How ridiculous Indian Food Laws can be! The license seems to back!

There was a time when licensing raj was rampant in the country with the government bureaucrats wielding literally dictatorial powers to decide who is allowed to start an industry which was largely responsible for the stagnation in the manufacturing sector for many decades. This also ushered in the unbridled corruption environment where for every thing to do with the government the citizen has to pay "bribes". One can see where this has taken the country and to day corruption scandals are rules of the day rather than exceptions. As for food processing there were several departments of the government both at the center as well as at the state level, treating the entrepreneurs like dirt dampening the national entrepreneurial spirit very significantly. Then came hope when the Central government brought in the much touted Food Safety and Authority of India to consolidate all laws pertaining to food manufacturing, Alas, what one sees to day is total chaos and gargantuan road blocks before the industry in the form of untenable demands from this arrogant agency. It is still in the fresh memory of people in this country how the "authority" tried to destroy an entire industry recently by banning its products on fictitious technical basis, though the judiciary had to step in to checkmate the authoritarian action of the "authority" ! Why it is so much obsessed with noodles is a big mystery because its latest assault comes in the form diktats ordering a particular manufacturer not to market its branded noodle for reasons known to them only. Here is a take on this interesting behavior of the "authority"   

The instant noodles brand launched by Ramdev's Patanjali does not have food safety approval, the central regulator FSSAI has said,  a charge that the yoga teacher has denied. "Neither Patanjali Yog nor Aayush, which are the two brand names under which Ramdev's company have got licenses, have got any approval for manufacturing instant noodles," said Ashish Bahuguna, the acting CEO of the FSSAI or Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. He said that only 10 companies have approval for manufacturing noodles. Ramdev rubbished the claim and said that his company had taken permission from the regulator. "I think there is some misunderstanding on this.  Patanjali Atta noodle have product approval for manufacturing," he said. Patanjali said in a statement that it has license in the "pasta" category, which includes noodles. But the food safety regulator said the company needed separate permission to make "Atta" or wheat noodles."

Earlier the food industry had to submit the label of the product it intends to make to the government agencies and if there was no response., it could go ahead with the marketing. To day FSSAI wants each and every food handling unit including the mom and pop kitchens to take license from it and renew the same every year! While big companies may have the wherewithal to meekly submit to their diktats, it is the poor micro sector that suffers because of various constraints. Is it not a tragedy that FSSAI is least concerned about critical foods like milk, food grains, spices, edible oils, sweetmeats etc which are adulterated day in and day out across the country putting the lives of hapless citizens into jeopardy, doing nothing? Earlier this bureaucratic and authoritative organization is dismantled, better it will be for the country. In stead the responsibility of managing food safety must be left to the state organizations based on well defined national guidelines. What is needed is pumping massive funds into these state level food vigilance agencies to strengthen their infrastructure and personnel, in stead of wasting precious resources on a top heavy bureaucratic organization centered in Delhi in the name of food safety.

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

Adulteration of food to cost dearly in Delhi? So says the local government!

Whether one is amused or impressed by the recent proposal by the Delhi government to enhance punishments for the crimes against citizens perpetrated by the food manufacturers and traders depends on how serious one takes the present government in the saddle there. Though this is an admirable proposal, ground reality says that taking action against these criminals in not that easy under the Indian constitution. Majority of the so called food inspectors have doubtful credentials and credibility vis-a-vis their character and integrity and an average citizen must be pardoned if he thinks that such stringent laws in the statute book can only increase the bribe amounts, making them richer much faster! Of course these are only apprehensions and the good intentions of the government may still get translated into much needed relief to the common man from these heinous criminals. One thing is sure that unless the number and frequency of sampling are increased manifold and the judicial system is strengthened, nothing much will come out of this exercise. Let us give some time for the government to work out the logistics before passing any judgment one way or the other.

  "In extreme cases where adulteration could lead to death, Delhi Government has proposed imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend up to imprisonment for life and also with fine which shall not be less than Rs 20 lakh," the government said in a statement. As per exiting rule, in such cases, imprisonment is not less than seven years but which may extend up to life imprisonment and fine which shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh. The government has also proposed to increase penalty from existing Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for unhygienic or unsanitary processing or manufacturing of food. An official said it has also been decided that with the enhancement of penalty, the transparency aspect should be strengthened and the prosecution process should be made speedy and time-bound including by setting up of special courts, for which provision exists in the act. The official said that a person, involved in such adulteration which is not injurious to health, will have to face imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years or with a fine which may extend to Rs 5 lakh or both. "Besides, where such adulterant is injurious to health, imprisonment will not be less than five years which may extend up to life imprisonment or with fine which may extend to Rs 10 lakh rupees, or both," the official said.  According to the government, penalty for misleading advertisement will be Rs 10 lakh or thrice the cost of the advertisement whichever is more.  "As per the proposal, for the purpose of adjudication under this Act, an officer not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate of the district where the alleged offence is committed, shall be notified by the State Government as the Adjudicating Officer for adjudication in the manner as may be prescribed by the central government," the government said.

