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“India is working towards zero tolerance on food safety”
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Monday, 06 June, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 India has disparities in the adherence to best practices in terms of consistency in food safety and compliance. This can be addressed with the implementation of good manufacturing practices, training programmes and partnerships with global hygiene experts. Food safety awareness is definitely on the rise. However, the food safety culture across food chains in India has a long way to go, said Geetha Srinivasa, associate vice- president and country manager, Ecolab India, in an email interaction with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:
In your view what brought the focus on food safety for various businesses in India and globally and could you tell us about Ecolab’s efforts in this space?
Foodborne illness, around the world, is a public health concern. The WHO highlights the inextricable link between food safety, nutrition, and food security. More recently, the pandemic put immense stress on the hospitality sector and food business operators as it reopens to serve customers. There is an inordinate emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene.
With FSSAI updating stringent safety and hygiene protocols frequently, it is evident that food safety has become an important priority. The repercussions of economic loss due to lack of food safety far outweigh the investment required to maintain the highest standards of hygiene across the farm to fork supply chain. That is why a clear dialogue is much-needed in this space, especially with consumers increasingly conscious of their health and demanding safe practices to be followed in the wake of the pandemic.
As part of Ecolab’s 2030 sustainability goals, we are committed to helping global customers provide high-quality and safe food for 2 billion people and prevent 11 million foodborne illnesses annually. To date, every year, we have helped customers prevent over 7.5 million foodborne illnesses. We provide food safety expertise and customised programmes, serving 600+ beverage plants globally, ensuring safe food production and preparation of 42% of global milk supply and 27% of the world’s processed food.
In your view, what are the compliance levels of food safety regulations in India?
Following the FSSAI’s protocols, it is evident that food safety has become a significant priority for the country, with the pandemic acting as a catalyst of change. India is working towards zero tolerance on food safety incidents by implementation of advanced food safety and hygiene requirements, to match with the ever growing needs and advancements in food technology.
How is Ecolab working to have a dialogue with the Indian food companies to enhance operational efficiency in a high-quality cost-effective manner?
During the pandemic, maintaining safe production environments, upholding food quality, safety standards, keeping employees safe and healthy has remained the top priority for the food and beverage industry. We constantly work to create and promote awareness on food safety, personnel and hand hygiene in the industry. As part of our engagement with customers and prospects, we first understand their key business drivers. This typically includes food safety and quality, operational efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. A team of technical experts and field associates then work together to design a program that involves Clean in Place (CIP) and Clean out of Place (COP) and environmental programs, that can help our customers achieve these objectives.
Could you tell us how Ecolab provides products, services, and expertise to help prevent food-borne illness and keep food safe in food and beverage processing plants, restaurants and food service locations, and food retail businesses?
Ecolab programs for food service and food retail, as well as hand hygiene programs for restaurant employees are key focus areas with the goal of providing customers with safe food.
Ecolab’s solutions include products for cleaning and sanitising food processing equipment, keeping surfaces clean, and for hand and personal hygiene to help prevent contamination with harmful pathogens. Pest elimination services and expertise help ensure food safety and clean environments at restaurants, grocery stores, and food processing facilities. Regular food safety audits are undertaken to help foodservice customers identify areas for improving how they handle, store, and cook food.
How are companies globally responding to your food safety expertise and customised programs?
We have been engaged with leading hospitality brands for several decades. Regionally, Ecolab developed and launched the Phoenix Reopening program which involved approved products in the fight against Covid-19, new post-pandemic cleaning processes and procedures, virtual and on-site training, and monthly validations and digital reports to ensure compliance and sustained hygiene levels that customers and their guests can count on. We expanded our industry partnerships with the National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the World Travel & Tourism Council among others.
How much technology is implemented to ensure food safety?
Digital technology has been driving many positive changes, from advances in remote monitoring and service to the expansion of new business models to help foodservice facilities generate additional revenue.
As the pandemic restricted access to facilities, we accelerated the ability to monitor customer systems and deliver expertise and services remotely due to visitor restrictions at many customer sites. We use augmented reality to keep systems running at optimal performance, including the 3D TRASAR technology for Clean-in-Place (CIP) systems, to help reduce risks. We are also utilising digital technology to share real-time views with experts, conduct training and remote inspections, and audit processes.
