?Food safety department decides to check licence of restaurants, hotels and shops selling edibles

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is planning to come out with a regulation to reduce trans-fat content in food products having fats or oils to 2 per cent by 2022.

 It currently allows trans-fat content in fats and oils to 5 per cent. The notification to further reduce to 3 per cent by 2021 and 2 per cent by 2022 is still in the process.

Also Read: Arun Singhal appointed as CEO FSSAI

"Food safety is one aspect, but eating healthy and sustainable food is a priority. We are coming out with regulations to decrease trans-fat in foods and oils to 2 per cent by 2022," said Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI.

The food safety executive shared this in a virtual event organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the 4th anniversary of the CII-HUL Initiative on Food Safety Sciences (CHIFSS).

Asserting that trans-fat is a "serious issue", Singhal added that the industry should come forward for collaboration with the FSSAI to find ways to bring down the trans-fat content in foods and oils.

Currently, bakeries, sweet shops and other food business operators can voluntarily display 'trans-fat-free' logos on food products and in their outlets.

Must Read: FSSAI issues guidelines for FBOs, Focus on Hygiene, Safety and Contactless delivery

Speaking on the occasion, FSSAI Chairperson Rita Teaotia lauded food businesses for being responsive in these times of extraordinary public health emergency due to COVID-19.

"In many developed countries, every aspect of production, processing, distribution and retailing, street vending and consumption of food systems can be and is comprehensively regulated. Therefore, designing a food safety out there is simpler, and all the stakeholders find it feasible to implement. In a nation like ours, where size, volumes and diversity of stakeholders are enormous, we need to contextualize the food safety risk management design," added the Chairperson.

The Food Safety Department of Tamil Nadu has temporarily cancelled the kitchen licence of Chennai’s popular restaurant chain Murugan Idli Shop for having an unhygienic kitchen.

A food safety official of Tiruvallur district said, “The food is being supplied from the kitchen at Ambattur Industrial Estate to around 23 outlets of Murugan Idli Kadai. We inspected the area and found fault in the functioning of the kitchen. So, we gave 50 days time to rectify them. But, they failed to do. Again, we issued a show-cause notice, but they did not rectify then also. So, we cancelled the licence temporarily. If they rectify those defects and come to us, we will revoke the cancellation of licence after inspection.”

“We noted 10 main defects like the flooring of the kitchen was damaged, the washing area also not maintained well. Packing items were not handled properly. The temperature in storage coolers was not maintained. The kitchen was not hygienic,” the official further stated.

Meanwhile, the food safety officials also issued a notice to Murugan Idli Kadai outlet at Parrys based on a complaint.

T R Prabhakaran, a complainant, stated, “I went to Murugan Idli Kadai outlet on Friday and ordered for a meal. While eating, I found a worm in the rice. When asked about it, an in-charge of the outlet said, the food was not prepared there and it was brought from the kitchen at Ambattur. So, the worm would have entered the food while on transit. Then, I filed a complaint with the Food Safety Department through their Whats App complaint number.”

A Food Safety Official of Chennai district said, “We found that the workers had no medical certificate, also periodical pest control is not done. There were also other faults. So we issued notice.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has announced its intent to open a Global Customer Solution Center in partnership with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Ghaziabad, India.

The collaboration was confirmed during the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) - India chapter conference between Thermo Fisher Scientific and FSSAI.

“Today’s announcement is a testament to our commitment in bringing world class food testing technologies to India. It helps us realize our mission of enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer,” said Amit Chopra, managing director, India and Middle East, Thermo Fisher.

The gathering had more than 300 dignitaries including international visitors, government officials, industry leaders and scientists from food research institutes. The new Food Safety Customer Solution Center will focus on meeting and exceeding the demands of scientists in food and beverage laboratories by developing critical workflows and integrated solutions that help build food safety capacity in India.

With the food and beverage industry committed to making what we consume healthier and safer, the Thermo Fisher Customer Solution Center will serve as a regional hub for scientists, partners and the FSSAI to collaborate with subject matter experts.

“The FSSAI establishes science-based standards for articles of food and regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food to the country's 1.3 billion citizens," said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI. "The collaboration between the FSSAI and Thermo Fisher at the Food Safety Customer Solution Center in Ghaziabad will help us build new workflows for food safety testing, train our food centers of excellence, and help build capacity and expertise in the region," said Bhaskar Narayan, Ph.D., advisor of quality assurance, FSSAI.

