Adulteration of foods-Is it rampant in India?

Look at a recent report by the FSSAI about the food safety in the country. Uttar Pradesh "shines" in one area of activity, that is in manufacturing and marketing spurious foods among all the states! What is galling is that this food safety body is publishing such data after getting it "collected" from the states which have the constitutional responsibility to ensure that only clean and safe foods are marketed within their boundaries. What does a laymen understand from such bland figures "released" by the food safety watchdog routinely every once in a while, probably to convince its bosses that it is doing a great job? Passing the buck is a favorite game with babus in the state and central governments since no hard questions are asked and no accountability is demanded. However responsibility for the sorry state of affairs vis-a-vis the consequences Indian population are suffering from, must be squarely laid on the doors of the governments at Delhi as well as in the states. Is it not interesting that the figures referred to pertain to only number of samples found to be adulterated while the sample size has not been mentioned which only can say how effective the vigilance regime is in the country. According to FSSAI the state governments pick up about 60000 samples an year from the 8 million retail outlets spread across the country and normally finds about 20% are adulterated. The million dollar question that begs for an answer is whether the samples picked up really represent the quantum of production in the country. The extent of "rampant" adulteration as being claimed is contained in the following report. 

Food adulteration the state is the second highest in the country. As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority in India, 1,458 food samples were found to be adulterated, unsafe and misbranded in the state. Uttar Pradesh with 4,119 failed food samples has the poorest record. Health Department officials said except certain fruits, most food items in the state were found adulterated. Milk products, cheese, ghee, tea, bottled water, chillies, garlic, turmeric and black pepper are some of the food items that are usually found adulterated in the state. Harmful chemicals are reportedly found in numerous food items and adulteration is rampant as the Health Department doesn't conduct frequent checks. Shopkeepers too promote such products in a bid to make a killing," said a Health Department official. He further said the highest percentage of milk samples fail in the state with the rate having doubled from 22 per cent to 44.3 per cent last year. On Friday, the Bathinda police raided a factory that mixed fake ghee with desi ghee. Similar incidents have also been reported in other parts of the state. There are also reports of pulses and apples being coloured with harmful chemicals. Commissioner of Food Safety, Hussan Lal, said the government had devised a mechanism wherein a person with a particular quantity of milk would be given a licence to sell. "Similarly, 50 designated food safety officers have been deployed across the state. Soon, their number will be raised to 60," he said. Lal further said they would focus on active surveillance to stop the sale and manufacture of adulterated food.

Though there is no unanimity regarding the quantity of processed foods manufactured in India since production estimates are not being put out after the eclipse of the erstwhile DGTD, one can get a fairly good idea looking at various raw materials being processed in the country. According such data, only 2.2% of fruit and vegetables go through the hands of the processing industry while the corresponding figures for milk, meat and poultry are 35%, 21% and 6% respectively. But when it comes to value of production by the processing industry, the estimated out put is valued at $ 300 billion or Rs 21000 lakh crore. With such a gigantic sized manufacturing base can picking up 60000 samples for testing is really sensible? This is a total sham in the name of food safety and how can any citizen get any confidence on the governments commitment to protect him? If the total number of "inspectors", the vital cogs in the safety monitoring regime, is not more than 1000 under the control of state governments the present sampling just works out to 60 samples a year by each inspector, height of inefficiency measured under any yardstick regarding their performance. The present system needs complete overhauling so that the safety management has at least 10000 inspectors and their efficiency is raised to at least half a dozen samples a day. Can India do it? Let us hope governments will wake up to this urgent need without losing more time.   

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

Who will protect the consumer in India? Food fraudsters are having a free run!

There are thousands of food products manufactured and marketed in India and they are supposed to be conforming to the quality and safety standards prescribed by the relevant authorities set up by the government of India under the food safety act originating in 2006. However there is a lot of slip between the cup and the lips, meaning the concerned laws are just toothless paper tigers giving practically no protection to the citizen. Though our food standards are second to none when it comes to many of its legal provisions, it is the enforcement regime that is woefully inadequate, allowing the food fraudsters unhindered freedom to adulterate the food with no fear of retribution. Lack of adequate infrastructure, acute shortage of qualified and experienced personnel and a tortoise paced judiciary all combine to make the system practically redundant with no hope of redemption. Though some consumers, conscious about the dangers inherent in foods consumed in the country, desire to take proactive steps to bring the culprits to books, there is very little chance they will be able to do so because of the inherent weakness of the present system. Read further below to understand why the government cuts a sorry figure when it comes to enforcement of the food laws in this country.    

