FUTURE OF FOOD INDUSTRY (My Published Article on Page NO.60

Vol 01 Issue 04
April 2020 100/-
Ofcial Magazine
Pg no. 10
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Covid-19
places Indian economy
on ventilator
Bakers loose
the crunchSuffer due to shortage
of ingredients
Mithai Meets
a Sensi��e Issue:
'Best Before' or tagged 'Expired'
Tsunami of Business
Waiting for
Indian Agro & food industry
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Covid-19
places Indian
economy on
ventilator
Bakers loose
the crunch
Tsunami of Business
Waiting for Indian Agro &
food industry
India: Pandemic
Legal Intelligence
Food Industry in
COVID-19 times
Mithai Meets a Sensitive
Issue: ‘Best Before’ or
tagged ‘Expired’
News
Page no. 46 to 61
An Exclusive Interview
of Dhiman Das

8
Mithai
Namkeen
&
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Basma Hussain
T
he latest novel coronavirus pandemic may well be the result of our insatiable
appetite and extraordinary capacity for the commodification of non-human life.
And perhaps at the end of this crisis, we will be forced to truly consider what this
means for the future. In the meanwhile, the govt. needs to take urgent and immediate
steps to ensure that our agricultural commodity markets—and the millions of lives
and livelihoods that depend on them—are secured and supported to the greatest extent
possible.
With COVID-19 coming into the picture, the Indian economy is going through a major
slowdown, which was evident over the recent quarters even before the crisis struck. In
the third quarter of the current financial year, the economy grew at a six-year low rate
of 4.7%. With all these problems hitting the world of work from multiple directions,
companies are finding it difficult to sustain in this environment. They are forced to take
tough decisions such as cutting down the salaries, giving pink slips to employees and
opting for other cost-cutting measures. The outbreak has presented new roadblocks for
the Indian workforce and especially for the daily wage and contractual workers.
Corona virus has disrupted the demand and supply chain across the country and with
this disruption, it can be seen that the tourism, hospitality, and aviation sectors are
among the worst affected sectors that are facing the maximum impact of the current
crisis. Closing of cinema theatres and declining footfall in shopping complexes has
affected the retail sector by impacting the consumption of both essential and discre-
tionary items. As the consumption of any product or services goes down, it leads to an
impact on the workforce. In the current scenario, with all the retailers closing down
their services, the jobs of the employees are at a huge risk.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has suggest-
ed that India’s trade impact due to the COVID-19 outbreak could be around US$ 348
million. India is among the top 15 countries that have been affected most as a result of
manufacturing slowdown in China that is disrupting world trade.
According to a survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(FICCI), the immediate impact of COVID-19 reveals that besides the direct impact
on demand and supply of goods and services, businesses are also facing reduced cash
flows due to slowing economic activity which in turn is having an impact on all pay-
ments including to those for employees, interest, loan repayments and taxes.
Job losses and salary cuts are likely in the high-risk services sector, including airlines,
hotels, malls, multiplexes, restaurants, and retailers, which have seen a sharp fall in
demand due to lockdowns across the country. If the current global and domestic eco-
nomic slowdown persists, it will impact demand and realization.
The International Labor Organization has called for urgent, large-scale and coordinat-
ed measures across three pillars - protecting workers in the workplace, stimulating the
economy and employment, and supporting jobs and incomes.
According to a preliminary assessment report, nearly 25 million jobs could be lost
worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, but an internationally coordinated policy
response can help lower the impact on global unemployment.
While on one hand, Indian employees are losing their jobs and receiving a salary cut,
there is also an assumption that the majority of expats have gone back from India and
they will take time to return. Different sectors such as automobile, banking and manu-
facturing employ a large number of expats. Indian companies need expats for several
industry verticals and job functions such as after-sales services, business development
and market audits.
There is an urgent need to take instant steps to not only contain the spread of the virus,
but also to address the key pain areas of the industry which can help in minimizing the
impact of the outbreak on the Indian economy and businesses. The Indian Government
& RBI need to support the Indian industry and economy at this juncture.
Since a large number of people will stand to lose their jobs especially in the retail, hos-
pitality, travel, construction sector, the government can consider giving incentives for
employers to keep the workers, while the coronavirus problem tides over.
On March 24th, 2020 the Finance Minister extended the filing dates of ITR, GST,
linking of PAN and Aadhar and other reliefs for the big and small enterprises. The
finance ministry is already working on an economic package to mitigate the impact of
coronavirus on the Indian economy.
The government is taking necessary steps that will not damage the economy further
but the damage that has been done in the previous few months will definitely last for
a longer period of time. As the country is locked down for the coming three weeks,
India Inc has to stretch themselves to sustain the situation and face the challenge. The
Indian government has also urged employers to not cut jobs and salaries. Many CEOs
and management teams are taking pay cuts to ensure their workforce does not have to
bear the brunt.
Editorial

10
Mithai & Namkeen Times
Covid-19
places Indian
economy on ventilator
Indian industries , businesses, agriculture, food processing and
supply side feel the tight pinch of recession leading to major dent
on the economy causing unimaginable upheaval in people lives,
especially the poor, the daily wagers, laborers; in fact everyone is
distressed, in detention and distanced
Outlook
The rapid out-
break of deadly Corona
virus pandemic in the coun-
try has not only led to a panic-like
situation amongst the citizens, but has
also hit Indian economy - which was al-
ready reeling under a significant slow-
down over the past few quarters. The
medical rampant has presented fresh set
of challenges for the country’s economy,
causing severe disruptive impact on in-
vestment and consumption demand.
Country’s economy, which was growing
at a six-year low rate of 4.7 per cent in
the third quarter of the current fiscal, had
strong hopes of recovery in the fourth
quarter. However, the new Corona virus

11Mithai & Namkeen Times
epidemic has made the recovery extreme-
ly difficult in the near to medium term.
The outbreak has assembled new road-
blocks for the Indian economy now,
causing severe disruptive impact on both
demand and supply side elements which
has the potential to derail India’s growth
story.
Consumption is also getting impacted due
to job losses and decline in income levels
of people, particularly the daily wage
earners due to slowing activity in
several sectors including retail,
construction, entertainment and
others.
With widespread fear and panic
rapidly increasing among people
across the country, overall con-
fidence level of consumers has
dropped significantly, leading to
postponement of their purchasing
decisions. Even the travel restric-
tions imposed by Central gov-
ernment to prevent the spread of
Covid-19 in India have severely
affected the transport sector.
Large scale shutdown of factories
and resulting delay in supply of
goods from China has affected
many Indian manufacturing sec-
tors. Besides having a negative
impact on imports of important raw
materials, the slowdown in manufactur-
ing activity in China and other markets
of Asia, Europe and the US is impacting
India’s exports to these countries as well,
the report stated.
Greater uncertainty about the future
course and repercussion of Covid-19 has
also made the financial market extreme-
ly volatile. The Coronavirus pandemic
has also pulled down India’s economic
growth projections. Given the challeng-
es that the businesses and people are
facing currently, the Indian economy is
most likely to experience a lower growth
during the last quarter of the current fis-
cal, the report claimed.
It is also being said that in case the spread
of Coronavirus continues, India’s growth
may remain subdued in the first quar-
ter of FY 20-21 as well. Rating agency
Moody’s Investors Service has revised
down its growth forecast for India to 5.3
per cent for 2020 from its earlier estimate
of 5.4 per cent made in February.
The agri and food industry experience
the latest economic shock
Covid-19 has brought things that never in
our lives did we think would ever happen.
In India, farmers are putting their cattle
on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg
lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawber-
ries to cows.
It’s not a treat. They can either feed their
crops to animals or let them spoil. And
other farmers are doing just that - dump-
ing truck loads of fresh grapes to rot on
compost heaps.
The farmers cannot get their produce to
consumers because of lockdowns that
aim to stop the spread of corona virus.
In India, as in many parts of the world,
restrictions on population movement are
wreaking havoc on farming and food sup-
ply chains and raising concern of more
widespread shortages and price spikes to
come.
Across the globe, millions of laborers
cannot get to the fields for harvesting
and planting. There are too few truck-
ers to keep goods moving. Air freight ca-
pacity for fresh produce has plummeted
as planes are grounded. And there is a
shortage of food containers for shipping
because of a drop in voyages from Chi-
na.
In Florida, a lack of Mexican migrant
laborers means watermelon and blueber-
ry growers face the prospect of rotting
crops. Similar shortages of workers in
Europe mean vegetable farms are missing
the window to plant.
Such sprawling food production and dis-
tribution shocks illustrate the pandemic’s
seemingly boundless capacity to suffo-
cate economies worldwide and upend
even the most essential business and
consumer markets. There has been limit-
ed disruption so far to supplies of staple
grains such as rice and wheat, although
problems with planting and logistics are
mounting.
Indian farmersare feeding their straw-
berries to cows because the local tourists
that usually eat them are gone, as are the
fruit vendors that once worked the streets
of the nearby metropolis of Mumbai.An-
other farmer is feeding lettuce to buffalo
and is letting villagers take more for their
own cattle. The hotels and restaurants that
normally buy lettuce are closed.
Agriculture
Since it is the backbone of the country and
part of government announced essential
category, the impact is likely to be low on
both primary agricultural production and
usage of agri-inputs like seeds, pesticides
and fertilizers.
Migratory labour movement for harvest-
ing wheat, paddy, pulses etc. should be
allowed for the ongoing Rabi season. In-
sulating the rural food production areas
in the coming weeks will hold a great an-
swer to the macro impact of COVID-19
on Indian food sector as well as larger
economy. .
Food retail
Several state governments have already
allowed free movement of fruits, vege-
tables, milk etc. Due to fake propaganda,
poultry sector (eggs and chicken) is heav-
ily impacted. Fresh meat, seafood has
erratic supply chain as there is no clarity
from state governments on retail shops.
Brick and mortar grocery retail chains
and shops are operating normally but
shortage of staff is impacting operations.
It is expected that prolonged lockdown
will result in increased demand for food
supplies. Online food grocery platforms
are heavily impacted due to unclear po-
lice restrictions and stoppage of vehi-
cles4. Last mile delivery platforms are
impacted too. States are working out pol-
icies for food movement which are likely
to ease the situation.
Food processing
All food based industries are allowed to
function normally. There are few issues
on interstate movement of skilled and
semi skilled labour that needs to be sort-
ed out. Raw material supplies are not im-
pacted as of now and the measures taken
by central government should ease supply
chain issues. Factories should adjust to
working with less labour force and over-
time to meet demand. Domestic market
based players should not have a problem.
Food exports: Major destinations like
the U.S. Europe, China will grapple with
COVID-19 for the next 6 months and In-
dian export based companies will be im-
pacted due to low consumer demand and
port hurdles. Partial diversion of export
inventories to domestic market will help
the players in the interim. Farm gate pric-
es for export oriented commodities like
seafood, mango, and grapes are crashing
and this will impact future crop availabil-

