Use of Opium to season food preparations-Latest food scare in China

It is not easy to forget the greatest food fraud in China which occurred a few years ago killing and maiming hundreds of unsuspecting children after consuming baby foods made from milk adulterated with the toxic Melamine, a polymer material used in varnishes. Unfortunately the fraudsters are still alive and kicking in that country with the government, though considered a totalitarian regime, not able to do much to weed them out from the society. Latest scandal to emerge involves use of the intoxicant Opium to season some of the food preparations served in reputed restaurants. Opium in limited quantities are used to treat certain disease conditions but for a normal person to consume it regularly is unthinkable as this opioid is a habit forming one.making customers addicts.  Here is a take on this unfortunate episode reported recently from China.

"Thirty-five restaurants in China selling popular dishes and snacks were found to have used opium poppies as a seasoning, China's top food safety regulator said. Owners of 25 of the restaurants have been transferred to public security departments for criminal investigation, the China Food and Drug Administration said last Thursday. The other 10 are under investigation by the administration. The restaurants include some that are locally well known, including Huda Restaurant in Beijing, which specialises in spicy crayfish. Adding opium poppies to dishes violates China's Food Safety Law, which forbids the selling of food made with non-food materials or chemicals, except for food additives. Violations could result in fines or criminal penalties. The regulator called on local food and drug authorities to punish those involved and to cooperate with public security departments to find the sources of the poppies. It also required food and drug authorities to intensify supervision and inspection of restaurants that sell food like fried chicken and noodles. Professor of food safety and nutrition Luo Yunbo, at the China Agricultural University, said opium causes addiction and serious harm to health if overused, and it is banned from use in food in China. "There are so many restaurants in China and it is very difficult to effectively inspect every one of them to ensure they follow the law," he said."

What is galling is that irrational statements are being made regarding the impossibility of preventing such malpractices in the catering sector. Is it not the responsibility of the State to give protection to its citizens whatever may the cost or difficulties? What are the food safety personnel doing there if they cannot discharge their surveillance responsibility and why the government is soft on these criminals, instead of putting them in jails for long terms besides confiscating their properties? Though only 35 restaurants in Beijing so far have been found to be delinquents, this practice might be widespread through out the country because of the long term gains these eateries will have by making their regular customers more and more addicted to their food preparations! It is regrettable for any one to obfuscate by saying such practices can be weeded out only through education which presupposes that those indulging in such practices are innocent and illiterates! No doubt food safety surveillance is a heavy responsibility on all governments but showing helplessness is nothing but abdication of their duty of protecting the citizens through convincing and trust inspiring action.  

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

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

The "Authority"-Raking up old "mantra" with no seriousness will not solve food safety mess!

How can one help from "throwing up" reading the latest "blah, blah" put out by the FSSAI? Till some lowly food inspector in a remote area in UP raised the safety of the noodles made by a  global manufacturer, reams of paper, number of days of telecasting time have been wasted condemning the MNC for its deliberate strategy to poison the Indian citizens by adding tons of MSG and Lead in their products! Now that FSSAI has "sent" a Rs 1700 cr spending plan to the government, one naturally must ask the logical question as to what this Authority has been doing so far except more and more bureaucratization of its functions, strengthening its own pleasure deriving office infrastructure and disbursing perks to its "committee" members. One of the four areas it wants to increase is its manpower, (read, more bureaucrats) while the existing staff itself is practically doing nothing leaving inspection, sampling, testing and prosecution to the terribly understaffed and poorly paid state machinery! Do they have no shame left, being responsible for the mess we see to day in this country vis-a-vis food quality and safety? Poor Prime Minister! It is a tragedy that he is depending on these "babus" to realize his dream of "make in India" a reality in the food sector also. Read below to realize what dreams FSSAI has through its latest mantra which is nothing but the proverbial "old wine in new bottle"!

