The organic food industry in India is facing the challenges of maintaining the genuinity and food safety. Indian Government has also taken up some initiatives to make the organic food industry more sustainable includes revising import regulations for certain produce items, setting up laboratories for testing and certifying organic produce. In this month’s Food Safety Conversation, we had Sunil Awari, Senior Vice President -International Business at Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd, Bablu Ganguly, Chairperson at Timbaktu Collective, and Raj Seelam, Founder and Managing Director of Sresta Natural Bio Products talking about the various issues related to the supply chain of or Organic foods. The session was moderated by Govind Valiathan, who is the Head of Learning Solutions with Food Safety Works.
Sunil Awari from Namdhari Seeds kick-started the conversation by talking about the process followed by them to maintain the safety of their fresh produces. He talked about how they closely monitor the entire process from harvesting to processing and distribution. He described the stringent quality control process in place to ensure there are no slippages. The company has several checks at different stages of production. He also mentioned that they test the pH levels and moisture content regularly using high-tech equipment like temperature and moisture sensors, colorimeters, pH meters, densitometers, and so on.
Another theme was on the importance of supporting and educating the farmers who are willing to produce completely organic products from their farms. Talking about this, Babulu Ganguly also shared his understanding of organic farming and his journey working with the farmers in the district of Ananthapur. He highlighted the many misconceptions about organic farming. For him, it is not just about avoiding chemical fertilizers; it is more about understanding the soil and its properties. It’s not just an agricultural practice; it’s an ecological process to harness natural resources for food production. He also pointed out the importance of educating the farmers about the requirements and the standards to be followed for organic products.
There were so many more insights from Mr. Rajashekhar Reddy who is the founder of 24 Mantra, one of the largest and most recognized brands in India and Abroad for organic products. Raj talked about the challenges faced by Indian Organic companies in exporting their food products. He stated that the Indian standards are slightly different from international standards on Organic foods, and that creates certain difficulties. He also said that there is a lack of knowledge on the part of consumers in India and the farmers themselves about the organic standards for food production. Raj also stressed that the use of new technologies has improved the farming processes. Farmers are now being provided with smartphones which allows them to update any issues or concerns they encounter quickly.
It took us one hour and ten minutes to complete the conversation. There were so many more insights and we recommend that you go through the complete session at https://youtu.be/h-FKYzbORn4.
