How does Indian food safety vigilance compare with that of USA?

If number of violations and indictments for the same in the food safety area is compared between the US and India, probably we may get some solace that this country is in a better position, especially if health damages from such foods are kept in view. But scratching the surface further, we can realize that such solace is totally out of place because of massive deficiencies in our data base and relatively tough "bellies" Indians have, practically immune to many infectious food borne pathogens. There are neither regular inspections, nor massive product calls nor fast indictment of violators in our country. Can we say with any degree of confidence that any food or water consumed in our country is safe as measured by international standards? Take for example our water supply systems in metro areas. There is no city or town in the country which can assure its citizens that its so called protected water delivery system can pass the safety test where as in a country like the US even water from a toilet tap is relatively safe! Recently there has been some move by the law makers in the US to bring about further improvements in the safety vigilance system there which is commendable. Here is a take on this new initiatives being attempted to overhaul the food inspection machinery that is operating in that country.

"U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the number of food facility inspections it performs and deal out greater fines to facilities found to have unsanitary conditions. He also called for an "easily accessible, real-time" source of information for restaurants and consumers who want to know about the conditions of the facilities that produce or warehouse their food.According to a press release from Schumer's office on Monday, in 2014, FDA cited more than 90 food warehouses and other facilities around the country for unsanitary conditions, including rat infestations. Food from those facilities could pose a public health threat, Schumer said. The press release cited a number of examples of facilities that received warnings, including a Brooklyn-based food warehouse containing rodent carcasses and feces, as well as insects at a rice producer and dead mice and rats at a cookie-production facility.FDA currently inspects "high risk" food facilities once every three years, while other facilities are inspected even less often. Even facilities with minor problems should be inspected more often than once every three years, he said.
Schumer outlined a three-part plan he feels would rectify seemingly widespread problems with food facility sanitation:
    1. More inspections. Any facility with problems that merit a warning letter from FDA should be immediately categorized as "high risk." FDA should also increase the number of inspections for high-risk facilities. When facilities provide evidence that they are no longer high risk, they return to a lower classification.
    2. Searchable database of problematic facilities. Restaurants and consumers need a clearer way to tell whether or not they're receiving food from clean facilities. "The FDA should provide an easy to find, search and navigate database of these facilities and their violations on their website or through another forum FDA believes can most effectively inform consumers," the press release stated.
    3. Increased penalties for violations. For fiscal year 2015, the fees associated with re-inspections of problematic facilities were estimated at $217 per hour. That's not a heavy enough fine to encourage strict compliance with food safety regulations, Schumer said."

What is very interesting is the relatively high level of awareness about the problems of consumers vis-a-vis food safety among the law makers and the extent of their involvement in consumer protection programs of the country. In contrast our law makers, if we go by their standards of behavior in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or state legislatures, have no time for any thing but shouting, demonstrations, personal fights and many non-issues of total irrelevance to the needs of the citizen. Bills are enacted into law with hardly any discussions and implementation details are rarely worked out. To day's Food Security Act is nothing but a sham, "managed" wholly by the hardened bureaucrats with very little commitment or honest objective. In a country of scarcities in every food category and high prices, probably people may have to build dedicated temples for the "Food God" to protect them from food fraudsters and criminals with very little concern or value for the lives of ordinary people and offer prayers regularly!

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

ROAD SIDE VENDING-INADEQUATE VIGILANCE

Street vending is a phenomenon that is here to stay and almost all countries in the world have some or the other form of open air eating on the sides of many roads in most of the urban areas. The transformation of the street vendor who is a humble and low income entrepreneur into modern business man is remarkable in a country like the US where Food Trucks are taking over the functions of providing open air foods to customers with some loyalty to fresh foods cooked in front of them. Even in the case of modern food trucks there are issues concerning quality and safety of food offered by them though the chances of any epidemic of food poisoning is relatively less. In the traditional road side vending hygiene and sanitation become a casualty because of many reasons which include low awareness and high illiteracy amongst many of these vendors. Unless safety authorities exercise effective vigilance, the unsuspecting customers can become a prey for food borne diseases. The sudden interest by the Mumbai food safety agency in announcing stricter monitoring regime is note worthy but whether this will be translated into practice is a million dollar question!

