Eighth essay of Fi (Food Ingredients) India and the first edition of Hi (Health Ingredients) India was recently concluded in Mumbai. The combined expo was held at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 3rd Oct – 5th Oct 2013.
Tariq Anwar, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, Government of India inaugurated the thee day expo was inaugurated in presence of Ajit Singh, Chairman, ACG Worldwide; Piruz Khambatta, CMD, Rasna International; Chitranjan Dar, CEO, ITC Food; and Dr Kalyan Goswami, Secretary General, All India Food Processors Association (AIFPA).
In his inaugural address Anwar said, “In the emerging global scenario, to meet the needs of the booming food processing sector, it is important that India gears itself to meet the domestic as well as international standards. The Indian food industry is currently employing 13 million workers and the companies in the food sector contribute 13% of country’s exports. The Government of India is setting up food testing laboratories, storages etc. for processing food ingredients to ensure food safety. Fi & Hi India 2013 is giving companies a platform to showcase their innovative techniques and solutions in the food processing industry.”
This edition of the event presented three days of onsite seminars, which had participants from industry. Prabodh Halde (Marico), C.M.Reddy (British Biologicals), and Vijayabhaskar Reddy (Dabur India) played key role in steering the seminars to a fruitful conclusion. The seminars were themed around various modules – ’An overview of food safety regulations’, ’A rendezvous with innovative ingredients’, ’Regulations intensified’, ’Ayurceuticals: Medecine traditionelle’, ’Innovations in snacks’ and ’MUN (Model United Nations) forum – Ingredient pricing’.
Leatherhead Food Research was key content partner for Fi & Hi India 2013. Together with Leatherhead, the expo hosted two new features at the 2013 edition of the show -“Ask the Expert Zone” and “Discovery Tours”. Ask the expert zone allowed visitors to have one-to-one sessions, to ask questions about the food and beverage industry. Discovery Tours allowed visitors to take self-guided tours through the show, on topics providing specific solutions for health ingredients and sustainability.
The event was a mix of leading local, national and international industry players such as BASF India, Cargill India, DKSH India, Parry Nutraceuticals, Tata Chemicals, Fuerst Day Lawson India, Glanbia Nutritionals, Mintel (Consulting) Singapore, Roquette India.
Apart from receiving record participation from industry leaders, the event also enjoys support from key associations like All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA); the Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association ofIndia (HADSA); the Society of Indian Bakers (SIB); the Mumbai chapter of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists of India (AFSTM), and the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).