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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Article is found to be in violation of WP:PROMO and WP:GNG, and is deemed unfit for inclusion in this encyclopedia. Articles created for soley promotional purposes are directly in conflict with, and against the spirit of, our mission. (Note: This close was done in consideration of, and accordance with, the following policies: WP:DEL4, WP:DEL8, WP:DEL14, WP:PROMO, WP:GNG, WP:N, WP:IAR.) — Coffee // have a cup // beans // 10:19, 5 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Amit Lohani

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Amit Lohani (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log · Stats)
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NonNotable Indian Businessman. Reads like a Linkedin profile. WP:Promotional Uncletomwood (talk) 12:51, 27 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions. Lemongirl942 (talk) 21:24, 30 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This debate has been included in the list of India-related deletion discussions. Lemongirl942 (talk) 21:24, 30 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete The subject fails GNG. The coverage I found contains of trivial mentions or quotes. More coverage is available about the organisation than the subject, which makes me doubt that the subject is independently notable. The article is also very much coatracked with details about the organisation and reads like a CV. If we trim all that out, I doubt much will remain. --Lemongirl942 (talk) 21:26, 30 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete -- a CEO of non-notable company and a leader of a red-linked forum, writing a future book. K.e.coffman (talk) 06:56, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete as still nothing at all actually suggestive of his own notability. SwisterTwister talk 07:26, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Delete as obviously not notable and reads like, as OP said, a LinkedIn profile. Acalycine (talk) 08:38, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • KEEP this obviously is not a LinkedIn profile and has clearly not been been made with that intention either. His profile should be seen and scrutinized keeping Indian content in mind and that India should not be compared to United States of Singapore here in a developing country like this there are several teething issues and the notable work like that of Amit Lohani has clearly benefited FnB trade in many aspects. To an extent that he has been selected by several country governments to represent Food Scenario of India. An organization is obviously dependent on its leadership to attain growth and that is what has been happening in this case too. International food trade in India is at 5.2 million USD and FIFI under leadership of Amit Lohani has been instrumental in attaining this growth by several interactions with Government on India on technical and non- technical trade barriers. The change in the Government's protectionist view on international FnB trade has been credited to his hard work at several occasions. It is strongly advocated that due gravity is given to this strong trade voice instead of considering it negligible and of no importance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.39.26.66 (talk) 09:43, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
— 1.39.26.66 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
  • Strong keep As an active player in the retail bussiness I have personally witnessed the changes which happened under leadership of Amit Lohani. And the WP page shows his notable work. Why do we have a Wikipedia page on John Mackey and others and why not just leave it as a page on whole foods. Amit Lohani is national Convenor for Forum of Indian Food Importers a non profit, non government chamber which has unparallel reach in food industry. FIFI and Amit Lohani are known names in the industry and as written in his WP page not only Government of India but several other country governments have hand picked him to represent India on world map. His notable work is covered by number of print and electronic media group time to time and that can easily be seen as a citation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.39.26.117 (talk • contribs)
— 1.39.26.117 (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.

CommentThere has been a series of such messages from different IP numbers and usernames which have been commenting on this topic on different user's talk pages. Clear case of sockpuppetry. Uncletomwood (talk) 09:55, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Uncletomeood Yes, I did comment on the talk page seperately and then posted the same views here for others to read. Apologies for repeated infornation as I took these as seperate conversation heads. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mishra S Shukla (talk • contribs) 10:18, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • KEEP* - I find this amazing that people from all across the world are commenting on an Indian Business personality without the understanding of the Indian culture and bandwitch . Lohani who works very closely with Celiac society in India and also lauched Europe's Number one Gluten Free Brand DR. SCHAR and is covered by European premier Magazine Progressive Grocers . [1]PG coverage on his company] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 14.98.27.230 (talk) 03:28, 3 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  • Reply to E.M.Gregory

As advised, some media coverage is given below, which covers Amit Lohani and his quotations:

1. India wine academy Keynote speaker Amit Lohani 2015

2. Meeting coverage on Amit Lohani's views on TBT issues 2016

3. meghalaya magazine on Amit Lohani's company Max Foods 2016

4. NDTV coverage on Amit Lohani's views on Non Tariff barriers in India

5. Amit Lohani on Food safety & Regulations in India

6. Amit Lohani on international food trade with India

7. Economic Times coverage on Food Safety Laws and Amit Lohani's view

8. Amit Lohani at Gout de France by French Government

9. Amit Lohani as panel moderator on Gourmet and Imported foods in India

10. Amit Lohani and his company in Business Standard

11. [2] SUN News 2016

12. Amit Lohani in discussion with country representative from USA, Canada etc on food scene

13. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AF0EZIboT4 Amit Lohani's interview by HORECA TV official media partner for India Trade Promotion Authority

14.Amit Lohani at coca-cola golden spoon awards 2016 Beachin15 (talk) 17:14, 3 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

  • respond You would help you cause more by copy pasting the best breakout quotes form these articles onto this page, not a long list of links, just a small number of sentences quoted directly from major media sources that demonstrate this man's notability.E.M.Gregory (talk) 19:16, 3 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]


  • Reply to E.M.Gregory

As required citations on Amit Lohani and his quotes from few media articles. Please see if this is fine or if any added information is required.