Our innovation strategy combines best-in-class chemistry, engineering, and digital technology to help our customers achieve their goals. We use digital technologies to create more value for customers through increased visibility into usage data, predictive analytics, electronic service reporting, and insight-driven problem-solving to improve operational performance and sustainability.
What is the science-based hygiene and infection prevention solutions offered for the Indian market?
We have one of the broadest portfolios of solutions designed to address the Covid-19 outbreak. Ecolab’s Peroxide Multi-Surface Cleaner and Disinfectant is the first EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)-registered disinfectant that has proven to be effective at killing the SARS-CoV-2 virus cleared for use with electrostatic spray technology.
Globally, we have secured emerging pathogen claims for a broad range of products including hospital disinfectants and food contact sanitisers approved for a wide variety of applications from concentrates, and ready-to-use wipes to electrostatic spray.
Could you share details on the India market presence?
Ecolab India is headquartered in Pune and has scripted a transformational journey in the last decade. In India, it is registered as Ecolab Food Safety and Hygiene Solutions Private Limited and the Indian entity is a 100% holding of Ecolab Inc. Backed by 600+ associates, 1300+ customer locations, and 10 base locations, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and personalised services to advance food safety. We maintain clean and safe environments, optimise water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for our customers.
Our 2 manufacturing centres are at Pune and Kolkata. The Pune facility has an installed capacity of 10,000 tonne per annum and produces specialised cleaning and sanitising products. The Kolkata facility has an installed capacity of 11,000 tonne per annum and manufactures water treatment chemicals for various industries.
What is the contribution of Ecolab India to global operations?
India is a significant growth market for our global business and Ecolab India exports over 20% of its products to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
What are the training programmes offered and which companies have opted for them?
We offer a blended learning approach, conducted online and offline, ranging from orienting our customers on the importance of food safety management, cleaning and sanitation, chemical handling, personnel and hand hygiene. We have conducted trainings for a leading institutions in research and development for food science and technology in India, besides several market leaders in the branded milk segment, leading multinational snack companies, among others.
What are the visible trends sighted in this market?
One of the major trends impacting food safety and practices at present is the increasing consumer demands for convenience in food delivery adding new food safety and operational challenges for food service operations. The Indian food delivery business is set to reach $10 billion in terms of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) by 2025. The need to maintain foundational food safety practices is even more important.
Besides this, we also see an increased awareness and demand for food safety management in the hospitality, food and beverage sector. Keeping pace with this will be trends in packaging that helps set the tone for consumer experience upon delivery and should focus on food safety, food security and food quality.
Further, with growing regulatory scruntiny, companies will have to adopt best practices in manufacturing processes, training, cleaning and sanitation, hand hygiene, chemical handling and other aspects of food safety management.
What are the challenges that need to be overcome here in India?
Food safety awareness is definitely on the rise through the combined efforts of regulatory bodies like FSSAI, institutions, OEMs, audit agencies and hygiene service providers. However, the food safety culture across food chains in India has a long way to go. Automation and monitoring in cleaning processes, a critical aspect in food safety management is also not keeping pace with the growth of the overall food services sector.
A positive development we are seeing is the towards zero tolerance trend on food safety incidents by implementation of HACCP certification, following FSSAI guidelines. While Covid has brought food safety into the spotlight, India has a $41 billion food services market that is largely unorganised, who are far from qualifying for a hygiene or certification perspective, given that cost and operation supersede food safety compliance, stated RedSeer Consulting report.
Food safety adoption is a challenge when industry players are walking the fine line between reducing costs and food safety. Globally, we have observed that food businesses that adopted and invested in hygiene technologies and automation improved food safety and quality and also saw secondary benefits such as increased productivity, sustainability and reduced costs. In India, we do see disparities in the adherence to best practices in terms of consistency in food safety and compliance. This can be addressed through the implementation of good manufacturing practices, training programmes and partnerships with global hygiene experts.
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