The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has stated that there should not be any nutritional info on the label of an alcoholic beverage. The food regulator has notified amended regulations, in this regard, stating that except energy content, the label should not carry any nutritional info.

 

Called the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) First Amendment Regulations, 2023, the regulation read, 'Alcoholic beverage shall not contain any nutritional information on the label except energy content in kcal. Such declaration related to energy content shall be voluntary'.

 

Also, the food authority has updated the regulations related to malt or grain whisky under the FSS (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018. The notified regulations define the single malt and single grain whisky under the notified regulation.

 

These regulations lay that ‘Single Malt’ whisky is a distillate obtained from fermented mash that uses malted barley without adding any other grain, which is distilled in pot still only and produced in a single distillery.

 

While, ‘Single Grain’ whisky is a distillate obtained from a fermented mash that uses malted or un-malted grain, and produced in a single distillery, single grain whisky shall not include single malt whisky and blended malt whisky or blended grain whisky.

 

The draft of these regulations was made available to the public in May, 2022, and based on the objections and suggestions received, these regulations called the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) First Amendment Regulations, 2023, were notified and shall come into force on March 1, 2024.

The government has extended the time period for existing stock limits under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 in respect of tur and urad from 30th October, 2023 to 31st December, 2023 and also revised the stock holding limits for certain stockholding entities. As per the notification issued today, the limit for stock with wholesalers and also big chain retailers at depot has been reduced from 200 MT to 50 MT, and the limit for miller has been reduced from last 3 months production or 25% of annual capacity, whichever is higher to last 1 month production or 10% of annual capacity, whichever is higher.

 

The revision in stock limits and extension of the time period is to prevent hoarding and elicit the continuous release of Tur and Urad in sufficient quantities to the market and make tur dal and urad dal available at affordable prices for the consumers.

 

As per the latest order, stock limits have been prescribed for tur and urad until 31st December, 2023 for all States and Union Territories. Stock limits applicable to each of the pulse individually will be 50 MT for wholesalers; 5 MT for retailers; 5 MT at each retail outlet and 50 MT at depot for big chain retailers; last 1 month of production or 10% of annual installed capacity, whichever is higher, for the millers. In respect of importers, the importers are not to hold imported stock beyond 30 days from the date of Customs clearance. The respective legal entities are to declare the stock position on the portal (https://fcainfoweb.nic.in/psp) of Department of Consumer Affairs and in case the stocks held by them are higher than the prescribed limits then, they shall bring the same to the prescribed stock limits within 30 days of issue of the notification.

 

Earlier the government had, on 2nd January, 2023, issued stock limit notification for tur and urad in order to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation and also to improve affordability to the consumers. The Department of Consumer Affairs is closely monitoring the stock position of tur and urad through stock disclosure portal which has been reviewed on weekly basis with the State Government.

The World Coffee Conference 2023, the four-day international coffee event being held here, will significantly strengthen India’s image in the global and domestic markets. It will propel export volumes and value. The government has permitted Coffee Board to use Rs 12.5 crore plus GST from its internal budget to host WCC, while half of the money will be spent by the industry players.

 

According to K G Jagadeesha, CEO and Secretary, Coffee Board, the 5th World Coffee Conference 2023, at Bangalore Palace Ground, is scheduled from September 25-28, 2023, where 2,000 delegates, leaders and decision-makers from over 80 countries, will discuss, debate, and collaborate on building a sustainable coffee industry, from bean to cup.

The event is a property of the London-based International Coffee Organisation (ICO), set up by United Nations to highlight the economic importance of coffee grown globally.

 

It is for the first time that India and Asia are hosting this prestigious global coffee event. The country got the approval from the International Coffee Organisation to play host to the mega coffee event. This is in fact acknowledging the country received as a major producer of finest coffees with a supportive and vibrant ecosystem.

 

'To this end, the Coffee Board has formed 16 coffee committees with each outfit coming with 25 different stakeholders. Although India produced the best quality coffees, these are yet to be perceived well and this edition of WCC was going to correct this mismatch,' he added.