1.Amit Lohani, Director of Forum for Food Industry (FIFI) made a lucid Presentation interspersed with humour to reduce any pain inflicted on any of the delegates present. Through slides he showed the ambiguity resulting in the rejection of various shipments of such basic products as olives and Click For Large Viewmayonnaise (which incidentally, is not allowed to be imported in this category but comes to India as a sauce). Such as the example of Lindt chocolate being rejected for vague reasons when it is much sought after in dozens of countries and ostensibly has high standards of quality and has moved out of India rather than succumb to the flimsy grounds of rejection.

It is truly ironical that India is the biggest beef exporter of 1.5 million metric tons of beef – ahead of Australia, USA and Argentina and yet there are quibbles from various groups protesting about its consumption in India, he exclaimed. Curiously, corned beef is allowed as a product category and he showed the documents listing it as such.

Ridiculous High Sampling Costs

One of the main reasons for the recent hike in import costs has been thanks to the sampling costs which may appear innocuous at Rs. 3371 per sample submitted for testing (including the service tax) for each sample in the shipment but in reality they can be totally out of proportion-even more than 50%, as he explained in the hypothetical example of the import of cookies from the same manufacturer from a country, but in different shapes and sizes and flavours.

For the sake of explanation, his slide included cookies from 2 batches in 10 different shapes (round, square, triangular etc) in 4 different pack sizes, by weight in 2 different flavours, that would be treated as 160 samples by FSSAI (2*10*4*2). At Rs. 3371 each as sampling cost, that would mean a mean Rs. 539,328 ($8990). If the cost of one container-load is Rs.10,00,000 (one million), the sampling cost alone is around 54% of the cost of cookies!! It would seemingly provide several jobs for FSSAI and possibly cookies for many testers!!

Arbitrary

The World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN formed Codex International Food Standards over 50 years ago; these are the most widely used globally as benchmark standards. It seems strange that FSSAI has only 377 categories whereas Codex has 4000 standards, said Lohani. But what appeared more shocking was that not a single standard seems to have been added since FSSAI came into existence in 2008. Lohani wondered how many labs were added during the six years since the FSSAI came into being. Scientific labs of international standards are very important to validate the authenticity of the products tested. He also rued the fact that the Product Approval was being given based on company names or brands, thus giving benefits to a few giants. Surprisingly, the Food Safety Standards do not have any provision for Product Approvals.

Labelling Requirements

One of the biggest issues raised has been the labelling requirements, starting with its own logo of FSSAI that needs to be in 4-colour printing, making it an expensive exercise from the overseas producers’ point of view. FSSAI requires scientific names of the products to be mentioned on the labels. For instance, rice packaging needs to display ‘Oriza Sativa’- the mostly unknown scientific name even though many people are aware of the name Asafoetida for ‘hing’- a common ingredient for Indian dishes. Canola oil which is being increasingly added as a cooking medium must now have the name ‘Rapeseed oil with low Erucic acid’.

FIFI seems to have done a study for actual sampling costs incurred for 2012-2014 and it was presented to the audience. It varied from a little over 5% in 2012-2013 to 7% in 2013-2014. Most wine importers agree that the sampling cost for wines is also within these limits though it has made import of fine wines very difficult as the cost of the bottle taken for sampling is very high- making this cost go up to 20-25 % if 6 bottles were to be imported.

Click For Large View The presentation was part of the First F & B Conclave organised by the BW Hotelier group at Hotel La Meridien and attended by various F & B personnel including chefs, managers and kitchen equipment suppliers who are the end users of many of the products mentioned by Lohani end of the sticks with escalated costs and delay in receiving the products. They were surprised to know that 80% of the imported food ingredients they are buying from the vendors are not Product Approved. But the shocking fact is that according to the Notification issued a couple of weeks ago by FSSAI, the end user is legally liable to ensure that the product they are using is FSSAI compliant ingredients to ensure their customers get safe food products only.

