A park for street foods? Odissa steals the show!

Whoever has thought of the latest "street food park" concept, being planned in Orissa deserves full marks for addressing an issue that poses multidimensional challenges to the civic authorities all across the country ever since India became an independent country. If reports are to be believed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in Orissa is "set" to launch such a park in the city within a month by providing some minimum infrastructure to enable street vendors to serve safe foods to the citizens there without affecting the pedestrian cross walks or the traffic nearby. CMC is also promising to provide necessary facilities like potable water supply, adequate cleaning water, lighting, toilet rooms and waste disposal system. It was not long ago that this Blogger suggested in one of the blogs about setting up a series of food plazas in almost all cities in the country away from busy thoroughfares within the city with suitable infrastructure so that city centers are not cluttered unnecessarily, adversely affecting smooth flow of both vehicular as well as the pedestrian traffic. Unfortunately such constructive suggestions never reach the ears of our politicians who have their own agenda and -priorities when it comes to spending public funds. There fore the developments in Cuttack should gladden the hearts of many progressive people in the country. Here is a take on this new development happening in one of the backward states of the country. . 

"The civic body has decided to set up the exclusive food park on Baliyatra ground, adjacent to the Mahanadi river bed, where food lovers can enjoy delicious and mouth-watering delicacies of the Millennium City such as dahibara, aludum and gupchup without being worried about falling ill.  The infrastructure of the street food park will be set up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh. Besides lighting arrangements, the CMC will ensure supply of safe drinking water to the park and some beautification work of the area. Toilet facilities and a garbage disposal system will also be put in place. The civic body officials said licences would be issued to the street food vendors to do business in the park and food inspectors will regularly monitor the quality of food. "We will start work on the street food park project within a month. The ground is used only during Baliyatra so we can easily accommodate the street food hawkers on it by creating the necessary infrastructure," said Gyana Ranjan Das, CMC commissioner.  Das said the food park would be made to look attractive to ensure footfall of food lovers and tourists. "Ensuring hygiene and cleanliness at the food park will be our priority," said a senior CMC officer". 

While appreciating such new initiatives especially in the government sector, one has to bear with some skepticism regarding the practicalities of such a revolutionary proposal. For example the place identified for setting up the Park is already being used by some sections of society for different activities and whether the new proposal will elicit protests from them remains to be seen. Similarly providing food inspection arrangement by frequent visits by the food vigilance officers is indeed a good thought, though how far in practice such inspections and action against defaulters will happen is uncertain. In stead it will be more effective if at least one dedicated food inspection officer is posted permanently to look after the quality and safety of products as well as the services offered by the participating vendors. Licensing must be hassle free and affordable to the micro entrepreneurs who come forward to invest in the Park. In stead of initiating legal proceedings against defaulters, it is worth trying for settling quality complaints within the park premises amicably through a committee system represented by the vendors and the CMC officers. Training program included in the plan is commendable as most violations take place out of ignorance and persuasive efforts can bring rich dividends.All said and done, here is a model being attempted in Cuttack and if successful deserves to be replicated throughout the country. .  

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

LITMUS PAPER-THE ARCHIVAL pH TESTER FOR BACTERIA TESTING?

Who ever has not heard of the "Litmus Test" which in Society means proving the truth! In chemistry practical classes use of litmus paper was a standard procedure in deciding the acidity or alkalinity of a solution during early days of development of chemistry. Modern tools like pH meter and other more sophisticated tools were neither available nor affordable to colleges running on shoe string budgets and litmus paper was the only means of assessing the pH of a liquid. Though many of the modern generation chemistry students might have forgotten about this simple tool, now comes the news that litmus paper may see a revival if the reports about its utility to detect microbial presence in water and some liquid foods are true. Here is a take on this significant finding.  

"Litmus paper, long known as a low-tech method of testing substances for acidity, might have a new use as a cheap, quick way to test for E. coli, according to researchers at McMaster University in Ontario. The researchers correlated levels of E. coli bacteria with pH values represented by the colors to which the litmus paper changes. The work has been led by Dr. Yingfu Li of McMaster's Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network, which has a goal of finding innovative uses for paper. The researchers say that the test, which costs just a few cents, can be easily used by homeowners to test private wells or swimming pools and see the results within hours. If the paper changes color, there are bacteria present. Compare that to the current standard test for homeowners, which requires a sterile testing kit supplied by a local health authority, with the test results coming later by mail. Even public health agencies currently need laboratory personnel to perform tests of lakes and beaches for E. coli and other bacteria. If the litmus paper test shows promise outside the research environment, it could significantly hasten testing of public waters. The research team is now looking at testing methods for other food- and water-borne bacteria, including Listeria and Salmonella. They have also received a grant to develop a similar test for colorectal cancer."

If what has been reported really works out, as claimed, in many applications, litmus paper can be a valuable aid to consumers also to find out whether water they are drinking is free of organisms like E.coli. How far this is reliable and accurate under different conditions is a crucial question for which scientists will have to come out with more data. Also critical is the versatility of litmus paper in detecting the presence of more hazardous pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria and other food borne ones due to which thousands of food poisoning cases are reported world over. There is a presumptive thinking that once a sample shows positive for E.coli the same must be examined further for the possible presence of pathogens through further testing. One can be sure that the pioneering scientists who stumbled upon this new use for litmus paper will come out with more useful findings regarding the usefulness of the same.

