Two-day National Trade Leaders’ conference at Nagpur will be stormyGST, e-commerce, FDI in retail and cashless economy to be centre of agenda

Nagpur: More than 200 prominent Trade Leaders from all States and Union Territories will be assembling tomorrow and day after at Nagpur for participation in two day Conference of National Governing Council of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to be held at Nagpur on August 27 and 28, 2016.

The Conference is being held at a time when both Central and State Governments are working hard to ensure implementation of Goods & Services Tax (GST) from April 1, 2017 and even supporting the GST, the trade and industry have voiced their various concerns. The two day Conference of trade leaders of the Country will deliberate on many burning issues concerning retail trade of India including having a marathon session on GST. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis are also likely to address the trade leaders and will ascertain their input on various issues.

CAIT National President B.C.Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal while addressing a Press Conference today at Nagpur said that GST is an attempt to bring radical changes in taxation system of India which is a welcome step since current taxation system is fraught with various anomalies and disparities but at the same time the proposed model of GST also provides various provisions which will be difficult for the traders to comply with efficiently. Element of ease of doing business is somewhat missing in model GST Bill and some complicated provisions related to input credit and place of supply will certainly give rise to litigation. In the light of the same, the trade leaders will have a serious debate on the proposed model Bill of GST and will compile a series of suggestions which will be handed over to Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on August 30, 2016 at Delhi at a meeting already scheduled with trade & industry by the Committee.

The Conference will also have a critical evaluation of Food Safety and Standards Act which is so far have not been amended despite the demand of traders and assurances of the Government. This issue is hanging fire since year 2011 and needs to be settled. Unfortunately, the dictatorial attitude of the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India has proved to be a major road block. The trade leaders will finalise their strategy as to how pressurize the Government to re-visit the Act which encourages packed food culture in the Country and this sector is dominated ither by the MNCs or big Corporate houses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid greater stress on adoption of cashless economy in the Country. The CAIT while terming it as a necessity for the growth of economy has supported this initiative and has designed a “less cash national movement” which is already been undertaken by the trading community all over the Country. However, this initiative needs greater support from the Government in terms of incentivization policy to encourage more usage of card payment in the Country. Senior officials of HDFC Bank, MasterCard and CIBIL, a credit scoring company will be a part of the discussion to be held during one of the session at the Conference.

Launching Mudra Bank by the Prime Minister last year was a landmark initiative taken by any Government in past 68 years in the Country but however, it has not reached the real people for whom it was designed. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Bank as a lending agency in Mudra has vitiated the very fundamental of Mudra. Originally, it was proposed that Non Banking Finance Companies, Micro Finance Institutions, Trust and Societies will be register and accredited under Mudra for lending the money whereas the Banks will act as re-financing agency. The two days Conference will chalk out its strategy to impress upon the Government to make Mudra as an independent regulator and inclusion of NBFCs, MFIs and others as lending agency.

The Conference will also discuss in detail the role of E Commerce Companies who are indulging in deep discounting while violating the FDI policy which is proving much detrimental to retail trade. It is noteworthy to mention that the CAIT had made a complaint against these Companies to Union Government on August 10, 2016 and the Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sithraman has taken a cognizance of this grave issue and declare to form a Grievance Cell in the Ministry.

However, the CAIT will demand for a specified policy for the e commerce business in India to retail equal level playing field. The trading community of the Country is deeply aggravated for allowing FDI in retail particularly in food sector. Such steps are against the commitment made by the BJP at the time of polls in 2014.

Various other issues like upgradation and modernization of retail trade, empowerment and financial literacy of women entrepreneurs in India, formation of a Retail Regulatory Authority and a separate Ministry of Internal Trade will also be discussed in the Conference-said both Bhartia and Khandelwal.

Joint Resolution agreed upon during the 'Joint Commemorative Meeting' was held on 23rd August, 2016.

