The four-day 8th Nutra India Summit, India’s biggest nutraceutical, functional foods, dietary supplements and ingredients show, has begun in Mumbai. The Summit will be on till March 16.
Satej Dnyandeo Patil, Minister of State for Home, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Govt of Maharashtra inaugurated the Summit at the Vivanta by Taj-President in Mumbai. NuFFooDS the Health and Food Expo, an exhibition of nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and functional foods, will be organised at the World Trade Centre from March 14-16.
The Summit is organised by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), The International Society for Nutraceuticals, Naturals and Nutritionals (ISNNaN) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications. The theme for this year is “Health & Wellness through Nutraceuticals, Nutritionals and Naturals”.
The Summit witnesses participation from 20 countries, around 70 exhibitors and 65 industry leaders, speaking on the innovative trends in the nutraceutical industry. This event brought together industry captains, scientists, policymakers, and academicians from the world of nutraceuticals, nutritionals and naturals providing them with the huge platform to meet and collaborate.
In his inaugural speech, Satej Patil observed the growing importance of nutraceuticals and food industry to come up with innovative and research ideas to feed the population of the country with quality nutrient food.
Considering the relevance of nutraceuticals, Patil said that Maharashtra invites all industries interested in setting up manufacturing and R&D plants in the area of nutraceticals and functional foods. “We are allotting land with incentives at Lotte Parshuram near Chiplun to parties interested in setting up nutra manufacturing or research plants in Maharashtra.”
Patil also urged K Chandramouli, chairperson, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), to ensure that the FSSAI Act is soon converted to law, that will ensure structured guidelines are laid down for easy operations, decisiveness and quality of the industry.
Satej Patil observed that Maharashtra is the largest consumer for nutraceuticals in the country and the state has received 3,44,000 fresh registrations in the recent past and generated a revenue of more than Rs. 63 crore from the food and related industry.
Prof. Samir K Brahmachari, secretary, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Govt. of India, observed that India with its research strengths will witness great innovation in the areas like nutrition, nutraceuticals, nutrigenomics etc. He predicted that by 2030, people’s consumption of chemicals will become negligible and will be taken over by consumption of natural, organic foods, nutraceuticals and functional foods. The success of the pharma will be replicated by the nutra industry, he said.
K Chandramouli said that currently eight sub-panels are under FSSAI which are working together to formulate regulations. Nutraceuticals being a wide topic we are still debating on whether it could be included in pharma or food. He expects that the notifications will be put on a website to invite further suggestions from the industry.
He cited reasons of a diverse food culture coming from a different kind of population and difficulty in putting a proper standard on food items as another bottleneck. “You cannot have a standard method of making a samosa,” he exclaimed.
Dr V Prakash distinguished scientist CSIR and chairman, Nutra India Summit said, “Nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, just like the lehyas and rasayanas of Ayurveda, does not heal just the affected part of the body but the entire approach is towards healing the whole of body and the mind, resulting in holistic healing.” He further emphasized upon the importance of making nutraceticals more affordable and accessible to the common man.
John Ruff, president, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), USA, observed India as a country where a large section of public is malnourished and an equal section diabetic. He said, “Here lies the importance of food science and urged the industry to educate regulators and consumers to be champions of food science. India with its tradition in ancient herbal science and a wide variety of cuisine is the natural choice for high-end research in food science.”
Jagdish Patankar, organising secretary, Nutra India Summit and managing director, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications, said that there is a serious need to make healthcare more affordable to the common man. Patankar thanked the CSIR for its constant support in providing with knowledge, ideas and resources from time to time, to take make Indian industry self reliant in nutraceuticals manufacturing and research.
NuFFooDS Expo, the Health & Food Show, will run concurrently with the Summit and showcase products, technologies, ingredients and also serve as a launch pad for new products from Sami Direct Marketing Ltd. and Heal Wellness. The Expo will be an opportunity for professionals in the pharma and nutra sector to explore new markets and broaden their partnership networks. There will be a brief introduction on Better Health for Better Living which is planned in alliance with Indian Dietetic Association. This is a free seminar forum which will help attendees to know tips and trends to enjoy healthy living.