"Government agencies may be making tall claims of protecting consumer rights, particularly in case of food products, but the existing legal provisions expose how people are at the mercy of retailers and state agencies to get justice when they suspect a product to be unsafe or adulterated. According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, the consumer has to inform the retailer that he is buying the product for testing and he must take a receipt. Consumer activists and even officials said in all probability, retailers would refuse to sell products in such cases. Pointing out how such provisions are impractical to implement, Suresh Misra, professor of consumer affairs at Indian Institute of Public Administration, said, "The minute a consumer says why he is buying the product, no retailer will sell the item. This is despite the fact that the retailer won't be held responsible for any defect in the product."  He added that government agencies should be proactive and pick up samples regularly for testing rather than expecting consumers to do this. "You can imagine how government departments have not even used the legal provisions. 19 years since the Consumer Protection Act came into existence with provision for 'class action', such a complaint was filed for the first time only last week," Misra said. Even FSSAI officials admitted that provisions in the present act do not encourage consumers to pursue cases. The act says after getting a sample from the retailer, the purchaser has to take the product to the food analyst. "Then the consumer is again at the mercy of the food analyst. It's up to him to undertake the test promptly or cite some reason or the other to delay the test even after taking the requisite fees," a senior FSSAI official said. Subsequently, the food analyst shall forward the report to the "designated officer", who takes a final decision for prosecution. Sources said the proposed amendments to the Act may address such 'impractical' provisions. Meanwhile, the consumer affairs department in its proposed consumer protection law has tried to address some of the concerns by bringing failure of a retailer to provide receipt of any purchase under the provision of "unfair trade practice". Moreover, once consumers report complaints to the proposed Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the agency will carry out raids, seize items and conduct investigations. However, in case of food items that fall under FSSAI Act, the CCPA will forward its investigation report to the food regulator seeking action against the violator."

Imagine the frustration the citizens can have when, knowing well that they are being cheated day in and day out in the market place, they just become a part of the helpless community which can only watch the tamasha going on in the name of food safety! The public complaint system touted by the government for identifying culprits is a sham as illustrated by the above report. Interestingly the large supermarkets coming up in urban areas are supposed to ensure sale of clean, quality foods with assured safety but whether they are really dong it is a million dollar question. If these mega players are really sincere they should have a product return system under which any consumer can bring back the product if not satisfied and exchange the same for a good product. Alas, this is not happening in India though there are a few who accept returned products, if apparently they look like damaged but not based on quality complaint if the pack is opened at home! Probably there is no alternative to government expanding its vigilance net work several fold to instill some sense of fear among the fraudsters.Will this happen any time sooner? One can only hope that better sense will prevail!  


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

Nutrition policy- Lack of it pushing India deep into health insecurity?

For quiet some time nutritional pundits have been warning the political class in India that too much obsession with supplying cereals to the poverty ridden population in the country cannot save them from debilitating health disorders due to inadequate consumption of protective foods like proteins, micro nutrients and fruits and vegetables. It is true that these critical nutrient sources are far too expensive compared to calorie supplying foods like rice. Even favoring rice over wheat or coarse cereals which are much more healthy, is a foolhardy policy from both health and agricultural perspectives. Paddy cultivation is a water intensive process and returns in terms of nutrition are not commensurate with the inputs. The so called Food Security Act about which the successive governments are tom-toming can only bring about a sustenance regime capable of preventing deaths due to gross hunger. There are some bright spots in this abysmal scenario in some states where egg, milk, pulses etc are offered at affordable cost. But these are far and few incapable of making any national impact. Here is another warning coming from a renowned nutrition expert about this fallacy being perpetuated by the government in Delhi. 

"The current nutritional status in India is the result of policy deficit in several critical nutrition-related issues and lack of implementation even where policies exist,  Veena S Rao, adviser to Karnataka Comprehensive Nutrition Mission (KCNM), has said. Speaking at the 47th national conference of Nutrition Society of India (NSI) here on Friday, Veena said, "Food and agriculture are logistically related to nutrition. India does not have a national food policy per se but it does have a policy and mission for public distribution and making food grains accessible and affordable to the poor. Recently, the Food Security Act (FSA) has been superimposed upon the public distribution system (PDS). But both PDS and FSA primarily address subsistence and not nutritional security." She observed, "The present food policy emphasises on distribution of cheap rice under PDS as against the more nutritive wheat, coarse grains etc. It is increasing under-nutrition and micro-nutrient deficiency and also led to a shift in agricultural patterns."

It is a mad situation where citizens have to pay a price of more than Rs 150 per kg of any pulse which normally contains about 23% protein. There was a time when pulse was the most affordable protein source to low income and vegetarian population and if there is price distortion happening now, where can these people go for their protein needs? Per unit of protein, milk protein costs a prohibitive Rs 600 per kg, egg protein costs about Rs 600 per kg and meat protein may cost any where from Rs 1200-Rs 2400! Pulses provide proteins at a cost of Rs 400 per kg not much cheaper than milk or egg proteins in to day's market situation! Is it not a distortion which will have serious implications on the health of a significant percentage of population who cannot afford the protein foods because of economic considerations? Why is that India during the last 25 years, in spite of a series of pulse and oil seed missions, devouring crores of public exchequer money, not able to alleviate the shortages of these commodities, necessitating imports worth billions of dollars year after year? The situation is getting bad to worse with no far sighted vision evident among the present day policy makers. Why is that we continue to subsidize crops like sugar cane, tobacco, coffee, arecanut etc while not doing enough for pulses and oil seeds? A million dollar question that does not seem to bother any body in this country! 