Today’s opening marks the continuation of Thermo Fisher’s global strategic initiative that includes Customer Solution Centers in China, and others planned for the U.S. and Europe, all of which are scheduled to be opened by mid-2019. Each site will:

• Embrace the opportunity to collaborate with customers and partners in the development of next-generation workflow solutions in chromatography and mass spectrometry
• Provide complete workflows to enable scientists to reach new levels of productivity
• Create a Center of expertise to spread analytical knowledge within the local community, and provide access to collaborative solutions to overcome unique and emerging analytical challenges

आईटी मंत्रालय ने गूगल और फेसबुक से 'गलत और दुर्भावना पूर्ण' कंटेंट को हटाने के लिए कहा है। साथ ही इन दिग्गज कंपनियों से वो सभी कंटेंट हटाने की मांग की है जो भारत में खाने की क्वालिटी के बारे में गलत जानकारी फैला रहे हैं।

मंत्रालय ने इस बात का भी उल्लेख किया कि 'फर्जी' सूचना खाद्य सुरक्षा के साथ काम करने वाले संस्थानों में जनता के विश्वास को खत्म कर रही है।

इतना ही नहीं मंत्रालय ने इन सभी कंटेंट को तुरंत हटाने और उन लोगों का अकाउंट ब्लॉक करने को कहा जो ऐसी वीडियोज़ अपलोड करते हैं।

भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण (FSSAI) के सीईओ पवन अग्रवाल ने आईटी सेक्रेटरी अजय प्रकाश साहनी से इस बारे में शिकायत की थी जिसके बाद इस आदेश का पालन किया जा रहा है।

तकनीकी दिग्गजों को मेल किया गया है जिसमें लिखा है, 'हमारे संज्ञान में आया है कि कुछ गलत लोग भारत में उपलब्ध खाने की सुरक्षा और क्वालिटी के बारे में सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म को गलत तरीके से इस्तेमाल करते हुए वहां नकली, आपत्तिजनक, गलत और दुर्भावना पूर्ण वीडियो अपलोड कर रहे हैं।'

अधिकारी ने कहा, 'इस तरह की फर्जी और दुर्भावना पूर्ण वीडियो भारत में उन संस्थानों के बारे में लोगों का विश्वास खत्म कर रही है जो पूरी लगन के साथ अपना काम कर रहे हैं।'

आईटी मंत्रालय ने कहा कि FSSAI ने ऐसे उदाहरणों को संज्ञान में लिया है जहां भोजन की क्वालिटी के बारे में गलत सूचना फैलाने के लिए इंटरनेट प्लेटफॉर्मों का इस्तेमाल किया गया था।

आईटी मंत्रालय का कहना है, 'प्लास्टिक के अंडे, प्लास्टिक के चावल, दूध में मेलामाइन जैसे कुछ उदाहरण हैं जो लोगों में झूठा डर पैदा कर रहे हैं। एक विशेष फर्जी वीडियो जो दूध में मेलामाइन की उपस्थिति से संबंधित थी, वह सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल हो गई। जिसमें दुर्भावना पूर्ण रूप से यह अनुमान लगाया गया था कि FSSAI ने दूध में मेलामाइन के इस्तेमाल की अनुमति दी थी।'

मंत्रालय ने ऐसे कंटेंट को अपलोड होने से रोकने के लिए इन कंपनियों को उनकी यथोचित लगन के हिस्से के रूप में एक प्रणाली गठित करने को भी कहा है।

पवन अग्रवाल ने कहा, 'ये हमारे फूड सिस्टम और फूड बिजनेस में वैश्विक विश्वास को भी खत्म कर रही है और संभावित रूप से दूरगामी सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य, सामाजिक और व्यापारिक अनुमान है। उन्होंने ये भी कहा कि कंपनी को एक नोडल अधिकारी नियुक्त करना चाहिए जिससे कि वे तुरंत ये मुद्दे ले सकें और इनका समाधान कर सकें।'

The IT Ministry has asked Google and Facebook to take down 'false and malicious' videos and other content that spreads misinformation regarding safety and quality of food in India.

The Ministry has also mentioned that the 'fake' information is eroding the public's confidence in institutions tasked with food safety.

It has also asked the companies to immediately remove such content and block the accounts of people who are uploading the videos.

