The two-minute wake-up call
by Ananya Lewari
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered a
nationwide ban on all variants of Maggi noodles on June 5, leading to a
massive food product recall—the biggest in the country so far. The
recall was initiated after FSSAI authorities found lead beyond the
permissible limit and monosodium glutamate without appropriate labelling
in the popular two-minute noodles.
Food recall procedure involves removing a potentially harmful product
from the market to ensure consumer safety and has been recognised as the
most effective means of protecting public health globally.
Earlier this year, FSSAI had ordered the recall of several energy
drinks, including Monster and Restless, due to non-compliance with
safety standards. But this was not part of any systematic food recall
procedure in line with global practice.
Unlike Western countries such as the US and European nations, India
does not have an official recall policy, says Bejon Kumar Misra, an
expert on consumer protection policy. Section 28 of the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006, provides for recall of food products, but it does
not specify necessary details, such as the role and responsibility of
food business operators (FBOs), including manufacturers, retailers,
importers and suppliers, timeline of the recall process, tracking of
compliance and follow-up.
Recall policy a must
The absence of such critical guidelines explains why food companies
such as Nestlé have acted less responsibly when it comes to safety
standards. Despite excessive lead found in samples, Nestlé continues to
maintain that Maggi noodles are safe and is contesting the recall order
in court. This is in contrast to the recall of beef products in Europe
by Nestlé in 2013 after finding horse DNA in two of its products. Unlike
in India, the company took responsibility and apologised to consumers.
In some cases, recall has been voluntary—recall of Sunchips by Frito
Lay’s and Special K red berries by Kellogg’s in the US this year.
Meanwhile, there have been 32 food recalls in Canada since March and 33
in the US since April. “In general, food companies voluntarily perform
recalls when approached by government agencies. However, there have been
a few instances when they have not and the government has been forced to
take legal action to remove the products from commerce,” says Tony Corbo,
senior lobbyist at Food and Water Watch, a Washington-based consumer
rights group.
Draft gathers dust
FSSAI had developed rules for recall in 2009, but there has been no
update. No FSSAI official was available for comment. In April this year,
the apex food body issued a draft regulation, “Food Safety and Standards
(Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2015” for public comments. It is
open to the public for feedback till August 1.
The draft is a comprehensive document on the recall process.
Addressing the common interest of industry, government and consumers, it
clearly mentions possible reasons or triggers for a food recall, methods
of recall communication and role and responsibilities of FBOs. The draft
puts the onus of recall largely on FBOs, with the food authority,
Central and State, acting as a supervisory body to monitor progress.
As stated in the draft, a recall can be initiated due to any
complaint or public health hazard identified by the manufacturer,
consumer or food authority. With little variation, the proposed
regulations are broadly in line with features of recall procedures
adopted by several countries such as the US, Canada and New Zealand.
While the draft incorporates most of international practices, it
misses out on a few aspects that are integral to the international
recall system. These include “recall classification”, which determines
the level of hazard involved. Notably, the 2009 rules had such a
provision. The latest draft also needs to be strengthened with respect
to a safety alert system.
The food authority should have a web-based facility to monitor the
recall and keep the consumers informed. “Government recall mechanism
needs to be more transparent,” says Devinder Sharma, a food and trade
policy analyst. An example of such a transparent facility is Europe’s
Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. It details the list of product
recalls that have taken place, product type, category, notification
date, reasons of alert, hazards and action taken. India urgently needs a
comprehensive document on food recall and FSSAI should finalise the
proposed draft without much delay. “Product recall is a logical step in
the regulatory system. Unfortunately, the Indian regulatory system is
weak,” says politician Brinda Karat.
J. P. Dadhich, sub-regional representative, International Baby Food
Action Network, a global network of organisations, welcomes FSSAI’smove,
saying it is a step in the right direction. “The challenge now is to
finalise the guidelines quickly and implement them effectively,” he
says.
Sharma notes that the recall of Maggi should serve as a wake-up call
not only for the government but also industry. Considering the huge
number of food products available in the markets today, increasing cases
of contamination and growing globalisation of food and food chains,
India needs to have a system in place wherein an unsafe product can be
timely put out of consumers’ reach, a system that can tell the end
consumer in the remotest parts of the country about the risks associated
with unsafe but available food.
Down to Earth |