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

How India messed up the Maggi episode! Is there no accountability for the rashness of the state apparatus?

The consumer affairs minister has been recently bragging that India has demolished the "Goliath" like Nestle after filing a damage suit for Rs 600 plus crores after the Maggi noodle was unceremoniously banned by another foolish government agency FSSAI. Where is the sanity gone when such reckless steps are taken by government babus and ministers, in the name of consumers who are being harassed by food adulterators and fraudsters roaming around the country freely without any fear or retribution? Targeting reputed manufacturers like Nestle for "teaching" a lesson is just madness and counter productive. Hear what the Mumbai High court said to day about natural justice not being done by the government agencies, which are drunk with power but not accountable in any way! Read how the government is bragging about its "achievement" and one cannot help feeling a sense of dismay at these developments.

India is suing the Swiss food giant Nestlé for nearly $100 million, two months after banning the company's Maggi noodles for what Indian officials said were dangerously high levels of lead. The government announced Wednesday that it has filed a suit against Nestlé, seeking damages from the Indian arm of the company for "unfair trade practices," AFP reported.  Nestlé expressed its "disappointment" over the complaint in a statement, saying in part, "Nestlé India maintains the highest standards of food quality and safety in the manufacture of all its products." This case represents the first time India's Consumer Affairs Ministry has charged a company before the quasi-judicial National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, reports the Economic Times of India.  "For the first time, the government has filed a class action suit against Nestlé India to send a strong message to companies that they cannot sell sub-standard products in the country and put consumers' health at risk," said an unnamed Economic Times source. In their petition, the ministry charged that Nestlé misled consumers with claims that Maggi instant noodles were healthy, and noted that their packaging claimed "no added MSG," but that government officials found levels of monosodium glutamate well in excess of legal limits.

Now that government has received a rap on its knuckles from the judiciary, will it learn any lesson from this episode? Very unlikely! There are hundreds of claims made by different manufacturers with no scientific evidence and these are ignored by the very same government to the perils of the consumers. How one can justify the claim that a brand of beverage can increase height, brain power, stamina etc of children and such claims are aired day in and day out on the electronic media through saturated and disgusting commercials! It is beyond common sense as to why government has cherry picked on Nestle only? If the out come of this sordid saga goes in favor of Nestle, who will pay for millions of rupees lost by this company because of the action of a few bureaucrats. Is it not natural justice that those responsible for bringing down the image of the country is punished severely? Any reparations to be paid eventually must be booked to the officials and politicians who were behind this reckless episode.  

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

Solar energy farms in dessert regions-A novel strategy to co-generate bio-fuel

Solar energy is one of the most researched areas of renewable sources of power and in the last one decade lots of investments have been made in erecting solar panels in all countries, especially tropical ones with maximum exposure to sun light. China to day stands tall among all developing countries and even outpaces many wealthy countries in making cheap solar panels and producing huge quantum of power through them. In India also the present government, after waking up to the real potential of solar energy has substantially enhanced its target to produce solar power across the country. Though cost wise solar power may not be in a position to out-prize conventional energy from fossil fuels, hydroelectric or coal, progressive lowering of prizes of solar panels is bringing it almost on par with them. If scientists from an American University are to be taken seriously, millions of hectares of desert land that sprawl across all the continents, are right candidates for setting up giant sized "solar farms" that can generate solar power plus bio-energy materials which can be very attractive to potential investors. Here is a take on this exciting development which deserves attention by the authorities in India.

"Solar farms that would "co-locate" carefully selected crop plants between rows of photovoltaic panels might produce an energy "win-win" yield of electricity and biofuel, researchers at Stanford University say. Computer models suggest the solution is ideal for sunny and arid regions in the U.S. Southwest, they say. "Co-located solar-biofuel systems could be a novel strategy for generating two forms of energy from uncultivable lands: electricity from solar infrastructure and easily transportable liquid fuel from biofuel cultivation," Stanford postdoctoral researcher Sujith Ravisays. Ravi and environmental Earth system science professors David Lobell and Chris Field are conducting the research at the university's Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Solar farms create electricity out of sunlight, but a supply of water is needed to wash dust from the solar panels to make sure they run at maximum efficiency. To minimize the spread and buildup of dust, the ground around the photovoltaic panels is also kept moist with water. Desert-tolerant plants planted between and underneath the panels could use the excess water running off the panels, and as they grow could anchor the soil, cutting down on the problem of dust. Such a system could allow solar farms to operate with reduced water needs, Ravi says. "It could be a win-win situation," he says. "Water is already limited in many areas and could be a major constraint in the future. This approach could allow us to produce energy and agriculture with the same water." Not just any crop would be appropriate, the researchers acknowledge, and food crops in particular are not well-suited to arid desert regions. However, there is perfect candidate crop well-suited to the inhospitable environment, they say: Agave. The prickly plant, known to most people as the source of tequila, thrives on poor soil and high temperatures in its native North and South America. Tequila aside, they say, it can be a source for liquid ethanol, which as a bio fuel can be blended with gasoline or operate as a sole source of power for ethanol vehicles. For that purpose it's even better than many food crops already being used as biofuel stock, Ravi says. "Unlike corn or other grains, most of the agave plant can be converted to ethanol," he says".

