Oil & Food Journal November - 2015

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Vol 11 Issue 01 November 2015

Onionomics

Rs. 100/-

11th

Volume

The economics of onions in India Indiand�breadInIndust:d up-and-coming Ramdev, yoga guru

is building one of the country's biggest

FMGC companies

Return of the prodigal Maggi is back

Maggi Returs

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PepsiCo, Coca-Cola baying for Chobani investment American doughnut chain Dunkin Donuts partners Grofers to deliver donuts at your doorstep French Pastry Finesse Finds Patrons California walnuts to ash-in on India's growing market: CWC Want a Bakery Product- Now WhiskIt Online Bakery in India is unique and will soon be a big sector, world famous chefs claim Unibic India eyes larger market share with biscuits at Rs10

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The new Paradigm

Return of the Prodigal Maggi is back 36

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Priyagold keen to invest in Himachal

Parag Milk Foods enters the fresh Cream segment with GoFresh Cream Amul to procure Milk from 1,000 villages of Punjab; will provide Rs 2000 crore benefit to Dairy farmers India's Dairy products export seen flat at 30,000 tonnes in 2016: USDA German testing and certification major, TUV SUD opens lab in Vizag FSSAI recommends to keeping junk Food at least 50 meters away from schools Mother’s Recipe purchases Elmac Agro for Rs. 30 cr Nestle India resumes production of Maggi noodles in three facilities Rising pulses rate effect papad industry Now Indian Platter consist of exotic products such as Kiwi, hazelnuts, asparagus Maggi in Bengal: Needed 180 Food Safety officers, only 42 at work Need to reduce sugar content in Dairy whitener: Fssai ITC's Yippee Noodles found to be "sub-standard" in UP Labc New chip can 'smell' ethylene,

CONTENTS

Onionomics The economics Debugging your of onions Food Processin in India unit

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Indian bread Industry: up-and-coming

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other gases to detect Food spoilage

All you need is Collagen Proteins... from GELITA, the Number One in Human Clinical Research Dairy innovation with Tate & Lyle’s fibre portfolio SPLENDA® Sucralose and PROMITOR® Soluble Gluco Fibre

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Ingredients under

control from the start

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reduce calories in juice drink range

Confectionary that stands out using THINGUM™ Starch, STALITE® Polydextrose and TASTEVA® Stevia Sweetener This Diwali, Consumers Prefer Bakery Products To Sweets Hindustan Unilever to sell Modern Bakery as part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses

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Ramdev, yoga guru is building one of country’s biggest consumer goods companies

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I

Vol 11 Issue 01 November 2015

The views expressed in this issue are those of the contibutors are not necessarilly those of the magzine. though every care has been taken to ensure the accuaracy and authenticty in infomation, "Oil & Food Journal" is however not responsible fordamages caused by ministerpretation of infomation expressed and implied with in the pages of this issue.

All disputes are not to be referred to Mumbai Jurisdiction

EDITORIAL

will start with my condolences and commiseration with the Paris and Beirut attack, the people killed in Palestine and in Africa - Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remains standing the negotiating table that could and should have prevented it. ‘’The show must go on”, taking upon this phrase I start my write with welcoming Maggi back. Yesterday while passing by a famous coffee shop…I saw a big flashy banner in front it, saying, “Welcome Maggi- We missed you like hell”……this can well be a good message for the Swiss giant, Nestle, for we Indian welcomed the famous Noodles with more than much anticipated love.

Though the battle isn’t over for Nestle, as Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) hasapproached the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on Maggi noodles in India.

The food safety regulators have termed the High Court's August 13 order as "erroneous" and questioned the sanctity of the samples provided for re-test to government-approved labs.FSSAI has said that the High Court "blundered" by asking Nestle, the Indian arm of the Swiss company itself, to provide the fresh samples instead of asking a neutral authority to do so.

Nestle is surprised and will comment only after reading the whole petition.

In the other interesting turn of event, I wasn’t surprised that FSSAI had approached the Supreme Court against Nestlé’s Maggi Noodle, as on the same day Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev launched his Patanjali noodles quite extravagantly. Manyeyebrows were raised in the food industry terming it not to becoincidental butrather something fishy was going on behind the scene.

And then surprisingly Patanjali Noodles came under FSSAI’s scrutiny.

FSSAI chairman Ashish Bahuguna said the instant noodles brand had not obtained mandatory approvals from the regulator and surprising had a FSSAI license number on its pack. The regulatory body said it will takerelevant step.

While Ramdev, after initially claiming that they had approval said that his company will solve the matter amicably with the regulatory watchdog.

Well things don’t surprise me anymore. Cow and beef export always have been the core issue in BJP election but according to the latest report of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India’s current global supremacy in the buffalo meat export is expected to continue in 2016 as the demand improves in Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa.

The report predicts gains for major countries including India, Brazil and the US. The global production of beef is forecast to rebound 1 per cent higher to 59.2 million tonnes in 2016 as exports by the main traders are expected to rise 3 per cent to 9.9 million tonnes on stronger demand. Unlike other countries, India exports only buffalo meat as slaughter of cows and bullocks are banned in most states.

Britannia Industries have planned to expand its dairy products business into a fullfledged unit, targeting a fivefold increase in sales. The company intends to set up a standalone division for its fledgling milk product business to compete with newcomer ITC and established rival Amul. The new division will be in addition to the existing dairy unit, which accounts for less than 5 per cent of the Bengaluru-based company's turnover. The new model could involve milk procurement, processing and selling.

Jubilant FoodWorks, the leading franchise for Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts in India, plans to add around 5,000 employees by this fiscal ending March 2016.

The company, which is already a 30,000-people strong organisation, is looking to invest about Rs 200 crore for its expansion plans. Further, it is planning to set up a state-of-the-art factory in Greater Noida.

Buoyed by the success of its sugar-free fizzy drink Coke Zero, Coca-Cola is planning to test market Sprite Zero here In India, the zero-calorie option of one of the world's largest selling lemon-lime drink. Sprite is India's biggest soft drink brand by volume sales -a position it occupied last year by overtaking Thums Up, which is also a CocaCola brand.

The diet soft-drinks market in India has remained a niche category. It is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore compared to the Rs 14,000-crore domestic soft-drinks market.

However, Coke Zero's launch last year seems to have boosted the category, which has grown by around 39 per cent since then, compared to a CAGR of 12-13 per cent between 2010 and 2015.

The food processing industry is growing day by and the players in this sector are gaining immensely. I wish things remain as good as this in the whole world with humanity eventually wining…..

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MAGGI RETURNS

Return of the Prodigal Maggi is back L et's face it. We all missed Maggi.

We all missed "cooking" Maggi in our own signature styles. It never took us "two minutes", but no one ever complained. Since the Maggi ban, a generation has been craving for its favorite instant noodle. And it's good to know the feeling is reciprocated.

head: "Kabwapas aayega yaar? (When will it be back?)"

Yes, most people have cooked Maggi

Social media brimmed brimming with love letters to Maggi since the ban and Maggi has finally responded. Maggi India came up with a new advertisement professing its love for the country, saying #WeMissYouToo. In a very minimalistic and simple ad, Maggi voiced the query inside everyone's

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in the middle of the night; while some woke up hungry, others were watching midnight football and thought it made a great midnight snack.

The ad echoes all the times when we decided not to bother mom and cook up a storm.

Maggi hasfinally hit the shelves this month.

Swiss food giant Nestle Indiahad confirmed all samples of its instant noodles were cleared by accredited laboratories mandated by the Bombay High

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MAGGI RETURNS Nestle distributors and 5,635 tonnes of noodles reached distribution centres from where 169 tonnes of noodles were incinerated. The process of incineration was done in June this year.

Nestlé India consequently filed a legal petition with the Bombay High Court, seeking a judicial review of this order.

The Court ruled in favor of Nestlé and overturned the government’s ban on Maggi noodles.

The Court also ruled that Nestlé India should conduct fresh tests in accredited laboratories out of the available samples; once the tests are in favour of the Company, it can manufacture the product, which will also undergo tests for lead before sale can commence.

Nestlé India commenced with these tests and all three laboratories found Maggi noodles safe, with lead content well within the permissible limits.

Court.

What had happened?

Early this year, an Indian government laboratory said it had detected lead levels above permissible limits in a sample of Maggi noodles. However tests by both Nestlé India and an independent laboratory showed lead levels in Maggi noodles to be well within the limits set by the Indian food safety authorities.

In light of growing consumer confusion, Nestlé India announced that it would temporarily stop selling Maggi noodles until the situation was resolved. On the same day, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order to recall Maggi noodles from the Indian market and banned its sale and production.

ValuingMaggi noodles stocks at around Rs.320 crore, NestleburnedMaggi at five cement factories across the country into fuel.The company also said the recall process was one of the largest in the history of India’s food industry.

a mammoth activity -the largest in the history of Nestle.

Maggi noodles worth Rs.210 crore were withdrawn from the market and destroyed even as another Rs.110 crore worth of finished and related material stocks remained at its factories and distribution centres.

5,848 tonnes of Maggi noodles were collected from the market shelves by

The actual recall of Maggi noodles from the market was immensely complex and

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How had it affected on Nestlé’s Market FSSAI scare of excessive lead and undeclared monosodium glutamate (MSG) banned Maggi noodles and this hit the company hard since it depended significantly on the instant noodles brand in the country—around 25% or Rs 2,500 crore of the company's 2014 annual revenues was through sales of the iconic brand. .

Nestlé’s profit plummeted this year, and

MAGGI RETURNS

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most popular.

It took just 5 minutes for 60,000 welcome kits of Maggi to be sold out on Snapdeal as consumers thronged the e-commerce platform to lap up their 2-minute instant noodles. The welcome kit consisted 12 packs of Maggi, a 2016 Maggi calendar, a Maggi fridge magnet, Maggi post cards and a 'Welcome Back' letter.

There has been much anticipation for the return of one of the favourite Indian brands and no one had imagined to witness a phenomenal response to this sale from customers across the country.

its Q3 net profit dived by around 60% to Rs 124 crore from Rs 311 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal year due to the absence of Maggi noodles from its portfolio.

Prior to the ban, Maggi ruled India’s instant noodles market not just with its ubiquity in the remotest corners of India but also with its popularity as a quick-fix meal. The brand had over three-quarters share of the market.

But the months-long ban on the popular noodles brand had severely hit Nestle India’s sales revenues for the last two quarters. The multinational has recalled and gutted over 30,000 tons of the instant noodles since the ban.

the government-run food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India found the product contaminated with lead and taste enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) beyond permissible levels.

Now, the noodles are back. Besides store shelves, Nestle India has partnered with leading Indian online retailer Snapdeal to roll out online offers. Nestle offered at 144 rupees (just over $2) for 12 packs of 70 gms each quickly sold out. The variant that has made a comeback is the masala (mix of Indian spices) taste which is the

Present scenario Nestle India has brought back its Maggi noodles to store shelves,at the time for India’s biggest celebration, the Diwali festival of lights, five months after it was banned over allegations that it was dangerously contaminated with lead.

Nestle India said the noodles are “100% safe” and have cleared laboratory tests mandated by the Bombay High Court.

The popular ‘doh minute’ (‘doh’ is two in Hindi) Maggi instant noodles were taken off the shelves across the country in June this year, for the first time since its launch over three decades ago, after

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Maggi has been relaunched in 100 towns through 300-odd distributors and is being rolled out in a staggered manner across the country, except in eight states where it is still not allowed.

The company said it is engaging with those states where the noodles brand is still banned. The product is currently being manufactured in three of the five locations including in Nanjangud, near Bangalore. In the two other locations, Nestle India is in talks with the authorities to get permissions to commence manufacture.

On the return of Maggi, Harisimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing

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regulators where testing the product.

Narayanan said there will be a “fairly substantial” increase in marketing spends and advertising campaigns to bring back customers in whose minds “a seed of doubt has been planted” due to the crisis.

Maggi would now be available across the country except in Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where the company is yet to secure the requisite clearances. The company is engaging with these eight states to complete due diligence procedures.

Ministry conceded that the controversy over the popular instant noodle brand had only left a bad taste in mouth. She said, "Industry must not be harassed and at the same time transparent systems should be put in place to ensure consumer safety."

Badal added that the entire episode did not leave a very positive taste in anybody's and while the industry is given a free hand to blossom and grow, there has to be regular checks and transparent systems in place which they have to adhere to. If anybody is not adhering to it, they must be taken to task."

