Beverages & Food Processing Times January 2015 by Advance Info Media

India’s 1st Monthly Newspaper For Beverages, Food & Allied Industries

8th - 9th Oct. 2015, Bangalore

www.agronfoodprocessing.com

Vol. 7, Issue 8, January 2015, Rs. 20/-

Food Processing is in Governments' agenda for ‘Make in India’ campaign

overnment of India held a national workshop on 'Make in India' to give a ﬁllip to the manufacturing sector including food processing industry. It will formulate short term (1 year) and medium term (3 year) sectoral action plans in consultation with Indian industry and improve the ease of doing business in consultation with chief secretaries of states. Inaugurating the workshop, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that unless radical steps are taken, the challenges faced by the manufacturing sector will remain. He listed out several imperatives that need to be addressed to get manufacturing going. He said the initial barriers for entering into manufacturing need to be lowered or closed, an enabling

environment has to be created across the board, the regime for making land available for manufacturing changes, a competitive and stable tax regime ensured, trade facilitation, labor market ﬂexibility, reduction in the cost of capital and expeditious project implementation. The entire effort was to lower the cost of manufacturing and improve quality otherwise the country will become a nation of traders rather t h a n m a n u f a c t u r e r s , s a i d J a i t l e y. In this context, two components of the Make in India program including today's workshop that aims at procedural reforms and bankers' retreat convened by the prime minister over the weekend to improve liquidity and give greater access to capital to industry, will go a long way in making India a better place to do business, he added. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out that the workshop will iron out the perceptions between the states and the centre and also help in resolving inter-ministerial issues to

facilitate ease of doing business. She said a strong manufacturing sector had the potential to increase growth, entrepreneurship and employment and thereby improve India's ranking in competitiveness and doing business measure. In his address, Union Minister of Mines, Steel and Labour and Employment Narendra Singh Tomar said that Make in India campaign was aimed at bringing all stakeholders together to make the country business and industry-friendly and, in turn, attract domestic as well as foreign investment ﬂows into the country. Underlining the need to create an atmosphere where investment becomes the main driver of economic growth, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said the workshop seeks to create a roadmap to be implemented in the short and medium term to boost manufacturing. President of FICCI Jyotsna Suri said entrepreneurs need conducive environment, a rational tax regime and a capital at a reasonable cost to unleash the lion of the Make in India program. President of CII Ajay Shriman described the

workshop as unique and unprecedented as it brought all stakeholders to offer suggestions for an actionable agenda for making the Make in India program a success. He said the program is transformational for manufacturing and beyond. Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Amitabh Kant moderated the inaugural session and Additional Secretary, DIPP, Shatrughna Singh gave a vote of thanks address. The national workshop took a close at various sectors of the economy. The actions plans were then presented to the prime minister at the concluding session of the workshop. Industry body FICCI was the partner industry association for sectors like oil & Gas, capital goods, pharmaceuticals, food processing, leather, gems and Jewellery, tourism, media, ICTE manufacturing, textile, and MSME. For chemicals and petrochemicals, basic metals and cement, automobiles and auto components, aerospace and defence, railways, energy and aviation and shipping, CII was the partner association.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

DAIRY NEWS

SUREPURE Announces Commercial Trials Of Photopuriﬁcation Technology, Alternative To Dairy Pasteurization In India

urePure, Inc. a global leader in liquid photopurification, announced that, following from the Indian Food Safety regulatory body (FSSAI) approval the use of SurePure's proprietary photopuri fication technolog y as an alternativ e process to thermal pasteuriza tion for milk and o t h e r dairy products, it is conducting commercial trials with key dairy producers in India. The Indian fluid milk market is the world's largest dairy market, estimated to have more than 70 million dairy farmers with production volumes of approximately 122.7 million tonnes per annum and a growth rate of 4%. Guy Kebble, CEO of SurePure stated, "We believe that SurePure brings a cutting-edge milk processing alternative to India. The robust SurePure technology, retains the integrity of milk while delivering milk in its most nutritious form to the consumers."

Dairy milk product market likely to see 25 per cent growth by 2019-20

he share of value added dairy products (VADP) in the milk and milk derivatives segment is expected to grow by around 25 per cent till 2019-20, Care Ratings said. The profitability in liquid milk space ranges from 4-5 per cent, whereas the profitability in VADPs ranges from 12 to 18 per cent, attracting private participation in the industry. The share of VADP in the milk and milk derivatives segment is growing currently at around 25 per cent every year and is expected to grow at the same rate until 201920, the agency said in its report on dairy industry. The Indian dairy industry is witnessing growth backed by the rising consumption and higher margins in the VADPs. As per National Dairy Development Board, the Indian dairy industry is all set to experience high growth rates in the next eight years with demand likely to reach 200 million tonnes by 2022 from 132 million tonnes in 2013, report said. Increasing share of the VADPs in the overall dairy industry augurs well for the participants as the same is likely to drive sales and improvement in the operating profitability resulting into better cash flow generation. Subsequently, there is a high possibility of improvement in the credit profiles of the dairy players, the report said. Rising consumption coupled with better margins in VADPs are driving the dairy players to get into the growth and higher profitable trajectory, it said. Product innovations are likely to accelerate India's dairy market which is anticipated to improve industry margins by attaining greater scale, higher capacity use and an increasing contribution from new milk variants. Further, the development of processing and packaging technology along with improvement in retail and cold storage infrastructure has increased the shelf life of dairy products. Traditionally, dairy industry was more focused towards liquid milk alone. However, factors such as rising disposable income, structural changes in food habits coupled with better margins in the VADP segment lead the existing players think beyond the liquid milk, the report observed. Consequently, investors' have shown keen interest in the dairy space and have invested into slew of dairy companies in this part of the world. Recently, Groupe Lactalis SA, France, one of the largest dairy players in the world, acquired 100 per cent of Tirumala Milk Products Pvt Ltd.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

TEA & COFFEE NEWS

Small tea growers seek subsidies for pruning pruned bushes come to yielding stages. Hence, we have appealed for a subsidy to the growers to support their timely pruning activities,” former member of Tea Board and President of Small Tea Growers' Association of Southern India S Ramu said.

mall tea growers have urged Commerce Ministry and Tea Board to launch a massive pruning subsidy scheme to augment the productivity of the bushes. “We have stressed that at least 25 per cent of small growers' area must be pruned annually to inject the necessary yielding skills in the bushes. This would involve signiﬁcant labour and plant caring cost and the concomitant loss of income until the

“We have requested Tea Board to d o v e t a i l t h i s i n t o t h e n e w Te a Development and Promotion Scheme for small-scale sector entailing an outlay of 200 crore. We have also sought massive replantation of old tea bushes, supply of subsidised fertilisers, setting up of micro and mini tea processing units, irrigation facilities, assistance for transporting green leaf and establishing leaf sheds,” he said. “This scheme is valid till March 31, 2017. So, we have urged Tea Board to hasten the formation of the nearly 4,000 societies required to cover the two lakh small growers in the country,” Samir Roy, long-time member of Tea Board and President, National Federation of Small Tea Growers of India, said.

Keurig signals recall on millions of coﬀee makers

ue to "reported burns," Keurig Green Mountain is recalling approximately 7.2 m i l l i o n single-serve hot beverage-brewing devices.

enjoy certain beverages this holiday season (unless they receive a Keurig as a gift, of course).

The company says its Mini Plus Brewing System - model number K10 - could "overheat and spray water." The recalled machines have an ID beginning with "31" on the bottom and were sold in Canada and the U.S. "between 2009 and 2014.” There have been 90 injuries reported because of "hot liquid escaping," according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Well, it doesn't look like some people will get to

Perhaps Keurig will have better luck in the New Year, with its recent acquisitions and its plans for a cold brew machine with Coca-Cola next fall.

AMUL targeting Russia for dairy products exports

mul, the country’s largest dairy brand, is likely to beneﬁt the most from Russia’s decision to lift restrictions on the import of milk, cheese and other dairy products from

India.

Russia had to open its market to countries like India as it had imposed a one-year ban, in August, on a wide range of food products, including beef, pork, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, milk and other dairy products, from the US, Canada, the European Union, Norway and Australia. The move came in a response to penalties imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. Amul, a dairy brand owned by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) , is in talks w i t h Galactika Group of Russia for exporting m i l k , cheese and other dairy products. “A team from Russia has also inspected our facilities earlier this month. We expect this to be sealed within the next couple of months,” R S Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF, told. Beside milk, Amul might export cheese, dried milk and other dairy products to Russia. However, Sodhi said the price of milk in the international market was a concern, and export at the moment might not be beneficial for Indian companies. “We are looking into certain things, including the prices, before taking a final call,” he added. “The talks are still on. There has been no movement during the visit as commercial terms have not been finalised,” a senior government official told Business Standard. At present, Amul exports milk and other dairy products to about 20 countries, including the US, West Asian countries, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Afghanistan, neighbouring Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, among others. According to media reports, Galactika, part of FoodLine Holding, has about three per cent share in Russia’s milk market. According to data with the Russian Federal Customs Service, import of milk and products made from Western countries to Russia rose 10.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 to 1,423 million tonnes on a year-on-year basis. Import of milk and dairy products rose in Russia because of shortage of raw milk and cheaper import prices. India’s exports to Russia stood at about $2.15 billion in financial year ended March. This was a fraction of Russia’s total import of $318 billion. Of this, about $40 billion was spent to import food items from Western countries. Experts have estimated India could export about $400 million worth of dairy products to Russia in the first year itself.

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Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

SPICES NEWS

PescaFresh Seeks fresh Round Of Funding for its retail business

eafood distribution and retailing company, PescaFresh is looking out for $4-6 Mn in its second round of funding as it embarks to scale up its presence across the country. With the funding, the company plans to enhance its logistical capabilities and reach. A c e Seafood B a z a a r Private Limited, the company b e h i n d Pesca is backed by VC ﬁrms like Blume Ventures and Orios Venture Partners. The ﬁrm currently has its presence in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru and is seeking to expand its presence in North and South Founded and led by Sangram Sawant, PescaFresh

operates on a hub-and spoke model offering seafoods in three formats - Home delivery model; retailing through shop-in-shops; and selling frozen products through gourmet stores panIndia. It has also started etailing on a pilot basis this year and is further looking at institution al sales. I t s portfolio consists of over 45 varieties of ﬁsh such as Pomfret, Rawas, Kingﬁsh, Seabass, Redsnapper, Tiger prawns, Lobster and live crabs. The decade old venture has over 40 landing points in the eastern and western coasts which would further go up with Indian domestic demand likely to increase from 7.5m tones in 2012 to 18.5m tonnes by 2015.

Success of Pakistan's Shan Spices in India

his bit of news from Pakistan is happy — and spicy. And the Pakistani export that's making news can be ﬁery, but in an altogether pleasurable way. Shan, a Pakistani blended spices brand, is sweeping aside competition from India-made branded masala,

and has emerged as one of the kitchen favorites'. Market estimates for major North Indian centres show Shan commanding 50% of sales in the category of blended spices used in nonvegetarian cooking. And this Pakistani brand hasn't even launched any major marketing campaign in India. Such is the star power of this Pakistani export on Indian shop shelves, desi FMCG major ITC is now seriously considering entering the branded spices segment that caters to nonvegetaria n cooking. And longestablishe d spice biggies l i k e Everest a r e feeling the heat. Shan's b e s t sellers in India are those that pack a punch in rich, subcontinent al nonvegetaria n cooking. Spices for s h a h i haleem m i x , Bombay

Biryani, chappli kebab mix, Lahori ﬁsh and nihari are some of Shan's products that have found their way into Indian kitchens. Shan Foods, founded in 1981 in Karachi started as a oneroom/family spices recipe/small orders business. It now sells spices in 65 countries and founder and chief executive Sikander Sultan is considered the guru of Pakistan's packaged food industry. Sultan said, he has bigger plans for India. "We are leading in the non-vegetarian segment in India in select pockets, but we want to expand now since in some geographies like South where we have no presence," Sultan said. The Rs 11,000-crore packaged spices market in India is split equally between blended and pure spices and accommodates 1,200 brands. Everest and MDH are the desi kings of the blended spices category. And now there's Pakistan's Shan. Shan's 2004 entry in India was quiet and its distribution chain — meat shops and small mughlai spice stores — was humble. But slowly and surely customers and big retail both got interested. han's spices are now on shop shelves of big retail and available through Amazon India. Retail major Future Group CEO (foods business) Devendra Chawla said Shan has created its brand pull due to unique taste offering. "A wider distribution can lead to much bigger reach and more sales for Shan," he said. ITC's divisional chief executive (foods) Chitranjan Dar said his company has just launched Sambhar and Rasam in Tamil Nadu and will look at regional blended spices, including non-vegetarian varieties popular in the North. Shan's success, he said, is relevant in these calculations. Everest Spices director Sanjeev Shah said Shan has built a huge brand presence in spices used in non-vegetarian cooking. "While Shan is still small in the overall packaged spice market in India, we are going to be vigilant since brands like Shan are expanding and brands with deeper pockets like ITC and Nestle are going to focus more on this segment," Shah said. Shan's CEO Sultan, happy as he is over his products India success, says he has no plans to manufacture in India but he also admits customs duty applicable on branded spices means a retail price disadvantage. Shan's price range — Rs 60Rs 70 — is higher than Everest's - Rs 20- Rs50. Indian trade partners of Shan told ET the Pakistani company wants to grow aggressively in India, including setting-up a subsidiary here expand into the bigger market of blended spices for vegetarian cooking as well as ready-to-eat desserts and cooking sauces. This story from Pakistan may yet get happier and spicier.

Public-private-partnership (PPP) to promote isheries and aquaculture India

nion Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today pitched for public-private-partnership (PPP) to boost ﬁsheries and aquaculture.

Mr Singh said, "There is a huge potential in the sheries sector. To boost sheries and aquaculture, there is a need to work through PPP mode. This will not only help in increasing production but also create job opportuni es. India is the world's top producer of inland aquaculture, but the country still needs to progress in the area of ornamental ﬁshes and other varieties. Though India is known for having more than 325 ornamental sh species but there is only one per cent of share in the global market in this space," he said, adding that women can be trained to take up ornamental shing as a vocation. Stating that addressing food security and malnutrition is a big problem in the country, Singh said that besides sh, there is a need to boost farm and dairy production to meet the rising food demand of growing population. Even as total sh production is around 10 million tonnes, "there is huge gap in the output as compared to China. The per capita availability of sh is only 9.2 kgs. There is a need t o i n c r e a s e t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y, " h e s a i d . Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on bringing 'Blue revolution' to boost sh production so as to address the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the country, he added.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

DAIRY NEWS

Indian Processor to Invest 16 Million in New Dairy

new dairy will be set up by Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) in Dharwad, in order to tap dairy farming potential of the region. Estimates put the North Karnataka investment at $16.5 million, said KMF president P. Nagaraju. KMF would be setting up a mega dairy in Dharwad district along with a dairy unit that has also been planned in Ramadurg of Belagavi district, a press conference heard. Mr Nagaraju added that the new dairy would increase milk production in North Karnataka.

Considering the increasing demand for buffalo milk in Bengaluru and South Karnataka, KMF is planning to increase the procurement capacity to 1.2 million liters, as compared to the present 140,000 liters capacity. To encourage ice cream in the state,

KMF would set up 10,000 liters ice cream under Ballari Milk Federation. On using maize as fodder, Nagaraju said that maize has become a major crop in North Karnataka and the federation has decided to implement programme for using maize for fodder production. KMF is also in talks with the government for getting approval for purchasing maize directly from farmers for fodder production. In order to increase cooperative milk societies in the state, KMF is providing a grant of $4000. The federation has plans to set up 50 to 100 cooperatives in every talukas of North

Karnataka. Nagaraju said that the KMF invested $645,687 on a calf nurturing centre to Shahapur in Yadgir district under which calves purchased from cattle market were nurtured and sold back to the farmers at subsidised rates.

PARSHWANATH Colour Chem

The colour of food is an integral part of our culture and enjoyment of life. Even early civilizations such as the Romans recognized that people "eat with their eyes" as well as their palates. Saffron and other spices were often used to provide a rich yellow colour to various foods. Butter has been coloured yellow as far back as the 1300's. We provide Food Dye. Today, all food colour additives are carefully regulated by authorities to ensure that foods are safe to eat and accurately labeled.

PARSHWANATH GROUP OF INDUSTRIES 1-5617, Phase-II, Vatva, G.I.D.C.Ahmedabad -382 445, Gujarat (India) Phone:+(91)-(79)-40083231/40083230 40085400 Mobail : 09825005234 Email : pabitra.mishra@parshwadyes.com

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FOOD PROCESSING NEWS

Burger Wars on in India called Juicy Lucy with Cheese inside the patty and that has had positive response. We see this category growing signiﬁcantly over the next ﬁve years and are committed to invest robustly in developing our presence.”

here was a time when burger meant McDonald's. But with all big burger brands flocking to India, that has changed forever and the consumers are loving it. The burger wars have begun in earnest in India as Burger King, the second largest Burger chain in the world, has entered India with its trademark Whopper burger. Worldwide, Burger King has 13,000 restaurants and in India It will roll out 12 more over the next 90 days. The grand entry, however, has hit a false note as the burger giant is embroiled in a trademark infringement row. And may have to find a new brand name to continue in India. Burger King Restaurants Pvt., a Gujarat-based fast food joint, has been allowed by an Indian court to approach the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, to strike out the US chain's trademark. The case is likely go to a higher court. Dunkin' Donuts, the famous American donut chain, has innovated and entered the burger business in India. Unlike in America where it offers sandwiches, in India it has gone with burgers. The chain is likely open 100 stores by 2017-18. Dev Amritesh, President at Dunkin' Donuts India, explains the new trends in the burger market, “For the first generation of burger consumers, it was a new experience. But now consumers are 2G or even 3Gr. In this market, flavours that stand apart will matter and that is our USP. The category is democratising and in the burger market, differentiation and innovation will make for profits. We have introduced a burger

Johnny Rockets, another chain based in the US , is also eyeing expansion. Vishal Chaudhry, Director at its India business, comments:” We position out restaurant as a diner rather than a quick service restaurant. We believe that given the spending and demographic proﬁle, India is set to witness great expansion in the eating out business. We will look to open 20 restaurants including moving beyond the NCR to Mumbai and Bangalore over the next three years.” The US burger Chain Wendy's, the third largest in the world, is likely likely to enter India with about 20 stores in 2015. The burger wars in India are taking place within the overall growth in the quick service restaurant business. According to a report by National Restaurant Association of India, the organised QSR business in India is estimated to grow to reach approximately $3.23 billion by 2018. McDonalds, meanwhile, is not sitting still. After 18 years in India and having spent over a Rs 1,000 crore on back-end supply chain infrastructure, it is taking on the rivals with renewed zeal. It has 192 restaurants in 20 cities across 7 states. It has the advantage of brand recall and a solid network to leverage. It is now putting in place a massive digital marketing push Amit Jatia, vice chairman, Westlife Development Ltd of McDonald's India says, “We at McDonald's are trying to replicate the global success stories on mobile and digital in India. Considering that we cater to a digital savvy generation, we also have a robust mobile home delivery ordering app that offers convenience to our customers. Our online delivery has proved to be a success as almost 25 per cent of revenues come from online and web ordering. We are introducing a deals application which is currently in beta tests.