Though the scientists have excited the whole world with their computer generated model studies, it is not known whether any experimental solar farms is working any where presently. Agave is a fructose rich plant used extensively in South America to produce the alcoholic beverage Tequila and this has amply demonstrated its ability to produce ethanol which is the most commonly accepted bio fuel in the world to day. What is to be proven is whether Agave plant can grow with high productivity in all deserts in the world. Setting up solar plants in desert also needs some water for keeping the panel surface free of dust for maximum photo voltaic efficiency and despite the computer simulation offering some hope for future co-generating solar farms, imponderable ground conditions will have to be assessed before such farms become a reality.

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

Indian food industry ranks first in unsafe foods globally-What a flattering tribute!

Where lies the truth vis-a-vis the Maggi row which recently provided much comic entertainment to the whole world? There are several questions that arise out of this sorry mess created by the safety agencies at the state and central level. Is the manufacturer of Maggi noodles really guilty, willfully or otherwise? How is that the very same noodle passes the safety test in one state while it failed in another one? Is Maggi noodle the only culprit in the food industry landscape of the country in violating the food standards as laid down by the safety authorities? How serious is the problem of unsafe foods flooding the Indian market? In spite of 68 years of independence, has India failed as a responsible country in protecting its citizens from the dangers of unsafe and hazardous food products being bought day in and day out by the innocent consumers across the nation? Is Indian food industry so irresponsible to market unsafe foods in spite of the established brand reputation some of them enjoy? Are the multinational companies have diluted standards for internationally famous brands when they are manufactured in the country? Has the government no responsibility in ensuring that the citizens are provided clean and safe water and air? Is the safety authority only obsessed with reputed brands and big companies, most of them managed by desi managers and trying to score brownie points by finding fault with their products while millions of small fries with no brand image to protect are allowed to get away with products of inconsistent quality and doubtful safety? Government at Delhi must answer these questions before finger pointing at one product out of millions of them produced and marketed in the country to day. According to the admission of the national safety agency itself, India is a haven for adulterated, sub-standard and unsafe foods, even beating China, considered so far as the world capital of adulterated foods!  Here is a commentary on this sorry state of affairs vis-a-vis working  (or morbidity?) of Indian food safety agencies.    

"The country's packaged food industry is hobbling from a domino effect after the Maggi mess blew the lid off flaws in safety checks, inadequate information on labels and the lack of a uniform national protocol for laboratory tests of products. The raging row over Nestle's popular instant noodle reconfirmed shortcomings in the country's food safety network as data from the central Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) shows about 13% of the 2.4 lakh various product samples had failed lab tests since 2011. This makes India the number one country in terms of unsafe food, followed by China where 9.9% of the tested samples failed to meet prescribed standards. The enormity of the problem can be gauged from the global average of failed tests that ranges from 5 to 6%, according to quality monitoring organisation Food Sentry.

The state-wise breakup is even more alarming with Madhya Pradesh (40%) and Uttar Pradesh (36%) leading the count in 2013-14. It's not surprising then that the Maggi crisis began in Uttar Pradesh, where inspectors are regularly on the lookout for adulterated foods.
The FSSAI data also shows misrepresentation on labels of food packets. Consumers remain in the dark about ingredients and nutrition facts of a product because of inappropriate labeling, says Amit Khurana, food safety and toxin unit head at the Centre for Science and Environment.

"Every ingredient of a food product should be clearly mentioned on the pack with the quantity of each element and in comparison with the recommended daily allowance. Easy to understand and easy to read front-of-pack labeling should be adopted," he says."

What makes this story more sordid and disgusting is that these statistics are derived from a minuscule number of samples from the market and the story would have been gut wrenching if statistically significant number of samples representing the real quantity of products manufactured by different sub-sectors of the industry were analyzed! According to a recent report from the US the extent of rejection of Indian foods exported to that country has increased phenomenally during the first 5 months of this year due to indifferent quality and safety violations. One can only sympathize with our poor Prime Minister who is exhorting the industry in this country to boost the image of India made products through his "Make in India" campaign. Unless there is massive shake up of the food safety agencies and dramatic infusion of funds for elevating the level of performance by the field staff and testing laboratories through vastly upgraded and expanded infrastructure, Indian citizen is destined to be at the mercy of unscrupulous food fraudsters and criminals, endangering the lives of 1.3 billion people inhabiting this country. 