Promotional strategy According to Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India, their promotional strategy will be across three platforms. Firstly traditional media will be used to reassure consumers regarding the safety of their product. Secondly Nestle would haveto connect digitally with our target group. Thirdly, there will be a lot of events for brand activation.

Narayanan added Nestle India has not changed the contents of Maggi. He informed, “We are giving what consumers have loved for 32 years, and the only change is on the package. There is a small set of words that conveys the company's commitment to quality and goodness that consumers can trust.”

Post the Maggi crisis, Nestle India will go for product portfolio diversification with focus on dairy, coffee and beverages as well as chocolates and confectionery in order to avoid over-dependence on a single product.

War is on In fresh trouble for Nestle India Ltd, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order

Thecontracts with brand ambassadors Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit for promoting Maggi have not been renewed.

Though it is not being ruled out but as of now Nestle has no plan to use brand ambassadors for promoting the product.

A court case had been filed against Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit in Uttar Pradesh in June when food

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MAGGI RETURNS

lifting the ban on Maggi noodles in India.

India’s apex food safety regulator, FSSAI challenged the Bombay High Court ruling that allowed Nestle India to get fresh samples of Maggi noodles tested by accredited laboratories and resume selling them if found safe for consumption.

The FSSAI petition said that the high court had “erred” by asking Nestle, instead of a neutral authority, to provide the fresh samples for testing.

FSSAI termed the High Court's August 13 order as "erroneous" and questioned the sanctity of the samples provided for re-test to government-approved labs.

The same day when Fssai moved the Supreme CourtBaba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved announced its entry into India’s market for instant noodles through a ceremony choreographed with corporatestyle announcements, advertisement campaigns and chefs recruited for cookand-serve demonstrations.

Ramdev thinks that theword, ‘noodles’, is stuck in people’s minds, so Patanjali did not see any point changing it to sevaiyan.“But we are bringing a product that is made from Atta (whole-wheat flour) and not from Maida (refined wheat flour). We also use rice bran oil, which is superior in nutrition to palm oil, he added.

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MAGGI RETURNS

instant noodles.

Isn’t it a bit coincidently that the FSSAI challenge and the launch of the Patanjali brand appeared to be just a coincidence.

But anyway it is far-fetched to connect the two, but let’s see how things play out.

Nestle expressed surprise at the FSSAI plea. “We’ll want to read the petition in detail but any samples of Maggi noodles can only come from the company. Who else can provide them?”Said Nestle.

Amid all the speculation of the connection of Nestle, Fssai and Ramdev, FSSAI has claimed that Ramdev has not taken approval from them but still has an Fssai license number, so according to Fssai CEO the matter has been brought to and relevant step will be taken.

Baba Ramdev believes that they could give stiff competition to Maggi noodles.

But has he forgotten that Nestle sells both Atta and Maida noodle varieties but did not say which oil it used in them.

certain items. But approvals for (nonstandardized) products are given by regulatory authority. That approval was not taken and Bahuguna doesn’t know how the license was procured.”

Ramdev appeared to be borrowing a promotional line from Nestle, which uses the slogan “Taste bhi, health bhi (Taste, and health too)” to promote its vegetable Atta noodles.

Oil and Food Insight FSSAI, petitioned the Supreme Court to block the return of Maggi noodles on a day a company mentored by yoga teacher Baba Ramdev launched its own brand of

Ramdev, just before taking a bite of Patanjali’s Atta noodles, said: “Our noodles come with health and taste.”

Saying this, the most amusing thing is that even though Ramdev had a filmy style of launch for his noodles but did not obtain mandatory product approvals from the Food Safety and Regulatory Authority of India, even though Patanjali Atta Noodles packets display an “FSSAI license number, 10014012000266.

Ashish Bahuguna, FSSAI chairperson who also holds additional charge as its CEO said that Fssai has not given any approval to Patanjali Atta Noodles and they are pursuing it, and how can license be given for a product that has not been approved? Licenses are issued by the state government to manufacture

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I don’t know if it was an instrumented move but Ramdev had tried to cash on Maggi’s predicament and must have felt a set back by Maggi’s comeback because the much loved noodle was welcomed with open arms.

Yesterday while shopping in a supermarket I saw a lady buying a whole carton of Maggi, while a kid buying about 15 packets of Maggi and group of teenagers talking about Maggi party. All in one place imagine cumulative effect of Maggi noodles.

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ONION BIZ

Onionomics

The economics of onions in India

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ntroduction The onion is a remarkable vegetable.

It is an essential part of the diets of millions of Indians, rich and poor.

Few Indian kitchens can do without the pungent bulb. It's pureed sautĂŠed and garnished in meals, eaten raw as a salad, used as a dip, fried as fritters and crisps.

The demand for onions is completely inelastic and cannot be substituted with any other vegetable.So, Indians cannot do without onions.

A glut in supply can bring down prices, hitting tens of thousands of farmers.

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Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, the three main growing states that account for 60% of the crop and three-quarters of the trade, are particularly sensitive to price movements.

Conversely, a shortage can send prices

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ONION BIZ the government of India to keep an eye on the supply and price.

If onion prices in India rise above the world level then no one will want to export them anyway: why would you do that in order to make a loss? And if the onion price in India is above the world market price then people will import them in order to make a profit by doing so: The solution to this is simple and pure free trade in onions. Then the domestic price of onions will be the world price, plus or minus transport costs dependent upon which way the traffic is going.

spiraling and trigger angry protests and even bring down governments.

The onion is a very volatile commodity and nobody knows when the prices will move up or go down. Onions can't be hoarded for too long because it is perishable and it is bought and sold in the free market.

The onion trade also underlines the many weaknesses of India's trillion dollar economy - Asia's third-largest - which is grappling with high inflation and low growth.

regulate both the price of and trade in such a basic agricultural good. Especially as the manner by which they intervene is so obviously less efficient than simply letting the free market rip. For what they’re doing, all they’re doing is imposing a number of extra bureaucratic steps into that market, and markets work best in the absence of that sort of thing.

Now, yes, onions are an important foodstuff so perhaps we really might want

For one, the trade demonstrates how the farm economy depends heavily on the vagaries of weather. Unseasonal rain can damage crops, choke supply lines and drive up prices. A drought can lead to severe shortages and inflation. Where the consumers and farmers lose, the traders and retailers gain.

The trade is a glaring example of how a complex and messy supply chain sometimes involving just half a dozen middlemen setting prices can make the vegetable very expensive in retail.

BizarreMarket for Onions in India Onion is the base of Indian cuisine and it’s still entirely bizarre to see a government of 1.25 billion people attempting to

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Now it is possible to make all sorts of points about domestic security of supply and so on in something that’s a basic foodstuff. But look at what is happening here. The government doesn’t accept those arguments either. It’s quite happy for there to be foreign trade, either way.

Either exports of onions or imports of onions are just fine by said government.

But only if that government stamps its bureaucratic imprimatur on which way the flow is going.

And, let’s be honest about this, who do you think is going to have a better idea about what onion prices and demand

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ONION BIZ Causes of onion volatility Of course, weather and market speculation play a part but the fundamental issue is a supply and demand mismatch that is causing the volatility, not an onion mafia.

Demand for onions is rising along with the incomes of the average Indian. But farmers are discouraged from growing enough onions because of government interventions aimed at keeping prices down.

are? People who buy and sell onions all day every day for their living? Or the bureaucrats who get their information second and third hand after something of a delay?

Prices in both wholesale and retail markets have started increasing due to sluggish supply of good quality onions in the wake of the crop being damaged in storage in major growing states, including Maharashtra.

having trade in certain goods: It is fine with them being imposed on nuclear goods for example. But once you have decided to have trade it’s blindingly obvious that you want to have free trade. Simply on the grounds that any bureaucracy is going to react to either surplus or shortage much more slowly than any group of profit seeking middlemen. Thus India should have free trade in onions.

Much of the Rabi onion crop is stored to meet the demand in lean period. But this year, most of the onion kept in storage is of poor quality as the Rabi crop got damaged due to unseasonal rains in early March in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

So, when did traders know that the Rabi crop was damaged? We can be absolutely certain it was before the bureaucrats did because who is going to tell the bureaucrats other than the traders? So, a free market in onions would have begun importing more onions the moment that crop damage was known. The licensure system for imports has meant delay while the issuance of the relevant permissions was debated. The same is true of the export price rise: that was also imposed sometime after that damage to the Rabi crop was known to the market.

There are indeed arguments about not

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When onion prices rise, the government steps in to block profitable exports and to knock down domestic prices and in addition, the government sets a minimum support price for crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton, helping keep prices paid to farmers for those commodities high. There is no such price for onions.

The support price is not extended to onions, partly because they are so perishable and this means farmers abandon onions for other cash crops and unless the government creates proper storage facilities or gives a support price (for onions), prices will continue to fluctuate.

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Efforts are needed to build a system for production forecasts and market intelligence that would facilitate timely policy decisions on exports and/or imports of onions. It is also time to look into the dehydrated onions market, which may help arrest price volatility to some extent.

India produces 25,000-50,000 tonnes of dehydrated onions annually, but only 1525% of this is utilized by processed food manufacturers. Investment in dehydration facilities will help in the utilization of the existing stock.

Meanwhile the regular raids on the warehouses of people who store onions waiting for a better price also discourages onion farmers and traders from wanting to expand their exposure to the onion market.

In interesting aspect of the onion story is the degree of market integration.

Inefficiencies in marketing infrastructure and high transportation costs also hurt the market in mitigating rising prices. A natural consequence of integration is the transmission of price signals between markets, which can transmit market specific shocks across states. In the case of onions, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Ranchi play a major role in impacting the rest of the markets.

Despite many short-term measures to curb prices, a multi-pronged strategy needs to be evolved to stabilize the price of onions. Since volatility in onion prices is an outcome of speculative storage, it is, therefore, important to closely monitor market behavior, regulate storage and check unscrupulous trade practices in the axis markets from which price signals emerge. Incentivize farmer producer organizations for onion production and processing in different agro-ecological zones to maintain a regular supply of onions and check speculative behavior of market functionaries.

Finally, it is important to develop varieties, technologies and cultivation practices suited to varied environments so as to dilute regional concentration in production and marketing. This will provide not only income stability to farmers and thereby increase productivity (with enhanced investment) but also much-needed price stability to consumers.

Onion weight loss There have been instances of shortage of supplies leading to 400 to 500% increase in price of onions by the time the crop reaches retailers. Making sure that the crop reaches markets is another challenge. Transportation, or the lack of it, is part of India's story of patchy infrastructure which remains a major obstacle to economic growth. Mania over onions' That is the way it is going to be until India sets up a network of countrywide cold storages.

One way to dampen volatility in onion prices, some economists believe, is to dehydrate the bulb and make these processed onions more widely available Currently, less than 5% of India's fruit and vegetables are processed, of which just 150,000 tonnes are onions.

If onions are dehydrated, cooking time is saved and the shelf life of the

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

ONION BIZ vegetables increased and this will in turn stabilize the prices.

Economists believe that India needs to scale up its food processing industry to make sure perishable vegetables and fruit are not wasted and fetch a stable price.

Onions can be replaced only by onions.

Thai is dried onions are a good alternative and easy to be preserved. But unlike the western countries, India always prefers everything fresh. So dried or dehydrated onions made in India are mostly exported.

These dry flakes can easily substitute fresh onions though taste can differ because flakes are produced from the bulbs and not the onions that you see in your kitchen.

Government failure Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee control the commodity market in respective states and is thus a state subject. So if Maharashtra is the largest producer of onions, the onus of its shortage also falls on its shoulders.

At times state-centre rifts also results in communication gap. But normally, when such crisis arises, the government bans onion exports, lowers import taxes and procures onions from the nearest available country. In the case of onions, it is Pakistan which produces the quality of onions that India consumes. For the present regime, getting onions from Pakistan will draw a lot of flak from the detractors though it can be one of the wisest decisions. The government, however, cannot sit on the crisis and let the situation go out of hands.

It has already asked MMTC (India's Largest International Trading Company) to issue a global tender to import 10,000 tonnes and this will most likely come from Pakistan and China.

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IND BREAD

Indian bread Industry: up-and-coming P

resent status The Indian bread industry has come a long way since the 1990s.

Bread has evolved from being perceived as a basic breakfast food item to being a confectionary item for some customers.

Over the years, increasing disposable incomes, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences and lifestyles have given a boost to the bread industry.

