DAMNING THE PICKLE!-INDIA'S HYPERTENSION PROBLEM

Pickles and chutneys are part and parcel of Indian diets from time immemorial wile papad is a totally an Indian creation. What is common for these products is the high salt content and since the close linkage between salt and hypertension came to surface these high salt products are receiving close scrutiny from health and nutritionists. During the last few years there have been questions regarding the future of the industry which churn out these products and even this blogger had published a piece on the future of pickle industry in India. While these developments are being driven by the scientific finding that salt intake has to be drastically reduced to prevent the hypertension and cardiac epidemic sweeping through many countries with high salt consumption spreading further taking a heavy toll of human lives. So far no standards are presently available in India with regard to optimum level of salt that can be consumed by Indians under the Indian conditions. But a recent expose on the subject which is referred to below, calls for reducing the salt intake from the reported level of 6-8 gms by 15-20% that can prevent thousands of death due to disorders like hypertension, CVD and Kidney ailments. Here is a take on this issue.     

Experts say that Indians consume up to 6 to 8 grams of salt daily, while the Indian health ministry hypertension guidelines say that only 2.4 grams is recommended. It isn't excess salt intake alone that heightens an Indian's chances of getting hypertension, it's also the Indian build. "Indians have thinner blood vessels than Caucasians, leading to different salt sensitivity among the two groups. Hence, the Indian blood vessel's ability to handle salt is lower than others," said Joshi, who practises at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra. A study done in Chennai in 2007 found that an increased intake of 1.5 to 2 grams of salt was associated with an increase in high and low blood-pressure by approximately 1mm Hg (the unit to measure blood pressure). "The risk of cardiovascular disease rises with blood pressure throughout the normotensive (normal) blood-pressure range and almost 60% of coronary heart disease events and 45 to 50% of strokes occur in those with high normal blood-pressure," said the study conducted by Dr V Mohan of Chennai.Any reduction in salt intake brings about a healthy change as far as hypertension is concerned. The Chennai study, which was published in JAPI (Journal of Association of Physicians of India), found that a reduction in intake of sodium by 1.2 grams daily would lead to a 50% reduction in the number of people requiring anti-hypertensive therapy. The lower intake could also mean a 22% reduction in the number of deaths due to stroke and a 16% reduction in the number of deaths due to coronary artery disease. Incidentally, if one sticks to the traditional Indian diet, hypertension wouldn't be such a problem. Dr Jagmeet Madan, principal of the SNDT College for Nutrition, Juhu, said, "If you stick to the traditional Indian diet, you will never go higher on salt." The problem creeps in when additions creep in to the Indian thali. "Adding chutneys, pickles and papads sends the salt balance haywire," she said. So, processed foods should be kept as "sometime foods" instead of everyday foods.

In India every data has to be viewed with suspicion for its veracity and same is true with regard to salt consumption also. Earlier there were reports that Indians consume on an average 12 gms of salt every day though this information also must be the guess work of some statistcians without doing any representative field survey. In developed countries where commercially processed foods constitute almost 80% of daily diet salt consumption is sought to be controlled through regulating salt in such foods either voluntarily or through mandatory rules. There are campaigns in some countries to sensitize citizens regarding the dangers of high salt consumption and consciously reduce daily intake gradually to levels considered safe. One often wonders whether salt is really as dangerous as being made out currently because for centuries pickles, chutneys and papads were being consumed regularly with no significant health hazards. How this situation has changed now? Is it because of ignoring the traditional foods Indians have been consuming for long and switching over to more and more factory processed foods with high salt content? Food industry world over are known to use the trioka of salt, sugar and fat to make consumers food addicts leading to many of the modern day life style disorders like obesity and others. Now that civilization has come so far depending heavily on processed convenient foods with doubtful health credentials, it is better to be more cautious in consuming food ingredients like salt and follow the guidelines for keeping one self healthy!   

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

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ECO-LABELING-CONFUSION WORST CONFOUNDED!

Ever since mandatory front of the pack labeling became a part of the processed food industry landscape, debates continue unabated regarding the sufficiency or otherwise about the information provided on these labels by the manufacturers. Consumers are always happy to get as much information as possible on the label which will help them to make judicious choice while doing their purchase. While the major aspects of labeling cover information with regard to nutrition, weight, manufacturing date, expiry date etc, increased consumer awareness about sustainability issues, water wastage, carbon emission, energy usage etc, appears to be generating an entirely new labeling initiatives broadly called ecolabeling.  As consumers seem to be appreciating such an initiative, ecolabeling is becoming an important consideration in a fiercely competitive market. Unfortunately the ecolabeling field is getting too much crowded with all and sundry offering such certification based on different standards without any uniformity.

