(openPR) - Mumbai, 7 th May 2008 – GLOBALGAP and QCI (Quality Council of India) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Indian National Technical Working Group (NTWG). The signing ceremony was held and announced at the Food Forum India 2008 event in Mumbai in the presence of food business and retail leaders.
“Hosting the GLOBALGAP NTWG fits our role we have been designated during the Food Safety and Quality Year by the Indian Government, which includes the nation-wide promotion of Good Agricultural Practices,” said Gridhar J. Gyani, Secretary General, QCI. “We will be the first contact point in the country for GLOBALGAP. The NTWG will be chaired by Dr. Mangala Rai, Secretary, Dept of Agricultural Research & Education, Ministry of Agriculture and DG, ICAR.”
Dr. Kristian Moeller, Secretary GLOBALGAP said: “Now we can link global implementation activities closer to the needs of Indian producers, while at the same time we gain qualified input from Indian experts and other stakeholders with respect to the differing legal and structural conditions that exist here in India. Having the voice of India on board, this is a major milestone on the journey towards global harmonization of good agricultural practice standards.” Prof. Dr. Bernd Hallier, Managing Director, EHI Retail Institute congratulated the images group, organizer of the Food Forum India (www.foodforumindia.com), for bringing the key stakeholders together to provide the platform for initiating this process.
National Technical Working Groups are established voluntarily by GLOBALGAP members in countries where there is a need for clarification of implementation of GLOBALGAP on a local scale. The guidelines developed by this growing number of groups are approved by Sector Committees (SCs) and are published on the GLOBALGAP website. The groups are established and work in close cooperation with the GLOBALGAP Secretariat and the SC and support the GLOBALGAP implementation and continuous improvement based on specific area needs.
Claudia Meifert
Public Relations
GLOBALGAP c/o FoodPLUS GmbH,
Spichernstr. 55, 50672 Koeln, Germany
Koeln HRB 35211, Managing Director Dr. Kristian Moeller
Tel: +49 (0) 2 21-5 79 93-25; Fax: -89 www.globalgap.org - mailto:meifert(at)globalgap.org
The Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practice
About Quality Council of India (QCI)
QCI was set up in 1997 as an autonomous body by the Government of India jointly with the Indian industry to establish and operate the National Accreditation Structure for conformity assessment bodies. Indian industry is represented in QCI by three premier industry associations ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI, QCI is also assigned the task of monitoring and administering the National Quality Campaign and to oversee effective functioning of the National Information and Enquiry Services (www.qcin.org).
About GLOBALGAP
GLOBALGAP (www.globalgap.org) is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. The GLOBALGAP standard is primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimising detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety as well as animal welfare.
Financial and legal ownership and responsibility for GLOBALGAP is held by the EHI Retail Institute (www.ehi.org).
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