The order follows a complaint by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal to IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney.

"It has come to our notice that some miscreants are misusing various social-media platforms for circulating fake and objectionable material, including false and malicious videos regarding safety and quality of food available in India," read the mail written to tech giants.

"Such fake and malicious videos erode the public's confidence about the institutions in India which are performing their job with due diligence," the official added.

The IT Ministry said that the FSSAI has pointed out instances where the internet platforms had been used to spread misinformation about food quality.

"Specific instances like creating false scare of plastic eggs, plastic rice, melamine in milk. One specific fake video which went viral on social media related to the presence of melamine in milk, wherein it was maliciously projected that FSSAI had given permission for use of melamine in the milk," the IT Ministry note said.

The Ministry also told the companies to institute a system as part of their due diligence for prevention of uploading such contents.

 “This also erodes global trust in our food system and food businesses, and potentially has far-reaching public health, social and trade implications," shared Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI adding that the companies should appoint a nodal officer so that it can directly take up such issues with them for quick remedial action.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on Thursday said that food businesses need to comply with new packaging regulations that bar use of recycled plastics and newspapers to wrap food articles by July 1.

The new regulations prohibit packaging material made of recycled plastics including carry bags for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing articles of food.

Taking cognizance of the carcinogenic effect of inks and dyes, the norms also prohibit the use of newspaper and such other materials for packing or wrapping of food articles and includes respective Indian standard for printing inks for use on food packages.

"The new packaging regulations would raise the bar of food safety in India to the next level," shared Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI.

FSSAI also mentioned that there would be difficulties in implementation of these regulations by the unorganised sector and hence sufficient time has been given before the regulations come into force.

"The food businesses shall have to comply with these regulations by 1st July, 2019,” said Agarwal adding that stakeholder's consultation and mass awareness building amongst consumers and food businesses would precede implementation of the new packaging regulations.

During a review by FSSAI today of e-Commerce food platforms, FSSAI has found that e-Commerce platforms did not have details of FSSAI license and /or registration in respect of as many as 30% to 40% of the restaurants listed on their sites. Some of the e-commerce platforms had not even obtained license by themselves. As per conditions of license, such e-Commerce platform could only list restaurants that have FSSAI license or registration.

Earlier, late last month, FSSAI had directed leading e-Commerce Food Service Providers like Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, UberEats and others to de-list non-FSSAI licensed food business from their platform by 31st July, 2018 after receiving consumer complaints of sub-standard food being served through e-commerce platforms. The aggregators were advised to display FSSAI license number on their platform along with name and location of the restaurants. 

In the review meeting held yesterday, the regulator found that some of the leading food aggregators are operating without FSSAI License or registration. Further, it was noted by the Regulator that more than 30-40% of listed food businesses by these e-Commerce aggregators are un-licensed or un-Registered. In many cases, listed food businesses have recently applied for FSSAI License/Registration but still do not possess them.

The Regulator gave a time of two-weeks to these food aggregators to submit an action plan to

de-list un-Licensed/un-Registered food businesses. These aggregators were also advised to promote food safety and hygiene amongst their listed food businesses by training of food safety supervisors, compliance of Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), ensuring display of ‘Food Safety Boards’ on their premises. It has also been decided to conduct audit of IT platforms of these e-Commerce food aggregators from the angle of compliances for food safety and hygiene under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 read with Food Safety (Licensing and Registration) Regulations, 2011.

In his statement on the subject, CEO, FSSAI, Pawan Agarwal stated that ‘this is part of special drive by the regulator to bring in all food businesses under the FSSAI licensing regime and ensure compliance of the food safety laws’. He pointed out that ‘FSSAI had only recently notified regulation bringing e-Commerce aggregator platforms within the purview of the food safety law. He hoped that these platforms will now begin to take food safety seriously from a regulatory standpoint.’  He further appealed to these aggregators to begin to use some of their resources in training and capacity building of restaurants for improving food safety and hygiene rather than focusing only on deep discounts and aggressive marketing to build consumer traction to their respective platforms. He hoped that the investors of the platforms will take note of this.

The country’s food regulator asked production units to curb use of antibiotics and veterinary drugs to ensure safety of animal products such as processed meat, meat products, poultry and eggs, sea foods and milk.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will soon fix “tolerance limits” for presence of antibiotics in such food items. The regulator has amended 2011 Food Safety norms (Contaminants, toxins and Residues) which are likely to be notified by end of this week, official sources said.