Like the wine importers, Lohani concluded that FIFI also recognises that the safety standards are for the benefit of the consumers but wondered why the members of the Authority look at all importers with distrust, causing a resentment among most importers who are honest. They would like to have the advisories be given a 6-12 month window before implementing. He concluded his Presentation with the remark that there was no representation by the food industry with FSSAI, a representation that wine importers have also made.

For 60 years since independence, there have been no well-defined laws to regulate the industry and suddenly the whole industry is sought to be changed overnight – a laudable goal but most delegates were left wondering whether this was plausible, with the limitations and constraints highlighted by FIFI. The food and wine industry have suffered at the hands of the arbitrary handling of the issue by FSSAI. One hopes that this is a transitional period and the government and the Authority realise that a pragmatic and scientific approach would go a long way in making the food healthy for us all. We as consumers appreciate the efforts and objectives of providing us safe food and wine but let it not become the case of the baby being thrown out with the bathwater.

Source: Wine Academy

2. A recently held meeting of Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), an apex body representing Indian food importers, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), at New Delhi, discussed challenges faced by food importers in India.

Amit Lohani, co-founder-director, FIFI, presented an extensive presentation on the issues of PADR, new products, labelling, and new draft imports. He said, “There should be clear guidelines, the same must be intimated to the state level authorities well in advance so that no hassle comes in the way of trade.”

He added, “The new Pre Arrival Document Review (PADR) system which is being developed by the government should approve the consignments before it is shipped to India. It will be beneficial for the importers as it will reduce the time consumed at the point of entry.”

He pointed out, “There are also other challenges like storage which should be taken care of. The importer has to ensure that the consignment of which the samples are under tests should get proper storage. For example, for perishable commodities, we need cold storage. Earlier, many food importers in the industry have suffered huge losses at this stage.”

Source: Meeting coverage on Amit Lohani's views on TBT issues 2016

3. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Amit Lohani, MD – Max Foods India Pvt Ltd, said “The Indian celiacs is expected to grow in multiples though there are many local companies producing uncertified gluten free product locally in India. The shift in the consumer behavior towards certified high quality gluten free products has envisaged on us to bring the same to the aspiration consumer. We foresee immense possibilities for growth here, and if we are able to give our consumers value for their money, we are sure of higher growth in future. The product would be EXCLUSIVELY available at Godrej Nature’s basket for the first 45 days. The strategy is to work closely with a major gourmet retailer and try to create a win win situation for both the brand and the retailer. We have been working with Mr. Mohit Khattar and Mr. Tripati from Natures Basket for the last 5 years and this was a great opportunity for both companies.”

The product is launched in four flavors – Italian parmesan cheese, Roasted tomato basil, Crushed black pepper, Honey mustard and onion. The product is available at all Traditional stores and Travel Retail like RELAY and WH Smith at Rs. 295.00 (Incl of all Taxes).

Source: meghalaya magazine on Amit Lohani's company Max Foods 2016

4. Over 200 tonnes of chocolates, olives, alcoholic beverages, cured meat, cheese and other food products are catching dust in warehouses across the country as The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned imported goods from coming through due to incorrect labeling. Products with a short shelf life are being pulled back and others are just sticking it out.

There's plenty of ambiguity, lack of dialogue and absence of a well-articulated framework when it comes to rules and regulations regarding the food industry. FSSAI is responsible for laying down science-based standards for manufacturing, processing, distribution, sale and import of all food products. This regulatory body is the one point contact for all food manufacturers. We also tried to get in touch with the FSSAI over a number of days but did not receive a response.

At first glance, everything appears to be in line. What could go wrong with a regulatory body trying to ensure that food imports meet Indian safety standards? For starters, the guidelines or regulations that the FSSAI follow are not up to date. Mr. Amit Lohani, National Convenor for Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI) says, "The problem isn't that there are rules, but that these rules are old and irrelevant. The document that's being referred to is as old as 1954 and 1956. It's simply been rehashed to look new."

Source: NDTV coverage on Amit Lohani's views on lack of infrastructure in India

5. The food regulator and the industry have often been at odds with each other and importers who have been chaffing at issues such as excessive taxation, ambiguity in food safety laws and labelling regulations are likely to oppose the additional rules. While FSSAI shot into prominence because of its stringent actions against Maggi noodles, it had earlier blocked consignments of Starbucks and some chocolate brands such as Mars, Godiva, Guylian and Lindt, on the ground that they did not contain India-specific labelling.

"At present, clearance of just one shipment containing food items could take 8-20 days, which is a very long time," said Amit Lohani, convener of the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI). "Indian laws are not up-to-date, which leads to huge losses," he added.

