Indian food processing industry accounts for 32% of the country's total food market, it is ranked 5th in terms of production, consumption, export, and expected growth. Thus, there is a growing need to focus on ensuring the safety of food provided to consumers for a healthier future. The adoption of food safety and quality assurance mechanisms, such as Total Quality Management (TQM), including ISO 9000, ISO 22000, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) by food processing industry offers several benefits.

Keeping this in mind, Synnex Business Media has organized the 6th edition of the India Food Safety Summit and Awards that is taking place from 15 to 16 December with the theme 'Quality, Innovation and Safety' in New Delhi. The event brings together the who's who of the food industry, like the Chairman, CEOs, MDs, CTOs, and many others from India's leading F&B companies.

The summit's first day started with an opening note by Synnex Group. This was followed by a welcome note from Presenting Partner. The summit was spread throughout the day with a series of interesting and informative panel discussions by eminent dignitaries from the food industry.

Panel 1 topic- Food Fortification: The Advantages, Disadvantages, and Lessons learned

The panel members who took part in the discussion were Rajesh Gupta, general manager of quality and food safety at Jubilant Foodworks, Atul Joshi, chief general manager of quality and legal compliances, Patanjali Foods, Dr. Sudhir Maknikar, director of family health, PATH, Upendra Singh, senior general manager, Bikanervala Foods, Rakesh Kumar Mehra, president- innovation, G.D Foods Mfg (Tops), Dr. Sujeet Ranjan, associate director nutrition, Tata Trusts, Nitika Vig, nutrition strategy and comm senior specialist, Mondelez International. The session was moderated by Prashant Bhat, chief R&D officer, of Mother Dairy Fruit, and Vegetable.

The panelists shared their opinions on the meaning of fortified and enriched foods, their use in kids' nutrition, their risks vs benefits, available and upcoming food fortification techniques in India, and the role of fortification in fighting malnutrition. The panelists also shed light on the issues related to fortification standards, challenges, and opportunities in the health aspects of fortification, emerging consumer needs, challenges in product development, innovations in environmentally friendly packaging, and much more.

Corporate presentation- Safe Grain- Safe Food

Dr. Anna Vega, chief technical officer, of GRAIN TECHNIK presented a talk on the topic of Safe Grain-Safe Food. She said, "Chain is always only as strong as its weakest link. And this especially applies to food safety. We have to all work together. We have to leverage all the possibilities to improve food safety to get the best quality food for us and feed for animals."

Panel 2 topic- FOOD TESTING: Methods & Technologies in Food & Beverages

The expert panel for this session included stalwarts from the industry such as Dr. Kriti Soni, head of R&D, Kapiva Ayurveda, Ratnesh Srivastav, general manager- of R&D, Nutrelis Agro Foods, Ashish Savita, head-R&D (NDC), Devyani Food Industries, Pradip Kundu, head quality, Dabur India and Naresh Kumar, application support manager, Biomerieux South Asia. The session was aptly moderated by Dr. Neerja Hajela, head of science and regulatory affairs, Yakult Danone India. Some key remarks made at the discussion are mentioned below.

 "When we scale up a product in the plant, the raw material's initial load, handling, storage, and processing methods are important. The microbial load in the processing area is often ignored but is important too."- Ratnesh Srivastav

"Globally, there is a shift towards the preventive model to stop food contamination before it happens. Earlier there was a focus on corrective actions. Now manufacturers can trace the probability of contamination in the coming times. Data analysis is a major part of this."- Naresh Kumar

"I think the consumer has evolved and we must know that we are eating right. The regulatory bodies and all of us are trying to go towards facilities like rapid testing at home for products like ghee and milk, biosensors, and optical fibers. If we can optimize the cost around them, it will help us achieve better food overall product safety."- Dr.Kriti Soni

"Rapid testing will be a game changer for India because we all face issues in the food safety sector due to foodborne illnesses. Our indigenous researchers and marketing teams are working hard to develop cheaper testing kits."- Ashish Savita

Corporate presentation- Food Safety at the core of equipment design

Informing the audience about how closely Buhler impacts our lives, Stella Mariem, deputy manager- of food safety at Buhler said that 70% of the wheat produced worldwide is made on Buhler equipment and approximately 30% of the rice produced is milled in their mills. She further presented an informative presentation on the importance of designing equipment that aids allergen management. She said, "Equipment design is important because equipment that is easy to clean and visually inspect will help you reduce the chances of allergen cross-contamination."

Panel 3 topic- Manufacturing 4.0 – Transform the way you manufacture

The next session focused on how modern technology keeps costs down and food quality up, the future of plant automation in India, the challenges faced in maintaining safety and quality in the manufacturing process, and much more.