12 Mithai & Namkeen Times
ity. Consumer supplies of cereals, pulses,
fruits, and vegetables, dairy are largely
secured as they are part of essential list
of government. Interstate food move-
ments are erratic and may impact prices
in next few weeks. State policies on trans-
port, e-commerce will decide future price
movements.
Edible oil prices are expected to go down
in the short term due to global down turn
in demand. Import dependent agro chem-
icals, and fertilizer sector may see some
volatility in the long term. Industrial sup-
ply of agri-commodities are expected to
be normal in short term but long term im-
pact will be known only after three to four
months,
Majority of food processing units are not
impacted except for ice cream and Quick
Service Restaurants (QSR) based food
supplies etc. So it is the government duty
to ensure prioritization of food catego-
ries under essential list.
Rabi season harvest for wheat, rice and
pulses may get impacted due to restric-
tion and/or unavailability on inters state
movement of labour force and agri ma-
chinery. Recent announcements from
State and Central governments should
ease the situation in the coming week.
Stranded migrant laborers
The potential impact of planting and har-
vest disruptions is most acute in poorer
countries with big populations, said Ab-
dolrezaAbbassian, a senior economist at
the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
India - the world’s second-most populous
country, where a majority of the popula-
tion is involved in agriculture - is among
the most vulnerable nations to the disrup-
tions.
PM Modi imposed a 21-day lockdown
with just a few hours notice on March 25,
leaving many of its 120 million migrant
laborers struggling to get home and with
no money for rent, food or transport.
The country’s northern grain bowl relies
on labor from eastern parts of the country,
but workers have left the farms because
of the lockdown. So who is going to fill
the grain bags and bring the produce to
market, and transport it to mills?
Supply problems in one place are quick-
ly felt on the other side of the world. In
Canada, imports of specialty Indian vege-
tables such as onions, okra, and eggplant
have dropped by as much as 80% in the
past two weeks as air cargo space dwin-
dled.
In addition to the trucking problems, a
sharp decline in air traffic has cut deeply
into capacity to move fresh produce long
distances. United States fruit importers
rely heavily on commercial flights to shift
papayas and other produce from Brazil.
Now they is buying more from Mexico
and Guatemala, where goods can still be
shipped by trucks.
In Europe, it’s even worse, because they
don’t have a Mexico-like source for pa-
payas. U.S. and Canadian exporters are
grappling with a shortage of refrigerated
containers to supply goods, as voyages of
container ships from China to the West
Coast are down by a quarter due to re-
duced demand because of lockdowns.
A different kind of crisis
The emerging supply-chain disruptions
are much different than the food cri-
ses of 2007-2008 and 2010-2012, when
droughts in grain-producing nations
caused shortages that led to higher pric-
es, unrest and riots in several countries.
Those price spikes were driven in part by
state hoarding of rice and other staples.
Now, staple grain supplies are relatively
plentiful and global prices have been low
for years as farmers in the United States,
Brazil and in the Black Sea region have
planted more and improved yields.
Although there are signs that big import-
ers such as Iraq and Egypt are boosting
grains purchases amid rising food secu-
rity concerns, other countries are boost-
ing exports. Second-largest rice exporter

Agro & Food Processing September 2019
Sanjeev Gupta
Managing Director
Kanchan Metals Pvt.Ltd
Thailand, for instance, is taking advan-
tage of higher rice prices by increasing
exports from stockpiles.
Top rice exporter India, however, has
stopped rice exports due to labor short-
ages and logistics problems. Third-largest
exporter Vietnam has also curbed exports.
African nations - where many people
spend more than half of their income on
food - are among the most vulnerable to
disruptions in staple food supplies.
The continent is the fastest-growing
consumer of rice, accounting for 35%
of global imports and 30% of wheat im-
ports. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is the
third-largest rice consuming region, yet
holds the smallest grain inventories - rel-
ative to demand - of all regions, because
of tight government budgets and limited
storage.
While the earlier food crises involved
supply shocks, today the problem is get-
ting plentiful supplies to the people who
need it - many of whom have suddenly
lost their income.
“It is a whole different animal, you don’t
have labor, you don’t have trucks to move
the food, and you don’t have money to
buy the food.”
Logistics a challenge to delivery of
products
Indian companies, which are grappling
with the disruption in manufacturing
caused by the nationwide lockdown, will
have to contend with another big chal-
lenge for weeks and months, the delivery
of products including food and medicines.
PM Modi has indicated that the lockdown
will be eased gradually from mid-April,
but the domestic industry is staring at a
huge shortage of truck drivers and load-
ers, with many workers having returned
to their hometowns after the lockdown
was announced.

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About 40% of drivers are not available
for trucks in the industry at present. This
may not change dramatically. If people
have crossed borders, it is virtually im-
possible to get them back,” according to
Associated Chambers of Commerce and
Industry of India (Assocham).
The second thing to consider is the sup-
ply side that many of the companies don’t
have inventories and fast-moving con-
sumer goods companies are working at
40% of capacity because they are not get-
ting employees and restrictions on border
movement are adding to the difficulties.
Even after workers return, the fear of
infections due to the covid-19 outbreak
would likely involve a mammoth effort at
rebuilding confidence and educating them
about hygiene practices, including the use
of sanitizers and face masks, besides the
importance of washing hands frequently.
The foundation of the industry will have
to be rebuilt through the use of things
such as a pallet—a flat wooden container
structure that can be used by forklifts—to
minimize points of touch. Given the pre-
vailing and dynamic situation, it is inev-
itable that some disruptions are likely to
take place when a fine balance has to be
maintained between deliveries of essen-
tial products, even as norms, such as re-
stricted movement and social distancing,
is followed by the frontline warriors.
Inter-state and local truck movement has
been severely impacted together with the
challenge of shortage of manpower in
factories. Localized solutions with help
from communities around the factories
are being explored and implemented. It is
believed that it will take a few more days
for the entire ecosystem and processes to
be streamlined for movement of essential
goods.
ITC, which makes Aashirvaad atta (wheat
flour), Sunfeast Biscuits and Savlon anti-
septic liquid, soaps, and sanitizers, said it
was trying to work with local authorities
to ensure the continuity of services with
a minimum number of people. Online
grocery chain Grofers said though it has
now resumed operations in 100% of cit-
ies, it continues to cap fresh orders once it

18
reaches maximum capacity for servicing
them in a given location.
India’s packaged industry has been hit
hard
India’s packaged industry has been hit
hard by the 21 days lockdown with most
factories closed and their supply chain
disrupted making the distribution effec-
tively being suspended nationwide.
Food manufacturers do not have an au-
tomatic right to stay open but have had
to apply for specific exemption from the
state, municipal and national regulators.
And while many manufacturers have
lodged application with the regulators,
bureaucratic procedure are causing long
delays.
Once the food manufacturer get the per-
mission to run the factory, they need one
for transportation of products and then
to transport in night and then to cross
borders. Then outlets like MacDonald’s,
Dominos, subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, and
Starbucksneed different set of permis-
sions from different authorities.
However, if the red tape is cleared, food
manufacturers face an even big hurdle-
the unavailability of labor as hundreds
of workers left Indian cities and major
industrial centers for their home towns to
sit out the lockdown.
A lack of earnings and scarcity of food
supplies during the lockdown were the
main reasons for many moving. Accord-
ing to Confederation of Indian Food
Trade & Industry (CIFTI), even the fami-
lies that live near the plants are not report-
ing to due to lack of transport facilities.
Also, the governments’ instruction that
companies should pay full wedges to all
workers during lockdown has eroded the
incentive for them at work-even though
that order is not legally enforceable.
Food imports into India have also come
under pressure, as ports are open but
they are not functional. Private container
freight stations and testing labs are non
functional, clearing agents and custom of-
ficial are not coming as there is no means
of transport to the ports.
Furthermore trucks are also not operat-
ing with many haulers simply stopping
driving after lockdown. This has dam-
aged all products requiring refrigeration.
Meanwhile most food stores have empty
shelves, with only milk, bread and eggs
are being delivered as usual.As a result of
these problems some food manufacturers
are waiting for the lockdown to end.
An ominous situation for crops and
farm-to-food chain
The government has sought to reassure an
anxious public that the country has mul-
tiple times the required reserve of food
grains to tide over the crisis. There have
also been urgent calls for both central and
state governments to ensure that the pub-
lic distribution system — PDS — is fully
supported to safeguard food security, es-
pecially for the millions of poor families
who will be disproportionately affected
by the massive closures.
A few states have responded quickly,
announcing a range of measures includ-
ing food rations and mid-day meals to
provide basic support to those who will
struggle daily to survive. Their imple-
mentation will be absolutely critical.
India’s huge buffer stock, however, will
not offer any protection to those farmers
who are currently supplying fresh pro-
duce markets and those who are depend-
ing on returns from the rabiharvest that
looms ahead.
We already know that the widespread fear
around the possible animal transmission
of the virus, coupled with reported cases
of bird flu, has led to a meltdown in the
Indian poultry industry, with a steep de-
cline in prices over the last two months.
This will, in all likelihood, also depress
the feed market and its constitutive com-
modities, especially the price of maize.
For farmers in eastern Bihar, whose ra-

