Mumbai, April 5, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - SAI Global Limited (ASX: SAI) is calling on India to adopt a common food safety standard in a bid to combat the dramatic number of poisonings that plague the country's billion-strong population.
The news comes as the number of food poisonings in India has reached an estimated 297 million cases each year, pointing to a devastating failure in the country's food supply chain.
According to the Managing Director of SAI Global's EFSIS Agri-food Division, Mr Mark Proctor, Indian residents, and tourists, should not have to live in fear of the food they consume in one of the world's greatest democracies.
"It is time to put an end to the infamous Delhi belly and begin to build confidence in the country's food supply chain," he said.
"Adopting a common standard for food safety stands to benefit the food industry in India, particularly those businesses seeking to export into Europe and satisfy the European retail requirements."
"India has a real opportunity here and should look to the way the United Kingdom and Europe transformed their approach to food safety following issues with Foot and Mouth and Mad Cow Disease."
As one of the world's leading food inspection companies, SAI's EFSIS is a widely recognized certification body among retailers and other purchasers.
While there are several multinational certification bodies operating in India, only SAI's EFSIS inspection and certification services are tailored exclusively to the specialist area of food safety.
SAI Global inspects and certifies to a wide range of international, European, country specific and corporate/industry specific Standards for quality and food safety including: ISO 9001, HACCP, HACCP 9000, ISO 22000, BRC Global Food Standard, IFS (International Food Standard), EUREPGAP IFA and Fresh Produce, UK and Ireland agricultural inspections and second party inspections.
"Importantly SAI's EFSIS inspection and certification services are accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the European Standards EN 45004, EN 54011 and EN 45012. EFSIS also holds specific accreditations in France (COFRAC) and in Germany (DAP) to EN45011" said Proctor.
Contact
For further information please contact:
Ronnie Gurang
SAI Global Mumbai
TEL: +912226591777
Email: sai_global.mum@vsnl.net
Media Inquiries
Tom Godfrey - SAI Global
TEL: +61 414 191 034
Email: tom.godfrey@sai-global.com
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