"Growing consumer awareness of food production methods and sustainability issues has led to the rise in recent years of ecolabels in the food industry; over 200 seals and logos currently represent some ecological, ethical, ingredient or sustainability attributes in the global food industry. That number is expected to rise in 2013, and the mushrooming number of ecolabels could have adverse consequences, according to specialty research consultancy Organic Monitor. The company will present its latest findings on the global market for ecolabeled food and drink at the upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit. Organic products comprise the bulk of the estimated US $75 billion ecolabeled food and drink market. Most sales are from Europe and North America, which have legally protected organic logos. However, many new organic labels are being introduced in Asia, Latin America and other regions – over 84 countries have introduced national standards for organic products, with most having separate organic labels. The lack of harmonization between these standards is leading to multiple certifications and an exponential rise in organic ecolabels".

Organic foods movement which started about two decades back has achieved tremendous success because of the consumer perception that commercially produced foods by the mainstream industry was ignoring the environment and safety of the citizens while marketing their products. Most ecolabeling to day is focused on such consumers who are more concerned about sustainability of many activities in the day to day life routines. What is appalling is the proliferation of organizations selling their sustainability logos based on different and varying standards resulting in confusion for the consumers for making informed choices. It is against such a background that a need is keenly felt to consolidate various standards and bring about a uniform one for adoption by the entire spectrum of food industry.   

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

 

IS THE FOOD GRAIN POLICY OF GOI IN SHAMBLES? APPARENTLY SO!

The food glut scare is giving no sleep to the babus in Delhi who are running helter skelter to find a way to manage the grain stocks, old as well as new, now being procured without inviting Supreme Court wrath or consumer backlash. As there are no long term policies in place governing agricultural production and export, the dynamics of grain flow change from day to day. If exports are allowed to day, it could be banned tomorrow when there are some protests from the people. The crop pattern in the country also is highly skewed with water guzzling crops like Sugarcane, Banana and wineyard grapes getting preference in water utilization policies pursued during the last few years. Immediate concern is whether surplus food grains over and above that is required for domestic consumption between the harvests as well as for food security, reported to be sufficient to feed half the population for an year, can be safely exported without causing any price distortion in the market place. Some experts feel that it is safe to export a predetermined quantity of grains as a part of a long term export policy with flexibility to increase whenever there is too much of a surplus. However a timid government with the 2014 election uncertainties staring at it, does not seem to have the courage to open up grain export for earning valuable foreign exchange. Here is a take on this issue which is a "hot potato" for Delhi to handle comfortably! 

"India should adopt an 'open' policy for food grains exports so that small farmers are benefited from prevailing higher global food prices, Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on Friday said. India must also reduce rising food subsidy by 'better' targeting of Public Distribution System, Fan observed. "At present the PDS is not well targeted which is leading to pilferage of food grains. By reducing food subsidy, more financial resources could be allocated for research and development in agriculture," Fan told FE. "India being the biggest the rice exporter must have an open export policy for increasing farm income realistion ," Fan commented. India has emerged as the world's biggest rice exporter in 2012 surpassing Thailand with shipment of around 10 million tonnes after a four year old ban on rice exports were lifted in 2011. He said China may increase the volume of rice import from India in coming years because of rise in cost of farm production. China's total rice import was 2-3 million tonnes from Vietnam and India last year. "It is just a beginning and China's rice import from India could enhance in the coming years with cost of labour, water and land increasing. Also, it is cheaper to import food grains from India instead of providing subsidies to farmers," Fan, the head of the key global think tank observed India has a huge food grain stocks – mostly rice and wheat, due to bumper production last year. The rice and wheat output was reported at record 104.32 million tonnes and 93.90 million tonnes, respectively. Due to US drought, the global food prices are expected to higher and volatile during the year, He said due to uncertainty in supplies of wheat, corn and other crop because of drought in many parts of the world is expected to keep supplies situation 'volatile'. "We need stability in higher food prices as because of lack market access small farmers have not been able to take advantage of the prices," Fan said while predicting that global food prices during the year will be 'high and volatile'. On level of poverty in Asian countries like India and China, Fan observed, "The region as a whole is not on track in meeting the millennium development goal (MDG) of cutting the rate of undernourishment by half between 1990 and 2015." "India accounts for some 217 million or a quarter of all undernourished people globally. As a result, India is likely to miss the MDG target," he said. Calling for hiking investment in the agricultural research, Fan observed that agricultural spending in research and development generally has the largest positive effects on growth and poverty reduction. "For each unit of local currency spent on the agricultural R&D, on average 11 local currency units are returned. For every rupee invested in agri-research in India,Rs 13.5 is returned," a IFPRI study has stated. "Indian government should increase investment in agriculture, rural infrastructure and education as these have high payoffs in terms of raising smallholder farmers' productivity and incomes," Fan noted."

