7. What is the scope of independent practice in food laws?

 Advisors- A food law advisor help companies remain compliant with any applicable

regulatory requirements relating to food production. They provide  companies with
technical details outlining their responsibilities when creating food products and help
them ensure that food production processes are meeting necessary standards.
 Counsellors- Counselling on penalizing for non-compliance of acts and schemes
prevailing in the food industry by stake- holders, forfeiture of security amount,
cancellation or suspension of license, power of state government to delegate powers
& amendment of schedules etc.
 In- House Counsel- As an In-House Counsel who practices food law facilitate the
operations of the food industry by advising clients about topics such as regulatory
compliance, etc.
 Consultants- Consultants in this field of law covering various international practices
including numerous, commercial transactions, and ensure the terms and conditions
under the Act are duly complied and are not violative of any industrial standards.
Counsellor relating to packaging of products and labelling. The penalties and offences
relating to the industry are has most vast scope of a lawyer, in-house counsel,
Consultant, or an advisor.
 Advocates- Advocates defending court cases on behalf of Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India before Hon’ble Supreme Court, various High Courts, Central
Administrative Tribunals, Principal Bench at New Delhi and at other locations, before
lower courts and other courts of law.

8. Plausible developments in this industry in the next 5 years in the light of COVID, AI,
etc.
The Indian food processing sector was valued at US$ 328 billion in 2018 and is expected to
reach US$ 535 billion in 2025-26. India processes only about 10 percent of its agri-output
while most of the processing is classified as primary processing. The rise in India-based start-
ups in the past five years is also driving the food processing industry. Food processing
companies account for 30 percent of the overall food start-ups in India.
In order to keep our food processing industry on a cutting edge and in step with the latest
developments, adoption of and adaptation to new technology is an imperative. This has
become all the more urgent in light of the exploding demand seen for packaged food and
drinks in the wake of the prolonged home lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the new technologies in food processing to have come into the market provide
innovative solutions, address the needs of the market and assist in managing the costs
effectively. In addition, technology also helps to transform and progressively evolve the
consumer behaviour as does artificial intelligence.
Below are some technology trends in food processing whose adoption can help the industry
establish its strong footing in a post COVID world and a world which can be further driven
by artificially intelligent technological droids:
 High-Pressure Processing (HPP) is a non-thermal food preservation process that kills
harmful microorganisms with the application of intensive pressure in the ranges of
400-600Mpa. In addition to its high pressure, the HPP has minimal effects on flavor,
appearance, and nutrition value.
 The Indian frozen food market is growing at a rate of 16 percent YoY in 2019, driven
by a growing demand for natural products. The Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) is a
superior freezing technology being introduced by some domestic companies in India.
 Various start-ups in India have introduced healthy snacks such as vacuum frying and
freeze-dried snacks. Companies like Frubites, Wayanad Organic Research, Crimz
Orbela Agro Foods etc. have introduced vacuum fried fruit snacks in India. In vacuum
frying, the frying temperature is lower than the atmospheric frying due to the low
pressure applied.
 With the rising concern of high sugar levels consumption among children due to the
high consumption of chocolates, Indian food regulators released a regulation on high
sugar, fat and salt products where the packaged food containing high fat, sugar and
salt need to display red color coding on the front of the packet.
With the growing interest among consumers for clean label and natural products, the
technologies such as cold press, HPP, vacuum frying, IQF and sugar reduction technology
among others seem promising for Indian food market. However, there is also need for
exploring other food categories to make healthier products with the application of such
technologies.