So much for fish and chips: India’s food safety types warn against newspaper-packed foods

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Warning: food wrapped in newspapers could be slow poison.

Using newspapers to wrap, pack or serve food is a safety hazard, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India declared this week.

Newspapers are often used by roadside vendors, small hotels and even in homes in lieu of absorbent papers. The food regulatory body has warned that cancer-causing agent and microbes could be slowly poisoning consumers of much food that has been in contact with newspapers.

Foods contaminated by newspaper ink could be dangerous because ink has multiple bioactive materials that are known to have negative health effects, the FSSAI said in its advisory on the subject. Printing inks may also contain harmful colours, pigments, binders, additives and preservatives. Newspapers could also harbor pathogenic microorganisms that could contaminate food. Newspapers, paper or cardboard boxes made of recycled paper may be contaminated with metallic contaminants, mineral oils and harmful chemicals like the phthalates which can cause digestive problems and also lead to severe toxicity.

Brucella Free Villages: India says raw (milk) is risky

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Neetu Chandra Sharma of DNA India reports the government has geared up following new outbreaks down South India. In a bid to curb cases of Brucellosis, a bacterial disease affecting cattle like cow and buffalo and causing undulant fever in humans, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology has come up with a pilot project called “Brucella Free Villages”.

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella. Brucellosis is also an important zoonotic disease of worldwide importance; people acquire the infection by consuming unpasteurized milk and other dairy products, and by coming in contact with the contaminated animal secretions and tissues.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), brucellosis is transmitted to humans from animals through direct contact with infected materials like afterbirth or indirectly by ingestion of animal products and by inhalation of airborne agents. Consumption of raw milk and cheese made from raw milk is the major source of infection in humans.

In humans, brucellosis can cause range of symptoms that are similar to the flu and may include fever, sweats, headache, back pain and physical weakness. Severe infections of the central nervous system or lining of the heart may also occur.

Doctors say that often brucellosis is diagnosed after ruling out all other fevers such as those caused by malaria, typhoid, dengue etc. Therefore, the disease is under reported and many medical professionals are not even aware of the problem. It is estimated that the disease causes economic losses of about Rs 28,000 crores.

“There is an urgent need for addressing this important issue of not only livestock health and production, but also public health. India is the world’s largest milk producer and hosts around 20 per cent of the world’s livestock population,” said Sudarshan Bhagat, Minister of State, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Three children in India die after consuming meat cooked by mother on Diwali

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Douglas Powell

It was Diwali and the Phulmali family simply wanted to put something special on the dinner table for their kids. But they had no idea that they had just served death to three of their children.

As the kids — three boys and two girls — enjoyed a special dinner of chicken curry on Monday night, they discussed their plans to wear matching clothes the next day to celebrate Bhai Dooj. Instead, that very meal separated them forever.

The youngest three — Anil (8), Sairaj (6) and Dhanraj (4) – died of food poisoning yesterday, while the girls, Gauri (12) and Pooja (10), are still ill.

It came out of the sky: Human poop falls over India

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A former senior army man has moved the National Green Tribunal alleging dumping of human waste by aircraft over residential areas near the IGI airport in Delhi, which led the green panel to order an inspection of his South Delhi house.

Lt Gen (Retd) Satwant Singh Dahiya has sought criminal proceedings against commercial airlines and levy of hefty fines on them for endangering the health of residents, terming the act as violation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Noting the submissions of the petitioner, the green panel directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to depute a senior environmental engineer to inspect his house and check the existence of human excreta on the walls.

It also asked CPCB that if excreta was found, samples should be collected for analysis and the report placed before the tribunal.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also issued notices to the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Civil Aviation and CPCB, seeking their replies within two weeks.

Plane toilets store human waste in special tanks. These are normally disposed of by ground crew once the plane lands, but aviation officials acknowledge that lavatory leaks can occur in the air at times. There have been instances, including in India, when people have been injured.

Salmonella in seafood in Kochi

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A survey carried out by a team of scientists of the Microbiology, Fermentation and Biotechnology Division of Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) Kochi, found Salmonella in 29 per cent of seafood samples.

During the screening process, the researchers collected as many as 150 fresh seafood samples including popular varieties like sardine, mackerel, prawns and crabs from the markets in and around Kochi.

The study was conducted by a team of scientists including S.S. Greeshma, M.M. Prasad, K.V. Lalitha, Toms C. Joseph, and V. Murugadas.

The presence of salmonella in seafood indicates contamination with human and animal excreta. Fishes and shellfish normally do not harbour micro-organisms like salmonella but can get contaminated with through the use of contaminated ice, water, containers and poor hygienic handling practices, explained Dr. Greeshma.

