Chirag Paswan Challenges 'Influencer Culture' on Processed Food Misconceptions

• Union Minister Chirag Paswan addressed industry leaders at Storyboard18’s Power of Purpose 2026 in Delhi, advocating for India to become a "global food basket."
• Paswan criticized the "influencer culture" and social media narratives that create public mistrust and misconceptions about processed food, equating it with compromised quality.
• He emphasized that food processing is crucial for value addition, quality enhancement, farmer incomes, and export ambitions, not degradation.
• The Minister reframed regulation as a necessary filtration mechanism for quality assurance, essential for global competitiveness and national credibility.
• Paswan called for a shift from food surplus to value addition, focusing on branding, processing clusters in villages, and aligning Indian standards with global benchmarks for export success.