The proposed regulations will also require vets and animal owners to ensure that any animal products they produce are drug-free before they can be used as food. The new regulations would also mean enforcement of drug withdrawal period before treated animals, eggs or milk are used for consumption as food. This allows time for the drugs to completely leave the animal’s system, an official said.

FSSAI will do surprise inspections and random sampling after the new regulations are enforced to check the presence of antibiotic residues beyond the permissible limit in various products.

The move comes in the wake of concerns related to presence of antibiotics in such animal foods. While India has been under severe international pressure, overuse of antibiotics in food-producing animals is often blamed for the increase in super bugs.

“Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem and animal products are a major source of it. We want to ensure that no contaminated food products are able to enter the food supply,” FSSAI chief executive Pawan Kumar Agarwal told TOI.

Antibiotics use in the farm animals like cows, pigs and poultry is for the treatment of infections and prevention of illness in animals or their products. Aantibiotics are given in low doses to animals for greater production of meat or milk.

Food safety regulator FSSAI today said there is still confusion among consumers about nutraceuticals because of misinformation, and called for adoption of self-regulation by industry players.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSA) Chairman Ashish Bahuguna said the industry has bigger responsibility to ensure quality and safe products to consumers.

Nuraceuticals are product of food origin with extra health benefits in addition to the basic nutritional value of the food. These can be viewed as non-specific bilogical therapies that promote general health, control symptoms and prevent malignant processes.

Addressing an Assocham event here, Bahuguna said, "Everyone expects the acceptability of nutraceuticals to grow. I feel the first challenge is that consumers have 'bramh' (confusion). There is so much misinformation."

There are also false claims about the products. The consumers want claims on labels to be clear. The industry should clarify the difference between nutraceuticals and pharmceuticals, he said asking the industry to work in this direction.

Consumer interest and safety should be the priority for the industry, for which it should adopt self-regulation, he added.

Bahuguna further said, "FSSAI makes stringent rules that no one violates. Manufacturers have bigger responsibility to make quality and safe products."

Nutraceuticals sector is growing fast and will grow faster in the coming years. FSSAI is open to accepting suggestions to improve the sector, he added.

Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM) Vice Chancellor Chindi Vasudevappa were among other industry players present at the event.

Highlighting the challenges faced in the sector, Sami-Sabinsa Group founder and chairman Muhammed Majeed said the industry should be worried about herbal security as the country cannot depend on other nations like Indonesia for regular supply.

"In Ayurveda, if you don't get one herb, it is adulterated with other. Even in nutraceuticals, it happens. Therefore, herbal security is important," he said.

Majeed also said India should patent new products else other countries will do so, affecting the domestic industry.

Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA) President Ajit Singh said the domestic industry has many problems with regard to packaging and hygiene.

The nutraceuticals industry is forced to make products from equipments and processes designed by pharma industry. "We need to redesign equipments for nutraceuticals," he said.

Another problem is that nutraceuticals are packed scientifically. They are packed in plastics that reduce the quality of dosages each time the bottle is opened, he said and suggested blister packaging.

According to an Assocham Knowledge report, the Indian nutraceuticals market is expected to grow from USD 4 billion in 2017 to USD 18 billion in 2025.

Key global players in this sector include GSK Consumer Healthcare, HUL, Nestle, Danone, Kellogg's and Amway.

Indian companies like ITC, Dabur, Himalaya, Patanjali and Baidyanath are trying to reach out to customers by introducing new products in the market.

With emergence of new companies like Sami Labs, Tirupati Group, Deccan Healthcare and Vantage Nutrition, the market for nutraceuticals looks promising, the report said.

In a bid to strengthen the food safety surveillance system and assuring safe food to the consumers, FSSAI will undertake the audits of Food Business Operators through private auditing agencies/third party.

This move of third party food safety audits has been taken to reduce the burden on the regulatory inspections conducted by Central or State Licensing Authorities

In this regard FSSAI has enlisted 15 food safety auditing agencies which have been granted provisional recognition as food safety auditing agencies under draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017.

These include Onecert International, Bureau Veritas (India), BSI Group India, Indocert, DNV GL Business Assurance, Intertek, IRCLASS Systems and Solutions, RIR Certification, TUV India, TUV Rheinland (India), MS Certification Services, SGS India Pvt Ltd, Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Limited, URS Certification Ltd and BIS.