Food Park opens in Fazilka village

hile inaugurating the International Mega Food Park that was set up at a cost of Rs 136 crore, Union Minister for Food

and third in ﬁsheries. However, only 10 per cent of the produce is utilised by the food processing industry, said Harsimrat. She said there was huge potential for growth in this sector. This could be gauged from the fact the sector was growing at 8.6 per cent against the industrial growth rate of 6 per cent and agriculture growth of 3 per cent. The key companies on board for this project are Graincorp, the world's largest handlers of malt (used only in pharmaceuticals), Creambell, Bector Foods and Nestle. Over 200 farmers and some entrepreneurs attended the function.

Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal said food items worth Rs 45,000 crore were wasted every year in the country. This is the fourth such park set up in the country. Every year food items ranging between 6-18 per cent were wasted. We are ranked ﬁrst in the world in milk production, second in wheat production

On the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said diversiﬁcation would become a reality with the creation of more food parks. He said ITC would set up the next food park in Kapurthala at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. Sukhbir said farmers could earn as much as Rs 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh per month by supplying their produce to various food parks. Chief Managing Director (CMD) Sukhinder Singh said the park was generating employment for the local youth.

E-CErtIFICAtIon sYstEms to BE mADE BEtWEEn InDIA AnD russIA to Boost FooD trADE

o boost food exports from India to Russia though technical consultations and ecertiﬁcation systems, India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Russia's phyto-sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor have agreed to increase cooperation.

India is the world's largest producer and exporter of buffalo meat, which accounts for around 86% of total meat exports by India. Indian buffalo meat is popular in countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UAE, and exports had jumped 27% in FY 201213.

Rosselkhoznadzor said that top ofﬁcials on both sides held telephonic consultations on export of buffalo meat (carabeef) from India to Russia this w e e k . Va s i l y L a v r o v s k y, h e a d o f t h e Rosselkhoznadzor's Department for Veterinary Inspection Activities within International Cooperation and WTO, and Santosh Sarangi, Chairman, APEDA, have agreed to exchange contact details of the technical specialists soon.

In addition to increasing buffalo meat supplies to Russia, India is also likely to increase exports of other food items to Russia soon, including seafood and eggs. In the last few months, Rosselkhoznadzor has approved beef imports from four Indian companies (Fair Exports Pvt. Ltd, Frigerio Conserva Allana Limited, Frigoriﬁco Allana Limited, and Amroon Foods Pvt. Ltd.), and egg imports from SKM Egg Products Export (India) Limited.

Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor had agreed to depute

Café Coffee Day, Pizza Hut may soon be seen at railway stations kiosks at Delhi Metro stations across New Delhi," said RN Kalita, director of catering services at IRCTC. Travel Food Services (TFS), a Mumbai-based F&B operator that specialises in running restaurants, cafes, food courts and manages lounges across major airports in the country, will launch similar executive lounges across railway stations like Vijayawada, Howrah and Jaipur by next April. These lounges would be anything between 1,500 sq ft and 3,500 sq ft.

oon in 2015, and your wait in a railway station is going to be an all new experience, especially if you are hungry. IRCTC in its effort to offer better fare at stations is talking to Cafe Coffee Day, Pizza Hut, Barista Coffee, Subway and Jumboking Vadapav, urging them to open eateries at stations. IRCTC is trying to take its annual earnings to Rs 50 crore from the current Rs 30 crore. "To begin with, Mapple Hotels has been selected to run the food plaza at Hardwar station. There are 106 other food plazas and fast food units that are at various stages of commissioning at places like Bhavnagar, Delhi Cantonment, Kanpur Central and others. We would also add another 56 food

Jain Irrigation is the largest onion and vegetable processor in the country and the second largest in the world with two units in India and one in the USA. It is also India's largest processor of fruits and the world's leading mango processor, with three manufacturing facilities in India.

The farmers who cultivate mango, tomato, potato and other crops in large quantity in the region will be beneﬁted if the food processing units were started in the district, he said.

The conference also demanded permanent irrigation projects to the parched area.

Operating more than 70 vadapav stores across the country, Jumboking Vadapav has proposed 20 outlets across stations in New Delhi, in places like IFFCO Chowk metro station and HUDA City Centre metro station.

900 crore this year, with exports pegged at Rs 600 crore.

The 15th District Conference of the party which was held on December 13 and 14 at Srinivasapur adopted a resolution in this connection, Gandhinagar Narayanaswamy, who was reelected as secretary, told reporters here on Tuesday.

he district unit of Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged the government to set up agriculture-based industries to help the farmers get better price for their crops.

TFS, which has franchisee arrangement with brands like KFC, Domino's Pizza, Cafeccino, Haagen-Dazs, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, is also bidding to operate in the food courts and food plazas at various stations. IRCTC will soon ﬁnalise 50 food plazas in tier-II cities like Dehradun, Tambaram and Haridwar. Keeping in mind the heterogeneous consumers in railway stations, food items of all price range would be served at the railway and metro stations.

Processed food exports of Jain Irrigation to cross Rs 600 crore

CPI tells Government to set up food processing industries to help farmers

It also demanded that the mining operations of the now defunct Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. should be resumed in public sector.

its ofﬁcials in India on a permanent basis to inspect meat exports from India to Russia. As a part of the ongoing consultations, Russia has asked APEDA to provide details of meat products so that it could ﬁnalise the role of Rosselkhoznadzor inspectors. India's APEDA has assured that it will provide details soon, said Rosselkhoznadzor.

he food processing division of Jain Irrigation Systems said that its business has grown at a CAGR of 15 per cent in the last ﬁve years and is targeted to grow to Rs

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Jain Irrigation supplies processed fruits and vegetables under the brand name 'Farm Fresh' to world renowned companies like Coca Cola, Nestle, Premier Foods, Unileverand Almarai.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

COMPANY NEWS

Brillo – Adding shine to your sparkle

his festive season it's time for all things bright and beautiful to shine and sparkle, meet Puratos' Brillo, a specially crafted product that does just that. This Thixotropic cold glaze adds that special oomph to patisserie products that make them shine. There is something that about a well glazed product that instantly attracts the attention of the consumer. A glazed well turned out exterior that speaks of a well crafted product that is also well finished, thereby selling itself. In this season, provide your aware consumers with world-class options not merely in taste but capture their imagination with a world class look and mouth feel too. Appeal to consumers who travel the world whether on the couch or in person. Appeal to those who are aware of global trends and keenly aware of how patisserie looks across the globe, capture their eyes with a product so well finished that it barely stays on the shelf. Being a cold glaze, Brillo has been created to work effortlessly on the most delicate of mousses and cream cakes without any additional heating requirement. But Brillio is not just another pretty layer, Brillo helps to increase the shelf life of the product, protects its freshness and taste, pushing that product from merely good to definitely great.

Tanya Exports Leading Exporters of Food Colors colors (Oil Soluble) are also available.

unsurpassed gloss and ﬂavor. Brillo is, after all, not merely a glaze, or a pretty product it adds that special ﬂavor too, taking the patisserie to that next level of superb.

Synthetic food Colors: Known as artiﬁcial food colors which are processed & manufactured chemically. The basic application of synthetic food colors include coloring of food items, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, personal care products, dairy products, confectionary, bakery, sweets meats products as well as serve the needs of variety of Food and Beverage industries.

Brillo which comes in 4 variants from Brillo Neutral, Brillo White, Brillo Caramel and Brillo Cocoa, has been specially crafted keeping in mind the various applications that it will be used for.

These food colors are also known as food dyes, food additives, food ingredients, food lake color, blended food color etc. Synthetic food colors are formulated and manufactured in accordance with the International food color quality standards.

This customization helps the user to choose and use only that Brillo which aptly suits his application, rather than a one glaze ﬁts all approach. Brillo can be used with fresh fruit offerings too. Brillo Neutral helps to keep the fruit looking fresh and tasting fresher – increasing its shelf life for m a n y h o u r s more.

Natural food Colors: Natural Food Colours are dyes or pigments extracted from natural sources like vegetables, plants and insects. Natural colours can provide handy colouring with safe usage in different types of Food Products. No-a-days Tanacol Natural colors are widely used in Cosmetics products.

Tanya Exports has its own brand name ‘TANACOL’ for Synthetic food colors and Natural colors. Tanacol brand synthetic food colors are available in Powder & Liquid form and all are water soluble. TANACOL Brand Lake

Tanya Exports has full range of Caramel Liquid (Type I, II, III & IV). Our Caramel DS-IV Liquid is mainly they exports to Biscuit products manufacturing companies.

ince last 25 years, Tanya Exports been engaged in the manufacturing and exports of Food grade colors.

U s i n g Brillo adds another ﬂ a v o r componen t to your patisserie, giving it t h a t special w o r l d c l a s s mouthfeel that is a Puratos trademark.

Use Brillo's perfect mirror ﬁnish to ﬁnish the product well, all the while embellishing it with

Minal Food Industries is all set to challenge giants in food production business

ndia is said to be the vegetable & fruit basket of the world. However, many agriculture consultants argue that food processing industry has to be taken on a mega scale to make optimum use of these resources. Thus, with this passion in heart to make optimum use of the resources available and to provide the customers with the best quality edibles, under the brand name Mumma’s” , Minal Foods Industry (MFI) is all set to manufacture its products with an aim of providing healthy and of course, tasty edibles to people. “MFI” wishes to sell its manufactured products ﬁrst in Mumbai and then in other cosmopolitan cities. After this “MFI” wishes to sell their products in different states and then aims at exporting them as well. Minal foods industry (MFI) aims at manufacturing ﬂour made out of various grains & pulses, instant mixes and dehydrated powder made out of vegetables and fruits. With strong study by the R&D department, under the brand name “Mumma’s” Minal Food Industries is all set to challenge giants in food production business.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FRUIT NEWS

Climatic changes make Apple growers to shift to peach, plum in Uttarakhand

limate changes such as less snowfall and temperature ﬂuctuations seem to be taking their toll on apple production in Uttarakhand. Apple farmers in the higher reaches

of the state are shifting to other fruits such as peach and plum that require lesser cold conditions. More than 98 per cent of the country's apple is cultivated in the north western region covering the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Though Uttarakhand's contribution to the total apple production in the country is just 3.7 per cent, the state horticulture authorities have been making all efforts to increase the area under apple cultivation, but are facing climate change challenges. In the recent past, it has been observed that due to declining snowfall in many hill districts, apple growers are shifting to cultivation of stone fruits such as peach, plum and apricot that require less chilling. In the apple famous Ramgarh belt of Nainital district, the crop has been successfully replaced by peach, which interestingly is even fetching farmers good prices in the markets of Delhi and Mumbai. At present, 33.76 hectares are under apple cultivation and 90 per cent of this area is rain-fed, which further affects apple

productivity. According to a study done by Dr BS Negi, Dr Ratan Kumar and Dr Surbhi Pandey, all from the Uttarakhand Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, climate change is certainly impacting apple production in Uttarakhand and needs urgent remedial measures. While geographical and climatic conditions of Uttarakhand are suitable for apple production, adverse weather conditions like inadequate rainfall, occurrence of hailstorms during flowering and fruit development and temperature fluctuations were hampering the production of apple, leading to financial insecurity among the fruit growers. To mitigate the climate change impact on apple cultivation, the study recommends promotion of small weather stations and a meteorological observatory over 1,500 metre altitude to monitor changes in climate in the apple growing areas. It also suggests horticulture research institutes and universities to focus on the development of suitable varieties and technologies of climate resilient horticulture for a temperate fruit like apple.

he government said the EU ban on Alphonso imports would be lifted shortly. The king of fruits, is all set to re-enter the European markets. EU had on May 1 this year

temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes and four other vegetables from India, after several samples failed quality tests. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told the Lok Sabha recently that the mango export from India to EU will resume.

Smt. Badal underscored the need to prepare a National Food Grid. She said that the ﬁrst step towards this Grid is this “Fruits & Vegetables Availability Maps of India Booklet” which puts forth an overview of the production and availability scenario of key food commodities in the country. The content of this booklet gives an insight of what is grown where as well as the surplus and deﬁcit status of various commodities at the national as well as state level.

The PanchganiMahabaleshwar belt contributes around 85 per cent of the total production in India. The rest come from Himachal Pradesh and J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r.

Indian strawberry growers in the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani belt of Maharashtra state, are gearing up to increase their exports to Malaysia this season amid higher demand.

Highlighting the importance of nurturing the Food Processing Industry, Smt Badal said, “I commend Yes Bank for coming up with this report and Fruits and Vegetables map; it can be used as a handbook of some of the best available data today on Fruits and Vegetable availability across the nation. Agricultural land is reducing but mouths to be fed are increasing so we must grow more, from less, to feed more – that is where

The strawberry season begins in November and lasts till March every year. According to the report, production is expected to decline by 25-30 per cent to 22,000 tonnes as compared with last year, due to constant weather changes. Over 85 per cent of the total production is sold as table fruit in the domestic market.

On trial basis, last year, four consignments were

Cargill eyes $1 billion investment in Indonesian poultry, palm oil operations

argill is likely to invest $1 billion in Indonesia during the next four to ﬁve years, the company's CEO told reporters at an industry conference. The investments would focus on poultry. Japan recently lifted a ban on poultry imports from Indonesia, making production there more

The Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that the food processing sector is growing at an annual rate of 8.4 per cent and also provides great opportunities FDI. She said that last year this sector attracted an investment of USD 4 billion. The MoS suggested that seminars should be held in each districts to apprise people about the activities under the food processing sector. Sharing his thoughts at the conference, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Railways Minister said, “We must bring more investment and ﬁnance into the Food Processing industry to give the sector a ﬁllip. There must be an integrated approach to boosting agri-growth. We are also working on developing a multi-modal transport system in India, which will help transportation of food produce across the country, thereby enabling better price discovery for farmers and agriculturists.”

The EU's standing committee on plant health recommended the ban on mangoes, eggplant, taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd from India citing severe deﬁciencies in the phyto-sanitary certiﬁcation system of the products headed for EU. EU's concern was — pests in Indian consignments could enter EU's agriculture chain and affect domestic produce.

sent to Malaysia and this season, the Strawberries Growers Association plans to send around 25 tonnes of strawberries to Malaysia.

Signiﬁcantly, India stands ﬁfth among the world's top 10 apple producing countries. Jammu and Kashmir contributes 70 per cent of the total apple production of the country and Uttarakhand can contribute a lot more by adopting strategies to reduce the impact of climate change.

food processing comes in, and if there is more availability, there will be less inﬂation. We need to aim for higher standards in food processing to guard the population against inﬂation.”

The 28-member European Union had amid protests from the Indian community in EU, lawmakers in Europe and India and mango t r a d e r s , imp o s ed th e ban after 207 I n d i a n consignments of fruits and vegetables imported to the EU in 2013 were found containing fruit ﬂies and other pests.

Indian strawberry export to Malaysia enhanced

It also calls for the selection of an apple variety for a place after considering long-term aspects of climate change in the region. It also suggests maintaining apple variety-based performance data to see the extent of damage to a particular variety due to extreme climate changes.

Harsimrat Badal Launches Fruits and Vegetable Availability Maps of India Report

he Minister of Food Processing Industries Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal today launched the ﬁrst ever report focusing on the availability of fruits and vegetables pan India at the Yes Bank-MoFPI National Conference on Spurring ﬁnancing & Investments in the Food Processing Sector.

Alphonso mango all set to re-enter the European markets

attractive. Cargill CEO David MacLennan also noted that China's production of poultry has fallen recently.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Cargill is also likely to increase its spending on palm oil production in Indonesia, MacLennan said. The food industry, it would seem, has suddenly discovered Indonesia. The push into the nation is not unlike the push a decade or so ago into China. Cargill has already spent some $700 million in Indonesia in the past few years, and opened its latest plant there this month. Signapore's Olam International, as well as global chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, are building new plants in the nation, and a few months ago, Coca-Cola announced it would invest a half-billion dollars in Indonesia.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Refrigeration and air conditioning technologies are key elements the BITZERworld. The BITZER Group has been making a contribution with innovative products and services for 80 years. Their products maintain the optimum temperatures on buses, trains and in buildings and ensure food stays fresh at all times on its way to you. Perfection and precision shape theiroperations – and efﬁciency and sustainability is their way of thinking. With specialist skills and lots of passion, BITZER promote development in compressor technology and, in this way, fulﬁlltheir responsibility as a market leader.In a candid conversation with Mr. Rob de Bruyn, Managing Director, BITZER Refrigeration Asia Pte Limited, oil and food journal editor, Firoz H Naqvi came to know the plans and perspective of BITZER and its affair with Indian market. How can you describe BITZER's tenure inIndian Cold chain market? BITZER came to India in 2007 and since that time we had very good growth over the years. BITZER being a German company received a very perceptive and generous response from the Indian Market.

likely in the near future. You see to become a manufacturer here we need a high numbers demand and skill, which we are still working on at the moment.But what we are concentrating is on the localization of our symbol products like – Rack Systems, condensing unit, ice cream machines.

