FSSAI to audit meat units, slaughter houses in 40 cities
New Delhi, Sep 11 : Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday said a third-party audit of meat units and municipal slaughter houses will be conducted in the coming three months in 40 cities besides mandatory food safety audit of the supply chain for e-commerce entities involved in retail meat business.
FSSAI has planned "Clean and Safe Meat" initiative with the objective to develop an ecosystem that will enable the availability of clean and safe meat and meat products to consumers, as per an official statement.
It held a meeting on Tuesday with various stakeholders, including Ministry of Food Processing Industry, to discuss all aspects that affect the quality and safety of meat and meat products either in direct or indirect way.
The meeting took up Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic practices (GHP) in slaughter and meat processing units, training of meat handlers and eligibility of food business operators handling meat and meat products for obtaining FSSAI licence.
It also looked at the role of animal feed in quality of meat and various existing and upcoming schemes for upgrading the meat industry, especially the unorganized sector, the statement noted.
It said it will explore the possibility of including the BIS certification of feed and formation of a steering group for "Clean & Safe Meat" that will have an overall responsibility for carrying out the activities in this campaign.
"This Campaign will be a part of Lauh Yatra movement, to clean the slaughter houses and meat markets. The stakeholders will be participating in Lauh Yatra covering 2,000 locations in 40 cities across the country," according to the the statement.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