20
bimaize starts coming into the market in
large volumes in April, this is ominous
news.
No buyers in mandis
Major wholesale horticultural produce
markets are already contracting. Potato
traders in Azadpur Mandi said that they
are trying to shut shop over the next two
days and have asked farmers to stop send-
ing trucks and to store whatever they can
at their end. Meanwhile, they are trying to
sell the stocks from some 190 trucks that
have been standing in the mandi yard.
As it happens, this is the season for kac-
chapotato, which once harvested cannot
be stored. But there is no public transport
and few buyers. Wherever possible, for
seasonal produce such as mosambi (sweet
lime) and oranges, traders are packing
them in cold storages. Credit rotations,
on which these markets run, are already
breaking down.
Both farmers and traders are uncertain
about the status of the government’s
wheat procurement operations for the
upcoming season. As a trader recalled to-
day: notebandi(demonetisation) hit us at
the peak of the kharifmarketing season in
2016, and now coronavirus has hit just as
the rabiharvest is about to arrive. The im-
pact is likely to be severe, especially be-
cause it comes on the back of long-term
agrarian distress.
This calls for urgent action and innova-
tion. First, farmers (landed and landless)
and agricultural laborers need to be in-
cluded in the economic relief and income
support measures that the centre and state
governments are working out. Both the
Centre and the states have developed
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)/income
support platforms for agriculturalists, and
these must now be utilized.
At the same time, it is also critical for us
to think quickly and collectively about
how we can support and protect our vast,
interconnected agricultural production
and marketing system so that it can keep
moving as fairly and as safely as possible
in order for India to attempt to stand still.
What should public procurement look
like during a pandemic? When wheat
procurement starts next month, we will
need to streamline and manage the flow
of arrivals into mandis and procurement
centres in line with protocols for social
distancing. For those familiar with these
marketplaces, this may sound highly un-
realistic.
Major mandis are usually packed to the
brim and overflowing during peak season
and the pile ups are especially high when-
ever there is uncertainty about market clo-
sures and public procurement windows.
But states such as Madhya Pradesh have
used SMS-based pre-registration systems
fairly successfully in the past to try to reg-
ulate arrivals and manage logistics and
these will now need to be deployed and
further strengthened.
Communication needs to be very clear
and consistent so that farmers do not flood
market sites for fear of closure. Payments
will also need to be processed quickly.
Each step of exchange and transfer – sam-
pling, auctions, weighing and payment –
can be reviewed to minimize crowding
and contact. In the upcoming season, a
quick plan ahead is neededto better uti-
lize and enhance storage and warehous-
ing facilities and ensure more transparent
inventory management so that farmers, in
particular, may benefit from such action.
This means getting credit and financ-
ing systems in place and working out
strategies to urgently step up support to
well-functioning Farmer Producer Orga-
nizations (FPOs). It is important to ensure
that transportation networks enable the
timely and safe movement of food.
A significant proportion of agricultural
produce, especially fresh produce, moves
daily—locally and regionally—via public
transport. If these systems remain closed
for long, alternative and accessible trans-
portation options will need to be made
available.
Strengthen local food systems
Finally, there is need to focus on both
public and private food distribution sys-
tems and ensure that they work as equi-
tably as possible. Historically, in times
of crisis, food markets become explosive
sites for the expression of public fear, an-
ger and aggression.
Reports of widespread consumer panic
and the stockpiling of food and house-
hold provisions from New York to New
Delhi tell us that this time is unlikely to
be different. But, at least in some places,
there is also much-needed recognition of
the essential services that grocers provide
every day.
For instance, the governments of Minne-
sota andVermont in the United States have
classified grocery clerks as ‘emergency
workers’, entitling them to state-funded
childcare services and other benefits so
that they can continue to serve in stores.
We need to think about our own vast,
largely informal networks of traders,
wholesalers and retailers and take con-
crete steps to support them as they keep
working during shutdowns.
This period of social distancing and bor-
der closures may also be precisely the
time to strengthen local food systems,
reducing the distance between production
and consumption wherever feasible.

Mithai & Namkeen Times22
Bakers loose
the crunch
Suffer due to shortage of ingredients
T
he supply of bread has become
scarce as many bakers have shut
operations owing to the shortage of
labour and disruption in logistics facili-
ties due to the lockdown.
As a result, roller flour millers have seen
a drastic decline in sales of refined flour
or maida, a widely used ingredient in the
manufacture of bakery products such as
bread and biscuits.
There has been a substantial drop in sales
of maida over the past few days. Sales are
down by about 90 per cent as the demand
from bakeries has come down drastically,
according to All India Roller Flour Mill-
ers Association.
While the m a -
jority of the small bakers have shut op-
erations, large industrial bakers such as
Modern Foods, Britannia and Kitty In-
dustries, among others, are operating at a
lower capacity.
Shortage of labour and raw material,
mainly used in packing, and transporta-
tion issues, have forced small factories
scale down production capacity by 60
per cent. Like Kitty Industries Pvt Ltd,
in Ludhiana, which sells bakery products
under the Kitty brand across North India
which is at the verge of closedown.
Also, the lockdown has impacted demand
from both institutions and the retail seg-
ment. As a result, many factories have
stopped manufacturing all other products
such as unbranded biscuits, bun, pav and
pizza base, except bread. The Indian bak-
ery sector is largely dominated by smaller
units in the unorganized sector.According
to market research firm IMARC, the size
of the bakery market, which was estimat-
ed to be $6 billion in 2017, is expected to
grow to $11 billion by 2023.
According to the All India Bread Manu-
facturers Association, the smaller bakers
in the unorganized segment are the worst
affected. Though institutional demand
has been hit, there have been instances
of increased demand from some retail
consumers. There have been instances of
people buying more loaves of bread than
normal as supplies have dwindled.
With transportation of goods becoming a
challenge, the shortage in supply of bread
and related products is being felt in sev-
eral locations across the country. Though
the bakery sector falls under essential
food category, many bakers have not re-
sumed operations despite easing of curbs.
Beekays, a large baker in Bengaluru
which manufactures about 150 products,
has shut down operations for about a
week due to the shortage of labour and
raw material. The company, which is
highly dependent on migrant labour, has
not seen them returning after they went to
their villages to celebrate Ugadi. Many of
the members of the Karnataka Wrapped
Bread Manufacturers Association have
either stopped operations or are running
at a lower capacity.
The availability of ingredients required
by bread manufacturers has also been
impacted since supply chains were inter-
rupted soon after the lockdown was an-
nounced. Essential ingredients like yeast
have been hard to find as well, because
the government does not list it as an es-
sential commodity. Without adequate
supplies of yeast, bread makers would
find it impossible to run their operations.
In the Kolkata metropolitan area, there are
approximately 1,000 bakeries, of which
only half are open at present. However,
with difficulties in procuring ingredients
and labour shortages, they are struggling
to continue operations.
Bread factory owners who are members
of the Baker’s Association have not in-
creased the prices of their breads; they had
heard reports of local shops selling them
at inflated costs. Bread factories already
have commission margins in place for
shops to whom they supply. Shops should
not take advantage of people during this
situation and sell breads at higher costs.

24
This is criminal
Not enough grains to manufacture atta,
maida, sooji hence shortage of baking
products
The food processing industry is bearing
the brunt of the shortage of raw materi-
als to manufacture essential commodities
such as atta (flour), maida (refined flour)
and other products even as both the cen-
tral and state governments scramble to
provide food supplies including grocery
items, vegetables and fruits during the
21-day lockdown.
The lack of raw material supply is, how-
ever, not the only hurdle being faced by
the food processing sector — there has
been a lack of labour availability at both
procurement and disposal levels along
with the choking up of road transport at
various state borders due to a shortage of
curfew passes.
As a result, stakeholders in the industry
say production has drastically dropped.
A wheat trader and flour mill owner in Bi-
har said that they used to process around
200 tons of wheat every day to manufac-
ture atta and maida. That has gone down
by at least 60 per cent due to a lack of
raw material like wheat, they used to pro-
cure wheat from Uttar Pradesh but the
trucks are stuck at the state borders and
no one knows whether they would be able
to reach or not. Though the state govern-
ment is cooperating, the supply of pack-
aging bags is also restricted due to the
lockdown and millers require at
least 4,000 bags to pack-
age the items manufac-
tured here at the factory
but they are left with just
a few dozen now.
Commodities manufactured by the
food processing industry such as atta,
maida, sooji, besan and bread fall under
the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
category, which are products that are sold
at a low cost and are perishable. It is for
this very reason that these industries don’t
stock up enough products under any sit-
uation as their very nature means they
cannot stay on shelves for a long period
of time.
Wheat stock for the time being is a max-
imum of three to four days to a week
to make flour and other products as the
wheat can’t be consumed as it is. The
annual wheat season has ended and new
crop are to be procured from states. But
that has stopped completely due to the
lockdown.
Also thereare no labour and truck drivers
at all points of production and supply due
to a lack of curfew passes. The mills and
even the FCI (Food Corporation of India)
have contractual labour that is also miss-
ing due to curfew passes unavailability.
FCI sells wheat just once a week under
the open market sale scheme, leaving the
mills with little opportunity to procure it
during the lockdown.
According to official data, the govern-
ment currently has a total of 58.49 million
tons of food grain in the FCI go downs,
of which rice constitutes 30.97 million
tonnes and wheat 27.52 million tons.
Pulse processing industry stumbles
The pulse processing industry too is
struggling to procure raw material and
manufacture products such as

