The Hindu Business Line : FDA chief transferred in reshuffle

THE Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the news again, but this time, not for the recent misbranding controversy of "baby" oil that it had stirred up.

The FDA Commissioner, Mr A. Ramakrishnan, has been transferred as part of a bureaucratic shuffle in the State. He has, however, not been given his new posting yet. The new man at the helm of the FDA is Mr Rameshkumar, Principal Secretary, Tribal Development.

Confirming the development, Mr Ramakrishnan told Business Line that he was satisfied with his tenure in office. "I have not left anything open-ended. All the issues that I took up have been completed without ambiguity," he said.

The FDA Commissioner's transfer assumes significance, since he had in the recent past spearheaded a hi-decibel campaign to bring in more transparency into the labelling of baby oils. The big and popular players in the estimated Rs 200-crore baby segment, including Johnson & Johnson, Himalaya, Wipro, Emami and Dabur had been sent notices in the month-long campaign over the ingredients in their baby oils.

The FDA's contention was that most baby oils in the market contained mineral oil, reported to be unsafe for babies. Only recently, the FDA came out with its statement on the issue, asking J&J to get the regulator Drug Controller General of India's approval for its baby oil.

The company has been given time till August and in the event of this deadline being missed, the company has been directed to drop "baby" from its label.

Mr Ramakrishnan had assumed office in July 2004, replacing the then Commissioner, Mr Uttam Khobragade, known for putting a lid on the worms-in-chocolates controversy.

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