These food auditing agencies will be used for audit of some food businesses as decided by FSSAI.

The classification will be based on factors like food type, intended customer use, nature of activity of the business, volume of the business & method of processing/any other factors prescribed by food authority.

FSAAI in its notification said that the experience and feedback obtained would be used while finalizing the regulations in this regard.

Presently, the provisionally recognized auditing agencies will only be engaged by FSSAI to audit some food businesses as decided by the FSSAI from time to time.

Once the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017 after considering the comments from relevant stakeholders, is finally vetted and notified, the food authority shall from time to time specify the category of food businesses which shall be liable for mandatory audits, it added.

Also, to encourage self compliance, food businesses which are not subject to mandatory Food Safety auditing can also conform to auditing of their businesses on voluntary basis.

“Food businesses having undergone satisfactory audits will be subjected to less frequent audits by Central or State licensing authorities”, said FSSAI in its notification.

India’s food regulator has asked restaurants to voluntarily print calorie counts on their menus to promote healthy eating habits, as is done in the west, but they say it will be a challenge as recipes are not standardized and ingredient quantities keep changing.

The authority has also asked e-commerce and retail companies to promote healthy options such as fortified foods on their landing pages and checkout counters.

“This is a way to nudge food companies to do something which is in the interest of the health of the nation,” said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), adding that it was a part of its Eat Right Movement. This will include commitments from food companies on reformulation of their products with less salt and sugar besides elimination of trans fats in a phased manner.

Restaurants will be required to promote safe and healthy eating practices and help consumers in making informed choices through calorie information labelling.

They will also be required to voluntarily include low fat, salt and sugar variants on the menu. It will be a stiff challenge to assign calories to dishes, said representatives of restaurants and food chains across the country.

“The recipes of dishes on the menu in a restaurant are not standardised, so it will be a huge challenge to mention calorie count of dishes on the menu,” said National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) secretary general Prakul Kumar, adding that the quantity of ingredients in the same dish may vary from day to day.

The authority has also asked packaged food companies to commit to reducing sugar, unhealthy fats and salt in a phased manner.

“Big food companies including Nestle, ITC, Patanjali, big quick service restaurant (QSR) chains (including halwai associations), major organised retailers and ecommerce players including Big-Basket, Amazon Grofers will make a simple commitment and sign a pledge to promote healthy eating,” Agarwal said.

Albinder Dhindsa, co-founder Grofers, said the company will promote FSSAI's eating right initiative through a dedicated collection and store. “we are committed to promoting healthy food on our platforms. We will welcome and support every step taken towards raising public awareness on issues at the grass root level,” he added.

The food regulator has also proposed to limit the maximum trans-fat content in vegetable oils, vegetable fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil to 2% by weight as part of its goal to make India trans-fat-free by 2022.

The regulator has invited the top food companies, QSR chains, oil companies and organised retailers to join the self-regulation exercise.

Food safety regulator FSSAI has announced to drop down the quantity of trans-fatty acids (TFA) in vanaspati/bakery shortenings/margarine to less than 2 per cent in a phased manner, which would effectively bring the level of trans-fats to zero level in food in India.

Since the industry has agreed on the issue, the regulator said it will soon notify a draft regulation and release the final one in the next 3-4 months, it said.

TFA are largely present in vanaspati (used in the preparation of sweets and deep fried foods) and margarine and bakery shortenings. Trans-fatty acids are also formed during repeated heating of fats/oils while deep frying at home and restaurants.

"We are planning to achieve less than 2 per cent TFA content by 2022, a year ahead of the global target to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat from the food supply by the year 2023," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement.

TFA reduction in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs) from 5 per cent to 2 per cent will be carried out in a phased manner by the industry. We hope that this initiative will drive the market for trans-fat free products in the future, he said.

Many countries around the world, such as Denmark, Chile, Norway, Singapore, South Africa and Equador already limit trans-fat in all foods to 2 per cent, while a few other countries such as Austria, Hungary and Latvia limit it to 2 per cent level with some exceptions.

Research has shown that higher intakes of trans-fatty acids is associated with increased risk of high cholesterol and heart diseases.

Trans fatty acids can be easily eliminated by adopting newer technologies which allow the use of healthier oils in place of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils at negligible costs.

Recently, the UN body World Health Organisation (WHO) has given a call to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fats from the food supply by 2023 and has released an action package 'REPLACE' for the same.