namkeens, bakery items, ready-to-eat
snacks and besan, all of which come un-
der essential commodities. Around 90
per cent of pulse processing in India is
done by the private sector, which is now
struggling to meet the supply according to
the Pulse Association.
The Ministry of Food Processing Indus-
tries said that the situation will hit urban
customers. The government’s prima-
ry objective is to provide the poor with
grains and pulses through the ration and
PDS route but the supply and labour dis-
ruption to the food processing industry is
set to hurt urban consumers in the coming
times. MOFPI is appealing to the states’
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Dis-
tribution to provide grains and pulses to
the food grain industries but it will take
some time to implement the order at the
last mile.”
The government should identify a sub-
stantial number of mills in every state and
provide them with raw materials to man-
ufacture products along with facilitating
the supply of plastic bags. India’s big-
gest cooperative marketing organization,
NAFED, has unlocked 35 lakh tons of
pulses, 18 lakh tons of gram and several
other agricultural produce from its ware-
house spread across the nation to boost
the food supply chain.
A large scale migration of labourers from
cities to their villages, and transport is-
sues in several states, had affected the
food supply chain in the world’s second
most populated country where over 1.3
billion are locked in their homes to pre-
vent spread of the pandemic, COVID-19.
The closure of grain markets, the plat-
form for millions of farmers for selling
their agriculture produce, multiplied trou-
ble for the millers, edible oil producers
and wholesalers.
The Centre has already asked
state governments to open the
mandis (grain markets). In
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana,
grain markets are opera-
tional. Maharashtra is
going to follow. In
Rajasthan due to the
spread of the pandemic
government is reviewing the
situation.
Overall the inputs coming from the states
are a welcome sign for farmers.
As laborers affect the supply chain, sup-
plies of essential commodity items like
atta (wheat flour) and besan (gram flour)
are running out in some parts of the coun-
try. Due to the lockdown only 25 per cent
of dal (pulses) mills are operational. Sub-
sequently the price of besan has increased
in the market.
NAFED has liquidated 2 lakh tons of
pulses, raw pulses to the millers and trad-
ers in the past few days. The government
is on the job to resolve the issues arising
out of the curfew like situation. The trad-
ers are buying from NAFED, and will buy
more once grain markets are operational.”

Mithai & Namkeen Times26
Mithai Meets a Sensitive Issue:
‘Best Before’ or tagged ‘Expired’
F
rom 1st June 2020 onwards, FS-
SAI’s latest mandate is that, every
local sweet shop should display the
‘Best before Date’ or ‘Date of Manufac-
turing’ on loose or open mithai/sweets
kept in the tray containers for sale at their
outlets. The food regulator has expressed
that the sweet shops could also mention
the suggestive shelf life list in compliance
with the new rules. It even suggested that
sweet items like milk cake, rasgullas, ras-
malai, rajbhog, kalakand and other milk-
made sweets should be sold and consumed
within two days of their manufacture. But
this move by FSSAI has raised concerns
amidst the sweets manufacturers in the
industry and they have expressed their
dismal about this decision.
The mithai and namkeen industry in India
has witnessed tremendous double-dig-
it growth year-on-year. Today, it has
achieved the milestone of one lakh crore
turnover. India is the only country having
more 500 varieties of sweets and mithai
in the world. Its love for sweets is known
in the exports to other countries where In-
dians have taken abode. The demand for
Indian traditional is spreading worldwide.
Sugar drive from cane and honey, and to

27
some extend jaggery are the world’s old-
est sweeteners that has revolutionized the
entire sweet culture. Traditional sweets
or mithai is a craving that every person
would like to indulge in and Indians are
known to have something sweet post-
lunch and dinner. This craving makes the
mithais so special to us. Distribution of
mithai means happy occasion and joyous
times like birthday parties, engagements,
weddings, birth, festivals, promotions,
clearing examinations, recovery in health,
and the list goes on. To celebrate people
just seek tiniest opportunities to consume
their favourite and wonderful delicacies.
Hence, any news of mithai and sweets
industry cannot go unnoticed. Therefore,
read on to know what happened and why
it is important to keep in touch with this
food segment.
The food regulator of India, Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
recently issued a directive wherein the lo-
cal sweets shop have to mandatorily dis-
play the ‘Date of Manufacture’ and ‘Best
before Date’ on loose sweets sold in their
shops effective from 1st June 2020.
This move comes in the wake after sev-
eral complaints were received from con-
sumers over stale or expired sweets be-
ing sold to them. Thus, coming in action,
FSSAI have asked the sweet and mithai
manufacturers to display the date of man-
ufacture and best before date to ensure the
customers receives freshly made products
and can consume sweet items safe and
sound and do not pose any health issues.
With this transparency, FSSAI is sure
that the consumers will purchase freshly
made mithais and will not be misled by
the mithai-makers to sell off stale sweets.
Keeping the food safety and public inter-
est in mind, a label on a mithai tray can be
attached to display the date of manufac-
ture that would safeguard the consumers
buying sweets. Every product has its shelf
life and the food regulator has issued sev-
eral guidelines to be followed. FSSAI
has issued a symbolic shelf life along
with a suggestive logo for various types
of sweets in a separate guidance note on
milk products.
As per the guidance note, traditional milk-
based sweets are prepared from khoya,
chhena (cheese curd), sugar and other
ingredients such as maida, flavors and
edible colors. Peda, burfi, milk cake, gu-
lab jamun, rasgulla, ras-malai, and others
have a limited shelf life. Sweets particu-
larly those with milk products have a low
shelf life and are more prone to get spoilt
soon. Therefore sanitation and hygiene in
their preparation and consumption within
shelf life period are of utmost importance.
Depending upon the nature of the sweets
and its shelf life, FSSAI has classified the
sweets as perishable sweets and highly
perishable sweets - medium shelf life, long
shelf life, and very long shelf life sweets.
Based on the category, tags will be issued
to all sweet shops and shopkeepers who
should display the same, next to the sweet
trays. And since there are issues of adul-
teration and use of sub-standard products,
the food regulator is taking efforts in this
regard to ensure food safety of sweets by
stakeholders including food businesses,
consumers and regulatory authorities.
FSSAI Joint Director (Regulatory Com-
pliance) Parveen Jargar commented
that, “FSSAI was receiving
several complaints
of expired / stale
sweets being sold
to consumers.
And eating such
sweets poses
the human to dan-
gerous health hazards.
Because many people are unaware of the
date of manufacture of these loose sweet
items, unlike packaged ones wherein you
have the information mentioned on the

28
box, hence considering food safety and
public interest, this step has been taken”.
He further added that the Food Business
Operators (FBOs) will decide the man-
ufacturing date and best before date and
they will indicate it, depending on the na-
ture of sweets and local conditions. “FS-
SAI has been pondering over this decision
for a year. There were several discussions
with various stakeholders about this mat-
ter. And then ultimately, we arrived at this
conclusion. For their convenience, we
have made a guidance document that is
available on our website and wherein they
will receive all the information about food
business operators and the procedure.”
But to many mithaiwalas, this order by
FSSAI seems impractical and difficult
to implement. Impractical move because
it is not possible to put up a label after
every few hours depending on the sale of
the products. Just, for example, jalebis
and gulab jamun which are made in the
morning and get sold out within couple
of hours due to its high demand in the
market. How is it practical to label best
before and manufacturing date for every
batch that is prepared for a particular day?
Not too pleased with the order, delegates
from Federation of Sweets and Namkeen
Manufacturers (FSNM) met the FSSAI
Joint Director (Regulatory Compliance)
Parveen Jargar and Executive Direc-
tor (Compliance Strategy/Training) Dr.
Shobhit Jain had a long detailed meet-
ing concerning this issue. The outcome of
the meeting was that both parties agreed
to work on some practical solutions. The
industry will submit suggestions and FS-
SAI and the government will consider it.
Surely, the rules will be implemented as
both the industry and governmental agen-
cies will work together in this regard.
Branded sweet retailers already follow the
practice for their packaged products such
as rasgulla and soan papdi. But the ratio
of loose or unpackaged sweets made and
sold is greater than the packaged ones.
Hence this initiative by FSSAI is a de-
batable one and after contemplation and
talks, there could be an arrangement that
would work for all. India has numerous
traditional mithai shops that sell pack-
aged as well as loose traditional sweet
products. They sell dairy-based sweets
prepared with khoya, desi ghee, and sug-
ar/jaggery, they also prepared sweets with
extended shelf lives. It becomes a com-
plex matter when sweets having different
shelf lives are kept in display counters for
sale. Sometimes their shelf lives vary ac-
cording to the climatic conditions.
Here in monsoon sweets often gets spoilt
due to moisture in air. Summers are also
not good to keep milk burfis in a pro-
longed period. Ingredients like dry fruits,
edible colours etc... which are used in
making mithai are found to be sub-stan-
dard and for profit-making mithais are
adulterated by preparing them in used re-
fined oil, substitutes of sugar like saccha-
rin is added and cheap flavours and dyes
are mixed. Taking all this into consider-
ation, a proper analysis should be worked
out to make food healthy and free of con-
tamination.
Tagging the dates seems difficult on
sweets as there are some provision stores
or retailers who do not manufacture the
sweets, but purchase them from whole-
sale manufacturers and buy similar prod-
ucts from various suppliers. In such cas-
es, it is not feasible for the provision store
owner to tag dates, as he is not the man-
ufacturer nor has he any knowledge as to
when it was prepared and how long it will
last. For him it’s fresh when he received
it and tries to sell off as soon as possible.
Sometimes sweets can get spoilt at the
hands of consumers. Mishandling of
sweets with dirty or wet hands results in
spoilage. Sweets bought and kept outside
in humid climate or unclean containers
also leads to the decay of sweets. In such
circumstances, the customer cannot hold
the manufacturer responsible for the hap-
penings of the dates.
Mithai & Namkeen Times took this op-
portunity to speak to Firoz H. Naqvi,
Director of Feder-
ation of Sweets
and Namkeen
Manufacturers
(FSNM) about
this
issue. Naqvi ex-
pressed his view as:
“We are with FSSAI,
but some things are hard to implement. A
lot of milk products have a limited shelf
life, and some have a longer shelf life.
Some shops have several products and
it is difficult to put a label on each cate-
gory because of varying shelf lives. The
association was not consulted before pub-
lishing the order. We put forward our con-
cerns to the FSSAI and are trying to meet
midway, where their concerns are met and
ours too”.
The FSNM represents interests of over
400 manufacturers of Indian sweets and
namkeens including branded chains such
as Haldiram’s and Bikanervala, among
others. This federation represents the en-
tire sweets & namkeen industry, both the
manufacturing and allied sector. FSNM
has been formed to improve this indus-
try as it contributes to the accelerating
growth of India’s GDP along with the
other food sectors.
Naqvi further added, “Some shops have
several products and it is difficult to put
a label on each category because certain
items get over quickly within a day and
thus several batches are prepared at in-
tervals in a single day. The climatic con-
ditions vary in the different parts of the
country that affect the shelf life of these
products. FSSAI should have approached
us in this regard and we could have
worked out a practical solution for the
problem. We are eager to know how this
can be implemented at the local levels in
phases. As the mithai owners maintaining
less than 5 stores in the city and in local
areas will face problems and their busi-
ness will be adversely impacted by this
move. We always support FSSAI in their
endeavour but this time, their sudden de-
cision has taken the industry by surprise”.
After speaking to the Director of FSNM,
Mithai & Namkeen Times (MNT) went
further to speak to few known personal-
ities of mithai segment who have estab-
lished their brand in this industry and
asked for their opinion on this topic.
From the Industry’s point of view
After FSSAI mandated the date issue, the
sweets manufacturers were completely
surprised by this directive and wanted to
convey their concerns to the authorities.
They had a lot to say about this issue,
and MNT came as the right media where
they could openly share their thoughts on
FSSAI’s rule of ‘best before’ and ‘date of
manufacture’on loose sweets at the count-
er. Excerpts from the renowned leaders
from the industry share their views:
Virendra Jain, President of FSNM said
that consumers in India are well
aware of the shelf life
of sweets, just like
how they know
the shelf life of
kachoris, samo-
sas, food ordered
from restaurants,
etc. “We already

