Tag Archives: Food Safety

Food As Toxin: a new book from CSE

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Modern food regulation is about  determining what is that right dose in our daily diet.  We know are toxins, chemicals designed to kill insects and other creatures at low doses. Unless human exposure to toxins is regulated and minimised, there are serious health implications. Therefore, it is critical to determine the amount of pesticides we can be exposed to over a lifetime and to regulate the registration and use oftoxins in our agriculture and in food.
In the past 10 years, the debate over the use of pesticides and its implications for human health has been fought over strenuously in India. The country has learnt about the cases of pesticide abuse and there have been calls for stringent bans on its use.
This means that the food we eat is, by and large, unsafe for consumption. Or in other words, regulation is designed to ensure that food is unsafe for humans.

 

It is for this reason that we urgently need a complete revamp of the entire regulatory system so that human health is not compromised.

 

Read about all these and more on the various food items we eat and how to cope with the issues that these bring along.

 

How To Order

Please send cheque/DD AT PAR for Rs.450/- (USD35) drawn in favour of “Centre for Science and Environment”, and mail it back to us for instant supply.

 

Centre for Science and Environment

41 Tughlakabad Institutional Area

New Delhi 110062

You may order this book online too by visiting us at http://csestore.cse.org.in/books/pollution/foodastoxin.html

Living in a cleaner environment in India: A strategic analysis and assessment

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Report on Yamuna, the poisoned river

Tata Energy Research Institute

Yamuna

The river Yamuna, the lifeline of Delhi, is gradually dying. Rampant industrial pollution and untreated sewage is choking the river. Despite government norms, the sewage treatment plants continue to be underutilized. The city generates 650 million gallons of sewage per day against an installed capacity of 512 million gallons. But only 350 million gallons of sewage reaches the treatment plants. A deadline of 2012 has been set to ensure no untreated sewage goes into the river. Efforts are also on to check the pollution levels from the neighbouring state of Haryana.

The seriousness of the contamination was highlighted in a study undertaken by TERI. It showed how despite government efforts industrial effluents and untreated sewage continue to choke the river. In fact, the toxins have polluted the ground water and soil. It has entered our food chain through the grown on the banks and continues to affect the people living on the banks.

 

Agricultural field on the banks of River Yamuna

As part of the study, water samples were taken from 13 locations, every 2 km from the Wazirabad barrage and covered a stretch of 22 km of the river Yamuna flowing through Delhi. Soil samples were collected from agricultural fields on the Yamuna flood plains at different depths – 15, 25, 60 cm a well as 250 and 500 meter away from the river, to study the exposure levels of plants at different root lengths. Similar samples were also collected from Dayalpur and Chandawali villages in the Ballabgarh district of Haryana, 25 km from the Delhi to judge the extent of contamination.

Read more….

The Yamuna is poisoned and so are our vegetables

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Fresh, green spinach leaves that we put on our plates contain more than just nutrients. A recent study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) indicates the presence of heavy metals in the that are grown with water from the Yamuna, making them potentially hazardous to health. The study says that dumping of sewage and industrial waste in Yamuna River has led to contaminated in the area.

The report, titled ‘Living in a cleaner environment in India: A strategic analysis and assessment’, says that levels of nickel, manganese and lead in Yamuna’s water were found to be higher than the international aquatic water quality criteria for fresh water. The high levels of contaminants in food were found exclusively in the urban areas and foodstuffs produced in the more rural areas were shown to have almost negligible traces of containment.

The study identified Wazirabad and Okhla barrage as the hotspots for soil contamination. This makes sense as there are known to be high levels of industrial wastage being drained in the areas.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Feb 14, 2012

The Degree Of Noncompliance Hurts Us. Regulation Doesn’t-Cargill

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AMIT KUMAR
STRAT SPEAK
“The Degree Of Noncompliance Hurts Us. Regulation Doesn’t”
Siraj A Chaudhury, Chairman of Cargill India, speaks with Dr Amit Kapoor, Honorary Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness, about the food supply chain industry and its dynamics. Excerpts:
Give us an idea of your industry. 