Cold chain has been the active part of BITZER's business; BITZER enjoys a very high brand recall with the customers. The BITZER products are known for their very high reliability which is very important for end users and offer the highest efﬁciency in their class. In the past few years, BITZER India has rapidly expanded its Green Point Service Network with service centres at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore & Kolkata making us the only compressor manufacturer with pan India service support capabilities. The service centres have also been extensively used for imparting technical training to both our partners & end users

Localization is an important part of our business and our plan is to support the local companies to integrate our products into their manufacturing goods. What product line does BITZER have for the food industry? Our product base is very broad and we can fulfill any number of applications in India and around the world. In India the very crucial factor is the energy efficiency; the energy cost is very high here so for this we have products like the varispeed which is a compressor with an inverter, with this we can vary the speed of the compressor depending on the load and these t y p e s o f technologies show excellent energy efficiency.

BITZER has introduced compressors with integrated inverters that offer maximum power saving to customers

This step has been very important to us to propel our new products out in India and it gives the customers the conﬁdence to go and buy our new products.For example, in case of ice cream if the refrigeration fails we need to take a very quick action as it can cause an adverse effect to the vendor and the entrepreneur so our service centre is an answer to such troubles.

We see great growth in India and I can see that the east coast seems to be moving very well for us. We started the green point there in May this year and already we are getting very fruitful result. What special strategy have you taken on to meet the Indian demand? It is very important for any multinational to adapt to any market; we try to maintain a

relatively consistent pricing policy around the world. India is deﬁnitely a price conscious country but stillone of the key issues for BITZER is that the customer base in India understands what quality is and is prepared to pay a small premium for a good quality product. BITZER is well known to be a premium product and market proves that there is a viable and vibrant market for high quality products.

BITZER has introduced compressors with integrated inverters that offer maximum power saving to customers. The inverters are offered both with bare compressors and in Air Cooled Condensing Unit conﬁgurations. The inverters modulate the speed of the compressors to precisely match the load requirement and offer highest levels of energy savings possible. Since the inverters are suction gas cooled, there is no de-rating in the performance on account of high ambient temperatures prevailing in many parts of the country. For ice cream industry we have Ecoline Varispeed range of semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors with integrated frequency i n v e r t e r optimized for refrigeration applications. This can also be used in air conditioning. Then there is CSVH range of Compact Screw Compressors with integrated frequency inverter optimized for liquid chiller and heat pump applications. This is used in the cold storage systems. We also have Ecostar range of Air Cooled Condensing Units with inverter integrated on the compressor.

Also the type of business we are dealing with requires best quality assurance, e.g. the ice cream market or the cold chain market, the cost of the goods inside the cold space is many times more costly than the equipment itself and on this basis the cost of investment is really heavily scrutinized for the long serviceability and life time cost highly. These two factors are very inﬂuential to the Indian entrepreneurs nowadays and they look for quality rather than the cost.

So BITZER has the unique positioning for an eight year company to have the full variety of technologies available for any application that would be required in India. One of the things that we also produce in our factory is in Indonesia is the LH series condensing units – this is a design for high ambient condition which is of course very necessary for India, particularly in the northern states. We are getting a very good support with our Air cooled condensing units which are proving to be very popular.

How much is the Modi's “Make in India” campaign inﬂuencing BITZER? BITZER is a major global compressor manufacturer. But if we talk exclusive manufacture of compressors in India, it is not so

Upgradation of technologies is continuous, how does BITZER gratify the food industry with this continuous cycle of upgradation? BITZER has this view that there is a need to product that will take us for ﬁve year at least in

BITZER: Reliable, Effecient & Sustainable

terms of technology and our equipment is expected to last for many years after that. But if we take a five year block position, then of course we are dedicated to upgrade our equipments, as the customers business develops and grows. There has to energy saving too but more important with the changes in global refrigeration, this is playing a lot of pressure on the market. Like in Europe for example there is new gase regulations which have very high demands on the types of gases or chemical that can be used. From BITZER's perspectives the speed to bring the new products to markets is important but we should be very stable and we should not rush any product into the market. We should be steady and do long term planning for the upgradation of components and equipments. The ability to provide after services and spare parts support is also important and if an equipment fails for a reason it needs to be rectified very quickly and that's where our Green point service centre come into. Do you think Indian cold chain can be compared with its international counterpart? The Cold Chain infrastructure in India is being rapidly upgraded with the assistance of very generous grants from the Government of India through its carious arms like National Horticulture Board etc. The entrepreneurs who are investing in the cold chains are opting for energy efficient compressors that use environmentally friendly refrigerants and are no longer being driven only by the initial cost of the project. The very high success rate enjoyed by BITZER with its Added Value Products Like Screw Compressor Racks, Screw Condensing Units & Reciprocating Compressor Racks to name a few are testimony to this fact. In this sense Indian cold chains are at par with international counterparts. The next step in the evolution process would be adaptation of natural refrigerants like CO2 that offer much higher efficiency than the existing systems but this is some time away from Indian perspective. In Europe, USA, Australia etc CO2 based refrigeration systems have been deployed extensively. As a cold chain expert what eminent advice would you impart to the sea food and ice cream sector? I believe very strongly that India in the next couple of years will do more export wise business and cold chain in India has very high potential for export. On that basis we need to seek and be assured of HACCP conditions of any export related activity. We need to insure that the type of equipment is at the best possible level that it can be. We need to

very well understand what the system loadings. Also quality of the refrigeration and enterprise is very important. Many people are getting interested in Indian export business and thus the whole system needs to uptight and genuine.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

BITZER has the unique positioning for an eight year company to have the full variety of technologies available for any application that would be required in India

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

AGRO NEWS

Russia to limit grain export to deal with currency crisis

ussia is to limit its grain exports to control a price hike in the country to help cope with the consequences of its recent currency crisis. Tumbling oil prices and Western sanctions have led to the recent currency collapse that threatens to push the country into a severe recession. As a

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying: "We had a good harvest but at the same time, due to the volatility of the ruble, prices are very advantageous and exports have risen considerably." “We need to have minimum reserves that assure Russia's food security. In this context, I think it is time to reﬂect on administrative restrictions on exports.”

Bihar for future of farming : Prime Minister Narendra Modi

armers in Bihar have more than doubled corn output in just ﬁve years by adopting hybrid seeds and good farm practices, a rare success story Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to replicate in other states. Traders such as Cargill Inc, Glencore

India's average corn yield is just 2 tonnes. India produces 23-24 million tonnes of corn, with Bihar accounting for nearly 3 million tonnes, according to trade and industry estimates. If other big producing states fail to match Bihar's gains, rising consumption would cut into Indian exports that now average 3.4-4.5 million tonnes a year.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was reported by Russian news agencies as saying that the measures could be signed by Medvedev within the next 24 hours.

result, the government has been forced to help banks and consider supporting its airlines. Russia said that the introduction of customs barrier on exports was to ensure food security. While the announcement led to an increase in global grain prices, analysts said that world stocks of wheat and corn will prevent prices from rising. "We need to have minimum reserves that assure Russia's food security.”

As cited in Bloomberg, an assistant professor at Moscow's New Economic School said: "Russia would be losing face as an unreliable supplier. It's one thing to restrict exports because of bad harvest, and another to do it on the account of politics, which is worse.” The value of ruble had gone down by 10% last Monday and then by 20% on Tuesday despite a massive hike in interest rates as Russian consumers lost conﬁdence in the government's ability to grapple with the crisis.

Organic farming practiced mainly in 12 states in India

griculture Ministry informed Organic farming is practiced mainly in 12 states in the country.

The meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, chaired

practices in the country," Singh said during the meeting. A presentation to the committee was given on the subject by ministry officials. It was informed that the total organic production in the country is 1.24 million tonnes while total area under organic farming constitutes 0.723 million hectare under certification. "Presently it (organic farming) is being practiced mainly in 12 states and two states of North East namely Sikkim and Mizoram are likely to become fully organic in a few years," the ministry informed the members during the meeting Meanwhile, Singh directed the ministry officials to circulate full details of six regional centres of organic farming to all Members of Parliament so that they may utilise the services of these centres for training farmers, particularly in villages under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, discussed the topic, according to an ofﬁcial statement. "The Potential of Organic farming in India is very huge because of its immense bio-diversity and natural resources in the country. There is a great need to promote the Organic farming and its

Singh also assured the members of the committee that all necessary efforts will be made by Ministry towards their suggestions, which, inter-alia, included simpliﬁcation of certiﬁcation process of organic farming, encouraging research on organic farming in Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Agriculture Universities, ICAR and proper utilization of crop residue.

Punjab Agriculture University to get food processing-cum-business

nion Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal Punjab Agriculture University has approved for the Punjab Agriculture University(PAU) to have all new food processing-cum-business incubation centre

at PAU Regional Research Station in Bathinda. A memorandum to this effect has been signed between Punjab Agriculture University and Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology, Thanjavur, in Tamil Nadu in the presence of Badal. The centre will be a joint venture of PAU and IICPT and will cater to the modern needs of

peasantry in the area of food processing, besides enabling farmers and youth to acquire necessary skill and training. Giving details in this regard, Badal said this centre will be operational within six months and that the same model would be replicated in other areas of Punjab. She said this centre would go a long way in supporting the farmers of the region as well as educating and making them aware of modern agri- and marketing-techniques. She said the centre would also be a boon for the agriculture community as it would focus on processing of fruits and vegetables and milling of grains. The food processing minister also informed that the ministry was contemplating to create mini food parks in different areas of Punjab to give a push to the processing of local produce and facilitate farmers for producing high yields. She said these parks would be spread over a 20-25 acres. She also added creation of primary processing centres was the focus area of her ministry under which cooperatives would be engaged to set up ultra modern processing centres for milk, fruit and vegetables.

companies to move in, opening up Bihar to regional and international trade. Local farmers say they now produce 7-8 tonnes a hectare, a ﬁgure conﬁrmed by Cargill's own research which shows Bihar's yields catching up with the 10 tonnes achieved in the United States, the world's top producer.

International AG and Louis Dreyfus Commodities BV have set up operations in Purnia, an administrative outpost that now buzzes with trading activity. Bihar had an initial advantage as corn is grown year-round to meet local food demand, making it a natural place for traders to seek supplies when demand began to rise. Other states were largely growing corn for animal feed. The arrival of global traders and the establishment of a market for the crop gave small farmers the conﬁdence to invest in higheryielding hybrids.

The government says it hopes to extend Bihar's success in boosting yields and to other leading corn growing states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Buoyed by the sharp rise in physical trade, India's leading commodity exchange NCDEX last year launched a new contract setting Bihar's Gulab Bagh as a delivery centre. The new futures contract gives farmers an idea about the outlook for prices. "Bihar reveals that by providing a market for farm goods and by allowing trade to determine its own course, we can write a success story even without any active government help," said Amit Sachdev, India representative of the US Grains Council.

Rising output encouraged banks, a commodity exchange and commodity collateral management

Fertilizer units asked to produce surplus urea to meet growing demand: Badal

nion Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that the government has asked fertilizer units to produce surplus urea to meet its growing demand during winter sowing season

anticipation of its "severe" shortage that could affect prospects of bumper winter crop. The government has taken up this issue seriously and asked the urea manufacturing units to produce surplus urea, and farmers will not face any urea shortage said the minister. The SAD-BJP led Punjab government has raised the urea issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding his personal intervention for stepping up urea supply. The state faces "acute" shortage of urea that is affecting wheat crop sowing, it had said in a letter to the Prime Minister recently.

. Punjab has sought the Centre's intervention in stepping up urea supply while highlighting that its shortage was hampering wheat sowing in the state. Wheat growers in Punjab and Haryana have resorted to "panic buying" of fertiliser in

The Union Food Processing Industry minister said efforts are being made to encourage farmers to grow horticulture crops. Meanwhile, she also expressed condolences to the family of Naik Jagsir Singh in Boha, who got martyred in Arnia sector of Jammu.

Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) makes an impact on UK delegation

six-member delegation of professors and researchers involved in food processing from the United Kingdom interacted with Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) professors. U K delega t i o n w a s impres s e d with TNAU ' s researc h and progress and reintroducing millets into the South Indian food chain. They said they would try taking a lot of information back home where they were facing challenges in making their food healthy. This was to provide healthy nutritious products which also taste good and attractive because youngsters in the UK and in India, we realized,

Beverages & Food Processing Times

were consuming more processed convenient food. Another challenge would be making the food safe, preparing it with the least amount of water and energy consumption. That was when the delegation members seemed to realize that they could look for joint collaborations with Indian industries and academicians. The UK delegation was interested in the university's work on millets and fruits which have phytonutrient potential, which can work in the UK and Indian markets. A lot of tips and technology available in the UK for food preservation was shared with TNAU and the delegation of industrialists by the delegation. The team would also be meeting a delegation of industrialists at Trichy.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

For updated news everyday logon to www.agronfoodprocessing.com

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FOOD SAFETY NEWS

Countries can opt-out of approved GM crops, says EU

he European Union has given member states the option of banning use of genetically modiﬁed (GM) crops despite the approval for cultivation by the 28-nation

the Americas and Asia. Europe has a divided opinion with countries such as France and Germany opposing it. However, Britain is in favour of such crops. Although the measure still needs ﬁnal approval from the parliament and member states over the coming weeks, EU ofﬁcials said that no longer poses a substantial problem after Thursday's agreement.

Chinese watchdog ﬁnds 23% water being sold in the country substandard

ests carried out by China's Food and Drug Administration have found excess bacteria in barrelled water from drinking water companies, including Wahaha, Robust and C'estbon.

"Wahaha said it had recalled affected products and cut its supply relationship with the water station where the contamination had occurred." Another batch of Robust 18.9l barrels produced in Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital had 120 CFU per millimetre, while a batch of C'estbon 18.9l barrels produced in Hebei in July and sold in Beijing was found to contain around 29,000 CFU per millimetre. In a statement posted on the ofﬁcial Xinhua news agency, Wahaha said it had recalled affected products and cut its supply relationship with the water station where the contamination had occurred.

The Associated Press reported: "Under the broad agreement, member states will have to get a special opt-out for every GM crop they seek to ban. Other member states must make sure that pollen or seeds do not inadvertently drift into nations that ban them.” bloc's food safety authority. While environmental campaigners approved of the deal, saying that it was an improvement on the current regime, representatives of the GM industry have criticised it. According to the new decision that has been agreed upon by the European Parliament and member states, national governments will have the ﬁnal say in the matter, which is seen as a countermove to many EU initiatives that traditionally seek a common stance on EU policies. "Under the broad agreement, member states will have to get a special opt-out for every GM crop they seek to ban.” GM crops are rare in Europe but are common in

An earlier attempt to reach a compromise on GM cultivation in 2012 had failed as EU ministers had been unable to agree. Reuters quoted food safety spokesperson Bart Staes who is a representative of the Green group in the European Parliament as saying that the deal was not robust enough and risked 'ﬁnally opening the door to genetically-modiﬁed organisms across Europe, in spite of citizens' clear opposition'. Only two GM crops have been approved for commercial cultivation by EU authorities to date, with one a starchy potato that was later blocked by a court. Currently, the only GM crop to be still in use in EU is Monsanto's GM maize MON810, which is cultivated in Spain and Portugal.

Indian health ministry invites suggestions on $282m food safety schemes

ndia's Health and Family Welfare Ministry has recently issued a notice inviting suggestions on two schemes under the Food Safety Standards Regulations (FSSR) 2011, estimated at Rs1,750cr ($282m), to enhance the country's food safety regulatory system.

These schemes have been set out by the central government for strengthening the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the state regulatory system. While the government has set aside $137.2m (Rs850cr) for the first scheme, the second involves an investment of $145.27m (Rs900cr). The department has invited suggestions regarding the two schemes until 22 December. "The schemes aim to facilitate effective implementation of the FSS Act and rules and regulations made.” The first scheme called the Central Sector Scheme will involve the strengthening of FSSAI at headquarter, regional /field offices and eGovernance and food safety surveillance, strengthening of central level laboratories and

establishment of National Food Science and Risk Assessment Centre (NFSRAC) apart from awareness, training, capacity building and educational programmes. The second scheme will work on strengthening of f o o d safety infrastru cture at the state level and the strength ening of state level laborato ries.

However, the other two companies were unavailable for comment.

The Chinese watchdog tested around 2,088 batches, with 23% of puriﬁed drinking water found to be substandard, with most failing to pass the tests for excess bacteria. The FDA conducted the tests in the second half of this year and results were announced last week, reported Shanghai Daily.

The Beijing and Hebei food and drug administrations said that all the water had been removed from sale and customers had been offered refunds. A total of 4,881 batches of beverages and drinking water, covering 3,192 producers in 31 provinces, have been tested by the administration, with 791 batches found to be substandard.

Delhi govt. food safety department tell HC, food sample of some companies found to be sub-standard & unsafe

elhi food safety department has told the Delhi High Court that rice and other food samples collected from KFC, Sagar Ratna and Bikanerwalal have been found to be unsafe and sub-standard.

Funds for the t w o schemes will be released after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the respective states and the FSSAI regarding objectives, timelines for completion of activities. Speaking about the schemes, the ministry said in a statement: "The schemes aim to facilitate effective implementation of the FSS Act and rules and regulations made thereunder. “It will help in strengthening the food testing laboratories and building manpower capacity of the states/UTs, organising training, creating awareness for public and Food Business Operators (FBOs) and setting up of a robust surveillance system considered essential to effectively meet the aims of reducing food adulteration and making available wholesome food to the consumers."