"In a bid to crack down on unauthorised roadside vendors selling food in unhygienic conditions, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will now form special ward-level squads. These squads will carry out regular surprise visits in their areas to ensure quality of food items. The decision was taken after a pani puri vendor in Thane was caught on camera while urinating in a vessel which he was using to store pani. After the news reports, MNS workers had vandalised food stalls across the city, thereby pressuring the civic body to take immediate measures. Officials had said that a meeting of top health department officials of the BMC was called to chalk out an action plan. Civic officials said instructions regarding the formation of special ward-level squads have been issued. The official also said the quality of the food served by these vendors will now be under scanner. Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said these squads will also keep a check on those vendors having BMC's licences too. On Tuesday itself, surprise visits were conducted in and around the city".

Is it not a wonder that only very few cases of food borne diseases are reported in the country in spite of the sad state of affairs vis-a-vis safety enforcement environment? Could it be that the effect of daily prayers by the God-fearing population is manifested in the form of protection to them from food related disorders? Or does an average Indians possess an extra ordinary GI system that is immune to most food borne infectious vectors prevalent in the country? According to some reports most of those affected by minor symptoms of stomach upset caused by food do not bother about it, managing the same with over the counter anti-bacterial drugs available cheap in the country. One always wonders as to how populations in countries like the US or in Europe suffer from serious food poisoning incidences in spite of the operation of a supposedly modern food industry and most exacting hygiene environment that exists in those countries. Probably an agency like WHO can study this peculiar phenomenon to unravel the mystery!

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

"LOCAL FOODS"-A "FREE FOR ALL" SITUATION!

Like organic foods, local food movements in some of the western countries have gained acceptance by a significant segment of the consumer because of the perceived feeling that they are safer, more nutritious and environment friendly. While organic foods got really established across the world with their own standards, quality vigilance and international protocols, local foods can be confirmed only by tracing the sources from where they have come. Most of the big retail food chains are the losers because local foods made available in the farmers' markets are much more in demand than the products offered by the former which are sourced from hundreds of kilometers away with practically nothing known about their credentials. Of course with traceability law in place consumer has a much better chance of knowing the history of the produce bought from a retail chain. If a recent report from the UK is to be believed one in three dealers offering local foods are of suspect credentials and here is a take on that situation.

"Council food enforcement officers visited over 300 premises across England and Wales because of the increasing consumer interest in buying `local'. They visited both point of sale and manufacturing facilities. In total, 558 products (65 per cent from restaurants, 23 per cent from retail shops and 12 per cent from manufacturers and other) labelled as `local' were investigated. Full inspections revealed that at least 18 per cent of the claims were undoubtedly false with a further 14 per cent unable to be confirmed and therefore assumed false. These false claims were found at similar levels across all food sectors with almost one in five restaurant descriptions misleading customers. Meat and dairy products were frequently misleading with 50 per cent of poultry, 29 per cent of sausages, 27 per cent of both beef and lamb and 24 per cent of dairy products all completely false. Chairman of Local Government Regulation councillor Paul Bettison said: "To have around a third of all items investigated turn out to be false or potentially false is extremely worrying. "At present there is no widely agreed definition of the term `local' and it isn't acceptable. Everyone should be operating in a fair environment and following the same rules. Defra and the food industry must agree the definition of `local'."

According to one report even some of the retail chains in the US are resorting to malpractices, setting up local food section in their premises but stocked with materials sourced through their regular supply chain which amounts to cheating the consumer. As there are no established methodology to distinguish between local and those sourced from distant places, sufficient scope exists for fraudulent operators to make a fast buck through this easy route. Until clear cut guidelines are established for defining any food as local, consumer is left at the mercy of the dealers in providing local foods, many of them unable to resist the opportunity to cheat the unsuspecting consumer. A rigorous vigilance system must be in place for bringing to books such fraudsters which may provide the necessary deterrent.

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

FOOD SAFETY VIGILANCE-THE CHINESE WAY

Melamine tainted milk continues to haunt Chinese government as more and more dairy plants are being identified indulging in milk adulteration, in spite of the capital punishment meted out to some of the "identified" perpetrators in the first episode. Under more stringent laws put in place recently Chinese government is reported to have canceled more than 6000 licenses of food processors for violation of the food laws. Whether such actions will be a permanent feature or just a temporary measure to deflect the criticism from buyers of Chines foods in the global market remains to be seen.

"Meanwhile, quality inspectors conducted 1.07 million checks on food producers and rectified 140,000 problems, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).Wang Yong, director of AQSIQ, told quality inspectors across the country at a year-end working conference that the crackdown on unsafe food products would continue this year as the general situation remains grim"

The huge numbers being mentioned about checks, presumably meaning inspections and problem identification and rectification are really impressive and if true, probably China could become a model for other countries for ensuring safety of foods for its citizens.

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