Food Secy launches Nafed's fortified rice bran oil

Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey on Tuesday virtually launched cooperative Nafed's fortified rice bran oil and said this will help in reducing India's imports of cooking oils.

Pandey said this initiative by Nafed will significantly reduce the country's consumption dependence on imported edible oil in future, according to an official statement. He said this will provide opportunities for Indian edible oil manufacturers further, and also will give an impetus to the Prime Minister's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

This rice bran oil will be marketed by Nafed (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd). Arun Singhal, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Sanjeev Kumar Chaddha, Managing Director, Nafed and Atish Chandra, Chairman & Managing Director, Food Corporation of India (FCI) were also present on the e-launch. The FCI CMD informed that recently an MoU has been signed between Nafed and FCI for the production and marketing of fortified rice kernel. Regarding this initiative, Nafed MD Sanjeev Kumar Chaddha said this initiative will give a boost to the indigenous oil manufacturing industry. Rice Bran oil has multiple health benefits, including lowering cholesterol level due to its low trans-fat content and high mono unsaturated and poly unsaturated fat contents, the statement said.

It also acts as a booster and reduces the risk of cancer due to the high amount of Vitamin E it contains. This oil is recommended by The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the best substitutes for other edible oils. Rice Bran oil from Nafed will be fortified and it will be ensured that it will contain additional nutrients and vitamins. According to the FSSAI, fortified oil can help a person fulfil 25-30 per cent of the recommended dietary intake for vitamins A and D.

Nafed's fortified rice bran oil will be available at all Nafed stores and also on various online platforms.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)