According to the test results, a batch of Wahaha drinking water in 18.9l barrels produced in north China's Hebei Province in July and sold in Beijing contained 160 CFU (colony forming units) per milliliter which is eight times more than China's national standard.

The affidavit filed by the designated officer from the department states that the presence of artificial colour makes these dishes "unfit" for consumption. Short affidavit filed before the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and R S Endlaw stated that thethe samples of 'Rizo Rice' taken from KFC at Scindhiya House in Connaught Place here, since January 2013 till October 2014, shows that it contained artificial colour.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

"Rice samples collected for testing from Sagar Ratna restaurant at gate no.2 metro station of GTB Nagar, were also found to be unsafe and samples of fruit and vegetable chutney from Bikanerwala restaurant at ITL Tower in Netaji Subhash Place were found to be substandard , the affidavit said. "Several samples of g h e e (clarified butter) collected in the past two years from various eateries were found to be of substandard quality and w e r e misbranded to mislead the public," it said. However, KFC and Sagar Ratna have denied the allegations and said that their products are safe for consumption. The court is hearing a plea seeking an immediate ban on the sale of fruits and vegetables that contain artificial colors and harmful pesticides.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

BISCUIT & SANACK NEWS

ITC, Britannia and Parle Products taking three di erent routes to compete at the premium end

arle Products, ITC and Britannia – to entice their consumers are rapidly adding news varieties to their premium ranges. But each is taking a different route do so. While Parle Products is opting to mark its presence in both cookies and cream biscuits, rivals Britannia and ITC have been chosen to put their might behind either creams or cookies. Britannia is the leading player in cookies with an estimated market share of 30 per cent. ITC, on the other hand, is the largest player in creams with an estimated share of around 26 per cent. Parle Products, the number two in both creams (22 per cent) and cookies (27 per cent), takes the top spot when the two segments are combined. It has a share of 25 per cent in the Rs 7,200-crore cookieplus-cream market.

The three players are working hard in their focus areas in the premium end. Even volume-player Parle Products have lost count of the number of launches they have made in premium biscuits.

launched three cookies in the last three months Tiger Butter Krunch in September, Nutrichoice Heavens in early-November and Good Day Chunkies last month. To increase the buzz around Good Day Chunkies, Britannia test-launched the brand on Amazon.com, in a ﬁrst for a biscuit company, before taking it to physical stores.

ITC has set the ball rolling with the launch of its Farmlite cookies, eight months ago, signalling its intent to grab a larger share of the cookie market. It already has brands such as Delishus and Mom's Magic operating in the space. Britannia, on the other hand, according to industry sources, could increase its presence in creams in a bid to hedge its bets against the onslaught of ITC and Parle Products in its stronghold - cookies. Its Pure Magic, which was relaunched two years back, could see more variants or the company could launch a new cream biscuit. The company has already refurbished its bourbon and jam biscuits to improve its share in creams.

In the last one to two years, Parle has launched products such as Mini Milano, a smaller variant of the premium Milano chocolate chip cookie, Milano centre-ﬁlled biscuits, Golden Arcs (also centre-ﬁlled), Monaco Cream, a variant of the popular Monaco snacks biscuit, Happy Cream, another cream variant of Parle's Happy Happy brand and Black Bourbon, a premium variant of the traditional bourbon biscuit.

"We are the world's largest biscuit company and we will bring more biscuit offerings into India," said Rosenfeld, without specifying which products would be brought to the country. But speculation is that brands such as Nabisco (which has crackers and wafers), Ritz, Belvita, Barni and Mikado could ﬁnd their way into the Indian market, as the US major ramps up its snacks portfolio.

Britannia, the ﬁrst of the three companies to begin its premiumisation journey a few years ago, has

Mondelez is the leader in the Rs 5,500-crore chocolate market, with a share of 70 per cent.

Britannia's e-cookie market ritannia Industries last week claimed to be the "ﬁrst biscuit company" in India to launch an online-exclusive product before

2013 it was valued at US$13bn. It's no surprise then that the FMCG sector wants a slice of this. At the end of last week, Britannia Industries became what i t claim ed is t h e "ﬁrst biscui

it hit retail stores. With India's e-commerce market predicted to be worth US$70bn by 2020, none can fault Britannia for testing the online waters. It's also a great PR-move. But there are some dangers the food industry might want to consider before it jumps online.

t company" in the country to launch a product online before it hits retail stores.

Mother Dairy said it would sell the snacks in Indian supermarket chains and at its own Safal retail outlets. " We w i l l b e u s i n g modern and traditional channels for retails, including 1,500 Safal food and Mother Dairy outlets in Delhi," Pradipta Sahoo, horticulture business head for Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetables, told just-food.

Parle's domination, however, in the cream-pluscookie space could be increasingly challenged as Britannia and ITC up the ante in segments where they have traditionally lagged.

Historically Parle been a mass-market player in biscuits (with Parle G and Marie). With the premium market showing enormous growth as disposable incomes increase and tastes improve, it made ample sense for the company to shift their attention.

Digital - it's a whole new world presenting an array of opportunities. Nowhere more so than in India. Sachin Bansal, Flipkart co-founder and CEO has said the e-commerce business in the country is expected to hit US$70bn by 2020. In

rocessed food giant Mother Dairy will launch its ﬁrst frozen snack - Aloo Tikki, a potato-based Indian delicacy - nationwide

Bangalore-based ITC food division, meanwhile, has been beeﬁng up its creams portfolio under Dark Fantasy, launching new variants and ﬂavours in a bid to enhance its lead over rivals.

According to market experts, Mondelez is the fourth leg in this multi-cornered ﬁght for dominance in premium biscuits. While Oreo has an estimated share of around 6 per cent in cream biscuits, the company's global chairperson, Irene Rosenfeld, said on a recent visit to India, it would increase its presence in the biscuits space by getting in more of its international brands.

Mother Dairy in frozen snacks push

by the end of this year, a company executive has told just-food. The snack will be marketed under the company's Safal brand and be launched alongside two other new ready-to-cook frozen products: spinach blocks and a potato fenugreek mix, which need to be fried before serving.

A pack of 400 grams of Aloo Tikki, will cost US$1.20, which is US$0.10 cheaper than its only competitor McCain Foods. "The frozen ingredients and snacks market in India is around USD190 million and is growing by 15 percent to 20 per cent annually," Sahoo said. Safal's Aloo Tikki manufacturing plant in Delhi has an annual capacity of 300 tonnes, and will source raw material from the company’s vegetable retail arm

Maiya’s launches Bhel Bar in India

aiya’s pioneers of South Indian RTE foods in India has launched Bhel Bar, the ﬁrst in a series of chewing bars he plans to launch. The Rs 10 sachet, with a shelf-life of nine months, comes with two bars. While Bhel

“Currently what is available in bar form in the market are not what we are used to as Indian family eating products. Bhel bar, however, will be a totally Indian product that is both innovative and easy to carry," Kumble said. "What Maiya

Bar targets travellers, ofﬁcegoers, school children etc, he is also working on eight other kinds of bars, keeping the speciﬁc needs of different kinds of consumers. Those looking for instant energy will get a bar made of dried and fried fruits. The

has put together is an original, relevant, and a pioneering product in the market," commented brand expert Harish Bijoor, referring to the bar.

Nine months ago, his firm raised Rs 100 crore in funding from the private equity firm Ascent Capital, and the investment is likely to translate into a fourth of the company's stake around three years from now. The entrepreneur hopes to end the current fiscal year with a turnover of Rs 120 crore, and break-even sometime during the next fiscal year. Cricketer Anil Kumble describes Maiya an innovative entrepreneur who constantly churns out new South Indian food products.

The firm embarked on a 15 day trial of its Good Day Chunkies chocolate chip cookies, before the product would be taken offline and sold via traditional retail channels. It's the first move of its kind for the firm and marketing director Ali Harris Shere said, “Digital is emerging as a big platform and we want to be the first one to explore it, rather than being a follower.”

Beverages & Food Processing Times

"India is emerging as an on-the-go market where people are leading very exciting, fast and peripatetic lives". "In this kind of a situation, people want everything, both nutrition and taste, on the go," he said, and added that Maiyas bar product could be copied by many others c o m p a n i e s . M a i y a , h o w e v e r, s o u n d e d unperturbed. "Even if somebody wants to copy us, it will take two years because it involves import of machines and product trials." According to Ajay Mittal, director at Ascent Capital, Maiya will bring out some of the street food in bar form, and try his hand with others.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FOOD PROCESSING NEWS

India’s 1st Monthly Newspaper For Beverages, Food & Allied Industries

Gelato: It ain't ice cream its health What's creamier than ice cream but with less fat content? What's a great way to enjoy the fruits of the season? What's as Italian as Tiramisu but with less than half as many calories? If you have Gelato on your mind, you will agree that Gelato has now begun to replace ice cream as a favourite dessert for children and adults alike.

www.agronfoodprocessing.com

Vol. 7, Issue 8, January 2015, Rs. 20/-

After Amazon's affair with food and beverage e-store, snap deal has launched its agriculture store. Snapdeal's Agri Store offers hundreds of products across categories like – irrigation tools, farming tools and seeds. The company also plans to add more products and categories in the coming weeks from merchants across the country. A Hindi version of the store will also be launched soon to aid the farmers in making an informed decision. Agriculture is a primary sector in India with 70% of the population engaged in this sector. With The Agri Store, Snapdeal wants to extend their mission of creating life changing experiences for buyers and sellers to farmers of our country. Now, farmers will be able to access products critical to their daily needs easily at the click of a button, this bringing forth the inclusive power of digital marketplaces in the realm of agriculture as well. Agri and food processing industry both are bene iting from the e-store trends as it brings the consumer even closer to them and I think growing technology is enhancing the marketing ability of companies which in return offer the consumer hassle free mode of buying products. So farmers it's time for Snapdeal celebration! While on retail we have Lulu coming in India. Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group plans to invest about US$400 million in a new shopping mall and food processing units in India. It has earmarked 25 billion rupees for a fruit and vegetable processing unit, an integrated meat processing unit, and a shopping mall in Hyderabad, the capital of India's youngest state Telangana. Grocery retailers' sales in India topped 16 trillion rupees last year, up from about 14.6tn rupees in 2012, according to Euromonitor International. There were about 12.4 million grocery outlets last year, much of which is open-air markets and small shops. Lulu opened its irst mall in India in the neighboring state of Kerala in February last year but has invested in food processing units in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai over the past decade. Ending a two-year wait, Walmart, the $476-billion American supermarket chain, largest retailer in the world by revenue, is readying plans to open its 21st store in India. The latest cash-and-carry or wholesale outlet, for selling products from grocery to apparel and consumer electronics to businesses, of ices and organizations, is coming up in Agra by the middle of 2015, it is learnt. This will be Walmart's second store in Agra, converting what not-so-long-ago was operated by its French rival, Carrefour, the second largest retailer in the world. The latter chain shut its India operation recently due to mounting losses and unviable business Well food retail in India is going to places as food processing is developing with lightening speed. The food processing sector is growing at a rate of about 9 per cent annually, higher than the agriculture expansion. The government is taking a number of initiatives which would help double the growth rate of the sector in coming few years. In coming years the sector will play an important role as land under agriculture is decreasing and population is increasing. While on food processing development I can't help to mention that Amul's top branding. RS Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), has said that, Amul will become a Rs 30,000-crore brand in the current iscal making it “as big, if not bigger than Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). This year, GCMMF alone is likely to do Rs 22,000 crore and the unions on their own another Rs 8,000 crore. So, in all, the Amul brand will register a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore. Amul can become India's largest FMCG player, ahead of HUL which recorded net sales of Rs 27,408.29 crore in 2013-14. Moreover, HUL sells a range of personal care, homecare, food and beverages products under 50-odd brands, whereas GCMMF / Amul's business is con ined to dairy under a single umbrella brand. On the export front India is all set to export its milk to Russia. Faced with huge shortage following decision of the European Union not to exports, Russia is turning to India for import of dairy products from India soon. While Russia opened up its market access for Indian buffalo meat, the country which faces economic sanctions from the western world following its military intervention in Ukraine is yet to allow import of dairy products from India. I started from the retail story to food processing world than to dairy achievement, this is because in December the food processing industry registered different sky highs and I just wanted to bring my readers attention to them. Many are left to be mentioned, many are left to be acknowledged. Well till next time.

What regular ice cream and gelato have in common is the endless variety of ingredients and possible mixes; next to chocolate and vanilla flavor are extravagancies such as tomato-basil, red bean and sesame. For many Gelato graduates it's the start of a second career But the initial similarities may be deceiving, as the two products differ significantly: Gelato cream consists of around 30 percent air, but regular ice cream may easily have double that. And while gelato ranges between six and eight percent fat, ice cream has usually around nine per cent or more. Typical ice cream is about 12 or 13 percent. So gelato is much healthier. And its temperature is higher, so it's less cold. That makes the gelato more pleasant, and gives it a more creamy effect that is loved by the consumers. You may find it weird or unbelievable but now we do have an institution that teaches all about the Gelato technology. This certainly appears true for the Carpigiani Gelato University itself. Founded in 2003, it has now stretched far beyond its original campus in Italy, and operates eight schools around the world with locations including Tokyo, Shanghai, and Buenos Aires. Every year more than 6,000 would-be gelato entrepreneurs from all over the world register themselves for a scoop of fresh knowledge.

establish itself as a national brand. It is also seeking continual expansion across India. The company provides personalised all-level management support in form of well-trained craftsmen, marketing, human resources or product enquiries. The franchise formats, the company offers include kiosks (space required 80-160 sq.ft.) and high street outlet (140-300 sq. ft). The capital outlay on franchisee's end could vary between Rs 9 lakh-15 lakh for kiosk and high street format respectively approximately. This would also incorporate the franchise fee and costs for equipment and ﬁttings, staff training, architectural and design fees etc. Gelato Italiano The Gelato chain owned by Mumbai based Blue Food Company currently has around 60 outlets in cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The company is now on an expansion spree and looking to extend its presence across India through a franchise route in addition to company owned stores. It is targeting in Tier I cities for initial phase of expansion and to Tier II and III cities later on. It has plans to open more than 60 outlets pan India and has not disclosed the capital requirement for the proposed quick expansion as yet. The Gelato industry challenges in India The Gelato Gourmet Industry has several factors that are critical for its growth prospects. These include issues pertaining to the supply chain mechanism, the infrastructure requirements, enhancing product awareness along with increasing consumer base for this specialty product.

The Indian picture The Gelato Industry in India is relatively new and developing to ﬁnd its foot holds among the consumers. The premium gourmet product that originated in Italy is slowly carving its share in the Frozen Dessert market.

Supply chain Management The shelf life of the gelato is of few days only and mostly, it is freshly prepared and sold on daily basis. Therefore, the franchisors prefer having a manufacturing unit close to the franchise stores. The franchisee would need to place orders in advance mostly 24 hours, so that the franchisor is able to supply the stock on time.

Gelato generally is considered as an ice cream, but technically the product is different. The frozen dessert is a low fat and high ﬂavoured product. Unlike the most industrial ice creams, it is prepared from fresh and natural ingredients. The Gelato made its entry in the Indian market some eight years ago and basically caters to the premium consumer. With not many players in this niche business segment, there is lot of scope and untapped market to take advantage of. Currently, there are about 10 Gelato brands and 100 gelaterias or gelato stores in the country.

Infrastructure The refrigeration and display cabinets are typical and different from those used in regular icecream stores. This is due to the fact that 'Gealto' is 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream and requires different temperature settings. Unlike ice cream, gelato is not completely frozen solid. Moreover, the equipment is sourced from Italy and usually supplied by the franchisor. The Gelato manufacturing involves typical recipes, equipments, production process and store formats.

Rulers of the Gelato industry The Gelato concept in India is infancy and still developing. Several Gelato brands such as Gelato Delight, Mama Mia, Gelato Italiano, Amore and Gelato Vinto etc are the pioneers in this sector in India. Most of them operate through company owned stores and some of them have forayed into the franchise arena to scale up and expand their brand and product reach. As, 'Gelato' is a premium product, the ideal distribution format for it, could be retail-kiosks and gelaterias or parlours, catering services, supermarkets supply and via institutional sales.

Lack of product knowledge Gelato has still has to carve its identity as a different product other than ice cream. A large section of consumers are not able to differentiate between ice cream and Gelato. In case of ice cream, the content ratio of ice cream to air is 30:70 and for Gelato, this ratio is typically 70:30. Gelato is prepared from natural ingredients (milk and fruits), and is mostly fat free (only 3 to 4 percent of fat) and is more creamy, rich and tasty and therefore nutritious. However, the variations in gelato containing chocolate or nuts are more calorised. Also, there are other gelato products available such as water based Sorbettos, Gelato Cakes and shakes.

