PepsiCo, CSIR sign pact to take Indian foods to global markets

Traditional Indian food could soon find a place in global markets with soft drink giant Pepsico signing an agreement with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to turn such edible items into world products.

The umbrella agreement was signed by Mahmood Khan, Chief Scientific Officer of Pepsico and Yogeshwar Rao, Head of the Technology Development Division of CSIR in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi in New Delhi.

Under the agreement Pepsico, in association with various CSIR labs, will identify projects to develop health foods, fortify popular food items with nutrients.

They would also look at the possibility of turning some of the traditional Indian food items into global products.

A team of Pepsi scientists would soon visit CSIR labs, including the Mysore-based Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) to identify projects which could be taken up as collaborative ventures or sponsored research projects.

CSIR already has similar agreements with Proctor and Gamble, Dupont, Colgate Palmolive, Alcoa among others.