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Institute's initiative to help draft food processing policies

KOCHI: The National Institute for Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management (NIFTEM), an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, being established in Haryana, will enlist the services of reputed agencies and individuals for consultancy roles. The institute is expected to play a key role in formulating policies in the sector.

The institute proposes to prepare detailed project reports for food processing units suited for each State.

It will prepare a panel of consultants to assist in developing and coordinating innovative technologies, entrepreneurship, international collaborations, and research and development initiatives.

The panel will be selected from among professional firms, consultancy agencies, individuals, and academic and research institutions.

The consultancy division of the institute, which caters to the needs of entrepreneurs, industry, exporters and policy makers, is intended to build the best available skills in the domain of food processing, according to industry sources. Consultancy would be required in engineering, technical competency and marketing. Processing of grain, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and fish, and quality control and supply chain management will be among the areas which would need consultancy. Designing of equipment for food processing technologies and investment promotion are among the tasks to be taken up.

The focus will be on adopting an international approach in manufacturing and marketing in the food processing sector. The initiative is in response to stringent safety standards in place in certain export destinations.

The institute aims at providing the right inputs to enable the industry to move ahead in terms of manufacture and exports. It will provide guidelines to facilitate business incubation.

The initiative is in tandem with the Ministry's plan to increase the level of processing of perishables from 6 per cent to 20 per cent, value addition from 20 per cent to 35 per cent and the share of global trade from 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent by 2015. According to estimates, the country had been incurring a loss of Rs.58,000 crore annually out of wastage of perishables. Less than 3 per cent of fruits and vegetables were being processed. A meeting organised recently by NIFTEM in the State had noted that Kerala was third in terms of licensed food processing units after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The State had over 1,200 food processing units.

There were about 300 units dealing in processed spice trade, about 400 coconut processing units and over 350 fish processing units. Almost two-thirds of the State's total export income cames from processed food. About 75 per cent of seafood units certified by the European Union existed in the State, according to industry sources.

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Institute's initiative to help draft food processing policies

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