Franchise prospect The gelato brands namely Gelato Vinto, Amore and Gelato Italiano offer franchise opportunities in India along with presence through own stores. Gelato Vinto The Delhi based brand launched in 2005 by Shivram Foods Pvt Ltd. has launched its franchise concept pan India. Gelato Vinto currently has presence in Delhi/ NCR, UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Punjab through 25 franchised and 11 company owned outlets. It also has a supply channel for Hyatt Regency, Leela Kempinski and several other hotels and restaurants in the city. Now, the company is planning further expansion. It is offering franchisees and the interested entrepreneurs require paying a one-time franchise fee. The preferred location would be high footfall areas like ground ﬂoor of a market or shopping mall or a food court and minimum space needed would be 100 sq. ft. The company also extends technical knowledge and support to its franchisees. Amore Mumbai based gelato brand Amore owned by Gourmet Gelato Company Pvt. Ltd. began operations in 2006 in India. At present, the brand has presence in Mumbai, Surat and Hyderabad through 25 outlets operating through mix of ownership as well as franchise model. The company opted for franchising in its endeavor to

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Small consumer base: As if now, Gelato industry in India is a very small catering to a niche market. Its consumer base comprises those foodies who have knowledge and appreciation for the quality food ingredients and its history. The product is 100 percent costlier than any other regular branded ice cream. Also, with many options available in the category of Frozen Desserts and ice creams, the gelato finds clientele in people who have a more refined palate. The current scenario is that the gelato market is limited to metros and Tier I cities. In the end Generally, seen as part of the Ice Cream industry which is Rs 3,000-crore organized ice-cream market in India in 2014 and pegged at annual growth rate of 15 per cent for coming years, the share of gelato market is very small about five per cent. There is massive scope in this premium gourmet segment in terms of creating product awareness and identity in the Indian market. As more and more people are becoming health conscious and also ready to spend, the sector offers potential entrepreneurial opportunity. The trend is picking up with several players planning expansion and seeking franchise partners to extend the reach of the product across India and creating a larger consumer base.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

COCOA NEWS

The Enchantment of Cocoa

ocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is a native of Amazon region of South America. The bulk of it is produced in the tropical areas of the African continent. There are over 20 species in the genus but the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao is the only one cultivated widely. Though cocoa has been known as the beverage crop even before tea or coffee, it is relatively a new crop in India. Cocoa being primarily an item of confectionery industries is the produce of Cacao plant mostly grown as a companion crop interspersed within the irrigated Coconut and /or Arecanut gardens. Even though Cocoa comes under the deﬁnition of plantation crops pure plantation of cocoa as such is absent in India. The commercial cultivation of cocoa however commenced from 1960's only. Various Cocoa products are confectionery in nature and palatably consumable. Internationally it is an item largely consumed in developed countries..

materials and other nputs they need to invest in their farms and prepare for a successful future. The future of chocolate with cocoa Demand for cocoa is predicted to rise by 30% by 2020 but without empowering and investing in small-scale farmers, the industry will struggle to provide sufﬁcient supply Chocolate is in demand: rising incomes in emerging markets and an economic recovery in the rich North, are predicted to lead to a 30% growth in demand by 2020.

contrast, the manufacturers' share has increased from 56% to 70% and the retailers' from 12% to 17% over the same period. Low prices paid to farmers result in low productivity and poverty in farming communities. Farmers use out-dated farming methods and lack resources to invest in fertilisers or in replacing ageing trees past their peak productivity. Cocoa growers are typically illiterate subsistence farmers who grow cocoa alongside staple food crops to provide the main cash income to pay school fees, medical bills and other household necessities. Their communities

improving the cocoa farming Mondelez's Cocoa Life Investing in India's Cocoa Farming Communities In November 2012, Mondelēz International announced Cocoa Life, a program to invest $400 million over the next ten years to improve the livelihoods and living conditions of more 200,000 cocoa farmers and about one million people in cocoa farming communities around the world. Cocoa Life will beneﬁt cocoa -growing communities in India. But Mondelēz International's involvement in Indian cocoa isn't new – its legacy Cadbury brand pioneered cultivation of the crop in the country since 1965 and has been working with cocoa farming communities ever since under its “Cocoa Gold” program. It originated in Kerala state and has expanded to help coconut farmers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to plant cocoa and diversify beyond coconut trees.

Rising demand for cocoa creates fresh opportunities This is an intriguing time to be in the cocoa industry, with signiﬁcant and steady growth in the market predicted. The biggest question today is how we can adapt to changing global appetites, while maintaining a steady price for cocoa and chocolate. Achieving this will mean consumers are protected from sudden changes in the market, and that we can continue to steadily improve the livelihoods of smallholder cocoa farmers around the world.

The program has transformed the lives of over 60,000 farmers across four states in India. Today, Mondelēz International operates 20 nurseries in four states –providing cocoa seedlings to 15000 farmers annually. The nurseries provide rural employment opportunities to about 500 people. Mondelēz International also has a dedicated team of 60 employees who travel throughout these cocoa growing areas providing farmers advice and assistance in all aspects of cocoa cultivation, in addition to stafﬁng a telephone helpline to assist farmers with technical questions

Alongside a steady growth in demand from traditional markets, there is a rapid acceleration in emerging markets such as in Asia, with a surge in disposable income and a newly discovered taste for cocoa and chocolate-ﬂavoured products. Cocoa being a tropical crop, so India offers considerable scope for the development. Cocoa is mainly grown in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Cargill Cocoa Promise The Cargill Cocoa Promise is committed to improving the livelihoods of farmers, their families and their communities, and, in doing so, securing a long-term supply of cocoa. It was introduced in 2012 to align their efforts in six origin countries on the three key areas that can make a real and lasting difference: farmer training, community support and farm development So far, Cargill has trained over 115,000 farmers in good agricultural practices, established nearly 2,550 Farmer Field Schools globally, and through partnership with CARE International, provided nearly 34,000 children in cocoa-growing communities with improved access to education. Over 50,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire alone have been certiﬁed as sustainable growers.

China's economy in regard of cocoa production is expected to overtake the United States within the next three years, and “luxury” indulgent products such as chocolate will undoubtedly be among those that benefit from this new spending power. We are already seeing a swift growth in sales of powder-containing goods such as chocolate milk, cookies and cakes. The resulting 2–3% annual rise in demand is good news for everyone in the cocoa sector, but it is an opportunity that can only be leveraged when we overcome the challenge of ensuring sufficient supply. Over the next decade, we will need to source about a million extra metric tons of cocoa. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of finding the entire crop of Ecuador – one of the world's larger producers – every two years.

Steady growth over the last hundred years has transformed the chocolate confectionary market into an $80bn a year global industry. But now, with demand forecast to outstrip supply, a crisis is looming for the industry. Around 3.5 million tonnes of cocoa are produced each year. But rising incomes in emerging markets like India and China, combined with anticipated economic recovery in the rich North, have led to industry forecasts of a 30% growth in demand to more than 4.5 million tonnes by 2020. This should be good news for farmers and businesses alike. But complacency and disregard for the livelihoods of more than five million small-scale family farmers who grow 90% of the worlds cocoa mean that the industry may simply be unable to provide sufficient supply to meet the demand. Cocoa prices are volatile and influenced by many

have poor education and healthcare services and lack electricity and decent sanitation, with water only available from communal wells. As prices of food and other costs rise, the failure to capture sufficient value from their crop means that many cocoa farmers are abandoning the industry. Many of their children see no future in cocoa and are switching to more profitable rubber production or heading for the cities in the hope of finding a better livelihood. As a result, the average age of cocoa farmers in West Africa is now 51, leading to serious concerns across the industry about the long-term sustainability of the supply chain: no cocoa farmers = no chocolate bars. Indian scenario of Cocoa market in India Cocoa production in India is expected to double to 30,000 tonnes by 2025. At present, India is producing only 15,600 tonnes against the demand of 45,000 tonnes from the ever-growing

This Cargill-cocoa program is global, but they act local – using the scale and extent of on-theground sourcing network. With the partnership with governments, farming communities and NGOs the company tries to understand local issues, align with local policies and make a tangible, long-term difference.

Cocoa supplies can be unpredictable Cocoa is a vulnerable crop; relying as it does on variable weather conditions and smallholders with often limited yields living in difﬁcult socioeconomic conditions. There is also a great deal of competition for land – cocoa has to win out against other cash crops such as rubber and palm – and many origin countries have high rates of rural to urban migration.

Fairtrade Many chocolate companies are waking up to the situation, and to the fact that Fairtrade can be part of a solution, helping to ensure decent incomes for farmers and a long-term supply of quality product to companies.

In this context, we need to work hard to make sure cocoa farming is sufﬁciently attractive to be a viable, rewarding choice – so that cocoa demand and supplies well balanced for the future. Revitalizing farms Cocoa has always been a crop that offered economic opportunity. But now, with many farms at the end of their productive lifecycle, cocoa productivity is under pressure. The majority of smallholder cocoa farms, particularly in West Africa, were established 20–30 years ago. Cocoa is a tree crop and the trees have aged and become less productive; soil nutrient levels have decreased and pests and diseases affect both cocoa pod and overall tree health. How can we solve this together? By working with farmers to dramatically improve knowledge and adoption of good agricultural practices – whether that is with the appropriate use of weeding and pruning techniques or the development of safer harvesting practices. By improving farmers' incomes and providing better services for farmers, their families and their communities. And by providing farmers with the planting

And in the recent 2012/2013 crop year, their partner cooperatives and farmer organizations received US$6.25 million in premium payments in cash that allowed them to invest and strengthen their organizations, their crops and their communities. A similar amount was made available to farmers.

Fairtrade sales are generating signiﬁcant amounts of Fairtrade Premium funds for cocoa farmer organisations to invest in their farms, businesses, and communities. In 2011, Fairtrade cocoa producer organisations received more than €7.6m in Fairtrade Premium money. factors – from extreme weather, pests and disease to speculation and political instability in producing countries. In 2000, oversupply of beans saw prices slump to a 27-year low of around $714 a tonne. Then prices rocketed to a 32-year high of $3,775 a tonne in 2011 amid fears of disruption to cocoa supplies following the failed coup in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer. Even as cocoa prices rise, farmers have not been capturing their fair share. Growers in West Africa are likely to receive just 3.5% to 6.4% of the ﬁnal value of a chocolate bar, depending on the percentage of cocoa content – a disastrous fall compared with 16% in the late 1980s. By

chocolate industry, requiring large-scale imports. The country imported cocoa worth Rs 804 crore in the last ﬁscal. The domestic production, mainly concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka, is expected to touch 30,000 tonnes by 2025. Though Kerala was cultivating cocoa in smaller area, it contributed a major share of 7,000 tonnes and Tamil Nadu's share was 1,500 tonnes. Enhancing quality, yield and productivity, would be beneﬁcial for the end-users, in this case chocolate industry.

Companies working towards

Beverages & Food Processing Times

This money is increasingly being used to support producer organisations and farmers in strengthening their business – for example by investing in replacing old cocoa trees to increase productivity, or investments in better facilities for crop collection, storage, transport, or processing. More than half of Fairtrade Premium expenditure is being invested in business or organizational development, or to support improvements in production and processing. The Fairtrade Foundation Commodity Brieﬁng – Fairtrade and Cocoa – sheds light on the complex challenges in the cocoa industry and provides relevant and accessible information to anybody with an interest in cocoa.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

MACHINERY & COLD CHAIN NEWS

Bühler leads discussion on food safety, security and nutrition

ondon, December, 22, 2014 -The Bühler Group, a global technology partner for the food processing industry, brought together a team of leading international experts to the Gulfood Manufacturing Exhibition 2014. There they discussed the increasingly central role of pulses in ensuring the future of global nutrition, as

vast range of processing opportunities for this valuable crop. Pulses can be transformed into ﬂour and be processed with other ingredients to deliver, for example, pasta-style products, baked goods, extruded snacks and breakfast cereals. As consumer awareness increases for this food group, the up-take of pulses within food products

Agilent Technologies - Achieving High-Speed mAb Characterization

ow to achieve high-speed, highresolution glycan mapping for mAb characterization

The full characterization of biotherapeutics is required by regulatory authorities as properties such as safety, efﬁcacy and the serum half-life of therapeutic proteins can be affected by

differences in their glycosylation pattern. Recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics (mAbs) represent the largest group of therapeutic proteins the analysis of the glycan pattern is therefore an essential part of the mAb characterization process. However, glycan mapping is a complicated and multi-step process. Rapid, reproducible and high resolution glycan mapping is now achievable thanks to developments in column technology which help researchers overcome the challenges associated with glycan analysis.

well as addressing key industry issues, including food safety and security. As part of the discussion, a team of leading experts revealed the potential for pulses and their growing importance in the western world where there is currently a limited awareness of the high nutritional value and low environmental footprint of pulses – which includes dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and many other dry beans belonging to the leguminous crop. Speaking at the symposium at Gulfood, Hakan Bahceci, President of the Global Pulse Confederation (CICILS) endorsed Bühler's commitment, acknowledging the impact pulse crops has on food security and environmental sustainability. “In 2013, we worked with member nations at the UN to have 2016 declared the International Year of Pulses (IYOP). The IYOP has the goal of raising the profile of beans, chickpeas, lentils and all other pulses around the globe. As members of the pulse industry, we know that pulses have immense benefits for consumers in developed and developing countries. It is also an opportunity to increase the awareness of issues faced by pulse farmers around the globe, and draw attention and resources to key areas of activity and research aimed at improving pulse productivity worldwide. “It is wonderful to see the work Bühler is doing in the area of sustainability and nutrition to support this effort. We are encouraged to see our partners in the value chain taking action on such an important global issue. The sustainability benefits of pulses are plentiful. We believe that the IYOP is not only an opportunity to benefit us in the pulse industry, but advance the benefits of pulses to address worldwide issues of food security, nutrition and environmental sustainability.” Dr. Beatrice Conde-Petit, Global food scientist and technologist for Bühler added, “The growing interest of the wider food industry to include pulses in new food formulations is opening up a

will grow rapidly supported by pioneering processing technology. With many food multinationals around the world already effectively working towards utilisation of pulses in their products, we look forward to the transformation 2016 and the IYOP will bring to this underused food group.” Bühler is committed to innovations in pulses processing, as highlighted by pulse processing specialist Prasad Jaripatke, who addressed recent market trends and challenges in food sustainability as well as Bühler's vision to deliver increases in yield, safety and hygiene. Prasad, Bühler's Head of Pulses, Spices and Seasame Segement, also shared the company's vision for innovation across the value chain from post-harvest to consumer plate. “We can help pulse processors reduce food waste and energy consumption with smarter, more efﬁcient processing technology that achieves higher yields and productivity. “We recognise that hygienic processing is vital, along with gentle handling, to ensure optimum product quality that is free from impurities, uniform in size and colour and meets stringent food safety standards. Through industry collaborations, we will develop processes that can deliver a range of new pulse products, combining ingredients and textures that appeal to consumers in speciﬁc markets.” Bühler's capabilities for leveraging the value of pulses and pulse by-products, through postharvest stabilisation, cleaning, dehulling, sorting and further food processing were also addressed during the symposium, highlighting the opportunities for healthy food meeting both local tastes and cultural requirements. It continues to proactively develop new technologies for processing pulses and pulse based products, in order to address the growing demands from processors and consumers alike and in support of the IYOP. An example of such developments include the incorporation of the hull of pulses (otherwise a waste product) in conventional foods

One of the biggest challenges associated with glycan mapping is achieving high-resolution with fast analysis times without compromising performance. In addition to long analysis times, achieving reproducible glycan results can be

another challenge because glycan analytes are often of low abundance in complex biological samples and the glycans must be cleaved from the glycoprotein and labeled prior to analysis. Instrument limitations can also be another issue due to increased levels of backpressure with the sub 2 um particles.

To help researchers overcome the challenges associated with glycan analysis, Agilent has introduced its AdvanceBio Glycan Mapping columns which have been engineered and manufactured to deliver rapid, reproducible, high-resolution glycan identification to increase throughput without sacrificing the quality of data. These innovative columns have a unique bonding which uses a HILIC mechanism to support glycan separations to achieve high speed performance. Glycan maps can now be obtained in less than ten minutes with 1.8µm particles which is a significant benefit when analyzing and characterizing a large volume of samples during process development. To read the full story and discover how you can simplify glycan mapping for characterizing candidate biotherapeutics click here.

Food waste in India can be controlled by Liquid air

ccording to a new study by experts at the University of Birmingham, billions of rupees worth of fruit and vegetable waste in India could be well again conserved if the country had a sustainable cold chain of refrigerated warehousing and transport.

conventional cold chain technologies could have serious environmental consequences. One solution to this is to use the vast amounts of cold lost to the environment, especially during the regasiﬁcation of liqueﬁed natural gas (LNG).

The study, titled 'The prospects for liquid air cold chains in India', is to be presented to industry experts at the automobile research association of India, Pune. The report says that besides agriculture, cold chains could beneﬁt India's position as the world's third largest pharmaceutical producer. Currently, it is estimated almost 20% of temperature sensitive health-care products arrive damaged or degraded because of a broken cold chain, including 25% of vaccines. A university release said that India's current cold chain capacity is tiny compared to potential demand. Less than 4% of the country's fresh produce is transported by cold chain, compared to over 90% in the UK. However, the study suggested that the Indian refrigerated vehicle ﬂeet may need to grow almost 100-fold by 2025.

Liquid nitrogen, which can be used in the same way as liquid air, is already widely available in India and the current production capacity would be enough to cool around 17,000 vehicles, twice the size of India's current refrigerated truck ﬂeet. Toby Peters, visiting Professor in power and cold economy, who will present the study in Pune, said, “Air quality in urban areas across India is an important issue. Therefore it is crucial that a sustainable approach is taken to meet this demand for cooling to leapfrog the mistakes made elsewhere, where cold chains rely on highly polluting fossil fuels.

In light of this, the report emphasizes that

Ease in pesticide norm by US may increase the basmati export from India

ndia's Basmati rice exports to the US are expected to see an increase, with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) allowing presence of tricyclazole, a common pesticide residue, up to 3 particles per million (ppm). USEPA had recently put the chemical under import tolerance norms so that rice consignments are allowed to enter the US under strict supervision. An ofﬁcial with the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) told FE that in the last few

years, India's Basmati rice consignments have been frequently rejected at US ports because of the presence of pesticide residues of chemicals such as tricyclazole, isoprothiolane etc. “Tricyclazole is a pesticide used by Indian farmers to control sheath and leaf blast. It is not registered in the US and did not have an import tolerance norm,” a Basmati exporter said. In the absence of registration, the US authorities had rejected the rice consignments, resulting in disruption of shipments from India.

US-based Dow AgroSciences, which is a developer of the molecule and holder of all relevant safety data on the chemical, had in September 2012, at the instance of Indian rice exporters, applied to USEPA to establish an import tolerance level.

According to commerce ministry ofﬁcials, volume-wise, Indian exports are just above one lakh tonne of Basmati rice annually to the US from total annual shipments of more than 3 million tonne to mostly West Asian countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

A commerce ministry ofﬁcial said the government and industry ofﬁcials have urged the US authorities to follow a time-bound plan for establishing tolerance levels of other pesticides of concern, instead of taking a case-by-case approach.