Samples were collected over a period of nine months. Once salmonella reaches soil and aquatic environments, it can survive there for long periods.

While cooking kills the micro-organism, there exists the risk of cross-contamination with other food items that are consumed raw when handled along with seafood contaminated with salmonella.

Humans who come into direct contact with salmonella-contaminated seafoods face health risk, she explained.

The study underscores the need to hygienic handling of fish in the markets, said C.N. Ravishankar, Director of the Institute in a communication.

The researchers are planning a source study to identify the routes and points of possible contamination of the fish.

Woman in north India says she was raped ‘for eating beef’

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The world is going through an extremist phase.

Everywhere.

A Muslim woman in north India says she was gang raped after her attackers accused her of eating beef.

The woman, 20, from Haryana state’s Mewat district said four men sexually assaulted her and a cousin, 14, two weeks ago even though they denied they had eaten beef.

The accused also beat her uncle and aunt to death and injured four family members.

“They asked if we eat beef. We said we don’t, but they insisted we did,” the woman told Indian network NDTV.

India’s Hindu majority regard cows as holy, and their slaughter is banned in several regions.

In recent months, right-wing Hindu fringe groups have led campaigns and vigilante actions targeting Muslims and low-caste Dalits over alleged cattle slaughter and beef consumption.

Who knew? India bans silver leaf of animal origin in food items

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Sushmi Deyl of The Times of India reports the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of any material of animal origin in silver leaf (chandi ka warq), commonly used in confectionaries and sweets like barfi for decoration and also in pan and packaged supari.

According to sources in the ministry, the move comes in the wake of concerns over use of intestines of cows and buffaloes in making these thin strips of silver. “The silver leaf is prepared by placing small thin strips of silver between the intestines of cows and buffaloes and continuously hammering these bundles for up to eight hour a day till desired thickness of silver leaf is achieved,” an official said. He said the process was found to be offensive and unhygienic posing potential risk to consumers. Moreover, such silver sheets do not carry any green dot or maroon dot. Hence, consumers fail to differentiate between a vegetarian and non-vegetarian product.

There were also concerns that the silver leaf contained heavy metal traces such as nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium – which are harmful for health.

70 students with suspected food poisoning in India

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Douglas Powell

About 70 students of G. V. Raja Sports School at Mailam, Thiruvananthapuram, were taken ill and 27 of them admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) here since the early hours on Saturday following suspected food poisoning.

The general condition of the students currently under treatment in the wards is satisfactory, MCH authorities said.

Four of the affected students have been admitted to the Peroorkada government hospital. Some students have been kept under observation there while several others were sent back after observation as their condition was satisfactory

Following the directive of the Designated Officer of Food Safety, a special squad of food safety officials from the district inspected the school mess and after collecting samples of the food items to be sent for lab analysis, ordered that the mess be closed down temporarily.

Director of Public Instruction K. V. Mohankumar, in a statement here, said that the school will remain closed till August 3 as the food safety wing has instructed that the mess be closed temporarily.

Thousands fall ill after consuming dinner at iftar party

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Douglas Powell

More than 1,000 persons who were taken ill after consuming dinner at iftar party in Saifi Nagar late night on Sunday were rushed to the private hospitals.

The authorities and the doctors present on the spot claimed that the numbers are expected to rise.

ADM Dilip Singh, SP Kalyan Chakravarthy who reached the spot, claimed that the state medical teams have been called in for support and they are treating the people on the spot as well as at MY and other private city hospitals.

Doctors fall ill in India as food safety ignored at hospital mess

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Doctors at Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital are regularly falling ill thanks to the poor hygiene at the mess being run at the two hospitals.
Common complaints being made by the duty doctors after having their meals at the mess include vomiting sensation, stomach ache and low grade fever. In rare cases, a few have come down with typhoid too.

In fact, the situation is worse at the Gandhi Hospital mess above the emergency block, with the doctors claiming that it is infested with rodents.
“It’s the worst place to have food, but we are helpless as 70-80 duty doctors working for 24 hours at a stretch cannot bring food from home. I have an upset stomach now,” said a senior doctor at Gandhi Hospital on condition of anonymity.

The mess at the hospital neither has a fridge to store vegetables nor proper containers to store cooked food. One can see rotten tomatoes, chillies and other vegetables left to dry on pieces of paper and half-eaten food kept in dirty plastic containers without lids. Leftovers from lunch being served for dinner is also quite common. Adding to the troubles is the fact that the wash basin is situated in the common eating area itself.

However, when contacted, both OGH and Gandhi Hospital authorities denied the allegations. “The hospital food is served to both doctors and patients only after it passes quality tests every day. However, if any individual doctor has any issues, it can be brought to our notice,” said Dr G V S Murthy, superintendent, OGH.

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