Cargill is a privately held business, headquartered in Minneapolis, with over 130,000 employees in 63 countries and consolidated revenue of $119.5 billion in FY2011. We have 75 businesses organised around four major segments—agriculture, food, finance and industries. In India, we have 11 of those businesses, the biggest being Cargill Foods, which is largely about edible oils. We have a grain and oilseed business that is engaged in sourcing and managing the supply chain for food. We also have a flavours and an animal nutrition business where we create animal feed for poultry, dairy and fish. Apart from this, we also trade sugar, cotton and some industrial commodities such as iron ore, steel and coal.

Which is the business that gives you your profitability?

Our biggest business in India is the foods business. Edible oils gives us 60% of our Indian revenues.

What are the challenges that you face in other businesses?

Our size in other businesses is a matter of choice. We felt the biggest opportunity was in this space [foods] and made greater inroads here. The food business has had more Cargill asset creation, investment and capital infusion, while some other businesses are more about managing the trade flows and the supply chain.

Does the government closely monitor this industry?

It’s a very closely watched industry. We are always under the scanner but I don’t think anyone is holding us back. It has to be closely watched because we’re dealing with agriculture and food in a country that has a huge population with low income levels. Given that 60% of the population here lives off agriculture, there’s a need to protect the interests of this population that consists of small farmers.

Could that be the rationale for minimum support price in the country?

Minimum support price has many roles to play. It is used more as a tool for producing certain crops. So if we want more wheat, the minimum support price for wheat rises. The government, though aware of the diversity of the country in terms of the soil and climatic conditions and also the ability to produce many crops, has started to give precedence to the theory of competitive advantage. So, if we’re good at producing wheat then we should concentrate on this food crop and if we’re less efficient at producing pulses and edible oils then importing them is better. Minimum support price helps to maintain that balance. And that is why it is needed and should be encouraged. The government should do more.

How severe is the lack of infrastructure?

It is one thing to produce and quite another to deliver. The problem is not the means but the schemes to market the products. India this year has produced its highest quantity of crops. The supply of commodities is managed but it is the distribution of these commodities that calls for better management.

There are about 5,000 towns and cities and over 650,000 villages in the country. How challenging is this complexity?

 
“We are trying to be different by spanning all three stages of evolution—value conscious, customer intimacy and innovation.”

It is a big challenge. Consumer food products reach a million retail stores across geographies through varied infrastructure conditions. It is comparatively more difficult in India where you don’t have well spread large format or organised retail. And it is the producer’s responsibility to reach the goods to consumers. 

In a more developed environment, or where you have a more evolved retail network, it is still about selling to the big five or six retailers who then carry the product to the stores and the regions that they operate in, through their distribution centres. So there is an inherent inefficiency because every company that distributes something has its own distribution network.

When each company is going to or is creating its own distribution channel do you think that could be an emerging model?

Yes, there are companies that have taken up the role of the distributors. So, when you have chains of food restaurants coming up they’re building the supply chain to support their venture.

It’s about moving certain products from one place to other places. I think that is the rationale for encouraging organised retail because it will help bring a lot of individual distribution centres to a more collective model.

A large part of the population is poor and this leads us to the bottom of the pyramid scenario. How do you look at this section of the population?

Obviously a large part of the population is poor. But over the last few years, I think the income of the people at the bottom of the pyramid has also been gradually increasing. So the whole group is moving up.

The other thing is that the higher price for crops has increased the earnings for farmers. There’s been an increase in rural income that is creating a need for more and better goods and increasing the challenge of distribution for some of the large food companies. So, though the cost of distribution goes up when going to these rural areas, it’s a segment that cannot be ignored.

Cargill has 75 business units globally. In India you have 11 businesses. How do you look at competition?

The top two to three major players in the edible oil space should be our competition. I however, have a slightly different view on this. I don’t look at it from a single country or market perspective but rather from the position of different regions. So we have different competitors in different regions.

There is variation and also the local factor at play. For instance, if something is produced locally it will get consumed there because there’s a historical connect. I also believe that when you’re in a growing market and are building a new concept there’s enough space for everyone to grow. Right now we are concentrating on differentiating ourselves from other companies in this space.

