Seminar on “Food Regulations and Certifications - A Capacity Building Program” January 17, 2008
Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor, Cochin
On the sidelines of FoodTech 2009 |
Food Processing Industry is widely recognized as a 'sunrise industry' in India. It is of enormous significance for India's development because of the vital linkages and synergies that it promotes between the two pillars of the economy, namely Industry and Agriculture. While India has an abundant supply of food, the food processing industry is still nascent.
The administration, scope and nature of Indian food law, applying both to domestic food production and imported foods, are changing. Food processing industries along with all stakeholders need to keep up with the domestic as well as international laws and the changes which occur from time to time to ensure their products continue to comply with all relevant provisions.
The regulatory scenario for Food Processing Industries in India is fast changing with introduction of Food Safety and Standards Act. Although mostly the regulatory changes are consultative in nature but since food processing industries in India are generally unaware of food regulations and have no training on the subject, their participation in the law setting activity is limited.
Considering that 70% of food processing industries in India are in the SME category, and are incompetent to understand the importance and impact of regulations on their business, response to regulatory changes is negligible. To ensure due participation from food processing industries and related stakeholders like consultants, chambers, lawyers etc in India, capacity building programs are the need of the day. |