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

Soda market moving to India? Latest investment on soft drinks in Hyderabad

When we are being bombarded with the Prime Minister's pet theme of "Make in India", day in and day out, there was great hope that products identified for manufacture, both for domestic and export consumption would be highly relevant to the country's needs. Of course the relevance of a product is determined by factors like consumer demand, environmental hazard, health implications, employment generated, water exploitation, farmer linkages etc. By no stretch of imagination manufacture of soft drinks can fit into this bill but if current trend is any indication foreign investors will invest only if they have a market for their products, rightly so.  Is soft drink an item of consumption that must be encouraged in our country when world over these products are being condemned for their empty calories and vulnerability of consumers to a host of diseases including CVD, blood pressure, kidney ailments, obesity, diabetes etc ? Recent report coming from Andhra Pradesh claiming that an MNC is investing in that state on a piece of land measuring 85 acres of government land for setting up a mega bottling plant is indeed disturbing. Should India be rolling red carpet to such investors who have very little regard for the well being of the citizens in this country? It is difficult to justify or rationalize this industry as the highly automated plant is unlikely to provide much employment or earn any foreign exchange! Here is a take on this paradox that is happening in front of our eyes with all and sundry paying obeisance to the dollar lord!   

"For the past 25 years, PepsiCo has been investing in the Indian economy and its people. As we move forward into our next 25 years, that commitment is stronger than ever. This plant is an investment in India's bright future," said Nooyi. Spread across 86 acres, the first line of the plant started manufacturing on Friday. When it becomes fully operational, it would benefit nearly 33,000 farmers thanks to local sourcing of mangoes and other fruits, Nooyi said. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said local sourcing of mangoes would immensely benefit the region economically. Complimenting the Sri City management for attracting dozens of companies to set up shop there, Naidu said it could become India's largest industrial park in 10 years. The PepsiCo plantwill manufacture fruit juice-based drinks, carbonated soft drinks, and sports drinks, among other beverages. PepsiCo has deployed state-of-the-art technologies with an emphasis on production efficiencies, environment protection and safety. The plant will be PepsiCo's most water-efficient beverage plant in India and the firm aims to procure LEED certification for this facility, company officials said. a LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. It is developed by the US Green Building Council. PepsiCo has a large manufacturing facility, with seven production lines in Telangana to cater to the markets of the undivided Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka. The company, which has 22 brands in its product portfolio comprising food and beverages, has annual retail sales of about $1 billion. Sitting on a land bank of 8,000 acres, Sri City currently houses 106 companies employing 25,000 directly The GVK group plans to set up a hospital, medical college and a research centre at Sri City with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore, according to officials."

Andhra Pradesh government which is bending backwards to please the MNC seems to be forgetting what happened in Kerala years ago when the people of Plachimeda, a small hamlet in that state where a similar bottling plant was allowed to be set up led to one of the most virulent opposition campaigns India has ever seen against the corporate investor. Besides over exploiting water resources, the spent water polluted the area heavily causing many problems to the local population and thanks to people's power the bottling plant was forced to be shut down once for all. Interestingly the investors in A.P are using sugar coated words like employment generation, benefiting the farmer, high technology, research and innovation etc to mislead the government. It is difficult to imagine how farmers are going to benefited if the major product made is flavored sugary water, though there is a sprinkling of fruit based but sugar sweetened drinks containing traces of natural fruit solids! Unhealthy products like potato chips, fried and heavily salted extruded snacks etc are going to be the major part of the turn over expected from this factory. There is not even a single healthy product in the portfolio of products churned out by this company justifying conferring so much favors on it. If this is the forerunner of things to come under the "make in India" slogan, where is this country going to end up? God save the country!

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

How does Indian food safety vigilance compare with that of USA?

If number of violations and indictments for the same in the food safety area is compared between the US and India, probably we may get some solace that this country is in a better position, especially if health damages from such foods are kept in view. But scratching the surface further, we can realize that such solace is totally out of place because of massive deficiencies in our data base and relatively tough "bellies" Indians have, practically immune to many infectious food borne pathogens. There are neither regular inspections, nor massive product calls nor fast indictment of violators in our country. Can we say with any degree of confidence that any food or water consumed in our country is safe as measured by international standards? Take for example our water supply systems in metro areas. There is no city or town in the country which can assure its citizens that its so called protected water delivery system can pass the safety test where as in a country like the US even water from a toilet tap is relatively safe! Recently there has been some move by the law makers in the US to bring about further improvements in the safety vigilance system there which is commendable. Here is a take on this new initiatives being attempted to overhaul the food inspection machinery that is operating in that country.

"U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the number of food facility inspections it performs and deal out greater fines to facilities found to have unsanitary conditions. He also called for an "easily accessible, real-time" source of information for restaurants and consumers who want to know about the conditions of the facilities that produce or warehouse their food.According to a press release from Schumer's office on Monday, in 2014, FDA cited more than 90 food warehouses and other facilities around the country for unsanitary conditions, including rat infestations. Food from those facilities could pose a public health threat, Schumer said. The press release cited a number of examples of facilities that received warnings, including a Brooklyn-based food warehouse containing rodent carcasses and feces, as well as insects at a rice producer and dead mice and rats at a cookie-production facility.FDA currently inspects "high risk" food facilities once every three years, while other facilities are inspected even less often. Even facilities with minor problems should be inspected more often than once every three years, he said.
Schumer outlined a three-part plan he feels would rectify seemingly widespread problems with food facility sanitation:
    1. More inspections. Any facility with problems that merit a warning letter from FDA should be immediately categorized as "high risk." FDA should also increase the number of inspections for high-risk facilities. When facilities provide evidence that they are no longer high risk, they return to a lower classification.
    2. Searchable database of problematic facilities. Restaurants and consumers need a clearer way to tell whether or not they're receiving food from clean facilities. "The FDA should provide an easy to find, search and navigate database of these facilities and their violations on their website or through another forum FDA believes can most effectively inform consumers," the press release stated.
    3. Increased penalties for violations. For fiscal year 2015, the fees associated with re-inspections of problematic facilities were estimated at $217 per hour. That's not a heavy enough fine to encourage strict compliance with food safety regulations, Schumer said."

