Food Processing Conclave to be held on Saturday

Kolkata: Abdur Rezzak Mollah, state minister for Food Processing Industry and Horticulture and Ashsih Bahuguna, chairman, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), along with Pradip Mazumdar, Chief Minister's advisor of Agriculture and allied sectors, will take part in the Food Processing Conclave scheduled to be held on March 24.

Nandini Chakravorty, secretary, Horticulture and Food Processing and Godhuli Mukherjee, commissioner of Food Safety, are also going to join the conclave, which will be organised by CII.

"This is going to be a forum where procurement heads from leading companies, dealing in processed food, will brief about good agricultural practices required to be followed, to ensure quality compliance. They will also share what they expect from farmers in terms of quality and standard," B Sumant, chairman, CII Eastern Region Agriculture and Food Processing Sub-Committee and president, FMCG, ITC Ltd, said in a statement.

"The Food Processing Conclave is a forum designed to help facilitate market linkages between farmer producer companies, retail chain and big corporates. This is something which will go a long way in removing intermediaries, which will in turn increase farmers' income," he added.

The state government has given stress on food processing. In all the administrative review meetings, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said over and over again that food processing units have a bright future in the state.

The captains of the food processing industry will take part in the conclave and interact with state government officials.