MoFPI and NIFTEM-K Host Conference on Food Processing Amid Climate Change

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India, and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K), an Institute of National Importance, organized a two-day national conference on Efficient Food Processing for Environmental and Climate-Change Trends (EFFECT), which concluded on May 16 at the NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. The event brought together esteemed dignitaries and experts to address the pressing challenges facing the food processing industry in the wake of climate change.

In his keynote address, Dr. R. T. Patil, Former Director of ICAR-CIPHET and advisor at Tanusha Foods (Bhopal), emphasized the need for the food processing industry to proactively address challenges such as rising temperatures, water scarcity, and energy fluctuations through strategic adaptation measures.

C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director of CSIR-NIIST (Trivandrum), highlighted the importance of the 3Ps—production, processing, and packaging—in maintaining food processing sustainability. He concluded his session with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, saying, “The future depends on what we do in the present."

Dr. C.R. Mehta, Director of ICAR-CIAE (Bhopal), moderated a panel discussion on ‘Adapting Food Processing Machinery to Climate Change,’ featuring eminent panelists such as Shri. Ranit Rana, Vice President of International Business at Jindal Steel; Mr. Shashidhar Subramanya, Head of Corporate Technologies at BUHLER Group; Dr. K. Narsaiah, ADG (Process Engineering) at ICAR, New Delhi; and Dr. N. Venkatachalapathy, Dean (R&IC) at the Department of Food Engineering, NIFTEM-T.

In the final session of the conference, moderated by Shri. Vignesh Manogaran, Head of Contract Manufacturing at Waycool Foods & Products Pvt. Ltd., panelists discussed the importance of advanced technologies in facilitating decision-making during supply chain management. Participants included Prof. Ramesh Kastur from IIIT Bangalore; Dr. Rahul Katarya, Professor at DTU; Shri. Jagadeesh Sunkad, Strategic Marketing and Collaborations Officer at Zentron Labs (Bangalore); Dr. V. Eyarkai Nambi, Associate Professor at NIFTEM-T; and Dr. Prasanna Kumar G.V., Professor at NIFTEM-K.

Dr. Harinder Singh Oberoi, Director of NIFTEM-K, and Prof. Anupama Singh, Dean (FA) at NIFTEM-K, extended their thanks by felicitating the esteemed guests.

The conference concluded with an award distribution ceremony for the winners of the poster presentations. In her closing remarks, Prof. Anupama Singh expressed her gratitude to all participants and thanked everyone for contributing to the success of the conference.