There is a level of noncompliance of regulatory practice ideas in the country. Is that a problem for you?

The degree of noncompliance hurts us. Regulation doesn’t. Today edible oil imports are duty-free. It makes no difference to me if there was a 50% duty either because everyone would be paying 50%. The consumer would suffer. In the ten years that we’ve been building up this business, noncompliance has significantly reduced. In certain markets we have a disadvantage relative to some of our competition, but that does not deter us from doing anything we want to do.

How do you carve a niche for yourself?

There’s a lot of strategy in our segment that is focused on operational excellence. We are in a geography where the customer is very value-conscious so the industry and its segments have focused on bringing maximum value to the customer. But as the economy is evolving, the customer is becoming choosy. So the next stage of evolution is in customer intimacy that comes with understanding customer needs.

A lot of companies in the personal care industry and even the IT sector have moved to the customer intimacy phase. As an economy, the innovation stage is next where you start planning for the future rather than just what the consumer needs today. So I think where we’re trying to be different is in trying to span all the three segments.

How do you think Cargill is going to grow in the future?

Cargill is established in India. Food is going to be available but the price of food is going to have a huge impact on the profitability of products that are created. Cargill’s ability to manage the backend of the supply chain, the risk on price movement and to process and convert basic food into food products is very well placed in India because we do that in the rest of the world. If I look at the whole chain from origination to the table, I think we’re equipped to take advantage of the growth in India.

Cargill was in the packaged food business earlier but exited. What compelled you to do that?

We were in the packaged atta [wheat flour] business in the early part of the last decade. But at that time industry profitability and readiness wasn’t really there. The business was a little ahead of its time. It was certainly not erroneous. And I would not rule out getting into that business again.

What are the unique activities that you’ve picked up?

Flour and edible oils are basic products that need a certain amount of differentiation because in reality the consumer thinks that there is no such differentiation. Nevertheless, we do have the power to pass on a lot of goodness that we have. We’re one of the first in the industry to fortify our oils because we recognised that oil is almost a 99% household penetration item, which means everyone in the country consumes oil.

Have you made a choice of not entering certain sectors?

Firstly, we screened our markets by differentiating a local market from a national one and by identifying the markets where we have an edge. This aids us in determining not just our potential market but also in allocating resources efficiently. Secondly, we believe that reach is measured not by capacity but by access.

Building access involves getting someone else to buy your idea. If you look at most of our industries they have over-capacity because it’s easy to build an asset. Market access, on the other hand, is intangible and not something that you can build once and believe that it is there. So it’s something that keeps you on the edge everyday.

You said the industry suffers from over-capacity. Does that have a repercussion on the performance within industry?

I think a lot of it has to do with the state tax incentives. A large part of the industry, particularly refined oils, was created in clusters. You can look at four or five ports that have most of the capacity because most of the oil consumed in the country is imported. That is why more ports in the country should have refineries.

Secondly, if you look at India today, a large part of investment bets on the future. Everyone knows that we are a bustling population with escalating consumption needs. So if you can build an asset and look at it from a real estate dimension, it’s not bad business at all!

How would you define strategy?

Strategy for us is about operational excellence, which, in turn, is about having the right set of people and skill sets along with efficiency.

And what about leadership?

For me, leadership is about people. It’s about finding the right people and letting them do their job. The other thing is about emotional intelligence—understanding other people’s perspective and motivational forces and then getting them to do things that drive them.

4Cs Model

Context

  • 10-12 business units in India. Biggest business is Cargill Foods, focusing on edible oil.
  • Industry under the watch of the government.
  • Lack of distribution infrastructure.

Customer

  • Domestic. Largely urban but the growing income of the rural population has brought this segment within the company’s ambit.
  • Value-conscious customer.
  • Customers more expressive of preferences.

Company

  • Focused on bringing value to the customer. Operationally efficient organisation.
  • Calculated selection of market sectors. Has chosen those segments where it can be a leading player.
  • Concentration on differentiated product for the consumer.