Is it not remarkable that Indian farmer has not failed the country in spite of enormous odds faced by him with severe water scarcity and limited support from the governments at the Center as well in the states and this year also a bumper harvest is predicted? Scores of farmers are starving and committing suicide with a sickening regularity because of many socio-economic reasons and the farm operations are increasingly becoming economically unviable with too many uncertainties. The small land holdings in the hands of small and marginal farmers cannot be expected to generate adequate cash for meeting the daily necessities of life for them. Cooperative model for integrated development of land does not seem to be working except in the case industrial crops like Sugarcane and Banana, that too monopolized by big land holders with powerful political connections. Under these circumstances Government must encourage exports in a big way and utilize the earnings for improving the lots of the poor farmers of India.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

 

BITTER ORANGE EXTRACT-QUESTIONS REGARDING ITS SAFETY

Health supplements are flooding the market all over the world making claims often not supported by scientific evidence. Since this industry is one of the least regulated most players in this game of charade get away by making health claims often outlandish in nature. The authorities vested with the responsibility of protecting citizens from spurious foods either are ignorant to deal with this industry or powerless to take the industry head on or simply looking the other way to avoid unnecessary controversies. It is only recently that the EU safety authorities took serious note of the uncontrolled growth of healthy foods that many products were disallowed from making claims not substantiated by scientific evidence. In India also lot of noise was made by the food authority about major industry players making spurious clams but nothing concrete came out from this paper tiger. Since food safety is a top topic of concern, ceaseless vigilance can only weed out fraudsters from this field. One of the latest issues now being scrutinized is how far products containing bitter citrus extract and caffeine can seriously compromise the health of the consumers if taken regularly and it is now believed that such products must be banned in the market. Here is a take on this interesting development. 

Some products sold as sports or weight loss supplements may contain synephrine, which may enhance the effects of caffeine, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Synephrine is a compound found in plants such as bitter oranges (Citrus aurantium). Bitter orange comes from a flowering, fruit-bearing evergreen tree native to tropical Asia, but is now widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region and elsewhere. Bitter oranges have been used in ancient Chinese medicine to treat constipation, improve energy, and calm nerves in cases of insomnia and shock. Amazon rain forest tribes have used bitter orange tea as a laxative and to relieve nausea, stomach pains, indigestion, gas, and constipation. According to BfR, sports or weight loss supplements often contain caffeine in addition to synephrine and are often referred to as food supplements or dietetic foods by manufacturers. Because caffeine and synephrine both affect the heart and blood pressure, they may increase each increase the other's effects when taken together. Most notably, taking caffeine and synephrine together may increase heart rhythm and blood pressure. Other ingredients contained in bitter orange extracts may also add to the effects of synephrine on the heart. The BfR recommends that quantities of these compounds ingested through such products should be limited to food intake levels from oranges and bitter oranges. The institute advised that no more than 6.7 milligrams of synephrine be taken daily in the form of a food supplement. This quantity of synephrine may help ensure that even frequent consumers do not exceed a total daily intake of more than 25.7 milligrams of synephrine. Due to dosage levels, some products that are currently available on the market may be classified as unsafe. The effects of these products on the heart may be more intense in people who are already putting increased strain on the heart due to physical activity or being overweight. It is claimed that bitter orange is an effective aid to weight loss and a safe alternative to ephedra, a plant that contains compounds that may stimulate the nervous system. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule prohibiting the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra because such supplements present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Due to the ban on ephedra in the United States, some products previously containing ephedra have been reformulated to include Citrus aurantium.