The bread industry in India, valued at INR 33 billion (USD 0.51billion) in FY 2015, has been growing at a CAGR of ~9% over the last three years. The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~10% and reach INR 53 billion (USD 0.82 billion)

by FY 2020. Despite Indians becoming

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

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Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

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more health conscious, white bread continues to dominate the market with a 75% market share. While demand for brown and nutritional breads is expected to grow, this segment currently accounts for a mere 20% of the total share.

India's bread industry is dominated by unorganized players contributing to about 55% of the total market. However, their share is expected to decrease in the coming years, primarily due to increasing health awareness among consumers and their preferences shifting towards quality food products. In the organized sector, Britannia Industries and Modern Foods Industries are market leaders with nearly 45% share of the organized market.

today's youth who are looking for a nice ambience and access to Wi-Fi, where they can relax and try new products.

International players like Au Bon Pain and Le Pain Quotidian, and domestic chains such as Theobrama and La Opera are expanding from their current format to the sit-in café format. Now, players in the organized sector are increasing their focus on tier II and tier III cities as well, given the improving infrastructure and customers' changing buying patterns in smaller cities.

The Indian bread industry, which consist

Growing per capita disposable income and changing lifestyles are dictating a clear shift in customers' buying patterns.

They are aware of and prefer nutritional and premium bread compared to white bread. This change drives India's premium bread market. Manufacturers are now keen to tap the rising affluent urban population and are introducing premium and healthier variants in the market.

The bread market is concentrated around tier I and larger tier II cities due to higher disposable incomes and more brand awareness among consumers. Companies are entering the market with concepts such as live bakery-cum-cafés to cater to

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

IND BREAD

of both organized and unorganised sectors, contribute around 45 per cent and 55 per cent of the total bread production respectively. The organized sector consists of around 1800 small scale bread manufacturers around the country, besides 25 medium scale manufacturers and two large scale industries. The major players in the bread industry that hold about 90 per cent of the market share include Britannia and Modern Industries. Apart from them, there are a few large regional players such as Spencer’s in South India, Kitty and Bonn in Punjab and Harvest Gold and Perfect in Delhi and NCR. The study suggests that the bakery industry in India has witnessed an annual growth rate of more than 15 per cent during the past years. There is an immense growth potential in both global and domestic markets.

Healthy living Presently with Indians shifting towards healthier options, there has been an emergence of many healthier bread products in the market. There has been a shift in the consumer’s tastes and preferences and the modern, educated and elite classes are looking at the different products. The market is growing and people are now looking more towards healthier products, like brown bread, multi-grain and whole wheat rather than just the Maida one. Consumers have

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IND BREAD

Even though most chefs prefer making their own breads, the hospitality sector has been one of the major clienteles for the bread manufacturing industry. The hospitality sector is another major market.

Mostly chefs make their own breads but this market is definitely growing and therefore we are also coming up with new products like buns and burgers for the same.

more choices available to them and with international exposure; India is trending towards fresh bread and bakeries. Even though they cost almost three times more, the consumers are willing to pay for that.

Indian bread consumers are also fast evolving in their eating habits and are willing to include bread and other similar products as a part of their staple diet.

Consumers are willing to experiment beyond the traditional usage of bread; hence, the gourmet segment is also showing growth. Product offerings like croissants, dinner rolls, sourdoughs, pizza bases, etc. which have established themselves with western consumers are now finding strong takers in the Indian market as well. Vitamin enriched white sandwich bread, multigrain bread, multifiber bread and honey oats are also fast emerging as some of the preferred products among consumers.

as the health segment with multi grains, honey oats, and of course the brown bread. In terms of product innovation, there are honey-oat, rai and daliya bread in the market.

Fortified/functional and naturally healthy bread is slowly making its presence felt in urban areas and these are sold as premium products. In volume terms bread is projected to grow at 1.9 percent whereasvalue added breads are expected to grow at 18-20 percent.

Hospitality demand

Product innovation in bread, profitability has remained the focal point for some time. Players have been looking to increase their share of value-added products, while focusing on operational efficiencies linked to daily distribution.

Bread companies offer a variety of bread products to cater to the diverse needs of today’s consumer. The product ranges from the basic white sandwich breads to brown breads within the sliced bread format and buns, pavs and pizza bases in the variety space. There are wide varieties of breads in the regular as well

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Growth in organized retail The proliferation of modern supermarket chains across India has greatly helped in leveraging innovation in the bread products because consumers who shop in modern stores expect greater variety and convenience. Many of these modern stores also sell their own private label bakery products. However, in�store bakery sales have yet to account for substantial sales in India, as traditional kirana stores dominate retailing.

Moreover, independent bakeries, which produce fresh products, remain the preferred choice for consumers of baked goods. Currently, very few private labels are available and account for less than 1% of value sale of bakery products. However private label share is expected to increase due to entry of international chains and overall growth in organized retail.

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YOGA NOODLE

Ramdev, yoga guru

is building one of the

country’s biggest consumer goods companies

F

irst he became the face of yoga in India. Now, he is taking on major global consumer goods companies with products ranging from herbal tea and fruit juices to toiletries.

campaign to promote his goods. All the products that Patanjali manufactures have a “Made in Bharat” label.

Baba Ramdev—born Ramkrishna Yadav—seems poised to give some of India’s biggest consumer goods makers a run for their money with his ayurvedic, made in India products. Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, a company that Ramdev founded in 2006 along with his confidante, Acharya Bal Krishna, has emerged amongst India’s fastest growing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).

And Ramdev is piggybacking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

This week, Patanjali launched a noodle brand to compete with Nestle’s Maggi, which is now back in Indian markets after

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YOGA NOODLE told reporters after announcing the alliance with Future Group. The 50-yearold yoga teacher added that Patanjali will also launch new products like pasta, oats, muesli and juices to cater to India’s growing middle class that is developing a taste for western flavours.

For the current fiscal, the firm is looking to target revenue of Rs5,000 crore.

Here’s how Patanjali’s revenue has grown:

a brief ban. While India’s food regulator, FSSAI, maintains that Patanjali’s noodles don’t have necessary approvals, the company is all set to start sales in the coming weeks. Ramdev’s company is also planning to take on global sportswear brands like Nike and Adidas by introducing a yoga-wear collection.

partnership with the Kishore Biyaniowned Future Group for promotion and distribution of its products. Future Group is one of India’s largest retail groups with presence in more than 95 cities.

“Our effort is to promote swadeshi and give a tough fight to MNCs,” Ramdev

In January, Aditya Pittie, chairman of the Pittie Group, which is a distributor for Patanjali’s products, told the Times of India newspaper that the company was expected to cross the Rs2,000 crore mark in the 2015 fiscal. If these estimates are true, the eight-year-old firm has already overtaken brands like Emami—an old name in India’s FMCG sector.

Quartz was not able to independently verify these figures as India’s Registrar of Companies does not have information for the 2015 financial, yet. Patanjali Ayurved did not respond to an emailed questionnaire from Quartz.

Rocketing revenues Patanjali’s phenomenal growth trajectory is making big retail chains in the country sit up.

Although the company has a massive presence across India trough franchisees—its products are available in over 177,000 retail stores—it is now tying up with retail behemoths to reach a wider audience.

In October, Ramdev entered into a

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

Headquartered in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, Patanjali was found in 2006 with a paidup capital of Rs41 crore.

“At its own claimed revenues of Rs5,000 crore in this financial year, it will be among the top five FMCG companies in the country. With its recent announcement to enter more product categories—yoga apparel, baby and children’s nutritional foods etc.—it is poised to enter the

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YOGA NOODLE Challenges persist Born in 1965 to a poor family of farmers, Ramdev, along with his friend Acharya Bal Krishna, started taking yoga lessons and travelling around on bicycles to clients’ homes to perform religious ceremonies in the late 1990s.

Today, Ramdev’s empire in Haridwar alone spans a hospital, an ayurveda medical school and research institution, a food park and a cosmetics manufacturing unit. He also reportedly purchased an island in Scotland worth £2 million to set up a wellness centre.

top three in the next two to three years if its current spectacular growth rate continues,” Arvind Singhal, managing director of Technopak, a management consultancy, told Quartz in an email.

“With that size, it will certainly be a formidable competitor to several established brands and companies such as HUL, Nestle, ITC Foods, and GSK to name a few,” he added.

A report from international brokerage, CLSA, in August said that Patanjali’s core strength is its mass appeal.

“The plans are even more interesting as the company is now looking at ‘traditional’ ways to expand and targets to more than double the top line in coming years,” the report said. “While competition must be keeping its fingers crossed, all we can say is—‘Wish you were listed.’”

during yoga sessions conducted by Ramdev. The yoga guru also depends heavily on followers who are popular celebrities such as wrestling champion, Sushil Kumar, to endorse products during these yoga programs.

And according to CLSA, Patanjali has the potential to reach out to more than 200 million who are directly or indirectly linked to his yoga programme.

This year, as the company looks to take on some of India’s biggest FMCG companies, Patanjali has also roped in advertising agencies, McCann and Mudra to run a brand new campaign. The company has already roped in one of the country’s biggest film star, Hema Malini, to endorse a maida flour free biscuit.

Brand Ramdev The company usually refrains from spending big money on advertising and marketing, which is an important driver for brand creation.

Typically, an FMCG firm in India spends about 10-15% of its revenues on advertising while Patanjali had negligible spending and “relies mainly only on endorsement by Baba Ramdev and his disciples and instructors,” according to CLSA. Much of the promotions also happen

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

However, there could be some bumps in Ramdev’s smooth ride in the FMCG sector—especially with his new products such as noodles.

“In the growing market for ready-tocook packaged food, a new entrant would struggle to create visibility and initial demand,” Devangshu Dutta, CEO of Third Eyesight, a retail consultancy, told Quartz in an email.

“The other aspect to keep in mind is that while a lot of food and nutraceutical products resonate easily with the Patanjali brand, instant noodles seems completely counterintuitive under this brand’s umbrella. How much consumers will support this new launch remains to be seen,” he explained.

Meanwhile, before launching the noodles,

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I

The new

t’s one of the biggest challenges businesses face today: how to identify and develop leaders. The common approach for many businesses is to create a system for identifying high-potential employees. Oftentimes, a high-performer is promoted to leadership because he or she is deemed a high-potential employee.

But there is a difference between a high-performer and a leader, and not

Paradigm Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

MANAGEMENT

understanding the difference can lead to failure in a new leadership role.

According to Arlington, VA-based consulting firm CEB Global, 46% of leaders fail to meet their business objectives in a new role. Suffice it to say, high-performers are not the same as highpotentials. In fact, CEB research shows that only one in seven high-performers is actually a highpotential employee.

Don’t be mistaken; performance is an indicator of potential, but it is not the only one. Make sure you’re looking at the right type of performance.

Take a look at the following examples to determine how effective your company is at identifying high-

33 www.agronfoodprocessing.com

MANAGEMENT such as when they are leading others.

Consider Jack Welch, who said, “I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. ‘No,’ I replied, ‘I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire someone else?’ ” Rather than passing people over based on failure, look at how they respond to failure and consider what they’ve learned from it that will improve their ability to lead.

potential employees.

Diversity of thought In 1919, a young man working for the Kansas City Star was fired because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Sure, Walt Disney’s editor would have said he was not high-potential employee, but of course, this story ends in tremendous success because of his imagination and good ideas. Eventually, The Walt Disney Company bought the Kansas City Star.

When identifying high-potential employees, a company must take care to have diversity of thought in the ranks of leadership. There are two points where diversity at the leadership level is at risk.

The first is when there is no unbiased system in place for identifying highpotential employees, meaning leaders are more apt to look for people who are similar to themselves. The second is when the process of identifying high-potential employees is so rigid that it only identifies one type of person. Companies should be asking, “Does our system for identifying these types of employees create diversity of thought?”

him. However, Mr. Belichick later led the New England Patriots to five Super Bowl appearances, including three Super Bowl titles, and was awarded NFL Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010.

Many times, high-potential employees are promoted with the assumption that they will succeed under any circumstance.

What organizations often fail to recognize is that people learn as much — if not more — from failures as they do from successes. By only promoting those who have been successful each time, every time, the pool of high-potentials becomes very small. It is true that failure will most likely come at the most inopportune time,

Results through failure If you asked Art Modell, the 1995 owner of the Cleveland Browns, if Coach Bill Belichick was high-potential, he probably would have said no, considering he fired

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

Removal of barriers When Henry Ford, Jr., led Ford Motor Co. in 1978, he fired Lee Iacocca, whom he likely didn’t consider a high-potential employee. Chrysler hired Mr. Iacocca, and he took the company from a $204 million loss in 1978 to nearly $1 billion in profit by 1983.

