On the occasion of World Food Safety Day 2022, bioMérieux South Asia organized a ‘Hands-on Training Workshop on Rapid Microbiology Techniques’ in collaboration with Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
As the leading provider of rapid and traditional microbiological testing solutions, bioMérieux India Pvt Ltd,- a leading in-vitro diagnostics company, having solutions for clinical and industrial quality control. bioMérieux holds expertise to meet industrial microbiology needs, supplying innovative and precise technologies that ensure the quality and safety of food and pharmaceutical products.
During the session, Dr A K Adhikari, (PhD,MBA), Director – National Food Laboratory (NFL), Ghaziabad, in his keynote address said that, “ It is important that ‘Food Safety’ should emerges from ‘Farm to Fork’ and food quality also being ensured without any contaminants. To ensure food safety, perfect ‘quality enumerations’ for all FSSR parameters are required to have wholesome food and also for enforcement purposes through various nodal regulators. He further stated that ‘rapid methods’ have been invented making the quality testing easier for the food industry and companies like ‘bioMérieux’ are pioneering these efforts. However, all stakeholders including industry and inventors need to follow the rapid/spot testing methods.
Additionally, he enlightened the participants on the journey of food regulation and amalgamation of eight different food laws into a single food law under the umbrella of FSSAI. He also highlighted the key role of NFL in the implementation of FSSAI Act, Rules and regulations.
Presenting at the event, Dr Dinesh Kumar, (AIIMS & IIT Delhi), Assistant Director (Tech), Quality Assurance Division, FSSAI, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India, stated, “Under the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister, FSSAI is working towards the goal of ONE NATION-ONE LAW, to ensure uniformity in the quality testing of food across the country. The infrastructure for food testing has also been improved across the country to ensure quality food for all citizens.” He further added, “We need to change with the changing times and adoption of Rapid testing Methods is one such example, as it ensures a faster and more accurate way to test food products. FSSAI has taken initiative to harmonise the food testing manuals and laid down the guidelines to include rapid methods under the scope of the Rapid Analytical Food Testing (RAFT) scheme.”
Addressing the audience, Mr Rahul Tewari, Director, bioMérieux South Asia, echoed the thoughts of two keynote speakers, Dr A K Adhikari and Dr Dinesh Kumar on evolution of food safety in India and emphasised on moving towards ‘Predictive Diagnostics (PDx)’ to help food manufacturers answer bigger questions about food safety within their facilities, understand the risk of potential suppliers or why product variances arise between facilities. This requires data-driven analysis and new technologies that allow us to go beyond detection and response towards a predictive and preventative approach.
The event comprised of classroom training and hands-on session at Centre of Excellence, bioMérieux New Delhi, showcasing rapid microbiology systems for food testing recognised by FSSAI in the scope of FSSAI-RAFT. The event concluded with the distribution of participation certificates to 30 participants from 13 food manufacturers and commercial testing labs.
As the leading provider of rapid and traditional microbiological testing solutions, bioMérieux India Pvt Ltd,- a leading in-vitro diagnostics company, having solutions for clinical and industrial quality control. bioMérieux holds expertise to meet industrial microbiology needs, supplying innovative and precise technologies that ensure the quality and safety of food and pharmaceutical products.
During the session, Dr A K Adhikari, (PhD,MBA), Director – National Food Laboratory (NFL), Ghaziabad, in his keynote address said that, “ It is important that ‘Food Safety’ should emerges from ‘Farm to Fork’ and food quality also being ensured without any contaminants. To ensure food safety, perfect ‘quality enumerations’ for all FSSR parameters are required to have wholesome food and also for enforcement purposes through various nodal regulators. He further stated that ‘rapid methods’ have been invented making the quality testing easier for the food industry and companies like ‘bioMérieux’ are pioneering these efforts. However, all stakeholders including industry and inventors need to follow the rapid/spot testing methods.
Additionally, he enlightened the participants on the journey of food regulation and amalgamation of eight different food laws into a single food law under the umbrella of FSSAI. He also highlighted the key role of NFL in the implementation of FSSAI Act, Rules and regulations.
Presenting at the event, Dr Dinesh Kumar, (AIIMS & IIT Delhi), Assistant Director (Tech), Quality Assurance Division, FSSAI, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India, stated, “Under the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister, FSSAI is working towards the goal of ONE NATION-ONE LAW, to ensure uniformity in the quality testing of food across the country. The infrastructure for food testing has also been improved across the country to ensure quality food for all citizens.” He further added, “We need to change with the changing times and adoption of Rapid testing Methods is one such example, as it ensures a faster and more accurate way to test food products. FSSAI has taken initiative to harmonise the food testing manuals and laid down the guidelines to include rapid methods under the scope of the Rapid Analytical Food Testing (RAFT) scheme.”
Addressing the audience, Mr Rahul Tewari, Director, bioMérieux South Asia, echoed the thoughts of two keynote speakers, Dr A K Adhikari and Dr Dinesh Kumar on evolution of food safety in India and emphasised on moving towards ‘Predictive Diagnostics (PDx)’ to help food manufacturers answer bigger questions about food safety within their facilities, understand the risk of potential suppliers or why product variances arise between facilities. This requires data-driven analysis and new technologies that allow us to go beyond detection and response towards a predictive and preventative approach.
The event comprised of classroom training and hands-on session at Centre of Excellence, bioMérieux New Delhi, showcasing rapid microbiology systems for food testing recognised by FSSAI in the scope of FSSAI-RAFT. The event concluded with the distribution of participation certificates to 30 participants from 13 food manufacturers and commercial testing labs.
