Working group formed on food quality, India tells US

NEW DELHI: India has informed the US that it has set up a working group in the Planning Commission to focus on the quality of food products, but said it will not compromise on the safety of edible items. In a meeting with the visiting US Health Secretary Michael O Leavitt, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said: "India is very conscious of the critical importance of quality and conformity to safety norms, particularly for food and drugs consumed by people."

Nath informed Leavitt about setting up of a working group by the Planning Commission to focus on quality and food safety issues and recommendations for the implementation of good hygiene and management practices in a phased manner.

The delegation led by the US Health Secretary raised the issue of India refusing to dilute its safety norms for allowing imports of wheat from the US.

India imported 55 lakh tons of wheat in 2006 and has also contracted for about 18 lakh tons in 2007. But the US could not participate in the face of India refusing to lower its quarantine norms.

The US had criticised India's phytosanitary requirements as "unrealistic" and "overly stringent" weed seed standards for imports.

"India's current (wheat import) standards translate into higher bread and flour prices for (its) consumers. The prices offered to India in the most recent import tender are significantly greater than recent purchase prices by other wheat importing nations," the US had said in July last year.