Stop before you gorge
While adulterated food abounds in market in festive season, a Food and Drugs Dept testing van fails to detect any case though it has checked 1,500 samples for a month across state
Yogesh Avasthi, Hemington James
Posted On Monday, November 12, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201211122012111201513954878a4cd75/Stop-before-you-gorge.html
The idea of launching the testing van is to make people conscious of having healthy food, say officials of Food and Drugs Department. The van has been travelling to various districts since its launch in Navratri
All food stuff sold in the state is absolutely fine and you may gorge on it. A Food and Drugs Department van launched specifically to catch adulteration in food has tested 1,500 samples from across the state for over a month and found all absolutely fine and fit for human consumption. If only circumstances could be as rosy. A municipal corporation team seized and destroyed 3300 kg of food stuff across the city three days ago. Another team sealed a unit manufacturing spices in unhygienic condition in Sardarnagar afew days earlier.
Festive season is here and as people become more conscious of the quality of edible stuff being sold, but the testing van has not been able to detect a single case of adulteration in a month. Readied at a cost of Rs 14.5 lakh and launched in Navratri with fanfare, the mobile van was stationed at various places in the city on Saturday, inviting people to get tested food items for adulteration. More than 30 people turned up with samples, and at least two of them were stale and unfit for human consumption. The officials with the van put the samples through the tests, but all of them passed the muster.
The woman who had brought one of the stale samples – badam (almond) katli -- to show it to the officials so that action could be taken against the vendor, even challenged the officials to have it if it was still edible. The officials did not accept the challenge. In the event, they consented to send the sample to AMC lab for ‘further test’. Ditto for the second stale sample, that of ketchup. And to think that the testing van and a similar exhibition vehicle go to various districts to make people aware of eating healthy food.
According to Palak Patel, a resident of Maninagar who brought a box of almond katli to the van stationed at Jawahar Chowk, “I had received a box of badam katli as gift from a well known sweet mart in Maninagar. The moment I tasted it, Iknew it was stale. However, I wanted to get it officially tested and took it to the health van which was stationed in our area. To my surprise, the officials there found nothing wrong with it. They insisted that the box of sweet was good enough as their detection system had found nothing wrong in it.
However, when I asked the officials present there to taste a piece of the sweet, they were reluctant.” Finally the food inspectors in the van took the sample of the sweet and sent it to the AMC laboratory for further test. Food Safety Officer Rakesh Gamit said, “Sometimes, certain impurities and problems can’t be detected when tested in the van which has limited facilities. It needs detailed test that can be conducted only in a laboratory. We have sent the sample for further test.” In another incident, Kiran Shah wanted to get tested a sample of ketchup but the officers told him that the ketchup could not be tested in the van. They said it had to be sent to the laboratory.
“The officials told me that the ketchup cannot be tested in the van. They asked me to send it to the AMC testing laboratory. Some time back, I had sent a ketchup sample that I had taken from a local sandwich vendor in Maninagar to the AMC lab. But I haven’t received any response till date. When I sent sample from the same place to a private laboratory, it was detected as adulterated. I wanted to get it tested here so that actions can be taken on the spot, but it’s not possible.” Jalal Mehta, who had brought fafda and jalebi at Jawahar Chawk to get it tested, said, “It’s good that this van is spreading awareness but sad it cannot detect adulteration in food.”
When asked about the credibility of the food testing van, AMC Chief Medical Officer S P Kulkarni said, “This is a primary kit and it cannot determine if food is edible or not. It is useful in testing certain things like the foil put on sweet is of made of silver or aluminium.” He directed these correspondents to Health Commissioner Hemant Koshia. “He would be able to focus more on it.” While Koshia could not be contacted, Food and Drug Assistant Commissioner Dipika Chauhan said, “We were given Rs 23 lakh by the state government for this van. It has cost us around Rs 14 lakh and we launched it in Navratri.
Except Surat this van has been taken to every city. So far 1500 samples have been tested and no case of adulteration has been reported from anywhere in the state. This van is to bring awareness among people about the food they eat. They should know whether they are eating healthy or not.”
3363 KG OF UNHEALTHY FOOD DESTROYED
The flying squad of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department collected 267 samples of milk, milk products, spices and sweets from across the city on November 8. Of the 267 samples around 11 were found unfit by the public health laboratory of AMC. The samples were taken under Food Safety and Standard Act 2006. As much as 3363 kg of unhealthy food was destroyed and Rs 11,600 was collected as fine from the vendors/shops.
Around 255 shops were also issued notice during the drive. Recently the metropolitan magistrate had awarded three to six months of imprisonment and imposed penalty on those who failed to mention the manufacturing and expiry date on the product. On October 27, health team of AMC’s had sealed a unit manufacturing spices in unhygienic condition without license. The team also found good quantity of broken rice and red colour in the factory in Sardarnagar.
