The FSSAI (Food Safety Standards Authority of India) has said it is very important to ensure the quality of pre-mix (of iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12) which goes into the making of fortified rice kernels (FRK).
“We are contemplating to develop guidelines with eligibility criteria on who can be a pre-mix manufacturer. Similar guidelines may be introduced for FRK manufacturers,” G Kamala Vardhana Rao, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), told businessline.
“A lot of pre-mixes came from China. There is a challenge (with regard to quality). A lot It comes in the form of APIs. There were no standards for pre-mixes and FRKs. We introduced them. We also specified the break-up of iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12 that should go into the pre-mix,” he said.
After reports of poor standards of pre-mix and FRK consignments emerged from some parts of the country, the FSSAI is organising awareness meetings at the ground level to raise the bar. “The country started distributing the fortified rice in 2021. The efficacy of fortification and awareness among the consumers is very important. There were concerns initially. Many people thought it was a kind of plastic rice,” he said.
“Since awareness levels are low they used to put the grains aside. We hold meetings with the Food Safety Commissioners across the country every week and tell them to keep an eye on the quality of pre-mix that goes into the PDS rice,” he said.
‘Upload lab reports’
He said the authority insisted that reports of labs on the quality of pre-mix should be uploaded on a dedicated portal. “Only then FRK manufacturers should buy the product. Even they should upload relevant lab reports on the portal before sending the consignments to the millers,” he said.
As per the specifications announced by the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Grade A and common varieties of rice should be blended with 1 per cent of fortified rice kernels (Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12) beginning the kharif marketing season 2021.
The government also released Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for stakeholders to ensure the quality of FRKs. All the FRK makers should obtain licences and maintain documents to prove that they are following the norms. Seeing an opportunity, a huge number of FRK manufacturing firms came up in different States. Some are found to be not following the norms.
High-risk food
Bala Gangadhar G, a State Consultant of Nutrition International, said that some manufacturers are not following standard operating procedures (SOPs) properly.
Stating that FRK is classified under the ‘High-risk Food’ category by the FSSAI, he pointed out that utmost care should be taken while producing FRKs. “Apart from producing good quality produce, it is essential to focus on how the product is produced,” he said, pointing out at unhealthy practices in vogue in some facilities.
“They should maintain annual medical exam records for all the food handlers and daily records of body temperatures. Water being a key ingredient, they should ensure good quality water and should ensure the facility has door screens, insect screens and water-resistant paints on walls,” he said.