Page 4 - Food

200 fall ill after consuming 'prasad' at religious event, condition stable

In a case of suspected food poisoning, around 200 people fell ill after consuming 'prasad' during a religious programme at Lonar in Maharashtra's Buldhana district, officials said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday night during the 'Harinam Saptah', a week-long religious event, at Somthana village in Lonar taluka, Buldhana district collector Kiran Patil told PTI. "Around 200 villagers complained of nausea and vomiting after consuming prasad during the function. While 142 of them were admitted to the rural hospital at Bibi, 20 others in Lonar and 35 patients to a facility in Mehkar," he said. The condition of all the patients was stable and most of them were discharged on Wednesday, Patil added. A team of doctors has been deployed in the village with an ambulance and other necessary equipment in case a medical emergency arises, he said. "Samples of prasad have been sent to a laboratory for analysis and an inquiry will be initiated," the collector said.

Tastes2plate to raise Rs 30-40 cr to fuel growth in intercity food delivery

Kolkata-based intercity cooked food delivery startup, tastes2plate.com, is close to raising Rs 30-40 crore in Series A venture funding, aiming at unlocking exponential growth in the online food delivery market, which holds the potential to reach USD 3-5 billion within the next few years, an official said. Led by IT professional Gyan Srivastava, the bootstrapped startup took over three years to stabilize its business model through extensive innovation in packaging and logistics. This allowed the company to become the lowest-cost player in the industry, he said. "We are very close to raising Rs 30-40 crore in Series A funding," said Srivastava, CEO of tastes2plate (T2P) owned by Charabuni Services. The funds will be primarily used for capacity building in marketing, information technology, and logistics infrastructure, he said. "The funding will help us achieve 30-40 per cent month-on-month growth in the number of deliveries compared to our current volume. "While the total online f

Who rules the rooster: Moti Mahal and Daryaganj Hospitality in legal battle

Moti Mahal or Daryaganj Hospitality? The two restaurants walk on eggshells as the Delhi High Court hears the butter chicken invention case to decide what came first

Moti Mahal owner files suit against Daryaganj restaurant over using tagline

Plaintiffs Moti Mahal restaurants claims that their predecessor's Late Chef Kundan Lal Gujral alone has been known and identified as the sole 'Inventor of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani'

Restaurants' body seeks restoration of ITC, higher GST rate of 12%

The National Restaurant Association of India on Monday urged the government to restore input tax credit to restaurants while increasing the GST rate to 12 per cent from the current 5 per cent, ahead of the upcoming Union Budget. In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) also called for an equitable and fair e-commerce policy, saying balanced policies and regulations are required to enable a level playing field, where platforms can continue to innovate, while restaurants, delivery partners and consumers are protected from potentially exploitative practices. The restaurant industry was one of the sectors that suffered the most during the pandemic but showed great resilience to survive and has since been on a steady path of recovery. If the sector gets a certain amount of policy and budgetary support in the upcoming Budget, it will propel the sector towards an accelerated pace of growth, NRAI said in a statement. Seeking ...

World Sandwich Day 2023: History, importance, and celebration with friends

We all love the luscious bite of bread stuffed with satisfying flavours and ingredients, called the 'sandwiches.' World Sandwich Day is observed every year across the globe on November 3

Do not to use newspapers for food packaging: FSSAI to food vendors

Food regulator FSSAI has asked food vendors and consumers to immediately stop using newspapers for packing, serving and storage of food items citing significant health risks. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is closely working with state food authorities to monitor and enforce regulations in this regard. FSSAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) G Kamala Vardhana Rao has "strongly urged consumers and food vendors across the country to immediately stop using newspapers for packing, serving and storing food items." He expressed concern over the use of newspapers for wrapping or packaging food and also pointed out significant health risks associated with this practice. "The ink used in newspapers contains various bioactive materials with known negative health effects, which can contaminate food and lead to health issues when ingested," FSSAI cautioned on Wednesday. Additionally, printing inks may contain chemicals, including lead and heavy metals, that can leach into th

Russia weaponising food, energy; abducted children in war: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia is weaponising everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine and he warned world leaders that the same could happen to them. When hatred is weaponised against one nation, it never stops there," he said at the UN General Assembly's annual top-level meeting. The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources into weapons against you against the international rules-based order. He pointed to the war's effect on fuel and food supplies. And he highlighted what Ukraine says were at least tens of thousands of children taken from their families after Moscow's invasion: What will happen to them? "Those children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine, and all ties with their families are broken. And this is clearly a genocide, Zelenskyy said. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin

