1-4 September, 2006 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
    Ministry to seek states` views on integrated food law


The Union ministry of food processing industries which intends to introduce an integrated food law, focusing on quality standardisation, will soon circulate the draft proposals on it to all states seeking their opinion.

To monitor the quality compliance by producers as well as exporters of these products under the proposed law, an independent watchdog will be set up on the line of Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Since the Centre wants to implement the law in consensus with states, the first draft of the proposed regulations, which has been recently placed before a group of ministers, will be circulated to all states in the first week of December, said Subodh Kant Sahay, Union minister of state for food processing industries, while addressing a seminar titled `Agro-India 2004`, which began in Kolkata on 6th November. The three-day seminar was organised by FICCI (eastern regional council) with support from the agriculture department of the West Bengal government, office of the Jute Commissioner under the Union textile ministry and the Union ministry of food processing industries.

The draft had been drawn up on the lines of norms under the Codex System, set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation under the UN. Once the law is in place, it will help Indian exporters of agri-commodities and processed foods tackle disputes arising from quality standard, which is being faced by Indian exporters in some countries, said the minister while speaking to reporters after the inauguration of the seminar.

He further said that since his ministry is keen to have auction facilities in the existing mandis, it would request states to bring in some amendments to their existing laws regulating operations of mandis. Addressing the seminar, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattarjee said that the state government in 2003- 04 has received 155 proposals worth rupees 3270 million in the food-processing sector. As private sector companies are now taking initiatives to set up food and fruit processing units, the next endeavour of the state government will be to expand the cold chain.

Date: 08-Nov-2004

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