It is rather queer that consumers are having a fatal affinity to Caffeine which is categorized as a brain stimulating addictive chemical not to be taken by children and pregnant women and why industry is marketing products containing this chemical in concentrations much higher than that present in coffee beverage consumed world over is beyond comprehension. How can a normal consumer get any benefit by drinking water containing Caffeine? There is no scientific justification for creating such outlandish products though industry stands to benefit in the form of high profits dealing with such psychotropic products! Already the extract derived from Bitter oranges is implicated in episodes related to heart and kidney and when industry tries to formulate products containing Caffeine and Bitter orange extract, both anti-cardiac substances, possible synergistic effect may magnify the damage much more than either of the substances consumed singly. Scientists do believe that substances like Caffeine present in Coffee or tea are safe as long as their daily consumption is not more than what is ingested daily in the natural form. Also not known is the possible protective effect of ingredients other than Caffeine in Coffee or Synephrine in bitter oranges on alleviating the negative impact of the chemicals when consumed in natural form. Every consumer must bear in mind that natural food products consumed for centuries can invariably be less dangerous than the isolated constituents present in them!.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BIOFILMS-A SERIOUS CHALLENGE TO SANITATION SCIENTISTS

Man has been striving ever since his advent on this planet to keep the harmful microorganisms at bay and this endeavor is still continuing even to day. An array of technology to destroy pathogenic microorganisms is available for the industry that has been able to ensure safety of foods manufacture by them to a reaosnable extent. Traditional technologies like salt steeping, sugar infusion, sun drying, fermentation etc are supplemented by modern ones involving high temperature treatment, water removal at controlled temperatures, low and very low temperature preservation, high pressure processing, aseptic packing, vacuum packing etc. Still there is nothing absolutely safe in the light of continuous modification in the behavior of microbes to overcome all the hurdles created by man. Latest finding that bacteria  like Listeria and others can form highly impenetrable biofilms within which they survive under severely adverse environmental conditions is startling to say the least. Here is a commentary on this new phenomenon which will keep the industry on its toes when it comes to ensuring food safety.  

"The slimy film that forms in damp areas, typically around drains and in trunk lines, is known as biofilm. Harboring pathogens such as Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli, biofilm creates a protective environment for illness-causing microorganisms to thrive.Eliminating biofilm and the pathogens it breeds has proven to be difficult for the food processing and retail sanitation industry. It tends to persist in damp areas and is resistant to traditional cleaners and sanitizers. Typical drain cleaners such as enzymatic cleaners, drain openers, and hard surface sanitizers don't have EPA approval to remove biofilm and are ineffective against the pathogens found in it." 

If claims by some of the manufacturers of sanitation aids are to be believed, specially formulated preparations are required which can only penetrate biofilms and destroy the bacteria residing within. As most of these products are patented and branded, very little is known regarding the scientific basis of such claims. Most difficult task in a food processing facility is to access remote nooks and crevices where there may be dampness, ideal for harboring biofilm clusters and which can infect the food during contact with the surface when processing is going on. Still efficient preparations containing active chlorine does a decent job with minimum risk of contamination. If biofilms pose real danger to the food processing sector as being claimed, it is time that safety authorities revisit the range of sanitizing agents approved and include more efficient ones for tackling dangers posed by the biofilms of pathogenic bacteria.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE TOWN GARDEN CONCEPT-WHY NOT IN INDIA?

Mindless urbanization world over is progressively shrinking the farming population which in turn is bound to have a telling effect on the food security of a country seriously. Manual labor is becoming a scarce commodity even in a country like India where unemployment is supposed to be a factor that adversely affects economic growth. This stark reality had dawned on many industrialized nations which were wise enough to come up with mechanized tools, gadgets and machinery which can efficiently replace man in many human activities including food production. Constraints on land for expanding cultivation in small countries like England, Japan and others make them more and more dependable on imported foods from far way places. Added to this the "Locavore" movement which is assuming serious tones during the last one decade is making the citizens aware of the pitfalls involved in bringing food from outside their locality and stressing the need for finding ways and means to generate food from local land and resources. Out of this arose the farmers market, urban gardens, gorilla gardening, sky gardens, terrace gardens, production cum sale outlets within the city etc which attempt to produce as much food as possible locally. The emerging threat of global warming that creates adverse conditions like drought, floods and other natural calamities also is a driving force for such local initiatives. Here is an example of a city in Canada which is planning vegetable gardens right in the middle of the city that will be of immense benefit for the citizens there.   

