India's food industry is currently experiencing a significant shortage of experienced food-safety professionals. Employers have reported a 94.4% increase in job postings for these roles this quarter. Many applicants lack the required operational experience, which has created a major gap in the market. The demand for food-safety professionals is expected to rise further during the festive season. This situation is causing longer hiring timelines and higher salaries in the industry.

India’s food industry is facing a shortage of food-safety professionals, especially experienced ones, with employers struggling to find candidates who can independently handle inspections, audits and regulatory compliance amid heightened scrutiny of safety and hygiene standards. Job postings for dedicated food-safety professionals on professionals networking platform Apna rose 94.4% in the second quarter ended September, after a 48.4% jump in the first quarter. The number of employers hiring for these roles rose 74.2% in the September quarter, while the number of cities with such postings increased 42.3%. Advt

But the supply is struggling to keep up with the demand, staffing firms noted. While 59.5% of Apna’s food-safety postings required prior experience, they attracted nearly 12% fewer applications than fresher-accessible roles. Further, only 50% or even lower of the applicants met the requirements, highlighting a big gap in availability of experienced professionals who can manage food-safety and compliance requirements at scale. “While trained talent is available in the market, the challenge is the limited pool of candidates with relevant operational experience,” said Deepesh Gupta, head of general staffing at Adecco India.

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