EMN
DIMAPUR, JUNE 4
The government of Nagaland has instructed all district Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and Food Safety Officers (FSOs) to collect samples of Maggi noodles from their respective areas and submit the same “urgently” to the State Public Health Laboratory, Kohima “for analysis.”
At the same time, the government has – through a press release issued by its Directorate of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday evening – cautioned consumers against buying the product “till further order.”
This directive from the state’s health department comes in the backdrop of, according to the press release, widespread media reports on detection of highly dangerous level of heavy metal inside the popular instant noodle and the subsequent bans across India. The CMOs/FSOs have been asked to conform to the “procedural protocols” as prescribed under section 47 of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and Rule 2.4.1 of Food Safety and Standard Rules 2011, while collecting the samples.
The government has also instructed the Food Analyst at State Public Health Laboratory, Kohima to “make necessary arrangements” and submit the findings following “prescribed procedures under section 47 of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and Rule 2.4.1 of Food Safety and Standard Rules 2011.”
‘Waste of time and resources’
Meanwhile, Food Safety officials in the state are skeptical of the state government’s directive.
On Thursday night, Eastern Mirror contacted some Food Safety Officers posted in different districts of the state and all of them were unanimous is branding the government’s directive as a “waste of time and resources.”
According to the FSOs, who asked for anonymity, considering that they were contradicting their bosses, there would be no point in submitting the samples to the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL), Kohima since the SPHL has not been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
They were of the contention that such tests should be conducted within the “parameters” approved/regulated by the NABL. Among many others, the NABL bears recognition of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as that of Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution.
Some of the Food Safety officials wondered whether the “higher-ups” were actually aware of those aspects or not. As one of them succinctly put, “This is just another face washing exercise. We have to realize that it is not just about Maggi.
“There are other harmful, if not more harmful goods in the market, for which we need proper machineries to conduct tests.
This is a paralyzed department.”