30
mention the shelf life of our products on
the packaging in the manner of ‘good for
(so-to-so) days’. There have been negli-
gible complaints from customers on the
sweets being sold after expiry from the
reputed sweets shops. So we need to clar-
ify our point of already taking into con-
sideration the shelf life of our products.”
The famous Dhiman Das, of K. C. Das
Pvt Ltd hails from Kolkata. He has ex-
pressed his concern
over the date is-
sues. According
to Das, it is not
only impractical
but next
to impossible
to mention ‘date of
manufacturing’ and
‘expiry date’ or ‘best before date’ on each
tray every morning.
“Most of the sweet shops display the
name and price of sweets on each tray.
The sweet shops mainly in Bengal are
owned by people who earn their daily liv-
ing from each day’s sales. There is hardly
any staff to help them. The family mem-
bers themselves run the shops. Shopkeep-
ers can’t change the plates every morning
or even write the ‘date of manufacturing’
and ‘expiry date’ by hand on almost 100
trays or more,” he told MNT.
Yet another famous sweets producer,
Pradeep Jain, MD of Jain Mishthan,
Mumbai, expressed that new rule by FS-
SAI is quite disturb- ing.
Because, festival
times are peak
season where
mithai is in great
demand, one
can only
seeswarming crowd
of people
inside the outlets to buy sweets. In this
commotion it is practically impossible to
label every tray in the store as the trays
keep on replenishing as they get over.
Since the shop sells many varieties of
sweets and various other products, label-
ling or marking the trays seems totally
unfeasible for the owner.
Nowadays, consumers are well aware of
the shelf life of the sweets being sold in
shops and outlets like for example rasgul-
la and ras-malai have a very short life. The
mithai maker need not attach a date tag to
it as all know that milk mithais do not last
for more than two days. Practically put-
ting the issue forth, based on a handful of
complaints, there is no such requirement
of a regulation received from FSSAI and
applied across the country. Colloquially
speaking, such types of complainants can
be for any food items not related to sweets
and mithai, then there is actually no need
for such a directive which is highly unrea-
sonable to implement it.
Anil Saini from Bhanwarilal Mithai-
wala, Indore appreciated the initiative
taken by FSSAI. He said that FS-
SAI wanted to ensure
transparency and
certainly there
has been some
problems that
the sweet man-
ufacturers have
faced. Once
transparency is in place,
customers’ consumption ratio will in-
crease. “Through this directive, the ones
who contaminate the sweets or cheat the
customers will either stop or mend their
ways.
Also, there are the ones who store it as
stock and later sell it as fresh. They will
not be able to do so, and all these activi-
ties will not occur.” This will lead all the
sweets manufacturers in the industry to
be cautious and always ensure that fresh
sweets are being sold to customers.”
Upto some extent agreeing with FSSAI,
N.S.R PrabhakarVarma from Sarvani
Sweets, Vishakhapatnam - explained
that FSSAI wants to
put the coding ex-
ercise in regards
to the sale of
loose sweets. It is
like batch coding
when in the pro-
duction stage, they
write a batch number
on every portion that is produced. This
batch number will also carry manufactur-
ing date as well as ‘best before’ date.
Varma further added, “It is observed that
food products generally don’t expire so
soon. Some carry their lives for years,
they do have the best before dates but af-
ter a time the food products starts to em-
anate rancid smell, they lose their flavour
and texture, crispiness as the case may
be. Bengali sweets like rasgulla, gulab
jamun, cham-cham have water content in
it. On an open purchase and if stored for
longer period, it turns sour. Packed tins,
these sweets still have longer life due to
preservatives added to it.
These tin packs always carry best before
date. I feel FSSAI wanted to introduce
batch-based production and selling. Indi-
rectly, they wanted to impact our produc-
tion cycle, because this would force us to
mark every batch at the back-end. But im-
plementing this from June 1st, I think is a
hasty step in a right direction.”
Just like demonetization had affected the
people all over the country, same way
this date issue will affect everybody in
the long-run. That’s because, not every-
one understands the importance it has
on mithai industry. Varma stated that
the geographical conditions and climate
also need to be considered as humidity in
regions near the sea-side is much higher
and India is a country with states that has
various humidity levels because of their
locations.
“Based on the diversity of our country,
having a common ‘Best Before’ is not
possible. Then there are quality issues
with the raw materials, not every material
that goes in mithai-making is good. So no
matter how hard we try to put a label on
it, eventually, these labels will not be suit-
able to the entire country. This will lead to
large scale confusion in regard to the shelf
life of food items.”
Jay Sharma, from Gwalia Foods,
Ahmedabad is of the
view that retailers
have many sweets
and namkeen and
thus not practi-
cally possible to
label every batch
or lot prepared.
“But
we can mention the shelf life of these
products so that consumers can make an
informed choice while purchasing. The
problem is that trays at the counter are
refilled at timely intervals so every time
putting a mark or label is not feasible.
We are ready to mention the shelf life
(should be consumed within 3 to 5 days)
of the products.” He added mentioning
best before and expiry dates on the trays
seem a difficult task. And even if this is
done, then consumers will only prefer the
fresh batch prepared and that will become
a problem for the retailer since the old
batch will go in waste.
Is there a mid-way solution to date is-

