Rasna, Vadilal keen to invest in Himachal

IANS | 09 November 2014, 11:02 AM IST

AHMEDABAD, Fruit juice concentrates maker Rasna Private Ltd Saturday showed interest in setting up a food park in Himachal Pradesh, while Vadilal Industries Ltd proposed to commission an agro processing unit.

Piruz Khambatta, chairman and managing director of Rasna, met a visiting delegation led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here and proposed to set up a mega food park.
Khambatta said the apples of Himachal Pradesh were better in quality than those of China.
He told the chief minister that he was keen on a joint venture with the state. For this, he proposed to launch a soft drink named "Rasna Himachal".
Ice cream maker Vadilal, which has three facilities in the country, proposed to set up an agro-based processing unit in the state.

Likewise, pharmaceutical major Torrent Group sought permission to set up a second facility in the state with a proposed investment of Rs.200 crore.
The Torrent Group has invested Rs.325 crore in the state.
Officials said the group has also shown interest in setting up mega hydropower projects. The chief minister asked the company to submit its proposal by Dec 15.

Adani Agrifresh business head Srinivasa Ramanujam, which has invested Rs.200 crore in the hill state in cold stores, has expressed interest in commissioning another store in Kullu area for storing 15,000 tonnes of apples.

The investors' meet in Ahmedabad was the last meeting in the first phase, which was organised by the Himachal government in association with CII.Earlier, meetings were held in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Official data shows that Himachal Pradesh got maximum investment from 2003 to 2010 when there was a special industrial package of the central government.

Most investments were in pharmaceuticals, food processing, textiles, packaging and light engineering sectors.

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Govt on FSS regulations review path ; withdraws amendment Bill from RS

Friday, November 07, 2014 08:00 IST 
Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi

In what could be seen as the first step towards comprehensive review of the Food Safety & Standards Regulations, 2011, the government has decided to withdraw the Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in February this year. 

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday at a meeting chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for withdrawing the Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014, as introduced in the Rajya Sabha on February 19,2014.

This decision was taken as the Union ministry of health has embarked on  a comprehensive review as reported by FnbNews earlier and the ministry has decided to include a lot of suggestions and recommendations in the wake of various court orders and representations made by traders bodies and FBOs (food business operators).

A statement by the government said, “The Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014, needs to be further amended after taking into account the judgements of the Supreme Court; Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, and representations received by the government and other recent developments.”

The statement added that based on further examination, a fresh set of amendments will be finalised by the ministry of health and family welfare.

The February 2014 amendment was mainly for Food Safety & Standards Authority of India’s bureaucratic operations. The amendment seeks review of Sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the said Act, which provides for the composition of the food authority consisting of a chairperson and 22 members, which does not include the chief executive officer. It is proposed to include the chief executive officer in the composition of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India amongst others.

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Ferrero contemplating expanding its product range in India

PTI | 19 October 2014, 6:30 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Italian confectionery giant Ferrero is contemplating expanding its product range in India with introduction of new brands along with few brand extensions.

"We have pipeline of innovations and we would like to explore opportunities in the Indian market. Ferrero has a huge portfolio. While we continue focus on our four existing brands, we would like to enlarge our portfolio," Ferrero India Marketing Head Emanuele Fiordalisi told PTI.

Ferrero's four brands in India are Rocher, Kinder Joy, Tic Tac and Nutella.

When asked by when does the company plan to expand its products range, Fiordalisi said: "I can say in the coming years...It will be soon."

On new products, he said: "For example there is Kinder portfolio that can brought to India and some other brands."

He, however, did not share more details. Talking about Indian operations, Fiordalisi that India is one of the most important emerging markets for Ferrero.

"We have not yet reached our objective (in terms of brands reach and sales). We are still a young company. We have ambitious plans in the coming years," he said.

Ferrero also plans to launch its spreads brand Nutella on a larger scale.

"Nutella has a limited presence right now, only in tier I cities. But we are looking at launching Nutella on large scale in smaller towns as well," Fiordalisi said.

The company, at present, manufactures Kinder Joy and Tic Tac in its plant in Baramati in Maharashtra.

As part of Diwali campaign, the company has built a Ferrero Rocher pyramid at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, its largest pyramid in India.

The pyramid will be on display till October 23 2014. 
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25 quintals of spurious milk products seized in Dehradun

By Shahla Siddiqui | 19 October 2014, 4:30 PM IST

DEHRADUN: Ahead of Diwali, officials here have seized over 25 quintals of adulterated milk products, including sweets meant to be circulated in markets of the state capital as well as other places in Uttarakhand.

While such seizures are common ahead of the festival every year, the large quantity this time around hints at the magnitude of the adulteration racket in the state.

The intense drive against spurious food items was kicked off on October 15 and several teams of the State Food Safety and Standards Department (SFSSD) made these seizures in Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar till Saturday. The department claimed that the three places are the entry points for smuggling milk products, which are frequently used during Diwali, into the hill state.

While food officials in Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun are carrying out drives during the daytime, for those posted in Haridwar the pre-Diwali season has brought sleepless nights. "We are checking all the interstate buses as they carry milk products in huge amounts to adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan. Till now we have checked over 150 buses," Haridwar district food safety officer (DFSO) Mahimanand Joshi told TOI.

On Saturday, 7.5 quintals of suspicious milk products were seized and destroyed by the department. The seizure was made from four buses entering the state, three of them from Uttar Pradesh and one from Rajasthan. "There was no owner of the consignment in the buses. We seized it, collected samples and destroyed it," Joshi added.