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

DRINKING WATER-DOES IT COME UNDER FOOD CATEGORY?

Can drinking water be considered a food? Do the FSSAI provisions apply to this material? A section of the packaged drinking water manufacturing community seems to be holding the view that no safety authority restraints can apply to them and they have the freedom to put any muck in the market without being questioned! Ii is interesting to note that more than two thirds of the water processing units in the state of Karnataka have no ISI certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BSI) because of their perceived feeling that it was not mandatory. While the state administration was not able to bring to books these delinquents, it was left to the judiciary to compel them to seek the quality certification from BIS without which consumer safety is compromised. Here is a take on this consumer protection ruling from Karnataka High Court for which people of the state should be grateful.

'Holding that packaged drinking water comes within the purview of Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, the Karnataka High Court on Friday said that certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is mandatory for packaged drinking water. The court also directed the State government to take action to prohibit and prevent the manufacture and sale of packaged drinking water without BIS certification. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Aravind Kumar passed the order while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition by Lochamesh B. Hugar of Hubli complaining inaction by the authorities against manufacturers of packaged drinking water operating without BIS certification, and a batch of petitions filed by the manufacturers claiming that certification from BIS was not necessary. The Bench also directed the authorities to take action against the manufacturers if they found them operating without certification from BIS. However, noticing that there are 564 packaged drinking water manufacturing units without BIS certification as against 224 with BIS certification across the State, the court has given an opportunity for those operating without BIS certification to apply for certification. The Bench said that all manufacturers will have to submit applications for BIS certification in the prescribed format within 15 days. It directed the authorities concerned, including the BIS, to process the application within three months and notify the deficiencies, if any, in these units. The Bench said that entire exercise will have to be completed within four months. Meanwhile, the court has given liberty to the authorities to initiate action against those manufacturers who fail to adhere to the directions and comply with conditions for manufacturing packaged drinking water".

While on paper, products with ISI mark give some confidence to the consumer regarding their quality and safety, in practice BIS is not an organization best known for its efficiency. It is common to see many products in the market place with ISI markings either spurious or sub-standard as this quality certification  agency has neither the required personnel nor the infrastructure to implement their standards. Some times it is not clear why there should be a separate certification requirement for only water which after all is a part and parcel of the food system and hence the onus of ensuring safety of drinking water must be on FSSAI which has the wherewithal to prosecute offenders more efficiently than a toothless agency like BIS. Those who went to court questioning the operation of BIS in drinking water quality management, has a valid point in that FSSAI already covers water also and ISI certification is therefore redundant. Same is true with others like AGMARK also and it is time that country's food quality and safety enforcement agencies are integrated leaving the entire function to a single agency.

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

DRINKING WATER SOURCES IN CHENNAI-E.COLI CONTAMINATION

The very mention of E.coli has become scary in the light of the European food poisoning episode claiming many innocent lives besides causing extensive kidney damage to many consumers. Here is a typical example of an innocuous bug assuming monstrous proposition for which man has to bear the responsibility. Knowing pretty well for years that some strains of E.coli are becoming dangerous and resistant to many antibiotics, precious little has been done to evolve appropriate measures that could pre-empt any serious food poisoning by these versions. That contaminated water used for processing was the source of contamination does not evoke any surprise because of large quantity of water required for the food industry and how this bug got into the bean sprouts which cause the havoc in Europe is still a mystery considering that under HACCP regime, water quality is definitely a critical point requiring focused attention. Recent news that the drinking water supply source in Chennai contained E.coli was received with some concern though the authorities claim that after treatment before delivery the water is safe for consumption.

The TNPCB has been monitoring the water quality under the Central Pollution Control Board's Monitoring of International Aquatic Resources System programme from February this year. The samples are taken every month and tested at the TNPCB's laboratories for various parameters, including the level of pH, nitrate, chloride, total hardness, calcium hardness, sulphate and magnesium. Tests by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board show the presence of coliform bacteria in samples of untreated water drawn from Porur, Red Hills, Poondi and Veeranam waterbodies, which serve as sources of supply to the city. "Coliform contamination in the surface water is a common phenomenon due to unhygienic anthropogenic activities before chlorination," sources in the board said. Chennai Metrowater supplies a total of 710 million litres a day to the city, of which 695 mld is through pipes. Engineers of the Quality Monitoring Wing of Metrowater said: "Water is supplied only after treatment and the treated water does not have any coliforms. It is tested before being supplied to the residents." Sources in the Water Resources Department, said that no effluent or sewage disposal is allowed in these waterbodies.Residents of Red Hills said the tank's bund was used as an open toilet. "There are no security personnel to guard the entire perimeter. There are many residential areas surrounding the tank and people use the water for purposes other than drinking," a resident said.

The mute question is how can there be negligence on the part of the water supply agency to ensure that the source is protected from contamination due to uncontrolled use of the water bodies for waste dumping and defecation, both containing high levels of E.coli, some of which could be virulent. Though chlorination is routinely done at the water processing facilities, there cannot be iron-clad guarantee that 100% disinfection is achieved, especially if organic load is high in such water sources. The strain on the processing facilities will increase many fold if the incoming water has high BOD or if it has come into contact with fecal matters. A high degree of risk is involved if water sources are not well protected from dangerous human activities near them.

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