Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday, 7 June 2026 marked World Food Safety Day by calling on citizens to pledge safe, clean, and quality food consumption and to support food processing as a means of strengthening farmer incomes and national food security.

Context

Posting in Hindi on the occasion of World Food Safety Day, the minister wrote: 'विश्व खाद्य सुरक्षा दिवस के अवसर पर आइए, हम सभी सुरक्षित, स्वच्छ एवं गुणवत्तापूर्ण खाद्य पदार्थों के उपयोग का संकल्प लें' ('On the occasion of World Food Safety Day, let us all resolve to use safe, clean, and quality food products'). He further urged citizens to stop food wastage, raise awareness about nutrition, and contribute to farmer welfare by promoting food processing.

World Food Safety Day is observed every year on 7 June following a United Nations General Assembly resolution in 2018, co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The day is designed to draw attention to foodborne risks and to promote action across the farm-to-fork chain.

Policy Backdrop

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, established in 1988, is the nodal body for policy and investment promotion in India's food processing sector. The ministry administers the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, launched in 2020 under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore to formalise micro food processing units and support One District One Product clusters.

Food safety standards are set and enforced nationally by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory regulator created under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. India has aligned its national standards with the Codex Alimentarius framework since the 1960s and participates in joint FAO-WHO food safety programmes.

Post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables have been estimated at 15 to 20 per cent, a figure that successive governments have cited as the primary rationale for expanding processing infrastructure. Reducing such losses directly improves farmer realisation and moderates consumer prices.

Stakeholders and Impact

The minister's call encompasses three distinct groups: small and marginal farmers who stand to gain from higher value realisation through processing; micro food processing enterprises seeking formalisation and credit support; and consumers who bear the health costs of unsafe food. Linking all three in a single message reflects the ministry's stated approach of treating food safety, nutrition awareness, and processing capacity as interconnected policy levers.

India's food processing sector has grown steadily as a share of agricultural GDP, with the government positioning it as a bridge between farm output and industrial value addition — a trajectory that began accelerating after the 1991 economic liberalisation. Chirag Paswan, as national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and a minister in the National Democratic Alliance government, has consistently emphasised value addition and farmer income in his ministerial communication.

What's Next

Attention will remain on the ground-level rollout of PMFME processing clusters and credit-linked support in state budgets, as well as any amendments to FSSAI regulations that may be tabled in the forthcoming Parliament session. The ministry is also expected to use global observances such as World Food Safety Day to anchor public-awareness campaigns aligned with its broader nutrition and anti-wastage agenda.

As India's food processing ambitions expand, the minister's emphasis on behavioural change — pledging against food wastage and demanding quality produce — signals that policy intent will increasingly need to be matched by consumer-level adoption and grassroots enterprise support.