உணவு பொருள் பேக் கேஜ் க ளில் உற் பத்தி தேதி, அளவு விவ ரங் களை பெரிய எழுத் தில் அச் சிட வேண் டும் விதி களை கடு மை யாக்க முடிவு

புது டெல்லி, ஆக. 24:

உணவு பொருள் பேக் கேஜ் விதி களை கடு மை யாக்க மத் திய அரசு முடிவு செய் துள் ளது.

நவீன வாழ்க்கை முறைக்கு ஏற்ப பேக் கேஜ் உணவு பொருட் க ளின் ஆதிக் கம் அதி க ரித்து வரு கி றது. பிஸ் கட், சாக் லேட், நூடுல்ஸ் மட் டு மின்றி இட்லி, தோசை, உப் புமா கூட உட னடி பயன் பாட் டுக்கு ஏற்ப பேக் கேஜ் உண வு க ளாக வரு கின் றன. வாடிக் கை யா ளர் க ளின் கவ னத்தை ஈர்க் கும் வகை யில் வண்ண மய மாக இவை உரு வாக் கப் ப டு கின் றன. சில நிறு வ னங் கள் பேக் கேஜ் வடி வ மைப் பில் உள்ள கவ னத்தை, அதற் கான விதி களை பின் பற் று வ தில் செலுத் து வ தில்லை என்ற குற் றச் சாட்டு நீண் ட கா ல மாக உள் ளது.

பிர பல நிறு வ னங் க ளுக்கு போட் டி யாக வரும் போலி தயா ரிப் பு களை நுகர் வோர் அடை யா ளம் காண முடி வ தில்லை. இதை தடுக்க பேக் கேஜ் விதி களை கடு மை யாக்க மத் திய அரசு முடிவு செய் துள் ளது. இது கு றித்து நுகர் வோர் விவ கார அமைச் சக அதி காரி ஒரு வர் கூறி ய தா வது:

பேக் கேஜ் சட் டத் தில் உள்ள 7வது பிரிவு, அதி லுள்ள உணவு பொருட் க ளின் விவ ரங் களை எந்த எழுத்து அள வில் அச் சிட வேண் டும் என்று குறிப் பி டு கி றது. ஆனால் பெரும் பா லான நிறு வ னங் கள் இதை கடைப் பி டிப் பதே இல்லை. அது வும், சிறிய பேக் கேஜ் க ளில் எழுத்து அளவு மிகச் சி றி தாக படிக்க முடி யாத வகை யில் உள் ளது. எனவே அமெ ரிக் கா வில் உள்ள பேக் கேஜ் விதி களை பின் பற்றி மாற் றங் கள் செய்ய திட் டம் உள் ளது. தற் போது, பேக் கேஜ் உணவு பொருட் க ளில் பெயர், முக வரி, அளவு, உற் பத்தி தேதி, காலா வதி தேதி, சில் லரை விலை ஆகி யவை 1 மில்லி மீட் ட ருக் கும் குறை வாக இருக் கி றது. அமெ ரிக் கா வில் இது 1.6 மில்லி மீட் டர் என நிர் ண யிக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. இதை அடி யொற்றி, 200 கிராம் அல் லது 200 லிட் டர் பேக் கே ஜில் 1.5 மில்லி மீட் டர் அள வில் விவ ரங் களை அச் சி ட லாம்.

200க்கு மேல் 500 கிராம் / லிட் டர் பேக் கேஜ் க ளில் இந்த அளவு தற் போ துள்ள 2 மில்லி மீட் ட ரில் இருந்து 4 மீல்லி மீட் ட ரா க வும், 500 கிரா முக்கு மேல் 8 மில்லி மீட் ட ராக உயர்த் த வும் முடிவு செய் யப் பட் டுள் ளது.

