Grievance redressal cell established to resolve issues of food processors

Earlier today, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI), Smt. Pushpa Subrahmanyam has written letter to Chief Secretaries of all states regarding the need for the continued functioning of the food industry and their suppliers.

Union Food Processing Industries Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that a Grievance Redressal Cell has been established in the Ministry to ensure that problems faced by food processors during the COVID-19 lockdown are resolved at the earliest. Smt.Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, in a tweet today, that industry members facing any problem in operations and distribution of food products could send their queries to covidgrievance-mofpi@gov.in. She further said the Government is committed to ensuring the continuity of agro-food business, for which a Business Immunity Platform www.investindia.gov.in/bip has been designed as a comprehensive resource to help business and investors get real-time support to ensure hassle-free operations.

Earlier today, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI), Smt. Pushpa Subrahmanyam has written a letter to Chief Secretaries of all states regarding the need for the continued functioning of the food industry and their suppliers.

A list of essential food products and their inputs has been enclosed with the letter. Secretary has stated that the uninterrupted manufacturing of these food products is critical for maintaining the supply chain and availability of food to the population. She added that the availability of raw materials, packaging materials, movement of trucks carrying them, functioning of their warehouses and cold storages and the ability of workers to come and work in the factories and warehouses need to be ensured for maintaining the food supply chain for the general population.

MoFPI Secretary further asked Chief Secretaries to instruct District Collectors, Police and Transport officials to enable continued functioning of food products factories, movement of their products and inputs/raw materials and allowing workers to attend these factories. She further requested them to nominate a Nodal Officer at the State level with whom MoFPIand the industry could raise instances of supply chain disruptions for effective resolution on the field.

Suggested List of Food Products enclosed with the letter

For the purpose of understanding food, the definition of 'Food' as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, will apply

Manufacturing, transport, distribution & retail of

Fruits & Vegetables

Rice, wheat flour, other cereals and pulses

Sugar and salt, spices & masala

Bakery& Dairy (Milk & Milk products)

Tea and Coffee

Eggs, Meat, and Fish

Food Grains, Oil, Masala and Food Ingredients

Packaged food & Beverages

Health supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use (FSDU) and Food for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP)

Infant/Baby food

Animal Feed/Pet food

Food delivery services & e-commerce for the above-mentioned products

Cold-storage/Warehousing of Food Products

Fuel such as Coal, Rice Husk, diesel/furnace oil and others necessary to ensure the running/manufacturing of plants/factories.

All raw materials, Intermediaries, packaging materials needed to support the above list of products.

For Example, suggestive list of raw materials required in the packaged food & beverages industry-

Packaged food & Beverages

Preservatives; Protein concentrates; Essential amino acids; iodized salt; canola oil; edible vegetable oils and fats; milk powder; various carbohydrates such as sucrose, dextrose, dextrin, maltose dextrin, lactose, honey, corn syrup; malt, liquid glucose.

Fruit Juice, Pulp, Concentrate, Sugar, Beverage Base Concentrate

Food additives- Emulsifier, pH adjusting agents, potassium hydrogen carbonate, antioxidants, enzymes, leavening agents, colors, flavors, acidity regulators, dehydrated products.

(With Inputs from PIB)