Food Safety Body Offers Support to Indian Food Importers & retailers

 29 Mar 2012

The day two of the Images Food & Grocery Forum India 2012 saw an interactive session between food importers and an official of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Called “The FIFI Conclave: 

The Force Behind Unifying Gourmet Food Importers and Alignment with Modern Retail,” the event saw the FSSAI Deputy Director AIS Kumar discuss the latest food safety regulations and FBO registrations with the importers and retailers of imported food.

Kumar reassured the assembled audiences that all problems of the food importers and retailers will be taken care of by the government in due course of time in terms of getting licenses, permits, etc. “Please have patience. We are on your side,” he said.

Amit Lohani, Convener, FIFI (Forum of India Food Importers), noted that modern trade is a still a very small part of India’s retail industry. Of this, gourmet is even a more miniscule part. “Though we are competitors as importers, we approach FSSAI, a single body on the platform of FIFI, to present a united front,” he said, speaking on behalf of the food importers.

Sumit Saran of SCS Group said: “The buzz around the Images Food & Grocery Forum India 2012 shows the growing importance of this sector. India, if it has to feed its people, will have to import food. The sooner we realise, the better for all of us.”

Puneet Gupta of LCompes Impex said: “ Through this forum, we have been able to share our thoughts and issues with FSSAI, which has heard us out and given us leeway to conform to Indian laws.” 

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Change to FSSR after consultation with Govt, panels, indicates Chandramouli

Thursday, March 29, 2012 08:00 IST 
Anurag More, Mumbai

K Chandramouli, chairperson, FSSAI (Food Safety & Standards Authority of India), has indicated the Tamilnadu Foodgrains Merchants Association Ltd that a change in the August 5-implemented Food Safety and Standards Regulations 2011 could be possible after due consultation with the government, scientific committee and scientific panels.

He gave this assurance while speaking to the association representatives at a protest organised by them in Chennai on Wednesday. While the association is keen for an early solution to the issue, the entire consultation and review process for the amendment is likely to take at least 19 months.

Shankar, secretary, Tamilnadu Foodgrains Merchants Association Ltd, explained FnB News over the telephone, "The Act will force small and medium level food business operators out of their business. Hence, we are seeking few changes in the Act, so that it will help small food business operators."

He added, "In the current format, the Act will only help multinational companies. Further, India is a vast country and climatic conditions differ from region to region, so the food and agricultural products will differ. Therefore, there should be changes made to the Act." The association is also seeking a shorter and quicker review process.

The association has written to the authority on the shortcomings of the regulation, thus;

1. Government of India has enacted the FSSA 2006 from August 5, 2011. Though this law has been enacted, the state level authorities who are in charge of implementing this Act, are lacking knowledge and cannot give explanations regarding this Act. Only during the last month, they are attending awareness programmes conducted by various associations. We request you to conduct more awareness programmes both for the authorities as well as trade bodies in this business and then implement the Act. Further we feel that enacting this Act now, will force small and medium level food business operators out of their business and make way for the multinational companies and big Indian players.

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Indian government may remove controls on wheat exports

By Ankush Chibber, 22-Mar-2012

India may soon see a final policy move that would lead to the government stepping back and removing its controls on the exports of wheat products, a move that until now has been a utopian dream for local farmers and millers.

India considers removing its wheat export controls

The country’s administration gad first announced the removal of controls and opening up of wheat products market back in 2009. India has allowed up to 650,000 tonnes of wheat product exports until March 31.

Now, government sources have confirmed to FoodNavigator-Asia that a joint ministerial panel would meet on March 26 to consider a proposal to scrap time limits and caps on quantities of wheat product exports.

“The meeting will see officials from the ministry of commerce, agriculture, and finance meet. The time limits and caps would be discussed,” an official at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution told FoodNavigator-Asia on the condition of anonymity.

“One of the sector demands that might be discussed is for an export policy to that would assure overseas buyers of continuous supplies under long term contracts. I cannot confirm the agenda beyond that,” he said.