Mr. Iacocca’s success at Chrysler is welldocumented, including his ability to successfully remove barriers, which is another attribute of high-potentials. His work with the government and lending institutions removed financial barriers in incredible ways.

How much is the ability to remove barriers about asking how reactive a person is versus how proactive? Reactive employees will be reactive leaders, constantly solving problems rather than proactively removing barriers. Look for employees who are proactive and remove barriers before they become problems.

34 www.agronfoodprocessing.com

Knowing the business If you asked the leaders of home improvement chain Handy Dan if Bernie Marcus and Arthur Bank were high-potential, they might have said no, considering they both were fired from the company. Over the next decade the two opened more than 100 new stores and earned more than $2.7 billion in sales under the name of Home Depot.

So what was special about Mr. Marcus and Mr. Bank? It’s the difference between knowing the business and knowing the job. This may be the clearest separator between a high-performer and a highpotential. All high-performers know their job … but many don’t know the business.

You can’t be an effective leader if you don’t know the business; this is what enables a leader to be results-oriented.

This is how leaders translate strategy and vision — in other words, the business — into meaningful objectives that can be carried out by tactical employees. Look for employees who know the business and not just the job.

MANAGEMENT

headed. When identifying and developing high-potential employees, consider not only where the business currently is, but where the business and the industry are going. Don’t just fill an immediate need, but also look for what the business will need from leaders in the future.

All these examples illustrate how easy it can be to miss a high-potential employee when not looking out for the right things.

After conversations with several executives trying to find the root reason for identifying high-potential employees, it comes back to one central concern: How much time and effort will it require to develop an effective leader? It is important to identify those individuals who can most efficiently get to the point of leading effectively.

Knowing

Look to the future On October 2, 1954, Elvis Presley performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry for the first and only time. After his performance of “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” he was advised to return to driving a truck in Memphis. Elvis swore to never perform there again, a vow he kept. The Grand Ole Opry was looking for what it had always looked for — not necessarily where the industry was

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

this

helps

organizations

recognize that regardless of who is given leadership responsibilities, there is time and effort involved. When this aspect of high-potentials is overlooked, it becomes easy to assume that there will be requirements necessary for them to successfully lead. This is the final — and possibly the most important — recommendation. Rather than looking at it in black-and-white terms of who is high-potential and who isn’t, look at it from the perspective of who is worth the time and effort. How much attention will this individual require to learn how to lead effectively? The answer will differ from one organization to another. A big company with a large pool of potential leaders can reasonably expect a lower requirement, but a small organization with a small pool of potential leaders can reasonably expect a higher input of time and effort.

Leaders are everywhere. To identify and teach them, ensure you have the right amount of diverse thought in your leadership; look for people who have experienced and learned from failure; place value on proactively removing barriers; find people who know the business and not just the job; consider the future needs of the business and where the industry is going; and evaluate individuals in terms of reasonable time and effort requirements.

These considerations can increase the likelihood of success and minimize the risk that great leaders will be overlooked.

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FOOD SAFETY

Debugging

your Food Processin unit

L

ike all food processors, bakers and snack manufacturers must deal with pests of all sorts if they want to prepare their products in food-safe fashion. There are those with two wings or four legs, and then there the ones with six, eight or a hundred legs. None are the size of Godzilla, but often they seem just as hard to keep out of the plant.

The pressure comes from not only regulators but also customers. Hazard analysis critical control points programs encompassed pest control from their inception. It has been included in the

Global Food Safety Initiative and its voluntary standards from their start, and it will be part of regulations that implement the Food Safety Modernization Act through mandatory preventive controls.

“Pest control is a key part of everything,” said Mel Whitson, regional manager and degreed entomologist, Central Life Sciences, Palm Bay, FL. “It requires you to manage every aspect of your operation: who you’re buying from, how it’s processed by the supplier, how you’re receiving it, how you’re storing it, how you’re using it at your facility and how

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

the plant is managed and sanitized.”

The types of pests have not changed in recent years, observed Zia Siddiqi, PhD, director of quality systems, Orkin, a subsidiary of Rollins, Inc., Atlanta, GA, but emerging food types have added to risks. “The trend toward organic or natural products, in fact, has been more favorable for the stored-product insect pests,” he said.

Materials at peril Stored materials can be any food item in the plant, from raw ingredients to finished packaged products. Some are prone to

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FOOD SAFETY

Many bakers and snack manufacturers prefer to work with professional pest management services because of their specialized knowledge. “We view pest management as a partnership between provider and manager,” Dr. Siddiqi said, “and it’s a trend that more and more food processing facilities are following.

attracting bugs, and some not.

“In the snack area, raw potatoes don’t present much concern,” Mr. Whitson said. “They are inherently pest-free because Mother Nature designed tubers to spend time in the ground and gave them defenses.”

But it’s different for corn, wheat and all grains. “Grain-based materials have carbohydrates and proteins, which insects like,” said Raj Hulasare, PhD, PEng, senior scientist and product manager, Temp Air, Inc., Burnsville, MN. The type of stored material makes the difference. “If the facility accepts grains and processed grains, it’s at risk of attracting a wide variety of pests,” Mr. Whitson said. While not many bakeries store raw grains to later mill and bake on the same site, they do receive flour, graham cracker crumbs and other such ingredients.

less than 2%. Another anti-pest tactic is insect-resistant packaging materials.

Balance of responsibilities Flour millers and other grain processors are well informed about stored-product insect pests, but such problems in bakeries are not well-researched. “There isn’t a lot of published information on insectrelated problems in bakeries and snack facilities, but the facility managers and the pest management service providers know the type of problems encountered,” Dr. Hulasare said. “The risk varies with the type of food product stored, length of storage and level of sanitation and pest management practiced.”

Dr. Siddiqi added spices, nuts, candy pieces and dried fruits to the list. “All pests need food as well as moisture to survive, which make any food processing facility a target,” he said.

Finished products, too, require protection.

Dr. Hulasare strongly recommended use of modified atmosphere packaging that cuts oxygen levels inside the package to

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

“There are several responsibilities a plant operator has even when a pest control service is in place,” he continued.

Working together, the partners can devise an integrated pest management (IPM) program that helps plant operators plan ahead with proactive techniques to prevent pest infestations before they happen. These non-chemical approaches include sanitation, housekeeping and building management issues. “IPM relies on chemical applications only as a last resort and then only in targeted areas,” he added.

Such preventive measures are backed up with curative methods, “because it would be impossible to know where the pests are hiding in a large food facility,” Dr. Hulasare noted. “The scope of services should be dictated by the food facility managers based on need and corporate policies. Some companies prefer to not use toxic chemicals and prefer environmentally friendly technologies.”

Dr. Hulasare described heat treatment as one of those technologies. Based on

37 www.agronfoodprocessing.com

FOOD SAFETY

on incoming supplies include webbing, damaged ingredients or packaging, visible insect larvae or insects themselves. “If you see signs of stored-product pests, refuse to accept the shipment and notify your supplier immediately,” Dr. Siddiqi said. “Request a supplier inspection, including the mode of transportation.”

When receiving pallet loads, it can be possible for a bag in the interior of the stack to rupture. “This exposes the product to pests,” Mr. Whitson said. “It also drops flour or crumbs at the food of the storage rack in areas that may not be readily accessible for cleaning.”

research done at Kansas State University in the late 1990s, Temp Air’s patented method involves positively pressurizing the space to be heated with forced 120°F air. This is hot enough to be lethal to all insect life stages, including eggs.

Pheromone traps also fit the friendly category. The traps synthetically mimic the chemical secretions insects use to communicate, Dr. Siddiqi explained.

Sanitation and maintenance of equipment can be made more effective by coordinating these activities with the pest management service, Mr. Whitson suggested. “When machines are being broken down for thorough cleaning of bearings and other components, they can be inspected and treated at the same time,” he said.

inside — and outside — the plant.

Cleaning underneath, around and on top of conveyor belts, fixed equipment, bins and hoppers is essential. Regular monitoring of storage conditions, eliminating sources of moisture and keeping storage areas cool and well-ventilated will reduce chances of the product becoming vulnerable to pests. Dr. Siddiqi recommended keeping storage areas below 65°F because most stored-product pests can’t thrive in cooler temperatures.

But efforts really count when managing received supplies. Signs of infestation

Rules of engagement Food plant managers and employees should be inspecting their facilities between visits from the pest management service, Dr. Siddiqi advised. Any pest activity should be reported, and if possible, they should be caught for the service to identify. The staff should also look around the building’s exterior for cracks and small openings that could allow entry and examine interior hot spots like drains, break rooms and restrooms.

Dr. Hulasare estimated that 90% of pest control is a matter of regular sanitation

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Mr. Whitson offered another tip. “You should be selecting the right-sized package so that you go through it quickly,” he said. “The bigger the package, the easier it is to inspect and maintain in pest-free condition.”

Nothing raises the alarm faster than a contaminated foodstuff. “I’ve seen situations where the pest appears in the packaged food,” Mr. Whitson related. A fly that a shopper reports finding inside a bread bag has to get through four air curtains and more than a dozen light traps to reach the packaging area. “You have to go back and look at every possibility that might have allowed that pest in,” he advised. “You have to look at the whole program.”

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Ingredients under control from the start

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ngredient handling systems offer some subtle and not-so-subtle signs when they need to be repaired or replaced.

Aaron Irvin, director of systems and products, Shick, Kansas City, MO, said bakers should look out for excessive leaks and dust, inaccurate batching and delivery and frequent downtime related to maintenance and repairs.

When that time comes, bakers need to

take a step back and evaluate their system for productivity and ¬efficiency. Because ingredient handling systems head up the bakery’s production line, bakers should take the opportunity during breakdowns to upgrade their food and operator safety at this point, starting the bakery off on the right foot.

Bakers should consider how to update

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safety systems and improve maintenance and sanitation so their repaired or new systems will go the distance.

Food safety from the start When it’s time to repair or replace an element of — or the entire — ingredient handling system, it’s important to consider updates that improve the entire process, not just fix the immediate

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PRODUCTION

and pieces of paper or foreign material from the exterior of the bags may end up in the final product,” said Bill Kearns, vice-president of engineering, Fred D. Pfening Co., Columbus, OH. Using large totes of ingredients in place of smaller bags can also protect the food, according to Tom Guenther, food safety engineering director, Horizon Systems, Inc., Lawrence, KS. Totes have less exposure to outside elements than bags and provide safer storage.

Equipment and their computers weigh and dose bulk and liquid ingredients straight from silos and drums. By eliminating access to ingredients straight from their source, automated systems eliminate the threat of allergens, pathogens or even plastic or metal being introduced.

Buhler’s latest automation design incorporates hand-added ingredients into the automation. The computer informs the operator of the proper weight and then confirms that the measurement and even the ingredient itself are correct.

problem. John Hunter, sales account manager, Buhler, Plymouth, MN, recommended bakers consider how they can optimize their process to make it as simple as possible while still performing at the quality standard they require. This means considering moving from manual handling of big bags to automated bulk handling, such as switching from 200-gal drums of liquid ingredients to automated dosing systems using 1-tonne totes.

Asking those questions can lead to not only improved efficiency in production but also food safety.

Automation removes those chances for outside influence.

“Bags stored on pallets are subject to damage, insect and rodent infestation,

Automated systems eliminate the manual factor of weighing and adding ingredients.

Unfortunately, with the human element comes the potential for human error.

“The more you’re doing manually, the bigger chance something is open to outside influence and the more likely there will be challenges from a food safety perspective,” Mr. Hunter said.

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Stephen Marquardt, sales director, food, Zeppelin Systems USA, Odessa, FL, has seen an uptick in requests for minor ingredient systems because that is where bakers are seeing operator mistakes.

“They’re not weighing accurately,” he explained. “If you have an over-dosage of certain ingredients such as salt, you can

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PRODUCTION

supply. AZO continues to improve its screeners such as its DA Screener, which has a built-in feeding device, eliminating some of the machine’s height, which can help relieve stress on the operator.

taste it immediately. If it’s in the dough, then you have to throw the whole thing out. Automating with minor or micro ingredient systems helps with safety and definitely reducing waste.”

Automation also gives bakers a wealth of data and control over their ingredients.

With the Food Safety Modernization Act bearing down on the industry, reliable records of where ingredients come from, and when and how much were used, become valuable information for a baker to have on hand.

