May 2020

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FOODANDBEVERAGE MATRIX

MONTHLY NEWSPAPER FOR F&B INDUSTRY Volume 3 / Issue 3 / Mumbai / May 2020 / Pages 32 / INR Rs 50/-

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

Editor’s Note

FOODANDBEVERAGE MATRIX

MONTHLY NEWSPAPER FOR F&B INDUSTRY Dear Readers; Hello!

I hope you all are safe during the pandemic coronavirus disease (Covid-19) due to deadly invisible

enemy named as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and must be following the central and state government guidelines during the guidelines including compliance to

social distancing norms.

As we are focusing on Bakery products in this edition, I would like to draw your attention toward modified expectation of consumers like vegetarianism, organic

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Modified Starch ■ Natural Colours ■ Natural Preservatives ■ Polyols ■ Sodium Free Solutions ■ Vegetable Proteins ■

ingredient and clean label for sustainability in the bakery sector. Enhanced consumer interest in plant-based diets, offers opportunities for brands to reformulate the products to go for vegan products as vegetarian claim are not enough now and hence there are opportunities for biscuit brands to highlight these attributes on pack, especially as many sweet and savoury biscuits are inherently vegetarian. Ingredient lists which are short and focused on natural and organic ingredients appeal to consumers who are seeking a clean-label biscuit.

A visual representation of composition can aid consumer understanding and highlight the brand’s transparent approach to ingredients.

For example: There are ongoing developments in ingredients and methods to enhance bread quality.

Leavening of bread is usually performed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, but recent patent activity has highlighted alternatives.

New developments in leavening agents seek to avoid unpleasant aftertastes that can occur with conventional leavening aids, such as bicarbonates and phosphates.

An article on Covid-19 Pandemic Challenges for Food Processing Industry is included in this edition. Further to facilitate the communication like symptoms, prevention, additional personal hygiene and cleaning requirement, signage are also included in the article.

Best of Luck!

Please keep sending us your valuable suggestions with your expectations & feedback to manan@tresbonconsulting. com . For more articles you may also log on to our website and enjoy reading any time.

Thank you Manan Bajaj

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

FSSAI CLARIFIES COVID-19 NOT A FOOD BORNE DISEASE

n a letter dated 5th May 2020 from Dr. G.S.G. Ayyangar, CEO of FSSAI is addressed to all The Chief Secretaries and all States and UTs of Union territories clarifying the relation of food with the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter is authorized to lay down science-based standards for articles of food and to standardize their manufacture, storage, distribution, sales and import ensuring availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

With the present scenario of pandemic of COVID-19, FSSAI has taken many orderly steps to facilitate the food businesses to function efficiently in these challenging times while ensuring enforcement of food safety during lockdown period.

A guidance note titled, “Food Hygiene & Safety Guidelines for Food Businesses during Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)”, has been issued by FSSAI. A resource page dedicated to COVID-19 has been created on their website including a myth buster section.

The letter further goes to mention that, FSSAI has already clarified that there is no conclusive evidences of any food borne transmission from coronaviruses. Though, several

instances have been brought to the notice of the Authority where some products such as frozen food, food served cold/chilled etc… were selectively not allowed to be transported, stored or sold apparently on the concept that they could promote spread of COVID-19. FSSAI has always advocated for scientific

approach where food is concern and has specifically announced that there is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread through food.

In view of above, FSSAI has requested that any such restrictions imposed at State or local level may kindly be reviewed and those not in

consistent with FSSAI guidance may be withdrawn. It may be ensured that

non-discriminatory

approach

is maintained by the States while dealing with food businesses in the lockdown and even post-lockdown periodn

FDA AUTHORIZES FIRST DIAGNOSTIC TEST USING AT-HOME COLLECTION OF SALIVA SPECIMENS

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oday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first diagnostic test with the option of using home-collected saliva samples for COVID-19 testing. Specifically, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory for their COVID-19 laboratory developed test (LDT), which had been previously added to the high complexity molecularbased LDT “umbrella” EUA, to permit testing of samples selfcollected by patients at home using the Spectrum Solutions LLC SDNA1000 Saliva Collection Device. This announcement builds on last month’s

EUA for the first diagnostic test with a home-collection option, which uses a sample collected from the patient’s nose with a nasal swab and saline.

“Authorizing additional diagnostic tests with the option of at-home sample collection will continue to increase patient access to testing for COVID-19. This provides an additional option for the easy, safe and convenient collection of samples required for testing without traveling to a doctor’s office, hospital or testing site,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “We will continue to work around the clock to support the development of accurate and reliable tests, as we have done

throughout this pandemic. The FDA has authorized more than 80 COVID-19 tests and adding more options for at-home sample collection is an important advancement in diagnostic testing during this public health emergency.”

Today’s EUA for Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory’s molecular test permits testing of a saliva sample collected from the patient using a designated self-collection kit. Once patients collect their saliva sample, they return it to the Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory in a sealed package for testing.

The Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory test is currently the only

authorized COVID-19 diagnostic test that uses saliva samples to test for SARS-CoV-2, the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The test remains prescription only.

Today’s authorization is limited to testing performed at the Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory using their molecular LDT COVID-19 authorized test for saliva specimens collected using the Spectrum Solutions LLC SDNA-1000 Saliva Collection Device. It is important to note that this is not a general authorization for at-home collection of patient samples using other collection methods, saliva collection devices, or tests, or for tests fully conducted at homen

Food And Beverage Matrix | May 2020

DRINK TECHNOLOGY INDIA HOSTS A COMPREHENSIVE SEMINAR ON THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY IN TIMES OF COVID-19

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n 5th May 2020, Messe Muenchen India – organiser of leading trade fair drink technology India conducted an extensive webinar focused on the beverage industry.

The subject of the webinar was The Beverage Industry in Times of COVID-19 and it was spearheaded by an esteemed set of panellist.

The panel included names such as Shri. A. Sreenivas (IAS), Managing Director, Dairy Development Federation, Haryana| Mr. G. V. Ramachandran, Deputy General Manager Purchase, CavinKare Pvt. Ltd. | Dr. Raghav Jadli, Managing Director, Jadli Foods (I) Pvt. Ltd. |Mr. Rakesh Mehra, Head Operations, Safal Frozen Motherdairy | Mr. Anil Chaubey, Head NPD and Project,

Trade Kings Group Zambia | Prof.

Rakesh Trivedi, President (HQ), Oil Technologists’ Association of India | Dr. Prabodh Halde, Regulatory Head, Marico Ltd. and was moderated

by Ms. Smita Murthy, Owner of Fatlabrador Foods LLP, Independent Consultant and India Representative FSSC 22000. Our renowned speakers on the panel shared their perspective of the impact of COVID-19 on the beverage sector and the road ahead.

Messe Muenchen India has organised a series of webinars that will focus on various industries and give a platform for industry experts to discuss and analyse current market situation and future possibilities for their respective sectors.

To know more about the upcoming webinars by Messe Muenchen India contact sheron.david@mm-india.in

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GOVT ALLOWS 13 CONSORTIA TO OPERATE DRONES

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he Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has granted exemptions to 13 consortia, including SpiceJet, ShopX, Dunzo and Throttle Aerospace, to operate drones on an experimental basis.

Now, these companies can function without the need for unique identification numbers and operator permits till September 30. The endeavor will be a part of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) experimental drone operations.

The pilot flights will be conducted in airspace approved by the Airports Authority of India only with rotary wing drones by trained operators under the supervision of a monitoring team.

This development paves the way for piloting the use of drones to transport goods, once approved.

While Dunzo and Throttle

Aerospace have received the nod from the ministry, eleven out of the 13 consortia are awaiting final approvals from the DGCA. “It is considered necessary in the public interest to conduct the BVLOS experimental flights, even though the drones to be deployed for such flights may not meet the requirements of UIN and Operator Permit stipulated under Rule 15A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937,” the ministry had stated on 18th April.n

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

BLOCKCHAIN: THE SUPPLY CHAIN PROTOTYPE OF TOMORROW

ne of the most striking impacts of COVID-19 has been the manner in which is turning the current trade ecosystem across the world on its head by exposing the vulnerabilities of our supply chains. From a time characterized by the Chinese hegemony in world trade to a time where all the major multinational companies across various countries realized that there is a need to diversify supply chain – Coronavirus has reversed the equation, or perhaps hastened the inevitable. As an economy that has similar growth and scale potential, India is trying its best to establish itself as a lucrative investment and manufacturing destination for global investors.

In the new global scenario that’s emerging, Indian companies need to proactively identify opportunities to quickly scale up, identify new and emerging value chain combinations and also leverage appropriate mechanisms for risk management.

Significant risks exist in the supply chain itself. Value chains can be incredibly complex for even a product as simple as a pencil. In a conventional scenario, several disagreements can occur on terms, who got what, what was committed, etc. This can lead to delays and inefficiencies, as well as losses. Such losses can be debilitating for any exporter, and deter businesses from aggressive expansion into global markets.