Source: Amit Lohani on Food safety & Regulations in India

6. Though India is one of the largest food producing nations in the world, its international food exports are almost negligible, thanks to mammoth size domestic consumption. However, every now and then, India imports food (under one of the rigid and sturdiest food import norms) to tide over temporary deficiency and domestic market price issues. Amit Lohani, convener, Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), an association which aims to encourage and support Indian food importers, and CEO, Max Foods, in an email interview with Hasan Mulani, talks about food import and related issues. Excerpts:

In India, where policy-makers aim to bring self sufficiency; talking about food imports doesn’t look gauche?

We, the food importers, believe that international foods, specifically confectionery, food stuff, processed foods from various developed and highly praised countries can never be looked at with a perspective to bring self sufficiency.

The intention of these food & beverage products is to create new benchmarks for domestic players in trade with knowledge of new trends in the world of food & beverage.

Our members at Forum of Indian Food Importers cater to the palate and not to the stomach of the Indian consumers.

Do you think importing food items in systematic way will help us to ease mounting food inflation?

The international food & beverage imported products are not listed in the food inflation index so any application to ease mounting food inflation is not relevant.

Additionally, the customs duties and other charges on imported food & beverage products are one of the highest in our F&B sector which also led to tremendous rise in price of imported food items.

The benefits for food importers’ are that Indian food industry’s acceptance to categories like pasta, sauces and yoghurts assist us to venture in these realms and adapt it to the Indian taste.

How are the food import regulations in India?

The food import norms in India are quite stringent and ambiguous. We would like a level plain field for all food & beverage products whether produced in India or abroad. The introduction of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has some clarity on issues and is a reform appreciated by trade.

What changes / modification the food importers seek to bring with FIFI. How you convene your voice to the government / policy-makers?

We, at FIFI, seek opening of the F&B sector with lowering of customs tariff, reducing non-tariff barriers, and updating of animal & plant quarantine laws.

We also look for upgrading of airports infrastructure, especially for international dairy and meat products. We have recently given our suggestions on the draft of the FSS Act and also talking to various ministries on related matters.

What are the current trends in the Indian food importing patterns? How would be the future of food imports?

The new mantra is gluten-free products, health foods and speciality foods items. The upscale markets have great appetite for these categories, which entail our importers to expand their portfolios.

Furthermore, food & beverages’ in the international segment is growing at a rapid pace of 20%-25% which is an eye-opener for domestic producers. We expect a lot of international flavours and savours in snacks category like Wasabi, Tom – Yum, BBQ to be big hit in the Indian snack & confectionery market in future.

The future also looks as bright as the sun as long as the consumers are looking for more international cuisines and willing to demand high quality products.

Could you tell us what are the aims & objectives of FIFI?

At present we have over 67-member companies and individuals and 11 associate members. Since commencement, FIFI has been working on various fronts like bringing parity on import laws and aligning with international scenario, pushing forward Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with various countries, working with different food authorities and agriculture ministries’ for removal of non-tariff barriers and also working with port authorities to improve infrastructure, especially for perishable goods.

We also seek to create platform to interact with other members, institutions, state & Central governments, foray to meet global business and trade organisations and participate in seminars, training programmes, conferences and meeting.

Source:Amit Lohani on international food trade with India

7. "At present, clearance of just one shipment containing food items could take 8-20 days, which is a very long time," said Amit Lohani, convener of the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI). "Indian laws are not up-to-date, which leads to huge losses," he added.

Source: Economic Times coverage on Food Safety Laws and Amit Lohani's view

8. On 10 March 2015, H.E. Mr François Richier, Ambassador of France to India, co-hosted the 5th annual reception of the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI) at the Residence of France, with Mr Amit Lohani, Founder-Director of FIFI. Mr Xavier Thuret, “Meilleur ouvrier de France”, well known for his excellent work in fine cheese-making and an internationally renowned figure for the promotion of French cheeses, graced this annual cocktail reception. Regarded as the “flying cheesemaker”, he has travelled the world from Korea to Kazakhstan, Japan, the United States, and Brazil, where he has conducted training and tasting sessions.

Source: Amit Lohani with France Ambassador at Gout-de-France.

9. The millennial population and rising disposable incomes across India have created a upsurge in the international food category not only in the metros but also in small towns and cities. The appetite for the new and different grows day-by -day and at times seems insatiable. Yet while the scope is ample and the opportunities for growth loom large, the hurdles of labeling, safety norms, governing laws and other regulations hinder this growth. This panel delves into the opportunities ,challenges and proposes the way forward for this important food category.