Local media has reported that the proposal has a strong opponent and proponent each - the food ministry wants the deadline to be extended to March 31, 2013. The trade ministry however has argued against any limits.

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Turnover of registered food processing industries crosses Rs 4 lakh crore mark

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 08:00 IST 

Charan Das Mahant, minister of state for food processing industries, disclosed the number of registered food processing units in 2007-08 and the value of output for registered food processing industries in 2009-10 in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. 

According to the data available for 2009-10, the output of registered food processing industries was approximately Rs 4,46,701 crore and the average annual growth rate for the period between 2007-08 and 2009-10 was about 16.34 per cent.

In 2009-10, the share of unregistered food processing industries in India's GDP was about 33.5 per cent of the food processing sector. An annual survey of industries, conducted in 2007-08, revealed that there were about 26,221 registered food processing units across the country. 

AP Govt to issue order against use of carbide for ripening mangoes soon

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 08:00 IST 
Manjushree Naik, Mumbai


This summer season, Andhra Pradesh is likely to be free of mangoes ripened with calcium carbide, a cancer causing chemical, as the state government is likely to issue an order in this regard this week.

Speaking to FnB News over telephone, Md Israr Ahmed, director, marketing, agricultural marketing department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, explained, "This time we have a large quantity of mango produce and right now meetings among farmers and consumers are being conducted in various districts to create awareness on using ethanol instead of calcium carbide for ripening."

He added, "Further to the meetings, a GO will be issued on the ban of using carbide for ripening and it will be ensured that the order is adhered to throughout the state."

The main mango producing districts in Andhra Pradesh are Krishna, Chittoor, Khammam, and Nalgonda. These districts are known for varieties such as Benishan, Totapuri, and Malgoba.

Ahmed admits, "If 100 kg are going out of the state, at least, 95 kg of them are ripened with carbide and the rest by better means like ethanol. However, the traders have been made aware of the massive losses - mangoes ripened with carbide rot in 3-4 days - that they have to bear for attempting to save some money in using carbide, which is very cheap compared to other means."

According to him, the National Horticulture Mission offers 25 per cent subsidy for using pack houses, ripening chambers and permitted means like ethanol for the purpose. Hence, the use of calcium carbide can be successfully avoided 
SOURCE

Launch of Mission on Food Processing, Budget’s big bonanza to food sector

Saturday, March 17, 2012 08:00 IST 
Irum Khan, Mumbai
When finance minister Pranab Mukherjee opened his bundle of financial offerings to the nation it was almost certain that not any major news was likely to come by or a 360-degree turnaround was possible, given the twin ghosts of inflation and global economic crisis still haunting the government. 

The Union Budget 2012-13 ratified the guess. 

A GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth of 7.6% in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14 has been anticipated. How much of it would be achieved would be known only a year later.

Though, the Budget did bring in some new schemes for the food industry accompanied by a slew of incentives. 

The National Mission on Food Processing is one promising scheme proposed in the Budget to be started in 2012-13. This scheme is proposed to take care of the huge wastage in the country by effectively leading raw materials to the processing plants. The government will have to ensure that the design of the implementation plan is cogent and transparent.

“The food processing sector has been growing at an average rate of over 8 per cent over the past 5 years. In order to have a better outreach and to provide more flexibility to suit local needs, it has been decided that a new centrally-sponsored scheme titled “National Mission on Food Processing” would be started,” said the FM. 
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VAT reform set to disappoint Indian food processors

By Ankush Chibber, 15-Mar-2012

India’s food and beverage processing industry is hoping for some tax respite from the fiscal budget for 2012-13, but indications are that is unlikely to occur.

Industry groups like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have asked for the 10% central value-added tax (VAT) to be reduced to 0% for many food items.

A similar demand was made in November last year by the All India Food Processors' Association (AIFPA), which complained of logistical issues caused by VAT differences between states and called for a uniform rate across borders.

Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director at Mumbai-based Parle Agro also rued the fact that although primary agricultural commodities enjoy tax exemptions, processed foods are subject to multiple levies.

“The goods and services tax [GST] does provide a hope to rationalise and simplify the tax structure,” she said, referring to the same tax under another name.

The GST is a value added tax to be implemented by April 2012. It will replace all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Indian Central and State governments. It is aimed at being comprehensive for most goods and services with few tax exemptions.

GST may not be the answer

However, if the pre-Budget Economic Survey report of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister were anything to go by, the GST would not be the savior food processors have been hoping for.

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Courts slams Indian regulator over pesticide monitoring

By Ankush Chibber


A top court in India has come down hard on the country’s food safety regulator over its claims that there is a robust system to monitor the presence of pesticides in food products.

FSSAI slammed by Delhi High Court on pesticide monitoring

The Delhi High Court lambasted the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for claiming that that there is a well-established system to monitor presence of pesticides in food products.

The court was adjudicating on the issue after taking notice of reports, which suggested that impermissible pesticides like Endosulfan were found in food items, vegetables and fruits, especially around Delhi.

The court said the FSSAI made ‘tall claims’ in its affidavit where it said that there were 68 state pesticide-testing laboratories, besides regional and referral laboratories for monitoring food products.

Endosulfan contamination may linger on

“We find these pleadings surprising because the material brought on record shows a picture which is far from what is painted in the affidavit,” the court said adding that impermissible pesticides have been found in food products in the region.

The FSSAI said that while Endosulfan was banned for use, its presence in food items may be evidenced over the next few years since the pesticide was already mixed with groundwater and soil.

“The burden is sought to be passed on by observing that the usage of pesticides is required to be tackled at the farmer level,” the court said, adding that there must be a comprehensive policy to check the presence of pesticides in food items.

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Union Budget 2012-13 - Major concerns for food and hospitality segments

Union Budget 2012-13 - Major concerns for food and hospitality segments
Saturday, March 10, 2012 08:00 IST 
Irum Khan, Mumbai

With Union Budget 2012-13, scheduled for March 16, round the corner, the food & beverage, food processing, retail, and hotel and hospitality industries, already battling inflation- and recession-related challenges, are eagerly awaiting the announcements by the finance minister and looking for a respite. 

In this regard, all of these industries have come up with a list of omissions and commissions that they are seeking from the finance minister. Here's a peek into the demands made by the different segments:



VAT 


The All India Food Processors' Association (AIFPA) has written to the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) asking for rationalisation of VAT (Value-Added Tax) rates in the Budget 2012-13. It has asked the MoFPI to take its concerns to the empowered group of ministers of the finance committee.

"Introduction of VAT was a path-breaking initiative in the process of rationalisation of taxes. We recognise that levy of the VAT falls under the jurisdiction of the states. However, in the last one year or so some of the state governments have tinkered with the broad understanding on the rate of VAT applicable to goods and in the process certain anomalies have emerged that need to be corrected," said the AIFPA.

In this regard, it said that the VAT on all food products should be taxed at 4% throughout the country. It also asked a uniform VAT of 4% for packaged drinking water. The argument of the AIFPA is that packaged drinking water was a food item and thus the lowest VAT value should be applicable to it. 

VAT of 4% is currently applicable to fruit juice and fruit juice-based drinks. Despite the states coming to an understanding that fruit juice and fruit juice-based drinks would fall under 4% VAT rate, some states have increased the VAT substantially. 

Also, in a run-up to the proposed GST regime, many state governments have recently increased the rate of the VAT applicable on several food items like aerated water. 

The rate of VAT has also been hiked on carbonated soft drinks in several places like Maharashtra, NCT (National Capital Territory of Delhi) and others. "This defies economic logic," the AIFPA said.