Banks, regulatory bodies and governments play a key role in mediation for these issues, but they have their own issues like lack of transparency, apathy, rent seeking behaviour, etc. In this context, blockchain technology offers a viable solution – “by encoding the rules of the game as computer programs and by allowing different entities with differing interests to collaborate on an immutable ledger”. The technology essentially creates a system that adheres to rules and can be trusted to not allow transactions that do not comply with agreed conditions.

Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) observed that thoughtful blockchain implementation is key to improving supply chains in a postCOVID world. The technology can be used to help organizations improve future pandemic preparedness and accelerate an economic rebound post COVID-19 by strengthening the flexibility of international supply chains. The Geneva-based organization sees trust, transparency and integrity as the key ingredients to build a resilient global supply chain

and this is exactly where blockchain technology becomes useful.

The blockchain technology is an open-source, distributed database built on state-of-the-art cryptography.

This peer-to-peer technology doesn’t require powerful intermediaries to authenticate or to settle transactions.

This database has information on any structured information and is truly a platform encompassing trust established through mass collaboration and clever coding. This tamper-proof & decentralized system creates a permanent record of digital transactions. This ‘trust machine’ of time-stamped transactions entail smart contracts – i.e. computer programmes that self-execute when certain conditions are met.

The World Trade Organization it its paper, Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade? (2018), has said that blockchain could help trade move closer to becoming a paperless transaction. It could be a gamechanging experience since it could digitalize and automate trade finance processes, in particular letters of credit, and ease supply chain finance.

This digitalization of trade processes, from trade finance & customs to transportation and logistics, would play a significant role in facilitating cross-border trade transactions.

It can also simplify government procurement processes.

Further, the computerization of processes through the use of smart contracts could help condense administrative procedures and costs, handle claims and administer multinational insurance contracts.

Blockchain technology would also help administer intellectual property (IP) rights in a more efficient and transparent way, and consequently help fight counterfeits. Digitization of processes will significantly bring down trade costs, including

verification, networking, processing, coordination, transportation and logistics, as well as financial intermediation and exchange rate costs. A global reduction in trade costs will benefit all countries currently impacted by COVID-19.

It is therefore, hardly surprising why more and more countries are experimenting with blockchain. One of the places that has been swept under the blockchain revolution is the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), UAE. ADDA has been toiling hard to create a government blockchain platform to support a secure “data marketplace,” between Abu Dhabi government entities and other external organizations.

ADDA has deployed the WEF’s Blockchain Deployment Toolkit and tested it with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE (C4IR UAE). The toolkit provided a lot of objectivity to the organization to develop autonomous and a secure data marketplace.

In India, too, this technology can be applied across various sectors from finance to healthcare to food industry to manufacturing. For instance, in the case of manufacturing and supply chain management, it ensures safe, secure, efficient and frictionless ways necessary for a business’ success and customers’ satisfaction. To put it more precisely, today’s consumers seek out brands that can guarantee product authenticity, whereas supply chain partners demand responsible sourcing and better visibility to minimize disputes. Blockchain ledger helps in tracking product journeys and allows real-time visibility for verified supply chain partners. Further, the common information visibility and sharing that is a concomitant of this process can eliminate inconsistencies.

It also enables automated payments for goods through Smart Contracts,

so that when goods are delivered and verified, payments occur; thereby eliminating the chance of invoices getting lost or frauds. Another advantage of using this facility is that it can eradicate “middle man” fees and lead to ample savings inside trillion-dollar industries, which is the need of the hour.

In the context of retail and consumer goods, blockchain technology can offer customers everything that they want – real-time information, on-time delivery and record-time service. In a post-Coronavirus scenario, when consumers become distrustful and jittery about things like whose hands touched the final product, blockchain can assure things like quality, reliability, traceability, authenticity and product safety. It will be a win-win situation for all stakeholders: shopper confidence rises as blockchain verifies the authenticity and safety of goods; retail supply chain partakers can better ensure that they’re trading in ethically-sourced things to meet emerging consumer demands; and retailers can promote products, earn customer loyalty and gain insights into consumer preferences in entirely new ways.

To sum up, blockchain could be a powerful tool to facilitate the participation of Indian MSMEs in international trade and commerce.

It can offer access to trade finance, facilitate trade procedures, and diminish trade costs for all the players and help to lower barriers to entry, making it easier for small companies and producers to participate in international trade. It can go a long way in paving India’s entry into the global value chain, at a time when the entire world has become skeptical about indulging in trade and consumers across the world have been forced to develop trust deficit towards the goods that they acquire from retailers and service providers.n

Lazza Premium Gold wins even more hearts as people stay home That’s no surprise as this Indian ice cream brand adopts global standards Lazza Ice Creams which has a market share of 86 per cent in Kerala, has transformed the ice creams sold under the Lazza brand to premium segment. The ice cream company has upgraded all its factories to cater to global standards. It has also roped in South Indian superstar Trisha as its brand ambassador to promote the premium range of ice creams.

Explaining the reasons, Lazza Ice Creams operations director Hashim said, “Three years ago, Lazza export market opened up for us. As a company, to cater to the global standards it was imperative to adopt global standards of sourcing raw materials, production and packaging. As a brand which is loyal to its domestic customers, we felt it would break that trust if we give two range of products under the same brand to domestic and international customers.”

The premium range of dairy ice creams will have a range of natural flavours which include jackfruit, tender coconut, Alphonso mango,

chikoo, vanilla, blueberry and strawberry among many others. “The raw materials are all carefully sourced. Vanilla is sourced from Madagascar, Almonds from California, Jackfruits come from Wayanad and Chocolates are sourced from Belgium”, said Hashim.

The ice cream company has also introduced its exotic guava flavour recently.

To meet the demand for Lazza

Premium Gold, the company has readied all its factories and logistic support in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh as well as outside India in Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai. The company sells its new range of ice creams across the Middle East barring Saudi Arabia.

“With this move we want our domestic customers to experience

and

savour

best-in-class

products”,

said

Hashim. The company which began in the early 1970s had started its own manufacturing unit in 1998. It is estimated that 3,64,000 litres of Lazza Ice Creams are being consumed every day. The company will maintain a separate production line for its co-brands Skei, Uncle John and I&U.

Stay safe. Stay healthy.

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

THE ANUTEC - INTERNATIONAL FOODTEC INDIA CO-LOCATED WITH PACKEX INDIA, ANNAPOORNA ANUFOOD INDIA, ANUTEC - INGREDIENTS INDIA AND FOOD LOGISTICS INDIA 2020 HAS BEEN POSTPONED. The ANUTEC – International FoodTec India that was planned in Mumbai from September 23-25, 2020 has been postponed to a new date i.e. November 26-28, 2020. This is how Koelnmesse India is responding to the increasingly acute global situation around the recent occurrence of the coronavirus.

In addition to many states in India already hit by the virus, Maharashtra has now become one of the leading Indian state affected by cases of infection. The Ministry of Health are also convening to discuss the current situation and possible measures in response. Moreover, since last weekend, exhibitors from the food industry have reiterated their concerns for the health of their employees and the possibility of their participation in social platforms.

In view of these current developments at “ANUTEC - International FoodTec India” co-located with PackEx India, Annapoorna – ANUFOOD India, ANUTEC – Ingredients India and Food Logistics India 2020, the management team at Koelnmesse India has reassessed the current situation and set the new date in consultation with the venue and the industry.

Over 1000 exhibitors, including around 200 from overseas countries, are expected to attend the ANUTEC – International FoodTec India 2020, India’s leading innovation and business platform for the food industry that is held every two years in Mumbai.

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FIND ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL OF FIRST BATCH OF TEST KITS BACKED BY PEPSICO INDIA

he Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) has announced the arrival of the first batch of test kits supported

by PepsiCo India to Government of India testing sites across the country.

These kits are being procured and distributed by FIND with funding from PepsiCo India.

FIND is a long-standing partner of the National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Programme (NTEP) (formerly known as the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, or RNTCP) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), GoI, and has helped introduce new, rapid, qualityassured tests for TB at affordable prices for the public health sector.

Building on this partnership, FIND is now working closely with the MoHFW to support the national Covid-19 diagnostics response, and with the World Health Organization (WHO) to accelerate development and access to diagnostics as part of

the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

and diagnostic facilities by providing 25,000 Covid-19 test kits to FIND.

In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the nation to help tackle the Covid-19 outbreak, PepsiCo India has come forward to support the scale up of India’s Covid-19 testing capacity through support provided to FIND, as well as other initiatives that include providing over 7 million meals to families impacted by Covid-19 outbreak in partnership with non-government organization (NGO) partners.

The test kits and reagents have been procured from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)-approved manufacturers and are run using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology, which is currently the gold standard for detecting patients with Covid-19.

In collaboration with the country’s public and private laboratory network (approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR), FIND has selected five GoI laboratories and one laboratory run by a partner NGO called YRG Care, based on urgent test kit requirement and the need for scale-up of Covid-19 testing.

The laboratories identified across the country are set to receive these kits, along with RNA extraction supplies.

PepsiCo India, has committed to extending its support to healthcare

The pandemic has emerged as one of the largest threats to global public health seen in generations. Testing is critical to “flattening the curve” and preventing health systems from becoming overwhelmed. As of today, India has conducted a total of 1,191,946 tests for the disease.