But value-wise, realization from shipments to the US is more than $200 per tonne as compared to exports to other countries.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

In 2013-14, India exported 3.7 million tonne of Basmati worth about R30,000 crore.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

MEAT NEWS

India to achieve the target of $6 billion in marine product exports this year

ndia is on course to attain the target of $6 billion (around Rs 36,000 crore) in marine product exports this year, due to heavy buying by the US and continuing shortage of farmed shrimp in Southeast Asian countries.

Seafood exports increased 16% to Rs 19,653 crore. In dollar terms, it's up nearly 17% to $3.33 billion as per the provisional estimates of the Marine Products Export Development Authority. This is despite a marginal drop of less than 1% in quantity to 5,49,142 tonne. While some of the farmed shrimp, particularly of the Vannamei variety which is much in demand in Southeast Asia, are yet to recover fully from early mortality syndrome (EMS) disease, others have to cope with the trace presence of antibiotics. "The production in Thailand is not yet in full swing. Export of seafood has been hit by antibiotic problems in Vietnam. A few Indian consignments were also rejected due to the presence of antibiotics. But the numbers are far too low to be of any concern.

However, prices have fallen from levels earlier this year. They are currently at Rs 350-400 per kg of 40 counts of Vannamei shrimps, down by Rs 100-150. Indian seafood exports are going steady now. The earlier buoyancy is missing as New Year holidays a r e approaching. The market may pick by the middle of January. To meet global demand, farms in India raised production to around 3 lakh tonne last year, when seafood exports from the country touched Rs 30,213 crore. It should be touching Rs 3.5 lakh tonne this ﬁscal. Higher prices for Vannamei shrimps are attracting more farmers to enter the fray in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the shrimp farms are concentrated. In terms of value in dollars, frozen shrimps now account for 73% of total seafood export earnings while their share is 40% in quantity. As a result of heavy exports from the eastern coast, Visakhapatnam port has the largest share of marine product exports among all the ports in the country.

Hong Kong bans poultry products from Germany following bird ﬂu outbreak

ong Kong's Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has banned imports of poultry meat and products from Lower Saxony, Germany, following an outbreak of H5N8 avian inﬂuenza.

After the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) made an announcement about the outbreak of the pathogenic inﬂuenza in Germany, authorities ordered the culling of thousands of farm animals in Lower Saxony's Cloppenburg district. Almost 5,500t of frozen poultry meat and 580,000 poultry eggs were imported from Germany into Hong Kong between January and October in 2014, according to a CFS spokesman. German authorities have been contacted by the CFS and the department will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on the avian inﬂuenza outbreak in the country.

The department said that it will take appropriate action based on how the situation develops. Regional agricultural minister in Berlin, Christian Meyer, was reported by Agence France-Presse as saying that 1 9 , 0 0 0 animals at the site and another 1 2 , 0 0 0 turkeys at a neighbourin g f a r m would be killed due to t h e inﬂuenza outbreak.

Buffalo meat export to increase 50% this year

ith Russia opening its market after a decade, India's buffalo meat export is expected to rise 50 per cent. Russian

regulator Rosselkhoznadzor said that the country's veterinary and phytosanitary service, together with Kazakhstan's agriculture ministry, had included Indian buffalo meat producers on the register of bodies and individuals involved in the production, processing and/or storage of goods transported to the territory of the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. India has replaced Vietnam to emerge the world's largest supplier of buffalo meat in global markets last year. For several years, buffalo meat exports have been rising by 25-40 per cent annually. This year India would surpass $6 billion. India's export of buffalo meat was $4.35 bn in 2013-14, a rise of 36 per cent from $3.2 bn in 2012-13.

India exported only $195 million of agri products to Russia in 201314. And, despite supplying 60 per cent of the world's buffalo meat, India was absent from the Russian market. Now, rising inﬂation due to supply shortage impelled the Russian government to seek alternatives, including India, due to the economic sanctions imposed by America and the European Union. India exports around $4,500 mn worth of meat and poultry products annually, of which buffalo meat is 95 per cent. India produces the best quality meat in the world. Quality is not an issue. There is speculation that the coming visit of President Vladimir Putin to India would see the opening of more agri product imports from India, as a ban on import of such products from the West started last week.

Russia opens import of buffalo meat from India with immediate effect

ussia allowed import of buffalo meat from India with immediate effect, days ahead of President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country.

"Russia's veterinary and phytosanitary service Rosselkhoznadzor together with Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry has included Indian buffalo meat producers to the register of organisations and individuals involved in the production, processing and storage of goods transported to the territory of the Customs Union (of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan)," the Russian veterinary regulator said. R o s s e l k h o z n a d z o r s p o k e s w o m a n Yu l i a Troﬁmova stressed that Indian enterprises were

H e conﬁrmed that the s t r a i n detected in t h e Cloppenbur g district was the same as that found at another farm in November in Schleswig-Holstein state. The district had previously imposed a three-day ban on all poultry transports to prevent the spread of the H5N8 virus. Some strains of avian inﬂuenza affect birds and are fatal for them, and can also harm people who handle infected poultry. Although of the lower pathogenic subtypes, many times, H5N8 is used as an incubator for the highly pathogenic H1N1.

Until recently, Russia was among a number of countries which had banned import of meat and poultry products from India, due to an earlier occurrence of foot and mouth disease. The others had lifted the ban. Strict quality norms and lack of government initiatives restricted India's entry into the Russian meat and poultry m a r k e t .

allowed to supply buffalo meat to Russia starting from December 4. Russian authorities had said earlier there were also plans to certify other Indian agricultural producers to supply poultry, powdered eggs and

Beverages & Food Processing Times

dairy products. Meat and dairy imports from India are believed to be realistic for Russia, which has introduced a set of agricultural sanctions against the West. The ban announced in August bars imports of meat, ﬁsh, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the United States, the 28-nation European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway for one year in retaliation for sanctions imposed by those nations on Russia over its continued support of separatists in Ukraine. The Russian veterinary regulator will send its inspector to India to exert permanent control over consignments of buffalo meat destined for the regional Customs Union. Russia is opening its markets for Indian buffalo meat after a long gap. India is the largest buffalo m e a t exporting c o u n t r y, according t o Agricultur a l a n d Processed F o o d Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). Russian President Putin will visit India next week to strengthen bilateral strategic ties.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FROZEN FOOD NEWS

Innovative Foods to lift Rs 60 crore for frozen foods segment

rozen foods maker Innovative Foods Ltd (IFL), owner of the Sumeru brand which makes frozen fries, sausages, paranthas and prawns, is looking to raise a fresh round of funds of Rs 50-60 crore for brand development, retail expansion and technology upgrade to make the most of the rapidly growing frozen foods category. . IFL, owned by India Equity Partners (IEP), and supplier of frozen foods to top quickservice restaurant chains including Domino's, Dunkin Donuts, Cafe Coffee Day, McDonald's and Subway, may bring in additional equity or raise the money through another investor through a share sale, a top ofﬁcial said.

through a share sale," Kannan Sitaram, chief executive ofﬁcer at IFL and operating partner at IEP, said.

"The business plan is with IEP and it is b e i n g considered whether to bring in additional equity or to raise the m o n e y t h r o u g h a n o t h e r investor

Sumeru is the third largest frozen foods brand in the country after McCain and

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Godrej Tyson Foods' Yummiez. Fuelled by increased distribution, better cold storage facilities, modern retail and convenience, the frozen foods market is growing at 20% on the existing market size of about Rs 2,000 crore. Of this, about Rs 600 crore is contributed by retail sales, Rs 1,000 crore comes from food services and institutions, and the rest from exports. IFL is, meanwhile, considering local acquisitions of regional players. Sitaram conﬁrmed it but declined to say whether the ﬁrm was in talks with any potential sellers.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

FOOD INGREDINTS NEWS

Premium Ingredients launches a new powdered product for almond milk in the South Asian market

lmospray® technically improves the existing solutions and offers a greater resistance during storage in countries with warm climates.

Almospray® for almond milk producers in the South Asian market. Almospray® is a new easy-dissolution almond concentrated, which technically improves the existing applications for almond milk on the market. It also offers better results and greater resistance during storage in countries with warm climates. Almospray® has a high raw material content, with a 27% ground almonds in its composition, while presented in a novel format. The product developed by Premium Ingredients Food Services India, as presented in powder form, dissolves immediately in water, representing an important improvement over the use of almond cream. Moreover, Almospray® can be stored in optimal conditions in warm climates longer.

Premium Ingredients Food Services India, located in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Sri City, north of Chennai, India, and included in Blendhub Corp., has started to commercialize

Premium Ingredients Food Services India commercializes Almospray® as an open formula, meaning that the company shows the client the product's price transparently, including raw material costs, ﬁxed and variable costs, and the company's proﬁt margin. Additionally, it gives them the possibility to obtain the IP license.

Blendhub Corp. appoints new Supply Chain Excellence Center Manager

he company strengthens its team with the incorporation of six new other professionals

Graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences,

Antonio Marín Fernández will lead the Supply Chain Excellence Center of Blendhub Corp., company specialized in the formulation and food powder blending that creates solutions, services, and equipment for the agri-food industry. Antonio Marín Fernández has extensive experience in procurement, after more than three decades in the food industry. He has spent most of his career in Dhul Group, where he started in 1979 and had different responsibilities related to the management of plants and the purchasing of ingredients.

From August 2013 until now, Marín Fernández has served as industrial deputy director in Postres Lácteos Romar “Granja Rinya”. He joins Blendhub Corp. from this position after learning about the business model of the company, which is based on transparency. The Supply Chain Excellence Center of Blendhub Corp. is responsible for the procurement processes of raw material for the production of food powder blends, allowing the company's clients to optimize their logistics, by reducing costs in their supply chain and locating the best quality ingredients, capable of meeting their needs and improve their end products. This center is one of six that make up the offer of the company, covering all areas related to the development of functional ingredients and food powder blends. In addition to the incorporation of Antonio Marín Fernández, Blendhub Corp. has recently strengthened its team with the admission of Alberto Bago Cobo, who also joins the Supply Chain Excellence Center; Carmina Regúlez, joining the Sales team; Xavier Trias, industrial engineer who has been integrated into the Factory area; Rafael Naranjo, who joins the company PPB, integrated at Blendhub Corp., and María Dolores Meseguer and María José Mateo, which become part of the professional team of the Formulation Excellence Center.

Dairy rms rebut charges, FDA calls meet to test samples

aving named leading dairy brands - Amul, Chitale, Aarey, Gokul and Mahananda for milk adulteration, the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now called an open meeting where over 300 samples will be tested. This decision was taken after several brand represe ntative

s thronged the FDA chief's ofﬁce asking for a chance to prove that the allegations are false. The FDA has been ﬁling FIRs against nearly all leading dairy brands since December 13. "Some of the brand representatives wanted a second chance, others blatantly denied that their milk is adulterated. Now, to challenge their denial and prove that their samples contained chemicals and were not meeting required standards, a mass

testing event has been planned at the FDA office in Bandra, Mumbai. This will be the first time the FDA has challenged dairy companies openly, where samples of their milk will be tested right in front of them," said FDA chief Purushottam Bhapkar. "Some of them even claimed the testing machinery we use is faulty. Now they can see for themselves," he added. "The meeting will be attended by representatives of all dairy companies in the state, including the new ones. There will also be representatives from the Indian Dairy Association. This is an open challenge to those who claim that their milk contains no chemicals. I have also ordered all my district FDA heads to come with as many samples as they can so that we can have a random analysis and also have a record of which district consumes the most adulterated milk," revealed Bhapkar. Chairman of the Indian Dairy Association Arun Patil and treasurer Madhav Patgaonkar both said they would be attending the meeting. "We are aware of the FIRs and will definitely attend the meeting. We have received a formal invite," said Patgaonkar.

Canadean's top trends for 2015

s the end of 2014 draws near, Canadean forecasts the top trends which will influence consumer behaviour in 2015, and provides an insight into how manufacturers and marketers can target these evolving consumer needs to drive sales over the next year. From mass-produced to p e r s o n a l i s e d Canadean predicts that the desire for craft offerings will become increasingly influential. Consumers want their products to be produced and manufactured on a smaller scale to ensure quality and to feel a closer connection to the brands they choose. By emphasising the exclusivity of a product and the care with which it was formulated, brands will encourage sales among a growing number of consumers who want to move away from mass-produced items across the FMCG market. Better-for-you' ingredients According to Canadean, consumers will be increasingly concerned about unhealthy ingredients such as sugar. 2014 saw the introduction of stevia into many popular products including Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Over the coming year, a greater number of 'better-for-you' offerings will emerge with healthier and more natural alternatives. One of the main challenges will be to overcome the negative taste perceptions of these new products through innovation and reformulation as consumers still put indulgence first. A l l t h i n g s h o t a n d s p i c y The growing desire for hotter and spicier food is set to continue in 2015, as manufacturers will replicate popular heat trends from the catering industry to satisfy growing consumer needs. Brands will innovate in formulation by including spicier ingredients in meat, dairy, and snacks, as

products infused with chillies become more popular. After the Indian and Mexican food trend, manufacturers should prepare for the next emerging spice cuisines from across South-East Asia and the Middle East. Mix-and-match your favourite flavours Canadean predicts that consumers will look for new and exciting products which mix their favourite foods and flavours together. Fusion products such as amaretto cider and chocolate flavoured wine will become even more popular. The increase in demand for these experiential offerings means manufacturers must continue to innovate with ingredients and positioning to encourage sales among consumers who want more than just traditional products. Packaging drives sensory experience The large number of products available on supermarket shelves means that many brands are in danger of fading into the background. Innovative packaging that draws consumer attention will be vital for retaining market share and for brands attempting to enter the market. The use of haptics – including tactile packs, bright colours and reflective surfaces – will help to enhance the sensory experience, while matt finishing and the feel of a product can denote quality and superiority, encouraging trading-up and higher levels of spending.

Naturex reinforces its position in Latin America with the opening of a Chilean subsidiary

has the most free-trade agreements in the world, we think there is an exceptional opportunity for Naturex to grow our business in this country and facilitate the development of our presence in

The Chilean branch provides current and future customers with the full product portfolio and the latest innovations from Naturex, combined with exceptional local service. Part of a network of three sales offices and two factories in Latin America, the Chilean office is fully in line with the group's expansion strategy in emerging markets. Guillaume Levade, Sales Director – Latin America is heading the sales office, which will support the development of three strategic markets: food & beverage, dietary supplements & pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetics. Chilean customers will benefit from Naturex's manufacturing expertise and global and local capabilities. Chile is a very dynamic country with one of the highest GDPs per capita within the Latin America region. “This indicator confirms the potential of the country. Combined with the fact that Chile

neighboring countries,” said Levade. The Latin American market remains a top priority for Naturex and the company continues to invest in the area in order strengthen ties to its customers. The richness of Chile's natural environment also offers an opportunity for Naturex. The company sources Quillaja saponaria, a native tree rich in saponins from the Chilean forest. Sustainably harvested in partnership with local authorities, the wood is extracted to obtain quillaia extracts with different levels of purity. These specific extracts address different markets according to their final applications by either reinforcing natural foaming in beverages or by acting as a natural emulsifier in flavor or color emulsions and beverages.

antiago, Chile, December 8th, 2014 Naturex is strengthening its position in Latin America in response to growing local demand for natural ingredients. Following the January 2014 acquisition of Chile Botanics and its factory in Linares, the group is now opening a sales ofﬁce in Santiago, Chile.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

OIL & FATS NEWS

The ive per cent increase in import duty on vegetable oil has less eﬀect

he ﬁve per cent increase in import duty on vegetable oil isn't enough, says the edible oil reﬁning sector.

Since the announcement of an increase in import duty, the price of crude palm oil in the spot Kandla market shot up six per cent to Rs 449.70 per 10 kg. Similarly, refined soy oil jumped four per cent to Rs 670 per 10 kg in the benchmark Indore market. To encourage domestic seed crushing and refining, it had urged the central government to raise the differential duty between crude and refined oil to 15 per

cent. The government raised the import duty by five per cent on both crude palm oil (CPO) and refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) oil, the differential duty is unchanged at 7.5 per cent. The current duty on CPO and RBD is 7.5 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. The rise in duty, say trade sources, will from February begin helping domestic crushing units, while hurting refiners importing crude edible oil to refine and sell that. This is because the current nil export duty regimes by both Malaysia and Indonesia ends in January. In February, the export duty on crude oils from there will automatically be 7.5 per cent. Indonesia and Malaysia

have both had a surplus in stocks, whose export they've been encouraging.

Also, oilseed prices have hit a ﬁve-year low, with lower crushing. Soybean, for example, is trading at Rs 3,180 a quintal, a decline of 16 per cent from Rs 3,790 a qtl in

The five per cent increase in import duty will translate into a maximum of Rs 1-1.50 a kg rise in edible oil prices. This is too small to make any remarkable change in the realization for farmers and refiners. B V Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association. Anticipating the duty rise, Indian refiners had intensified import of crude palm oil (CPO). The rise was 40 per cent in November-December, resulting in a massive swell into the pipeline inventory at an all-time high of around two million tonnes.

December 2013. In the past year, refined oil prices have declined by 18 per cent to Rs 48,000 a tonne. Crude degummed soya oil is currently down by 13 per cent to Rs 56,500 a tonne and CPO by 26 per cent to Rs 41,000 a tonne. “The major objective of the government in raising the import duty on veg oil was to check rising imports, which could have been possible through encouraging of domestic refineries. Since there has been no change in the differential duty, import would continue unabated. Domestic refineries will continue to face a disparity, currently at Rs 1,000 a tonne on soybean oil,” said Mehta. Of the estimated 19.5 million tonnes of overall demand, India's import in 2014-15 (November-October) is forecast at 12.3 mt. Lower seed availability might raise our import dependence, primarily from Malaysia and Indonesia. The Central Organisation for Oil Industry & Trade has estimated the kharif oilseed output at 27.6 mt this year as compared to 29.35 mt the previous year, due to delay in sowing after a month's delay in monsoon rain. Output during the rabi season will also be lower. Against normal rabi oilseed sowing of 8.66 million hectares, about 7.2 mn ha has been done till now. “India's import of edible oil will continue to grow, as the revision in import duty will have negligible impact on availability from local sources,” said Siraj Choudhary, chairman, Cargill India.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

PACKAGINGPACKAGING & CORPORATE NEWS NEWS

Krones' Mobile Line Assistant app offers authentic added value for the workforce solving it. For the operators, this means “authentic added value for the workforce.”

