Sanjay Dave has stepped down from his post as director of Indian export development agency APEDA and moved up into a new position as advisor in the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Dave, who served APEDA as director for around 12 years, oversaw a number of advancements for the Indian fresh fruit and vegetable export industries during his tenure, including launching pesticide-monitoring schemes for grapes and pomegranates, introducing the traceability system Grapenet and upgrading food-testing laboratories.
His focus will now shift from export requirements to domestic market needs in his new role with the FSSAI, which falls under India’s Ministry of Heath & Family Welfare.
“I’ll be responsible for capacity building in FSSAI on the development of standards through risk assessment and I’ll help to harmonise India’s food products and safety standards with international standards, essentially Codex,” he told Asiafruit.
The new advisory position represents a promotion for Dave, who joined the FSSAI on 1 August.
He will balance those responsibilities with his role as chairman of Codex Alimentarius Commission, after recently being re-elected to lead the world food standards body for a second time.