AZO, Inc., Memphis, TN, developed his flour screener in the 1950s, a miller or baker’s major concern was sifting out flour weevils. “In this day and age, it’s more about keeping out shreds of the bag or a pin top that came off of someone’s shirt,” said Russell Nadicksbernd, sales, AZO, Inc. Food safety concerns may have evolved since then, but screeners and sifters remain an important part of keeping foreign particles out of the food

“Automated ingredient handling systems allow you to manage what’s happening in the process so you can get better control,” Mr. Hunter said. “With recipe management systems, bakers can tie in all of the hand-adds, bulk ingredients and big bag ingredients so they have a record of every product that has gone into the mix.”

Mr. Irvin suggested that integrating lockable or controlled filling and ingredient storage locations protects the supply at its source. Bulk systems with mass flow discharge ensure first-in, firstout movement of ingredients in silos.

Inline sifters, strainers and magnets can screen and protect ingredients against foreign matter and contamination.

When Adolf Zimmermann, founder of

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Improving operator safety Food and operator safety go hand-in-hand when it comes to ingredient handling.

“The same features that contribute to food safety also frequently improve worker safety,” Mr. Kearns said. Large minor ingredients can be needed several hundred pounds at a time. Manually dumping those pounds can cause back problems and other injuries for workers.

Installing a bulk bag unloader system to replace manual bag dumping can reduce opportunities for injury and remove a chance for operator error, according to Mr. Kearns.

Automation can eliminate most manual handling, but Mr. Hunter said there will always be some form of manual labor involved. In those cases, the question equipment buyers must ask is how to minimize the impact on operators.

Buhler kept that user question in mind when designing its latest ingredient discharge station, the MKSB. The unit’s modular ergonomic design offers operators five different positions allowing height adjustments to match where the

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open, the system will kick on and pull a slight vacuum. If there is dust present, rather than it floating outside the bag dump, it will actually be sucked up into these filters,” he said. “We’re pulling dust out of the environment before it goes into the plant.” Any dust that manages to escape this vacuum can be dealt with by a proper sanitation regimen.

Shick helps bakers understand OSHA standards for preventing dust fires and explosions and has improved the design of its equipment and processes to control dust. The company also minimizes the danger of electrical explosion with arcflash-safe panels on its equipment.

While flour dust poses a fire hazard, it also can cause a breathing hazard for operators working the line. Mr. Guenther suggested contained automated systems protect operators from inhaling potentially harmful dust.

operator stands. The machine’s large sieve movement and direct pick-up give the MKSB its low profile, eliminating the need for stairs. “It’s been designed to be at the right height so people aren’t having to either lift up or bend over too much,” Mr. Hunter said.

Safety switches can keep operators safe during routine maintenance. “You want to disengage operators from possibly coming into contact with moving equipment,” Mr. Nadicksbernd said.

Safety switches shut the machine down as soon as someone opens a door or panel in the equipment whether to clean, inspect or change a filter.

people who will be in the vicinity of the equipment,” Mr. Nadicksbernd said.

“During transport and packaging, crystals rub together and form their own dust, so when the operator dumps ingredients into the system, there’s going to be dust buildup.” This accumulation can be flammable and explosive, but bakers can employ dust control and containment to mitigate the problem.

Bakeries can keep the amount of dangerous dust to a minimum with a fan and filter system that creates a vacuum at the bag dump station. “When the doors

A major threat to the people working ingredient handling systems hangs in the air; dust in the bakery can ignite fires and even explosions. “At the end of the day, it’s not likely to happen, but obviously, past experience has shown us those things can happen, and you have to make decisions on the front end to properly protect the

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Ingredient handling systems can be engineered to mitigate the effects of fire or explosion. A venting system can allow the blast or fire to propagate but away from more dust or people. Equipment can be built strong enough to absorb explosions, but it must be decoupled from the rest of the line with a rotary valve, according to Mr. Nadicksbernd.

For dangerous bulk solids, Zeppelin Systems USA builds its standard silos to be explosion-proof. These silos have built-in rupture disks in case of an incident, and they meet VDI 3673/ VDI 2263 standards for dust explosion venting. Mr. Marquardt asserted that all of Zeppelin’s equipment is built to conform to NFPA regulations, whether that’s with its explosion-proof silos or suppression

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changes have significantly improved system reliability. “Virtually all motors, bearings and gearboxes are now permanently sealed and lubricated, which eliminates the possibility of oil or grease leakage and reduces maintenance,” according to Mr. Kearns. “Access for inspection and maintenance has been improved by use of quick-opening latches and more ergonomic design overall.”

and flame quench systems around scale hoppers. The company also offers risk assessments for bakeries.

Maintenance with ease The key to extending the life of an installation is maintaining it properly.

Ingredient handling systems will last a long time if they are so maintained.

“We have systems that run 20, 30, 40 years because the overall steel and construction is sturdy; it’s just a question of dealing with all those moving wear parts,” Mr. Nadicksbernd said. These parts include screens, filters, motors, load cells, safety switches and others that need to be inspected, cleaned and changed regularly simply because of the repetitive nature of their actions.

According to Mr. Nadicksbernd, even though AZO’s filters are built to clean themselves, at some point they reach the end of their life and just need to be changed. The company has made regular maintenance like this easier by engineering the inside of the equipment to be more accessible.

Zeppelin Systems USA keeps maintenance to a minimum with the design of its system components. Lifetime lubrication on bearings, drive units on diverter valves and automatic chain adjusters on rotary feeders keep the system moving along without operator interference.

Just as food and operator safety is connected, maintenance and sanitation also work better when they go hand-inhand. “Both maintenance and sanitation are involved in keeping up any ingredient system,” Mr. Kearns said. “These functions must work together. If they are working at cross purposes — blaming each other rather than helping each ¬other — the system will fail, no matter how good it is to start with.”

Even better than maintenance and sanitation teams working together is when those teams are the same, said Mr. Kearns. “The very best-kept systems, in my experience, are those in which these functions are combined,” he noted.

Operators handling both programs can address maintenance issues that can affect sanitation down the road. For example, a worn seal can start leaking dust, causing a cleanliness issue. They can address that problem right away as they will anticipate the sanitation implications if that maintenance issue is left unattended.

Equipment design can also help maintenance and sanitation teams keep systems running by making these processes easier and faster.

OEMs continually update equipment throughout the years, and recent

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Pfening’s Pop-Top dust collector uses top-loading high-efficiency filter cartridges. “The real innovation is that all of the mechanical reverse-pulse cleaning components are located in the cover,” Mr. Kearns said. To access the cartridges for inspection or replacement, operators only need to release two latches and open the cover. Operators can remove filter cartridges through the clean side with no need to enter the dusty side as is typical on a conventional system. They also don’t need to ¬enter a confined space.

When it comes to improving safety and maintenance, Mr. Hunter said it all comes down to how strategically a baker wants to think. “Are you going to be proactive and say, ‘I want to make sure my process is as efficient as it can be?’ ” he said. “Or are you going to say, ‘I’m just going to fix it when it breaks down?’ ” Safety and maintenance enhance productivity, and productivity often results in improved food and operator safety and process maintenance. Bakers just have to decide, when it comes to ingredient handling, if they are ready to make the investment

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NEWS

PepsiCo, Coca-Cola baying for Chobani investment stake sale, which includes firm TPG Capital LP warrants that make up between 10% to 20% of Chobani's equity.

Chobani wants the deal to value the company at $3 billion, debt included.

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he Coca-Cola and PepsiCo rivalry is moving to yogurt, with the companies discussing investments in Chobani. The company wants an investor to invigorate its supply chain, distribution, and geographic presence for its more popular yogurts.

The company is considering a minority

with German dairy company Theo Müller and Coca-Cola's Fairlife product.

However, Pepsi's snack portfolio is wider than Coca-Cola's. Coca-Cola has taken minority stakes in brands like Keurig Green Mountain, Monster Beverage, and Suja Life.

The challenging market for soda — with U.S. consumption declining for the tenth straight year — means diversifying products is critical. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been involved in dairy, with Pepsi working on a joint project

American doughnut chain Dunkin Donuts partners

Grofers to deliver donuts at your doorstep promoted by Jubilant Food-Works, said, "this is our first attempt at a packaged product". "A grocery styled concept like Grofers is a good go to market option for us other than our own stores," he said.

Amritesh said the move will help Dunkin' in its packaged foods initiative as well as its regular donuts delivery. "This is our attempt to create a new category and be an option on the pantry shelf," he said.

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merican doughnut chain Dunkin' Donuts has for the first time entered packaged products to push consumption in India and has tied up with online grocery delivery platform Grofers to deliver its packaged and fresh products at consumers' doorsteps.

Dev Amritesh, president and chief operating officer at Dunkin' Donuts India,

Dunkin' Donuts has just introduced some packaged products such as donut cakes that come with a shelf life of two months.

Dunkin' Donuts, second brand in India after pizza maker Domino's, operates 67 stores in the country, and Grofers will

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deliver from almost all its stores.

While Grofers will deliver only fresh donuts to begin with, Dunkin' Donuts officials said the chain is open to the idea of scaling it up to its other menu items subsequently. It is a first for a quick service restaurant to tie up with a grocery delivery platform. Dunkin' Donuts has moved beyond its core product, doughnut, to other options such as burgers to boost consumption in an otherwise subdued eating out market.

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NEWS

French Pastry Finesse Finds Patrons

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ahil Mehta Sour Dough Bread; Raspberry It’s the long drive back home each day, around 10.45 pm, that brand chef of the Artful Baker, Chef Sahil Mehta, really enjoys. But the thing he enjoys much more is baking his bestloved macaroons. They remind him of his early days, while he was still learning the art of making them; attempting tirelessly to get the crispy-chewy texture of these little French confections right. Secretly, he hopes they compare to well-known French pastry chef Pierre Herme’s macaroons, which, according to Mehta, are undoubtedly the best macaroons in the world. At the bakery, this artful dough puncher, also India’s first certified bakery, pastry and chocolate expert from Lenotre, France, is neck-deep into the task of getting it right, besides getting many other confectionery items up his sleeve.

But, the macaroons continue to remain his greatest preoccupation.

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Launched some time ago, this patisserie and boulangerie by Lite Bite Foods offers cakes, croissants, breads, sweet and savoury items. There’s an extensive range of breads, including multigrain, French peasant, whole wheat and more. “You also have things like Ham and Cheese

Croissants, Whole Wheat Pesto Paneer and Chicken sandwiches, and more.

Signature desserts are Lemon Tart, Double Chocolate Chip Muffin and Paris Brest,” says Mehta. Don’t forget the Chocolate, Raspberry and Salty Macaroons.

Cheese Cake Tart Seeing a dearth in quality bakery and pastry products in India, the chef deemed it right to open a shop that would realise the lack in the market. “I spent my childhood in France and would visit Delhi every six months for vacations. When here, I would often miss the smell of fresh, early morning bakes. That was an important reason to introduce this style and finesse of baking in the city,” says Mehta. The menu, he tells us, has been designed to give the patrons the feel of a true Parisian café, where people can come in and hang out with friends over inviting desserts and coffee. “I believe what pleases the eyes will please the palette too, and the best judge of that for me is my mother. She is my greatest admirer as well as my greatest critic. She often tells me I’ve done well, but she’ll also be vocal about the fact that I can do better. That keeps me going,” he says.

California walnuts to cash-in on India's growing market: CWC

uoyed by record production, California walnuts, accounting for 99 per cent of commercial US supply and 71 per cent of world trade, is confident of making its presence felt in India as the message of quality and health benefits of the healthy nut spreads, officials say.

"Shipments of California walnuts to India for the 2013-14 crop year, our first year with market access, was about 310,000 in-shell pounds and 42,000 pounds of kernels," Assistant Marketing Director, International, of California Walnut Commission (CWC) Jennifer Williams said.

Last year, the 2014-15 crop year saw shipment increase quite a bit with 5.2 million pounds of inshell walnuts going to India and 84,500 pounds of kernels.

"We feel the India market will continue to grow as the message of California quality spreads and the health messages continue gain popularity," she said.

In 2013, India allowed import of walnuts from the US. "Inshell exports of walnut to India have been significant," CWC's Senior Marketing Director, International, Michelle McNeil said. At the same time, she said exports of shelled walnut to India was still small but had long term potential.

Walnuts are a semi-fresh food, meaning that with proper storage and handling walnuts are good to eat for up to one calendar year, she said.

She said the CWC's efforts are to make available to Indian consumers good quality California walnuts round-theyear.

McNeil said the CWC was confident that the Indian bakery, confectionery and ice cream industries would readily accept Californian walnuts which were produced, processed and packed in stateof-the-art facilities.