இது மட் டு மின்றி, சம் பந் தப் பட்ட உண வுப் பொ ருள் இந் தி யா வில் தயா ரிக் கப் பட் டதா அல் லது வெளி நாட் டில் தயா ரிக் கப் பட் டதா என் பதை அறிய பிரத் யேக பார் கோடு அறி மு கம் செய் ய வும் நுகர் வோர் விவ கார அமைச் ச கம் திட் ட மிட் டுள் ளது. இது போலி களை தடுக்க உத வி யாக இருக் கும். இது மட் டு மின்றி பேக் கேஜ் உச் ச வ ரம்பு அளவு 25 கிலோ என இருப் பதை 50 கிலோ வாக உயர்த் த வும் திட் டம் உள் ளது. சிறிய பேக் கேஜ் க ளாக வாங் கும் நுகர் வோர் இதற் கென அதிக விலை கொடுக் கின் ற னர். உதா ர ண மாக அரிசி, கோதுமை போன் றவை பெரிய பேக் கேஜ் க ளாக வரும் போது விலை குறை ய வும் வாய்ப்பு உள் ளது. இவ் வாறு அந்த அதி காரி கூறி னார்.

பிரட் தயாரிப்பில் தடைசெய்யப்பட்ட பொருட்கள் பயன்படுத்தக்கூடாது பேக்கரி உரிமையாளர்களுக்கு எச்சரிக்கை

விழுப் பு ரம், ஆக. 26:

பிரட் தயா ரிப் பின் போது தடை செய் யப் பட்ட புற் று நோய் உண் டாக் கும் பொருட் களை பயன் ப டுத் தக் கூ டாது என்று பேக்கரி உரி மை யா ளர் க ளுக்கு மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு அலு வ லர் எச் ச ரிக்கை விடுத் துள் ளார்.

விழுப் பு ரம் நக ரில் பேக் கரி தயா ரிப் பா ளர் கள் மற் றும் விநி யோ கஸ் தர் கள் சில் லரை விற் ப னை யா ளர் க ளுக்கு பேக் கரி பொருட் கள் தயா ரிப்பு விழிப் பு ணர்வு கூட் டம் மாவட்ட உண வு பா து காப் புத் துறை சார் பில் அதன் அலு வ ல கத் தில் நடந் தது. இக் கூட் டத் திற்கு தலைமை தாங் கிய உண வு பா து காப்பு நிய மன அலு வ லர் வர லட் சுமி பேசு கை யில், பிரட் தயா ரிப் பின் போது பொட் டா சி யம் புரே மிட், பொட் டா சி யம் லோடிட் பயன் ப டுத் து வது தடை வி திக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. இதனை கலந்து தயா ரித் தால் பொது மக் க ளுக்கு புற் று நோய் களை ஏற் ப டுத் தும் என் ப தால் இப் பொ ருட் கள் பயன் ப டுத்த தடை வி திக் கப் பட் டுள் ளது. இதனை மீறி பிரட் டில் இப் பொ ருட் களை சேர்த் தால் சம் பந் தப் பட் ட வர் கள் மீது கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும்.

மேலும் குழந் தை கள் விரும்பி சாப் பி டும் ஜாம், ஜெல்லி போன்ற பொருட் க ளில் சைக் ளா மீட் பயன் ப டுத் தக் கூ டாது. பிரட் டில் பயன் ப டுத் தப் ப டும் மூலப் பொ ருட் க ளான எண் ணெய் மாவு போன் றவை தர மா ன தாக பயன் ப டுத்த வேண் டும். விழாக் கா லங் க ளில் கூடு தல் க வ னம் செலுத்தி தர மா ன தாக உற் பத்தி செய்ய வேண் டும். சுகா தா ர மான முறை யில் உண வுபொ ருட் களை தயா ரிக்க வேண் டும். மேலும் வண் ணப் பொ ருட் கள் அதி க ளவு பயன் ப டுத் து வதை தவிர்க்க வேண் டும். பாக் கெட் செய் யும் பிளாஸ்ட் க வர் 40 மைக் ரான் அள வுக்கு மேல் இருக் கக் கூ டாது. இவ் வாறு அவர் பேசி னார். நக ராட்சி உணவு பாது காப்பு அலு வ லர் சங் க ர லிங் கம், சர வ ணன் மற் றும் விழுப் பு ரம் நக ராட் சிக் குட் பட்ட பேக்கரி உரி மை யா ளர் கள் உள் ளிட்ட பலர் கலந்து கொண் ட னர்.

