Third meeting of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) took place for two days (20-21 October, 2003).
In its second meeting JPC had asked the industry bodies to present their views on or before 21st October. In pursuance of the same, on 21st October 2003, the three chambers of commerce and industry intimated in unison to the JPC that EU norms for food products are not feasible. In their view, the country should be able to evolve its norms based on CODEX guidelines. The industry sought ‘‘realistic’’ and ‘‘practical’’ standards since no country had standards for finished products.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) is reported to have informed JPC that consumption patterns and the country’s food basket were different; therefore special standards should be evolved keeping in mind CODEX or WHO guidelines. ASSOCHAM is India's premier apex chamber covers a membership of over 100,000 companies and professionals across the country.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said even EU member countries do not follow EU standards. The EU norms will harm trade and increase the price for consumers hence own standards should be set. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that ‘‘ground realities need to be kept in mind before any standards are announced’’.

According to a news report from UNI, the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore on 20th October 2003 submitted its presentation to the JPC. At the conclusion of the third meeting, Sharad Pawar, chairman, JPC disclosed that government’s testing facilities in the country where tests were conducted on soft drinks by these two major laboratories found no pesticides in the drinks before the CSE disclosure on pesticide. ‘‘We have asked them how no traces of pesticides were found before the CSE report,’’ said Pawar. It is indeed strange that the CFTRI and Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata did not show any presence of pesticide in soft drinks samples.

In a related development, Cadbury is likely to come under investigation by the JPC. "The issue of presence of worms in Cadbury's chocolates has been brought to the notice of the JPC, and we may look into it since it relates to food safety," said Pawar.

Meanwhile yesterday the Kerela government also banned the sale of two batches each of Cadbury and Nestle chocolates after worms were detected in them. The Kerala State Health Department has banned the sale of two batches each of Cadbury and Nestle chocolates, after worms were detected in them.Food inspectors searching shops in Parassala, near the capital Thiruvananthapuram, and Pattom in the city, found that chocloate bars of batch 'INRORAS W-6' of Nestle and '245313' of Cadbury's, both manufactured in June 2003, were infested with worms.

State Health Director Dr V K Rajan said food inspectors across the state have been instructed to search for and seize chocolates of these two branches, and to intensify the examination of other products of confectionary majors.
Shop owners have been instructed to store chocolates and confectionaries in hygenic conditions to prevent contamination, Rajan said. Complaints of live worms crawling in bars of chocolates were reported from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

Earlier on October 3, acting on a consumer complaint, the Maharashtra FDA seized stocks of Dairy Milk chocolates in Maharashtra. A consumer found worms in a Dairy Milk chocolate bar, bought from a shop in Mumbai's western suburb of Andheri.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Maharashtra has ordered the seizure of all Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates from the multinational giant's factory at Talegaon near Pune after worms were detected in a chocolate bar.
A Cadbury stockist found worms coming out of Dairy Milk chocolates. The manufacturer was informed but when they did not act on his complaint, FDA Commissioner Uttam Khobragade was approached who crosschecked the stockist's claim and found it to be true. The FDA is in the process of sending notices to the manufacturer. The Maharashtra government has launched an investigation into the matter.

Laboratory tests by the Maharashtra FDA of Cadbury's products confirmed the presence of two dead and one live organisms. Cadbury India is now liable to be booked under the provisions of the food adulteration law. While the company had offered the plea that faulty storage by a dealer was responsible for the incident, it was the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that quality storage conditions were available with the dealers.

Cadbury India's second plant in Maharashtra is also under the investigation by Maharashtra FDA. Cadbury Dairy Milk is mainly manufactured at Cadbury's factories in Talegaon near Pune and Thane, which cater to the entire country. The chocolate bar was produced at Cadbury's Talegaon plant. The FDA has also sent the contaminated pieces for testing at its laboratories.

If the FDA finds evidence of infestation or contamination, Cadbury India could face action under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act.