|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
Fast food not defined under Food Safety & Stds Act, 2006 & Regulations
|
Wednesday, 10 August, 2016, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
Our Bureau, New Delhi
|
fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d As per information provided by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the ministry of health and family welfare, the term fast food is not defined under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder.
The implementation and enforcement of the Act primarily rests with the governments of states and Union Territories (UT). Random samples of food items are being drawn by the state food safety officers (FSO) and sent to the laboratories recognised by FSSAI for analysis.
In cases where the samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the FSS Act, 2006, and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder, recourse is taken to the provisions for penal action against the offenders under Chapter IX of the FSS Act.
FSSAI is operating food import clearance facilities at six locations - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Tuticorin. The imported food consignments referred to FSSAI for clearance by the customs authorities are subjected to inspection and sampling by authorised officers of FSSAI.
The samples so collected are subjected to testing at notified food laboratories as per the parameters laid down in the various FSS Regulations, 2011 for safety aspects. Based on the laboratory reports, No Objection Certificate (NOC) or Non Conformace Certificate (NCC) is issued for the consignments.
The materials imported for the preparation of products sold under fast food business include:
(a) Food ingredients: Pastes, purees, sauces, spices, seasoning mixes, pastas, noodles, vegetable extract powders, batter mixes, edibles oils and fats, frozen vegetables, etc.
(b) Food additives: Emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickening agents, flavours, humectants, leavening agents, colours, presevatives, antifoaming agents, sequestering agents, buffering agents, etc.
Wastage of agricultural produce The growth rate of gross value added in food processing industries has increased from 1.91 per cent in 2013-14 to 5.78 per cent in 2014-15 at constant prices.
Further, as per the Annual Survey of Industries 2013-14, the food processing industry, as compared to other industries in the registered sector, has the largest number of factories and engages the largest number of employees.
Further, as per the Annual Survey of Industries 2013-14, the total number of persons engaged in the registered food processing sector is 17.41 lakh, which constitutes 11.69 per cent of employment generated in all registered factory sectors.
As per the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) 67th Round, 2010-11, the unregistered food processing sector provides employment to 47.9 lakh workers.
Dr Saumitra Chaudhuri Committee in 2012, constituted by the then Planning Commission, had indicated cold storage requirement of 61 million tonnes. The present capacity of cold storage in the country is estimated to be around 32 million tonnes.
The Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana has estimated the annual value of harvest and post-harvest losses of major agricultural produces at national level to be of the order of Rs 92,651 crore calculated using production data of 2012-13 at 2014 wholesale prices.
The annual wastage of agricultural produce, milk, meat, marine and poultry products as assessed by CIPHET is as under:
Commodity/Crop
|
Losses
during Transportation
(%)
|
Losses
during Farm Operations (including transportation loss)
(%)
|
Losses
during Storage
(%)
|
Overall
Total Loss
(%)
|
Monetary
value of the loss
(in
Rs crore)
|
Milk
|
0.02
|
0.71
|
0.21
|
0.92
|
4409
|
Meat
|
0.00
|
1.99
|
0.72
|
2.71
|
1235
|
Marine
Fish
|
0.91
|
9.61
|
0.91
|
10.52
|
4315
|
Inland
Fish
|
0.17
|
4.18
|
1.05
|
5.23
|
3766
|
Egg
|
0.36
|
4.88
|
2.31
|
7.19
|
1320
|
Poultry
Meat
|
0.66
|
2.74
|
4.00
|
6.74
|
3942
|
Cereals
|
|
|
|
4.65-5.99
|
20698
|
Pulses
|
|
|
|
6.36-8.41
|
3877
|
Oilseeds
|
|
|
|
3.08-9.96
|
8278
|
Fruits
& Vegetables
|
|
|
|
4.58-15.88
|
40811
|
To curb the losses in supply chain of agriculture produce and to improve the existing infrastructure for food processing, the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) has been implementing the schemes of mega food parks; integrated cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure; and setting up/modernisation of abattoirs.
The scheme for mega food parks aims to provide modern infrastructure for food processing units in the country on a pre-identified cluster basis. Under the scheme, grant-in-aid is provided at 50 per cent of the eligible project cost in general areas and 75 per cent thereof in difficult areas and hilly areas, i.e. the North-east Region including Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and ITDP notified areas of the states, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 crore per project. A total of 42 mega food park projects have been approved by the government to be set up in the country.
The scheme for setting up/modernisation of abattoirs aims to provide hygienic finished meat and meat products, slaughter waste management and pollution control. The scheme envisaged grant-in-aid at 50 per cent of the project cost in general areas and 75 per cent for the north-eastern region subject to a maximum of Rs 15 crore per project. So far, 41 abattoir projects have been sanctioned.
The scheme of cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure aims at arresting post-harvest losses of horticulture and non-horticulture produce and providing remunerative price to farmers for their produce. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided in the form of grant-in-aid of maximum Rs 10 crore per project for setting up of integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities without any break from the farm gate to the consumer. The integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure can be set up by individuals, groups of entrepreneurs, cooperative societies, self-help groups (SHGs), farmer producer organisations (FPOs), NGOs, Central/State PSUs, etc. The scheme is primarily private sector-driven and proposals under this scheme are invited through Expression of Interest (EOI). The scheme is available in all States/UTs and rural & urban areas. So far, 134 integrated cold chain projects have been sanctioned by the ministry in the country to reduce the cold chain gap. Of this, 88 integrated cold chain projects have achieved completion and commenced commercial operation, 46 integrated cold chain projects are in various stages of implementation. The impact of these 134 integrated cold chain projects being assisted by the ministry in the country under the scheme of cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure in respect of expected capacity creation is 4.92 lakh MT of cold storage/controlled atmosphere/deep freezer, 113.90 MT/hour of individual quick freezing (IQF), 54.65 lakh litre per day of milk storage/processing and 761 reefer vans. Capacity created from 88 completed cold chain projects is 3.31 lakh MT of cold storage/CA/deep freezer, 77.15 MT/hour of IQF, 31.80 lakh litre per day of milk processing/storage and 423 reefer vans. State-wise funds are not allotted under the scheme of cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure. However, the details of number of projects with state-wise and year-wise funds released under the scheme of cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure of MoFPI during the last three years and the current year are at Annexure-I.