How meat is raised may influence taste

Tug-of-war between two government departments leaves the midday meal untested

AIPUR: A tug-of-war between the midday meal commissionerate and the food safety department regarding the responsibility of testing of the midday meal served to 62 lakh school children in the state left the mandatory monthly exercise on hold for months together.

According to the rules, the samples of the midday meal had to be tested every month for ensuring quality and nutritional value of the meal but the midday meal commissionerate says they do not have the wherewithal to conduct the monthly exercise and asked the food safety department to carry out the job.

According to the order of September 30 2015, the samples of the midday meal had to be tested once in a month in every district at a National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The midday meal commissionate said they had duly informed the state food safety department of the requirement as they have infrastructure for testing food articles, but they refused to comply. So, the food served under the midday meal programme has not been fulfilled the mandatory testing for the last several months.

Rajasthan Food safety commissioner Dr BR Meena said the testing of the meal served under midday meal is not their job as it is not covered under the Food Safety Act. According to the Food Safety Act those foods which are bought and sold in the market is covered under the act. Thus midday meal is outside their purview.

FDA, FSSAI to collaborate for new initiatives for Goa

Panaji: The state food and drugs administration, (FDA) Goa has been selected by theFSSAI to pilot three 10 @ 10 initiatives in the state.

These will be providing safe and nutritious food at home, in schools and by restaurants/railways.

"The FSSAI is commemorating the decade of enactment of the FSS Act 2006 by launching 10 @ 10 initiatives to cover every place where food is consumed. 10 @ 10 initiative is planned to connect with citizens in multiple ways for creating food safetyculture," said director, FDA Goa and commissioner, food safety, Goa, Salim Veljee.

Under these initiatives, the FSSAI will provide in-house training to the enforcement officials of FDA, Goa in coming months. These trained officials in collaboration with consumers and other agencies conduct such programmes all across the state at home, schools, restaurants, etc to promote the culture of safe and nutritious food to all.

Under safe and nutritious food at home, FSSAI is bringing out a 'green book- your companion on safe nutritious food at home. This would have useful and practical tips and information about food safety and nutrition that Indian households need on a day to day basis.

The target is to provide every household a printed version of the curated handbook on safe and nutritious food at home. Also, have a web-based platform for homemakers to share their experiences and thus create vibrant community of homemakers.

Through safe and nutritious food at schools, FSSAI seeks to ensure the standard of safety and nutrition across the entire eco-system of food around schools, including lunchbox, canteens, cafeteria, foodjoints, mess, aanganwadi.

Three components are included to strengthen the safety and nutrition at midday meals: compulsory FSSAI registration/licence for food business involved with the scheme, periodic inspections and regular testing of food.

At restaurants, a FSSAI-trained food safety supervisor will be designated at each restaurant to carry out hygiene standards; a mandatory food safety display board will be put up; and hygiene rating of restaurants will be done to inform consumers about health promoting restaurants.

At railways, FSSAI has tied up with railways to initiate 'project safety on track.' At places of worship, FSSAI is engaging with the managements of places of worship to help them implement food safety management systems.

GM food test for Modi- Experts clear mustard seeds, final approval pending

A scientist holds a genetically modified rapeseed crop under trial in New Delhi in February 2015.

New Delhi, Aug. 25 (Reuters): A government panel has cleared commercial use of what would be India's first genetically modified (GM) food crop but politicians still have to give final approvals amid widespread public opposition.

