Govt to partner with international labs for wider acceptability of NIFTEM approved products

New Delhi: Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal has said that the Ministry will collaborate with multiple international laboratories testing various food products so that the food products approved by laboratories at National Institute of Food Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) get worldwide acceptability. The Minister was speaking to the media at the inauguration ceremony of an Incubation centre and Food Testing Laboratory at NIFTEM in Sonipat, Haryana.

The facilities that were inaugurated at NIFTEM included Pilot Plant for Ready-to-Eat and Traditional Food that will help entrepreneurs to bring either new or improved product on the market by providing the necessary know-how for RTE and Traditional Food Technology. It has two main parts viz food preparation equipment cooked in continuous process and laminate packaging facility.

The Pilot Plant for Milk and Dairy Product is very well equipped with the new technologies, safety measures, utilities, skilled manpower, licenses require to process the food products. The same facilities may be use for a ‘Hands on Training’ to our students so that they may aware the existing processes and practices adopted by the large industries through production and demonstration on a small scale. These facilities may enhance the knowledge of stakeholders of milk production system for effective backward linkages.

Pilot Plant for Fruits and Vegetable processing will provide state of the art facilities for storing fresh fruits and vegetables like CA and MA storage as well as refrigerated storage. Hands on training to start ups and exposure to students will be provided for tomato ketchup, puree, canning, spray drying, freeze drying, different types of packaging, IQF etc. Small and Medium Enterprises can also be use these facilities for their production

Pilot Plant for Meat and Poultry Processing will act as an incubation centre where budding entrepreneurs/start-ups or entrepreneurs can utilize facilities to tap the market while not having to invest in the costly equipment and machineries themselves.

NIFTEM Centre for Food Research and Analysis would not only serve as a Centre for certification of food products but would also serve as a centre for undertaking research and innovation for solving the problems of the food industry and the other stakeholders of the food sector. The Center would work in unison with the regulators and the policymakers for providing them all support for developing standard test protocols for various parameters of quality essential for domestic and international market and would serve as the National Reference facility in the years to come.

In her address, the Minister also said that NIFTEM should develop its own brand under which it could market the products developed at the institute. She said that the products would be cheaper, fresher and healthier that other products. She also said that the institute would become a centre for excellence.

Speaking on the importance of the institute the Minister expressed hope that farmer from nearby areas are able to learn processing and packaging at the institute. She also said that students from NIFTEM do not just learn theory but because of the industry partnerships, learn what the industry wants.

NIFTEM is a national institute focusing on an integrated program on food technology and management education for developing a pool of professional managers with deeper understanding of the food and business to serve the processed food industry. NIFTEM also is spearheading the task of creating new entrepreneurs who are expected to venture into the processed food industry after identifying the opportunity areas. NIFTEM is attempting to create best facilities and provide innovative learning environment to provide one stop solution to all problems of the industry.

NIFTEM’s pilot plant will serve the product development activities and test pilot production for business incubation for new generation entrepreneurs from both large and SME sectors. The facilities will help evaluating new products as well as new processes for better performance of existing industries. It will thus also act as research facilities for innovative products and processes and for modification of existing products and processes as well as for assessing new ingredients for improvement in terms of cost and quality. And finally provide training to students and industry personnel.