Ahmed ElSheikh, president, PepsiCo India, said, “PepsiCo India stands committed to lending its full support to the GoI in its fight against the pandemic. Our partnership with FIND is all about scaling up access to diagnostics and testing kits across the country. During these challenging times, we have been working very

closely with FIND to distribute testing kits to public and private healthcare laboratories in India. We believe lending assistance through such initiatives is also one of the best ways to support our real heroes – the healthcare community who are battling on the front lines against Covid-19.”

“Testing is our first-line of defence against this pandemic – and it is actionable today,” said Sanjay Sarin, head of FIND India. “The sheer size of India and the density of our urban populations increase the challenges and complexity of scaling up testing capacity quickly and efficiently. The ICMR and MoHFW are committed to making Covid-19 tests available to everyone who needs one, and private sector partnerships such as this one with PepsiCo India are critical to help make this a reality as quickly as possible.”n

Food And Beverage Matrix | May 2020

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COVID-19: SOCIALLY DISTANT WORKPLACE, ENABLED BY TECHNOLOGY

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OVID-19 has brought unprecedented tough times globally. It has not just led to a massive loss of lives but also precipitated an enormous economic downturn, which will further exacerbate the challenges faced by the human race. Some estimate it to be the worst recession ever faced by generations before and those to come.

The United Nations has predicted that the global economy could shrink by 1% in 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a major drop from the previous forecast of 2.5% YoY growth. Tourism and people flows have come to naught all of a sudden, with almost 100 countries closing their borders. This has also led to the fear of job losses.

Governments across the globe are striving hard to bring back normalcy.

India Inc. is also gearing up for the new normal, when lockdown ends and offices resume work. As per the new guidelines, offices are advised to function with partial workforce and institute measures to maintain social distancing within their premises to limit the spread of the virus.

Organisations have to relook at their working structures and institute a balanced combination of work-fromhome (WFH) and office functioning.

Companies across sectors like food,

pharma, banking, HoReCa, education, entertainment, etc are looking at all possible ways to move their customer services online.

However, the danger of the contagion is far from over and the risks increase multifold when people come in close contact of each other. Public places of leisure or recreation can still be avoided for a longer time but essential places like offices, workplaces or factories are critical. Employees will return to the day-to-day operations and by force of subconscious habit, may tend to miss following guidelines of social distancing, caution while touching surfaces, washing hands constantly, etc.

This can have highly unfortunate and unavoidable consequences, as controlling the spread of the pandemic is of utmost priority. On the other hand, the faster business returns to normal, the better is the chance we have of curbing the terrible economic impact and saving the livelihoods of millions. So it is important to maintain a delicate balance.

Adversity is considered the mother of genius. Even in this crisis, we see that both companies and academia are coming up with exemplary innovations to help tackle both the pandemic and its impact on businesses. One such useful application was recently launched by a start-up, UNYDE.

They built this app – MYSHIELD – to help organizations promote social distancing amongst co-workers as well as contactless attendance.

The application has a fairly simple yet powerful functionality. It builds a digital safety circle of a circumference of 2 mtrs around a person, and whenever a person breaches that safety circle by mistake, automatic notifications are sent and each party is alerted and reminded to recede back to the circle. This is of unmatched importance, since it is easy to fall back to default day-to-day protocols like holding meetings in closed rooms or having group conversations with colleagues in offices. One can also use this app to mark attendance digitally without touching any physical surface or biometric machine.

This application is gaining wide popularity with organisations rapidly implementing this in their offices and encouraging all employees to download. The ease in adoption is also owed to the fact that the app does not bear any cost implications and was built with the sole intention of keeping workplaces safe and healthy.

Technology initiatives like these assume a new level of importance as companies look to progressively revive their operations to pre-crisis levels post-lockdown. It serves to remind them that freedom to perform at the workplace comes with some tough riders, at least in the short term.

The coming period is expected to see many more such innovations, which will help companies in India and around the world emerge from this pandemic, stronger than ever.n

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

COVID-19 HAS OPENED UP RESEARCH FOR INNOVATION IN PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING

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he Indian beverage sector is gearing up for new age of innovation not just in juices but packaging concepts too.

These are some of the observations during the unprecedented Covid19 pandemic that has impacted the country and the world.

The lockdown for the pandemic has resulted in change of eating habits as primarily people have become aware that low immunity is seen to be a key cause of the virus attack on humans.

There is considerable demand for immunity booster drinks as consumers stay away from unhealthy fast foods and beverages. The choice for home cooked food and traditionalnatural beverages is on the rise, noted a panel of industry experts.

Just as consumers’ behaviour changes for food and beverage, the need of the hour is to track and analyse these preferences to comprehend the future demand, noted the experts deliberating at a webinar by Messe Muenchen India on ‘Beverage Industry in times of Covid-19’.

The panel members comprised G V Ramachandran, deputy general manager, purchase, CavinKare; Dr Raghav Jadli, MD, Jadli Foods (India); Rakesh Mehra, head, operations, Safal Frozen, Mother Dairy; Anil Choubey, head, NPD & projects, Trade Kings Group Zambia; Prof. Rakesh K Trivedi, president (HQ), Oil Technologists' Association of India; and Dr Prabodh Halde, regulatory head, Marico. The moderator was Smita Murthy, owner, Fatlabrador Foods LLP, independent consultant and India representative FSSC 22000.

The imminent trends that surfaced in the last 40 days of the lockdown are demand for healthy and traditional beverages. It is also evident that novel

INDIA STEPS UP GAME TO LURE US FIRMS

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packaging concepts would take the centre-stage following the Covid-19 lockdown to stall the spread of Corona virus disease. Hence concepts that are viable with a fusion of tradition backed by science would be the way forward, they noted.

Another positive aspect was the government concerns for the industry as it relaxed regulations for issue of licences and labelling .

The packaging of ready-to-drink beverages will move to single use plastics as biodegradable options are expensive when the industry was strapped for cash following loss of revenue during the lockdown.

Covid-19 lockdown phase is a blessing in disguise as people within the confines of their homes will ensure good healthy consumption practices.

From a beverage industry stand point it is at the threshold of innovation.

This would lead to increased R&D for development of new products that are both tasty and healthy. There is a need to fine tune all future products to cater to a scenario where lower purchasing power and reduced consumption prevail. Hence consumerism will take a backseat, said the industry.

Further the lockdown has led to labour migration by 50 per cent. This would see companies’ investment in automation and focus on skill training. The impact of crude oil prices is a blow to operational costs.

Logistics of supply chain is far too expensive and cumbersome because of restrictions.

The beverage industry sees that investments in technologies like augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robots among others are a must to offset negative impacts in case there is a second wave of the virus .n

midst President Donald Trump’s administrations increased efforts to blame Beijing for its role in spreading the coronavirus pandemic, India is seeking to lure more than 1000 U.S. businesses trying to shift out of China by offering incentives. Some of these discussions revolve around medical equipment suppliers, food processing units, textiles, leather and auto part makers, among others.

European Union, too, is planning to cut dependence on Chinese suppliers. India is competing

against neighbours like Japan, which has earmarked US $2.2 billion to help shift factories from China.

This would be a booster dose for the Indian economy battered by an eightweek nationwide lockdown to control the Covid-19 outbreak.

This could be India’s ticket to finally push through long-stalled reforms on land, labor and taxes that have hindered investment for years. Paul Staniland, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, opines “There are opportunities for India to try to gain a place in global supply chains, but this will require serious investments in infrastructure and governance.”n

FSSAI LAUNCHES TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR FOOD BUSINESSES TO MEET COVID-19 NEEDS

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he Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to launch a training programme for food businesses to cater to the needs arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The training for Covid-19 precautions will be imparted through Food Safety Training & Certification (FoSTaC) programme platform, which is aimed at enabling and equipping food businesses to function and reduce the risk of the contagion.

The apex food regulator in a statement here said, “FSSAI has launched a training programme for food businesses under FoSTaC wherein the training will be conducted online through the empanelled training partners. Food businesses can visit www.fostac. fssai.gov.in or connect with the FoSTaC training partners directly for this certification programme.”

Further, the training programme caters to all stakeholders in the food ecosystem comprising of manufacturers, packers, transporters, retailers and food delivery partners and aggregators while it is desired

that the agencies, NGOs serving food in places including langar and community kitchens should also get their food handlers trained for Covid-19 precautionary measures, reads the statement by FSSAI. Experts feel that Covid-19 is posing a serious challenge for food supply chains worldwide. The challenge is to ensure uninterrupted food supply to consumers whilst containing the risk of Covid-19 for the workers, customers and all participants in the food supply chain.

Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, says, "This step by FSSAI hits the spot in ensuring food safety and hygiene amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. Having trained thousands of food handlers over the past few years, I can assure you that primary food handlers stand at the core when it comes to establishing food safety.

Ensuring that they are suitably trained and educated about all the preventive measures is going to guarantee the food industry all the help it needs to mitigate any Covid related challenges."