 

From India stand point, robusta, is known for its highest quality making it the best and finest in the world. Arabica, is second-best in the world and gets a  premium on par with Columbian beans which is regarded the finest in the world. Now Columbia has launched major consumer campaigns.

India coffee exports are currently estimated at over $1 billion. 'As an immediate booster effect of the World Coffee Conference, the Coffee Board is expecting an increase in exports volume and value growth of 10 to15% for our coffees in the international markets. This will eventually help India build a stand-alone coffee brand in global markets,' stated Dr Jagadeesha.

 

The WCC exposition is expected to give a fillip to India’s domestic coffee market. This we see would be in the area of  attention to technology, investments, entrepreneurship, employment generation and creation of coffee varieties to catering to the connoisseurs and providing customers a broad variety of choice.

 

With 2,500 people, including coffee growers, roasters, curers, exporters, traders, cafe chain owners, retailers, have already registered to attend WCC. This will comprise over 300 foreign delegates from 60 countries. Some 40 global CEOs and 50 Indian CEOs are participating in the coffee conference. In addition to this, Coffee Board has already distributed 36,000 business delegates passes while another 15,000 similar passes will also be distributed/sold.

The government will deploy field verification and remote sensing in the agricultural system across the country to get better crop production estimates after traders spotted a 10 million-tonne hole in wheat projections. The government was criticized for its unrealistic wheat crop production estimates for the 2023-24 (October-March) crop year. While the agriculture ministry estimated wheat production to be 112.7 million tonnes, the industry pegged it at 101-103 million tonnes for the current season.

 

'With regard to the production estimates, I agree there has been a mismatch between the agriculture and trade figures,' food and public distribution Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Monday. 'We are reporting 112 million tonnes while the trade reports 102-103 million tonnes, leaving a gap of 10 million tonnes. To ensure that this kind of disparity which is there in the figure is kept to a bare minimum, you will see things changing in the next one or two years to make the figures we are quoting become more driven by the ground reality.'

 

Citing Karnataka’s use of field verification and remote sensing for fruit, Chopra said, 'A similar thing is going to happen in agri-stack which is being put in place by the agriculture department. This will be rolled out very shortly across the country in a phased manner and will enable us to get a more realistic figure or closer to the ground reality.' Agristack or India Digital Ecosystem for Agriculture which has been under development since 2020 with public consultations in 2021 is a federated structure and ownership of data is with the states. Access to the Federated Farmers‘ database is available with the government.

 

Chopra stated, 'To make heat-tolerant varieties of wheat more common and rightly available, the agriculture ministry and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) have been working.' Because of climate change effects, wheat crops in terms of noth quantity and quality often get affected due to heatwaves during the growing stage in January-March.

 

To improve wheat crop productivity, the agriculture ministry and ICAR are working closely with state governments, and they target to increase wheat yield by 20% in three years, the food secretary said.

 

'To ensure not only the food security but also wheat security, the Centre plans to procure and distribute 2.8 million tonnes of millets as against last season’s a little over 700,000 tonnes,' Chopra said.

 

The food secretary assured that there are no shortages of wheat in the country and shared the break-up.

 

'If we do a calculation going by the most conservative estimates of 100 million tonnes of wheat production last year, 26 million tonnes wheat was procured by the government in the ongoing season, and there are 39 million tonnes of wheat that have not disappeared. Besides, FCI (Food Corporation of India) had a stock of 8.4 million tonnes of stock at the beginning of the season. Flour millers are also holding some stock.

 

'We have 8.7 million tonnes of wheat available for market intervention at the end of the year as projected. We also have a buffer of 7.6 million tonnes. So, there is adequate stock available in the country. The government has all the policy instruments available and will intervene as the situation demands as we have been doing in the past,' he said.

The central government is considering a roll back of the 40% export duty imposed on Bangalore rose onions and Krishnapuram rose onions grown in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, said trade sources.