Industrially produced trans-fatty acids are bad fats, created artificially during hydrogenation processes while making PHVOs, which are the major source of trans-fatty acids in India.

The country’s food regulator has proposed cut down maximum amount of trans fat content in vegetable oils, vegetable fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil to 2 per cent by weight as part of its objective to make India trans fat-free by 2022.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said, “We are in discussions with the industry to persuade them to reduce the amount of trans fatty acids in edible oil. We are conducting various studies and getting opinions of medical experts on whether this needs to be further reduced.”

The current permitted level of trans fat is 5 per cent in India. The World Health Organisation has urged governments across the world to eliminate the use of trans fats from global food supplies by 2023. “We have taken steps towards this even before WHO’s announcement,” Agarwal added. However, this may take some time, he added.

Trans fatty acids are made through hydrogenation of oils, which solidifies them. They help to increase the shelf life of oils and foods and stabilise their flavours. Trans fats can be found in food and food products such as some margarines, crackers, biscuits, snack foods and french fries.

In 2015, the food regulator set the maximum level of trans fatty acids at 5 per cent in food products from 10 per cent earlier. It directed that the level of trans fats in food products must be disclosed on the label.

Trans fats are known to raise the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or the ‘bad’ cholesterol, in the blood and increase the risk of coronary artery heart disease and stroke.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been given an extension of three months in his term as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The tenure of Agarwal, a 1985-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, has been given three-month extension beyond May 15, 2018, an order issued by personnel ministry said.

He was appointed as the CEO of the FSSAI in December 2015.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chief executive Pawan Agarwal said “The government will establish a self-regulation platform for food companies, retailers stocking packaged food and fastfood restaurant chains. The move will help benchmark them against the best in class, thus raising standards and making companies mindful of rules and consumers. This will encourage healthy competition among companies, retailers and QSR chains and will be an open platform for consumers to see for themselves. The companies will be ranked on basis of their declarations and the platform will also mention names of companies which haven't shared the required information.

Companies such as Hindustan Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestle, Parle Products, Danone, ITC, Patanjali and Mondelez, retailers like Walmart and Future Group, Aditya Birla Retail and Spencer’s Retail and quick service restaurant (QSR) chains including KFC and McDonald’s will be put on an equal self-compliance footing under the plan.

FSSAI’s “food safety and shared responsibility” score will be a publicly accessible online platform for companies to rate themselves against parameters such as compliance with regulations, nutritive content, dealing with consumer grievances, upstream and downstream supply chain capacity and promoting food safety in schools. It’s been dubbed ReFoc for responsible food companies score.

Agarwal also said “By engagement, sharing, cross-learning and healthy competition, we want to raise the bar not only for food safety but make foods businesses more responsive to consumers and government regulation. As we move forward, we will make this matrix more robust.”

The regulator has invited the top 200 companies by sales to join the platform in the first phase of the self-regulation exercise. The FSSAI said it will make public names of companies that don’t want to participate.

Nestle, the country's largest packaged foods maker, welcomed the move and said in a statement “We believe in providing, transparent and responsible communication to the consumers as well as other stakeholders. We welcome initiatives which encourage sharing of information and will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders on this subject.”

HUL Spokesperson said “This will not only encourage the food business to take full responsibility of food safety but also ensure that regulators can review with consistency the efforts being made by the companies on safety and hygiene”.

Danone India managing director Rodrigo Lima said “Food safety cannot be the responsibility of the regulator alone, self-regulation by food businesses and awareness of consumers will go a long way in creating an atmosphere of trust and quality. This resonates well with our mission of bringing health through food to as many people as possible.”

KFC MD India said “We are committed to contribute to the larger objective of ensuring health, hygiene and safety standards for consumers and proactively working on bringing global best practices and driving knowledge sharing programmes with the regulators”.

Health ministry has proposed sweeping changes in the law to restrict the use of terms like "fresh", "natural", "traditional" and "original" in advertisements for food products.

For instance, the draft Food Safety and Standards (Advertisement and Claims) Regulation lays down that the term "fresh" can only be applied to products which have not been processed in any manner except washed, peeled, chilled, trimmed and put through other processing necessary for making it safe for consumption, without altering its basic characteristics.

The draft, prepared by the Food Safety and Security Authority of India (FSSAI), also clearly mentions that "fresh" or "freshly" shall have no other connotation than the immediacy of the action being described.

