NEW DELHI: After milk, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has found contamination to be quite common among food items across the country.
A comparative analysis has shown adulteration rates as high as 40% in Chhattisgarh, 34% in Uttarakhand, 29% in Uttar Pradesh, 23% in Rajasthan and 20% in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh. Besides, nearly 17% of the food samples tested in Bihar and Chandigarh, 16% in Nagaland, 15% in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, 14% in Haryana, 12% in Tamil Nadu and 10% in Maharashtra were adulterated.
In 2010, FSSAI picked up over 1.17 lakh samples of food articles and tested them. Around 13% of the samples overall were found to be adulterated. Interestingly, adulteration rates in Delhi was low - 4% while in Karnataka it was just 5%.
A comparative analysis of food adulteration rates over the last three years has shown a steady increase. In 2008, 94,000 samples were examined of which over 8,300 were found to be adulterated (8.79%). In 2009, 1.13 lakh samples were examined of which 11.14% were adulterated. In 2010, 1.17 lakh samples were examined of which over 14,000 samples (12.65%) were adulterated.
This has now made the health ministry's working group propose setting up a National Food Science and Risk Assessment Centre (NFSRAC) during the 12th Five-Year Plan. To cost around Rs 155 crore, the centre has been envisaged on the lines of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the US.
NFSRAC will be the repository of all food standards and will carry out all risk assessment-related work and analyse food surveillance data received from labs.
"It is proposed to set up a dedicated institution under the direct control of FSSAI for regulatory research and risk assessment. The institute will also carry out a food safety risk analysis training programmes and will become functional within one year of sanction of the project," the working group report said.
The group has also proposed upgradation of Central Food Laboratories (CFL) at a cost of Rs 40 crore. The group said in its latest report to the health ministry, "It is proposed to upgrade and develop the existing Central Food Laboratories at Kolkata and Mumbai as control laboratories for development of testing methods and standardise practices."
The group has called for a nationwide food safety surveillance network and data collection on regular basis at the cost of Rs 50 crore. "It is proposed to carry out periodic surveys for surveillance purposes with built in mechanism for emergency warning and linked with rapid action machinery. This will publish annual state of food safety reports," the report said.
This surveillance is expected to generate data regarding food hazards and possible outbreaks of food borne diseases which will help establish public health priorities for prevention, intervention and control.
The group has also asked for Rs 525 crore for strengthening FSSAI including expanding its scientific wing, imported food testing/screening and additional regional offices. There are plans to also upgrade existing 62 public food labs to accredited standards for comprehensive testing facilities as zonal labs -- one laboratory for every 10 districts costing Rs 5 crore a lab.
"A network of efficient laboratories is the backbone of any credible food safety initiative. Most existing laboratories lack facilities for testing of microbiological parameters, heavy metals and residues. Further, adequate number of food testing laboratories is essential for effective enforcement with greater rate of conviction of violators, citizen empowerment and voluntary testing by food establishments to comply with the law. The hierarchy of laboratories proposed is: Cluster Food Testing Laboratories (1 in 5 districts) doing basic tests, Zonal Food Laboratories (1 in 10 districts) performing all tests including residues and heavy metals, 10 Referral Laboratories and two control labs under FSSAI," the report said.
In addition, the committee has also suggested putting in place mobile laboratory facilities to cater to festivals, natural calamities and inaccessible areas.
"It is proposed to allot Rs7.5 crore to each state for setting up mobile food laboratories. These will carry out screening and analysis of samples to provide rapid results, provide additional sampling and testing capacity and also reduce time period between sample collection, analysis and reporting. Such mobile laboratories will be highly useful during festivals and large public gatherings," the report added.
A comparative analysis has shown adulteration rates as high as 40% in Chhattisgarh, 34% in Uttarakhand, 29% in Uttar Pradesh, 23% in Rajasthan and 20% in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh. Besides, nearly 17% of the food samples tested in Bihar and Chandigarh, 16% in Nagaland, 15% in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, 14% in Haryana, 12% in Tamil Nadu and 10% in Maharashtra were adulterated.
In 2010, FSSAI picked up over 1.17 lakh samples of food articles and tested them. Around 13% of the samples overall were found to be adulterated. Interestingly, adulteration rates in Delhi was low - 4% while in Karnataka it was just 5%.
A comparative analysis of food adulteration rates over the last three years has shown a steady increase. In 2008, 94,000 samples were examined of which over 8,300 were found to be adulterated (8.79%). In 2009, 1.13 lakh samples were examined of which 11.14% were adulterated. In 2010, 1.17 lakh samples were examined of which over 14,000 samples (12.65%) were adulterated.
This has now made the health ministry's working group propose setting up a National Food Science and Risk Assessment Centre (NFSRAC) during the 12th Five-Year Plan. To cost around Rs 155 crore, the centre has been envisaged on the lines of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the US.
NFSRAC will be the repository of all food standards and will carry out all risk assessment-related work and analyse food surveillance data received from labs.
"It is proposed to set up a dedicated institution under the direct control of FSSAI for regulatory research and risk assessment. The institute will also carry out a food safety risk analysis training programmes and will become functional within one year of sanction of the project," the working group report said.
The group has also proposed upgradation of Central Food Laboratories (CFL) at a cost of Rs 40 crore. The group said in its latest report to the health ministry, "It is proposed to upgrade and develop the existing Central Food Laboratories at Kolkata and Mumbai as control laboratories for development of testing methods and standardise practices."
The group has called for a nationwide food safety surveillance network and data collection on regular basis at the cost of Rs 50 crore. "It is proposed to carry out periodic surveys for surveillance purposes with built in mechanism for emergency warning and linked with rapid action machinery. This will publish annual state of food safety reports," the report said.
This surveillance is expected to generate data regarding food hazards and possible outbreaks of food borne diseases which will help establish public health priorities for prevention, intervention and control.
The group has also asked for Rs 525 crore for strengthening FSSAI including expanding its scientific wing, imported food testing/screening and additional regional offices. There are plans to also upgrade existing 62 public food labs to accredited standards for comprehensive testing facilities as zonal labs -- one laboratory for every 10 districts costing Rs 5 crore a lab.
"A network of efficient laboratories is the backbone of any credible food safety initiative. Most existing laboratories lack facilities for testing of microbiological parameters, heavy metals and residues. Further, adequate number of food testing laboratories is essential for effective enforcement with greater rate of conviction of violators, citizen empowerment and voluntary testing by food establishments to comply with the law. The hierarchy of laboratories proposed is: Cluster Food Testing Laboratories (1 in 5 districts) doing basic tests, Zonal Food Laboratories (1 in 10 districts) performing all tests including residues and heavy metals, 10 Referral Laboratories and two control labs under FSSAI," the report said.
In addition, the committee has also suggested putting in place mobile laboratory facilities to cater to festivals, natural calamities and inaccessible areas.
"It is proposed to allot Rs7.5 crore to each state for setting up mobile food laboratories. These will carry out screening and analysis of samples to provide rapid results, provide additional sampling and testing capacity and also reduce time period between sample collection, analysis and reporting. Such mobile laboratories will be highly useful during festivals and large public gatherings," the report added.
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