FSSAI proposes an amendment for the removal of Zinc from list of contaminants

April 19, 2016 By FSH Team Leave a Comment

FSSAI proposes an amendment for the removal of Zinc from list of contaminants

The FSSAI has drafted an amendment for the removal of Zinc from the list of metal contaminants. The objections and suggestions to the proposed amendment are to be sent on the form especially prepared for it and must reach the FSSAI office on or before 13 May 2016. Once notified in the Official Gazette the amendment will be called the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations, 2016.

In the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, Zinc has been listed as a metal contaminant. The standards and the limit as per PPM have been given for beverages, juices, fruit pulp and pulp products, edible gelatine, infant milk substitutes, turmeric, fruit and vegetable products, hard boiled sugar confectionery and not specified foods.

According to the new proposed amendment in the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011 relating to METAL CONTAMINANTS in the sub regulation that lists the contaminants; Zinc is proposed to be omitted from the regulations. All entries that have been made for the limits of Zinc as per ppm shall also be omitted. This means that all foods mentioned in the regulations previously will no longer need to comply with limits of Zinc. 

About Zinc and Zinc Deficiency 

Zinc is a substance that occurs naturally in air, water and soil. There are a number of foodstuffs that contain zinc including drinking water. However, in sites that contain toxic waste, concentrations of zinc in water could reach high levels and prove to be hazardous.

Zinc is essential for human health and those who have low levels of zinc experience loss of appetite, lowered sense of taste and smell. Low levels of zinc can also cause poor healing of wounds and sores. Zinc shortage can also cause birth defects and lead to stunted growth and poor immune systems. In children under five years of age it can cause impaired physical and neural development, leading to decreased brain functions that will remain into adulthood.

According to the International Zinc Association India, India has highly zinc deficient agricultural soil and zinc deficiency in the soil is likely to grow to 63 percent by 2025. Since the soil is zinc deficient so the Indian population is also zinc deficient especially as food grains are the main source of calorie intake. As many as 312 million people in India have zinc deficiency which is about 26 percent of the total population. In India the use of zinc fertilisers has been initiated as a solution to the problems of zinc deficiency.  It has been estimated that just enriching rich and wheat with zinc can save the lives of 48,000 children in India annually.

Research conducted by the WHO during the past 10–15 years suggests that zinc deficiency is widespread and affects the health of population throughout the world.

Meat and seafood are good sources of zinc but where the population are vegetarian, they become zinc deficient. Vegetarians are at a greater risk of zinc deficiency as fruits and vegetables are not good sources of zinc. Therefore, low-protein diets and vegetarian diets tend to be low in zinc. Vegetarians can get their daily intake of zinc from nuts, whole grains, legumes, and yeast. Another reason for zinc deficiency is low absorption from diet even if the zinc intake is sufficient especially if the diet has grains and cereals as the fibre and phytates in these foods work as inhibitors for the absorption of zinc.

Need to monitor drinking water standards: Consumer forum

The Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC) has suggested that the union government monitor the standard of drinking water irrespective of its source.

CCPC is an apex body to advise the government in consumer related issues.

“Central Consumer Protection Council has expressed concern over quality of drinking water being supplied through pipeline and has recommended mandatory standards for drinking water irrespective of its source,” the Council said in a statement released here.

At the moment, government through its agency Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) is keeping close watch only on standardized bottled water.

CCPC also said that FSSAI should formulate standards for water supplied to housing localities in urban areas through pipelines.

The CCPC members met the union Minister for Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday to express their concerns in this regard.

The minister reportedly assured the CCPC delegation that their issues will be taken up with the concerned ministries.

Paswan warning on Delhi water

Drinking water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board is not safe for consumption as prescribed quality standards are not being met, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday.
The Minister also urged consumers to complain if packaged drinking water is sold above maximum retail price at places like five star hotels, cinemas and airport so that the government can take strict action against such sellers.
“The issue of safe drinking water was discussed in the meeting today. Nobody can drink tap water in Delhi. Delhi’s water is not safe for drinking, though there are quality standards in place,” Paswan told reporters after the meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council(CCPC).
Food safety regulator FSSAI informed in the meeting that Delhi’s municipal corporation is responsible for setting the quality standards of drinking water, he said.
“The Council was of the view that safe drinking water is the constitutional right of the people and the quality standards should be followed strictly,” he said.
The Minister said regulation of quality of piped water should come under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), while also regulates packaged drinking water.
At present, it is mandatory for companies to comply with quality standards of packaged drinking water unlike piped water. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Consumer Affairs Ministry is working on upgrading the quality standards for piped water and make it compulsory.
To protect consumers from overpricing of packaged drinking water at select places, the Minister said both the Delhi High Court and consumer courts have given several rulings that packaged drinking water should be sold at MRP at all places.
“There is lack of awareness among consumers on such issues. Be it cricket stadium or five star hotel or airport, if consumers see they are being charged more than MRP for packaged drinking water they should file complaint. We will take strict action,” Paswan added.
Paswan also said the government will set up additional 50 consumer helpline counters in the next 15 days, taking the total number of helpline counters to 62.
He also reviewed the performance of Grahak Suvidha Kendras being run on a pilot basis at five places.