"Soya processed foods such as soya edible flour / flakes / grits, soya badi / chunks / granules / textured soya protein, soya lecithin, soya milk, tofu (paneer), soya nuts / papad may also be brought under zero rate of tax because the VAT on soya food products varies from 4% to 12.5% in various categories and in various states of India. VAT should not be more than 4% on all soya products," the Association demanded.

It further asked for uniform VAT rates across the states.

Priority Sector Lending: The processing industry is demanding the inclusion of all advances to the agriculture & food processing industry, across the value chain under the category of direct agri Priority Sector Lending (PSL), without any limitation on the size of investment in plant and machinery.

This demand deserves some credit as the RBI has qualified lending to food and agro-based processing sector, under Indirect Finance to Agriculture, for units with investments in plant and machinery up to Rs 10 crore.



No GST

GST (Goods and Services tax) on processed food should be NIL, the industry has demanded. If the demand is not granted then the prices are likely to escalate leading to inflation, fears the industry.

It has asked the government to keeping the F&V processing industry under a special GST rate of 0% in line with Cenvat structure.

Fruits and vegetables
The association has asked the government to include agriculture produce in processed food products.

It wants exemption of fruits, vegetables and perishables from the APMC Act. This is to allow all farmers the freedom to sell directly to food processing companies / aggregators / processors, etc. in addition to selling through government or private mandis.

It wants the government to uniformly classify all "Processed Fruits and Vegetables" across the Centre and the states in lines with Cenvat structure.

It also seeks abolishment of state octroi /cess being charged in some states for the entry of goods.



Mid-Day Meals
The food processing sector has asked the government to allow its participation in the Mid-Day Meal scheme. "There is an urgent need to include processed food products in the Mid-Day Meal scheme because in the present scheme of things high wastage and pilferage happen mostly because rice and wheat are sold in the open market and the end benefit is not going to the beneficiaries. With processed foods this problem can be avoided and beneficiaries would be able to get nutritious wholesome food specially designed for the end-users and in hygienic manner," said the AIFPA.

Venture Fund to boost entrepreneurship, more NIFTEMS across India, Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and permission for corporate farming are just among the plethora of demands by the AIFPA.



Retail

The retailers have asked the government to revisit its decision of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, at least for the non-food segment.

In its list of recommendations, the Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, "Considering the recent political developments post the announcement of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, and recognising that the highest opposition for the proposed FDI policy seems to be on the food retail sector (largely due to its contemplative impact on local kirana shops), we at RAI would like to request the government to consider the option of at least opening up the other sectors (non-food) to FDI."

The retail industry also has repeated its demand for recognition of retail as an industry and assigning of a separate ministry for it. It said that the growth of retail sector could benefit the conventional retail trade, the government's exchequer, consumers and farmers/producers. A ministry / nodal minister to look after the interests of the retail sector shall help the sector flourish and get a facelift, the RAI said.

This will also enable better financial processes due to benchmarking and enable prudent practices in retail. Retail will also become eligible for all support and incentives as applicable to other industries.

On the provision of the Food and Safety Standards Act designed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the RAI said that the Act in its present form, also included the retailers and it would be practically impossible for the retailer to comply with the existing provisions.

For the retailers, there needed to be simple and clear regulations with the basic intent to protect the food safety and standards.

While the retailer would take utmost care to provide a hygienic environment for the food stuff inside the store, the construction of the store and its surroundings was not in the control of the retailer, it said.



Restaurant
Unlike the hotel industry, the restaurant segment has been unable to unite to present itself as one industry. Thus, it calls itself an ignored sector by the government.

This year again it has asked for tax holidays and better and rational tax structure which it believes will be a tremendous boost for the sector. "Restaurants should be treated as an infrastructure sector and accorded the accompanying benefits associated thereof," said Vyoum Ghai, honorary secretary, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), and the promoter of Panchshila Rendezvous.

He adds, "We strongly request the finance minister to remove the service tax on the rentals of the restaurant properties as the restaurant industry is already highly taxed plus the high and soaring rentals, high food inflation in the country are already making a viable existence incredibly difficult for the restaurateurs."

