Why Odisha Is At Rock Bottom In Food Safety Index
- 3 years ago
Think you are buying pure and safe food items! Well, think again!
Do you know that out of 100 food samples tested in last three years in Odisha, as many as 21 were adulterated or incorrectly branded. This means that in Odisha, one in every five food items is adulterated.
If this isn’t enough, according to the Food Safety Index of 2019-20, Odisha is found languishing in the bottom-10. The State was ranked 13th among 20 states, while Gujarat topped the chart in the country.
Here is a quick timeline for you:
In January 2019 a spurious spice unit was busted in Jeypore.
In February 2019 adulterated pulses, milk and red Chili powder were seized in Angul.
On September 26, 2020, a tomato and chilli sauce adulterating unit was busted in Cuttack.
In November 2020, in a span of just 15-days, half a dozen units involved in adulteration of several food products were busted by enforcement agencies in the state.
According to experts, such adulteration can lead to a variety of health hazards. For example, adulterated chilli powder contains harmful mercuric sulphide which affects the spleen, liver and kidney.
So, why food adulteration is rampant in Odisha?
Well, according to an analysis, the prime reason is poor compliance with food safety laws and lack of stringent penal action against culprits. In addition to this, poor human resources and abysmal consumer empowerment aggravate the situation.
According to data, in the year 2018-19, the State had a total of 123 criminal and civil cases registered against such food adulteration. But not a single conviction!
Now the question is - what Odisha can learn from Gujarat, which topped the food safety list.
As per the Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) 2006, the Commissioner of Food Safety (an IAS rank Officer) appoints a designated officer in every district. These officers are then tasked with issuing licences to food units, tracking the cases filed against violators and analysing food testing and surveillance results.
Surprisingly, Odisha has 36 ‘part-time’ officers compared to 32 ‘full time’ officers in Gujarat.
Experts believe that Odisha should appoint full-time food safety officers, tighten the laws and increase the number of food laboratories to check food adulteration in the State.
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Do you know that out of 100 food samples tested in last three years in Odisha, as many as 21 were adulterated or incorrectly branded. This means that in Odisha, one in every five food items is adulterated.
If this isn’t enough, according to the Food Safety Index of 2019-20, Odisha is found languishing in the bottom-10. The State was ranked 13th among 20 states, while Gujarat topped the chart in the country.
Here is a quick timeline for you:
In January 2019 a spurious spice unit was busted in Jeypore.
In February 2019 adulterated pulses, milk and red Chili powder were seized in Angul.
On September 26, 2020, a tomato and chilli sauce adulterating unit was busted in Cuttack.
In November 2020, in a span of just 15-days, half a dozen units involved in adulteration of several food products were busted by enforcement agencies in the state.
According to experts, such adulteration can lead to a variety of health hazards. For example, adulterated chilli powder contains harmful mercuric sulphide which affects the spleen, liver and kidney.
So, why food adulteration is rampant in Odisha?
Well, according to an analysis, the prime reason is poor compliance with food safety laws and lack of stringent penal action against culprits. In addition to this, poor human resources and abysmal consumer empowerment aggravate the situation.
According to data, in the year 2018-19, the State had a total of 123 criminal and civil cases registered against such food adulteration. But not a single conviction!
Now the question is - what Odisha can learn from Gujarat, which topped the food safety list.
As per the Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA) 2006, the Commissioner of Food Safety (an IAS rank Officer) appoints a designated officer in every district. These officers are then tasked with issuing licences to food units, tracking the cases filed against violators and analysing food testing and surveillance results.
Surprisingly, Odisha has 36 ‘part-time’ officers compared to 32 ‘full time’ officers in Gujarat.
Experts believe that Odisha should appoint full-time food safety officers, tighten the laws and increase the number of food laboratories to check food adulteration in the State.
OdishaTV is Odisha's no 1 News Channel. OTV being the first private satellite TV channel in Odisha carries the onus of charting a course that behoves its pioneering efforts.
Accordingly, its charter objectives are FREE, FAIR and UNBIASED. OTV delivers reliable information across all platforms: TV, Internet and Mobile.
Stay tuned for all the breaking news !
Visit Our Website https://odishatv.in/
Android App: bit.ly/OTVAndroidApp
iOS App: http://bit.ly/OTViOSApp
Watch Live: http://live.odishatv.in/
YouTube: https://goo.gl/Ehz6OP
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otvnews
OTV English Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/otvenglish
Telegram @otvtelegram @otvkhabar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/otvnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otvnews/
#OTVNews #OdishaTV