[3] Nirapara Roller Flour Mills Pvt ltd was started in Kottayam,Kerala by late P.V Francis,who was a well known wheat and rice merchant in Kerala.The company is currently headed by his son P.F.Joseph.
While KKR Group[4] was established by K. K. Karnan as a small scale rice mill factory located in the town of Okkal in Kalady, near Kochi.
KKR Group faced a controversy in September 2015, when the food safety commissioner banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of the Nirapara chilli, turmeric, and coriander powder under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act of India, as the authorities found added starch in the spice powders.
[7][8][9][10] In October 2015, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside the ban by the Food Safety Commissioner, as the samples were not found harmful for human consumption.
In the absence of any harmful content, the court withdrew the ban imposed on the said spice powders facilitating its manufacture, sale, and distribution.