Building loyal base After a gap of 2 consumer years Walmart to open newimportant store in India is very

s it returns focus on India, US retail major Walmart will open a new cash and carry store in Agra after a gap of two

Rajiv Mitra (Govind Milk)

years.

Walmart runs 20 cash and carry stores under brand Best Price across 9 states.

The apps were rated against the criteria of benefits, usability, and the originality of the idea. Besides the verdict of the five-strong jury, online voting at elektrotechnik.de and user ratings in the app store also played a significant role.

Earlier this year, Walmart announced plans to open 50 wholesale stores in the next 4-5 years to expand its footprint across the country. Walmart, however, did not reveal investment details or its plans for further expansion.

Beneﬁcial effect on line availability

Winner of the “automation app award”

n late November, at the sps ipc drives 2014 trade fairin Nuremberg, the trade medium “elektrotechnik”chose for the third time the best corporate apps in the ﬁeld of automation. For the ﬁrst time, the “automation app award”was presented in four categories: corporate, catalogue, engineering and production. In the “production” category, the “Mobile Line Assistant” app from Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, came out the unequivocal winner. In the laudation for the winner, it was emphasised that the jury had seldom been so unanimous as with the “Mobile Line Assistant” appfrom Krones. It provides line personnel with what's practically an expert system “always to hand” in their pockets. The operator gets his malfunctionmessages as a tailored selection precisely matched to his actualneeds. Nor does the logic leave him alone with this problem; it gives him proactively relevant contents for

The “Mobile Line Assistant”app from Krones supports the line's personnel in performing their daily remits at bottling or canning plants. Thanks to a clear informational structure, all the activities involved are promptly presented in an easy-read overview. Rigorous reduction to relevant contents, plus a clear, state-of-the-art design language on the level of the user interface,help the operators to identify problems swiftly even in stressful situations. All these characteristics together ensure minimised cognitive stress on the personnel involved, while at the same time exerting a beneﬁcial effect on the line's availability, since the personnel concerned can detect and address the tasks encountered in the line more quickly. The “Mobile Line Assistant” will in future be a constituent of Krones' “SitePilot” IT umbrella brand, and thus a part of the ﬁrm's comprehensive range of modularised software, covering all the tasks involved from production to logistics, and enabling all the processes concerned to be planned, visualised, documented and controlled.

Short cubes can now be wrapped into ow-packs at a high speed

re s d e n . T h e e g a r t e n - P a c t e c h a s successfully expanded its FPC5 packaging machine's capability to wrap short items in ﬂow-packs at a high speed. With a newly designed feeding unit, developed in response to customer need, the FPC5 horizontal ﬂow-pack wrapping

To generate product chains, the FPC5 can be equipped with a second cross sealing unit. The socalled chain module separates the chain of flowpacks after a defined number of packages. The manufacturer can then either offer the product chains at point of sale as a package or as individual tear-off packages. This project exemplifies how Theegarten-Pactec can solve complex development challenges for its customers, thanks to advanced machine technology and the expertise of its staff. The company's R&D department currently employs 75 people and, since market demand for this type of product wrapping is on the increase, the department has its own dedicated team focusing on flow packs. Flow packs deliver secure, hygienically sealed packaging that minimizes the penetration of moisture and odors. They are ideal for confectionery manufacturers, as well as for many other food and non-food applications.

machine can now package small compressed stock cubes and tablets at a speed of 1,500 units per minute. Test runs indicate that leeway exists for upwards ﬂexibility in capacity. Separating short products at a high speed represents a challenge. Theegarten-Pactec addressed this problem with two-track synchronization for the FPC5 – with each track isolating 750 units per minute. For integration to the packaging machine, the two tracks need to converge onto a single lane and the products need to be grouped. To this end, an upper band with lugs mounted along the width of both tracks was integrated. Alternating between the tracks, the lugs kick in after the desired number of products. Since the upper band runs slightly faster than the product conveyor tracks, the products are pushed forward into groups. For the current customer project, the FPC5 isolates four stock cubes per track. At the end of this grouping process, the two tracks converge into a single one, so that each of the two tracks alternately passes on a four-product group towards the machine's packaging process to produce multi-packs.

The FPC5 was originally launched by Theegarten-Pactec as a chocolate-wrapping machine in 2011, together with models for hard caramels and jelly products (FPH5) and for soft caramels (FPW5). These machines belong to a new generation of horizontal flow-pack machines developed with a modular platform consisting of similar basic modules and optional features. The five main modules are: a feeding unit for wrapping material and product, a sealing unit, product discharge, a control unit and an electrical system. Manufacturers can select from several optional features, such as mechanical or pneumatic core locking and tensioning devices, cold or heat sealing with optional cooling of the longitudinal seam. The quality assurance features of TheegartenPactec's horizontal flow-pack wrapping machines include the automatic discharge of defective products, spliced or empty packs. The machines meet the highest hygiene standards. All sensitive areas are easily accessible for cleaning, and operation and maintenance can be performed almost tool-free. For more information, visit www.theegarten-pactec.com.

procuring all relevant licences and permits to have it up and running in due course in the coming year," he added.

The company, which opened its last store in Bhopal towards the end of 2012, has said it will focus on cash and carry business in India in the absence of clarity on FDI in multi-brand retail trade. A Walmart spokesperson said that"Walmart is committed to India and we are focused on our growth plans... We have recently received all internal approvals for opening a new store in Agra. "Our team is currently working towards

The company will also extend its online platform in all its stores in 2015. Walmart operates B2B e-commerce platform in four cities in India -- Lucknow, Hyderabad, Guntur and Vijayawada. "We plan to extend our B2B eCommerce initiative in all our stores in a phased manner in the year 2015," Walmart said. The company had called off 6-year partnership with Bharti Enterprises in October last year and decided tto operate stores independently in India.

Local stores hop on the e-commerce bandwagon in Bangalore

raditional neighbourhood eateries like Veena Stores, Brahmin's Coffee Bar, Kamat, Adigas and the numerous Darshinis that dot Bengaluru have taken baby steps to board India's $6-billion online commerce market. Over the past few months, these eateries have struck tie-ups with a startup to become part of an online marketplace for home deliveries. Consumers can order breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Bengaluru-based Delyver, which recently raised $1.2 million in funding from the family ofﬁce of big pharma entrepreneur and Strides Arcolab founder Arun Kumar, is an internet startup connecting local brands with neighborhood residents. Delyver promises home deliveries that carry a Rs 30 service fee within an hour. It serves 21 neighbourhoods in the city. India has witnessed the emergence of several online food-ordering platforms such as Foodpanda, Tastykhana and JustEat. Some of these food-delivery engines have clocked 150% annual growth rates, attracting investors to the

country's digital story. Double-income urban families are increasingly using smartphones to order meals, reﬂecting a change in consumer lifestyles. "The food-delivery market is really hot. At present, the size of the industry in Bengaluru is around Rs 300 crore. But just 50% of the over 5,000 restaurants in the city do home delivery. Around 220 delivery boys, largely class X passed students, undertake 10-15 deliveries daily. Delyver, seed-funded by K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh, has over 1,000 neighbourhood outlets on its marketplace, 80% of which are restaurants. The other 20% include cake shops, ﬂorists, and local meat and vegetable stores. Some of the Darshinis on Delyver's marketplace are seeing a 20% plus spike in revenue on account of online orders. Many of these traditional stores don't use the internet. Delyver has equipped them with technology to receive orders, says Salu. Bulk of home delivery orders come from bachelors and bachelorettes. A large number of women order food at night. Delyver has also tied up with more restaurant chains like Mainland China and Rajdhani in a bid

ITC has turn out to be second most valuable Indian company

TC, a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, h a s become the second-most valuable I n d i a n c o m p a n y, surpasses reﬁneries giants - O il and Natural G a s Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries - in o v e r a l l m a r k e t capitalization (m-cap) ranking. ITC with a mcap of Rs 3,15,797 crore at 1014 hours, was

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climbed to number two position ahead of ONGC and Reliance Industries having mcap of Rs 3,14,842 crore and Rs 3,09,596 crore respectively. Information technology giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is at number one position with Rs 495,479 crore m-cap. Market capitaliza on or the value of a listed company is arrived at by multiplying the total number of its shares with its stock price on a particular day or time. Shares in ITC touched a record high of Rs 399.50 during intraday trade on BSE.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

BEVERAGE NEWS

Coca-Cola could cut 2,000 jobs

oca Cola is planning to cut 1,000-2,000 worldwide jobs in the next few weeks as part of its $3bn costcutting programme.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Coca Cola announced its plans for major cost-cutting after a 14% drop in its third-quarter prot. The company will send job-cut notices to North American staff by 8 January 2015, with international employees given a timeline by 15 January. Coca Cola's headquarters in Atlanta and global regional ofces will be impacted signicantly, where close to 10% of corporate staff could lose their jobs. "This is expected to be the largest layoff announcement by the Coca-Cola in the past 15 years.” The Wall Street Journal further reported that the company's bottling and distribution divisions, which account for about 85% of its more than 130,000 employees, will be mostly out of the ring line for now. This is expected to be the largest layoff announcement by the Coca-Cola in the past 15 years, with the company following a strict internal operations budget. Sources report that one among several planned measures include disconnecting the voicemail feature on phones in its headquarters, which will help in saving almost $100,000, and implementing stricter budget control over managers. As well as cutting jobs, the company is also planning to reduce executive perks such as limousine service and expensive Christmas parties for Wall Street analysts, sources familiar with the matter said. As cited in Reuters, a spokeswoman from the company said that employees had been informed about the impact on jobs due to restructuring. However, she did not conrm the expected number of job cuts. Although the company announced the cost-cutting to be around $1bn in February, it raised the target to $3bn in October by 2019.

Coca-Cola’s fruit juiceblended izzy drinks hits regulatory hurdles

oca-Cola's ambitious plan to introduce fruit juice-blended fizzy drinks by early next summer — in the wake of PM Narendra Modi urging soft drink makers to do so — has hit regulatory hurdles. The Indian Beverage Association (IBA), which represents CocaCola and PepsiCo, has written to the food processing ministry, highlighting certain challenges on behalf of the first company.http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/images/ pixel.gif The rules stipulate that the addition of minimum 10% fruit juice or pulp (5% in the case of lemon) is required under the carbonated fruit beverages category. But "addition of this level of fruit juice leads to product instability and also requires a higher level of preservatives to ensure safety and stability of the beverage," the letter said. IBA also wants the existing minimum requirement for 10% of total soluble solids in carbonated fruit drinks to be revised to 3%. "Besides regulatory restrictions, Coca-Cola has also raised the need for quicker product approval," an official directly involved with the matter said. IBA said the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) "needs to make product approval more efficient". The note said wide-ranging changes were needed to make the PM's suggestion a reality. "The usage of fruit juice in carbonated beverages is restricted due to current standards specified in the (FSSAI) regulations." According to the IBA, the "addition of fruit juice in carbonated drinks is possible subject to certain changes in the existing regulatory framework". These "modifications would have to be made in the regulatory framework operative under the Food Safety and Standards Act," it said. Since formulations are closely guarded secrets and changing them for existing brands is impossible, Coca-Cola is working on a series of juice blended fizzy drinks variants on a priority basis.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

TRADE NEWS

India's Trade with Asean will touch $100 billion by 2015 and double by 2022

overnment hopes India's trade with Asean will touch $100 billion by 2015 and double by 2022. Indo-Asean trade is at the $80 billion level at present, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

India signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on goods with ASEAN in 2009. The FTA in Services and Investment will come into force with effect from 1st July, 2015.

basket to also include skill development, agricultural products, manufacturing, project exports and energy among others. “We are very keen to open up the north-east part of India; open up the economy, improve on its connectivity with the rest of the East and therefore look at India's North-East as threshold to our Act East Policy.”

India's 'Look East Policy' has become sharply focused as one of “Act East Policy”, Ms. Sitharaman said. She was delivering the keynote address at the second India – CLMV Business Conclave here on Thursday. The Minister also said that India-CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) trade is at present limited to a few items and there was tremendous scope to deepen and widen the trade

Mr. Kher highlighted the need to establish regional and sub-regional value chains in order to maintain and sustain long-term economic relationship with the region.

India looking forward to push for the long-pending Doha agenda at global trade body in 2015

It was this deal that eventually facilitated the ﬁrst ever major trade pact at the WTO and India is now looking forward to push for the long-pending Doha agenda at the global trade body in 2015. Launched in 2011, the Doha Round of negotiations has remained virtually stalled since July 2008 when the trade ministers' meeting in Geneva collapsed due to differences between the rich and the developing nAations. The deadlock mainly emerged on the issue of protection for farmers in developing countries and duty cut on industrial goods. The year 2014 also saw a never-seen-before bonhomie between India and the US, who have been staunch opponents at this global forum for years but managed to seal a deal between them to facilitate the long-stalled Trade Facilitation Agreement at the WTO that seeks to reduce transactions cost and ease global customs norm for global trade. Ofﬁcials said the breakthrough came after the issue was discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.

mplementation of the 'Tea Development and Promotion Scheme' with an outlay of Rs 1,425 crore during the 12th Plan period

India is working towards establishing seamless physical connectivity with the region through road, rail and sea links that will enable businesses to leverage the opportunities created by the India-ASEAN FTA in Goods, she said. “Seamless connectivity will spur people-to-people contacts and tourism; create new enterprises and millions of jobs for people in the region, especially when the economic corridors along the India-CLMV road and rail lines would be completely fully developed.” In his address, Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher stated that India's trade with the CLMV region amounted to $13 billion in 2013-14. Much of that trade, he noted, was with Vietnam and said that he felt that there was tremendous scope to expand trade relations with the other countries in the region.

he differences between the rich and developing nations have always been at the core of the World Trade Organization, set up in 1995 to facilitate greater trade ﬂows across the world, and it came as a major breakthrough when the US and India reached a deal over food security issues in 2014.

Implementation of the 'Tea Development and Promotion Scheme' under Rs 1,425 crore

Looking ahead, India also wants to bring back the long-stalled Doha round on the table.

As per the scheme, Rs 400 crore will be spent on plantation development, Rs 350 crore on quality up-gradation and product diversiﬁcation, Rs 200 crore on market promotion and Rs 150 crore on research and development, among others.

Wrigley re-brands Orbit lines as Extra

rigley is to re-brand its Orbit gums and switch the products to its Extra brand.

The company, part of Mars Inc, said its Extra brand had become the "driving force behind the gum category". It cited Nielsen data that it said showed sales of Extra had risen 7.9% to GBP204m on a moving annual total basis to 1

Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University also said that there are a number of pending issues under the Doha Round of talks which India would like to bring on the table next year.

The objective of the Doha agenda is to reduce trade barriers across the globe and facilitate trade. The main pending issues include agriculture (export subsidies, cotton and ﬁshery subsidies), IPR, market access and services.

November. IRI told just-food sales of Orbit gum had fallen 12% to GBP11.9m in the 52 weeks to 8 November. However, it said sales of Extra gum were also down during the period, dropping 5.1% to GBP183.6m.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said the agreement between India and the US was key to get the multilateral trading system back on track and gave him a basis to intensify his consultations with other WTO members. For 2015, he has said it is going to be a big year for the WTO with the celebration of its 20th anniversary and the holding of its 10th Ministerial Conference.

Similarly, the European Union provided 9 billion euro as Current Total Aggregate Measurement of Support and about 64 billion euro as Green Box support.

Wrigley will roll out a new Extra-branded pack for its Orbit peppermint and spearmint ﬂavours. It is also adding a soft-chew line to the Extra range. “Bringing Orbit under the Extra umbrella and strengthening our soft-chew offering will pave the way for even further growt," Sue Cobbledick, Wrigley's oral care marketing manager, said. "The trend towar ds oral care shows n o signs o f slowin g, as chewe rs seek out a healthy addition to their day-to-day oral care routine. By bolstering the Extra brand with these new variants we expect to capitalise on this trend and attract new chewers to the category."

NDDB bids for setting up a Dairy in Padalur

modern dairy to process one lakh litres of milk will soon come up at Padalur in the district. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has called for tenders for the project.

While India wants developed countries to drastically reduce agri subsidies and relax visa norms for its professionals, the rich nations are asking for signiﬁcant reduction in industrial good tariffs and further strengthening of patent laws. India also wants to resolve issues of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). As per estimates, the US provided about USD 4 billion of support to their agricultural producers under the category of Current Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (i.e. support considered under WTO classiﬁcation as trade-distorting) and USD 120 billion as Green Box support (nontrade-distorting).

The scheme will supporting development of improved varieties and technologies for increasing production, productivity and quality of tea. It also aims at promoting Indian tea in the overseas and domestic markets, it said.

"Doha agenda will be back on tables (in 2015) and we will push for that," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told PTI.

"There are some substantive issues related with agriculture, services and intellectual property rights (IPR). India should also have to look at the PostB a l i w o r k programme. We have to see how effectively we can raise these issues," Dhar said.

(2012-17) has been approved by the government.

The NDDB has called for tenders for the project at a cost of Rs. 38 crore on December 4 and they will be opened on December 29. Once the tenders

Beverages & Food Processing Times

are ﬁnalised, civil works will start and installation of machinery will follow. NDDB will install the machinery. The dairy is likely to start functioning in nine months from now, said Darez Ahamed, District Collector. The aim of setting up a modern dairy is to step up milk production. At p r e s e n t , Perambalur has a chilling plant with 80,000 litres capacity. A new dairy will expedite milk processing and new milk routes would be created to dispatch milk. Besides chilling one lakh litres of milk, the dairy would have a packing facility and produce by-products such as milk peda, ghee, butter, and so on.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

CHOCOLATE NEWS

Cargill ofcially opens cocoa processing facility in Indonesia to serve growing Asian market

with governments, communities and partners to help build a vibrant Indonesian cocoa industry with a long-term future.”