 

The government on August 19 imposed a 40% duty on all types of onions exported from India to tame strong bullish trend in onion prices. This caused a nearly 70% fall in onion exports, said market sources.

 

Meanwhile, in a meeting held on Monday, traders from Nashik decided to continue their onion strike that started on September 20. This is not likely to affect the onion prices in the country.

 

The Agri Commodities Exporters' Association, which represents the rose onion exporters, has requested the government to allow exports of 10,000 tonnes of Bangalore rose and Krishnapuram rose onions without export duty from October to December.

Delhi traders' body CTI on Monday urged the Central government to ban import of lentil (masur) from Canada, over Ottawa's allegations relating to the killing of a Khalistani separatist on Canadian soil. In a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) said that there was a need to exert economic pressure on Canada.

 

A growing dispute between India and Canada has erupted following allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

 

Chairman of CTI, Brijesh Goyal, said that the development has sent ripples through the business world. Indian traders have demanded that India should ban import of lentils from Canada, which is a major supplier.

 

'Canada is becoming a stronghold of Khalistanis and their anti-India sentiment was displayed by protests at the Indian embassy. However, Trudeau is making politically motivated statements in view of upcoming elections in Canada,' he said.

 

India's annual pulse consumption is estimated at around 23 lakh tonnes of which 15-16 lakh tonnes is produced domestically and rest is imported from other countries. In the last financial year, India imported 4.85 lakh tonnes of lentil from Canada, Goyal said.

 

The Central government may contact other countries for pulses like Russia, Singapore, and Turkey, he added.

Organic produce grown by farmers in Gujarat is now finding a market in the United States (US).

The One Gujarat Organic Farm Producers Co-operative Society — set up as an exclusive organic FPO and touted to be first in Gujarat — on Monday shipped its first export order to the US. Organic produce, especially millets, grown by 45 farmers from across the state, was shipped.

'In line with the mandate and vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and marking the International Year of Millets, our shipment consists of organic/natural millets, basically the five positive millets — foxtail millets (korralu), browntop millets (andu korralu), little millets (samalu), kodo millets (arikalu) and barnyard millets (oodalu) — apart from seed spices, powder spices and pulses,' said Devesh Patel, president of the organic FPO that was registered in 2021.

The FPO currently has 340 farmers as shareholders from across Gujarat. 'We had registered the FPO as co-operative society on the lines of Amul. We are proud that ours is the first organic FPO that has exported organic products to the US and that too millets,' he said.

The value of the 1,500kg organic products that will be shipped from Nhava Sheva, Navi Mumbai is Rs 5.55 lakh. 'But it is the first step. The a San Francisco-based entrepreneur has imported it as sample after which bulk orders will be placed,' he said.

Within a span of less than two years, the FPO has registered a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore through domestic sales of organic products sold under brand name ‘Or Farm’.

'In addition to selling organic products produced by farmers registered with us, we are also selling those produced by organic farmers of other states. For instance, when there was a requirement of apples, we facilitated it by procuring it from northern states,' he said.

 

After the organic products were shipped, ‘Bharat to America export’ programme was organized in the presence of Anand Agricultural University vice-chancellor Dr K B Kathiria and others

Farmers were provided training on criteria for certification for export of organic products, processing and marketing the agriculture produce.

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Millets, known for their rich nutrition content, are becoming more popular and sought-after products, thanks to the efforts of NGOs, nutritionists, and the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad. The university is actively promoting millet cultivation among farmers in North Karnataka and working on value-addition of millet products. In order to support small and marginal producers, a Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA) has been launched. Additionally, the government is incentivizing millet cultivation, and various workshops and initiatives are being held to promote millets for nutrition and economic growth.

Area under millet farming doubles with govt push

The superfood raagi, also known as millet, is making a comeback in Goa as farmers are showing increased interest in cultivating it. Around 50,000 hectares of land are currently being used for millet cultivation, thanks to awareness programs and incentives provided by the government. The harvest season is expected to begin in October, and experts are exploring the potential of growing other varieties of millets in Goa's humid climate.

