Export norms for canned products relaxed

India has effectively put forward its viewpoints at the recent Codex Committee on processed fruits and vegetables (CCPFV) meeting at Texas, US and persuaded the committee to include appropriate amendments and provisions in the standards being adopted for canned bamboo shoots, canned stone fruits, aqueous coconut and handling of ‘quite frozen fruits’, said an official press release.

The CCPFV was about to adopt unnecessary stringent norms in case of these products which would have been a major handicap for Indian exports. India has also been included as a country-member of working groups on priority themes for next meeting where tender coconut water has been included in the priority list. The delegates to the 21st session of CCPFV, held recently, pleaded for urgently addressing India’s concern following which New Delhi was made member-country of the working groups formed for canned tomato concentrate and canned vegetables. Meanwhile, other working groups constituted for other items to be considered in the next CCPFV meetings two years later have been identified and the Union food processing ministry is considering participating in these groups. The government is also trying to identify and focus on issues for the next Codex Committee meetings to improve relevance of India in these discussions. The Codex Laboratory, set up at Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore, has been asked to set agenda for the country for different Codex Committee meetings. The government is also trying to generate data on volume of trade in each commodity and items critical for trade in respect with India.