Competition

  • National and regional.
  • Both segmented and unsegmented competition.
  • As the packaged food product is a relatively new concept, there is enough space for all competitors to grow.

Looking Ahead

Dynamics

  • Value creation through differentiation.
  • Customer intimacy and logistics.

Positioning

  • Brand building.
  • Operational excellence.

Trade-Offs

  • Regions where there is competitive advantage.

FIT

  • Nature of regulations.

Source: Interviewer’s analysis

Did you check the neurotoxin in your ‘soft’ drink today?

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http://www.moneylife.in/article/did-you-check-the-neurotoxin-in-your-soft-drink-today/15257.html

April 01, 2011 06:56 PM |
Veeresh Malik
Why are we being fed with increasing amounts of neurotoxins in our diet, in the name of processed foods, when the rest of the world is moving away from them? Pepsi and Coke will actually share the World Cup win on Saturday, as India and Sri Lanka fight for the crumbs

As we head in for the finals of the World Cup 2011, it is increasingly becoming apparent that the game is not just between India and Sri Lanka, but largely between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. This in itself would not have been a problem, sports need sponsors, and cricket has always had a long list of entities waiting to pay the bill.

How many of us can forget the fact that Benson & Hedges were the original sponsors here, and subsequently for some time Wills paid some of the bills too, until globally tobacco companies were prevented by law from sponsoring sports. The rest of the world had by then banned tobacco advertising in sports, but India was amongst the last bastions to fall, and given half a chance, subliminal and crony as well as covert advertising for tobacco products still continues- awards for bravery, for example, as well as ranges in clothing and soaps being a common subterfuge.

But face facts, smoking is increasingly becoming socially unacceptable in India, and about time too.

How long before this good sense reaches those who make and implement our laws, as far as carbonated coloured sweetened beverages using chemicals for constituents which are certainly not good for our health are concerned? To ban fizzy colas/orange/lemon and clear flavoured bottled & fountain served waters with bubbles in them (also called “soft drinks”) in India? By rights, this is overdue, and should have happened yesterday, as is already happening in the developed countries we look up to in so many other ways. If it has not, then it is simply because the machinery that propels this momentum forward is huge, and comprises of not just the manufacturers but also their advertising companies, their PR companies, their bought out medical associations, and the whole nine yards as far as the rest of them are concerned, anybody who would dare to try and stand up against them.

Except some of us, who seek information for the larger public good, and when faced with impediments-sink our teeth in even deeper. And therein lies a tale which shall evolve with time.

Experience has taught many of us that when those in power take extremely hyperactive steps to hide information, then it becomes all the more important to try and find out what they are hiding, since if this information was not likely to cause any problems to the larger good-then why would they want to hide the truth? To give a simple example, when I asked a simple question relating to the Commonwealth Games way back in early 2006, on how much did they actually spend on taking some actors and dancers to Melbourne, and got stonewalled at every step- that’s when I realised that there was probably something hidden which was causing the people who took the effort to hide it some concern-so it was worth going after it.

That’s what got the nation this judgement: http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/465885/

Which subsequently opened the door for the accounts and numbers, as well as skeletons and scams, to come tumbling out in what is known as the “CWG scam”.

The word being sought, if I remember my school maths correctly, is and was “fulcrum”. And now with the help of Moneylife as well as others, I seek the fulcrum that will help me bust the great Coke & Pepsi game in India, which also goes by the names Aspartame, NutriSweet and Equal, amongst others.

If you have seen working terriers chasing small animals you will realise the whole concept-they don’t want to eat that animal, they just want to know what that animal is up to-and if it appears to be damaging things, like rats and other animals do, then to get it out of the way. Sometimes they want to scare it so that it heads into a trap. Or moves out of its safe spot. Let’s go back to these terriers. I quote an example: “Working terriers (Hunting types): Still used to find, track, or trail quarry, especially underground, and sometimes to bolt the quarry.”

In other words, just the fact that somebody has started sniffing around is enough to push them to react. If we want to reach something, then we have to not just sniff it out-we have to be like terriers.