500 லிட்டர் பாக்கெட் பால் பறிமுதல்

அம்பை, ஏப். 20:
அம்பை வட் டார உணவு பாது காப்பு அதி காரி நாக சுப் பி ர ம ணி யன் அகஸ் தி யர் பட்டி பொன் நக ரில் ஆய்வு மேற் கொண் டார். அவ் வ ழி யாக வந்த பால் வண் டியை நிறுத்தி சோத னை யிட்ட போது பால் வண் டி யில் உண வுப் பொ ருள் கள் கொண்டு செல் வ தற் கான உரி மம் மற் றும் பால் தயா ரிப் பிற் கான உண வுப் பா து காப்பு துறை உரி மம் போன்ற முறை யான ஆவ ணங் கள் இல்லை என் பதும், 4 டிகிரி வெப்ப நிலை யில் பால் பதப் ப டுத் தப் ப ட வில்லை என் றும் தெரிய வந்தது.
இதை ய டுத்து சுமார் ரூ.20 ஆயி ரம் மதிப் பி லான 500 லிட் டர் பாக் கெட் பால் பறி மு தல் செய்து அழிக் கப் பட் டது.

FSDA authorities to inspect food items at canteens in schools, colleges, hospitals

The Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) will now be inspecting food items at canteens of academic institutions and hospitals. The inspection comes in the wake of instructions by the district magistrate. A four-member team has been made to ensure the inspection is carried out at regular intervals.

The team will also be inspecting food served under the mid-day meal scheme. Taking into account the diseases that are common during the summer season, authorities said that move was to ensure no substandard product was being sold in these places.
“As per the orders of the district magistrate, Meerut’s FSDA department will conduct regular inspection and sampling of canteens and other shops in and around these institutions that serve edible items. It is peak summer time, there are chances of food items going bad. Those found violating rules and using such items will face the music,” said JP Singh, chief food safety officer.
The FSDA department has already listed the names of the schools, colleges and hospitals in the city and will conduct regular inspections at their canteens.
District magistrate Pankaj Yadav, said, “I keep getting complaints about substandard food being served at schools, colleges and hospitals but they generally don’t come under the FSDA scanner owing to ongoing inspections in various parts of the city. However, now I have instructed authorities at FSDA to conduct regular inspections at these places.”
Chandralekha Jain, principal, St John’s Senior Secondary School, said, “It is a very good initiative. We try and provide the best quality food inside our school canteen but the street vendors outside are the ones we cannot keep a check on. This step will not only help us see our drawbacks – if any – inside our canteen and also bring the street vendors under scanner.”
On Wednesday, the FSDA department took a sample of boiled milk from the canteen of Radha Govind Engineering College and a sample of sauce from the canteen of Anand hospital.

Artificially ripened mangoes aplenty in city & not all bad

There’s a good chance that the brightly coloured fruit you see in the market may have been artificially ripened.Consumer activists are calling for a check on the practice, especially ripening by calcium carbide, as it could prove to be a major health hazard.
Social activist Santhana Rajan said most traders are resorting to the process of ripening mangoes by gassing them with ethylene. “Traders are not willing to wait for the mangoes to ripen on their own due to the demand ,“ he said.Consumer activist T Sadagopan is of the view that neither the government nor the food safety department has created any awareness about the safety of the ethylene gas process.
While the use of ethylene is approved by the government, many traders are also using calcium carbide to ripen mangoes even though it is banned. P Kuganantham, a city doctor, said that fruit ripened with calcium carbide can cause gastroenteritis, abdominal pain and diarrhea and is carcinogenic.
The CEO of Kovai Pazha Mudir Nilayam (KPMN), Senthil Natarajan, told TOI that his company uses a refrigerated ripening chamber where the mangoes are ripened with ethylene gas and left for 48 hours till they turn golden yellow. “This is the safest government prescribed method. We have imported machinery from Italy,“ he said.
M Arunachalam, a whole sale fruit merchant in Koyambedu, said, “There are a few black sheep who want to make a quick buck overnight but they fail to realise that even they have children who could eat these mangoes which pose a health hazard.“
“The food safety department’s raids are ineffective. A couple of raids are just as an eyewash,“ said Santhana Rajan. He said that mangoes ripened with calcium carbide can be identified by an unnaturally bright colour when compared to naturally ripened mangoes.

Ice cream Vs. Frozen dessert – The Chilling Truth

Before going into great detail, the big difference between ice cream and frozen dessert is this.
As a consumer, whether I am buying a shirt that claims to be linen, or whether it’s a face cream, I like to know whether I am getting my money’s worth. And it’s no different when it comes to food. So how do you think I felt when I got a carton of ice cream and in a small, inconspicuous corner, I see the label – frozen dessert. And it only got worse from there.
Today, in India, frozen dessert has taken over as much as 40% of the ice cream segment. Is that such a bad thing?