FSSAI initiates prosecution against FBOs found violating food safety laws

According to the authorities, the prosecution initiated against the FBOs covers different violations committed, including carrying out a food business without a valid license and manufacturing

UN food agency warns of 'doom loop' for world's hungriest as govts cut aid

The World Food Program warned Tuesday that humanitarian funding cuts by governments are forcing the U.N. agency to drastically cut food rations to the world's hungriest people, with each 1% cut in aid risking to push 400,000 people toward starvation. The agency said the more than 60% funding shortfall this year was the highest in WFP's 60-year history and marks the first time the Rome-based agency has seen contributions decline while needs rise. As a result, the WFP has been forced to cut rations in almost half its operations, including in hard-hit places like Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Haiti. In a statement, WFP warned that 24 million more people could slip into emergency hunger over the next year as a result. WFP's executive director, Cindy McCain, said with starvation at record levels, governments should be increasing assistance, not decreasing it. If we don't receive the support we need to avert further catastrophe, the world will undoubtedly see more conflict, more unrest

German cuisine is adding a twist to the plate for the Indian palette

Culinary crossroads: German chefs and a clutch of German eateries are spicing up India with a fusion of tastes

Centre for second PLI scheme for processing millet-based foods: Official

The Centre is in the process of announcing a second round of production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for processing of millet-based foods in the country, secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Anita Praveen said on Tuesday. She said that the scheme is in the approval stages and involves an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an ICC event here, Praveen said that in the first round of the PLI scheme which started last financial year, the quantum of assistance involved was Rs 800 crore. "The ministry had got applications from 30 units in the first phase and the scheme was fully subscribed. Now we plan to provide another round of PLI scheme involving an amount of Rs 1,000 crore and is in the approval stages", the food processing industries, secretary said. Praveen said "the food processing industry had got an approval of Rs 10,900 crore from the government for granting assistance to food processing units, out of which Rs 800 crore had

Raksha Bandhan 2023: Top 7 mouth-watering sweets and dishes for Rakhi day

Raksha Bandhan is a special festival for siblings that is incomplete without dishes. Here are the delicious and mouth-watering sweets and dishes which are an inseparable part of the festival

Central govt's restrictions on rice exports puts wheat and sugar in focus

The curbs on rice now cover all varieties that the South Asian nation ships to overseas markets, further tightening global supply

Sandwich chain Subway agrees to sell itself to Arby's owner Roark Capital

Roark beat out a late challenge from a rival bidding group led by TDR Capital and Sycamore Partners, which also submitted a final bid of more than $9 billion

Nepal requests India to supply rice, sugar to avert possible food scarcity

The Nepal government has requested India to facilitate the supply of paddy, rice and sugar, a senior official said here on Wednesday, as a precautionary measure to mitigate any possible food scarcity in the upcoming festive season. The request was made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Indian authorities last week, Commerce and Supplies Ministry Joint Secretary Ram Chandra Tiwari said. "Nepal has requested India to provide one million tonnes of paddy, 100,000 tonnes of rice, and 50,000 tonnes of sugar," he said. Though there is no immediate shortage of rice and sugar in the market, there are rumours about its possible scarcity following India's decision to ban the export of non-basmati white rice to the international market. So as a precautionary measure, the Nepal government has asked India to supply these food items, Tiwari said. There are also concerns that traders might resort to hoarding these goods, potentially driving up prices as the festive season approaches,

India might cut or abolish wheat import tax: Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra

India in June imposed a limit on the amount of wheat stocks traders can hold, for the first time in 15 years, to bring down prices

Closely monitoring prices, demand-supply situation of food items: Centre

The government is closely monitoring the prices as well as the demand-supply situation of all essential food items, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary on Tuesday said while asserting that it is committed to balancing the interest of both consumers and farmers. The government has formed a panel to regularly monitor the prices and availability situation, he added. "The government is monitoring the prices and availability of food items. It takes measures to boost domestic availability and keep prices under check," Choudhary said as he was replying to a question about food inflation and the recent export ban on non-basmati white rice. He was speaking at an event to launch ITC's postal stamp on millets in collaboration with India Post. Based on the demand-supply situation and retail price, he said the government decides on imposing export duty or putting restrictions on exports. The minister said there is no problem on the supply front of food items in the ...

Food Pharmer takes on big bread brands, says brown, multigrain unhealthy

Revant Himatsingka, known as Food Pharmer, has also attacked Bournvita for having high sugar content in the past, prompting a legal notice from Cadbury

Food packets being prepared for flood-affected people: Punjab Minister

Some areas in Punjab including in Patiala and Sangrur have witnessed flood-like situation due to heavy rainfall