FSSAI had also earlier issued detailed guidelines for food businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.n

Food And Beverage Matrix | May 2020

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

AGRI MARKETS MUST ADOPT PACK HOUSES TO ENSURE HYGIENE DURING COVID-19

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ndia’s agri-physical market for farm fresh vegetables and fruits will need to follow Covid19 prevention practices like hygiene, social distancing and donning masks. In this regard, sourcing from pack houses in villages will bring in quality standards with quarantine safety vegetables and fruits and prevent overcrowding and wastage of farm produce at physical markets.

According to Jagadeesh Sunkad, thought leader, Agri-tech Start-up Space, pack houses are relevant for Indian agriculture. There is a need for focussed policy directing markets to sell vegetables and fruits that are transported only from pack houses.

“Infrastructure like conveyer belts, sorting, grading units, washing, drying and weighing saves time and provides the much-needed convenience to agri-retail customers at the markets to select the produce. Moreover, all these machines are manufactured indigenously,” he added.

“Pack houses also provide a promising business opportunity for agri-entrepreneurs and require an investment of Rs 40 lakh. Besides generating employment in rural areas, there is considerable scope for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to set up pack houses close to the farms near villages,” Sunkad told F&B News.

In agri physical markets, pricequality co-relation is not defined.

However, it plays an important role

in price discovery where the buyer and seller have an opportunity to assess the cost, supply and demand, to negotiate. Going forward, within the next three months, these markets need to improve in terms of cleanliness and general hygiene for the benefit of the farmers and buyers, according to him.

“The prices of farm produce in the markets sourced from pack houses are realistic. This is because fruits and vegetables are cleaned, graded and packed at pack houses before they are transported in trucks to the physical markets thus eliminating the labour charges for sorting them again at markets and passing on the cost to buyers,” said Sunkad.

“The use of mobile apps and e-trading platforms too will automatically lead to sorting and grading of the fresh produce based on quality.

Also, Artificial Intelligence powered solutions can track the buyer behaviour. An algorithm is built in to decide consumption patterns to fix the price based on matching demand with supply,” he said.

“In the wake of this pandemic, it will take at least six months for the supply and demand to normalise in markets.

Until such time, it is risky for both farmers and sellers to bear the brunt because of cash crunch in the market.

But in order to sustain high quality standards at the right price in markets, farm fresh produce should only be sourced directly from pack houses,” Sunkad said.n

CSIR-CFTRI SUPPLIES SPIRULINA CHIKKI TO AROUND 60,000 MIGRANTS IN LOCKDOWN

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he Mysuru-based Council of Scientific and Industrial ResearchCentral Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI) has distributed one and three quarter tonne of its spirulina chikki to around 60,000 migrants across Bengaluru and Mysuru.

“Five tonne of vitamin and mineral enriched fruit bars, 5 tonne of cardamom flavoured water and one tonne of spirulina chikki was distributed in Bengaluru.

At Mysuru, three tonne of biscuits, 10 tonne of water and half a tonne of spirulina chikki were distributed. In Mandya, 250 kilogram of spirulina and 10,000 bottles (5 tonne) of water was distributed,” said ASKVS Sharma, coordinator, information and publicity, CSIR-CFTRI. In Bengaluru, Income Tax Department officers helped distribute it to the needy. In Delhi, Indian Society of Agricultural Professionals joined hands to distribute biscuits to various relief centres. In Mysuru, the Zilla Panchayat and the District Administration were involved. In Mandya, the Zilla Panchayat took the lead, according to Sharma.

Spirulina chikki developed by CFTRI is positioned as a nutrient-dense food. Spirulina is a seaweed-based nutritional supplement and is known for its minerals like calcium, magnesium and selenium. It also has antioxidant properties. Chikki is a traditional Indian candy made of peanuts and jaggery known for its nutritional and energy boosting properties.

Biscuits contain 14% of protein while usual biscuits contain around 8-9% protein. “The enriched biscuits will provide protein,” said Dr KSMS Raghavarao, director, CSIR-CFTRI.

LOCKDOWN HAS AFFECTED THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN IN FISHERIES & AQUACULTURE

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he Covid-19 pandemic that spread all across the globe leading to lockdown, has significantly affected the fisheries & aquaculture sectors in a multitude of ways in the country. Besides the disruption of fishing activities from open-water, and aquaculture in both freshwater and brackish water systems, several associated activities like seed production, feed plant operation and supply and market chains have been greatly impacted. As a whole, the fishermen, fish workers, processors and their communities have been facing the threat of the pandemic, which is affecting the entire value chain and the livelihoods depending on it.

In order to ensure safety of all stakeholders associated in the agricultural sector, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, through its research institutes have taken several innovative steps to sensitise all concerned in different sub-sectors.

In fisheries sector, including capture fisheries, aquaculture and other associated activities, ICAR took lead in developing and issuing advisories through the fishery institutions, for safety of the

workers and preventing the spread of the disease. In this endeavour, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi, prepared advisories for the benefit of the fishermen, fishing boat owners, fishing harbour, fish market and seafood processing plants in 10 different regional languages, besides English and Hindi. ICARCIFRI, Barrackpore, prepared advisories for the stakeholders involved in fishing activities in rivers, estuaries, reservoirs and wetlands. These advisories were popularised through print & electronic media, circulated to State Fisheries Departments, developmental agencies, NGOs and SHGs, and also through social media. Such efforts have been received very well by the sector across the country.

Recognising the importance of these timely advisories, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Rome, has recommended these advisories prepared by ICAR-CIFT and ICAR-CIFRI by including them as Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable SmallScale Fisheries under the AsiaRegional initiatives for the benefit of fisheries sector across the globe.

This is a huge acknowledgement of the efforts by the ICAR and its institutes. The global fishery sector is expected to benefit from these efforts of the Council.n

Factory & Office : G. Ghasitaram Estate, Jasmine Mill Road, Mahim (E),Mumbai-17. India.

Tel: 0091-22-2409 0000/0101/0202/0403/0505/0606 Direct: 2403 3636/2403 3637 Email: ghasitarams@gmail.com / sales@ghasitaram.in

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

COVID-19 PANDEMIC CHALLENGES FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY Introduction to Noval Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Currently, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19 disease. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings become available.

We have developed following signage for spreading the knowhow on symptoms and prevention (based on WHO guidelines for help of industry).

Preventive Action taken by Government of India

Manan Bajaj Introduction to Noval Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) The pandemic coronavirus disease (Covid-19) due to deadly invisible enemy named as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) said to be originated from the city of Wuhan in China had affected around 180 countries from developed to developing, from city to village and from leaders, business owners to daily wager. Even the countries with best in class medical services were not able to prevent them from this effect.

Symptoms and Prevention Most people suffering from COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 disease, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based sanitizer rub frequently and not touching your face.

The COVID-19 disease spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow and covering nose while sneezing).

I would really appreciate the decisions taken by our honourable Prime Minster Mr. Narendra Modi for the lockdown and extending the same on the basis of risk assessment and zoning (Red, orange and Green).

I must say, in a country like India, this was the only solution for two reasons a) to prevent fast spread of the (SARS-CoV-2) virus and b) also to expedite the process of arranging the right infrastructure required for treatment of the infected ones. I would like to thank all the essential service providers for their efforts in this difficult situation.

People from food industry also worked hard to ensure that supply of food should not stop, as it essential at the time the world seems to be coming to a standstill situation and everywhere it is lockdown across the major part of the world.

However now and hereafter all the sectors including food processing and health care sectors are going to witness tremendous impact of COVID-19 disease not only from the economic but psychological and social point of view and food processing industry will be among top few sectors which will be majorly impacted ones.

Here are few key challenges which food processing industries across the world and particularly India, probably going to face. We all need to come together and decide the way forward to deal with these challenges.

Following questions need to be answered to regain the new normal scenario:

a) Employment Scenario Employment scenario is really unpredictable as all stakeholder (business owners, staff, employees and daily wagers) have their own point of view and are worried. As we can see, dip in the demand of processed food eventually, resulting into reduction in orders and thereby

reducing manpower requirement across the food processing industry. I would say both sides of coin are to be given equal weightage as: One side- if we say employment should continue as earlier in the scenario of reduced production, then what about the employers from where they are going to get the money to pay salaries and other expenses or on the other side, and Other side- if we say, employment can be reduced as required, then from where the people will earn their livings.

On top of this, other factors are going to have their cascaded impact on the this making it, a domino concern.

This global scenario seems to be leading to depression all across and it may be even worst affect ever.

Scenario can be dealt amicably by all stakeholders understanding the concerns and government can also extend their support to the industry in the form of some relaxations and benefits.

b) Reduction in demand of processed foods: As seen in point (a), there is a huge impact expected over the employment, earning etc and this is going to affect the buying power of everyone and purchases may get limited to necessities (no room for luxuries) and the demand of processed food is going to get impacted accordingly in the domestic market and even in export market also.

Government can also extend their support to industry with some policies with reduction in burden (like tax relaxations and also the requirements of external testing can be attended to reduced frequency.

c) Availability of agricultural raw materials Farmers are facing challenges in getting the good quality seeds and other required inputs in timely manner, due to current lockdown situation and hence we may have to face problems in the availability of quality raw materials at right prices for processing in near future and this will further impact the availability and prices of the processed foods as well.