"We are excited about the possibilities in India regarding California walnuts,"

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John Mundt, owner of Alpine Pacific Nut Co., Inc., one of the top American walnut producer and processor, said.

"We feel India has a lot of untapped potential with regards to the population size as well as the desire for people to start eating what is considered a healthy diet/life style," Mundt said.

"We are hoping to double our volume this year may be to 30 container loads," he said.

Walnuts are an ideal complement to the traditional vegetarian based diet because they contain alpha-linolenic acid/ omega-3 fatty acid which is currently deficient in the Indian diet, Carol Berg Sloan, Nutrition Consultant to CWC said.

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NEWS

Want a Bakery Product- Now WhiskIt Online

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hiskIt offers a marketplace for bakeries and dessert artisans to showcase their baked goods.

Like many software professionals in India who have the entrepreneurial itch, Amanvir Mundra completed his full circle, in the context of having a job in the software industry up to landing at his startup. During his campus recruitment, he got placed in a leading Indian IT company and worked there for a couple of years.

Then he moved to Pune and spent another five years working for Syntel and Fiserv, gained some international exposure while working on an assignment in U.K. and The Netherlands.

Meanwhile, he had his hobby project Traveloholica which is a social platform aimed at promoting local tourism and handicraft. “I think the biggest exposure was when I was selected for an elite innovation and entrepreneurship boot camp at Fiserv. Around the same time I was working on WhiskIt and I could see a lot of potential in this,” Amanvir says.

“The bakery and desserts market in India is valued at Rs 1,500 billion in 2014-2015, and is growing at CAGR of around 12-15 per cent. But strangely, it is still dominated by unorganised players accounting for 90 per cent of the total share. People propelling this growth are mainly home bakers, chocolatiers, cake artists and small-scale bakeries”, he adds.

Exposure to European/international desserts is gaining ground, but there is a lack of standardisation of products as per Indian society. “From a consumer point of view, we have very less clarity on pricing, limited payment options, difficulty to find non-standard and exotic desserts and information on cake artists,” Amanvir notes.

This is where WhiskIt came in.

WhiskIt is a unique, community-driven

marketplace dedicated entirely to artisan desserts and bakes. It is an ecosystem where people come together to buy and sell amazing desserts that cannot be found on the shelf in a bakery. It is a community of dessert connoisseurs: talented dessert artists who sell their artisan creations and diehard dessert lovers who come here to find bespoke, mouthwatering desserts and cakes, which they cannot find anywhere else.

So next time you are longing for some melt-in-your-mouth cheesecakes or the most delectable doughnuts, WhiskIt desserts are just a couple of clicks away.

Shops: Imagine hiring your own pastry chef. WhiskIt makes it happen. From big-time bakeries to professional home-

bakers to creative chocolatiers to anyone who makes anything sweet can set up shop on WhiskIt. Community: WhiskIt at its heart is a community of dessert lovers and dessert makers. Follow your favorite shops or artists. Connect with people of similar interests. Share your views, recipes and techniques with fellow connoisseurs and bakers!

Subscription box: Every month WhiskIt curates a beautifully designed box of sweet surprises. With the most indulgent desserts and other goodies created exclusively for customers and based on a different theme every month, each box promises to delight the recipient.

“Whether they are gift boxes, cookies boxes or bread baskets we have got lots

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of fancy stuff lined up,” says Amanvir.

Events: You can find out all about bakeoffs, baking classes, carnivals and other events related to desserts and bakes.

Story behind starting up WhiskIt “It all started as an initiative to help out a friend who wanted to start her brand of homemade puddings. So like a lot of small businesses we started out by giving it a nice name and created a Facebook business page. We added fancy photos of her creations and also did a lot of paid promotions on Facebook. But business was hard to get. Being such a broad platform, a very tiny percentage of people come in to actually buy desserts on Facebook.

The second incident that substantiated the idea/gap happened when a friend living abroad wanted to send a special, made-toorder cake for someone in India. She had a hard time finding a good bakery which could customise stuff, and an even harder time making the payment and coordinating the delivery.”

This market is big, but still unstructured. Marketing is mostly via word of mouth or through social media, payments are COD, which is always tricky, and visibility is mostly restricted to the neighbourhood or a small part of the city. Gifting on celebratory occasions is still pretty standard in India – standard cakes, bouquets and chocolates. In this on-demand, made-to-order age, these problems seem very primitive, and these can be easily solved. Amanvir says, “Initial plan was to start out with a business listing platform for these bakers.

We registered around 150 bakers from 11 cities, just by spreading the word on social media.” Recently, WhiskIt has converted into a marketplace where these bakers can start selling their products.

“To sum it up, we are an Etsy for desserts,” Amanvir adds.

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NEWS

Bakery in India is unique and will soon be a big sector, world famous chefs claim

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ondant cakes with edible figurines are now popular among cake lovers but how about a two-feet long chocolate-made elephant or a pastry decorated with 3D shaped flowers that resemble the real thing? Led by international patissiers and chocolatiers, desi bakers are now experimenting more and more.

French chocolatier Christophe Morel, a finalist at the prestigious M.O.F Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) title says it is just the beginning for the bakery industry in India, unlike in the US where he has conducted several classes.

“The US is more into chocolates and bakery products. But the way people in India are specialising in this art of pastry making, I think in the next 10 years it’s going to be a big industry in India. When I went to Kuala Lumpur 5 years ago, it hardly had good bakeries but now it has progressed a lot. For me, India’s future in bakery is similar,” says Chef Morel.

Morel was recently at the Academy of Pastry Arts in Gurgaon recently to conduct demonstrations for local bakers in the art of chocolate making. One of his lessons was sculpting an edible face of an elephant using huge quantity of chocolate. The chef carved with expertise, the folds in the elephant’s trunk, including minor lines of the face that showed up prominently in the end product.

“The elephant that I have done may rarely

be seen in bakeries because it’s quite expensive, not only in the cost but also the quantity of chocolate.

It has 8 kilos of superior variety of chocolate and a lot of hard work went behind creating it,” says Morel.

Chef Dinesh Rawat, Director of Pastry studies at the Academy says that something of the scale of the elephant has is rare but with expertise bakers could begin to experiment. “The world is getting smaller and smaller. And we have no choice but either to lead or to follow. So surely we will come to this level as well,” says Rawat who has also been the Head Chef at the UK-based The Blue Boar Inn. Rawat says that when he began, baking in India was all about bread and cookies but now there is a marked difference. During a cooking demonstration for young bakers, Morel dipped into shelves arranged with chocolate nuts and bars to whip up the perfect chocolates of hazelnut, peanut, coconut raspberry and other varieties. He even ordered for betel leaves to use the flavours of Indian ‘paan’ in the chocolate and created a variety of chocolates using ‘garam masala.’

“I wake up 8 in the morning and from then on I begin tasting chocolates. It is important to innovate with flavors and at the same time get our students on par with us. The art and skill should be clear in our minds and from there it should flow through the hands and creature a spectacular product. That’s what is important. Basics should be right and with that innovations can lead,” says the chef.

According to Chef Rawat, a tasting session is extremely important. “Till now bakers have been using compound chocolate but we teach use a different and better quality of chocolate, which is available in India but is not too easy to

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find. It’s a little expensive but far more superior than the usual chocolates. The better quality of chocolate tastes better and also gives the strength required for such sculptures,” Rawat says.

According to PTI, chef Lawrence Cheong Jun Bu, who won the World Pastry Cup, Lyon-2015 for the Best Chocolate Display, had flown in from Malaysia to conduct a session on the art of sculpting with chocolate and sugar. Adept at sculpting three to four feet tall artistic figures, the chef says the emphasis is to create “sweet structures that are strong and heavy enough.”

In one of his creations, the chef had fashioned a fish whose fins and curved tentacles were all all blown and carved into shapes in a fashion similar to the manner in which a glass is blown into various shapes. The structure was made out of sugar, but not of the usual variety used at home or bakeries. “Since sugar begins to get sticky and melts when it comes in contact with moisture or water, this sugar is different and does not get deformed easily. It is sturdy and stays longer,” says Chef Rawat.

Teaching how to copy the art of copying nature through bakery, Chef Nicholas Lodge, who has decorated cakes for the British Royal Family, was also in town to show local bakers improvisations like adding realistic looking leaves and flowers to a fondant cake. Lode fashioned up flowers whose petals were similar to the olive green of real leaves with tinges of dark colour in places to showcase a weathered effect on flowers.

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Unibic India eyes larger market share with biscuits at Rs10

oods, known for its range of cookies, will expand its portfolio of Rs.10 biscuits in an attempt to gain share from the likes of Britannia and ITC at the lower end of the Rs.23,000 crore Indian biscuit market.

The strategy shift will help the biscuit maker gain clout in a market that sees the bulk of its sales at lower price points. It will also help the decade-old company gain distribution advantage.

The Rs.10 and Rs.driven by large food companies such as 5 price points constitute more than 70% of sales in the Indian biscuit market, Parle Products Pvt. Ltd, ITC Ltd and Britannia Industries Ltd. “We will look at hitting the Rs.10 price point, and see if we can build volume at that end of the market and expand our base as we enter newer markets,” said Unibic Foods India Pvt. Ltd’s managing director Nikhil Sen. Over the next year, Unibic wants to double the reach of its products from 100,000 outlets currently and expand beyond south India, which is currently its strongest market.

Since its entry in 2004, the Indian arm of Unibic Australia has focused mostly on the premium end of the market, selling fruit and nut, and choco-nut cookies at Rs.25 for a 75 gram pack. According to data with the Registrar of Companies, it recorded a revenue of Rs.75 crore in 2013-14.

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NEWS

“We haven’t been attentive to the Rs.10 price point because we continue to be a premium biscuit company,” said Sen, formerly chief operating officer at Britannia, where he spent over two decades building brands such as Tiger.

“But when you want to go from 100,000 to half-a-million outlets gradually, value pricing is conducive,” he added.

Unibic, which has one product at Rs.10 currently, will launch at least three-four more variants such as kaju-pista and butter cookies this year.

Some gave a thumbs up to the move underscoring the need for any company looking at a national presence to offer biscuits at the Rs.10 price point.

“You cannot be restricted to the premium end of the market. You have to diversify,” said Mayank Shah, group product manager at Parle Products. “You need to offer both price and value.” However, brand-building at that level is a task that will take time, he added.

Analysts who track the sector view the move more as an investment by the company and expect the impact on margins to be compensated by the volume it gains by reaching more shoppers.

Unibic is trying to “recruit newer consumers”, said Gautam Duggad, vicepresident of research (FMCG and retail) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. The company has some good products and it is only logical that they are accessible to more people, Duggad added.

Over the past two years, the biscuit market in India has seen extensive consolidation across segments as manufacturers tweaked their portfolios and scaled more profitable brands. In January, the country’s largest biscuit maker Britannia said it would streamline its portfolio to focus on five power brands.

Sen is aware of the competition and investing in promotions accordingly. In 2013, Unibic initiated a new branding strategy, and spent on the brand’s logo and packaging to counter competition from ITC, Mondelez India and Britannia, which were widening their premium offerings.

“We are operating in a very competitive framework where you’ve got three major players to fight with,” said Sen, who is also overseeing the brand’s expansion in north Indian markets such as Delhi and Punjab.

Priyagold keen to invest in Himachal

us with 60 passengers on board falls into gorge in Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh CM withdraws plea seeking FIR copy Heavy rain alert continues in Himachal Pradesh Apple of your eye turns smaller in Himachal Pradesh! Apples fetch good prices for growers in Himachal Pradesh Leading biscuit manufacturer Surya Food and Agro, famous for the Priyagold brand, is keen to invest in Himachal Pradesh by setting up its facility there, company

director Shekhar Agarwal said.

"We are keen to invest in Himachal Pradesh also providing the state to extend incentives to the company," Agarwal told.

He said the company, which has a turnover of Rs.1,000 crore, has a stronghold in the north Indian market. With a manufacturing capacity of 800 tonnes per day and a growth rate of 20 percent, it has recently set up a manufacturing unit in Jammu.

Himachal Pradesh Investment Promotion

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Cell deputy director Tilak Raj Sharma met Agarwal here and apprised him about the incentives the state are offering to the food and processing industry.

"The company is keen to invest in the state and shortly its officials would meet Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri in Shimla to identify the land for its facility," he added.

Currently, the hill state has manufacturing facilities of food and beverage companies Nestle India and Cadbury India.

