The national technical workshop “Indian Perspective on Food Safety, Security and Standards” was inaugurated on 7 June 2023 by Mr Jagadish Fofandi, the National President of the Seafood Exporter Association of India.

Professor Deepti Gulati, the Industry Chair Professor: Nutraceuticals and Fortification, at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, delivered the first plenary lecture. Professor Gulati deliberated on the importance of staple food fortification with essential micronutrients. Vitamin D and Vitamin A deficiency in India is pervasive. She mentioned that fortification of staple food like rice, atta, oil, sugar and salt with micronutrient is an important and timely initiative of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Dr Lalitha R. Gowda, a renowned food safety expert associated with FSSAI, delivered the second plenary lecture, where she highlighted the new provisions in the FSSAI regulation governing health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purpose, functional food, and novel food. She highlighted the need for appropriate label claims for these products and flagged the analytical challenges in ensuring the quality of nutraceuticals, and novel foods.

Mr Shrinivas Joshi, the President of the India Section of the scientific association, AOAC International, presented the global food safety regulatory scenario, especially the recent regulation on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAs) analysis in environmental samples and food of animal origin. He highlighted the need for harmonization of global food standards.

Miss Dhanya K.N., representing FSSAI, spoke on the important subject of the standard setting procedure at FSSAI.  She highlighted that the draft notifications remain open for comments/suggestion for a period of time through the FSSAI website. She created awareness, so that the conference scientific community will interact with the draft notifications and help in making those more complete.

The invited talks from analytical instruments vendors showcased various rapid techniques for food authenticity and microbiological testing. Analytical challenges of polar pesticide analysis and the comparison of different chromatographic columns were demonstrated. The second day of the conference saw 50 oral presentations and 21 poster presentations on various research topics related to food safety, food processing, fortification, and novel foods. The workshop concluded with remarks from the Director, ICAR-CIFT, Dr George Ninan.

Photo © ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT)
Caption: Inauguration