Creating over 300 new jobs, the US $100 million facility will have a 70,000-metric-ton processing capacity and will produce Cargill's premium brand Gerkens® cocoa powders, as well as high quality cocoa liquor and butter. Its blending capability will leverage the company's broad and in-depth cocoa knowledge to enable customers to beneﬁt from superior, consistent and tailor-made solutions that meet Asian consumers' taste proﬁles.

The cocoa beans processed at the Gresik plant will be supplied primarily from Sulawesi, where cocoa farming is the principal income for hundreds of thousands of families and where Cargill has been sourcing cocoa since 1995. The company is strengthening activities to support sustainable cocoa production in Indonesia as part of the Cargill Cocoa Promise, the company's global commitment to improving the livelihoods of farmers, their families and their communities. Cargill plans to train 4,500 cocoa farmers in newly created Farmer Field Schools in the Bone and Soppeng regencies, and aims to enable 2,000 of them to gain independent sustainable certiﬁcation. It is supporting the Sustainable Cocoa Production Program (SCPP), a partnership that includes Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), Swisscontact and private sector companies to provide training and technical assistance to Indonesian cocoa farmers in South Sulawesi Province, Bone and Soppeng Districts.

he company's first cocoa processing facility in Asia will offer premium Gerkens® cocoa powders to meet consumers' taste profiles in the region. Food and beverage manufacturers seeking to meet the growing demand amongst Asian consumers for chocolate and cocoa products will benefit from a greater availability of high quality cocoa powders following the inauguration of Cargill's cocoa processing facility in Gresik, Indonesia.

The state-of-the-art facility in the East Java region was ofﬁcially opened in the presence of Indonesian Minister of Industry Mr. Saleh Husin and David MacLennan, Cargill's president and chief executive ofﬁcer. The ceremony also was attended by Jos de Loor, president of Cargill's cocoa & chocolate business in Europe Middle-East, Africa and Asia, local The new facility and the expanded sourcing operations in Indonesia will complement Cargill's dignitaries and customers. existing global network of cocoa sourcing News Release operations and processing facilities. The “Our customers expect us to keep innovating and investment also strengthens the company's adding value to their products, and this investment presence in Indonesia, where it has been operating focuses on delivering for their success,” said Jos de for over 40 years and today employs over 12,000 Loor. “We have been sourcing cocoa in Indonesia people in business activities including animal since 1995, and we are committed to supporting nutrition, cocoa, grain and oilseeds, palm oil, copra sustainable agricultural production and a and sugar. responsible cocoa supply in the country. We work

Elmer Chocolate undergoing $40 million Ponchatoula plant expansion

lmer Chocolate will spend $40 million to expand its Ponchatoula production facility.

The company said Tuesday that the 70,000square-foot addition will make it more efﬁcient, versatile and competitive. The latest expansion will bring its total plant size in Ponchatoula,

which includes administrative headquarters and distribution facilities, to nearly 400,000 square feet. The expansion will create 10 new jobs at Elmer, which the Louisiana Economic Development Department said will have an average annual salary of $42,500, plus beneﬁts. Elmer has 164 employees in Ponchatoula. The company estimates the expansion will create 130 construction jobs. No timetable for construction was released. Founded in 1855 in New Orleans as the Miller Candy Corp., Elmer Chocolate produces a variety of chocolates, caramels, trufﬂes and crèmes, along with seasonal holiday favorites, such as Gold Brick Eggs, Heavenly Hash and Pecan Eggs. Elmer is the second-largest

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Valentine box chocolate manufacturer in North America, and the company's Easter candies outsell national manufacturers by a ratio of 4-to-1 along the Gulf Coast. “Louisiana's support of this expansion helps our 160-year-old, family-owned company create the core competency to be the most efﬁcient gift chocolate manufacturer in the world,” said

Robert Nelson, Elmer CEO. “Our expansion, right here at home, provides a unique U.S. manufacturing model that translates into highly skilled jobs for our associates and ensures the maximum level of quality control and food safety.” LED began discussing a potential expansion with Elmer in August. To secure the project, the state offered the company an incentive package that includes a performance-based $550,000 Economic Development Award Program forgivable loan to cover equipment purchases, along with LED FastStart workforce training. Elmer also is expected to use Louisiana's Enterprise Zone program.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

CHOCOLATE NEWS

Great Eastern s Bakery returns to Kolakata

confectionery outlet leased by Great Eastern Hotel that had unceremoniously downed shutters nine years ago is set to reopen around December 17, in time to catch the pre-Christmas crowd. To be rechristened The Bakery from The Lalit Great Eastern, the outlet will stock an assortment of breads, patties, plum and fruit cakes, cookies and chocolates. "There's a lot of anticipation among old customers as well as fellow shop-owners at New Market about the reopening of the Great Eastern outlet. The interiors are currently being renovated and the store should be up and running by December 17," The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata resident manager Dilip Mishra told. The 130 sq ft confectionery outlet is located next to Imperial bakery in E Block along the biscuit line near the Corporation Street entrance. Famous for chicken and vegetarian puffs, breads, bread

sticks, fruit cakes and cheese straw, the shop had shut down on November 30, 2005, after the hotel was sold to the Lalit Group. With restoration and reopening the hotel the priority, shop no 132-134 had languished for close to a decade. Now with the hotel in operation for close to a year, the management has had time to look at the standalone market store. "It's very unique for any hotel, leave alone a fivestar property, to have an outlet in a market. But then Great Eastern isn't the usual hotel and New Market isn't a usual marketplace. The bakery outlet was extremely popular before it was shut. We are confident it will be a hit once it reopens," said Mishra. The comeback by the confectionary outlet marks the happy reversal of a string of shutdowns that had left the market bereft of food options beyond Nahoum's. While confectionary shop Wyse never reopened after it was destroyed in the market fire in 1985, MX D'Gamas and Magnolia shut down in the 1990s, the confectionary items giving way to children's apparel. “D'Gamas had the best cocktail sausage rolls and marzipan. The ice-cream parlour at Magnolia was a hit. After a shopping spree, once could sit and enjoy a snack at Magnolia. Christmas cakes at

Wyze were excellent. And Great Eastern had the best breads. New Market has lost much of its character after these stores shut down. But I am glad Great Eastern is making a comeback in a new avatar," said Dilkusha Street resident Bernadinha Rodrigues who has been shopping at New Market for nearly 50 years. While the Belgian chocolate cake is the signature product at The Bakery in Lalit Great Eastern that offers multi-grain breads, French loafs, stuffed breads and focaccia and different kinds of pastries and puffs, an assortment of breads, patties and pastries will be sold at the outlet in New Market. "Since New Market is not a ﬁve-star property, we have to be conscious of pricing the products right because customers there are price-sensitive. If someone wants to order a special cake that is made at the hotel bakery, we will take the order and deliver it later," said Mishra. Ashok Gupta of SS Hogg Market Traders' Association is glad Great Eastern will be back soon. "There'll ﬁnally be an alternative to the lemon and almond tarts at Nahoum's. I wish the others too returned and revived New Market," he mused.

Bengaluru startup to plant feet in chocolate

engaluru-based Global Consumer Products has envisaged an entry into the competitive chocolate and beverage segments, announcing its plans for the FMCG market. The company plans to launch its chocolate range, including bar/moulded packs, in the beginning of next year, through a tie-up with a manufacturer in Hyderabad, and is also establishing a robust selfdistribution network. “We believe in being an asset-light company. Hence, we are tying up with local manufacturers, co-packers and retailers for our product manufacturing and sales. Whatever investments we make, will be steered towards a strong distribution base and brand building,” Narasimhan said, hinting that as a startup, the objective would be to build, operate and transfer the ownership of the company in the next 5-6 years. The chocolate industry in India has grown higher than 20 per cent in the last ﬁve years. “The chocolate industry in India is valued at Rs 6,800 crore, and at least Rs 1,200 crore worth of earnings are added to it, each year. We believe that there is enough competition in the chocolate business, and we want to participate in its growth story,” she said.

Rajhans Nutriments Launches First of its kind Premium Chocolate Bars Hoppits

ajhans Nutriments, a division of Rajhans (Desai- Jain) Group, has launched for the very ﬁrst time, Hoppits, a premium chocolate bar with unique combinations that are currently not available in this category. Bollywood’s leading lady and International Pop Icon Priyanka Chopra has been named the Brand Ambassad o r f o r Hoppits. Launched under the Schmitten umbrella, t h e s e chocolates a r e available in 4 exciting variants including R i c h Caramel w i t h Golden Nougat, R o a s t Almond with White Nougat, D a r k Chocolate w i t h Granola and Nuts, D a r k Chocolate w i t h Granola and Fruits. Hoppits is p r i c e d between INR 25 and INR 40 for 25g & 40g b a r s respectivel y. Speaking at the launch of Hoppits, Mr. Jayesh

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Desai, Chairman, Rajhans Group said, “With the unveiling of Hoppits, we want to create a niche segment for Granola Dark Chocolate bars that appeal to the evolved connoisseur of chocolate. We launched Schmitten; premium chocolate made from Swiss technologies & equipment’s from UK and Europe a few months ago with seven exciting variants and received excellent response from the Trade/Consumers. Mr. Desai further added, “Riding on the success of Schmitten, we are now introducing Hoppits We have also signed on Bollywood heartthrob, Priyanka Chopra as our brand ambassador to convey our message of ‘Here’s to good taste’ out to everyone.” Launching the Hoppits brand, Priyanka Chopra, said, “One bite into a delectable bar of Hoppits Chocolate and you know you’ve made the right choice and that’s exactly what happened with me! I’m so pleased to be here to launch the Hoppits brand in India and also to be able to share this sinful indulgence with everyone. It’s a symbol of good taste rolled into a delicious bar of chocolate!” With a strong backing from its parent, Rajhans (Desai- Jain) Group, it has been ensured that the best quality standard has been utilized for the manufacturing of Schmitten and Hoppits. The manufacturing site in Surat is of world class standards, with only the best European equipment manufacturer being chosen in each area. The factory provides an experience of a technologically advanced set up and all this has been done to bring to India, the true taste of an international chocolate. Rajhans Nutriments Pvt. Ltd. launched a new brand of chocolate targeted speciﬁcally at India’s youth and young adults. A brand name – ‘Schmitten’ and its concept has been developed to reﬂect this and appeals to this segment. Rajhans Nutriments has come up with the 3rd largest chocolate project in India which ranks no. 1 in terms of technology. The company has launched a premium quality chocolate and are geared up to build a brand that will spell class. Rajhans Nutriments has established its Chocolate Manufacturing Unit in the area of 1.75 lakhs sq. ft. in Gujarat, Surat – Ahmedabad National Highway-8.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

MEAT NEWS

Meat shops, slaughter houses need to take nod from Central govt.

eat shops and slaughter houses would be required to have mandatory licences from the Centre and not the civic bodies

alone.

In a notice to all food safety commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies across the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Union Health Ministry, has asked them to direct all slaughterhouses and meat shops under their jurisdiction to seek mandatory licence for running the operations. Asking the food commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies to ensure compliance with the legal provisions as well as animal welfare measures, the apex body has asked them to prepare a clear action plan and submit the status at a meeting of the Central Advisory Committee to be held on December 29. “It may kindly be ensured that no abattoir or slaughter house operates without a valid licence or registration,” the direction states. Under the Food Safety (License and Registration of Food Business) Regulations 2011, all slaughter houses are required to be licensed and registered (with the FSSAI). The Supreme Court in 2012 had also directed all states and Union Territories to constitute state committees for slaughter houses within a speciﬁed time and sought compliance by them. What the new guidelines say Permissions from municipal bodies alone not enough Food commissioners and secretaries of urban

local bodies to ensure compliance with the Food Safety Regulations 2011 and Supreme Court orders. Meat shops cannot slaughter animals, even chicken or fish. No animal, other than sheep, goat, bovines, pigs, poultry and fish allowed to be slaughtered for food Illegal to slaughter rabbits, dogs, cats, camels or any other animal in India No cruelty to animals during transportation Stringent action against the violators Upgradation of infrastructure by existing slaughterhouses to maintain hygiene standards While recommending provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act for proper transportation of animals, FSSAI has also directed the food safety commissioners to urban local commissioners to ensure that livestock is not ill-treated during transportation and has asked them to take stringent action against the violators under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Taking note of inadequate infrastructure in most of the existing slaughter houses, FSSAI has asked the meat plants and slaughter houses to upgrade their infrastructure, while asking for proper training of butchers and implementation of proper practices. Observing that the roadside slaughter units where live birds were kept and slaughtered lack basic infrastructure for stunning and handling, FSSAI has directed all food safety commissioners and secretaries of urban local bodies to close them down if they fail to meet hygiene in a defined time frame. Animal rights activists have welcomed the decision.AI has also asked the food commissioners and urban local commissioners to

take necessary steps to prohibit slaughter of animals other than those allowed by the food safety regulations. The food safety law prohibits meat shops from

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slaughtering animals, even chicken or ﬁsh. Besides, no animal, other than sheep, goat, bovines, pigs, poultry and ﬁsh are allowed to be slaughtered for food under the law.

Vol. 7, Issue 08 - January - 2015

Anuga FoodTec 2015: Robots have become indispensable in Food and Beverage produc on Robots ensure efﬁciency and reliability Food processing places special demands on robot technology The world of robotics is currently facing another breakthrough: small, lightweight, comfortable and above all, ﬂexible - that's how engineers envisage the industrial lightweight robots of the future. The greatest revolution, however, will be the direct cooperation between man and machine - without a separating safety fence. The advances in automation cannot be overlooked at the Anuga FoodTec show held 24-27 March 2015 in Cologne, Germany. In the future, these "steel colleagues" of the food industry will be able to do more complex tasks than is the case today.

Through the interaction of software, controller and mechanical systems, robots can pack almost any food today. Thus, Unilever, for example, uses the FlexPicker to package its popular Biﬁ snack. The system inserts up to 600 mini sausages per minute into the ﬁlm of the thermoforming machine. In cases such as these, more than just "tactile dexterity" is required from the robots when gripping: hygiene aspects are high on the agenda. The robots and their tools may not provide entry points for dirt and bacteria. They also need to be washable and resistant to disinfectants. This explains the popularity of robots made of stainless steel in protection class

IP67 or higher. It will take some time for human-like "Hubots" from Real Humans. But, in the near future, robots will be performing increasingly complex mechanised tasks. This will create new opportunities for the food industry, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. This is not always a matter of automating the entire production - semi-autonomous systems, as can be seen at the Anuga FoodTec show, often provide the greater beneﬁt. Future-oriented topics are also addressed in

The TV series Real Humans shows what happens when people and robots live together. So-called Hubots (human robots) are capable of learning and used as domestic servants or factory workers. Real Humans looks into the future, but mirrors reality: because the robots have left their safety cage. A symbol of this is "Frida," a concept study by ABB. Equipped with two arms that each have seven degrees of freedom respectively, the robot can be implemented in workplaces that are actually reserved for people. The "third hand" in production Human-robot collaboration is currently the trend par excellence. It stands for the smooth transition from industrial robotics towards service robotics. Thanks to their torque sensors in all axes, the robots have the necessary flexibility not to hurt people. These should now allow processes to be automated that have not been automatable at all so far. One example is the TX2 series six-axis robots from Stäubli Robotics. They have managed to "integrate safety features that let us realize new possibilities in man-machine collaboration," emphasizes Stäubli's Chief Financial Officer Manfred Hübschmann. The closed structure of the robot series and its design with IP65 protection - the wrist is held in IP67 and thus waterproof - predestine the TX2 series for use designed to meet cleanroom and hygiene requirements. By expanding their small robotics series, the key players of the industry underline their ambition to grow in markets beyond the automotive industry. 179,000 robots were sold worldwide in 2013. "A new record," as Arturo Baronecelli, President of the International Federation of Robotics, points out. After South Korea and Japan, Germany has the highest robot density: with an average of 261 robots for every 10,000 workers. At present, the global market for robotics is 22 billion Euros. By 2020 this could grow to more than 60 billion Euros. Experts like Henrik Ryegard, who heads the Robotics Division at ABB, regard the food industry as one of the largest markets - robot density here is still well below the average. Hurdles in food production The main driving force behind the use of robots is economical: the machines replace expensive human labour. This is not without problems per se because the food industry is a challenging environment. So far robots have particularly dominated in non-critical areas, such as palletising and packing stations. Five or six-axis industrial robots are ideal tools to do these kinds of monotonous and often demanding tasks in a reliable manner. Special protective covers provide protection under arctic conditions which prevail in warehouses for frozen foods. Other requirements apply for any contact with open foodstuffs. In this case, not only must hygienic safety satisfy higher expectations but the mechatronic equipment of the robots as well. "Pastries, meats, vegetables and sweets vary in quality and size," is how Dr. Knut Franke from the German Institute of Food Technologies in Quakenbrück describes the problem in a nutshell. He cites an example: "Automatic fine-cutting of pork requires very sophisticated sensor technology." The algorithms that Franke and his team are currently developing for the robot movements should enable automatic cutting of pieces of meat and contribute to a more efficient production of safer meat products in the future.

Beverages & Food Processing Times

Anuga FoodTec's professional program. The DLG will thus address topical issues in 27 short specialist forums. Among other things, technical topics will be the focus of attention like hygienic design, freezing technology, the use of robots in the food industry or the detection of foreign material in foodstuffs. Event information: 25 March 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Forum 8 Robots in food production (Congress Centre North). Anuga FoodTec is jointly organised by Koelnmesse GmbH and the German Agricultural Society (DLG).