"Days after the recall of Maggi Noodles from India highlighted glaring gaps in the food regulatory structure, the Health Ministry has sent a Rs 1,700-crore proposal to the Union Cabinet for a sweeping revamp. According to sources, the proposal focuses on four main areas: strengthening the state inspection apparatus, bolstering the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's manpower, giving the FSSAI more powers and ensuring that the authority has access to state-of-the-art technology. "We have sent a proposal to the Cabinet to increase FSSAI's manpower, both technical and field staff, and make sure that it has at its disposal the latest technologies in its laboratories," a senior official in the Health Ministry told The Indian Express. "Currently, it (FSSAI) is a rudimentary set-up. In fact, 16 states do not even have a food testing laboratory. The actual increase in staff strength will have to be worked out once the proposal is passed because revamping the state food safety set-up is a very important part of the plan," he added. An investigation by The Indian Express this month had revealed a number of shortcomings in the country's food safety apparatus — at the Centre and states — including lack of staff, technology and accreditation for most state labs. Last week, Tata Starbucks said it was "suspending" some ingredients from its outlets after that products used by the company and a number of other top brands, such as Kellogg's and Venky's, figured on a list of around 500 rejected products prepared by the national food safety regulator. The official, meanwhile, stressed that that revamp was not connected to the recent controversy surrounding the recall of Nestle's popular instant noodles after lab tests showed unsafe levels of lead in some samples. "The restructuring of FSSAI has been in the works for long. It has got nothing to do with the recall of Maggi Noodles or whatever has happened since then," the official said. Sources said that the FSSAI currently has its own staff deployed in only five cities across the country, leaving the checking of imported foods mostly to state authorities and, at times, even to Customs officials. Sources said the proposal would pump Rs 1,700 crore into the food safety administration apparatus over the next few years. "A very important part of the plan is to hire more experts. At present, scientific work is mostly outsourced to committees formed for the purpose. For example, FSSAI has formed an 11-member expert committee to look at salt, sugar and fat content of Indian foods and recommend acceptable levels," sources in the ministry said."

While this Blogger is not holding any brief for noodles, the way the manufacturer was treated shabbily and recklessly by the governments at the state and central levels, by motivated "revelations", damaging statements and serious insinuations will send "shivers" through the global investors even if they have any remote plans to invest in Indian food sector! The belated discovery that noodles is a junk food, soft drinks are poisons and many products from big industrial players are not healthy can only reflect on the poor planning and governance in this country. Is India becoming a "banana republic" as being perceived by some or is it a "macho" image the present government is trying to send across? Whatever it is, enough damage has been done to the reputation of the country and it is going to take lot a of time to "repair" this self inflicted wound and restore our credibility across the globe.

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

BUSINESS CAN BE A "BINDING FORCE"-THE "PULSE" AGREEMENT

A hungry China is a sure bet for good business for many developed countries as the Chinese foreign exchange holdings are very high sufficient to pay for import of goods required by the population there. USA and Canada are two countries which produce lot of excess agriculture crops including food which are more than that required by their population. Interestingly pulses are never a significant part of neither American nor Canadian diets but still commodities like dry peas and Lentils are produced in these two countries most of which need to be exported. Chinese is also not a legume consuming country and the recent agreement for China to import legumes from Canada is therefore surprising. Here is a take on this new bon homie between Canada and China. 

"We've been told China is a hungry country looking for partners to help feed it. Canada, a country heavily dependent on exports, is emerging as an important player in this quest. China has the ways and means to pay its bills, and represents a superb opportunity for North American farmers. It's becoming increasingly aggressive in wanting to sign food-related deals with the western world. Although it claims to be about 95 per cent self-sufficient in grains, its agricultural trade deficit grew by almost 50 per cent last year, as its population grows interested in an increasingly varied and healthy menu. Among its new interests are pulses — peas and lentils among them, which despite having been around forever are becoming renowned for their exceptional nutritional benefits. Canadian farmers grow the world's best pulses, and last year Pulse Canada, the progressively minded commodity group representing these crops, began collaborating with the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association to pursue new product development using pulses. Pulse Canada says Canadian and Chinese researchers are now working together to introduce pulses into Chinese staple foods such as noodles, steamed breads and dumplings, as well as snack foods and meat products. Last week, Canada and China signed a new memorandum of agreement — in which education, agriculture, science and technology were specifically mentioned — to increase the connection between the two countries, opening even more doors for development as the two countries drive toward a potential free-trade agreement. At the signing of the memorandum, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the rapidly increasing commercial, cultural and scholastic ties between our two countries are creating new jobs and economic growth. Indeed, this is a hot market and a growth area that Canada does not want to miss."

One is reminded of the historic attempts in the past by the US in expanding wheat consumption in Asian countries like Korea so that the surplus wheat production can be exported to these countries. Organizations like the Wheat Associates were conspicuous by their promotional activities in countries like India till recently and to day wheat has become a standard item in the menu of many erstwhile rice eating nations. Same is happening in legumes also and the presence of agencies representing the growers in the US and Canada are working over time to find markets for their pulses in these places. The unfortunate aspect of this development is that the imported pulses compete directly with domestic produce and with heavy subsidies received by the farmers in these countries the market price for the imported pulses are invariably much less than that of the local produce. China may well aware of these implications while operationalizing the bilateral agreement.

V.H.POTTY

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