Securing a Better Future

India needs to improve its track record on the front of food safety so that the citizens can enjoy healthier and happier lives
By Amresh Kumar Tiwary

Food safety is one of major threats to public health in India. Child deaths from diarrhea in the country are among the highest in the world due in part to poor water quality. Perhaps no city in India provides clean water that can be consumed from the tap without filtration.
As India needs FDI to maintain growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to improve India’s ranking in the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index, but India’s discouraging record on the issue of food safety is stymieing these efforts by presenting a picture that the country is far from ensuring good quality of food to its people.
To achieve food safety, we need appropriation of resources to regulatory units. Institutions need to be strengthened and their capacity enhanced. We require tighter strategic and operational coordination among various agencies. We need to apply restrictions and sanctions in areas needing urgent policy attention, but targeting high-profile products in an attempt to signal regulatory activity may prove to be counterproductive. The Maggi case may or may not be a legitimate health threat, but it is clear that the country’s food safety and public health regulatory regimes should undergo a complete overhaul, sooner or later.
India needs to accord food safety the status of an important social and health priority. But the way one of the world’s largest dairy and food products companies has chosen non adherence to food safety standards has brought food safety issues in India into much sharper focus.
Food safety has a bearing on economic growth and progress as well. In India, the food processing industry holds tremendous potential. It has high employment potential, can boost exports of agro products out of the country, and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce. However, this is possible only if food safety standards are effectively enforced in the country.
Despite having laws in place, the country is unable to effectively enforce food safety norms and standards. One major reason for that is the insufficient number of laboratories in the country. Even today, the number of laboratories per million people in the country is far below other countries such as China and the US.

There is also an urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure in most of our food testing laboratories. Even in terms of human capital, most Food and Drug Administrations in the states operate far below the desired capacity. In fact, in many cases, laboratories have had to be shut down due to the absence of Food Analysts.
For this purpose, it might be important to encourage private sector participation in the setting up and maintenance of laboratories. The Ministry of Food Processing runs a scheme which provides assistance to states for upgradation of laboratory infrastructure. Known as the scheme for Setting Upgradation of Quality Control/Food Testing Laboratory assistance is provided to Central/state government organizations/universities and other implementing agencies/private sector organizations.
In the first Budget presented by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, it was announced that the Centre would provide direct assistance to strengthen states’ drug and food regulatory systems by creating new laboratories and strengthening existing laboratories as well. Going forward, a collaborative effort between Centre, states and the private sector alone can address the challenge of food safety in the country.
The country has had to witness controversies surrounding food for decades. Recently, there was a scare over Maggi instant noodles. Among other things, it highlighted shortcomings in the country’s food safety network.
Additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG) were detected in Maggi noodles, although the company consistently denied using such additives. After the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) discovered unhealthy levels of lead in the noodles, the Indian government banned Maggi noodles.
A laboratory in Kolkata, found seven times the legal levels of lead in Maggi 2-Minute Noodles. From there, the controversy over the food safety of noodles dominated all media channels for months.
Similarly, inspectors picked up samples of Maggi noodles from retailers in Barabanki, a small town in Uttar Pradesh. The samples were sent to a state laboratory in Gorakhpur, which reported that labeling containing the words “No added MSG” on Maggi packets violated Indian regulations. Uttar Pradesh, where the crisis began, has only five laboratories, or one per 40 million people.
However, Nestle appealed against the government order banning sale of Maggi noodles, stating that the noodles contained MSG as the result of a natural process.
Nestle bore the cost of getting the sample from the Barabanki supermarket tested at the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata, a government referral lab. When the lab presented its results in a report, it said the sample had tested positive for lead.
The company challenged the test findings and stressed that its snack is safe. In its representations to the FSSAI, Nestle said the sample could have been contaminated during its lengthy transit. Though tests in six countries, including Canada, Singapore, the UK and the US, determined the product to be safe for consumption, the company still responded by destroying more than 35000 tons of the product.
However, the company argued that there are flaws in India’s testing system, which often leads to inaccurate findings. Ultimately, the government’s ban on Maggi noodles was overturned as the move was found arbitrary.

Flaws in monitoring system in India

Food safety is a serious public health concern in China and India, the countries which account for one third of the world’s population. In both countries, there are challenges of feeding a large, diverse population. The results are detrimental to health of the people, particularly those belonging to socio-economic sections. The two countries also need to enforce clear and consistent food regulations, which is the responsibility of responsible and progressive governments.
In recent years, child deaths have been reported from tainted milk products in China, with the government pledging to address the safety of food sources. The rampant use of milk adulterants can cause both short-term digestive problems and long-term chronic health problems. Although the EU recently lifted a ban on imported Indian mangoes, a number of agricultural products from India remain subject to import restrictions.
Health and safety issues have become a widespread concern as well. For example, a recent video accusing a prominent company of dumping toxic wastes has created a wave of attention on social media.
Critics argue that India’s food safety standards are not at developed world standards. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reportedly rejects products shipped from India, ranging from food to generic medicines and cosmetics. Given this, it is difficult to intriguing how Maggi was declared unsafe when analyses by Singapore, the United States, the U.K., and Canada suggest otherwise.
Testing and analytical capacity within food safety monitoring units in India is far from adequate. These units lack adequate equipment and expertise. India’s food safety monitoring system needs complete overhaul. It is yet to acquire credibility among domestic public and international communities and investors. This hampers the government efforts to provide complete food security.
New draft regulations have been formulated by FSSAI. Of special interest is Section 22 of the FSS Act, which deals with health supplements. If these products propound nutritional or medicinal benefits they need to have sound scientific evidence. The products must not contain either steroids or psychotropic drugs. Ingredients like vitamins and minerals must conform to the recommended dietary allowances for Indians, as proposed by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
In the FSSAI regulations, food products fall into two categories—standardized and non-standardized. The standardized food products are those for which standards are prescribed and do not require product approval prior to manufacture, sale, distribution, or import. The first time manufacturer or importer of standardized foods only requires an FSSAI license to begin a food business.
Non-standardized food products, awaiting product approval, are assessed for safety in four categories. To expedite product approval, a 90-day outer limit is now in place for completion of the application review process. It could be extended, if the product is referred to the scientific panel for further scrutiny. The 90-day time limit has three cycles of 30 days each that account for various application review stages. This facilitates applicants in tracking the application status at various stages of the approval process.