Which is what is happening as I start a new search and hunt for how this amazing drug, called “aspartame”, has entered India’s statutes as a sweetener instead of as a neurotoxin, and has started replacing real and simple sugar in everything from “soft drinks” to sweetmeats, biscuits, bakery products and even traditional products like halwa. All in the name of lower cost and higher sweetness. While trying to convince us that there is no difference.

But there is a big difference. Sugar in its various natural forms simply makes things sweeter, for natural or other reasons, and doesn’t cause much harm beyond causing the obvious side effects of consuming too much sweet-which we already know about. Aspartame, on the other hand, even in extremely minute quantities, well below the levels found in a single can of Coke or Pepsi, diet or otherwise, is known to cause not just common ailments like headaches, dizziness, slurred speech and confusion. On the larger scale, however, it causes a vast variety of serious diseases-not the least of which are some forms of cancer, as well as serious issues for pregnant women, babies, chronic fatigue syndrome and brain damage as well as tumours therein.

As a matter of simple fact, a large number of Gulf War returnees (from the Kuwait-Iraq conflict) were diagnosed as having suffered from major neurological disorders, traced directly back to consuming litres and litres of “diet” soft drinks which had, before that, been transported and then lying in the hot conditions of the desert.

It is interesting to note that the summer is when the push to sell more cold drinks is highest in India. And that’s also when truckloads of the stuff roll across, with the “soft drinks” undergoing a fair amount of exposure to extremely hot weather, which incidentally is one more issue with aspartame. You see, as temperature changes, aspartame changes its chemical composition, radically. So, that, as well as a few other reasons prompted me to file a fairly simple RTI (Right to Information) Application to the Ministry of Processed Foods in Delhi. Again, very close to where I live, walking distance actually.

Within a few days of my filing an RTI application with the Ministry of Processed Foods here in Delhi, even before I’ve got a formal response from them, I have received:

1) Phone calls from a PR company claiming to represent a company making a diet soft drink, lately advertising a lot as “University of this and that”.

2) Veiled threats on social media from unknown entities whose pages on carbonated waters I have joined and commented on.

3) The usual bunch of evasive non-RTI type responses from the Ministry which are designed to deflect all but the most hardcore of RTI applicants.

4) And most interestingly, a huge collection of unasked for literature on the benefits of aspartame, AND a hamper full of soft drinks as a gift from somebody who did not leave a visiting card.

Aspartame started life as a new chemical warfare agent developed and used by the United States Armed Forces. It is apparently now an agent for infiltrating the Indian food chain. My series of RTI applications with the Government of India is going to try to find out how something like this became a legalised food component.

Meanwhile, it would be interesting to start getting certification from our halwais and bakeries on whether they use sugar or aspartame or other branded sweeteners that are actually carcinogenic chemicals, since we already knows what goes into our Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, Diet and otherwise. It would also be interesting to ask our cricketers and others who endorse these soft drinks on what their families and children drink. I know-I once had this discussion with Kapil Dev, in the days when he used to endorse Thums Up-and he hasn’t endorsed a cold drink since.

CHEMICALS PRESENT IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AND THEIR HEALTH EFFECTS – FAQ

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1. Which chemicals are allowed / banned in Fresh Fruits and ?
Fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious and form as key food commodity in the human consumption. They are highly perishable due to their low shelf life. These food commodities are reported to be contaminated with toxic and health hazardous chemicals. Chemicals like calcium carbide / ethephon and oxytocin are reportedly being used in fruit and vegetable mandis / farms for artificial ripening of fruits and for increasing the size of fruits and vegetables respectively. Calcium carbide more commonly known as ‘masala’ is a carcinogenic agent and banned under PFA Rules, 1955. Ethephon is a pesticide and so it is not recommended as a ripening enhancer. Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone, used as a drug in veterinary services which is not advised for use in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Rule 44-AA of the PFA Rules, 1955 prohibits the use of carbide gas for ripening of fruits.

“Rule 44-AA Prohibition of use of carbide gas in ripening of fruits:- No person shall sell or offer or expose for sale or have in his premises for the purpose of sale under any description, fruits which have been artificially ripened by use of acetylene gas, commonly known as carbide gas.