The group of dignitaries who took part in this discussion included Shailesh Ghodekar, global corporate head of quality, Marico, Kumar Tarun, deputy general manager of quality, Guiltfree Industries, Anil Bhutani, head manufacturing, Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable, Prawin Kumar Arohi, deputy general manager, DS Group, Commander Arun Gopalswamy, central manager engineering, head industry 4.0, ITC Foods Business Division and Dr. Dheeraj Mishra, manager-operations, Mondelez India Foods. Dr. A.K Tyagi, executive director, of Haldiram's, moderated the session.

The discussion brought to light some merits of automation such as consistency in product quality, hygiene maintenance, improved productivity, and reduced labor force. The panelists further discussed how the business can be driven better. Shailesh Ghodekar pointed out, "There should be a culture of ownership among employees at all levels, where they feel like the organization's owners which leads to better implementation of tasks. Also, design and infrastructure play an important role in being the foundation of any successful organization."

Dr. Dheeraj Mishra said, "For Industry 4.0, we need two things. First is investment, which is a big challenge for the food industry as it operates at low margins. Second is a digital mindset and capability to analyze the data."

This was followed by a talk by Avinash Voodi, director of product marketing, at Manage Artworks who demonstrated how regulatory compliance could be ensured by managing the packaging content.

Panel 4- Topic- Food Allergens: Prevention, Detection, and Management

This next session focused on one of the most important aspects of food safety worldwide, allergens. The panelists included dignitaries like Satish Reddy, head- of quality assurance, Dodla Dairy, Ranjeet Kaur, program lead-scientific and regulatory affairs, Mars Wrigley, Prabhakar Mishra, associate director, food regulatory affairs, Perfetti Van Melle India, Shreya Pandey, associate director-regulatory affairs, Pepsico, Ritesh Madvaiya, senior manager quality, and food safety- India head, Mars and Phani Kumar,head-quality and regulatory, Zydus Wellness. The moderator for the session was Navneet Mehta, global quality director-food and refreshments, Unilever.

The panelists discussed the new developments in vital allergen management as well as the challenges faced while performing allergen immunoassay analysis. Also brought to notice were the practices of allergen risk management and new developments in FAO/WHO and Codex Allergens labeling. The speakers spoke on the ways to control allergens in a food plant and how to gain consumer confidence in a company's products.

Next in line was a corporate presentation on hygiene and sustainability by Hemlata Joglekar, business manager-hygienic fluid handling, Alfa Laval, and Dinesh Deo, food and water channel sales manager and business unit manager- of food heat transfer, Alfa Laval.

Panel 5- Topic- Nutraceutical & Functional Food - Transforming the F & B Industry

Nutraceuticals and functional foods have been on the rise worldwide. Consumers are attracted to them as they consider them safe and natural. A panel discussion on the same took place in the presence of luminaries like Dr. Ramesh Kantaria, head of new product development (R&D) and manufacturing operations, India and emerging markets, Dr. Reddy's, Dr. R. Manickavasagam, vice president, Dindigul Farm Product (Ennutrica), Divyanshu Raval, promoter and executive director, Walpar Nutritions, Jagdish Pant, general manager-CQA, Olive Lifesciences. The session was moderated by Nitika Vig, nutrition strategy and communication senior specialist, at Mondelez International.

This session's key highlights included opinions on how to harmonize food and supplement rules, whether nutraceuticals are the new generation therapeutics and steps to be taken to make nutrition products inexpensive and safe to tackle important unmet health needs. Views were exchanged on the opportunities and barriers to the growth of nutraceuticals and the current regulatory environment challenges. Some key opinions shared in this session are mentioned below.

"After COVID-19, consumer awareness has increased, they want to know what is happening from farm to fork. They are reading labels to know what exactly they are consuming. So, over a period of time, I believe nutraceutical is going to be very much regulated."- Divyanshu Raval

"The regulatory bodies need to be engaged to encourage companies to come up with innovative ideas for functional products that have medical benefits also."- Jagdish Pant

"There are three barriers to nutraceutical growth- penetration, awareness, and taste." - Dr. Ramesh Kantaria

The first day of the India Food Safety Summit and Awards was an amalgamation of thought-provoking ideas, back and forth between industry stalwarts on their views on pertinent topics impacting the food industry's future as well as knowledge sharing. It ended with speed meetings and the audience was left wanting more of the nuggets of wisdom spread throughout the day. The two-day event is held at Hotel Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka, New Delhi, from December 15 to 16,2022.

Make sure to attend the 2nd day of the summit and grab the opportunity to network, learn and enrich yourself with knowledge about the F&B industry through knowledgeable discussions on key topics related to food safety, smart manufacturing, food integrity, and much more.

Register Now to participate in the conference

Theme – Quality, Innovation & Safety

Date & Time – 15 & 16 December 2022, 8:30 AM onwards

Venue – Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka, New Delhi

Agenda of the two-day conference – Agenda - India Food Safety (indiafoodsafetysummit.com)

Registration link - India Food Safety - Quality Innovation Safety (indiafoodsafetysummit.com)