32
sue? Yes or No
It seems that this move by FSSAI has not
gone down too well with the sweet indus-
try. The sweets manufacturers are equally
concerned about their consumers’ safety
and well-being. MNT wanted to know if
a mid-way solution is possible or any sug-
gestions the mithai makers would want
to convey. MNT was glad to know their
responses and suggestions which are put
forth:
Virendra Jain made his points clear.
“We need to discuss the implementation
of the expiry dates practically if at all; we
need to put expiry dates on our products.
It is practically impossible to label every
loose sweet because our industry is both
organized and majorly unorganized with
small sweet shops all over the country.
We (FSNM) as the face of the industry
need to take care of their issues as well.
Also, we can negotiate on the point that
sealed packaging and preservatives are
two ways to ensure that the products last
till expiry. But when we are selling loose
sweets, how we can guarantee the sweets
expiry as it is up to the consumers, how
they keep it. Like a lot of tin packaging,
mentions an expiry of 3-6 months, but
they don’t guarantee the expiry once the
tin is opened. It is written to consume im-
mediately once opened.”
Pradeep Jain suggested that just like
how price and quantity are mentioned
on the tray of the sweets, it should also
mention ‘good for two days’ or ‘to be
consumed today only’. “Sweet manufac-
turers should mention the shelf life along
with the name and price of their products.
We are equally concerned about consum-
ers’ safety and health. Because, without
customers’ support, we are nothing and
so we cannot ignore their well-being,”
replied Jain.
Even Das echoed the same outlook. He
said, “The best we can do is mention
‘consume within certain days’ along with
the price and name of sweets.” Like ch-
hena - based Bengali sweets have a shelf
life of 24 – 72 hours. Khoya based sweets
have a shelf life of almost 7 days, dry
fruit-based sweets have a shelf life up to
15 days and so on”.
Prabhakar stated that there is a midway
but the problem is no one knows where
to look for it or pinpoint the exact key.
Those in North India will have a different
perception on how sweets are manufac-
tured to those who are based in Southern
India. If the dates are standardized, then
this will lead to a state of chaos for the
manufacturers in this industry. Being
flexible at this hour and to conclude the
issue congenially seems the only remedy.
On mentioning the dates becomes man-
datory, the industry came expect miscom-
munication amongst the manufacturers.
As mithai industry is generally unorga-
nized, there is no standard framework to
assess the best before on the sweets. But
if we look at the pharma industry, they are
well organized and have a strict frame-
work and laboratory assessment for the
expiry dates which is adhered everywhere
in India and abroad.
Everything matters in the food industry,
even a meagre tray matters. If the tray is
not clean and has contaminants present on
it, even though the sweet has a shelf life
of 5 days will get spoil within two days.
Ultimately, it is the retailer/wholesaler’s
responsibility to ensure quality, hygiene
and cleanliness. Quality has to be main-
tained with full guaranty of the manufac-
turer, retailer and shop owner.
It is clear that FSSAI wants to bring the
FMCG framework into the F&B industry.
FMCG involves around all those packed
goods that mention the expiry and manu-
facture dates. They are trying to bring that
framework into the F&B environment
which is not possible. The producer can-
not bring in the same frame of work with-
out reliable RnD. Different places with
their altitudes and climatic conditions
have different impact on the products.
Keeping in the above knowledge, FSSAI
needs to reconsider their mandate decree
and accordingly plan to take concrete de-
cision helping the consumers and mithai
industry at large.
R&D - Need of the Hour
India has technological equipment where
products are made and packed 100% hu-
man-hands-free stage. Still many man-
ufacturers need to convert their way
of preparation using minimal hands to
maintain high level of hygiene that could
benefit the sweets industry. Use of hi-tech
machineries with artificial intelligence
arms, will definitely increase the shelf
lives of the products made. More RnD
is required and test laboratories should
be made easily available to certify the
product’s life. Indian mithais are gaining
global popularity among various cultural
groups and regional places. Das alluded
that as of now, there are no technological
solutions regarding this. Even if India has
some solutions, the cost shall be such that
only a handful of branded sweet shops
can afford it. Keeping in view the huge
number of sweet shops mostly in Bengal
in every nook and corner, aggregating to
almost approximately 1 lakh or more who
are not well-to-do at all, cannot avail of
this technology because of the high cost.
It should be noted that these shop owners
are so poor that they cannot even afford
to install a simple electronic cash register.
Under such circumstances, there is an ob-
vious need for RnD on this issue.
As per Jain’s knowledge, “There is no
such equipment but yes, there could be
RnD done for technological machinery
that will be useful for our industry and
good-will of the customers”.
On the other hand, Saini shared his plan
of putting stickers on the sweets at the
manufacturing site. And at the outlets
and stores, a person could make use of
the printer and print stickers to put it on
the trays kept at the counter. He stressed
that there should be RnD done for some
technologically advanced machinery
which would make things easier for the
industry. “Just like how there are inter-
national brands available in the market
reaching our homes, same way we must
try to achieve the similar goal. Our sweets
should reach every household in the USA,
European and Asian countries”.
To conclude, consumption of mithai is an
integral part of India’s meal and hence
sweet manufacturers are constantly striv-
ing to bring many innovation in their
products. At the same time, they ensure
that consumers’ health and safety is not
neglected and quality is not compromised
upon.
It’s a wait and watch situation to see if
FSSAI rule is implemented in the right
manner or the sweet industry will seek
to modify the edict!! Time is the decid-
ing factor. Till then lets enjoy eating the
mouth-watering mithais our country is
famous for!

33
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www.aavegfoodmachine.com

34
T
he coronavirus (COVID-19) out-
break is leading to widespread con-
cern and is increasing economic
hardship for all consumers, businesses
and communities.RohitLalwani brings
a special article of “Food Industry in
COVID - 19 times” for his readers.
Food Supplies
1. Whether the food supplies will be
available during the period of complete
lockdown?
Answer: Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs
vide order no 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated
26.03.2020 has issued directions in ref-
erence to the complete lockdown, that
supplies of essential commodities such as
food supplies, medicines etc. will contin-
ue to take place with proper precautions.
Moreover the Central Government has
also come up with ‘Pradhan MantriGa-
reebKalyanYojana’ under which individ-
uals benefited of subsidized public distri-
bution will be receiving grains and other
food supplies.
Food Processing Industries
2. Whether the Ministry of Food Process-
ing Industries has issued any Circular/
Notification/Order to address the pan-
demic of COVID-19?
Answer: Yes, the Ministry of Food Pro-
cessing Industries vide Press Release ID:
1608340 dated 26.03.2020 has directed
to a set-up of a Grievance Cell to ensure
hassle free operations and uninterrupted

35
India: Pandemic
Legal Intelligence –
Food Industry in COVID-19 times
supply of essential for citizens.
A Business Immunity Platform is set-up
to help and support the businesses and
investors.
Essential Commodities Act, 1995
3. Under which law or rule, food is con-
sidered as essential commodity?
Answer: As per Section 2A of Essential
Commodities Act, 1955 provides that
Essential Commodity includes those
enumerated under Schedule I of the Act.
The Schedule to the Act include food as
below;
iii) Foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds
and oils;
Food & Retail Sector
4. Whether there is any notifications/cir-
cular/order issued by the Government to
include food shops and retailers under es-
sential commodities?
Answer: Yes, as per the Ministry of Home
Affairs vide order no 40-3/2020-D dated
24.03.2020 has included shops, ration
shops, which are dealing in food, grocer-
ies, fruits and vegetables, and other food
products also as essential commodities
during the lockdown.
Specific directions are also provided to
district authorities to encourage home de-
liveries in view of COVID-19.
Food Retail Shops – Hygiene Aspect
5. Whether the employees, such as ca-

36
shiers, cleaning personnel, in food retail
shops are mandated to use on face masks,
hand gloves and hand sanitizers?
Answer: Per se, explicitly there is no
guideline however these are advisable to
prevent the employees who come in con-
tact with customers and also to maintain
hygiene during such testing time of infec
tions.
Further, hand sanitizers should be also
kept to contain such outspread.
E-Commerce
6. Whether there are any notification/cir-
culars/orders to allow the ordering of food
products through e-commerce operators?
Answer: Yes, as per the Ministry of
Home Affairs vide order no 40-3/2020-
D dated 24.03.2020, the online essential
commodities providers will be available
during the lockdown period.
However situations might arise in the cur-
rent scenario that due to limited resources
the delivery schedule might fluctuate.
Distribution Of Essential Commoditi-
ties
7. Whether Government has released any
procedure/guidelines for distribution of
essential commodities?
Answer: Yes, the Ministry of Home Af-
fairs vide order No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A)
dated 26.03.2020 issued a Standing Oper-
ating Procedure (“SOP”) for maintaining
supply of Essential Goods.
Under the SOP government allows op-
erations of suppliers of essential goods
including restaurants for home delivery,
warehouses and go downs for storage of
essential goods, Transporters/drivers, etc.
for transfer of essential goods from man-
ufacturers to retailers.
Import Clearance & Testing Labs
8. Whether Import clearance and Food
Testing Labs are classified as essential
services by FSSAI during the COVID-19?
Answer: Yes, Food Safety Standards and
Authority of India vide Press Release dat-
ed 31.03.2020 has classified the import
clearance of food items and functioning
of notified food testing laboratories (in-
cluding National Food Labs) under Es-
sential Services during the COVID-19.
It also directed all personnel who are as-
signed charged to be required to be avail-
able in office on all working days in order
to facilitate the trade as well as ensure
smoother operation of related services
across the country.
Fssai Compliance
9. Whether there is any specific procedur-
al compliance requirements issued by the
FSSAI for Food Business Operators?
Answer: Yes, Food Safety Standards
and Authority of India vide order no
15(6)2020/FLRS/RCD/FSSAI dated
31.03.2020 issued mandate procedure
for application for FSSAI License/ Reg-
istration through online mode on FLRS
and possess the 17 digit valid application
number.
All the details shall be communicated
to the commissioner of FSSAI by email
by enclosing a FORM M with all the
prescribe details which should be duly
signed by the applicant.
Food Business Operators
10. Whether there is any notification/cir-
cular/order for First Business Operators
to cover them under the ambit of FSS Act,
2006 during COVID-19?
31.03.2020 issued the directions to in-
clude the operations of Food Business
Operators (“FBO”) temporarily under
Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.
The directions by Food Safety Standards
and Authority of India have also specified
for the exclusions of Manufacturer’s from
the relief provided in the aforesaid order
for FBO’s.
Time Limit By Fssai
11. Whether there is any notification/
circular/order specifying the time lim-
it for FBOs to cease the business post
COVID-19?
31.03.2020 issued directions specifying
the time period for the FBO’s.
The FBOs has to cease their operations
within 30 days from the date lockdown
ends.
If the FBOs wants to continue their busi-
ness then proper valid FSSAI license has
to be applied by them.
Fssai License Registeration
12. Whether there is any notification/cir-
cular/order specifying the procedure for
the processing of FSSAI License/ Regis-
tration during and post lockdown?
31.03.2020 issued specific directions and
detail procedure for the issuance of the
License/ Registration during the time of
lockdown and after pre-lockdown speci-
fying the time period for the FBO’s.
It also consist of detail directions for the
inspection and issuance of License/ Reg-
istration for the essential food and com-
modities.
Issues Awaiting Addressal During
Covid -19
• Regarding Food & Beverages products
(F&B), no guidelines or directions exists.
Survival of start-ups in present pandemic
era, dealing into F&B products has be-
come a big concern due to clouds of con-
fusions of lack of guidelines or directions
for F&B products.
• Guidelines issued by the Ministry of
Affairs is silent on the scope of manu-
facturers, suppliers and other food sellers
during lockdown.
• There is no clarity on the food ingredi-
ents companies which manufacture and
supply the basic ingredients for food
products but they being incidental and
ancillary should be treated at par food
products.
Future Challenges
• As of now, disruptions are minimal as
food supply has been adequate and mar-
kets have been stable so far. However,
we are already seeing challenges in terms
of logistics bottlenecks (not being able
to move food from point A to point B),
and likely, there is less food of high-value
commodities (i.e. fruits and vegetables)
being produced.
• Small-scale farmers and fishers also
might face challenges accessing markets
to sell their products or buy essential in-
puts, or struggle due to higher food prices
and limited purchasing power.
• Shortages of labour could disrupt pro-
duction and processing of food.
• Food demand amongst major popula-
tion in India is more linked to income,
and hence loss of income-earning oppor-
tunities could impact on its demand and
consumption.
This content is purely an academic analy-
sis under “Legal intelligence series”.
courtesy : www.amlegals.com
AMLEGALS | Advocates & Advisors(A
Law Firm in Ahmedabad)

