In talks with industry bodies and players
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 17:
In a bid to promote large-scale food fortification in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working on standards for packaged food such a biscuits, curd, bread, which are likely to be released in the next two months.
The regulator had last month released the standards for staples such as milk, rice, oil, salt, wheat flour along with the logo, which companies can use in their labelling to indicate fortification.
“We are consulting with various industry bodies and industry players and working on for setting up standards for packaged food. It is a wide industry. We are in the process of understanding how fortification is defined internationally,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. He said the regulator is likely to come out with these standards in the next two months.
Resource centre opened
The FSSAI launched its Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC) in the presence of Bill Gates, along with secretaries of eight key Central ministries and other development partners.
The centre will provide technical support, advocacy and expertise on the supply side for industry players and demand side for consumers.
An online portal for FFRC was also launched. Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have committed their support to the food fortification initiatives.
Under FFRC, the food regulator, in partnership with development partners like Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will look at taking up demonstration projects to understand the costs and impact of fortified food in smaller regions, added Agarwal.
Joint awareness campaign
FSSAI is also looking to partner with industry players to create a joint campaign to create awareness about fortified food among consumers.
The CEO recently held meetings industry at Goa, Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
“Already the industry is very enthused and looking to come out with fortified products, which will be key to tackle malnutrition due to lack of micronutrients,” he added.
While Mother Dairy is the first company to launch fortified token milk, other companies such as Cargill, Tata Global Beverages, Future Group have also expressed their intentions to bring fortified products.
Agarwal said setting up standards and providing resources through FFRC is expected to help encourage industry players to bring in changes in food processing to be able to make fortified foods.
The Centre and its various departments as well as State governments are mulling to make fortification mandatory for procuring food staples and products for various public programmes such as mid-day meals.
“It’s an apt time for promoting large-scale fortification especially in staples. We are hoping that steps such as setting of standards and launching the logo will help encourage companies to come out with fortified foods as well as make consumers aware about the benefits. We are hoping these steps will help develop and encourage a supply side ecosystem and logistics, for suppliers and companies to come out with fortified food,” Agarwal added.
Meanwhile, FSSAI is also working out on standards for packaged spring water.
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