Food dealers in this country are a wily lot capable of doing any thing including the "Houdini" act to delay justice or demolish cases through hook or crook making governments look foolish and powerless. While paying regular "haftha" to food inspectors for not checking their samples or giving good samples for testing purpose to boost the statistics or destroying the samples at the lab level or in the courts are routinely practiced. Using such harsh punishment threats, extortion also is possible to increase the "haftha" rate! One may ask why this pessimism on a good intentioned policy pronouncement by the government? Answer is simple. Indians are Indians and their attitude, behavior, respect for law, civic sense, moral responsibility etc are debatable with very few bothered about things beyond their immediate families! Only some genuine NGOs are fighting this food adulteration battle but they are far and few to make any dent on the scale of corruption and insensitivity prevalent among politicians and bureaucrats in this country.. Let us hope Delhi government will succeed where others have miserably failed the people of India.

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

THE MEGA FOOD CORRUPTION-SQUANDERING PUBLIC MONEY?

What is the best way to please a citizen whose vote is important in a democracy? Normally answer would be to serve the voters through developmental projects and help to make life easier but in India the political parties with all hues have discovered that populist measures with huge financial commitment from the exchequer are the surest bet! The ever vigilant Election Commission is trying its level best to prevent direct "bribing" of the voters through cash payment, obviously with the ill-gotten black money though those caught are minuscule of the vast amounts deployed during election time. In the US the government makes payment to the tune of billions of dollars to its super rich farmers who in turn fund the election of many law makers there. The not so "brand new" program for mass appeasement through the proposed Food Security Bill which is yet to be enacted into a law has the flavor of a massive corruption in the name of citizen welfare. In stead of identifying and supporting those who are in dire need of food, lacking the necessary purchasing power, here is a government trying to give food grains at literally throw away prices with hope that voters will be grateful to it and support the ruling political party in coming elections. Here is a take on this national folly which can cause irreparable damage to the working morale of the population at large! 

'The new Food Security Bill would provide subsidised grain to 75 percent of people in the countryside and half the urban population -- about 810 million -- who cannot afford to eat properly. The extra annual requirement for rice and wheat under the draft law will be at least 45.6 million tonnes -- doubling current levels handed out by the world's second-biggest rice and wheat producer. The food ministry is assuming it will need about 30 percent of total wheat and rice output which tops 180 million tonnes to cover the subsidised food, relying on increased yields and lower wastage to meet demand and keep exports on the agenda".

The investment by its sheer size is astronomical but what is of concern is that such ostentatious spending cannot be considered an investment at all because it is going to be a regular commitment from which no future government will have the courage to backtrack if required. Though it is suggested that this policy will continue till the people are brought out of the poverty cycle, this will be almost like the reservation policy for which the constitution had laid a time limit of twenty years but politicians found it expedient to perpetuate this policy indefinitely for enriching their vote banks. Imagine how effective it would have been if this amount were to be invested on creating permanent assets that will benefit all segments of population. After neglecting agriculture for decades and creating a situation for mass suicides of poor farmers, here comes a policy of appeasing the voters through  supply of food grains practically free without bothering to look at the logistics of producing the expanded need under the new Bill. Government's priority ought to have been to modernize the PDS regime making it pilfer proof and delivering the food to the really needy and deserving consumers in "decent" condition. What will be the future of a country where people do not have to work and earn to get their "daily bread" when it is offered on a platter, practically free of cost!

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

THE INFAMOUS PULSE "SCAM" OF ORISSA-SHOW NO MERCY TO THE CULPRITS

That the massive feeding programs which are going in this country for quite some time is a "golden goose" for at least some people like the private manufacturers and the controlling "babudom" , is well known. Why the governments at the center and states close their eyes to such blatant corruption is also known, the main reason being the unholy nexus between the politicians in power aided by the babus and the manufacturers with no conscience regarding the harm they are doing through their devious practices. Under the guise of economic liberalization, governments in almost all states have roped in private manufacturers for supply of nutritious food to beneficiaries under various state sponsored feeding programs, most of them being children. On the other hand they have systematically sidelined their own specially set up organizations, in many cases forcing them to wind up in absence of adequate funds. The consequences are there for every body to see! If an estimate is to be made regarding the looting of public funds through such apparently "noble' schemes, it could run into thousands of crore of rupees! A recent report from Orissa typically exemplify this national malaise.