Technical clearance for indigenously developed GM mustard seeds was given on August 11 by the panel of government and independent experts, following multiple reviews of crop trial data generated over almost a decade, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The decision to go ahead is likely to be made public soon by the environment ministry's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, and is expected eventually to move to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's desk via environment minister Anil Madhav Dave.

Dave could not immediately be reached for comment.

The environment ministry said in a statement that no final decision had been taken yet and that its Genetic Engineering Approval Committee would put up a "safety document" on the issue on its website seeking comments from the public.

The news of the technical approval comes when US seed maker Monsanto - which dominates the GM cotton market in India - faces heightened government regulation that has forced it to consider quitting a country it has operated in for decades.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Monsanto had withdrawn an application seeking approval for its next generation GM cotton seeds in India, escalating a long-running dispute between New Delhi and the world's biggest seed maker.

Top India-based executives of multinationals like Monsanto, Bayer Biosciences, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer and Syngenta have called a joint news conference on Friday to make an "important announcement", following what they called difficult times that have impacted operations of seed companies.

Permitting GM food crops is a big call for India, which spends tens of billions of dollars importing edible oils and other food items every year. Farmers are stuck with old technology, yields are at a fraction of world levels, cultivable land is shrinking and weather patterns have become less predictable, analysts say.

But political and public opposition to lab-altered food remains strong amid fears that GM crops could compromise food safety and biodiversity.

Some grassroots groups associated with Modi's nationalist BJP have also opposed GM crops because of the reliance on seeds patented by multi-nationals like Monsanto, DuPont, Dow Chemical and Syngenta, which is to be taken over by a Chinese company.

India placed a moratorium on GM eggplant in 2010, also after an experts panel had given its clearance, effectively bringing the regulatory system to a deadlock.

Modi, however, who was instrumental in making Gujarat state India's leading user of GM cotton when he was chief minister there, cleared several field trials for GM crops soon after taking office in New Delhi in 2014.

The GM mustard developed by Delhi University scientists makes use of three genes already incorporated in rapeseed hybrids in Canada, the US and Australia.

Extensive bio-safety tests have revealed no cause for concern, according to a field trial report submitted to the government and seen by Reuters.

What is stevia and why are food & beverage makers looking at it?

The sweetener is billed as an effective substitute to sugar, considered a key cause of diabetes in India

Stevia, a natural sweetener, first came into the spotlight five years ago when the scientific panel at the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recommended its usage in food & beverage products. 

The sweetener was billed as an effective substitute to sugar, considered a key cause of diabetes in India. 

But, it was only in November 2015 that FSSAI finally gave the go-ahead for stevia's usage in products here, implying manufacturers could go ahead and use it in their formulations.

The products where stevia was allowed included carbonated water (that is, soft drinks), dairy-based desserts and flavoured drinks, yoghurts, ready-to-eat cereals, fruit nectars, jams, jellies, marmalades, soft drink concentrates, non-carbonated water-based beverages, ice lollies, chewing gum and table-top sweeteners.

While companies such as Coca-Cola, Cargill and PureCircle had applied to FSSAI for use of stevia in their products earlier, PepsiCo has trumped them all by developing and test-marketing a stevia-based drink under 7Up.

FSSAI had recommended upto 200 mg per kg of steviol glycoside in carbonated water, soft-drink concentrates, yoghurts, fruit nectars, dairy-based flavoured drinks and non-carbonated water-based beverages. Ice Lollies or edible ice could have upto 270 mg per kg of steviol glycoside, dairy-based desserts and ready-to-eat cereals can have upto 330 and 350 mg per kg respectively of the chemical compound, while jams, jellies and marmalades can have upto 360 mg per kg of the ingredient, the Novembre 2015 notification said.

Chewing gum, on the other hand, could have upto 3,500 mg per kg of steviol glycoside, while table-top sweeteners could have upto 7 mg per 100 mg of the ingredient, the notification said.