Tsunami of Business
Waiting for
Indian Agro & food industry
Farmers, food processors and supply chains need special care
C
orona’s global outbreak has brought
businesses to a standstill in almost
every country on this mother earth.
Some declared lockdown immediately,
some just on time and some later. But
at present, the entire world is under the
shadow of lockdown leaving a few excep-
tions, alongside China which has almost
fully recovered from Corona. Amid this
closedown essential services like power,
petroleum products, medicines and med-
ical equipment, supply of food products
and commodities, fruits, vegetables, milk
and milk products and a few more ser-
vices are on but not with ease.
Globally, it has become a challenge to
keep the continuous supply of edible
items especially in urban regions of the
planet. Countries like India are able to
manage its demand and supply with a few
challenges of by keeping its manpower,
involved in supply chain, away from in-
fections. There are regions like Europe,
North America, GCC, South East Asia
andAfrica, importing one or the other ma-
jor commodities from the global market.
Even our country (India) relies on many
neighboring countries and countries in
African and American continents for the
imports of many commodities. Countries
like Malaysia and Indonesia are vital for
the supply of vegetable palm oil for us.
That’s how the global cooperation and ex-
port and import business functions. Our
economies are standing on each other’s
support and supply.
Global strain due to Covid 19
Due to corona’s global outbreak this en-
tire supply chain is broken and there is an
acute shortage of essential commodities
and food products in the global market.
From US to Asia and Europe to Africa
there is complete lockdown due to which
labor has gone back to their native place
and there is none to harvest the produce
especially in agriculture rich countries
like India and US. Most of the airlines
aregrounded and ships are stranded in
between. There will be anunprecedented
shortage food and loss of farm produce
globally.
According to reports countries like US,
Canada, France, Italy, Germany have al-
ready started feeling shortage of agricul-
ture and processed food products includ-
ing dairy and meat. On the other hand
protectionist measures by governments
could provoke food shortages around the
world, the UN’s food body has informed.
Kazakhstan the world’s biggest supplier
of wheat flour has restricted its exports.
Likewise, Vietnam one of the leading
suppliers of rice has also followed the
rule of no exports till the time of normal-
cy. Russia, the biggest exporter of wheat,
is also planning to block
its exports. It is expected
that other major commodi-
ty exporting countries may
follow the same suit.
Export scenario in India
Now look at the Indian
export scenario, India’s
total agriculture and pro-
cessed food export was
30, 84,690.48 MT with a
value of Rs 1, 30,387.77cr
in the year 2018-19. In
the year 2019 from March to Decem-
ber the export was 1,28,32,481.76 MT,
Rs82,669.86 cr. Data for 2020 1st quar-
ter is yet to be updated by APEDA but all
of us can guess that there is hardly any
business taken place in the last month of
the financial year. It is expected that we
shall face significant decline in exports in
the year 2019-20. This is not due to de-
crease in produce but many factors which
includes government policies, business
environment and Corona outbreak.
Influence of Indian agro & food industry
With the help of Central Government
Ministries, State Governments and con-
cerned department for export such as
APEDA, the Indian agro & food industry
can turn the tables in its favor in the year
2020-21. Major economies like US, UK,
Germany, France, Italy and countries like
New Zealand, Australia, Iran, Saudi Ara-
bia, UAE, Iraq will not be able to cater its
demand for agro and food products for at
least one coming quarter. Some of these
countries are worst affected due to coro-
na outbreak. They are not only facing the
Due to corona’s global outbreak this entire supply chain is broken
and there is an acute shortage of essential commodities and food
products in the global market. From US to Asia and Europe to Africa
there is complete lockdown due to whic000h labor has gone back to
their native place and there is none to harvest the produce especially
in agriculture rich countries like India and US.
Firoz H Naqvi

39Mithai & Namkeen Times
supply chain crises and stand still food
processing activities but also shortage of
labor in the farms for the harvest. India’s
top five agro &food products destina-
tions for the year 2018-19 were Vietnam
imported 806607.87 MT of agro & food
products with a value of Rs 13160.06cr,
Iran1574620.20 MT-Rs 11395.98cr, Sau-
di Arab 1370924.66 MT-Rs 9645.14cr,
UAE 1374047.82 MT Rs 8463.35cr, USA
699164.00 MT –Rs 8187.18 cr.
All of these countries are struggling with
corona outbreak and it is expected that
in near future things will not be back to
normal soon. These figures show that not
only our major importers are expected to
increase their orders but many countries
not from the top five or top ten importing
nations can change the fortunes of this
dwindling export of the country.
In the year 2018-19 North America im-
ported 8,41,673.11 MT of agro & food
products with a value of Rs 9,484.11cr in
2018-19, ASEAN 30,94,385.92 MT- Rs
28,001.06cr, Europe10,00,437.56 MT- Rs
8,639.90cr, West Asia 43,59,981.42 MT-
Rs 25,415.24cr, Other West Asian coun-
tries including Iran imported 26,74,268.54
MT- Rs 19,442.29 cr.
This trend shows the global orders are
waiting to flood for agro & food products.
What should the government do?
Indian government needs to draw a plan
along with other
stakeholders on
board. It needs
to ease the lock-
down in the ru-
ral India where
the agricultural
activities take
place. It also
needs system-
atic restart of
food processing
activities across
the country with
proper care for workforce, their stay and
sanitization of every possible object.
Government also needs to reopen the
major supply chain routs of roads, rails,
airlines and ship-lines. This will provide
end to end solution for the Indian exports
to tap the potential markets. As far as sup-
ply chain of the importing nations is con-
cerned, stakeholders are planning to open
the routes. In many of the cases importing
nations are doing everything and anything
for the pickup of goods from anywhere in
Indian government needs to draw a plan along with other stakehold-
ers on board. It needs to ease the lockdown in the rural India where
the agricultural activities take place. It also needs systematic restart
of food processing activities across the country with proper care for
workforce, their stay and sanitization of every possible object. Gov-
ernment also needs to reopen the major supply chain routs of roads,
rails, airlines and ship-lines. This will provide end to end solution for
the Indian exports to tap the potential markets.
the world by air or water routes. Present-
ly they are doing for personal protections
equipment PPE and medical equipment
like ventilators but in the second or third
stage they will start picking-up the agro
& food products once their stock dries up.
Supply chain constrains brings short-
age of food
India being a country of 1.3 billion people
is itself facing shortage on the shelves of
retail stores for the agro & food products
items. This shortage is not due to shortage
in availability at farm or factory levels but
due to supply chain constrains, partial or
complete closure of APMCs and com-
plete closure of food processing activities
across the country. After the intervention
of Ministry of Consumer Affairs and
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
some of the food processing companies
have started reopening their factories
with outmost care. Not only the global
community but also our own population
needs to fill their bellies.
My view
It is expected that world is going to face
unprecedented slow down for next couple
of years. Stock markets are witnessing
free fall, travel is not going to be nor-
mal for many months, all global sporting
events like Olympics are postponed or
cancelled and mass gatherings are banned
in almost every country. On the other
hand no shopping activities are taking
place be it shops and malls or online.
This all is leading the world economy into
recession. Earlier one country use to be in
some kind of calamity or outbreak, oth-
ers use to balance ecosystem but in this
case problems are same all over. Only
those countries planning smartly will turn
the tide in their favor. India can be one
of that?
(Author is Director, Federation of Sweets
& Namkeen Manufacturers-FSNM)

Rossogolla enjoys Ge
status of Bengal as its Auth
Nobin Chandra Das has been reco
R
ossogolla’ as Bengalis fondly call
it, is a sweet and sugary name that
stands apart. You will be surprised
to know that Rossogolla in English vo-
cabulary is known as ‘syrup filled roll’!
Even today 99% of people all over the
world search by its Hindi name.
Rasgulla is an Indian syrupy dessert pop-
ular in the Indian subcontinent, its neigh-
bourhood and regions with South Asian
diaspora. Of late with international rec-
ognition, there has been great demand by
the Indians staying abroad. Let alone that,
people of races drool over this piece of
sweet treat when touring West Bengal.
West Bengal, has given the nation several
achievements to be proud of and Rasgulla
being one of them has gained popular-
ity far and wide. The moment the name
of Rasgulla crops up, it’s Bengal in the
picture.
A name in every household of Bengal, the
first preference of sweets for the guests
is thisrossogolla which is made by using
chenna (curdled milk) formed inshape of
balls, soaked in sugar syrup and rose wa-
ter or any flavoured water. The sight of
these white, soft, spongy, juicy balls, im-
mersed in sugar syrup compresses the sal-
ivary glands giving in for mouth-watering
cravings to consume them. Rasgullashave
reached international shores as well and
the credit for making export possible is
their packing in cans. Canned rasgullas
are available in South Asian countries and
in different parts of the world. Per serving
of 100-grams contains about 1.85 grams
of fat and 4 grams of protein. So having
a rossogolla or two will surely not spoil
your diet plans, but with proteins in it will
benefit from it.
In 2015, West Bengal applied for a Geo-
graphical Indication (GI) status for Ben-
gali Rossogolla. Historically speaking,
the sweet was first made in East India
that is the present-day states of West Ben-
gal and Odisha. Hence, both these states
claimed to be its heir with a controversy
over its birthplace. After several deliber-
ations, on 14 November 2017, the Geo-
graphical Indication Registry of India
granted West Bengal the GI status as its
sole originator. The Registry further stat-
ed that Odisha can too claim GI status if
they can provide accurate details of the
place of origin of their variant along with
colour, texture, taste, juice content and
method of manufacturing.
Mithai & Namkeen Times was in a con-
versation with Dhiman Das, the success
Dhiman Das
Director K.C. Das Pvt. Ltd

