Auriga Research hosts discussion on food safety

The discussion provided a ground to view the whole gamut of food industry from a prism reflecting multiple facets like that of medical and legal at a single platform

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New Delhi: Recently the city witnessed an interesting and healthy discussion titled “Talk on Food Safety Awareness” on 16th of June, 2017. Hosted by Dr Saurabh Arora (Head at testing laboratory and research business at Arbro Pharma and Auriga Research), the session held at Delhi’s iconic bookstore, Oxford Bookstore, had panelists Dr Pawan Vats, Vice President at Auriga Research, Nishant Choubey, Corporate Chef at The Roseate, New Delhi and Amin Ali, special correspondent with The Times of India who shared their opinions based on their expertise in their respective fields.
The discussion provided a ground to view the whole gamut of food industry from a prism reflecting multiple facets like that of medical and legal. Also what position it holds in different professional domains such as relating to culinary and food journalism.
The session was conceptualized to discuss the diverse aspects of food safety and intended to provide solutions to various challenges that come with the subject matter. Interactive in nature, it was of great interest to stakeholders in food industry and detailed the fundamentals of the concerned domain, vital for stability in the hospitality sector, which is a rapidly emerging market.
Dr Saurabh Arora also spoke on emerging food trends, including food startups and online food retailing and also advised on the mechanics regarding tomorrow’s food business, a knowledge crucial to all the industry stakeholders. He also focused on the how the kind of food that we consume influences our health majorly and affects our lifestyle in long run.
“There are certain safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage that are essential to prevent contamination and food-borne illness. Cleaning is obviously the basic, besides it is important that the raw foods must be separated from the rest to avoid spreading of germs. Food refrigeration also accounts for an imperative aspect for preservation, you must store the food at right temperature”, advised Dr Arora.
Apart from the aforementioned subject matter, the session also served a great opportunity for all the attendees to have an insight into FSSAI’s manner of operation as explained by Dr Pawan Vats and thus provided a platform for a healthy interaction. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plays an important role to formulate and control procedures. It implements and controls food quality processes so as to eliminate hazardous and toxic elements. Food licensing, another important issue that involves the entire food industry was also mooted upon besides the specifics of food safety challenges.
On licensing and registration of food business he said, “Starting or carrying on any food business sans a license is illegal with an exception of a small scale food business operator, which also needs registration with food authority. This is important for the consumers considering their confidence in safety & quality of food and helps to promote innovation in foods products and helps get rid of multiple regulations”
Chef Nishant Choubey also shared that for the people in culinary business, there are some crucial factors to be considered for survival in the industry. Food hygiene is very important in catering establishments, it is important that head chefs/catering managers and other personnel in key positions to deliver essential standards in consumer food safety, should be supported through additional training and routine inspection to ensure that appropriate knowledge is acquired and effectively applied.
“ In a profession that handles cooking, culture of quality and cleanliness is very important. There are three factors to be considered: order, safety and health. Apart from appetising, food must be safe and hygienic. Also, personal hygiene forms another crucial aspect”, he informed.
Further, Times of India Correspondent Amin Ali also informed about how food journalism and food industry go hand in hand. Food industry is one of the biggest industries in India ergo food journalism is a conspicuous branch of journalism.
“Food journalism is also a form of business. The kind of reviews a restaurant or a person in culinary business receives have a huge impact on their business which makes it important for a food journalist to abide by some ethical code of conduct as the consumers rely on their reviews”, quoted Amin.
The session turned out to be a fruitful occasion for all the stakeholders from the food industry: food manufacturers and processors, hotel and restaurant owners, startup operators, online food retailers and representatives of food laboratories. They discussed several issues of importance at length on facts and directions of the 360 degree aspects of food safety and had the opportunity to understand FSSAI in a more interactive way.