HEMANT RAO, Principal Secretary, Food Safety & Drug Administration Department, Uttar Pradesh
NEW DELHI: These days everyone has a Maggie noodles story to tell. But call it a blessing in disguise, posts for food analysts that were lying vacant for years in several states, are likely to be filled up. The government had until now not considered deploying enough number of food inspectors.
Still, it goes to the credit of the minion Barabanki office of Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDA) in Uttar Pradesh (UP), which despite several shortcomings, brought down the giant Nestle empire to its knees for misguiding gullible people.
According to the latest reports, the Bombay High Court has declined to stay the order of food authorities banning nine variants of Maggi noodles till June 30.
Now that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also forced Maggie’s manufacturer Nestle to pull the product out of India, there’s a lot of churning going on in FSSAI itself. It ordered food regulators in all Indian states to pick up samples of Maggi noodles after UP food inspectors detected high levels of lead and the taste-enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) in a sample of the noodles.
Meanwhile, food safety authorities in Delhi also put many more popular packaged snacks, including noodles, baby food, energy drinks, health supplements, protein shakes, imported packaged foods, instant pastas and macaroni under the microscope.
As more test details have come in, other popular brands of noodles are reported to be equally unsafe for consumption. The report by Delhi government’s food department has revealed that of the 12 samples of other brands, eight have failed the quality test. The samples collected were from brands like Top Ramen, Tops, Ching’s and Foodles. The lab report shows that on many products, manufacturers have not mentioned ingredients like MSG.
Hemant Rao, who heads the Food Safety & Drug Administration Department’s (FSDA) UP branch, says, “The objective behind the recall or ban on manufacturing is to give manufacturers an opportunity to improve and offer a better and safer product to people.”
As the Indian food market is evolving and companies are expected to behave in a responsible manner, Rao speaks to Gulf News.
GULF NEWS: The world over, Barabanki has been made famous by your department.
HEMANT RAO: it shows we have been working seriously on food safety and are particular about enforcement of the Food Safety Act. In the past also we have caught the attention regarding adulteration of commodities. It’s just that this time things shot into prominence.
But why did it take more than a year to declare Maggi unsafe for health? A lot of damage, in terms of consumption, especially by children and the youth, could have been avoided.
There’s a legal procedure to it all. In this case, a sample was taken by the Barabanki office and sent to the lab in Gorakhpur for analysis in March 2014. The report was then sent to the district level officer and the retailer, from whom the packets were picked up, was also informed. As is the norm, the retailer was given the opportunity and the option to send the sample for further investigation. On getting the nod, the sample was sent to the referral laboratory in Kolkata. This lab is generally busy and overworked. After sitting over it for some time, they said the quantity sent was inadequate for the test. By this time it was already end of the year. After more packets of the product were sent to them, the tests were conducted and the report came in April 2015. That’s when we declared that Maggi noodles were ‘unsafe’ and initiated action against the retailer by sealing his shop. The shop was, however, allowed to open on grounds that the retailer was only selling the packaged product and was not the manufacturer.
Nestle has said the samples could have been contaminated during the lengthy transit?
They may say anything now. The labs first check the status of the samples to verify that the packets are not tampered.
The case has highlighted shortcomings of India’s food safety network. What immediate steps are needed to ensure that consumers are not taken for a ride?
We are increasing the staff strength and also the standards of the laboratories by gradually introducing modern technologies. Labs, such as the one in Gorakhpur, do not have the facility to test ‘lead’ in products. But it must be pointed out that Uttar Pradesh is the only state where the food safety department is an independent entity, which has the freedom and functionality to take decisions freely. Otherwise, in other states health secretaries have to double up as food safety in charge. Importantly, the data by the Food Safety Authority says that out of the total penalty levied in 2014-15, UP accounts for one-third of the total penalties.
Are you hoping for any infrastructure changes in your department?
The FSDA was introduced in 2006. But it was in 2011 that food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was created to implement FSDA. Since it was a new concept, departments were given training and orientation programmes were held. The infrastructure was put in place, but we are grappling with a lot more and there’s need for more staff strength.
Which other companies are on your agenda and likely to face action?
We try not to discriminate against any company by pinpointing names. As a rule, we take samples of companies at random. For instance, after Nestle’s Maggi, samples of other noodle companies are also being tested. In fact, (Maggi) noodles were among hundreds of samples of food tested each year.
How is it that Maggi samples in Goa tested negative?
I cannot say anything about that. Under the food safety Act, all state governments function independently. But then it’s like gutka (tobacco product), which is banned in many states, but continues to be sold in other states.
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Rao’s Maggie story — Nothing official about it!
“Without naming any company, I feel, personally parents are not in favour of junk food. Working in the food safety department, I am obviously more aware and cautious than others and warn my children about the ill effects of junk food. I have to explain to them that if they prefer eating only two rotis (Indian bread) in a meal, the calories they are adding on eating junk food is equivalent to four rotis! Eating junk once in a while is OK, but no one should not make it a habit.”
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After effects
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer traditionally used in Chinese food, is a kind of amino acid, which occurs naturally in many agricultural products. Often, it is added artificially to packaged food for augmenting flavour. The food safety regulations mandate companies to specify it on the packaging if MSG has been added.
Doctors say the consumption of MSG may cause problems like burning sensations in mouth, head and neck. It may cause weakness in arms or legs, headaches and upset stomach approximately 15 minutes after MSG is consumed. Other problems may be flushing headaches and hives or allergic type reactions on the skin.
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The beginning
• Nestle’s troubles started in March 2014 when a batch of Maggi noodles (manufactured in February) were picked up by Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration of Barabanki district for a routine check.
• The samples were tested at the Regional Public Analyst Laboratory in Gorakhpur and it finds lead content to be 17.2 ppm, higher than the maximum permissible limit of 2 ppm. Reports also show the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the product. This was not disclosed as ingredient on its labels.
• The authorities sent a notice to Nestle India for violation of FDA regulations.
• Nestle files appeal against UP FDA notice.
• In April 2014, the Maggi samples were sent to the apex central food-testing laboratory in Kolkata. Tests on the samples confirm presence of lead and MSG.
• In April 2015, FDA asked Nestle to recall one batch of 200,000 packs of Maggi noodles produced in February. Nestle claimed the products had reached their ‘best before’ date in November 2014, and the company, as a practice, takes back all products from retailers/distributors before they reach the ‘best before’ date.
• In May, the FDA decided to prosecute Nestle. Central government asks Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) to look into the Maggi issue.
• On June 1, Nestle India said lead levels in Maggi are within permissible limits.
• On June 2, Maggi samples fail test in Delhi. Kerala government stops selling Maggi at over 1000 government owned outlets.
• Other states, including Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have also banned sale of Maggi.
• Additional chief judicial magistrate of Barabanki has summoned Nestle India executive on July 1 under sections 58 and 59 (I) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The sections deal with punishment for selling unsafe food.
• Anyone who manufactures, stores, retails, distributes or imports food items considered unsafe for human consumption can be punished under four levels of Act.
• The punishments range from six months imprisonment to life in prison. The penalty, ranging from Rs50,000 (Dh2,893) to Rs1 million, depends on the nature of offence.
