Beast of bureaucracy makes logjam hard to avoid

By RJ Whitehead,29-Jan-2013

If there’s one thing India doesn’t need, that’s more bureaucracy.

 As the saying goes, the British introduced it, then the Indians perfected it post-Independence. 

And even as the country celebrated its sixty-fourth Republic day last week, all the form-filling and paper-pushing–and consequent palm-greasing–have continued unabated well into the twenty-first century. 

Rather than them fading out, even more bureaucratic processes are being introduced by the day, and one of the most recent examples of tedious triplicate concerns any new or existing food products that are classed as “proprietary”.

Last month, the Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI), the government-promoted body that has recently taken over as the country’s food watchdog, announced that it would start a new system of issuing approvals, meaning that any products that are not classified in the Food Act will need to follow a regulatory “new product approval” guideline, as laid down by the FSSAI.

Proprietary foods as a definition doesn’t just cover the latest in pre- and probiotics and newly formulated breakthroughs; no, it deals with items as simple as low-calorie ice-creams, digestive biscuits and low-sugar jams. And it doesn’t matter how thoroughly a company announces its product’s ingredients on packs and in advertising, it will still need to attain FSSAI approvals.

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Diabetes on the rise among India’s southern poor

By RJ Whitehead, 25-Jan-2013

A countrywide screening programme on diabetes trends in India makes for startling reading, no least for those in the south who live in slums. Rightly concerned about the prevalence of diabetes in India, the country’s health ministry has been closely following the disease among the population, and the latest study was conducted under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVD and Stroke (NPCDCS).

Its figures highlight two highly unexpected and alarming trends. The first is that the south, which has traditionally and positively led the country in most health indices, now also leads the way in the prevalence of diabetes. The second trend is that the disease has seen a dramatic increase among slum dwellers and the poor.

Rich man's disease

Diabetes is traditionally considered by Indians to be a rich man’s disease, and medical experts blame increasingly poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles for the rise of diabetes among the urban poor.

Indeed, the latest findings suggest that one in every four people living in the urban slums of Chennai suffer from diabetes—a figure over three times higher than the national average of around 7%.

"It is a false belief that only those eating burgers and pizzas can get obese and develop diabetes. High consumption of fried items such as kachori, samosa and gulab jamun can also led to the onset of diabetes," Dr H P S Sachdev, senior consultant pediatrics at Sitaram Institute of Science and Research, told Times of India this week

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Industry should stand poised for breakfast cereal boom in India: Analyst

By Kacey Culliney,18-Jan-2013

Cereals in India is a great example of the 

shift from  non-packaged 

to packaged, says Ayton

Manufacturers should stand poised to cash in on India’s burgeoning packaged breakfast cereal market, an analyst says. The Indian breakfast cereal market was pegged at $139m for 2012, with market growth doubling over the last six years, according to new Mintel research.

Peter Ayton, global consumer analyst at Mintel, described the market as interesting as it epitomizes opportunities presented by the shift away from non-packaged, low-value goods.

“Cereals epitomize the growth potential there is in India with the shift to packaged goods. Packaged breakfast cereals is a really interesting sector in India because it’s not only replacing non-packaged items but also cooked, traditional breakfasts,” Ayton told BakeryandSnacks.com.

“It’s creating a national market in place of a traditional food type that is very regional,” he said.

“It is still a small market in the scheme of things but it is growing fast and the background to this is affluence. There’s growing affluence and greater urbanization but another factor is that the in-home market is pretty good in the country.”

Ayton noted that overall consumer expenditure in India is set to increase by 13% each year for the next three years.

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Now, food products need to seek approval from government-promoted FSSAI

Ratna Bhushan, ET Bureau Jan 29, 2013, 06.12AM IST

NEW DELHI: Probiotic ice-cream, digestive biscuits or low-sugar jams may be flying off retail shelves, butfood companies are no longer being allowed to sell new products without taking approvals from the government-promoted
 Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).According to a new and modified FSSAI advisory issued to all food companies last month, any new or existing product which is 'proprietary' - in other words not classified in the food act - will need to follow a regulatory 'new product approval' guideline, as laid down by the FSSAI. Even if food companies announce the ingredients on packs and in advertising, they will still need approvals

According to guidelines, makers of all proprietary products will now have to submit applications to the central government for approval and can launch only after all the necessary approvals have been obtained.

