laboratories. An indication in this regard was given by Indian Council of Agricultural Research Deputy Director-General (Engineering) K. Alagasundaram on Tuesday. He told press persons on the sidelines of a workshop on post-harvest technology, organised jointly by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and the ICAR here, that the Centre would set up 50 food testing laboratories in the next five years. Later, he told The Hindu that the Centre had funded 80 such laboratories across the country and about 40 of them had commenced operations. As per the funding policy, government institutions would get cent per cent monetary support if they want to set up such food testing laboratories while private companies would get 50 per cent funds, he said."

One of the points made by him relates to 100% funding to government institutions for setting up testing laboratories but it is not clear whether it refers to University institutions or any other type of institutions. 50% funding for private parties to set up such laboratories is also a welcome move but the moot question is who will go to these labs if their reports have no sanctity as far as the government is concerned as of now. The statement that testing is going to be mandatory is unclear as to how such a mandate will be enforced. In countries like USA testing certificates issued by accredited and monitored laboratories are legally accepted while in India no courts would accept such certificates. If the concerned ministry issues clarification on these issues, it would help a lot in removing the confusion because of the ICAR statement. 

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

Food safety vigilance-Picking samples itself is news!

India is supposed to have a very "strong" "food safety act" as per the claims of the government and it is under this act that a top heavy Authority called FSSAI was set up. The obvious purpose of creating this bureaucratic organization is to keep "vigilance" over the food materials made and marketed across the country. Its power has further been increased by including liquor also among the basket of food products coming under its purview! What does "vigilance" mean? According to dictionary definition it is the "state of keeping careful watch for possible dangers or difficulties" and therefore FSSAI is supposed to be keeping an eye over thousands of products made in the country to ensure their quality and safety! Is this organization is up to the responsibility cast on it or it is more interested on photo-op actions meaning nothing to the harassed citizens of the country. Reading the following PR oriented report from this Authority"s Pune office what type of impression one can derive? Read it and decide for yourself!

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials collected samples of prepared food items and liquor from various hotels in Pune on Wednesday to assess the quality of food and liquor served in the city for New Year celebrations. "We asked our 20 food safety officials to each draw at least two samples of prepared food items and liquor from various hotels and restaurants in Pune on December 31. Around 40 samples were collected till late midnight which will be tested to check whether they conform to all parameters of safety and quality at Public Health Laboratory," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune.  A week back, the food safety officers also drew six samples of liquor and sent the samples to laboratory for tests. "The reports are awaited. The aim is to ensure that the liquor sold in Pune conforms to specified quality and standard norms," Kekare said.  The samples of foreign liquor, Indian Made Foreign Liquor and country liquor were subjected to quality tests during a six-day drive. "The drive was primarily aimed at ensuring that all kinds of alcoholic beverages sold in Pune are not adulterated as sale of alcohol usually increases during this time of the year," he said. Last year's samples of alcoholic beverages that were collected were found conforming to the quality standards. The samples were tested at the state-run public health laboratory, he added. There is a perceptible rise in the sale of country liquor in city's slums and rural parts during the New Year celebrations. Hence, our officers had also drawn samples from country liquor outlets as well, Kekare said. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which came into effect on August 5, 2011, looks at various aspects of alcohol adulteration and divides them into various segments like substance or quality demanded, extraneous but harmless matter, misbranded items and unsafe for consumption.  "Since alcohol has now been classified as food, samples will be subjected to quality tests to ensure that the liquor meets FDA standards. We have to ensure that the quality is genuine and it is free of solvents that are injurious to health," said Shivkumar Kodgire, assistant commissioner (food), FDA, Pune." 

It talks about a "six day drive" to "collect" samples and "sending' them for testing! Does this mean that out of 365 days in an year only such special drives are taken up, rest of the year being "holidays" for the officials? Is this their concept of market vigilance? Since every drive in the country taken up by government agencies is an organized "event' lot of advanced publicity must have been given through the media and what one can expect from them? Are the makers of unsafe foods going to oblige the Authority by being a "sitting duck", waiting for the officials to come and nab them? In stead of doing their work silently, efficiently and honestly, they give wide publicity about their campaign, call the media to boast about picking samples for sending to test laboratories, a ridiculous action to seek publicity. It was rather curious that the food safety officials are more concerned about safety of liquor products than common foods which are adulterated widely with serious health consequences! Does this report instill any confidence in the minds of a layman regarding the intentions of the government vis-a-vis safety of foods consumed by him three times a day every day in the year? Sad and tragic are the only two words to express after reading the above report! As some one said recently, God only can save the citizens of this country from the food fraudsters lurking around ever ready to make a fast buck through criminal and devious means by exploiting the weak kneed and indifferent response from the government to their nefarious activities!

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