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As the voice of the Indian restaurant industry, we represent the interests of 500000+ restaurants & an industry valued @ USD 4 billion. Whether a chain or independent restaurant, the NRAI is here to help every step of the way. Join us!

Events

Good response for NRAI’s Bengaluru seminar on FSA

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The free seminar for all foodservice professionals focused on actionable information & clarifying myths.

If applause is a benchmark for an event’s success, then the workshop on FSA compliance by the NRAI in Bengaluru met its goal.

Hosted at The Humming Tree in Indiranagar, the January 27 event was in two parts – restaurateur’s rights & FSA compliance – both led by Raghu Guda, FSA compliance expert and CEO, SmartFBO.

“This is a very important issue for our industry. The FSA is a very vast subject. Our seminar provided necessary clarity on the numerous regulations that are creating problems for us. The feedback received was positive and we are encouraged to continue with such events because it’s the NRAI’s purpose to support the restaurant industry,” said Ashish Kothare, chapter head (Bengaluru), NRAI.

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The post-lunch workshop from 3-8 pm., was made possible with the generous support of Nikhil Barua and team who lent NRAI their popular venue at no cost; and the sponsors VKL Spices and Pernod Ricard.

The workshop’s aim was to bring Bengaluru’s many new restaurateurs into the NRAI community while also providing a high quality workshop for everyone on an issue as critical as the FSA. The event succeeded on both counts with a sizeable number of non-NRAI delegates in attendance.

Holding the audience’s attention effortlessly over the four-hour session was Raghu Guda, an IT professional who’s role in building the ERP system for the FSSAI gives him intimate knowledge of the Act, its purpose, myths and challenges.

The goal of the workshop was to deliver actionable information and clarify myths so that restaurant operators are not caught unawares, which is often the case.

Guda, who is based in Hyderabad and runs SmartFBO, a technology-led approach to FSA compliance, excelled due to his ability to quickly and precisely address the numerous misconceptions of FSSAI licencing practices, labelling and liabilities.

“The FSSAI’s goal is commendable, it’s the Indian approach to compliance that’s making the implementation really tough. Compliance is not new to many sectors of Indian industry, especially those that are export-oriented. The FSA is vast and evolving. Subsequently, mis-information is rife and opportunists have found ways to exploit it at the cost and liability of restaurant owners,” said Guda.

An example that found immediate resonance with the audience was the issue of the operator’s licences. Oftentimes, the licence application process is sped up by paying a little extra, when the true cost is INR 3-3,500/- only. In other instances, the application has many details missing, while wrong applications and expired licences are assumed to be relevant.

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