Amongst the towering buildings of downtown Calgary, volunteers are hoping to sprout some community-grown veggies. For the fifth year, Downtown Calgary, the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre and the Calgary Food Policy Council utilized planters along 3 Street between 5 and 6 Avenue S.W. to plant a community garden. From spinach and swiss chard to potatoes and herbs, the food grown in the heart of the downtown will eventually be harvested and used at the Drop-In Centre . "This year we're changing up what we're planting — we're doing more root vegetables and herbs based on what the chef at the Drop-In has asked for," said Downtown Calgary executive director Maggie Schofield. "It's a great community builder." While the amount of food produced is often only enough for one meal for the clients at the Drop-In, Paul Hughes with the Calgary Food Policy Council said the garden is largely symbolic.
"It's really not that much space, it doesn't produce a lot but it shows people that even in this challenging environment, things can grow right in the middle of the city."

Of course in a country like India where urban land costs are astronomically high, sparing land for gardening may be a far fetched idea with most land usurped by land mafias and real estate companies. Lakes are filled up illegally, public land is encroached upon and private lands belonging to citizens are fraudulently transferred for commercial purpose in collusion with government officials and politicians. How is it possible to put up gardens for raising vegetables in such cities? Fortunately still there are many towns and cities in the country with public parks where trees and ornamental plants are raised for providing adequate lung space and it is a relevant question why these parks cannot be converted into vegetable gardens over a period of time. Similarly citizens with land around their building should be encouraged to raise vegetables on their own, in stead of lawns and other plants with no food value, providing suitable tax incentives as reward for this noble cause. There are hundreds of vacant sites belonging to people who buy such properties as an investment and do not build houses for years together. Through suitable policy orchestration these places should be released for raising vegetable gardens without the ownership of the site being compromised in any way. There are millions of square meters of land adjoining railway tracks running through out the country and as they are all barren why not lease them to prospective "gardeners" for growing vegetables and fruits? Unless GoI thinks in such novel ways, country's food security will increasingly be compromised!  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

 

"BACTERIAL THERAPY" FOR BODY WEIGHT CONTROL-WILL IT WORK?

It is inconceivable to believe that a tiny bacteria residing in human guts can influence the metabolism so dramatically as the one recently identified in Belgium by a group of scientists. Interestingly this bacteria, not very well known but yet a part of the typical microbiome associated with human beings can startlingly alter the absorption of sugar and fat from the guts if present in adequate numbers. It is well known that there are hundreds of microbial species, numbering trillions, residing in different parts of human body and maintaining a balance among them can ensure normal health. The rampant use of antibiotics and antibacterial chemicals for treating diseases and maintaining hygiene invariably upsets such a fine balance and almost all problems to day mankind faces can be attributed to this reckless living style. The bacteria presently under the scanner is reported to be very effective at least in rat experiments in reducing the weight of obese rats dramatically and the hope is that a suitable treatment protocol may eventually emerge based on these beneficial bugs. Here is a take on this important development. 

"Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, worked with a single species of bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila. It normally makes up 3-5% of gut bacteria, but its levels fall in obesity. Mice on a high fat diet - which led them to put on two to three times more fat than normal, lean, mice - were fed the bacteria. The mice remained bigger than their lean cousins, but had lost around half of their extra weight despite no other changes to their diet. They also had lower levels of insulin resistance, a key symptom of Type-2 diabetes. Prof Patrice Cani, from the Catholic University of Louvain, told the BBC: "Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass."

World to day recognizes Diabetes and Obesity as most debilitating life style disorders that affect the quality of daily life causing misery to millions of people across the Globe and in spite of many drugs emerging during the last two decades to fight them, their onslaught does not seems to be abating. There are many dietary regimes propounded by different interest groups which might be helpful in ameliorating the conditions to varying extent. Still a substantial segment of the affected population does not respond to them in a way that is desirable. Therefore the microbial route to tackle them offers a novel way of attempting to bring solace to such people. One hopes that the new findings will be confirmed using human subjects and carrying out appropriate clinical studies. Hundreds of health foods, already in the market boast of probiotics and prebiotics that can improve the gut health though claims made by many of them are not substantiated by clinical data. A time has come probably to re-evaluate the effectiveness of these foods after including the newly discovered Akkermansia bacteria.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com