Globally, Coca-Cola uses stevia in products such as Coca-Cola Life, which is billed as a health-conscious spin-off of its flagship cola. Rival PepsiCo has Pepsi True in its portfolio which has stevia in it.

Cargill, in contrast, markets a popular table-top sweetener in the US called Truvia. This product uses two additives stevia and erythritol in combination with each other.

Stevia extracts, according to food safety experts, are upto 300 times sweeter than sugar. To achieve the profile of sugar therefore using it with another additive helps, they say. 

Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi in India, for instance, use aspartame and acesulfame K, which are synthesied, high-intense sweeteners. So does Coke Zero, which also uses a combination of aspartame and acesulfame K.

If stevia is allowed, say sources, it is to be used in combination with low-intense sweeteners so that it could go a long way in helping manufacturers replace high-intense, synthesied sweeteners, which are said to be cancer-causing.

Apart from aspartame and acesulfame K, the other high-intense sweeteners permitted in India include splenda or sucralose and saccharine.

Health Ministry partner with Skill India to train street vendors

NEW DELHI: Taking a step towards making food safer, the Union Health Ministry will partner with the Skill India initiative to train dedicated personnel for food safety.

This new initiative will focus on mass training programmes for small and petty food businesses like street food vendors, fruits and vegetable vendors and others in partnership with Skill India and these efforts will be sustained through corporate participation, a senior health ministry official said. 

For this initiative, the health ministry has partnered with the Skill Development Ministry which pilots the Skill India Mission, the official said. 

The new initiative is specially aimed at nuclear families since there is nobody to pass on the wisdom to the next generation about the best pratices in food and nutrition, he said. 

The FSSAI has already come out with a programme to train 23,000 street food vendors in Delhi.

Agrawal said that all these initiatives have been developed collaboratively over the past few months along with other stakeholders and partners.

"States would be facilitated to implement them on pilot basis over the next few months and thereafter national roll out of these initiatives would be done possibly by next year," Agarwal said.

Noting that food safety is an important health and economic issue, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda said: "Provisions of safe food should become a part of ingrained culture in our country".

He said the adoption of global food safety standards would boost exports of agro-products and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce.

FSSAI guidelines ‘a pain point for the catering industry’

In the business of outdoor catering, most catering organisations offer their services at multiple venues, in which the caterers have little or no control

MUMBAI, AUGUST 25: 

One assumes that the Maggi controversy would have led to a scramble for ‘safety’ certification from everybody associated with the food and beverage business. But for the catering business in India, it has led to even more chaos, in a pre-dominantly unorganised sector.

According to the Federation of All India Caterers, an industry body that has more than 3,000 members across 14 States, the rules for food safety in India as mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has found more naysayers in their industry.Outdoor catering

Narendra Somani, President, Federation of All India Caterers (FAIC), says that only 30 per cent of its membership base have taken the FSSAI certification. He adds, “There are as many as 35 guidelines as mandated by the FSSAI that are not possible to follow in an outdoor venue.”

Yogesh Chandarana, Vice President, FAIC, adds that in the business of outdoor catering, most catering organisations offer their services at multiple venues, in which the caterers have little or no control. For example, the FSSAI guidelines mandate that the caterer should describe the source of water used for cooking and also get it tested from an accredited laboratory.

The other pain point is when electricity is used in the manufacture of the food items. In this case, the caterer is expected to “state the exact HP used or sanctioned electricity load” (both conditions are difficult to satisfy if the catering contractor has no say in which venue the event is being held).

Kirit Budhdev of Rachit Catering Service, a Rajkot-based caterer and Secretary, FAIC, adds that there have been representations made to the Centre to formulate guidelines that will help in the growth of the catering industry

Industry executives say that the future of the business will come up for active discussion at the large industry convention that FAIC is putting together in Mumbai over this weekend (August 27-29). The line-up of speakers includes names like celebrity chefs Sanjeev Kapoor and Vikas Khanna.