For example, while cheese and butter are standard products, a low-fat ice-cream or dessert would be classified as proprietary. Another example -- if the existing food law states that fruit-based jam can be made only with a specific amount of sugar, and if a company chooses to add more or less sugar than what is specified, the product becomes proprietary. Food companies say the move will delay new product development and product innovation, though it will help in filtering out incorrect product claims.

Piruz Khambatta, chairman of beverage concentrate and powder maker Rasna, called it a step backwards. "Such guidelines did not exist in the past... We welcome regulations but they should be conducive to growth instead of delaying both new product development and innovation - which is so important when the market is so competitive," Khambatta said. Till now, proprietary food products could be approved at the state level, but with the new guidelines in place, companies need to seek approval from the central food authority.

RS Sodhi, MD of dairy giant Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which makes the Amul brand of milk, cheese, butter and ice-cream, said: "It's a good move from the consumer's point of view... when you deal with food products, you have to be very sure of the claims you are making. But it's also true that this may delay new launches."

The move comes at a time when functional foods are growing at a rapid pace. While categories like muesli are growing at 40% a year and are estimated at 100 crore, the 200-crore-plus oats market is growing at about 30%.

"We are applying for fresh approvals even for existing products which are not listed in the existing food act," said a top official of a leading multinational food company, requesting not to be named.

FSSAI declined comment on the matter, and an official from the authority said all relevant information had been posted on their website.

The FSSAI has also set up an exhaustive set of guidelines for self regulation in all advertising of foods and beverages, along with advertising monitoring agency Advertising Standards Council of India ( ASCI). The guidelines state that ads of foods and beverages making claims like making children taller, helping people lose weight or curing hair-loss will need to prove their declarations scientifically.

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Inclusion of alcohol in FSS Act, 2006, no clash with Excise dept: FSSAI

Friday, January 11, 2013 08:00 IST 
Abhitash Singh, Mumbai

Although alcoholic drinks have been included in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, and all the food business operators (FBOs) who sell alcoholic drinks like whisky, beer, rum, and vodka have to apply for licensing and registration, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has denied the possibility of any clash of interest with State Excise Departments.

A number of associations and organisations have made representations against licensing and registration for the business of alcoholic drinks. There has been apprehension that due to alcoholic drinks being included in the FSS Act, 2006, there is duplication of work with the Excise departments of states. 

The matter has been examined and it has been clarified that the FSSAI will regulate with the framing of the standards of alcoholic drinks and issues concerned with the safety aspects of alcoholic drinks only from production to sale.

S N Mohanty, former CEO, FSSAI, said, “There will be no clash of interest between Excise department and FSSAI, because our work will be to issue licences to and register the FBOs which deal with the business of standard alcoholic drinks and wines. All FBOs may need to apply for licences and registration to the authorities at the Centre or state/Union Territory as per their capacity turnover.”

He added, “The other issues like revenue, trade, etc. will be dealt by the Excise departments of states and Union Territories. So there is clear-cut demarcation of the activities and no conflict in jurisdiction.”

Ganesh Naik, state excise minister, Maharashtra said, “We will be working in collaboration with FSSAI and the reason there will be no conflict in working of both authority.”

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FDA PROPOSES CRUCIAL FOOD-SAFETY RULES UNDER FSMA

January 4,2013

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government on Friday proposed two major rules under a landmark food-safety law aimed to prevent foodborne illnesses that claim thousands of American lives each year.

"We really need to do more than react after the fact," Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Friday during a conference call with the media to discuss the proposals.

FDA has proposed the measures under the 2-year-old Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which President Obama signed into law on Jan. 4, 2011. The rules affect food manufacturers and farmers, focusing on prevention of Salmonella, E. coli and other foodborne illnesses that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates impact 1in 6 Americans every year.

“FDA’s proposed regulations on preventive controls and fresh produce form the cornerstone of FSMA," said attorney Joe Levitt, a partner with Hogan Lovells and the former Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a statement. "They get to the very heart of the new law’s paradigm shift from reaction to prevention."

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Wish you all "Happy New Year"