“Incomplete applications lead to delay in product approval process,” said D P Guha, Joint Director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Western Region. He was speaking at the inauguration of fifth Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Health Food and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA) International Nutraceuticals Conference held in Mumbai. The day- long conference focused on regulatory, supply chain management and marketing aspects of the industry.
“Industry fears to give out their data. Many times we receive incomplete applications from companies which then lead us to raise queries resulting in delaying the approval process,” said Guha. He requested the industry to provide all required information in the first time so that the process can be accelerated.
Ajit Singh, Chairman of FICCI task force on nutraceuticals and President of HADSA, Raghvendra Rao, Vice President, Frost & Sullivan – Middle East, North Africa and South Africa, Dr B Sasikeran, former Director of National Institute of Nutrition were present at the inauguration.
Raghvendra Rao, in his presentation, said, “Functional foods would be driving growth of Indian nutraceuticals industry, as against functional beverages that are driving growth of the industry globally.” He said that the volume of dietary supplements will remain steady in coming years, however its share will decrease as the share of functional food will increase.
Speaking about regulations, Dr B Sasikeran said, “India is evolving in its regulations for general food itself. Nutraceutical science is very new to regulators in our country. Regulations need to be balance for positive and negative effects of nutraceuticals. A nutrient that is safe when consumed through fruits may be not be safe if it is separated from its natural source and consumed. Moreover, the studies conducted among western populations may not apply to Indian populations as they are genetically different groups.”