FSSAI planning to launch a risk management system for the domestic sector similar to the system already in place for imported products for sampling and inspection, said Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI. This will include the product details, manufacturer profile, compliance reports to reduce the incidence of unnecessary inspection by food and safety inspectors, he added.
Addressing the virtual ‘India Food & Nutrition Innovation Summit 2021’, organised by FICCI & Thinking Forks Consulting with collaboration from MoFPI (ministry of food processing industries), Singhal said FSSAI has been embracing the use of technology in a big way and all activities are online today. “Our IT platforms are robust, and we have gone for ease of doing business on these platforms. We are now coming out with the concept of ‘Perpetual License’ so that no renewal of license would be necessary for the industry,” he added.
One of the biggest innovations by FSSAI was the launch of ‘Eat Right India’ campaign through which consumers would get all information regarding healthy food, said Singhal. “From next January, consumers, while visiting the restaurant, will find the menu card to have the serving size along with the calorific information of the serving as well. We are soon coming out with the Vegan logo. There is a small class of people growing in numbers who are vegans and there was no certification available for vegan foods. We have also come out with a regulation for AYUSH aahar as well,” he added.
He said that FSSAI has been focusing on rapid food testing kits. “We are among the very few countries in the world to start the concept of mobile food testing labs and we have the concept of Food Safety on Wheels,” he said.
He urged the industry to set apart some budget for research and development. “Our aim is to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians and to make that a reality we need to foster a culture of innovation. This is something the government alone cannot achieve on its own and requires the partnership of government, industry and innovators,” said Singhal.
A knowledge paper on ‘Indian Food and Nutrition Innovation’ was also released during the event. The report aims at highlighting the gaps when it comes to nutrition, emerging consumer and market trends that are driving consumer choices in food and beverage products.
TOI
