Harsimrat Kaur Badal seeks transparency in food safety laws

VARANASI: Union minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Monday stressed transparency in implementation of food safety standard laws in the country while justifying her statement that ‘food inspector raj’ will impact "Make in India" campaign.
“Food safety measures can’t be put at stake, but there is a need to have same yardstick for all food products irrespective of the manufacturer — be it multinational or local,” said Harsimart who dedicated several development projects at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s adopted village Jayapur on Monday.
Harsimrat had reportedly said at an interview in New Delhi that “inspector raj has generated so much fear among packaged food companies that they are stalling overseas investment, killing innovation and threatening the government’s 'Make in India' initiative.”
During a brief chat with reporters at Jayapur, she said, “No doubt strict measures are needed to maintain purity of food items as reports revealing adulteration in milk, pesticide in vegetables and food grains and hazardous chemicals in food items are sufficient to worry everyone. However, there should be one yardstick for food products, which is possible by maintaining transparency in working of regulatory bodies like the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).”
“The producers should not feel harassed by any regulatory body as this attitude leads to inspector raj,” she said but declined to name any specific product.
On the issue of food parks and projects in UP, she put the ball in state’s court. “The state should send us proposals only then any decision would be taken,” she said while addressing a function at Ramleela ground of Jayapur.
Without going into specifics, she said, “There is enormous potential for food processing in UP as it has a large agricultural belt. Food processing can be developed as cottage industry here and farmers can improve their earning by marketing and selling their products in open market. If the people here needed any project from my ministry, the proposal should be forwarded to the ministry through state government.”
“If the UP government will forward any proposal to establish a food agro park in Varanasi, I will pave the way for it,” said Harsimrat.
Appreciating the development projects in Jayapur, she said, “The village is developing as a real model village which should be replicated in six lakh villages of the country.” She also praised the policies and work done in one-year rule of NDA government.