FSSAI, Potassium bromate - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: unsafe food products

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a set of guidelines regarding the recall of unsafe food products from the market, in a bid to ensure that a proper system is in place.

Reports suggest that the food safety regulator stated that the guidelines have been issued to help food business operators frame a proper recall plan and implement them when the situation demands.

Recall can be defined as an action to remove food products from market at any stage of the food chain, including that possessed by consumer, which may pose a threat to the public health or food that violate the Act, or the rules or regulations made thereunder.

As per the guidelines, FSSAI as outlined FBOs to follow 10 steps to carry out entire recall exercise.

The key steps are that FBOs need to set up a recall management team, inform the regulator, identify all products to be recalled, detain and segregate products to be recalled which are in the company's control besides verifying the effectiveness of the recall.

"The recovered product must be stored in an area which is separated from any other food product. Accurate records are to be kept of the amount of recovered product and the batch codes of the product recovered," the FSSAI said.

After recovery, products may be corrected or reprocessed before release to the market if it is fit for human consumption.

Otherwise the product is to be destroyed. The action to be taken on the recalled product should be approved by the competent Authority.

FSSAI further said the companies, which have produced unsafe products, should take steps so that the need for such recalls do not arise again in future.

ANSWER: Use of stapler pins

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018.

FSSAI ban order issued under Section (15) FSS Act, 2006 has deemed that any loose staple pin consumed inadvertently with tea may cause a serious health hazard.

Currently, tea bags are either stapled or knotted.

According to industry estimates, the tea bag segment contributes 3-4% by value of total tea sales but it is one of the fastest growing segments at 50-60% year-on-year.

The FSSAI order directs the concerned food business operators to discontinue the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of stapled tea bags by 1 January 2018.

It also directs all food safety commissioners to take action to prevent the use of unsafe packaging materials by companies and take up measures for enforcement of its order.

FSSAI: Know More

• FSSAI is a nodal statutory agency responsible for protecting and promoting public health in India through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
• FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
• It operates under aegis of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

ANSWER: Organic

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has come out with draft regulations for organic food products to ensure the authenticity of organic foods.

FSSAI’s guidelines have been prepared in view of rising demand for organic food products.

Organic foods will have to comply with the government’s provisions under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) or the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) run by the Agriculture Ministry or any other standards notified by FSSAI.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has invited comments from the public regarding the provisions of the draft regulations.

At present, the consumers do not have any method to check the authenticity of the organic food products due to the absence of a regulatory framework.

Organic foods are defined as those food products that are produced in accordance with specified standards for organic production.

Organic farm produce means the product obtained from organic agriculture, while organic food means food products that have been produced in accordance with specified standards for organic production.

Other features FSSAI’s regulation mandates that labelling of organic foods should provide full and accurate information regarding the organic status of the organic foods.

Organic food products must carry a certification mark or a quality assurance mark provided by the notified certification bodies. FSSAI’s regulations have exempted organic food marketed by the original producer or producer organisation through a direct sale from verification compliance.

However, this exemption will not be applicable to processed organic products.

ANSWER: Square with an F and a +sign with a ring

Explanation:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has unveiled a Logo for fortified foods which may be used by food businesses.

The logo comprises of a square encompassing an F with a ‘+’ sign with a ring around it, signifying addition of additional nutrition and vitamins to daily meals to provide good health, protection for active life.

Several food businesses across the country have already started using this logo.

Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients i.e. essential trace elements and vitamins into the food.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also constituted a Panel on Food Fortification and Nutrition to identify critical nutritional gaps in the Indian diet in general and also in specific target groups.

The 11 member panel will frame final regulations on fortification of foods and prepare strategies to address malnutrition problem.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Food regulator FSSAI has set up a scientific panel to frame final regulations on food fortification and prepare strategies to address malnutrition problem.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already issued the draft guidelines on fortification for five food items - salt, milk, wheat flour, rice and edible oil - to boost production and consumption of fortified foods.

The draft rules were operationalised in October 2016.

FSSAI sought comments from stakeholders before finalising the final regulations.

Fortification involves deliberately adding or increasing the content of essential micro nutrients in food items to improve quality.