” Ministry of Agriculture has clarified that the fruits are exposed to ethylene gas (fruit ripening plant hormone) in low concentration of 10-100 ppm exogenously to trigger their ripening. It is considered safe in the concentration varying from 0.001- 0.01% depending upon the crop, variety and maturity. There is no specific provision in PFA for ripening agents.

Many instances have been reported that some unscrupulous elements are following the practise of dipping green vegetables in artificial colours to give them a fresh, attractive and pleasant appearance. PFA prohibits use of colours in fruits and vegetables.

As per rule 48-E of the PFA Rules, 1955, fresh fruits and vegetables shall be free from rotting and also from coating of waxes, mineral oils and colours. However, there is provision for coating fresh fruits with food additive viz. bee wax (white / yellow) carnauba wax or shellac wax as glazing agent in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practice for use of food additives under proper label declaration as defined in sub-rule (ZZZ) (24) of Rule 42.

2. Other contaminants their source in Fruit and Vegetables and ill health effects
, crop contaminants (aflatoxins, patulin, ochratoxin, etc.) naturally occurring toxic substances and heavy metals are the major contaminants found in fruit and vegetables. are used in management of pests and diseases in Agricultural and Horticultural crops. Heavy metals are present in the irrigation water and other manures. Infested seeds, irrigation water and soil act as the source of the fungal toxins.

Pesticides can leave adverse effects on the nervous system. Some harmful pesticides can cause several hazardous diseases like cancer, liver, kidney, and lung damage. Certain pesticides can also cause loss of weight and appetite, irritability, insomnia, behavioural disorder and dermatological problems. The pesticide residue found in fruit and vegetables include residues of both banned (Aldrin, Chlordane, Endrin, Heptachlor, Ethyl Paration, etc.) and restricted pesticides for use in India (DDT, Endosulfan, etc.). Heavy metals also causes adverse effect in human metabolic system, skin diseases, heart problems, etc.

3. What are their residue limits?
Bee wax (white and yellow) or carnauba wax or shellac wax are permitted to be used in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practice for use of food additives.

Since use of carbide gas is prohibited in ripening of fruits under PFA, no tolerance limit for its residue is permitted.

No tolerance limit for colour and mineral oil on fruits and vegetables has been allowed.

The Maximum Residual Limit (MRL) of pesticide residues are given under PFA Rules, 1955 (Rule 65).

The presence of heavy metal in the food item (fruit and vegetables) shall not exceed the value given under PFA Rules, 1955 (Rule 57).

The presence of crop contaminants and naturally occurring toxic substances in fruit and vegetables shall not exceed the maximum limit prescribed under PFA Rules, 1955 (Rule 57A and 57 B)

4. Advice to Consumer:-
Select fruits and vegetables without spots or necrosis (lesions) and any abnormality.

Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly with water (preferably) running potable water before eating and cooking.

Purchase fruits and vegetables from known dealers.

Peeling of fruits before consumption and vegetables before cooking will reduce exposure to pesticide.

Do not buy and consume cut fruits from open market.

Throw away fruits and vegetables infected by mould/fungus.

To minimize the hazards of pesticide residues, discard the outer leaves of leafy vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage.

Do not wash fruits and vegetables with detergents as they may get absorbed inside.

Ensure the quality of fruits and vegetables by sending them to voluntary testing laboratories.

Wash your hands with soap and potable water, use clean utensil and clean cutting board with stainless steel knives.

5. Regulation of Food Law:

Implementation of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules rests with State/U.T. Governments. The Commissioner / Food (Health) Authority of States/U.Ts. have been advised to keep strict vigil to check the use of carbide gas and other hazardous chemicals for ripening of fruits and colouring of fruits and vegetables and to take legal action for violation of the provisions of the Act/Rules.

FSSAI invites suggestions on draft Food Import Rules; to receive till July 25

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The and Standards Authority of India has developed a draft document on “
and Standards (Food Import) Regulations” as per the provision of the FSS Act (Food Safety and Standards Act) to ensure the safety of imported food.