Government should come up with solutions to regulate this being most important part of our ecosystem and if it is done, we may be able to overcome the situation in a speedy manner.

d) Adequate Hygiene, sanitation & pest management Ensuring increased hygiene and sanitation efforts for safety of employee and the pest controller will be very important during and after lockdown. In the current scenario the site may look at options and decide how this happens. It is not acceptable to simply cancel pest control activities. Effective cleaning, sanitation and pest management after the gap in production before production resumes is yet another important aspect for food processing industry for ensuring safe food products for consumers.

Pest control contractors can be asked to assist their clients, including online support, video technology and training (for example virtual, online or answers to specific enquiries).

Pest management by the site can be done where suitably trained individuals are available.

e) Health and Safety of Food handlers Ensuring proper health monitoring and safety of food handlers is next challenge during and post lockdown.

Enforcing recommended “one metre� social distancing norms between workers can be challenge for food processors.

Organizations need to ensure efforts to identify and implement operational changes that facilitates employee separation. Measures to reduce contact between workers and about keeping employees safe will further help to boost morale among line workers who are hesitant to work due to fear of transmission of Corona virus.

Enhanced health questionnaire and scrutiny checks are to be implemented while authorising visitors (including service providers) and employees. Promoting habits of verbal greetings or Namaste in place of hand shake can be one small but significant step to follow social distancing.

f) Migration of workforce Food processing in India is still manpower oriented and one of the key challenge for processing sector will be facilitation of migrant workers to return to jobs after lockdown for continued production and meeting the Contined to page no 16

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

Contined from page no 14

demands of food products supply.

We need to come up with some amicable solutions and with enhanced arrangements for employees to move further and employees should also follows the processes defined by the organization.

g) Restrictions on Export/ Import The slowdown in manufacturing activities in China, Europe, US and other Asian countries due to pandemic will hit the imports and exports of the raw materials, ingredients and products. Food processing industries rely on some ingredients imported from different parts of globe may face the challenge of unavailability, shortage or availability at higher prices of raw materials and ingredients.

Similarly, export restrictions will also have deep impact on global scenario.

We should look for local sources of same/ similar materials for continued production. Emergency preparedness and response need to reviewed to get equipped to handle the impact of such situation.

h) Training of Employees

of our workers by providing a safe working environment introducing social distancing.

Food Safety team need to get trained on the guidelines given by applicable standards and FSSAI to ensure systems are fine tuned to the expectation there by preventing/ eliminating/reducing the risk of the transmission of virus.

Providing right and relevant training related to virus symptoms, transmission, preventions, hygiene and sanitation is great challenge as one mistake will lead to problem for the whole organization.

j) Sustainability of Food processing units

Regular training to refresh the knowledge prior to start of production everyday can be one solutions. Infographics are one simple yet effective way to keep everyone informed about the issues

Creating synergy in agriculture and food processing is the need of the hour. Food processors need to focus on effective utilization of available resources to survive and sustain in this difficult times.

i) Management of food safety systems Much of the focus in factories has rightly been on changing the way that we work to safeguard the health

Proper organizational risk assessment for sustainability and business continuity considering all the factors, situation and its impact on organization would be crucial for time to come.

Conclusion: After all this, atleast Industry people would have realized the importance of development and deployment of adequate sustainable systems in the organization where these were treated just documents for certification and not more than that. It would be easy to impart training to manpower on personal hygiene requirement as now it is important for them also as all precautions taken, are going to be for us first, then others and eventually the nation. We have to be responsible humans to prevent spread of the contamination even when there will be no lockdown.n

Manan Bajaj Director Tresbon Consulting Solutions and Services Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai Tresbon Online Training Academy www.tresbonconsulting.com www.tresbontrainingacademy.online www.blogsbymanan.com

WHITE GOLD TECHNOLOGIES LLP BAGS STARTUP AWARD FOR ADDRESSING MILK ADULTERATION

The company received this laureate for its innovative and operator-less solution that address milk adulteration challenge benefiting farmers and dairy industry.

Mumbai; May 12, 2020: In an endeavour to deliver effective solutions to the milk collection problems faced and to strengthen dairy sector, White Gold Technologies LLP, innovative solutions provider for dairy industry, has won an award in eliminating milk adulteration category at ‘Startup India- Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge’ The Government on Friday (May 8, 2020) awarded 12 startups for their innovations addressing problems faced by the animal husbandry and dairy sector. Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Giriraj Singh announced the winners

of ‘Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge’.

The ministry in partnership with Startup India had launched the challenge to hunt for innovative and commercially viable solutions to address the problems faced by the animal husbandry and dairy sector.

White Gold Technologies has won the laureate in the category of eliminating milk adulteration. The company has also won a cash grant of Rs 10 lakh.

Ankur Shah, CEO, White Gold Technologies LLP, “In this current COVID-19 situation and to keep dairy sector away from the risk, our RMCU solution will be significant as it ensures operator-less milk collection. It also benefits farmers as this state-of-the-art solution brings transparency in the dairy sector.”

The company’s product Robotic Milk Collection Unit (RMCU), a state-of-the-art solution to make milk collection easier and to address problems with collection process.

This revolutionary solution, Robotic Milk Collection Unit (RMCU™), measures the Milk Volume, Solids Not Fat (SNF) and the Fat content of the milk poured by the individual farmers via respective RFIDs. The farmer selects source of milk whether from cow or buffalo; after the milk is poured, it is analysed under 8

parameters. The milk gets rejected in case of not meeting the requisite standards through a separate outlet followed by an Automatic CIP to clean the sensor. This ensures that the process is completely contactless and free from human contact.

About White Gold Technologies LLP:

With this win, the company will be provided with incubation offers. The incubator would be responsible for physical incubation for up to 3 months, mentor matchmaking, lab facility and testing facilities. The activities of the startups will be tracked for up to nine months after the completion of the programme.

The head office is located in Mumbai whereas the plant is located at Kalol, Panchmahal District in Gujarat. The Company has team of resident sales and service representatives across the country.

As many as 157 applications were received in this technology hunt. The 12 startups will be given cash grants worth Rs 1,02,00,000. The challenge was launched by the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2019 during a National Animal Disease Control Programme in Mathura.

White Gold Technologies LLP was established in the year 2016. The Company is the manufacturer and supplier of Dairy & Mega Kitchen equipment.

The Company is focused to add a tryst with technology by adding innovative products to the spectrum of Dairy with Data Loggers, Auto CIP System, Robotic Milk Collection Unit, Cow Grooming Brush, Milking Parlors and respective software with graphical interface and intelligent reporting, etc.

For more information please visit www.whitegoldllp.com or write to sales@whitegoldllp.com

Food And Beverage Matrix | May 2020

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CADBURY CHOCOLATE BARS PRINT ‘THANK YOU’ NOTE IN 8 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

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aving limited edition, Cadbury chocolate bars have replaced Dairy Milk logo with ‘Thank You’, addressing this wonderful note to the unsung heroes who are fighting corona on face front. The proceeds of the sale will go towards health insurance policies of daily wagers.If you are buying Cadbury chocolate bar near your vicinity don’t be surprise to find your favorite logo of milk glasses missing because it is placed with a “Thank You” note wishing the courage shown by the community workers fight corona on face front keeping rest of the citizens safe.

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Mondelez India, maker of Cadbury products, has launched a limitededition of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars by replacing the brand logo with ‘Thank You’ in recognition of the “generous spirit” of the country’s spirit of the “unsung heroes” who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

In the history of the product, this is the first time that Cadbury Dairy Milk has changed its logo since the product hit the shelves over 70 years ago.

“These bespoke chocolate bars will spread the spirit of gratitude across the country to each and everyone who are

tirelessly and generously continuing to work, to support us all during this unprecedented time,” Mondelez India announced.

The company promises to give a part of the proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition bars towards health insurance policies of daily wage earners. The proceeds will be done via partnership with Nirmana, an NGO working with the unorganized sector.

Thank you bars in eight languages These Cadbury Dairy Milk ‘Thank

You’ bars have been launched in eight different languages viz…

English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and are priced at Rs. 40 for 50 gram and is available across all retail stores.

Anil Viswanathan, director, Marketing (Chocolates Div), Mondelez India, said, “…we understand the special role Cadbury Daily Milk plays in the lives of our consumers…This launch serves as a small tribute for their enormous efforts and only begins to express our collective thanks to these unsung heroes.”n

ICMR EXPANDS THE LIST OF DRUGS TO CURE COVID-19

he Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has approved the use of Lopinavir/ ritonavir — a fixed-dose combination of drugs used for treatment and prevention of HIV/ AIDS — for use in Covid-19 patients. India’s top body for health research, said that the drug can be used to treat patients with a moderate degree of severity, for example, respiratory distress with respiratory rate =22/min or SpO2 <94% and new-onset organ dysfunction.