S M Shervani, president, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI) and managing director, Shervani Hospitalities Ltd, says the government should look at allowing duty-free concession for standalone restaurants. He also feels the government should lower the interest rate for ingredients and equipment manufacturers investing up to one to two crore. Criticising the discord between the Centre and state in implementing GST, Shervani says at a uniform rate of 10% GST will help the industry. He opines that service tax should be scrapped, "When we pay sales tax on one hand why is that we also need to pay a service tax? Isn't it ridiculous?"



Hospitality 

The hotel industry has had this persistent complaint of the government not paying heed to its demands. Resultantly, it repeats the same list of demands every year. This year again, the hotel industry has made its concerns, about government not giving sufficient attention to the industry, vocal. "The industry has grown rapidly in the last 10 years. However, the government has very little role in it. The progress was only driven by the entrepreneurs and all those associated with the industry," said Shervani. 
As for the Budget, Sanjay Vazirani, managing director, Foodlink Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, feels the Budget for 2012-2013 should be made more user-friendly. 

VAT is again a concern for this segment. Vazirani says that due to high VAT and additional service tax, people think before eating out as dining out has become more expensive. The taxation structure affecting the consumer of the hospitality sector should be reviewed. "We expect that the hotel industry would be given higher depreciation allowances as the industry has to make heavy investments in renovation and upgrade. The industry demands massive capital investment." 

He adds, "Last year's Budget has shown a negative impact on Indian hotels. The increase in service tax affected Indian hotels at large, which led to a decrease in growth of hotel industry. Let's hope this year the situation improves with the introduction of low VAT and less additional service tax which will once again result in the booming of hospitality industry." 


SOURCE

Nestlé UK makes range free of artificial colours, flavours, preservatives

Saturday, March 03, 2012 08:00 IST


Nestlé Confectionery UK, the UK entity of the dairy and confectionery major, has removed artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its entire confectionery range that includes KitKat, Aero and Smarties.
Crunch is the last of 79 products to become free of artificial ingredients since the company began to replace more than 80 additives with alternatives six years ago, according to the company.

The company, which was responding to consumer demand, said it was the first big UK confectioner to remove all artificial products. Concentrates of fruit, vegetables and edible plants such as carrot, hibiscus, radish, safflower and lemon are among ingredients used to provide colour. David Rennie, managing director, Nestlé Confectionery UK, described the move as a significant milestone.

"Nestlé is proud to be the only major confectionery company in the UK to announce it is 100% free of artificial preservatives, flavours or colours across its entire portfolio," he said.

"To achieve this, Nestlé Confectionery and our suppliers have worked very hard ensuring we don't compromise and we maintain the same quality and taste of all our brands," he added.

The company has already removed all artificial products from all its beverages including Nesquik. It first began work on achieving artificial-free replacements for ingredients in Smarties and Milky Bar in 2005


Source : The Guardian.

Food handlers in India to have annual medical fitness test

By Ankush Chibber, 05-Mar-2012


The sick and unfit will have to pass medical tests under a new order passed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The FSSAI issued a circular last week under which asked food manufacturing companies to ensure that employees who come under direct contact with food must demonstrate fitness for work.

The order asks manufacturers to ensure that these food-handlers, regardless of the safety precautions they take at work, undergo a mandatory medical examination for ratifying their physical fitness in order to pursue their trade.

On clearing the medical fitness test with a registered medical practitioner, the food handler gains a medical fitness certificate from the practitioner, as well as the local representative of the FSSAI.

A FSSAI spokesperson told FoodNavigator-Asia that the fitness test is mandatory and food handlers would have to undergo an eye test, skin examination, and physical check.

“Food handlers would also have to be vaccinated against an enteric group of diseases as per a schedule defined by the medical practitioners, failing to adhere to which no fitness certificate would be issued,” he said.


Performa for Medical Fitness Certificate for Food Handlers

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