CII Communique July 2011

sectoral synergiesagriculture & food processing industriesFood Processing Industries: Issues & ConcernsCEOs of the Indian FoodP r o c e s s i n g I n d u s t r yparticipated in an interactivesession with Mr. AshokSinha, Secretary, FoodProcessing Industries, on22 June in New Delhi.The key issues discussedrelated to• Efficient supply chainmanagement• D e v e l o p m e n t a n dAshok Sinha, Secretary, Food Processing Industries, withPiruz Khambatta, Chairman, CII National Committee onFood Processing IndustriesSession on Food Regulatory Issuess t r e n g t h e n i n g o ffood park models• Encouraging backwardlinkages• Priority Sector Lending• Capacity-building and skilldevelopment• Development of efficientR&D centres• Tax relaxation for the FoodProcessing sector.CII’s NationalTask Forceo n F o o dR e g u l a t o r yA f f a i r sorganized anI n t e r a c t i v e V N Gaur, CEO, FSSAI, and Vivek Bharati,Chairman, CII National Task Force on FoodSession withRegulatory Affairs, and Executive Director,Mr V N Gaur,Pepsico Holdings India Pvt LtdCEO, FoodSafety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 22June in New Delhi.The deliberations highlighted the need to institutionalizea consultative mechanism for Industry’s periodicengagement with the FSSAI, considering their scientificknowledge and expertise, especially after the SupremeCourt’s directive on excluding industry experts fromscientific panels.CII urged the FSSAI to adopt a defined proceduralframework for bringing in new regulations and standards;and provide a feedback window on the basis ofacceptance/rejection of Industry recommendations toensure transparency in the regulation making process.Other key issues put forth to Mr Gaur included:• Developing a comprehensive manual for samplingand protocol of analytical methods• Reviewing Schedule 4 relating to GMP/GHPunder FSS Regulations to make it practical andimplementable• Reviewing the requirement of analyzing all chemicaland microbiological contaminants on a monthlybasis• Multiplicity existing within various ministries, especiallyon issues related to amendments leading to labelingchanges• Urgent need to initiate work on pending CCFSapprovals.CII NationalCommittee on SugarFor the first time, CII hasconstituted a National Committeeon Sugar, chaired by Mr Ajay SShriram, Chairman & Sr. MD,DCM Shriram ConsolidatedLtd.The basic objective of the committee is to streamlineall policies related to the sugar industry for the bestadvantage of farmers, industry and consumers,and to ensure a buoyant growth to the sector. Thecommittee, comprising around 30 CEOs from thesugar industry, met for the first time on 29 June inNew Delhi to discuss key issues in the sugar industryand chalk out an action plan for the year.Some of the key issues discussed were raw materialprices and availability, sales volume and sellingprices of sugar, stocking of sugar, levy obligations,packaging material, export - import of sugar, ad hoccontrol, cash flow planning, and so on.38 | July 2011 Communiqué