What is very interesting is the relatively high level of awareness about the problems of consumers vis-a-vis food safety among the law makers and the extent of their involvement in consumer protection programs of the country. In contrast our law makers, if we go by their standards of behavior in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or state legislatures, have no time for any thing but shouting, demonstrations, personal fights and many non-issues of total irrelevance to the needs of the citizen. Bills are enacted into law with hardly any discussions and implementation details are rarely worked out. To day's Food Security Act is nothing but a sham, "managed" wholly by the hardened bureaucrats with very little commitment or honest objective. In a country of scarcities in every food category and high prices, probably people may have to build dedicated temples for the "Food God" to protect them from food fraudsters and criminals with very little concern or value for the lives of ordinary people and offer prayers regularly!

V.H.POTTY

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http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Future wars-Not for land but for water and food!

Water is one of the two essential prerequisites for life, besides air, to sustain in this planet and no wonder that our space exploration efforts are to find habitable planets like ours where these two are available. it is another matter that more than 100 years of space exploration has not yielded any positive result so far keeping in abeyance our dreams of colonizing outer space in the foreseeable future. Down to the earth, what is happening to these two natural resources? Water is drying up every where and air is being polluted beyond our tolerance limits. While water supply and harnessing are going on for millions of years in the human history, air is some thing which is inexhaustible like solar rays and the only damage man can inflict on it is to pollute it! According to weather experts, global warming, due to uncontrolled greenhouse gas emissions consequent to many human nativities including industrialization and fossil fuel burning, is changing the water dynamics causing drought and nonseasonal rains and floods across the world. It is least realized that sweet water is a definitive commodity like fossil fuels and over exploitation can.lead to scarcity and shortage at every level in this planet. There are many places which have been called "choke points" as far as water is concerned and future wars are going to be fought for access to pure water. Here is a commentary on this critical issue. 

"There's no pretending that providing secure stores of fresh water, and producing adequate supplies of energy and food is confounding the nations of Earth. In the era of climate change most of the world's prominent energy and food producing regions are either getting dryer or more hydrologically unstable. The consequence is a growing list of global choke points —the economically and ecologically disruptive confrontations over water, energy and agricultural resourcesthat Circle of Blue and the Wilson Center, our project partner, are describing all over the world. For five years the two organizations have documented the world's urgent resource choke points with uncommon depth, skill, and on-the-ground expertise. From Mongolia to China,India to Qatar, Palestine to Peru, and all across the United States and Canada, our Global Choke Point project is helping the world understand the urgency of the contest for water, energy, and food. Just as importantly, our work is identifying opportunities to build international momentum for political and pragmatic solutions"

Look at India where there are a number of water related disputes between various states and within some states between regions.The Kaveri water dispute between Karnataka and Tamilnadu is one of the oldest ones defying solution and consensus. Similarly the Idukki dam in Kerala is a flash point for two states, Kerala and Tamilnadu which also is mired in controversy. To further the water misery in the country, over exploitation of ground water has led to a situation where drilling depths are continuously increasing to get even small supply of ground water in almost all parts of the country. Then there is the pull between the industry and agriculture for accessing available water, The infamous "war for water" between the people of Plachimeda village in Kerala and a giant beverage bottling company a few years ago is still fresh in our memory. The on-going "water war" between another bottling giant and people for Narmada water is the latest reminder about such conflicts which are bound to vitiate the situation in India in the coming years. Is it not time that world wakes up to this reality and evolve a consensus regarding the best ways to utilize the existing water resources without looking for importing this precious life sustaining fluid from other planets after investing billions of dollars to just detect presence of water in any of them?
  

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com

http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Is milk unhealthy? Americans seem to think so!

Is it not a blasphemy to say that milk is unhealthy? That seems to be the views of millions of American citizens who are shunning milk as reflected by the declining consumption of this precious life saver. Why this distorted thinking? Who is responsible for developing such a thinking among American people? Why is that Americans with such high computer literacy and Internet access are not able to discern the truth that milk whether from mother or cow or any edible source is the most nutritious balanced food man has come across in his long history? Well the blame lies squarely with the health authorities in the US who have been continuously dinning into their ears of people that fat present in milk is dangerous causing a host of diseases including CVD, blood pressure, diabetes and others and how can one expect a child born 40 years ago under such an environment to shake off such a belief to day so easily! The diary industry is terribly worried that declining milk consumption is going to ruin the industry unless the milk is restored to its pedestal which it richly deserves. This is not to hold a brief for the industry which always set its sight on more and more profits, often ignoring the well being of its consumers,But truth still remains that milk's place in healthy life cannot be underestimated or belittled. Here is a take on this situation in the North America..

