Mysuru: To enhance the quality of food and safety, the unorganised food sectors should be brought into the organised fold, said Chindi Vasudevappa, Vice Chancellor of NIFTEM, Sonepat.
Speaking after releasing ‘E Souvenir’ as part of IFCON 2018, he said, “Out of the few countries, India is also one which has a ministry for food. Today we are talking so much about India producing 9 million tonnes of foods but is it sufficient for us is what we need to introspect on. On one side, the prime minister says we need to double the income of farmers. On the other side, we need to work on better health of the people so that it can add up to the country’s economy. So these kind of conventions needs to look into these aspects.”
‘India still looked down upon’
“During the FAO conference, which I attended in Thailand, India was still looked down upon. Though we have food processing units or hotels, the quality concerns are not taken care of. Among the 2.8 million food businesses, more than 50 to 60 percent are in the unorganised sector. How we bring them to organised sector is very important. The World Bank team had come to NIFTEM and we are planning to bring in unorganised food business sectors into the organised fold in another five years with an investment of Rs 3000 Crore. Everyone including AFST(I) should partner in this venture”, said Vasudevappa.
’58 percent of Indian population are anaemic’
“in the general health front, India stands in 80th or 90th position. Surprisingly 58 percent of Indians are anemic. Fortification is required for India in terms of vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. To provide quality food at affordable cost, we need to take up research.” He also mentioned that there was a responsibility on him to establish Food Technologists Portal and hence called for food technologists from across the country to be sent to NIFTEM”, added Vasudevappa.