India government is considering imposing a new Quality Control Order (QCO) for food-processing machinery, as part of its goal to strengthen food safety and manufacturing standards in the country.
The proposal comes after a recent government study which found that roughly 41% of India’s food-processing equipment imports came from China.
Under the proposed QCO, all machinery used in food, grain, bakery, vegetable and other processing lines will need to comply with technical norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Food equipments will be required to meet minimum safety, hygiene, and performance criteria before they can be imported, sold, or used domestically. The mandatory standards aim to tackle long-standing concerns over frequent breakdowns, sub-standard quality, hygiene lapses, and potential contamination risks associated with low-cost imported equipment.
India presently has the 6th largest food processing industry in the world, however it relies considerably on import of machinery to support this industry. Demand for food processing equipment reaches Rs 300 to 400 billion (US$3.3 – 4.4 billion), with imports contributing up to 20% of total demand.
The new regulation is expected to encourage domestic equipment manufacturing while raising the quality and safety of existing food manufacturing operations in India. However, this might also cause possible disruptions to smaller food manufacturing companies with limited resources to meet the higher regulatory expectations.
