Rapid globalization of commerce and pursuant movement of food worth about one trillion US dollars in the last two decades called for more scrutiny of the safety of the safety of foods.  The Indian subcontinent has recently emerged as one of the players in the global commerce including food sector business. However, only in recent times, the subcontinent started placing emphasis on food safety. For example, India has passed a comprehensive food safety law in 2006 creating Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which came up with regulations for safety and standards of food in August of 2011.  Other countries like Pakistan also have instituted food safety laws in Punjab region. FSSAI is actively involved in implementing the food safety standards, and traceability regulations in the midst of many challenges ranging from risk analysis to monitoring and surveillance. A good illustration is the developing and implementing regulations for street food vendors vis-à-vis legislation for protecting the livelihood of the street vendors and court litigations. Likewise, registration and licensing of millions of these facilities is a challenge. Another example of challenge in India is outreach activity  which has not reached the food processing industry. The subcontinent also faces another challenge of producing food that is meant for export. While many countries, including the subcontinent, are confused about how US FDA will come with a viable foreign supply verification and third party certification programs of the Food Safety Modernization Act of U.S. (and equivalents of other developed countries). In this symposium, both internal and external challenges will be discussed in detail.

Presentations