In Rudrapur area of Udham Singh Nagar district, over 9 quintals of milk products have been seized till now, out of which 4 quintals were seized on Friday. According to SFSSD officials, Rudrapur alone supplies milk products and sweets in the hilly areas of Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Champawat and Almora.

Udham Singh Nagar DFSO Manish Kumar Siyana said, "We believe controlling adulteration in Rudrapur will help maintain food standards and safety in the hills as a large amount of milk products are transported from here to the districts. Till now, over 9 quintals of suspicious milk products have been seized and over 100 notices have been given to sweet shops."

Apart from seizing substandard food items, this year the department has laid emphasis on the hygienic conditions in sweet shops.

"We are issuing notices to sweet shops which are not maintaining hygiene. Unpacked food items are another way of inviting notices. No shopkeeper will be spared in case of any adulteration or if substandard food is found," Rajendra Singh Rawat, designated officer (headquarters), SFSSD, said.

In Dehradun, over 20 notices have been issued and 8 quintals of food products have been seized till now.
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Scotch shipment held up over non-compliance

By Sidhartha | 15 October 2014, 1:50 PM IST


NEW DELHI: For all the noise by foreign chocolate manufacturers and scotch and wine makers over the food safety regulator holding up consignments, it turns out that around 1% of the shipments has been rejected so far this year, compared to under 2% last year.

What's more, the maximum number of rejections was due to the absence of the date of manufacturing and the manufacturer's name issues seen as critical from safety point of view followed by labeling-related issues and the lack of ingredients list, official data accessed by TOI has revealed. There are several cases where goods with unpermitted ingredients were being imported into the country but were stopped at ports.

Over the past few months, chocolate, food and alcohol importers had created a lot of noise over shipments being rejected on various grounds, with some going to the extent of suggesting that several important ingredients used by specialty restaurants were not available due to Food Safety Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) crackdown.

There have also been suggestions that it would be tough to find imported chocolates this Diwali. But data tells a different story. Between April and August this year, of the 304 consignments that were not issued the 'non-compliance certificate,' 26, which is the maximum number, related to flavours, which are added to various food products. This was followed by alcohol (17), beverages (16), chocolates (14) and confectionary (13). In case of chocolates, several consignments of global giants were rejected as they contained vegetable fat, which was as high as 70% in some cases and were being brought into the country as dark, white or milk compounds, said sources familiar with the development

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PMO to look into issues concerning FSSAI, including product nod delays

Saturday, October 04, 2014 08:00 IST 
Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi 

In a major development, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has decided to intervene and look into possible solutions for issues related to FSSAI - delays in product approval, frequent changing
of labelling norms, and food imports stuck at various ports and airports. 

Caught in the tangle between the two Union ministries, ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) as far as manufacturing is concerned and ministry of health and family welfare with regard to product approval and food safety, such issues have marred both the Indian food processing industry and food import trade. 

Various options
In this regard, for a while, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union minister of food processing industries, has been trying out various options - having one-to-one discussions with Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union minister of health and family welfare, and taking up the matter with prime minister Narendra Modi. The latest development seems to be a result of these efforts. 

Replying to F&B News, Badal informed that her ministry fully appreciated that the health standards of the country needed to be maintained without being compromised but also felt the industry’s need to grow. 

Key issue
She explained, “We had a lot of inter-ministerial dialogue. We took up this issue with the health ministry as it was one of the first things industry brought to my notice when I took over along with other issues of labelling, goods stuck at ports, and timely approvals. I took up the issue with Dr Harsh Vardhan. After having our discussions, we have taken up the issue with the prime minister, and at that level it will be sorted out.”

Badal added that the government was working to provide a solution to the industry and various arms of the government were in talks with each other regularly in this regard. 

Due to the persisting issues related to FSSAI, there were reports suggesting that MoFPI wanted product approval or FSSAI to come under different body. However, Badal clarified that it did not matter under whom product approval or FSSAI remained as long as its actions were not arbitrary. 

She stated, “The system should be transparent, and decisions shouldn’t be taken arbitrarily. It doesn’t matter under whom FSSAI is. What matters is the systems are not arbitrary and while maintaining the safety standards it (FSSAI) allows the industry to flourish. If industry will have any issues, those will be addressed.”

Growth
She observed, "Also while we need to work towards accepting global standards and keep safety and standards of our country at highest level, it should not hamper the growth of the industry. The ministry has taken up certain issues with the ministry of health and FSSAI related to the labelling of products, which are important because of the revised advisories issued by the FSSAI. And I am sure that a good solution will be arrived at soon.” 

On the issue of imported food stuck at various ports, the minister said, “There are a couple of issues which have been raised by the industry. I have taken them up with the health minister. The matter is also in the notice of the prime minister’s office.” 

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Borges India Pvt Ltd’s Bhasin is president of Indian Olive Association

Saturday, October 04, 2014 08:00 IST 
Our Bureau, New Delhi


Rajneesh Bhasin, who heads the India operations for Borges India Pvt Ltd (a fully-owned subsidiary of the Spanish multi-national firm Borges Mediterranean Group), has been appointed president, Indian Olive Association. 

Bhasin, who is responsible for establishing Borges as a leading player in the olive oil and other Mediterranean products category, has over 18 years’ experience in the sales and marketing of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and has served as vice-president, Indian Olive Association.

He holds an engineering degree from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, and is a post-graduate in business management from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

He took over from V N Dalmia of Dalmia Continental. The latter would be the association’s founder president, while Aseem Soni of Cargill India would be its vice-president.

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