"As Americans continue turning away from milk, an industry group is pushing back at its critics with a social media campaign trumpeting the benefits of milk. The association says it needs to act because attitudes about milk are deteriorating more rapidly, with vegan groups, non-dairy competitors and other perceived enemies getting louder online. Julia Kadison, CEO of Milk Processor Education Program, which represents milk companies, says the breaking point came last year when the British Medical Journal published a study suggesting drinking lots of milk could lead to earlier deaths and higher incidents of fractures. Even though the study urged a cautious interpretation of its findings, it prompted posts online about the dangers of drinking milk. "I said, 'That's enough.' We can't have these headlines that 'Milk Can Kill You' and not stand up for the truth," Kadison said in a phone interview. She said MilkPEP's consumer surveys have indicated a noticeable deterioration in attitudes about milk over the past year or so, although they declined to give specific survey results. On Tuesday, the "Get Real" social media campaign will be announced at a dairy industry gathering in Boca Raton, Florida in conjunction with the National Dairy Council and Dairy Management Inc., which represent dairy farmers. The campaign is intended to drown out milk's detractors with positive posts about milk on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. Milk brands, their employees and others in the industry will post the messages and direct people to a website where they can get more information. Online ads will also tout the superiority of dairy milk over almond milk, which is surging in popularity. The campaign comes as milk's dominance in American homes continues to wane as beverage options proliferate. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people drank an average of 14.5 gallons of milk a year in 2012. That's down 33 percent from the 21.8 gallons a year in 1970. Total milk sales volume has declined 12 percent since 2009, according to market researcher Euromonitor International. One factor chipping away at milk's dominance is the growth of non-dairy alternatives. While soy milk's popularity has faded, retail sales for almond milk are estimated to be up 39 percent last year, according to Virginia Lee, a packaged food analyst with Euromonitor. Meanwhile, the USDA recommends adults get three cups of dairy a day, including options like fat-free, low-fat milk or calcium-fortified soy milk. And the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which represents nutrition professionals, is supporting the Get Real campaign and its push to underscore "the decades of research reinforcing low-fat milk as one of the most nutrient-rich beverages available." But milk's wholesome image is nevertheless being muddied by diet trends and divergent attitudes about nutrition. Many who follow the popular Paleo diet, for instance, shun dairy because people didn't drink it during the Stone Age. Animal welfare groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are also a thorn in the milk industry's side. On its website, PETA notes that "no species drinks milk beyond infancy or drinks the milk of another species" and details the cruel conditions dairy cows are often subject to."

Probably over fed Americans do not need milk because of their easy access to cheap protein foods from animals and therefore the argument that "no species on earth drinks milk from another species" may be true in theory. Similarly east Asians do not have the habit of drinking milk. But for hundreds of years in countries like India where vegetarian population is very significant, milk is the only source of proteins with high PER values, responsible for the robust health of its population since time immemorial. One big difference between India and America is that the pattern of milk consumption is totally opposite. While Indians drink fluid milk in abundance, Americans consume milk based products like cheese and frozen desserts. All said and done, milk was, is and will be world's most versatile food from a food scientist's whether Americans like it or not!

  

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com

http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

A food policy worthy for the archives!-India's food woes

Recent clashes between India and rest of the world at the Bali meeting of WTO helped us to get an insight into the problems India has been facing in the food front because of lack of objective changes in the country's food policy during the last 5 decades. According to many impartial observers the stand of India in the above meeting was not rational and it does not recognize its own deficiencies vis-a-vis policies and practices involved in food production, procurement, storage, distribution and price subsidization. It is a late realization that our existing policies need to be moth balled because they are out of sync with what is happening else where in the world, that a revamp was considered by the new government at Delhi. The panel vested with this responsibility did a commendable job within a short period of time. India's "committee culture" which has the incredulous capacity to delay taking decisions in any field, did not come in the way of completing the report in record time and  the recommendations made by them deserve speedy implementation with high priority. Here is a take on this report which provides interesting reading.