Apart from this, several other drugs have been identified to cure the disease: including remdesivir (originally developed to treat Ebola), mycobacterium

W (originally developed to treat leprosy), disulfiram (drug for treatment of alcohol dependence) and resveratrol (a natural compound from grape which is under clinical trials for heart and other diseases). However, according to sources, some of these drugs are undergoing clinical trials in India.

“Drug repurposing is much easier and a viable option to find a treatment for Covid-19. That’s why multiple studies are being conducted globally to identify drug combinations used for treating other coronaviruses — for example SARS and MERS, to see whether they can treat Covid-19 as well,” Dr Sarman Singh, director of AIIMS Bhopal commented.n

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

MINEBEAMITSUMI DONATES 17,000 PROTECTIVE MASKS ACROSS EUROPE TO FIGHT COIVD-19

RELAXATION IN LOCKDOWN NORMS IN ASSAM LEADS INDUSTRIES AND TEA GARDENS TO OPERATE The Assam government is open to companies who want to move out of China

1

7 European companies within the MinebeaMitsumi Group, including three Minebea Intec locations in Germany, donate N95 protective masks to hospitals and care facilities.

Throughout most of Europe, the supply of respiratory masks and protective clothing is dwindling.

Numerous care facilities are desperately looking for the necessary equipment to protect their employees during the coronavirus crisis.

Currently, most countries’ leaders generally advise wearing protective masks in public, even if they are only makeshift protective masks.

MinebeaMitsumi President Yoshihisa Kainuma and Jörg Hoffmann, General Manager of Regional Affairs for Europe, have now initiated the distribution of a total of 17,000 N95 protective masks around the 17 European locations. “In the current situation, we see it as our responsibility to protect not only our own employees, but also the local communities and associations, and thus also the regional economy, as best we can,” says Jörg Hoffmann. “Right now, it is important that we use our strong international network and act in solidarity.” The MinebeaMitsumi headquarters in Tokyo provided 1,000 donated protective masks for each of the 17 European subsidiaries.

Each company decided which regional facilities had the greatest need, and numerous hospitals and care facilities were deeply grateful for these donations. In addition, MinebeaMitsumi is currently

planning to produce 200,000 masks per day itself to ensure, among other things, the safety of its employees.

MinebeaMitsumi employs around 100,000 people worldwide at 63 different locations in 27 countries.

“COVID-19 Countermeasure Teams” were set up early at the Tokyo headquarters and the European headquarters in Villingen-Schwenningen (BadenWürttemberg). These teams work together under extreme pressure to support the subsidiaries with information, masks, and protective measures to ensure that the spread of the virus is slowed. As Jörg Hoffmann explains, “The common goal is to make our workplace one of the safest places.”

As a subsidiary with three locations in Germany, the global supplier of industrial weighing and inspection technologies, Minebea Intec, will split its donation: “In Germany, we are represented in Hamburg, Aachen and Bovenden near Göttingen,” explains Patrick Moll, Director Human Resources at Minebea Intec. “Our protective masks will be distributed there to senior citizens’ and nursing homes. Elderly people need special protection during this time. We are very glad to be able to contribute a small amount with our donation”.

Minebea Intec manufactures at its three German locations industrial scales, load cells and electronics for weighing silos, vessels and vehicles as well as inspection technologies for a variety of industriesn

A

fter the Centre and State government announced some relaxations for the extended lockdown, some industries in Assam along with tea gardens that were locked down for more than a period of a month have started resuming operations.

Assam industries minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that 820 industries employing 28,000 workers and 783 big tea gardens and 1.18 lakh small tea gardens have started functioning in the state as soon as the lockdown was lifted.

“Over 800 tea factories are functioning and 10.33 lakh persons engaged in tea gardens and factories have started work. Monitoring is being done to ensure compliance of Covid-19 guidelines,” he said.

Assam holds the biggest tea industry in the country. The sector was severely hurt as it was just the start of plucking season and Covid-19 coincided at the same time.

Assam had harvested 715.49 million kg of tea in 2019 that was 51.51% contributing more than just the half of total production in India. Blaming on the lockdown, the production figure is expected to go down by 32 million kg that indicates the losses of more than Rs. 500 crore.

Tea auction has already restarted and warehouses resumed their operations just as the relaxation of lockdown norms eased.

Patowary said that the state government has engaged the services of Ernst & Young (E&Y) to study the impact of the lockdown on the industrial sector in Assam and suggest a policy framework to attract industries planning to move out of China.

“There are speculations that many American, Japanese, Korean companies are contemplating shifting production facilities from China to India. To woo these companies, the Assam government has taken up the matter with Centre and Japanese and US trade and business organizations to try and attract some of them to Assam.

The state has strategic location advantage, vast natural resources, robust industrial infrastructure and reliable connectivity,” said Patowary.

The industries and commerce department of Assam is also in touch with the department of for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) of Government of India and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) for setting up a Japanese industrial hub in Assam to attract investment from Japanese companies.

The minister also informed that all government departments have been asked to extend the validity of trade licenses, permits, and clearances to industries, shops and business establishments from March 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020n

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NEW AGRO POLICY MAY LOOK AT INVESTMENT IN FOOD PROCESSING IN RURAL AREAS

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he Union government is actively considering a new agro policy for the MSME sector wherein focus would be on procurement of the locally available raw material. It is learnt that the scheme would focus on investment into food processing units in the rural and tribal areas.

Under the scheme cash subsidy to the units could be given particularly for the unorganised sector. The government is mulling on how the budgetary allocation would be made and funds would be given to the units, as the government is keeping an eye on the impact of the lockdown

on MSME sector amid Covid-19 pandemic.

One key observation was, an official said, that the reverse migration has started and many state governments are actively considering giving them job opportunities in their home states.

For example, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already directed state government officials to make plans for generating 15 lakh employments for the people returned from various parts of the country.

Even small states like Uttarakhand have also decided to put in place

schemes for self employment for the people returning from other states and announced subsidy for the same.

Similarly many other states, including Madhya Pradesh, have also decided to further reform in industrial policy of the state to not only attract investment but strengthen the existing industrial units.

during lockdown from their ESI and Provident Fund, helpline for MSMEs, strengthening access to finance and so on.n

Meanwhile, the MSME sector has sought relief from the government. In a recent interaction with the Minister for MSME, the industry representative highlighted some issues including further extension of moratorium on loan, payment of salaries to workers

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

SECRET INGREDIENTS FOR HEALTHIER DAIRY PRODUCTS IN INDONESIA

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or lactose intolerant or health-conscious consumers, finding the right dairy products can be a tedious task. Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk products and can trigger digestive distress with symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

As such, dairy food manufacturers are increasingly producing lactosefree milk as an alternative to help eliminate unpleasant symptoms. In Indonesia, total dairy consumption was nearly four billion liters in 2017 and continues to see rising demand by consumers looking for healthier dairy products.

Diabetes is another issue facing Indonesians as the percentage of the population with type two diabetes has doubled in the past 30 years. Now, an estimated 16 million Indonesian adults live with the disease and it is predicted that by 2030, this type of non-communicable disease will cost the country an estimated USD 2.8 trillion – nearly three times Indonesia’s 2017 GDP, according to the World Economic Forum.

To address this growing concern, here are some key ingredients I believe manufacturers should focus on to produce healthier dairy products for the Indonesia market

1. Milk and sugar content Dairy makers of milk, yogurt and cheese products need to make sure to test the residue level of antibiotics in raw milk with reliable test kits.

Contamination of antibiotics in milk will impact human resistance to medicines. Dairy manufacturers need to ensure that the test kit can detect a broad spectrum of antibiotic residues in milk from various sources including cow, sheep, goat and buffalo with detection levels closest to maximum or safe tolerance residue levels.

Next is to use only the best enzyme to break down lactose in milk. For example, a Maxilact enzyme reduces sugar by 10 to 20 percent. Maxilact breaks down the lactose into galactose and glucose in milk for low sugar or lactose-free products.

The added sugar level can be further reduced by using a natural sweetener like Stevia. Stevia is derived from leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, native to Brazil and Paraguay. Stevia has zero calories and allows you to achieve up to 50 percent reduction of sugar content.

2. Natural flavorings and

preservatives Yogurt production requires the adding of probiotics and cultures to increase the number of good bacteria and make the yogurt probiotic positive. Using high-quality ambient culture strains and aceptic technology, yogurts can be stored at room temperature and can match the benefits of “refridgable” yogurt. Ambient yogurt not only has a pleasant taste and a smooth creamy texture but is also shelf-stable and helps manufacturers to overcome logistics and cold storage limitations when transported over long distances.

To make the flavors of dairy milk and yogurt products that will suit the taste buds of Indonesian consumers, a natural fruit concentrate may be used. The two options to use are juice concentrate for liquidly and ready-todrink milk or condensed puree with a refined texture from fruits.

Natural preservatives like Nisin are label-friendly and powerful in small doses, extending product shelf life.

Sodium Casienate, a multi-functional emulsifier and pure milk protein obtained by combining extracted casein with a sodium compound, is also a great option to improve the quality of cheese products.