In addition, National Horticulture Mission (NHM), National Horticulture Board (NHB), and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) under Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India are also providing assistance for setting up cold storages under their respective schemes.
Various other incentives provided by the government to promote creation of cold chain infrastructure are at Annexure-II.
In addition to operationalisation of four mega food parks and 29 cold chain projects during 2016-17, the government has also approved setting up of 100 cold chain projects and 250 units under the scheme of creation/expansion of food processing and preservation.
The projects set up under the schemes of this ministry are granted financial assistance at a higher rate in difficult areas and north-east region as compared to the general areas.
Annexure I Annexure referred to in reply to parts (c) and (d) of Lok Sabha unstarred question number 3887 for answer of August 9, 2016 regarding wastage of agricultural produce
Details of number of units with state-wise and year-wise funds released (in Rs crore) under the scheme of cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure.
Name
of the state
|
2013-14
|
2014-15
|
2015-16
|
2016-17*
|
|
Nos.
|
Amount
|
Nos.
|
Amount
|
Nos.
|
Amount
|
Nos.
|
Amount
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
2
|
4.28
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4.00
|
0
|
0
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
6.54
|
2
|
2.27
|
0
|
0
|
Bihar
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Gujarat
|
2
|
3.49
|
3
|
12.05
|
3
|
10.31
|
1
|
3.87
|
Haryana
|
1
|
21.37
|
2
|
19.35
|
2
|
10.28
|
3
|
8.63
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
3
|
10.50
|
3
|
6.57
|
4
|
18.02
|
2
|
3.12
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4.80
|
2
|
16.06
|
2
|
4.80
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Karnataka
|
1
|
2.08
|
2
|
7.38
|
2
|
1.97
|
0
|
0
|
Kerala
|
1
|
4.80
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
1
|
2.37
|
2
|
5.50
|
2
|
3.89
|
1
|
2.50
|
Maharashtra
|
6
|
9.96
|
11
|
27.66
|
13
|
36.84
|
8
|
22.06
|
Manipur
|
1
|
5.00
|
1
|
2.45
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Mizoram
|
2
|
8.00
|
2
|
2.49
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Odisha
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0.566
|
1
|
0.92
|
0
|
0
|
Punjab
|
4
|
13.67
|
3
|
10.32
|
4
|
12.67
|
2
|
5.00
|
Rajasthan
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2.02
|
3
|
9.22
|
2
|
2.95
|
Sikkim
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Tamil Nadu
|
1
|
1.79
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Telangana
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Tripura
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
3
|
4.94
|
3
|
7.50
|
2
|
10.69
|
1
|
1.99
|
Uttarakhand
|
1
|
2.25
|
7
|
37.43
|
5
|
14.52
|
2
|
5.00
|
West Bengal
|
2
|
7.26
|
1
|
0.433
|
2
|
7.3
|
1
|
1.65
|
Andaman & Nicobar
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Chandigarh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Dadar& Nagar Haveli
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Damn and Diu
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Lakshadweep
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Delhi
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Puducherry
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
31
|
101.76
|
46
|
153.059
|
49
|
158.96
|
25
|
61.57*
|
*As on date July 31, 2016 ANNEXURE-II Annexure referred to in reply to parts (c) and (d) of Lok Sabha unstarred question number 3887 for answer of August 9, 2016 regarding wastage of agricultural produce
Details of various other incentives provided by the government to the cold chain sector
- Services of pre-conditioning, pre-cooling, ripening, waxing, retail packing, labelling of fruits and vegetables have been exempted from service tax in the 2015-16 Budget
- Loans to food and agro-based processing units and cold chain have been classified under agriculture activities for priority sector lending (PSL) as per the revised RBI Guidelines issued on April 23, 2015
- Under Section 35-AD of the Income Tax Act, 1961, deduction to the extent of 150 per cent is allowed for expenditure incurred on investment for (i) setting up and operating a cold chain facility; and (ii) setting up and operating warehousing facility for storage of agricultural produce
- Government has extended project imports benefits to cold storage, cold room (including for farm level pre-cooling) or industrial projects for preservation, storage or processing of agricultural, apiary, horticultural, dairy, poultry, aquatic and marine produce and meat. Consequently, all goods related to Food Processing, imported as part of the project, irrespective of their tariff classification, would be entitled to uniform assessment at concessional basic customs duty of five per cent
- Refrigeration machineries and parts used for installation of cold storage, cold room or refrigerated vehicle, for the preservation, storage, transport or processing of agricultural, apiary, horticultural, dairy, poultry, aquatic and marine produce and meat under Tariff Head: Chapter 84 are exempted from excise duty
- Construction, erection, commissioning or installation of original works pertaining to post-harvest storage infrastructure for agricultural produce including cold storages for such purposes are exempted from service tax
- Capital investment in the creation of modern storage capacity has been made eligible for viability gap funding scheme of the finance ministry. Cold chain and post-harvest storage has been recognized as an infrastructure sub-sector.
This information was given by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, minister of state for food processing industries, in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|