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Parag Milk Foods enters the

fresh Cream segment with Go-Fresh Cream increase its presence in the market. Parag Milk foods owns and markets brands likeGowardhan and Go. Devendra Shah, chairman at Parag Milk Foods said, ‘’We are keen to consolidate our presence in the market in the dairy segment"

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arag Milk Foods Ltd is going into diversification and hence has entered the fresh cream segment with the launch of Go-Fresh Cream.

The launch is part of the company's diversification strategy.

The Pune-based company wants to

Parag manufactures 40 tonne of cheese per day and is bullish on the Rs 850-cr segment.

The company, which is popular for its Go range of cheese, launched Go Culinary Creations to co-create recipes

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with partners from the hotels, restaurants and catering segment.

"We are also looking at digital media as a platform for consumers and food bloggers to exchange their recipes using Go Fresh Cream, among other products in its portfolio," added Mahesh Israni, chief marketing officer, Parag Milk Foods.

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Amul to procure Milk from 1,000 villages of Punjab; will provide Rs 2000 crore benefit to Dairy farmers

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ujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, the owner of Amul brand, will procure milk from 1,000 villages in Punjab, a move that is likely to provide of Rs 2,000 crore worth annual benefits to dairy farmers.

Asserting that there is a huge opportunity of milk processing in the state, Sodhi said Punjab produces 2.70 crore litres of milk and out of which 1.60 crore litres is surplus.

Besides, the federation announced setting up of milk processing facilities in Khamano and Bathinda.

Amul’s MD, R S Sodhi said, "What we are planning to do is to cover 1,000 villages of Punjab. In each village, we are putting up modern milk testing and weightment and bulk milk cooler system.

He also added that, "Each village's investment is around Rs 15 lakh and so 1,000 villages we are going to cover, Rs 150 crore in villages (will be) for only milk procurement."

which are doing commercial business and are not able to give good price. That is why farmers are not producing milk," he said.

"Our endeavor is to provide benefits of value addition to milk producers so framers are encouraged to produce milk," he added.

Sodhi observed that per capita production of milk is highest in Punjab. He said Amul, which has Rs 2, 4000 crore of turnover, is owned by 36 lakh farmers.

"Out of surplus milk available, 50 per cent is procured by organized sector and of this, 15 per cent is going to cooperative like Verka.

"The balance is procured by companies

Stating that Amul has started going out of Gujarat to give benefits to farmers of other states, he said setting up a venture in Punjab came after he met Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal last year

India's Dairy products export seen flat at 30,000 tonnes in 2016: USDA

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ndia's dairy products (non-fat dry milk) exports are projected to remain flat at 30,000 tonnes next year on expectations of high global supplies and low prices, according to a latest USDA report.

The country's milk output may increase by 4.8 per cent to 154 million tonnes assuming a normal monsoon in 2016, while domestic consumption of milk is forecast to rise by 5 per cent to 62.75 million tonnes in the same period, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

Overall dairy exports (from India) are minimal due to high domestic consumption. CY 2016 non-fat dry milk (NFDM) exports are projected to be flat at 30,000 tonnes due to uncompetitive export prices," USDA said in its report.

High global supplies are expected to keep

international prices low, it said.

Due to slow export pace, the country's non-fat dry milk (NFDM) export are revised down to 30,000 tonnes for 2015.

is estimated to rise by 3 per cent to 5.2 million tonnes in 2016 on rising domestic demand due to population growth and demographic shifts.

India, the world's largest milk producer, generally exports NFDM to milkdeficient countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, the UAE, and Afghanistan.

The domestic milk consumption is also estimated to rise by 5 per cent to 62.75 million tonnes on population growth in the said period, it added.

The country also exports smaller volumes of casein, butter and other dairy products to neighboring countries.

According to the USDA, India's fluid milk production is estimated to increase by 4.8 per cent to 154 million tonnes next year assuming a normal monsoon.

The combined buffer and ghee output

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USDA said that due to rising incomes, urbanisation and other demographic shifts, demand has increased for more value-added dairy products.

Cooperatives and private sector dairies are producing more dairy products to meet this demand, such as milk powder, butter, ghee, paneer, flavored milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt and ethnic sweet, it added.

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NEWS

German testing and certification major, TUV SUD opens lab in Vizag

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he German testing and certification major, TUV SUD, inaugurated its state-of-the-art seafood, spices, and commodities testing lab in VIzag. It was inaugurated by Dirk Eilers, a member of the board of management, according to a press release. Vizag is a major seafood exporting centre in the country.

The lab will have ultra-modern testing facilities and specific ones for testing anti-biotic residues in seafood’s and commodities. Prior testing will decrease the risk of rejection of export consignments due to residues and it will enhance the reputation of local exporters in the markets abroad.

Niranjan Nadkarni, the South Asia head of the company, said seafood worth Rs 7,578.27 crore was exported from Visakhapatnam port during the current fiscal till now. "We intent to operate closely with the local seafood exporters and commodity exporters and improve the quality of exports," he said.

DNA testing for species identification would also be available in the lab in the

case of seafood exports, he added.

During 2014-15, according to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), seafood worth Rs 33,441.61 crore was exported from the country.

Andhra Pradesh topped in shrimp exports and the exports were routed through Visakhapatnam port.

FSSAI recommends to keeping junk Food at least 50 meters away from schools the country.

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SSAI stated that schools were not the right place to promote foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS foods) and children are not the best judge of their food choice.

In March, 2015, the Delhi High Court had directed the food regulator to give these guidelines a form of regulations or directions within a period of three months to enforce their implementation across

The Junk food should be restricted in schools and areas within 50 meters in India, and that canteens in the schools should not be treated as commercial outlets," the regulator said, adding that schools should develop a canteen policy to provide nutritious, wholesome and healthy foods.

The food safety watchdog said the objective is to restrict/limit the consumption and availability of most common HFSS food (junk food) like chips, sugar sweetened carbonated & non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers and confectionery items.

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The sale of widely promoted and advertised junk food should be restricted in schools and nearby areas of 50 meters, as child is there without parental supervision.

Given the rationale for its proposal, the regulator said as per National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) guidelines, said these foods are considered unhealthy due to unbalance in nutrition, as they are high in fat, sugar, salt and low in proteins, fibers, nuts.

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NEWS

Mother’s Recipe purchases Elmac Agro for Rs. 30 cr

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Pune-based maker of a range of pickles, condiments and ready to eat/cook products - Mother’s Recipe (MR) has acquired Kolkata based brand Elmac Agro Manufacturing Ltd in a transaction valued at Rs 30 crore.

Elmac, in this news set up will continue to manage their manufacturing operations while Mother’s Recipe will take care of the marketing, sales and distribution.

The company makes a range of sauces, including kasundi, the famed mustard sauce from Kolkata.

Sanjay Desai, Executive Director, Desai Brothers Ltd, said, While around 20% of Mother’s Recipe’s current domestic

revenues come from the eastern part of India, the acquisition will enhance the existing product portfolio and strengthen

the manufacturing facilities of the MR brand has also been drawn up.

its volumes from the region. The company owns the MR brand.

“In the next 18 months we will set up plants in Pune, Gujarat, Ranibennur and Kolkata. These will be as per international standards and cater to exports as well as to the domestic market,” Desai said, adding that the entire exercise will entail a capex of between Rs 40 and 50 crore. Both this as well as the Elmac acquisition is being funded through internal accruals.

Work has already begun to refurbish and expand production capacities at Elmac.

“We are targeting a sales turnover of Rs 70 crore under the Elmac brand from the region. In the meantime, a plan to expand

Currently, MR, which comes under the Food Division of Desai Brothers Ltd has an annual turnover of Rs 200 crore and is growing at a CAGR of 25%. Around 35% of its total turnover is from exports.

Nestle India resumes production of Maggi noodles in three facilities

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estle India has resumed production of Maggi instant noodles at three of its facilities, with the product expected to hit store shelves following clearance from food testing laboratories, as mandated by the Bombay High Court.

The firm intends to relaunch the product into the Indian market by November and have resumed manufacturing of Maggi Noodles at three of plants, at Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) and Bicholim (Goa).

"All the 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by these laboratories are clear, with lead much below the permissible limits."

Nestle said, "We have received test results from all three laboratories mandated by the Bombay High Court to test Maggi Noodles samples. All the 90 samples, covering six variants, tested by these laboratories are clear, with lead much below the permissible limits."

Nestle has been struggling with the crisis

after a nationwide ban was imposed on its Maggi instant noodles in June.

Stating that the noodles are safe for consumption, Nestle India said earlier this month that it has "conducted over 3,500 tests representing over 200 million packs in both national as well as international accredited laboratories and all reports are clear".

The company stated that it will continue collaborating with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as well as other stakeholders.

The FSSAI banned the sale of Maggi noodles after it detected higher-thanpermissible levels of lead, and high quantities of mono-sodium glutamate in tests carried out on a batch of products.

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Following this, Nestle destroyed close to 27,420t of Maggi noodles, valued at around $50m.

The company later challenged the Indian food safety regulator's ban, and approached the Bombay High Court in August, which ordered the regulator to complete re-tests within six weeks, in court-appointed laboratories. The court also lifted the ban on Maggi noodles.

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Rising pulses rate effect papad industry

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substances like rice flour or corn flour to offset the higher cost.

he papad-making industry in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which does sales worth hundreds of crores annually, has been caught unawares by the steep rise in the price of black gram.

An indispensable part of daily meals in these states, papad - known as papadam and appalam in local language - is made essentially from black gram flour. Papads are fried and eaten along with rice and curry, biriyani or puttu (rice steam cake).

In Kerala, marriage feasts served in banana leaves are incomplete without papad.

Many restaurants have now stopped buying papad or have started charging a price. "The restaurants are no longer

The industry is worried price hikes will affect sales during the marriage season beginning next month.

serving papads free along with biryani or rice meals. If you want it, you have to pay Rs 2 or Rs 3 for it.

The price of black gram has almost doubled to Rs 210 a kg in six weeks, forcing an industry that employs lakhs to cut production or to add alternative

It has already happened in Tamil Nadu.

Raising the price of appalam, a variant of papad used in Tamil Nadu, has resulted in the thinning of orders. But the sales have dropped.

Export of papad to Gulf countries has also been hit by the price increase. Huge consignments are shipped to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, countries where lakhs of Indians live.

Now Indian Platter consist of exotic products such as Kiwi, hazelnuts, asparagus

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urchases of exotic fruit, vegetables, oils and other ingredients are increasing, thanks to higher incomes, the opening up of gourmet food stores and the rising number of Indians travelling abroad and bringing new tastes back home. Add to this, cookery shows -- both Indian and foreign - that have exposed the upper middle-class to a range of ingredients and dishes so much that the level of experimentation has gone up dramatically.

India imported $270,000 worth of shelled hazelnuts in the first four months of this financial year compared with $150,000 in the whole of 2014-15. Similarly, asparagus imports have already crossed $160,000 compared with $400,000 last year. Imports of herbs such as rosemary and basil, the foreign cousin of the desi tulsi plant, have more than doubled to $3.5 million in this period from the whole of 2014-15.

Swasti Aggarwal, food strategist at Foodhall, Future Group's premium food store, people want something new in

every category -- even something as basic as potatoes. We find that broccoli and baby corns, which were considered essential in Chinese cooking, are now passe. Instead, things like water chestnuts

have made their way. People explore new flavours when they travel abroad and want to replicate them here."

Avocados, native to Mexico and Central America, are Foodhall's highest- selling product these days. The best quality berry costs Rs700-800 each. Aggarwal said that while buying these exotic products, her customers also ask about their health benefits and recipes. Avocado is used in dips, salads, wraps, smoothies and

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brownies.

Data from the commerce ministry shows that imports of niger seeds, the oil of which is a substitute for olive oil, have quadrupled to $2.7 million this year.

Shipments of virgin olive oil are likely to surpass last year's level of $7.61 million.

According to Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO at the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, "Olive oil imports are up because edible oil prices have collapsed globally. However, one can't discount the fact that people are giving greater importance to health and wellness and hence, even willing to pay a premium for such products".

Higher hazelnut imports have been driven by the opening up of coffee chains that offer hazelnut-based beverages and desserts, besides the growth of chocolate manufacturing in India. The increased purchasing power of India is evident from the imports of raw cashew nuts in the April-July period, which at $636 million are already 60% of the $1.08 billion shipped in during the previous financial year.