Gravity of the issue

By: Dr Neelam Mohan

According to World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food, and 420 000 people die each year as a result. Children under 5 years of age are at particularly high risk, with some 125 000 young children dying from foodborne diseases every year. However, proper food preparation can prevent most foodborne diseases.
The most common symptoms of food borne disease are stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhoea. Food contaminated with heavy metals or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause long-term health problems including cancer and neurological disorders.
Infections caused by contaminated food have a much higher impact on populations with poor or fragile health status and can easily lead to serious illness and death. For infants, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly, the consequences of food borne disease are usually more severe and may be fatal.
Food safety issues have been long neglected in India. Globalization of food production and trade is making the food chain longer and complicates food borne disease outbreak investigation and product recall in case of emergency.

Food supply is a complex process that involves a range of different stages including on-farm production, slaughtering or harvesting, processing, storage, transport and distribution before the food reaches the consumers. Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This also includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards.
The great majority of people in the country experience a food borne disease at some point in their lives. This highlights the importance of making sure that the food we eat is not contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals.
Food can become contaminated at any point during production, distribution and preparation. Everyone along the production chain, from producer to consumer, has a role to play to ensure the food we eat does not cause disease
To improve food safety, a multitude of different professionals are working together, making use of the best available science and technologies. Different governmental departments and agencies, encompassing public health, agriculture, education and trade, need to collaborate and communicate with each other and engage with the civil society including consumer groups.
Children are more prone to lead poisoning. Their smaller bodies are in a continuous stage of growth and development. Lead is absorbed at a faster rate in children compared to adults, which causes more physical harm than to older people. Furthermore, toddlers and young children, especially as they are learning to crawl and walk, are constantly on the floor and therefore more prone to ingesting and inhaling dust that are contaminated with lead. The unsafe toys with high lead level and paints are a major threat to children. The classic signs and symptoms in children are loss of appetite, abdominal pain, vomiting, weight loss, constipation, anemia, kidney failure, irritability, lethargy, learning disabilities, memory loss, and reproductive problems serious neurological and behavioral problems.
Slow development of normal childhood behaviors, such as talking and use of words, and permanent intellectual disability are both commonly seen. Although less common it is possible for fingernails to develop leukonychia striata and cancer if exposed to abnormally high lead concentration. The current reference range of acceptable blood lead concentrations in healthy person without excessive exposure to environmental sources of lead is less than 5µg/dL for children and less than 25 µg/dL for adults.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established in India in 2006, to consolidate the various acts and orders related to food safety and regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure the availability of safe food for human consumption in India. Thus FSSAI was created to assist the government in framing the regulations to lay down the standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food, guidelines for certification of food safety management and accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
The food borne illnesses could be secondary to infections caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or due to chemical substances which enter the body through contaminated food and water.
Bacteria: The common bacterial infections that are seen due to contaminated food and water are Salmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and Cholera.
Viruses such as hepatitis A, E and Norovirus.
Fungal infection such as mycotoxins (aflatoxin)
Parasites such as cryptosporidium entamoeba histolytica, giardia or ascaris through contaminated food and water. .
Organic pollutants due to contamination of industrial waste in water such as Dioxins which affect the immune system interfere with hormones and cause cancer.
Heavy metals such as lead, cadminum, mercury are other heavy metals poisons which could results through pollution of air, water and soil.
The common symptoms of food toxicity are fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dehydration and could occasionally be life threatening.
Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal disease kill an estimated 2 million people annually, including many children. It is the unsafe which food poses global health threats, endangering everyone. Infants, young children, pregnant women, and elderly and those with an underlying illness are particularly vulnerable to them. India contributes to a significant proportion of these deaths.
Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is used as a flavour enhancing agent, in many kinds of food products. It is more commonly used in Chinese food products. The amount of glutamate used in foods is usually within the range of 0.1% to 0.8% of the food as it is served. This is similar to levels of naturally occurring glutamate found in traditional dishes. However, when monosodium glutamate exceeds the safety limits then it results in various symptoms such as headaches, asthma attacks, dizziness and other neurological symptoms. The proper labeling is important to avoid excess use of these products.
(The author is associated with the Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hematology & Liver Transplantation, Vedanta Hospital, Gurgaon)