A food containing additives and/or subjected to packaging, storing or any other supply chain processes that control freshness shall not be termed as "freshly stored" or "freshly packed.

Draft also seeks to restrict the use of the word "natural" to only food derived from a recognised source such as a plant, animal, micro-organism or mineral and to which nothing has been added.

Such products should only have been subjected to processing that would render it suitable for human consumption like smoking without chemicals, cooking processes such as roasting, blanching and dehydration, freezing, concentration, pasteurisation, and sterilisation. The packaging should be done without chemicals and preservatives.

"Natural" can also not be used for compound food products, which may be described as "made from natural ingredients".

It says that term "traditional" can only be used to describe a recipe, fundamental formulation or processing method for a product that has existed for a significant period running over generations and should have been available substantially unchanged over time.

The term 'original' shall only be used to describe a food that is made to a formulation, the origin of which can be traced, and that has remained essentially unchanged over time. It should not contain replacements for major ingredients. It may similarly be used to describe a process, provided it is the process first used in the making of the food, and which has remained essentially unchanged over time, although it may be mass-produced.

"Health claims for fortified food articles should be like Vitamin A for helping in preventing night blindness, Iron for fighting anaemia, Iodine required for normal growth, thyroid and brain function. Thiamine is required for normal nerve and heart function," says the draft, adding "a statement that in order to obtain the claimed benefits, the daily intake of the nutrient/ingredient (for example 3g beta-glucan) should be taken from either the same food or any other food that provides the nutrient/ingredient containing the beneficial nutrient/ingredient".

The draft says that the claim that a food has certain nutritional or health attributes shall be scientifically substantiated by validated methods of quantifying the ingredient or substance that is the basis for the claim.

All disclaimers related to a claim shall appear in the same field of vision. No claim or promotion of sale, supply, use and consumption of articles of foods shall be made using FSSAI logo and license number. Advertisements shall also not undermine the importance of healthy lifestyles.

Advertisements for food or beverages shall not be promoted or portrayed as a meal replacement. Claims in advertisements shall not be inconsistent with information on the label or packaging of the food or beverage.

Food regulator FSSAI has asked corporates to actively involve in the efforts to spread the message of food safety and nutrition in the country.

FSSAI has also launched its new website, a water portal and food safety connects for an integrated complaint redressal system.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) organised a workshop on social mobilisation for 'Safe and Nutritious Food: A way of life'.

Broad theme was 'Corporates for Safe and Nutritious Food , focused on building a coalition of corporates and design specific interventions that companies can take up.

Over 100 participants from the corporate sector, mainly food businesses came out in full support of FSSAI in its efforts to provide safe and nutritious food to the citizens, FSSAI said in a statement.

Ashish Bahuguna, Chairpersin,FSSAI, asked the corporates to "get actively involved in the efforts to spread the message of food safety and nutrition".

He hoped that this is just the beginning of long-term engagement between FSSAI and food businesses for social mobilisation. FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal elaborated on various initiatives by the regulator for spreading the message of food safety and nutrition at different places like home, schools, work places and eating places etc.

Among corporates that included both Indian food companies like Dabur and Britannia to multinationals such as Nestle, Mondelez, Pepsi, there was a general consensus that investing in food safety and nutrition is smart, right and sustainable thing to do. In his keynote address, Dr Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Improvement of Nutrition (GAIN) pointed out that it is in the interest of businesses to invest in food safety and nutrition.

Santosh Desai, Managing Director, Future Brands, described how there has been a fundamental shift in the thinking of corporates about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Soon after CSE report claimed that bread contains cancer-causing chemicals in Delhi, FSSAI has decided to remove potassium bromate from the list of permitted additives while it is examining evidence against potassium iodate before restricting its use.

"A scientific panel had recommended removal of potassium bromate from the list of additives. So we have already decided to take it out from the list. Soon it will be notified," shared Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

According to the report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) nearly 84 per cent of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including pav and buns, tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate, banned in many countries as they are listed as "hazardous" for public health.

"As far as potassium iodate is concerned, we are examining the evidence and soon a decision will be taken," added Agarwal.

The food safety body is continuously working with food, restaurants and eCommerce players to fight the ongoing demand of food safety in the country.

FSSAI is also working to renew the food standards as per the global parameters and has asked local bodies to join them in the food safety play.