Speakers:

Moderator : Amit Lohani,Founder Director, FIFI, and MD, Max Foods Adam Branson, Senior Agriculture Attache’ US Embassy Amedeo Scarpa, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Italy Puneet Gupta , L-Comps Impex Rakesh Banga, Partner, Farmland Premium Foods LLP, Director, FIFI Sudanshu Mathur,BMS Sanjey Bajoria,Bajoria Foods

Source: Moderator and key note speaker at India Retailing with representatives from trade, US Government, and Italian government.

10. Importers such as Amit Lohani, managing director of Delhi-based Max Foods, says Asian brands are also making their way into this country due to agreements such as on the South Asian Free Trade Area or the Asean-India Free Trade Area that allow easy entry of these products due to lower tariffs and duties. "Taste profiles of Indians are also changing and in many respects, the evolution of modern trade is aiding growth of this category," he says.

Source: Business Standards

11.On the Occasion Mr. Amit Lohani (Convenor) of FIFI said "FIFI as an APEX body representing Food Importers in India thanks its members for the entrepreneurial skills which contribute to 2.1 Billion US$ worth of buying power. Our members have been instrumental in creating new categories and quality benchmarks in food & Beverage industry."

The French Ambassador Mr. Francois Congratulated FIFI on its endeavor to bring together the constituents of the International F&B trade and invited FIFI to host a similar event at his residence next year .He also stated that India needs to have a more open F&B sector allowing French products like Dairy , wines and artisanal products.

The Minister of Agriculture gave his thanks to FIFI and Mr. Lohani for inviting him for this august gathering. He stressed on the need of collaboration of FIFI with Polish Embassy to promote various F&B products from his country. The Ambassador of Poland Mr. Lukaszuk informed the trade of opening new avenue of trade between Indian importers and Polish exporters.

The Canadian High commissioner Mr. Nadir Patel emphasized the need of such a body which gives a platform to all trade embassies for a legitimate trade representative and a database of genuine importers. He was also overwhelmed by such a large presence of dignitaries to support FIFI.

Source: Sun TV on AAHAR Opening

12. Moderator of the session, Amit Lohani, Max Foods & Convenor FIFI, talked about the journey of FIFI in the last five years and the synergy it is creating among the three pillars of food business, viz. Mom-and-Pop stores, Modern Trade and Importers. Ajay Parashar of Arjit Foods, which deals in imported meat products, commented that most of the growth is happening in smaller cities. “Growth of Indian consumers is phenomenal. They are very educated now and want right products. However, importers face several challenges that include cold supply chain infrastructure. It is a challenge to ensure that the product reaches the end consumer in right shape and right quality,” he said.

Source: Food and Grocery Forum

13. The jury for Coca Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2016 included Amit Lohani (Convenor, Forum of Indian Food Importers).

Source: Amit Lohani as Jury of Coca- cola spoon awards

14. In a goodwill message, Mr. Amit Lohani, Founder Director, FIFI welcomed visitors to the FIFI pavilion and said that they have extended invitations to more than 15000 organized and unorganized retailer in North India and are expecting interest from retailers, hotels, restaurants, service providers, and consumers.

Source: Amit Lohani on AAHAR.

15. Mr. Ahmad Sultan Alfalahi, UAE Commercial Attaché to India, Mr. Mohammad Ali Al Kamali, Deputy CEO, Dubai Exports, Mr. Ibrahim Ahli, Dubai FDI, Mr. Amitabh Taneja, CMD - Images Group, Mr. Abdelrahman Al Hosani from Dubai Exports, Mr. Rakesh Gambhir, Head - Dubai Exports India Office and Mr. Amit Lohani, Founder Director FIFI were present at the event. The guests comprised of the key decision makers from various industries interested to collaborate with the UAE companies.

Source: UAE Embassy Coverage.

16. Amit Lohani, founding director of the Forum of Indian Food Importers, said a pilot project for the new system will kick off this month. The pilot is being run by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The complexity of India's import regulations are also a logistical headache. Importers of perishables like vegetables, fruits and meat have complained about the time it takes for Indian customs to clear their products, which they say adversely affects quality.

Source: Amit Lohani on red tappisim in India.

17. Founder and director of FIFI Amit Lohani said: "The idea is to promote Singaporean food to India, give better choices to India. We have a free trade agreement with Singapore that would help us bring products at a much lower cost to consumers."

18. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AF0EZIboT4 Amit Lohani's interview by HORECA TV official media partner for India Trade Promotion Authority

Source: Amit Lohani signed MOU with Mister of Trade Singapore — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mishra S Shukla (talk • contribs) 05:39, 5 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.
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