Last few decades not only witnessed a change in our eating habits but how we store and consume food has also gone through a transformation. Rise in population and urbanisation has led to an increased demand for packaged food.\With the increase in working population, the need for on-the-go consumption has only gone up. At the same time, awareness about nutrition and health has become much stronger and penetrated deep into Indian consumers’ minds. On the regulatory side, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been spreading awareness about issues related to food safety across the country, while also strengthening legislation to ensure that only safe food is made available to consumers, both by the producer as well as the industry.
FSSAI has also moved to a more comprehensive approach towards food safety instead of the erstwhile fragmented one. “You will see a quantum jump in the level of public confidence in food safety. As far as product standards are concerned, I can confidently say that we have a reasonably robust system,” says Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI.
Though Food Safety and Standards Act has completed 11 years of its enactment this year, FSSAI as an autonomous body was set up in 2008. And since then, the body has taken upon itself the challenge of creating a regulatory environment different from other countries, yet fit for the nuances of India. Compromised quality, increasing adulteration cases and instances of product integrity issues pose serious challenges to food safety.
Such issues can cause irreparable damage not just to individual health, but also to the reputation of brands that manufacture and market these products. With the advent of social media, companies have become even more prone to scrutiny, both from the government and from consumers as well.
There have been recent incidents of below-par food reaching the consumer and videos of the same spreading through social media have been widely circulated. Food safety therefore is the top concern of food and beverage manufacturers. And technology is playing a big role in ensuring that the product integrity is not compromised at any point during the value chain.
Tetra Pak India is one of the organizations that is leading the charge on making food safe and available to millions of Indians across the country. Their UHT (Ultra-High-Temperature) process and aseptic packaging systems kick-started the growth of UHT milk segment and other packaged drinks in India three decades ago. This technology eliminated the need for a cold chain during distribution, making fresh safe milk accessible to even the most remote and hard-to-reach areas across the country. The combination of UHT and aseptic packaging ensures that the food inside a carton is first ‘made’ safe and then ‘kept’ safe till it reaches the consumer.
But the challenge in a country as diverse as India does not end with creating the right solution. An even bigger challenge is to raise consumer awareness about the benefits of this technology. And that is one big focus area for Tetra Pak India.
Tetra Pak launched its 'Right to Keep Food Safe' initiative in October 2014. As part of the initiative, 15 mothers were selected as Safe Food Ambassadors (SFAs) who went on to drive the cause and spread the word about safe food practices.
Over the course of the campaign, Tetra Pak’s SFAs reached out to over 3,000 mothers across the country through workshops, seminars and social media platforms.
A recent digital campaign called 'Safe for Sure' educates consumers about the technology behind a carton of milk that makes it safe for consumption. The campaign drives home the message that UHT treated milk in six-layer Tetra Pak cartons is safe and needs no preservatives. This campaign has seen huge traction from consumers because it breaks many popular myths that surround carton milk and its safety.
Latest in the list of awareness initiatives is a campaign called ‘Safe and Nutritious Food’ which is being run jointly by FSSAI with support from Tetra Pak. Aimed at reaching out to children, their parents and teachers and arm them with information on the right nutrition choices and food safety, this campaign has reached out to over 100 schools, RWAs and other locations across South Delhi and Gurugram through interactive workshops.
“We are excited to be a part of this initiative with FSSAI. At Tetra Pak, together with our customers our most important agenda is to make food safe and available everywhere. Through campaigns like this, we intend to equip consumers with the right information on subjects like UHT milk and the benefits of aseptic technology that make carton milk safe and nutritious so that consumers can make informed choices,” says Tetra Pak’s MD for India, Kandarp Singh.
However, the application of technology in food safety goes beyond just the package and is impacting the F&B industry in more ways than one can imagine.
Take the example of how Tetra Pak is using digital technologies to support its F&B customers and brand owners. The term digitalisation may be rather broad, and may sound like an industry ‘buzzword’, but when applied wisely, it is in fact a mature, real and extremely disruptive solution for food and beverage manufacturers to mitigate food safety risks and help drive business growth.
Digitalisation is helping manufacturers manage these risks more effectively with a range of tools aimed at improving communications between employees and support teams, and improving access to data and analytics. This means that if food safety issues arise they can be resolved quickly and effectively without impacting production performance.
“At the core of everything we do at Tetra Pak is our vision to make food safe and available, everywhere. The Tetra Pak digital strategy, and digitalisation tools are making a difference to our customers’ daily operations and helping keep food safe,” added Kandarp Singh.
One key element of keeping product integrity intact, is to have full view of the product throughout the various processes. And this is being made possible using tools like the Tetra Pak PlantMaster which allows Tetra Pak experts to take full ownership of the product and ensure that it remains safe throughout the lifecycle.
Be it during production, processing, packaging or even distribution, food is an extremely fragile product to work with. The most minor error can cost consumers their health and can cost brands millions and even their reputation. As the proliferation of food brands in India increases, there is also need for greater diligence in ensuring that the food that reaches us is safe and of the best possible quantity. At the end of the day, it’s a collective responsibility for manufacturers and brand owners to bring the best to the consumer, and it is up to the consumer to make the best and most informed decision.
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