3. Know your market regulations Choosing the right suppliers for food ingredients and additives is key. But companies must also work

with an established distributor with the proven market knowledge and regulatory competencies. A business partner like DKSH understands the interconnected procedures for the import of dairy products between different regulatory agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade and Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control.

With the Indonesian government expected to announce a new ruling to impose mandatory import duties of up to 20 percent on products or ingredients derived from animals, companies need to understand the complex nature of food import regulations and ensure that their products comply with all the applicable market regulations.

What is your view on this market? Do

let me know if you think there are other considerations for food ingredient importers and manufacturers in Indonesia.

Sources: •

Indonesia faces a diabetes epidemic – and it’s the young who are most affected | South China Morning Posts

•

Indonesia to lower threshold for import taxes on e-commerce goods - Business - The Jakarta Post

•

Maxilact® enables lactose-free and sugar-reduced dairy that tastes great

•

Indonesia relaxes trade rules to cushion COVID-19 effects Business - The Jakarta Post

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

MSME SECTOR SAILING ON SINKING SHIP

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nion minister Nitin Gadkari stressed that the condition of MSMEs was getting “worst”, MSME is now engaged in a “battle for their survival”.

The minister said that he has developed a scheme to set up the fund, and the proposal may be placed before the Cabinet for approval once the finance ministry gives its ‘goahead’.

Gadkari said that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is on the edge of downfall and he has requested major industries to release the outstanding dues to MSME companies within a month so that they heave in some relief.

Earlier last month, Gadkari said the government will set up a Rs. 1 lakh crore fund to repay outstanding payments to MSMEs owed by the central and state government undertakings along with major industries.

Gadkari also acknowledged that the pending of dues owed to MSME units by the central and state governments, public sector undertakings and major industries was “very high”.

“My request to all of you, as members of major industries, if it is possible for you to at any cost release the payment within a month. Don’t take more time than that otherwise the situation is very bad,” the MSME minister said in an interaction via video-conference

with the members of SIAM Institute.

“But still if anywhere you have a problem, please be positive about this sector, because this is really on the verge of collapse. Now it is a very important thing if you can help them, within a month if you can give their payment it will be good,” Gadkari requested.

The minister said he was trying to introduce a scheme envisaging setting up of a “rolling fund” where the interest cost on the payments due to MSMEs shall be borne either by the supplier or the purchasing industry.

He further added, “Rolling fund will be helpful for MSMEs to get their working capital”.

“We have decided to set up a fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. We will insure this fund with the government paying the premium. We will come up with a formula for sharing of the interest burden between the paying entity and payment-receiving entity and banks against this fund, for the payments due to MSMEs which are stuck with the PSUs, centre and state governments and major industries”, Gadkari said.n

RAMAZAN GIVE LESSER GLITTER TO THE FOOD COMPANIES THIS SEASON

M

any branded products of falooda mixes, custard powder, Sharbat, Bombay halwa, Phirni and various instant masalas mix, Ready-to-Eat and Ready-to-Cook stuffs were the hot cakes during the month of Ramazan which drew a significant bulk of their sales. But this time, sales of these products are only half of what was clocked in the same period last year heavily affecting small scale industries and small entrepreneurs.

An unresponsive demand this Ramazan due to the lockdown is proving to be a no sales and marketing opportunities for several packaged foods companies in India.

Sahil Gilani, , Director (sales & Marketing) of Gits Food Products, said some of the company’s dessert instant mixes such as falooda, kheer, phirni and Bombay halwa do over 50% of their annual sales during Ramazan. Additionally, the Gits gulab jamun mix sees a monthly surge of 25% in specific regions during this season.

“While the demand remained high, we unfortunately weren’t able to push the products into the market due to major supply chain disruptions on account of the lockdown,” said Gilani. “Gits Gulab Jamun mix had a higher pipeline stock as it’s a big seller all year round, so we managed growth on that,” added Gilani.

Ramazan time, which is usually coinciding with the summer season, 50% of Rasna’s drink mixes were consumed outdoors. “It’s made and sold on the streets. That’s certainly a lost opportunity for us,” said Rasna CMD Piruz Khambatta.

Mother’s Recipe (Desai Foods) executive director Sanjana Desai said the company catches good sales from the paste category viz…ginger-garlic paste(combined), garlic and ginger pastes in the domestic market during Ramazan. “In fact, the bigger SKUs (stock-keeping units), that is 300gm and above, usually witness huge demand and an exponential sales jump. Even products such as seviyan kheer (payasam), an instant mix

product, would be in high demand along with garlic pickle and sweet pickle,” said Desai.

According to Desai, apart from a surge in demand across food products like pickle, papad and pastes, they were anticipating strong increase in business this year from the newly introduced range of chutneys during this festive season. “But unfortunately, there were issues with supply and fulfilment of the orders during the lockdown,” said Desai.

Even in the international markets, its Madras Curry Powder, accompanied by ginger-garlic paste and garlic paste, sees huge demand. “Every year we see the sales projections of these products rise between 50% and 100%

during Ramazan,” said Desai. “Much of the company’s consumption would have increased due to the large-scale sampling that it used to do in areas with huge gatherings during the Ramazan period. None of this is now possible”.

“At present, sales are coming from filling the general shortages of essential food items and through hyper local delivery and other sources of supply that we have created to service the markets to ensure our products are available to our consumers,” said Desai. The industry is now pinning all its hopes on the festive seasons that will commence from August onwards and extend up to Diwali aiding to make up for the lost opportunities in Ramazann

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

CROSS BORDER KITCHENS LAUNCHES RAMADAN MENU ACROSS SIX OF ITS BRANDS

DINEOUT EXTENDS CONTACTLESS SUITE TO GROCERIES, BANKS & ALCOHOL STORES

A

s social distancing becomes the new normal for our rapidly changing world, India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform has extended its contactless solutions to grocery stores, wine shops, airports and hospitals.

This will enable customers to preorder as well as collect their orders without the stress of having to wait in a long queue.

C

ross Border Kitchens has introduced a special Ramadan menu across six of its brands – Biryani Central, Irfan Bhai, Chutney India, Bro Momo, AIM Burger and Pind Patiala. Iftari indeed cannot be bigger.

The menu prepared under the safest and utmost hygienic conditions that include zero-contact cooking as well as zero contact delivery, ensures that you can feast without any fear, roza or otherwise.

The diverse offerings of various Iftari options display an integral brand ethos of the company, the belief that love of food brings everyone together.

The carefully constructed Ramadan menu brings forth a variety of dishes that truly deliver a feast.

From the kitchen of Irfan Bhai, the brand known for its exotic curries and authentic Lucknawi preparations brings delicious combos such as murgh khushnuma biryani, served with murgh kadhai, soft and fluffy Afghani naans and murgh tandoori served with shahidejaam and masala

chaas.

Biryani Central, the flagship brand under the company's portfolio has a handcrafted dastar khwan Ramadan menu with heavenly combos of Awadhi murgh biryani, murgh makhni, delicious butter naan, tandoori chicken, sinful malai phirnee and aampanna.

Each and every brand part of the company’s portfolio is celebrating the spirit of the festival from Aim Burger with their grilled and classic burgers, onion rings, thick shakes and craze fries.

Bro Momo with their steamed and fried momos, fried rice and chowmein as well as Pind Patiala with their authentic Punjabi combos of pind murgh tikka masala, lahori malai kofta and shahi murgh pind patiala are on offer.

The lockdown and social distancing are enough to bring down anyone’s spirits, indulge in a much needed reminder of the spirit of sacrifice honouring the spirit of togetherness. n

WESTERN INDIA CHEF ASSOCIATION’S CONTRIBUTION TO DAILY WAGER PROGRAMME

W

ICA (Western India Culinary/Chefs Association) has donated a sum of Rs 1 lakh towards ‘feed the daily wager’ programme run by Feeding India for food assistance to daily wager and the migrant labour affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.

The brand is also enabling thousands of restaurants with its recently launched end-to-end ‘contactless dining suite’ to ensure they have the perfect plug-and-play technology to support seamless no-contact dining for the foreseeable future.

Airports - contactless dining at food courts To cut wait times at food courts, travellers can now opt to pre-order through their smartphones.

They will receive alerts when their order is ready and they can pay via digital wallets using their phones.

Hospitals - end-to-end contactless healthcare management The contactless healthcare suite will enable hospitals to manage patientflow at various levels.

A patient can reserve his/her slot with a physician before entering the hospital using their smartphone and reduce their wait time.

Pre-ordering medicine and using digital wallets for payments will further curb the wait time while enforcing social distancing within the hospital premises.

Grocery Stores shopping experience

contactless

Pre-ordering will allow shoppers to reserve their slots for grocery shopping, curb their wait time and minimise contact.

Digital payments via e-wallets will avoid the exchange of cash and plastic cards, thereby enforcing social distancing.

Wine Stores

“Chefs historically and professionally have always gone beyond their call of duty to support humanitarian causes in such trying times. This is a small gesture from WICA to support those affected by the lockdown and are in distress” says chef Vernon Coelho, president, Western India Culinary/Chefs Association.

Seamless pre-ordering and waitlist management from the brand will enable wine stores to control customers in a contactless manner and provide a safer shopping experience without having customers waiting in queue.

