New Delhi, 29th January 2025: The India Honey Alliance (IHA), in collaboration with NIFTEM-K, successfully hosted the ‘Hive to Home: Vision2030 - Building a Scientific & Sustainable Honey Industry’ seminar at the India International Centre. The seminar aligns with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Honey Mission, to reinforce efforts to strengthen India’s honey value chain through scientific advancements and sustainable practices. Bringing together policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders, the event fostered critical discussions on quality assurance, sustainability, and global competitiveness in India’s honey industry.

The seminar was attended by key Government dignitaries including Dr. Subrata Gupta (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI ; Dr. H.S. Oberoi, Director, NIFTEM-K; Dr. Satyen Panda, Advisor, QA, FSSAI; Dr. Kaushik Banerjee, Director, ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes ; Dr. Rajesh R Nair, Deputy Managing Director, NDDB CALF; Dr. Komal Chauhan, Dean Research and Outreach, Head CFRA & CEFF; Sh. Balasubramanian.K, Joint Director, Quality Assurance, FSSAI; and Dr. Ranjan Mitra, immediate past President AOAC International-India Section.

Dr. Subrata Gupta (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), calling the seminar “an extremely important event with far reaching impact” emphasized the need to protect the bees & train the beekeepers scientifically to maintain authenticity of honey.  Underscoring the importance of standards, he said “I urge FSSAI to work closely with NIFTEM & other institutes to come up with standards that are relevant for India.”  He called upon IHA to grow in size & work towards maintaining India's standing as a leading honey producer & exporter. He underscored the critical role of scientific advancements in testing methodologies to uphold global benchmarks and enhance the industry's credibility. and regulatory frameworks in ensuring quality and consumer trust to maintain India’s stand as a leading producer of honey.

The opening session moderated by Mr. Deepak Jolly, Secretary General, IHA focused on making Indian honey future-ready in both global and domestic markets, addressing key aspects such as honey standards, safety, purity, and the overall status of the Indian honey industry. Distinguished speakers shared insights on strengthening standards and the role of research institutions in building a robust honey ecosystem with Mr. Narayanan Renganathan, Chairperson, IHA, providing industry perspectives on challenges and collaborative solutions.  Dr. Samuel Godefroy, Former Vice Chairperson, FAO/CODEX Alimentarius, joining virtually, discussed the importance of scientific evaluation in regulatory decision-making. Speaking about the ongoing issue of HMF in honey, he called it a quality parameter and mentioned about the risk assessment study underway on HMF in honey.

The panel discussion focused on Harmonization to Ensure Quality, Safety through Standards & Testing and addressed critical challenges such as the lack of standardized testing protocols, the need for strong regulatory frameworks, and the urgency to debunk myths about honey through scientific validation. Eminent scientists and experts, shared insights on honey standardization, safety, and sustainability, while industry leaders Mansoor Ali, Vice Chairperson, IHA and Amit Gupta provided perspectives on strengthening the honey supply chain and expanding market opportunities. Mr. Ed George, Global Key Opinion Leader joined virtually from USA to present and elaborate on latest advancements in honey testing technology aimed at addressing emerging challenges.

Key recommendations emerging from the seminar focused on conducting scientific studies on Indian honey for revising standards and thresholds in certain parameters to improve quality benchmarks, regulator compliance, focusing on consumer awareness, developing advanced training systems for beekeepers to enhance productivity, sustainability and innovation in beekeeping practices. Experts collectively stressed that maintaining the purity and authenticity of honey requires a collaborative effort from policymakers, researchers, and industry players.

Summarizing the discussion, Mr. Narayanan Renganathan, Chairperson, IHA, emphasized that ensuring trust in honey quality is a shared responsibility across the entire ecosystem. He reiterated that sustained collaboration, research-driven policies, and consumer awareness are essential for establishing India as a benchmark for high-quality, sustainable honey production.

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STK

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