Yogesh Avasthi, Hemington James
Posted On Monday, November 12, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201211122012111201513954878a4cd75/Stop-before-you-gorge.html
The idea of launching the testing van is to make people conscious of having healthy food, say officials of Food and Drugs Department. The van has been travelling to various districts since its launch in Navratri
All food stuff sold in the state is absolutely fine and you may gorge on it. A Food and Drugs Department van launched specifically to catch adulteration in food has tested 1,500 samples from across the state for over a month and found all absolutely fine and fit for human consumption. If only circumstances could be as rosy. A municipal corporation team seized and destroyed 3300 kg of food stuff across the city three days ago. Another team sealed a unit manufacturing spices in unhygienic condition in Sardarnagar afew days earlier.
Festive season is here and as people become more conscious of the quality of edible stuff being sold, but the testing van has not been able to detect a single case of adulteration in a month. Readied at a cost of Rs 14.5 lakh and launched in Navratri with fanfare, the mobile van was stationed at various places in the city on Saturday, inviting people to get tested food items for adulteration. More than 30 people turned up with samples, and at least two of them were stale and unfit for human consumption. The officials with the van put the samples through the tests, but all of them passed the muster.
The woman who had brought one of the stale samples – badam (almond) katli -- to show it to the officials so that action could be taken against the vendor, even challenged the officials to have it if it was still edible. The officials did not accept the challenge. In the event, they consented to send the sample to AMC lab for ‘further test’. Ditto for the second stale sample, that of ketchup. And to think that the testing van and a similar exhibition vehicle go to various districts to make people aware of eating healthy food.
According to Palak Patel, a resident of Maninagar who brought a box of almond katli to the van stationed at Jawahar Chowk, “I had received a box of badam katli as gift from a well known sweet mart in Maninagar. The moment I tasted it, Iknew it was stale. However, I wanted to get it officially tested and took it to the health van which was stationed in our area. To my surprise, the officials there found nothing wrong with it. They insisted that the box of sweet was good enough as their detection system had found nothing wrong in it.
However, when I asked the officials present there to taste a piece of the sweet, they were reluctant.” Finally the food inspectors in the van took the sample of the sweet and sent it to the AMC laboratory for further test. Food Safety Officer Rakesh Gamit said, “Sometimes, certain impurities and problems can’t be detected when tested in the van which has limited facilities. It needs detailed test that can be conducted only in a laboratory. We have sent the sample for further test.” In another incident, Kiran Shah wanted to get tested a sample of ketchup but the officers told him that the ketchup could not be tested in the van. They said it had to be sent to the laboratory.
“The officials told me that the ketchup cannot be tested in the van. They asked me to send it to the AMC testing laboratory. Some time back, I had sent a ketchup sample that I had taken from a local sandwich vendor in Maninagar to the AMC lab. But I haven’t received any response till date. When I sent sample from the same place to a private laboratory, it was detected as adulterated. I wanted to get it tested here so that actions can be taken on the spot, but it’s not possible.” Jalal Mehta, who had brought fafda and jalebi at Jawahar Chawk to get it tested, said, “It’s good that this van is spreading awareness but sad it cannot detect adulteration in food.”
When asked about the credibility of the food testing van, AMC Chief Medical Officer S P Kulkarni said, “This is a primary kit and it cannot determine if food is edible or not. It is useful in testing certain things like the foil put on sweet is of made of silver or aluminium.” He directed these correspondents to Health Commissioner Hemant Koshia. “He would be able to focus more on it.” While Koshia could not be contacted, Food and Drug Assistant Commissioner Dipika Chauhan said, “We were given Rs 23 lakh by the state government for this van. It has cost us around Rs 14 lakh and we launched it in Navratri.
Except Surat this van has been taken to every city. So far 1500 samples have been tested and no case of adulteration has been reported from anywhere in the state. This van is to bring awareness among people about the food they eat. They should know whether they are eating healthy or not.”
3363 KG OF UNHEALTHY FOOD DESTROYED
The flying squad of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department collected 267 samples of milk, milk products, spices and sweets from across the city on November 8. Of the 267 samples around 11 were found unfit by the public health laboratory of AMC. The samples were taken under Food Safety and Standard Act 2006. As much as 3363 kg of unhealthy food was destroyed and Rs 11,600 was collected as fine from the vendors/shops.
Around 255 shops were also issued notice during the drive. Recently the metropolitan magistrate had awarded three to six months of imprisonment and imposed penalty on those who failed to mention the manufacturing and expiry date on the product. On October 27, health team of AMC’s had sealed a unit manufacturing spices in unhygienic condition without license. The team also found good quantity of broken rice and red colour in the factory in Sardarnagar.