“We solemnly hope the human race tides over this crisis soon,” Coelho addedn

Payments via digital wallets will

The contribution has helped feed 200 families of daily wagers with 2 meals a day, of dry-ration, for a week.

further support the no contact experience.

Ankit Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO, Dineout, said, “The past couple of days have highlighted the alarming challenge of maintaining social distancing protocols in public places in the absence of a preordering and queue management system. With major businesses around the country set to reopen in the near future with a consequent rush of customers, technology is the only defining way to ensure a safe and seamless consumer experience in this post Covid world.”

“Besides ensuring complete peace of mind for consumers, our new in-resto Contactless Suite would help a wide range of high-traffic establishments like airports, hospitals, grocery and liquor stores, banks among others adapt as everything from informing consumers about safety measures, pre-ordering, minimising waiting time, seamless takeaway, contactless payments and ensuring superior hygiene standards are the need of the hour,” he added.

In line with contactless technology for alcohol stores, the brand has partnered with AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer for a unique contactless experience with consumer safety and convenience at the core of this offering.

Through this collaboration, consumers will get access to outlet discovery, pre-order through digital menus across outlets, reserve a table, avail exclusive food and beer offers and online payment options to enjoy at their preferred outlets, abiding by social distancing guidelines.

The brand has recently unveiled the country’s first end-to-end ‘contactless dining suite’ to help restaurants operate in a postCovid-19 world.

The brand will also provide restaurant safety kits to help maintain hygiene and is facilitating hygiene certification for restaurants through a licensed lab to ensure all microbiological tests are in place before restaurants restart post the lockdown.

Diners can see the certified restaurants on the Dineout App with their audit rating.

This will help diners make an informed decision and be assured of the safety and hygiene standards, which will help regain consumer confidence in a post-Covid world.n

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

HOW IGLOO DAIRY MEETS 25% OF MUMBAI MILK SUPPLY GOING THROUGH THE LOCKDOWN

gloo Dairy Services Pvt Ltd has 5 Milk Processing and Pouch Packing Plants in Western India: in Vashi, Turbhe, Panvel, Goa and Nagpur.

Igloo processes and packs over 9 lakh litres of milk per day for customers like Gokul, Mahananda, Amul, Nandini, Parag, Gowardhan and Krishna and manufactures cup dahi for Britannia. Packing is now down to around 6 lakh litres per day as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is about 25% of Mumbai’s pouch milk requirement.

After the Prime Minister announced the 3 week shutdown, several workers were apprehensive about going to work and were considering leaving for their hometowns. However the company assured everyone about enforcing the strictest hygiene and safety practices and ensured that we had adequate manpower to process and provide milk to our customers.

All Igloo employees are aware that they are working in a high risk essential service business operation.

Igloo employs about 500 men and women at its ISO 22000 certified plants. Hygiene practices, sanitation procedures, health care services for employees have all been enhanced.

Social Distancing, hand washing practice, use of face masks and gloves was put in place well before the lockdown..

We trained all our staff, contract workers, tanker drivers, distributors and their drivers/ loaders and client’s staff through the company doctors and our managerial staff for awareness of CORONA virus including it’s cause and remedies..

Igloo has installed fumigators at the entry gates for each and every milk tanker and delivery vehicle entering the premises,. There are also bottles of sanitisers placed at different counters,

and everyone has been given a mask and gloves. There is even a yellow line indicating how far the workers can go while trucks are being loaded.

There is continuous announcement by Security staff through loud speakers for social distancing, hand wash and sanitization. There are also medical staff available for health checks Over 100 delivery vehicles of our customers, each with driver and loaders visit the Igloo Dairy plants every day to collect and deliver the milk crates. All the vehicles are sanitized. Thermal screening of each

and every person entering any of the Igloo Dairy plants is done. Persons with abnormal temperature or physical condition are not admitted inside and requested to quarantine themselves.

Assistance in doing so is extended, at times with the help of the concerned government authorities.

The company is committed to paying full wages for the coming months, inspite of financial constraints, under the current pandemic situation.n

Food And Beverage Matrix | May 2020

A PIONEER IN FRUIT BASED PRODUCT- MALA’S FRUIT PRODUCTS

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T

he current COVID 19 crisis has bought done the whole world on its knees and its impact is likely to leave an ominous impression for years to come. The current crisis is likely to continue and it will also have widespread effect on all the different sectors and FMCG sector is no exception.

MALA’s Fruit Products is a pioneer in fruit based products and probably the best in the country in terms of innovative products in this category.

The current crisis has had a big impact on MALA’s as well, however they have been able to safely tide

providing food and accommodation facilities to its factory staff, regular medical checkups at factory, complete sanitization of inbound and outbound vehicles . In addition, there is special caution taken for all the inbound vehicles and the drivers of these vehicles are properly screened and sanitized. For all the employees of MALA’s working on field and spread across the entire country, their HR had issued an advisory during midmarch, asking them to cancel all their tours and stay and operate from home as a precaution.

Such companies truly symbolize the adage VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM and we at F&B hope that together, we shall and we will tide over this crisis soon..

A Sudden visit at the plant at Wai, by our Chief Editor Manan Bajaj over this crisis till now, thanks to thei meticulous planning and resilience, and cautious approach of their team members.

Due to support of millions of patrons, MALA’s is now a household brand and a brand that is loved and admired by all. Acting responsibly, all the employee of team MALA’s decided to donate their salary of 2 days and MALA’s management had also put in an equal contribution. With the said amount ration distribution was done

across Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Wai and Satara district. In addition, MALA’s is also helping lot of poor and needy by liasoning through different government organisation.

MALA’s has also taken a conscious call to work only with 20% of their actual capacity and strictly follow norms like Social Distancing amongst workers at factory, sanitization of individuals at regular intervals, temperature monitoring and hand sanitization at regular intervals,

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May 2020 | Food And Beverage Matrix

KANCOR EMBARKS ON MAJOR EXPANSION IN GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR

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ochi: Kancor Ingredients Ltd., a pioneer in the field of global spice extracts, has embarked on a major expansion spree in its golden jubilee year. Established in 1969, the company has already drawn up a three-year-long expansion plan. Kancor Ingredients, now part of France-based Mane Group, one of the largest flavour and fragrance companies in the world, has already invested over Rs 125 cr in the last four years and will invest over Rs 150 crores in the next 36 months for the expansion of existing manufacturing facilities and setting up new facilities and incorporating new technologies.

As per the plan, Kochi-headquartered Kancor Ingredients will continue the expansion of its facilities located in Kerala, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

In Karnataka, the company is planning to set up an additional facility adjacent to the existing facility at Byadgi. The company is currently in the process of acquiring around 50 acres of land for setting up a new processing centre. It will act as the major processing centre of Kancor for the next 25-30 years.

The company, which has two facilities in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, has also started the process of expanding both facilities. In the home state, the facility at Angamaly is all set to undergo a major revamp with focus on R&D and new products. It will

Food and Beverage Matrix

Published, Printed by Dhiraj Dubey at B.K. Chawl Laxman Mhatre Road Navagaon Dahisar West Dist - Mumbai 400 068. State - Maharashtra Printed at Kalakshi Printing Works 205 Gopal Industrial Estate, I. B. Patel Road, Goregaon East. Mumbai 400 063 Sales Office: Divyansh Infomedia A/202 Om Nageshwar Appartment Near Mandli Talav Bhyander West Mumbai 401101. Maharashtra Contact: +91 98699 87731, +91 88506 09866 Sub Editor : Mukti M Bajaj News Journalist : Ritu Mishra

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Advisory Board

Saheb Bajaj CEO Punjab Sind Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd Arun Varangavkar Chairman Garkul Industries Shiv Prakash Bajaj Chairman Tresbon Consulting Solutions Rajiv Mitra MD Govid Milk and Milk Products Prakash Waghmare Waghmare Food Products Harvinder Bhatia Country Head Bitzer India Pvt Ltd Prassana Deshpande Director Chaitanya Group of Industries Ram Kumar MD Spectra Plast India Pvt Ltd Samayak Lodha MD MB Sugars

take three years for the completion of the projects.

Addressing a media conference on 13th Feb, 2020 at Kochi, Geemon Korah, CEO and Director, Kancor Ingredients Ltd., said, “We carry out major expansion activities in every 10-12 years with a vision for the next 20 years. The last time we carried out a major expansion was in 2004-2005.

However, this time we have planned it with a vision for the next 25 years and made it part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. It is our gift to our employees, stake holders and business partners. At present, all our facilities are operating at their fullest capacities.”

Every decade, Geemon Korah said, “New challenges emerge in terms of emerging technology, business outlook, consumer behaviours and crop outputs. In every phase, Kancor has led the way by doing things differently. In 1969-70, Kancor was the first company to set up a spice extraction unit in India. It brought out a sea of changes in the spice industry and motivated the industry to focus more on value addition. When it comes to food safety, we were among the first to obtain ISO certification in 1994. At every stage, we have increased our capabilities in terms of technology and products to keep up with the times. We will continue to do so in future,” he said.n

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