Adopt organic farming to protect soil health: Guv

The governor of Bihar, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, has called on farmers to switch to organic farming, citing the negative impact of excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on soil health. Speaking at a natural farming conference, Arlekar emphasized the need for natural farming methods to produce safe and healthy food for humans, animals, and birds. Former Union agriculture minister, Radha Mohan Singh, also highlighted the environmental consequences of chemical farming and the benefits of organic farming in terms of cost reduction and environmental health. Several scientists and agricultural experts also addressed the conference.

With Exhibitors seeing more than 75,000 Business-to-Business (B2B) export orders and more than 3 lakh visitors, the five-day International Trade Show-2023, which was held at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida, concluded on Monday.

 

Officials said there were more than 200 stalls at the trade show in which more than 300 women entrepreneurs also participated.

 

'Women who have established small businesses under the Uttar Pradesh Rural Livelihood Mission of the UP government were also given a chance here. Around 500 foreign buyers from 60 countries participated in the trade show,' said an official.

 

Among the guests present on the last day were Narayan Rane, Union Minister for MSMEs; Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Union MoS for MSMEs; Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, UP Industrial Development and Export Promotion Minister; and Rakesh Sachan, UP’s Minister for MSMEs.

 

Officials said that there were comparatively fewer people on the first day of the trade show.

 

'However, it started increasing from the next day. Around 48,000 people came on the second day, around 70,000 people on the third day, around 88,000 people on the fourth day and the numbers crossed the 90,000 mark on the fifth and final day of the trade show,' said the government.

 

The event also gave a common platform to artisans to display their work under the ‘One District One Product (ODOP)’ initiative.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country's apex food regulator, has taken stern action against Food Business Operators (FBOs) found to be violating food safety laws. According to the records, 1,411 prosecution cases have been initiated against FBOs found violating the provisions of the Food Safety  and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 since April 1, 2023.

 

The prosecution initiated against the FBOs covers different violations committed, including carrying out a food business without a valid licence and manufacturing or selling unsafe food. Since the beginning of this financial year, a number of food products across various categories like milk and milk products, spices, packaged drinking water, nutraceuticals, sauces, pickles, chips, jaggery and so on have been tested to ensure compliance with product standards and safety of the same.

 

FSSAI, along with states/UTs food authorities, is continuously monitoring the quality and safety of food products for consumers in the country by drawing and testing samples. FBOs found to be in violation of the rules are liable to face fines and legal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The FSSAI seeks to prevent non-compliant practices and ensure that consumers across the nation have access to safe and high-quality food products through stringent inspections, monitoring, and enforcement campaigns.

 

The regulator strongly advises all FBOs to follow the standards of food products prescribed by it and ensure safe and hygienic practices for the manufacturing of food products. Any non-compliance may result in strict action against the violating FBOs.

As a part of Govt of India initiative for market intervention to control the retail price of wheat and atta, Food Corporation of India (FCI) is offering wheat under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) [OMSS(D)] through weekly e-auction at the reserve price of Rs. 2125/- per qtl which is at par with the current MSP of wheat.

 

A quantity of 2.00 LMT wheat is being offered in each weekly auction across the country from more than 480 depots and during the year 2023-24, till 21.09.2023 total 13 e-auctions have been conducted wherein 18.09 LMT wheat has been sold under the scheme.

 

The weighted average selling price of wheat during August’23 was Rs. 2254.71/qtl which has come down to Rs. 2163.47/qtl in the e-auction dated 20.09.23. The downward trend in weighted average selling price of wheat suggests that the market prices of wheat have cooled down in the open market. In each weekly e-auction conducted, the quantity sold has not crossed 90% of the qty offered which shows that sufficient stocks of wheat are being offered across the country.

 

The successful implementation of the OMSS(D) policy has ensured that the prices of wheat are kept under control in the open market and sufficient stock of wheat is available in the central pool for the continuation of OMSS(D) policy for the remaining period of 2023-24.