Nagpur scientist selected on national panel for food standards development

NAGPUR: Sugandha Garway, the director of ANACON Laboratories Pvt Ltd from city has been selected as one of the members of the national panel of food standards harmonisation/development process. 

"We are expected to frame food safety standards and submit it to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) by July 31 this year. I have been working in the field of food standards for long. But being on national panel is a matter of real pride."

FSSAI was established under Section 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 with the mandate of laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 

While developing these standards, it is proposed to cover products where we have domestic standards under Food Safety Standards Rules (FSSR) but these need a revision/harmonization with those of the 'codex' and other international best practices. 

The Act aims to make food safety a national movement. To meet this target, FSSAI is using an inclusive approach by utilising the wisdom of all stakeholders in the country, ensuring all relevant issues are discussed through a transparent consultative process and conflicting opinions reconciled on the basis of scientific evidence. 

Garway will be working as a team member for standardization of concentrates (liquid or solid) for water-based flavoured drinks or water based-drinks, which include powder, syrup, liquid and frozen concentrates for the preparation of carbonated or non-carbonated water-based non-alcoholic beverages by addition of water or carbonated water. Such as fountain syrups (e.g., cola syrup), fruit syrups for soft drinks, powdered glucose/sucrose based beverages, powdered isotonic beverages, frozen or powdered concentrate for lemonade, iced tea mixes, fruit-based drinks, water-based flavoured drinks etc.