Edible
oil cos cut the trigs 'n' stunts
NIDHI
NATH SRINIVAS
TIMES
NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2003 11:50:43 PM ]
NEW
DELHI: The last thing they want just now is a Cadbury’s-style controversy.
Top cooking oil brands are quietly removing claims of being cholesterol-free
after Maharashtra government read out the Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act to the edible oil sector.
Marico’s
Saffola and Sweekar, Cargill’s Nature Fresh and Purita, Godrej, and
Agro Tech Food’s Sundrop and Crystal will soon stop saying they are
cholesterol-free, in the nutritional table on the packs, to avoid any
confrontation with food inspectors across the country.
But
though they are not looking for a fight, bemused companies say they
were only stating a fact accepted by food authorities globally. On the
other hand, no state has yet taken on the cohort of small local brands,
who spot really big whoppers on every pack with virtually no quality
control. After clamping down on Cadbury’s chocolates, the Maharashtra
Food and Drug Authority has now asked refined oil brands in the state
to remove all claims of ‘zero cholesterol’ because officials believe
this flouts Rule 37 D of the PFA Act.
Ironically,
though they just might win if they went to court against this interpretation,
the last thing big edible oil companies want before Diwali is a disruption
of sales by food authorities. Moreover, there is every likelihood that
food inspectors in other states might start obstructing trade as well
on this pretext.
“The
larger brands have always complied with the PFA Act even though interpretations
wary. Yet, they are open to harassment because under PFA, a company’s
officials can be arrested on a non-bailable warrant. They also don’t
want to spend their time trying to re-invent the wheel by collecting
data to convince food inspectors. It is time the government recognised
that the PFA needs serious overhauling,” say industry watchers.
