Union minister launches Manipur's indigenous food products

Imphal, Aug 21 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel on Saturday launched seven indigenous food products of Manipur.

The food products are black rice laddoo, black rice fruit and nut cookies, hot and spicy bhujia, kabok mixture (sweet dish made of flattened rice), Manipuri casava burfi, bamboo shoot murabba and fig laddoo.

"Across the globe, we have high demands for Indian goods including those from the North-eastern states. Our main concern is maintaining the quality of manufactured items, which is also the expectation of consumers," Patel said.

Emphasising the importance of proper packaging and branding in marketing items, the Union minister lauded Manipur Food Industries Corporation Limited (MFICL) for the quality of packaging of the newly launched food items.

Clusters and individuals involved in running food processing enterprises should be asked not to compromise with quality, Patel said.

"The product launch today is the beginning, we will be launching more in the future," he said.

Manipur Commerce and Industries Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh, who is also the MFICL chairman, attended the function.

Speaking on the occasion, MFICL Managing Director Peter Salam said labelling and packaging of the products are being done at Imphal, Delhi and Mumbai.

Efforts are being made to market the products locally and outside the state, at outlets in metropolitan cities, he said. PTI COR NN NN