"The Orissa Vigilance Directorate has submitted a status report in the High Court on its probe into the multi-crore pulses scam, saying pecuniary advantages to the tune of nearly Rs 20 crore were made by government officials by showing undue favours to traders. According to the Directorate, pecuniary advantages to the tune of Rs 19.62 crore were made by certain government officials by showing undue favour to private suppliers and traders in the districts of Balasore, Jajpur, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Deogarh. As a result, poor and substandard quality of pulses were supplied during implementation of feeding schemes in 2009-10 and 2010-11, said the report submitted yesterday. School students, children, pregnant and nursing mothers coming under midday meal (MDM), supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) and emergency food programme (EFP) in these districts were provided with mould-grown and substandard pulses, it said. The report further said that at least one criminal case each was registered in all these districts in which a total of 34 accused persons were arrested ever since the vigilance registered cases over the scam earlier this year. "All the arrested persons were, however, released on bail as per orders of the High Court, the report said. The investigating officers have also examined at least 87 witnesses and seized a total of 152 documents from all the five districts, the report said, adding further investigation in the cases are on. Detailing the findings from each of these districts, the report said samples collected from different feeding centres were sent for laboratory tests to Bhubaneswar-based State Drugs Management Unit. "In most of the samples, the analytical reports said the pulses did not confirm to the prescribed standard and were highly infected and of poor quality due to presence of insects in it," the report said. The irregularities in supply of pulses was brought to the notice of vigilance sleuths by Bari MLA Debashis Naik last year. The then Women and Child Development minister Pramila Mallick resigned over the scam, the state government took action against three district (Deogarh, Mayurbhanj and Balasore) collectors".

Is it not a sorry state of affairs in this country that despite tons of evidence regarding the corruption being indulged in by "the high and the mighty", these criminals roam around the country in style with least impunity, regret and remorse? They can be rightly called the "Merchants of Death", as these unsafe foods can cause health damage and eventual mortality in the long run. Will the curse and desperation of millions of kids, who are deprived of their legitimate share of food provided from public funds, ever spare these culprits in the long run? May be the citizens in this country are no where to go except the God!

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

FOOD INDUSTRY CORRUPTION-NEW REVELATIONS

Corruption is an attractive way of amassing illegal wealth with least effort and it exists where ever human activities flourish. Normally government servants with powers to dispense favors, are blamed as fountain head of corruption and globally it is being suggested that poorer the country more corrupt is the system prevalent there. There are international agencies ranking countries on a corruption scale based on some mathematical models and most of the developing countries "score" over others in this despicable "business". But corruption in the private sector is rarely heard and it is ironical that such practices are more wide spread in rich countries with bribes reaching astronomical levels. Here is an example from a developed country where tomato industry is embroiled in wide spread corruption for gaining market advantage.

Managers and workers have admitted misbranding food, falsifying records, and "regularly ship[ping] products which, while not a health threat, contained mold count levels that were above the federal regulatory threshold, or which bore altered dates of production or other falsified product information," prosecutors say.

Industry in general has a reputation to guard and consumer confidence is bound to collapse if more and more such bribery cases surface, compromising on food safety and cheating the consumer. There could be many cases of corruption in the purchase area where collusion between the procurement personnel and the vendors can affect the bottom line of the company but as long as it does not compromise the quality or safety of the processed product, it will remain an economic issue to be sorted at the manufacturer's level. In principle corruption at any level is a reprehensible act deserving to be eradicated ruthlessly at any cost.

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

CONSUMERS CORRUPTED?-THE NEW MARKETING STRATEGY

There is no quarrel with the market strategists that their task is to lure customers for the products churned out by their company. But the means they employ to better the bottom line of the financial health of their masters may often conflict with the principles of ethics. The latest is the attempt to rope in house wives for product promotion by many food industry giants through blogs published by them. Of course there cannot be any bar on any blogger promoting a product as long as the opinion is not for financial gain and at least in the US guidelines are being framed for advertising on the blogs to prevent such ethical questions being raised.

"But recently, these bloggers say, food companies have upped the ante, bombarding them with free trips to corporate kitchens and mountains of edible swag. Starbucks, eager to get working parents drinking its Via instant coffee, sent limousines to shuttle bloggers in New York City for a private lunch with executives. They left with bags stuffed with coffee and offers of bottomless future refills. Fast-food purveyor Taco Bell flew a group of bloggers from Maryland, Michigan and Missouri to California for a retreat this spring, paid for their lodging and let them spend the day creating new taco and burrito concoctions. Kraft Foods curried favor with mommy bloggers by bringing some to Los Angeles for the Grilled Cheese Invitational, in an effort to get online parents hungry for cheese. The rationale is pure economics. The food industry -- from restaurants to supermarkets and manufacturers -- has seen sales slide during the recession and is looking for new ways to reach customers. And the people online they want are parents".

If what is being done by the industry is not crass corruption of the consumer, what else it is? After all blogs are meant to share the views and experiences of people in different walks of life and it can be a powerful tool for education if properly harnessed. As far as India is concerned, this may not be an issue because blogging is relatively a minor activity with a small audience but with computer usage and broadband access gaining popularity it may still become a powerful medium for communication.

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