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NEWS

Maggi in Bengal: Needed 180 Food Safety officers, only 42 at work

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never found in the samples of Nestlé’s instant noodles tested in the laboratories of Bengal.

ven as the Food Safety Commission in West Bengal announced the sale of Nestlé’s Maggi noodles in the market at the end of this month after clearing safety norms, it also raised concern over the inadequate number of food safety officers (FSOs) in the state.

State Food Safety Commissioner Godhuli Mukherjee said, “We have a requirement of about 180 FSOs against the present strength of 42. Of those 23 are under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area and the remaining for the rest of the state”.

Sources in the food safety department said that recruitment of FSOs is done through the health recruitment board, which recruits more doctors than FSOs. Mukherjee said they had put in a requisition for FSOs and process of recruitment was already on.

“The current government has been a lot

A

“Maggi had been taken off the market following the court order and once it clears the safety norms it would be back at the shops,” Mukherjee said. more proactive in hiring FSOs. There is a process in which they are recruited in a government set-up. For 200 vacancies, there are at least 2 lakh applications which need to be scanned before finalizing the recruits,” she said.

Sources in the department said there were three private (NABL-accredited) and two public food labs in the state with two food analysts and FSOs working under them.

She added that the focus at present was largely on packaged drinking water and milk meeting the safety standards. “Those are two most essential things in life. Water is consumed by everyone and milk is consumed by infants, who could be fatal if they go unchecked,” she said.

It was found out that samples of certain packaged milk had been sent to the lab for a test.

Meanwhile, Mukherjee confirmed that they would allow sale of Maggi noodles lead soon, while confirming that lead was

She also said even after sale of Maggi resumes, routine sample tests would be periodically conducted.

suffering from diabetes.

prevalence of diabetes in urban slums is also high—about 12 per cent.

Need to reduce sugar content in Dairy whitener: Fssai

s India is becoming the capital for diabetes, Fssai has asked the industry to reduce sugar content in dairy whitener used in tea and coffee in households.

Currently, the total added sugar for dairy whitener is 24 per cent by mass, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) wants to bring down to 18 per cent. The industry will be given two years to suitably modify the manufacturing process.

According to the regulator there is near unanimity that the sugar level could not be kept at 24 per cent as a standard as it could be hazardous for consumers

India is reported to have close to 65 million cases of diabetes, the second largest number after China. Union Health Ministry estimates suggest nearly 50 per cent of known diabetic’s cases—another 30 million plus—are undiagnosed and unaware of their condition and progressing towards complications.

A population-based diabetes screening programme carried out by the health ministry suggests high prevalence of diabetes in several states like Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Sikkim where the prevalence varies between 7-14 per cent. The suspected

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The industry representative, however, argued at the meeting that it might not be feasible for the manufacturers to switch to the 18 per cent sugar standard. But the regulator was firm that the industry had to shift to the new standard, as higher sugar level is a health hazard.

The 18 per cent sugar standard was fixed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which the FSSAI asked the manufacturers like Nestle, Amul and Mother Dairy to follow. In the meeting, the industry was represented by the All India Food Processors’ Association

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NEWS

ITC's Yippee Noodles found to be "sub-standard" in UP Labc Food Inspector of the UP government, in a report dated August 27, 2015, stated that after testing sample of ITC's Yippee noodles manufactured at Haridwar, it was found that "total ash of the tastemaker exceeds the maximum prescribed limit of 1 per cent... Hence, the sample is substandard."

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state-owned lab in Uttar Pradesh has allegedly found ITC's Yipee noodles "sub-standard". But ITC has denied the charge fervently.

The firm said standards prescribed for different category of products are being applied to its products, which comply with strict quality and hygiene norms.

to the Commissioner of Food Safety, Bihar that "instant noodles cannot be tested against the parameters prescribed for dried noodles but have to be tested against the standards stipulated for instant noodles."

ITC has denied the claims, saying all its products are "manufactured in state-ofthe-art, world-class facilities, complying with strict quality and hygiene norms."

ITC also said that the contention raised by the food inspector is flawed. The standards being referred to are for a separate category, Macaroni products.

These cannot be applied to instant noodles which is a proprietary food."

ITC said food regulator FSSAI has, in an order dated October 19, 2015, clarified

New chip can 'smell' ethylene, other gases to detect Food spoilage

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2Sense has developed a chip that will enable computers to smell, which the company plans to use to sniff out spoiling food.

C2Sense’s chip can "smell" ethylene, a gas from spoiling fruit that can hasten the spoilage process for other fruits around it, even in trace amounts that a human couldn't detect.

A wholesaler might use these sensors to monitor crates of fruit and move those that are starting to ripen before they spread ethylene to every other crate in the warehouse.

Previous sensors that could detect ethylene were often either too expensive or not always accurate outside the laboratory. C2Sense's co-founder and CTO Jan Schnorr said it has developed an affordable sensor that can detect low levels of ethylene without false positives.

C2Sense has also modified its ethylene sensor to detect other gases, such as the amines released

Vol.11 Issue 01 November 2015

by meat or ammonia, with up to four gases able to be "smelled" by a single chip.

With this kind of technology, companies could better monitor products to prevent or alleviate food spoilage in processing plants and warehouses, lessening the impact of food waste at the manufacturing level.

56 www.agronfoodprocessing.com

NEWS

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In addition, FORTIBONE® regulates degenerative processes by reducing protease production in osteoclasts. This mechanism supports overall bone stability and flexibility.

A novel delivery system Fortified confectionery is an innovative and very attractive alternative for the delivery of nutrients like vitamins or even for active ingredients. They are easy to swallow – especially for elderly, they offer a fun and exciting approach for children and they allow delivering high dosage of collagen peptides in one serving.

Dairy innovation with Tate & Lyle’s fibre portfolio

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or the first time, Tate & Lyle will be giving visitors the chance to cool down at the show by trying ice cream created with a blend of ingredients from Tate & Lyle’s fibre portfolio which includes PROMITOR® Soluble Gluco Fibre, PromOat® Beta Glucan and STALITE® Polydextrose. Other prototypes on offer will include processed cheese, yoghurts, milk and cream concepts, showing how Tate & Lyle can bring ingredients to life for Middle Eastern manufacturers.

a strong opportunity for manufacturers in the region,” says Dominique Floch, Regional Sales Director MEA region.

“With dairy products proving popular in the Middle East, the category represents

“Our ice cream brings together the dietary benefits of PROMITOR® Soluble Gluco

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Fibre, which can help reduce calories by rebalancing bulk, viscosity and mouthfeel in products with reduced sugar and fat, the clean taste of PromOat® Beta Glucan, and the prebiotic properties of STALITE® Polydextrose. Our ice cream prototype is a great example of how Tate & Lyle’s ingredients can work together to create consumer friendly products that taste great.”

“By having the opportunity to try a range of dairy products first-hand, we hope visitors will see how our fibres portfolio can work for them in their diary applications.”

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SPLENDA® Sucralose and PROMITOR® Soluble Gluco Fibre reduce calories in juice drink range

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isitors will have the opportunity to taste test a new Mango Juice Drink, sweetened with SPLENDA® Sucralose, a zero-calorie sweetener that tastes like sugar, is exceptionally stable and stays sweet on shelf. It will show manufacturers how they can create products which will appeal to consumers in the Middle East who are looking to cut calories from their diet, but still expect the same sweet taste they know and love from their drinks.

The Mango Juice Drink is also made with our award winning PROMITOR® Soluble Gluco Fibre, an ingredient which provides superior digestive tolerance2 in high-fibre and sugar-reduced products while maintaining sensory expectations;

oats with superior solubility4 that enables the development of products with potential health-benefit claims and various functional benefits.

By helping to maintain healthy blood cholesterol and digestive and intestinal health, the ingredient is ideal for use in functional beverages that are increasingly becoming part of a healthy lifestyle. and it is also easy to use.3 As part of the range of beverages on offer, Tate & Lyle will also be showcasing a Blackberry Juice Drink using heart-healthy PromOat® Beta Glucan. PromOat® is a unique, clean tasting fibre from wholegrain Swedish

“The juice drink prototypes available at Gulfood Manufacturing demonstrate how our ingredients can generate strong cost savings for manufacturers, while creating great tasting products that will be wellreceived by consumers in the region,” Heidi continued.

Confectionary that stands out using THINGUM™ Starch, STA-LITE® Polydextrose and TASTEVA® Stevia Sweetener bitter aftertaste, will also be showcased in the confectionary category, with visitors able to try boiled sweets made with these ingredients.

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ur confectionary prototypes will offer visitors to our stand the opportunity to see how THINGUM™ Thinboiling starches can be used to allow smooth formation when manufacturing gums and sweets. STALITE® Polydextrose and TASTEVA® Stevia Sweetener, the zero-calorie sweetener that offers a clean taste with no

Dominique concludes: “The Middle Eastern audience at Gulfood Manufacturing has inspired us to show visitors how they can create products that people in the region know and enjoy and that will complement their palates. Our team of experts will be making extraordinary dishes that will truly showcase the breadth of our portfolio and how they can be used to outstanding effect in the region.

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“We are really looking forward to meeting visitors at our stand. Our increased presence at this year’s Gulfood show is part of our investment in the region as we look to support food and beverage manufacturers in this area. We’re certain that visitors will leave our stand full of ideas and the assurance they will get the support they need when working in partnership with us.”

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This Diwali, Consumers Prefer Bakery Products To Sweets

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iwali may be synonymous with sweets but fear of rampant adulteration to meet spurt in demand during the festival season is pushing consumers to switch over to bakery products, an analysis by apex industry body ASSOCHAM has said.

Diwali may be synonymous with sweets but fear of rampant adulteration to meet spurt in demand during the festival season is pushing consumers to switch over to bakery products, an analysis by apex industry body ASSOCHAM has said.

“If trends are anything to go by, there is a considerable rise of about 30 per cent in demand for assorted cookies, low-cal premium biscuits and bakery products this Diwali as consumers shift from sweets amid fears of adulteration,” notes a sector-specific analysis, aimed at assessing the prevailing market trends this Diwali, conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

“Growing suspicion about adulteration, together with rise in preference for healthy and low-fat products, has hit the demand for traditional sweets which has fallen by over 50 per cent, especially those made from milk,” ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat said, releasing the

some cases, they may even use chemicals to keep down the cost.

findings.

“The Rs 25,000-crore biscuit industry in India is making merry this festive season and its business is likely to grow by leaps and bounds owing to multiple factors like attractive packaging in different shapes, sizes and flavours, quality control, longer shelf life and others,” said Rawat.

“Considering there is an emotional value attached to traditional sweets, branded sweets market is doing a brisk business,” he added.

India’s traditional sweets market which is worth over Rs 50,000 crore remains largely unorganised and constantly faces threats from rising prices of key raw materials like milk, butter, sugar and dry fruits, and therefore, many resort to use of inferior or adulterated ingredients and in

Biscuit hampers are selling like hot cakes and have even surpassed demand for chocolates and fruit juice packs owing to their growing acceptance amid varied Indian palates and are affordable, highlighted the analysis.

ASSOCHAM interacted with about 100 leading sweet shops countrywide to enquire about demand for traditional sweets during the festive season in the past two weeks.

Majority of sweet shop owners/ representatives reported drastic dip in demand for sweets to the extent of about 25-50 per cent. They said they have started using more of dry fruits and less of mawa and other dairy products which has increased their cost by about 15-20 per cent.

Many of the traditional sweet shop owners said that considering the growing demand for biscuits/cookies, they have started selling the same under their own brands and are selling other popular biscuit brands to lure customers.

Some of them said there is more demand for branded biscuits compared to chocolates this year.

Hindustan Unilever to sell Modern Bakery as part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses

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MCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said it has sold the bread and bakery business under 'Modern' brand to Everstone Group's Nimman Foods Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

"HUL's decision to divest is in line with its strategy to exit non-core businesses, while continuing to drive its growth agenda in the core packaged foods business," the company said in a BSE filing.

"It (transaction) includes sale and transfer

of the 'Modern' brand and business on a going concern basis. HUL and Everstone will work together to secure the necessary approvals to complete the transaction over the next few months. HUL will continue to manage the operations until the completion of the transaction," it said.

HUL CEO & managing director Sanjiv Mehta said: "Since its acquisition in 2000, HUL has strengthened the Modern business, driven consistent topline growth and significantly improved profitability.

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Having turned around the business and built a sustainable growth model, we believe that the sale to Everstone will unlock the full potential of the Modern brand."

The business includes products such as cakes, muffins, buns, pavs and cream rolls. It has six manufacturing units and a network of franchisees across India.

The transaction is subject to statutory approvals and requisite clearances, it said.

59 www.agronfoodprocessing.com

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