Before going into great detail, the big difference between ice cream and frozen dessert is this.
Before going into great detail, the big difference between ice cream and frozen dessert is this. Frozen desserts are made with vegetable oil. Also, this is usually the vegetable oil that we want to avoid in our diet like coconut oil or palm oil. Ice-cream on the other hand, is mainly made from milk and dairy fat.
To do a fair comparison, I randomly picked up a box from each – a frozen dessert and an ice cream carton. Here is what I saw.
The Label Comparison
Ice Cream
Claim: Labels it as Ice Cream on the top of the carton.
Ingredients: Water, milk, solids, sugar, permitted stabilizing and emulsifying agents (412, 410, 407, 471, 466). Contains added vanilla flavors (artificial flavoring substances).
Frozen Dessert
Claim: The larger font says – Creamy Delights: Strawberry. In a corner on the side of the box, it says – Frozen Dessert.
Ingredient List: Water, sugar, milk solids, edible vegetable oil, liquid glucose, vegetable protein, emulsifier – 471, stabilizers – 410, 412, 407 Acidity regulator – 330. Contains permitted synthetic food colors and added flavors. Nature identical and artificial milk and strawberry flavoring substances.
Analysis
For starters, the labeling is unclear. When you see the picture on the carton, you would think it is any ordinary ice cream. Only when you turn it around to look for a title, you see a much smaller font, almost apologetic to be there, and it says – Frozen Dessert.
According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the definition of an ice cream, kulfi or softy ice cream means that the product is obtained by freezing a pasteurized mix, prepared from milk and /or other products derived from milk with or without the addition of nutritive sweetening agents, fruit and fruit products, eggs, etc.
Frozen dessert means the product obtained by freezing a pasteurized mix prepared with milk fat and/or edible vegetable oils and fat having a melting point of not more than 37.0 degree C in combination and milk protein alone or in combination/or vegetable protein products singly or in combination with the addition of nutritive sweetening agents.
So in theory, both brands are correct and are not trying to say they are something they are not.
There are many companies that are making both frozen desserts as well as ice cream. To get a get a better understanding of the product, I asked Mr Sapan Sharma, the General Manager of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on what he thought about the labeling, he was sure that they were following the guidelines and legal requirements laid down by FSSAI, when it came to size of font and placement of their label.
Fair enough, but one could argue that it’s time that the FSSAI ensured that desserts do not camouflage themselves as ice cream, and the consumer is not left confused.
The Calorie Woes
Ice Cream
For every 100 gm of serving
Energy – 217 KCal
Protein – 3.5 gm
Carbs – 21.5
Fat – 13
Calcium – 176 mg
Frozen Dessert
Energy – 200 KCal
Fat – 10.5
Carbs – 23
Protein – 4
Saturated fat – 5.8
Trans-fat – traces
Analysis
You see that the number of calories are almost the same in both cases. But that’s never the whole story. The frozen dessert label says traces of trans fats and saturated fat of 5.8. So both harmful dietary fats are found in frozen desserts. Saturated fats as well as trans fats are what we want to avoid in our diet. They are simply the bad fats. They add to weight, can cause heart problems and raise our cholesterol levels. According to the Harvard Medical School Heath Guide, trans fats are worse than saturated fats, and there is no safe level of trans fats. So nutritionally the frozen dessert falters.
According to Mr. Sapan Sharma, “Ice cream and frozen dessert give similar eating experience.”
But I am more interested in the nutrition aspect, so I cross question him on the nutritional value of vegetable oil.
His reply is, “Vegetable fat is more advantageous than dairy fat. Vegetable fats are not a direct cholesterol source. Palm oil or derivatives like mid fractions are healthier. Also, vegetable fat is amenable to making ice cream. Palm oil is very versatile, and helps give frozen dessert its smooth and creamy texture at -15 degrees.”
According to India’s leading nutritionist, Dr Shikha Sharma, “It has been proven by several research studies that palm oil is unhealthy due to its cholesterol increasing effect. It has been also seen that high consumption of palm oil can cause heart diseases.”
“Do you use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in your frozen dessert?” I ask Mr. Sharma.
Unilever’s reply is that that they don’t.
The Price Factor
Lastly, there is the price factor. The consumer has no benefit as this frozen dessert is not cheaper than ice cream. This is despite the fact that dairy fat costs rupees 300 per kg while vegetable fat is rupees 50-60 a kilo.
According to industry experts, the ingredients only make up 8 to 12% of the cost of the product. A lot is spent on other factors like R&D, designing product, the technology component, etc. So the price will not be altered due to the ingredients.
This issue has become a controversy among the players involved. The government has come up with a gazette notification amending the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act to allow the labeling of frozen desserts as “vegetable fat based ice cream” or “non-dairy ice cream”. This has sparked off a fresh set of claims and counterclaims.
Whichever way this row ends up, it’s time we looked carefully at our labels. It’s time consumers learn to read between the lines.