FSSAI alerts fruit traders to ensure compliance with prohibition of Calcium Carbide in fruit ripening
Calcium carbide, commonly used for ripening fruits like mangoes, releases acetylene gas which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus.
The Central Advisory Committee (CAC) of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended that licenses to food business operators (FBOs) can be issued for up to five years instead of one year, FSSAI CEO G Kamala Vardhana Rao said in a statement.
Kamala Vardhana Rao reviewed the status of sampling of food products at the 41st meeting of the Central Advisory Committee (CAC) held on Thursday at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
According to the FSSAI, the recommendation to increase the tenure of licenses to FBOs was made as part of an ease-of-doing measure requested by the food and beverage industry.
Kamala Vardhana Rao also said that FSSAI will train food handlers at Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanams and help strengthen laboratories to ensure safe food for 2.5 lakh pilgrims daily.
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The FSSAI CEO also requested states to make efforts to achieve the target of FoSTaC training of 25 lakh FBOs in the next 3 years as announced by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya.
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