41
eographical Indication (GI)
hentic Owner
ognized as ‘The Inventor of Rossogolla’
or of the famous K. C. Das Pvt. Ltd. of
Kolkata as a world renowned name for
their Bengali sweets, especially Rosso-
golla and Rossomadhuri. During the
talks, MNT was enlightened to know
many aspects of the company and the
significance of rossogolla for Kolkata
and the mithai industry. Read through to
know the humble beginnings and growth
of Das’s company and how it touched the
pinnacles of success.
Rossogolla is the pride of Bengal as this
sweet is in high demand in the country
and worldwide. Let our readers know
your journey so far.
The journey of Rossogolla/Rasgulla has
been extremely tough since its invention.
It has been a long struggle of the man who
invented it, the legendary confectioner
and my great-great-grandfather- Nobin
Chandra Das. His father died before three
months he was born in Calcutta. He be-
longed to a family of sugar barons but
he and his mother were deprived of their
family business. He grew up with great
difficulty with just preliminary education
to school. Thereafter he was forced to
take up a job in a local sweet shop. His
passion to make something new resulted
in wastage of raw-materials and loss of
the owner’s business. Consequently, he
was thrown out by his employer. Later he
set up a sweet shop of his own in 1864
in partnership with his friend. This ven-
ture also closed down because of a lack
of profitability.
Again after two years, in 1866 by mort-
gaging his mother’s jewellery, Nobin Das
set up another sweet shop just opposite
the one he took his first job. In those days,
mostly dry sweets were manufactured
amongst which the ubiquitous chenna
based Sondesh would reign supreme.
However, his customers would complain
that the sweets would make their throat
dry after consumption. It was since then
he tried to make a sweet which would
not only satisfy one’s appetite but also
quench his thirst.
Nobin Das started making balls of chen-
na and boil them in sugar syrup. Initially,
the balls would disintegrate while boiling.
He gathered the broken pieces and add-
ed khowa, pistachios, kesar, and raisins
with it creating a new Sondesh which
he named BaikunthaBhog. But he never
gave up his ambition in making the sweet
he originally envisaged.
Previously, milk would be curdled with
ascorbic acid to make chenna, but it
would become coarse. He was the first
to use acetic acid and later lactic acid or
whey to curdle milk and make a smooth
paste of chenna.
Then with trial and error method and ap-
plying the trick of reverse osmosis, he
found the correct consistency of boiling
the sugar syrup where the balls of chen-
na would uniformly boil for 15 minutes
without disintegrating. Somewhere in
1868, he finally succeeded in inventing
his dream sweet which he christened
“Rossogolla.”
Rossogolla after its invention did not
become popular overnight. Nobin Das
would make his customers treat them
with his new creation for free but never
got any orders. One fine morning, a huge
landau (wagon or cart) halted in front of
his small shop. A wealthy, marwari tim-
ber merchant, Raibahadur Bhagwan Das
Bagla was traveling with his young son
in it.
The child fell thirsty and approached the
sweet shop in search of water. In those
days, it was the tradition of serving at
least a small sweet along with water. So,
Nobin Das offered his Rossogolla to the

boy. The child after tasting it, was thrilled
and went back to the carriage and brought
back his father to taste it too. Bhagwan
Das Bagla was highly elated and bought
the entire stock for distribution amongst
his family and friends.
It was since then that
Rossogolla gained
immense popu-
larity by public-
ity through word
of mouth. Grad-
ually, shops across
Bengal tried to imi-
tate the original version but fail-
ing to do so added binders such as flour
(maida) and semolina (suji). However,
it did not match the taste and sponginess
of Nobin Das’s Rossogolla made of pure
chenna. This is why later the non- Ben-
gali community referred to it as “Sponge
Rasgulla.”
At one point in time, Nobin Das was not
being able to cater to the huge demand of
his customers. He felt that his invention
would slip into oblivion due to scarcity of
supply. To keep his creation alive amongst
generations to come, he personally taught
the locals as well as sweet manufacturers
from other states of India the art of mak-
ing his ‘Rossogolla’. Thereafter, many
sweet shops across India started selling
the ‘Sponge Rossogolla’, although it still
varied from the original taste.
What are the varieties of rasgulla that
your company produces and supplies?
To satiate the taste of various customers
we produce almost 14 types of Rosso-
gollas. Namely – strawberry, gur (in win-
ters), black Currant, chocolate, mango,
ginger, pistachios, kesar, blueberry, or-
ange, gandharaj lime, pineapple, cherry
and so on. However, the regular plain va-
rieties of Rossogolla originally invented
by Nobin Das are available in loose form
and also in vacuum-packed tin cans are
still the most popular.
What market share has rasgulla cap-
tured?
The sweetmeat manufacturers mainly in
Bengal falls under the cottage industry
and an unorganized sector. There is very
little scope of data maintenance. Still, I
believe Rossogolla has captured more
than 40% share of the total variety of
sweets manufactured across India.
How has the shift of rasgulla in earthen
pots into tin packs been? A brief about
its journey.
After Rossogolla was invented, it was
mainly restricted within Bengal because
of its greatest disadvantage of having a
very short shelf life. It ranged between
8 hours in summers and
24 hours in winters.
Moreover, in those
days Rossogolla
could be packed
only in earthen
pots which were
highly fragile. So
the transportation of
Rosso- golla was a huge issue.
Krishna Chandra Das, the only son of
Nobin Chandra Das was a man with a
scientific bent of mind. He was a profes-
sionally qualified doctor of medicine and
had also done a course in homeopathy.
However, his father’s gene of invention
and innovation was furthermore devel-
oped in him. Krishna Chandra started
experimenting on in- creas-
ing the shelf life of
Rossogolla. The
only solution he
discovered was
to vacuum pack
the Rossogollas
in tin cans to arrest
the growth of bacte- ria
in anaerobic conditions.
Krishna Chandra’s youngest and most
enterprising son, Sarada Charan Das
was then working with Nobel Laureate
Sir C. V. Raman as his research assistant.
Krishna Chandra insisted his son to
leave his job and join him in his business
of manufacturing vacuum-packed Ros-
sogollas. In 1930, they set up a different
shop in the name of “Krishna Chan-
dra Das Confectioners” to sell vacu-
um-packed Rossogollas. Later in 1932
Krishna Chandra also started selling his
invented sweet which was the first inno-
vation of Rossogolla and named it ‘Ros-
somalai’ .
In 1934, he suddenly died at the age of
64. Sarada Charan Das became the sole
proprietor and quickly expanded the busi-
ness first by setting up another shop at Es-
planade in central Kolkata in 1935. Back
then several Britishers inhabited this part
of Kolkata. To attract their attention and
compete with their European desserts,
SaradaCharan was the first to give a sweet
shop the feel of a western type restaurant
where uniformed waiters would serve the
elite customers. It was then that he also
shortened the name of the shop to a crisp-
er “K. C. Das.”
His passion to adopt newer technologies
took him to Japan in 1937, from here he
also brought back their handicrafts etc. to
gift his customers. He was the first to in-
troduce cake boxes with butter paper lin-
ing inside to replace the traditional dried
palm leaf packaging. To meet the demand
of his customers he set up a full-fledged
production unit in 1945 which was the
first of its kind in the Indian sweetmeat in-
dustry registered under the Factories Act.
He applied his academic knowledge in
physics and introduced the method of
cooking through steam. He bought a boil-
er from Chittaranjan Locomotives and

43
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installed it in this factory. The steam gen-
erated here was passed through a pipeline
into steam-jacketed vats.
This not only ensured faster and mass
production but also helped in maintaining
a clean and hygienic atmosphere. He per-
sonally devised newer technologies and
fabricated inside his factory for continu-
ous production of Rossogolla which did
pasteurization of milk, curdling of milk to
chhena, cooling of chhena, squeezing ex-
cess whey from chhena and then knead-
ing of chhena.
The ball forming was done manually
thereafter the boiling was done in a trough
which covered the distance of 15 mins.
The Rossogollas would then be filled in
vacuum-packed tin cans for seaming and
distribution. Sarada Charan Das was
the first manufacturer of Indian sweets to
export the Rossogollas to European coun-
tries way back in the early 1950s which is
why he can rightly be called the ‘Pioneer
of Globalisation of theIndian Sweetmeat
Industry.’
What is your view of GI tag for
rasgulla? Other states trying to
claim the GI, does it change your
perception towards it?
A GI tag for a particular product au-
thenticates the originality of the prod-
uct manufactured in a particular area
of the country. In June 2015, Odisha
suddenly started claiming the origi-
nality of Rossogolla and the Govern-
ment of Odisha attempted to apply to
acquire the GI or Geographical Indi-
cation status for it.
A journalist of a leading English daily
brought this to my notice. However, I
was not worried at all because I had all
scripted documentary evidence to prove
that Rossogolla was invented in Calcutta
by none other than the legendary confec-
tioner of Bengal, Nobin Chandra Das in
1868.
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Times
I intended to approach our Honourable
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Ma-
mata Banerjee to help us with the GI ap-
plication process.After this interview was
published, and before I could approach
her, it was extremely kind of respected
Ms. Banerjee to instruct her Department
of Science and Technology to get in touch
with us. They requested us to furnish them
with the dossier and the original process
of preparation of Rossogolla.
The application for GI was completed in
September 2015 and after two years, we
were granted the GI status of “BanglarRa-
sogolla” on 14th November 2017.
It was after 150 years that Nobin Chan-
dra Das was officially recognized as
‘The Inventor of Rossogolla’ by the
Government of India. This day has been
officially declared as Rossogolla Day by
the Government of West Bengal and is
celebrated with pomp and grandeur by all
sweet shop owners across Bengal.
MNT thanks
Dhiman Das to share the most cherished
history about K.C. Das company and
wishes him the best to carry on the legacy
of his fore fathers beyond time.

45
CONTACT US
Call: +91 9950078724
+91 9929093297
www.tigerlongi.com
longiindustries@gmail.com
TM
C

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FUTURE OF FOOD INDUSTRY (My Published Article on Page NO.60