The National Institute for Smart Government (NISG), Hyderabad, under the ministry of commerce, which has drafted the Regulation, has also been assigned the task of designing and conceptualising the IT-enabled imported Food Safety System.

As part of this engagement, the NISG is assisting the Authority in establishing the operationalisation of food import clearance processes at various ports of entries.

The draft, which covers areas like prohibition and regulation of imports, risk categorisation of food imports, clearance of special categories food imports, inpection and sampling, will be open for stakeholders’ comment till July 25.

Towards clearance of imported food items, the FSSAI has already operationalised the imported food clearance process in a phased manner since August-September, 2010, through appointment of
Authorised Officers in terms of section 47(5) of the FSS Act, 2006, at 14 major ports of entries (including sea, air and land).

The functions of the FSSAI’s Authorised Officer inter alia include the existing functions of the Port Health Officer under the PFA Act, 1954 with respect to imported food clearance process, in co-ordination with the custom authorities.

It’s eating us: Vegetables grown with pesticides and polluted water

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Nilanjana S Roy / New Delhi July 16, 2011, 0:55 IST

The aloo wars of 2005 are now barely remembered, but for a brief while, the question of whether Indian potatoes were infected or not became a cross-border issue.

Pakistan quarantined the Indian aloo in September 2005 as part of a larger vegetable skirmish, but after a barrage of virus tests and some discreet diplomacy, the offending potatoes were finally allowed to cross the Wagah border.

In 2005, the health risks of were just about becoming part of mainstream concern — they took a back seat to the rampant scare stories caused by the spread of mad cow disease. Western markets worried far more about salmonella and e coli outbreaks, though in India many activists had begun to discuss the risks of in . But given debates over poor slaughterhouse conditions and concerns over bird flu, took a back seat to headlines that spoke of thousands of chickens and ducks being slaughtered in Tripura.
Most of our vegetable battles have either been very specific — the debate over BT brinjal and GM foods, for instance, which is an ongoing and complex one — or media-driven scares. There’s a brief period when people stop eating spinach, or brinjal, and then the conversation moves on.

But perhaps we should be paying more attention to the veggies on our plate. In a way, many of us do, but we internalise the debates. Many Delhi oldtimers won’t buy or eat watermelon; the images of watermelons grown in the toxic, pollution-laden waters of the Yamuna are very sharp, even though toxic watermelon may well be just as safe or unsafe as other fruits, as I’ll explain.

The recent e coli outbreaks in Europe offer a sense of how norms have shifted from fears of contaminated meat and fish to fears of vegetables, often contaminated by the infected run-off from cattle or sheep grazing nearby. In the last few years, the culprit in many of the e coli scares in the West has not been meat — Spanish cucumbers, Californian spinach, and, most recently, Egyptian fenugreek sprouts have been to blame.

What is more alarming for Indians is that every independent study of Indian vegetables confirms that they contain unusually high levels of pesticides. Studies done by Consumer Voice and by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture reveal a wide range of chemically dangerous substances in vegetables from cauliflower to bitter gourd, spinach and parwal, including malathion, chlordane and DDT. The amounts in which Indians ingest pesticide in their vegetables, grains, cereals and spices are significantly higher than, say, most EU citizens, in part because the laws governing the use of pesticides in the country haven’t been updated for 30 years.

This is not new information, though it’s buttressed by new studies. But it’s surprising how little discussion we have of these issues in the public domain, and how few studies have looked at the health effects on Indians who’ve now been consuming pesticides in vast amounts for at least a 10-15 year period. Another outbreak of food hysteria wouldn’t be of much use — as the wide range of vegetables and cereals affected shows, this is not a problem you can deal with by abjuring aubergines, so to speak. Nor can more than a small section of consumers afford to switch over to eating organic veggies, setting aside the confusion over what constitutes organically-farmed vegetables in India.

What we really need is a much more focused public debate on food safety.

“Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are,” Brillat-Savarin famously wrote. That, in today’s world, is a very alarming offer.

Nilanajana S Roy is a Delhi-based writer

Is Organic Farming responsible for E.coli poisoning?