Standards have been set for fortification of salt with iodine and iron; of vegetable oil and milk with vitamin A and D; wheat flour and rice with iron, folic acid, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin A and some other micro nutrients

FSSAI has set up a new Scientific Panel on ‘Food Fortification and Nutrition’ to address issues related to fortification of food the regulator indicated in a statement.

The panel has 11 experts and scientists :

• Ambrish Mithal from Medanta;
• CS Pandav and R K Marwaha (Retd) from AIIMS;
• Anura Kurpad from St John’s Medical College;
• Yogeshwar Shukla from CSIR - Indian Institute of Toxicilogy Research,
• HPS Sachdev from Sita Ram Bharatia Institute of Science and Research;
• KM Nair from NIN;
• P Ramachandran from Nutrition Foundation of India;
• Sumit Arora from NDRI;
• Sirimavo Nair from the MS University, Baroda, and
• Harsulkar from Bharati Vidyapeeth.

Members from Scientific Panels dealing with food fortifying vehicles such as wheat flour, refined flour, rice, milk, edible oil and salt will also be a part of this committee.

The Panel will identify critical nutritional gaps in the Indian diet in general as well as in specific target groups based on diet surveys and reliable scientific evidence.

It will define strategies to address nutritional needs of the general population and vulnerable groups, besides reviewing the standards for all suitable food fortifying vehicles.

The panel will also address regulatory and related technological issues, review proposals from industry using modern risk assessment methods, and prescribe standard sampling and test methods for effective monitoring, surveillance and enforcement of the relevant regulations.

FSSAI had earlier brought out Draft Regulations for fortified food - Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Food) Regulations, 2016 which were operationalised in October, 2016.

FSSAI: Know More

• Formed: August 2011
• Jurisdiction: India
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: Ashish Bahuguna
• CEO: Pawan Kumar Agarwal
• Parent agency: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
• Website: www.fssai.gov.in

ANSWER: Newspaper

Explanation:
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued an advisory saying it has decided to ban the use of newspapers for wrapping and packing food items, a common practice by small corner shops and street vendors.

In its advisory, FSSAI has asked commissioners of food safety of all states and UTs to take necessary steps to restrict the use of newspapers for packing, serving and storing of food items.

Newspaper ink can contaminate food items leading to serious health concerns.

Cancer related complications can result from the use of newspaper as a food packaging material.

This is the first time FSSAI has brought about a rule with regard to packaging food materials. So far, it has focused on setting standards for packaged food.

Food Retail in India

• 10 million street vendors in 2014(estimate by Union Housing Ministry).
• BCG estimates there are 12 million kirana stores as per a 2014-2015 estimate.
• India has the second largest food retail industry in the world.
• 97% of the Indian food retail industry is unorganised.

ANSWER: ASCI

Explanation:
Regulatory authority FSSAI has partnered ASCI to check misleading ads in the food and beverages sector.

• ASCI will monitor ads across numerous media and the council has been provided suo moto monitoring mandate by FSSAI to process complaints against misleading food and beverages ads
• Agreement also requires ASCI to report FSSAI’s non compliance of ASCI’s decisions for further action as per the FSSAI act.
• The MoU was signed between FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal and ASCI chairman Benoy Roychoudhury
• FSSAI is an agency of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI

ANSWER: Clean Street Food

Explanation:
This FSSAI project will raise the safety standards of foods sold on streets across the capital city of New Delhi by training 20,000 roadside vendors on aspects of health and hygiene, in the first phase. FSSAI will partner with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship under the Recognition of Prior Learning under the PMKVY scheme for this project.

ANSWER: Pawan Kumar Agarwal

Explanation:
He was appointed on 22nd December 2015 replacing Yudhvir Singh Malik who was shifted to Additional Secretary in Niti Aayog. Before this FSSAI Chairman Ashish Bahugana was holding the additional charge of FSSAI CEO. Agarwal is a 1985 batch WB cadre IAS officer.

ANSWER: Ashish Bahugana

Explanation:
Chairman of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India was on 4th October 2015 given additional charge as CEO of FSSAI. This was following the shift of Y. S. Malik to Niti Aayog as an additional secretary. Bahugana is a retired 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer and former Agriculture Secretary. He is been the chairman of FSSAI since July 2015. FSSAI was instituted in August 2011 and it promotes public health through supervision and regulation of food safety. It has an HQ in Delhi.