Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on Saturday said the biggest issue concerning food safety in India is that it is causing “public health havoc” which people are yet to realise.
People often view illnesses from the health point rather than linking them to the food and beverages they consume, he opined.
Speaking at a press conference after the ‘Tukaram Se Takkar’ talk session at Karnavati University in Ahmedabad, Mundhe also said several laws, rules and regulations related to food safety are already in place, but are not being properly followed.
“The largest or the biggest issue in India regarding food safety is that it is causing public health havoc. We are not realising it. The sooner we understand and appreciate it, the better it will be for us,” the IAS officer said.
The issue with food safety is that regulations in place are not being followed, he said.
“Rules do exist, acts do exist. Except maybe licensing and registration, no regulation is followed. This is how we are compromising public health,” Mundhe told reporters.
People often view illnesses from the health point rather than linking them to the food and beverages they consume, he said while citing changes in India’s disease burden since Independence.
“Around 65 to 70 per cent of the disease burden in India at the time of Independence was attributable to communicable diseases, while today, a similar proportion of the country’s disease burden is from non-communicable diseases (NCDs),” he said.
“Today, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac diseases are increasing. Even at the age of 25-30, we are getting cardiac arrests, and this has a direct correlation with what we eat,” Mundhe asserted.
He said lack of awareness and sensitivity towards food safety and standards was another major concern.
“We need to be much, much more sensitive about our food safety and standards, and adapting those standards and food safety not only when you eat outside but also at home,” he said.
The Maharashtra FDA chief said people will have to build food culture and habits based on safety and standards.
“We should consume food which is safe, which is standard. The three major stakeholders, comprising food business operators, regulators Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and state FDAs as well as people will have to work towards food safety,” Mundhe said.