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This is not in defensive of highly industrialized organic farming…but to share some thoughts about the way we produce, trade and eat food…as this is going to be our future as well….

E.Coli is a bacteria commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms including human beings. Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans and are occasionally responsible for product recalls particularly processed foods.  therefore it is more to do with process of clean production, processing, storing and cooking.  since it lives in the gut of animals…E. coli cells are a major component of feces, and fecal-oral transmission is the major route through which pathogenic strains of the bacterium cause disease apart from spoilage of processed foods. Cells are able to survive outside the body for a limited amount of time, which makes them ideal indicator organisms to test environmental samples for fecal contamination.

As organic farming uses dung and dung based products extensively…its linked to that.  Most of the cases of E.coli poisoning is for products which are stored for a long time…in a unhygenic conditions…however off late when there is growing markets for organic…and long food miles do carry all the evils.

E. coli bacteria escape the intestinal tract through a perforation (for example from an ulcer, a ruptured appendix, or due to a surgical error) and enter the abdomen, they usually cause peritonitis that can be fatal without prompt treatment. However, E. coli are extremely sensitive to such antibiotics as streptomycin or gentamicin. This could change since, as noted below, E. coli quickly acquires drug resistance.  high use of antibiotics, use of antibiotic resistance markers in GM crops, use of antibiotics as hormones in animal feed…are all responsible for this resistance development.

some more info…
Certain strains of E. coli produce potentially lethal toxins. Food poisoning caused by E. coli can result from eating unwashed or undercooked meat. Few strains (O157:H7 particularly) are also notorious for causing serious and even life-threatening complications such as hemolytic-uremic syndrome. This particular strain is linked to the 2006 United States E. colioutbreak due to fresh spinach. The O104:H4 strain is, though rarer, still more dangerous because it is just as virulent, if not more so. Antibiotic and supportive treatment protocols for it are not as well-developed (it has the ability to be cause bloody diarrhea like O157:H7, causing bloody diarrhea, but also is more entero-aggregative, meaning it adheres well and clumps to intestinal membranes). It is the strain behind the ongoing and deadly June 2011 E. coli outbreak in Europe. Severity of the illness varies considerably; it can be fatal, particularly to young children, the elderly or the immunocompromised, but is more often mild. Earlier, poor hygienic methods of preparing meat in Scotland killed seven people in 1996 due to E. coli poisoning, and left hundreds more infected.
however, if proper care is not taken its not only chemicals but microorganisms can also kill.  living organisms are more dangerous because they can multiply…where as chemicals degrade over time….many of you may know that leafy vegetables grown along musi has caused huge death toll in 70s in hyderabad. the leafy vegetables were also banned for a while. situations have not changed since then…heavy metals, chemicals residues and deadly micro organisms are still part of food…specially grown with musi waters.  Cleaning up is expensive and impractical given the lax administration in our society…preventing (avoiding) at source is the best option.

FSSAI panel meets food safety commissioners, reviews PFA-FSS transition

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http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=29883&sectionid=1
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 08:00 IST
F&B News, New Delhi

The preparedness of states / UTs was reviewed by V N Gaur, chief executive officer, and Standards Authority of India, at a meeting with the commissioners. The CEO asked the commissioners to gear up the state machinery to take up challenge of licence / registration of food business operators in their states.

The CEO informed delegates that after extensive consultation with various stakeholders draft rules were notified and suggestions received from the public thereon, within the specified period, were considered. In deliberations that followed, measures were suggested for smooth transition from PFA Act 1954 to FSS Act 2006.

States / UTs in turn assured that despite all bottlenecks, they will be able to ensure smooth transition. User-friendly IT-enabled licensing system will be created to improve governance and compliance. Whistleblower scheme was also discussed and states expressed their opinion and views on the same. It provides for reward to person(s) for information on food adulteration.

Food Safety and Standards Rules have now been notified in the Gazette of India vide G S R 362(E) dated May 5, 2011. These rules will come into force after 3 months of date of publication. Considering the requirements of funds for implementation of FSS Act the state governments were impressed upon to prepare details of estimated expenditure and include same in the state government plans.