"The report makes five sensible and practical suggestions. First, get the FCI out of the business of procurement in grain-surplus states like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and shift its focus to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal. The FCI can purchase grain above its NFSA needs from surplus states, but the actual purchasing should be handled by the states themselves. Getting the FCI out of direct procurement is a good idea and it's not clear why pushing it into procurement in the eastern states is desirable. It would be better to build procurement capacity in eastern states and help fuel another green revolution. Second, the report pushes for a national warehousing system under a PPP model to reduce wasteful storage and transport costs. Farmers can deposit their produce at these warehouses and receive up to 80 per cent of the MSP value of this produce from banks — and then sell it later at market prices. This will be a major improvement as it would reduce storage costs and wastage. Third, the panel suggests that state bonuses be the responsibility of the states and levies be made uniform at 3 per cent. This would help avoid the costs of huge bonuses paid by the states and financed by the levies they charge the FCI to procure from their farmers. Fourth, the panel moots shifting to cash payments for inputs like fertilisers and rationalising the price of urea so that the NPK mix, which has been distorted by urea pricing, is reversed. Smuggling to neighbouring countries and other distortions caused by urea pricing would also be removed. Huge productive investments in the fertiliser sector are needed but have been held back by the absurd pricing system, which has made India even more dependent on fertiliser imports. Fifth, the panel suggests amending the NFSA and reducing the subsidised population to 40 per cent instead of the current 67 per cent. It also suggests BPL consumers get more subsidised grain — 7 kg vs 5 kg — but that the issue price be linked to MSPs, except for the very poor. Further, in cities that have a population of more than one million, fair price shops should be replaced by DBTs. If implemented, these recommendations would provide more food for the poorest population, reduce FCI costs, bring private trade back into the system and give poor urban consumers greater choice in their food basket. It will hurt labour unions that are gaming the FCI system and states that use bonuses as a political handout, which they get the Centre to pay for through levies. This would hugely reduce the massive leakages and corruption in the food chain. If India can implement these reforms in the coming years, it would also avoid unnecessary battles at the WTO. It's time to begin reforming a system that may have served us well 50 years ago but is now benefiting a few at a huge cost."

Subsidy is not a bad word when it comes to upliftment of poor people from their poverty ridden life but when such subsidies are doled out mindlessly as a part of the vote bank politics, it becomes a scandal bordering on crime and shame. It is beyond any body's comprehension as to why government must subsidize well to do citizens even for buying a cooking gas cylinder or for that matter why should subsidized food grains be given under the APL card system to people who have sufficient income to buy the same from the open market? One of the most brilliant suggestions coming from the above panel is to reduce the population coverage under the NFSA from 67% to 40% saving enormously on the total outgo on this count. Similarly the country should have a reliable data base on its citizens vis-a-vis income details, in stead the politicians trying to conduct surveys on caste and religion! To start with, all government employees, those owning a mobile phone, two wheelers, four wheelers, houses, paying IT regularly, registered business men, air travelers, higher class train travelers, etc must be taken out of the list of people eligible for receiving government subsidy. Whether the present government has the courage to do it is another matter. Unless this is done, we as a nation is going to be left behind in the global race to attain economic strength and status.

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

The great solar energy boom! Where does India stand?

Solar energy has been around for almost 35 years and it was considered a poor cousin of the cheap fossil fuel because of the extremely high cost of solar panels during early stages of development. Look at the situation to day where every country, fearful of an energy crunch in not too distant future, are falling over each other to set up large solar energy plants to generate power. One of the main reasons for this dramatic change is the fast declining prices of solar panels and their high production in countries like China and the US. The early leaders in this alternate sustainable energy quest has been the European Union which at time accounted for almost half of global capacity for production of electricity via the solar route. Time seemed to have changed with Asian countries and South American nations sparing no efforts to cash in on this boom with the result that Europeans account for only a quarter of the solar energy produced to day. This is indeed a welcome news, especially to emerging economies like India, Brazil and others which face enormous power crunch putting constraints on their developmental programs. The amazing turn around in the solar energy industry is illustrated by a report put out by market experts, excerpts of which are reproduced below.

"That's the thing about exponential growth. It doesn't look like much at first, but soon enough, you have something big enough to change the world... According to numbers compiled by Solarbuzz, the global solar photovoltaic (PV) industry only had an installed base of 5 gigawatts in 2005 - and remember, solar panels have been around for decades, so it took a long time to even get to that 5 GW - and their are forecast to end this year close to 200 GW! Talk about rapid growth! And the beauty is that we haven't seen anything yet. Look at the graphs below to get an idea of just how fast solar PV costs have been dropping: Growth should accelerate further over the next decade as solar becomes significantly cheaper than other sources of electricity, including polluting fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. What's interesting about the solar power boom is that it's not being led by a single place anymore. At first, Europe was a clear leader thanks to very generous incentives. About 10 years ago, EU countries accounted for over half of annual demand for solar PV. But lately, they've only been around a quarter of demand, with Asian countries picking up the slack, and North-America finally joining the party in a big way. But hey, this party's just getting started!"

From 2005 till to date solar power sector has surged from 5 gigawatts (gw) base to 200 gw, a 40 fold growth within a span of 10 years, fantastic measured by any yard stick. With the photovoltaic panels costing less and less further dramatic growth ahead is becoming more and more feasible. The cost per watt of photovoltaic module plummeted from a perch, about $ 20 in 1980 to less than a dollar to day! In India also solar energy is going to subsume all others within a matter of few years, Being one of the major fossil fuel importing countries in the world, India has very high incentive to go for solar energy which at presents constitutes less than 1% of the total energy generated, about 1000 mw out of 200.000 mw. Even nuclear energy produced accounts for 2% of the energy landscape of the country . With the new government's resolve to provide 24x7 electricity to every home by the year 2019, India has to use its abundant supply of sun light during 300-330 days of the year to fulfill this dream. 

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

Urban gardening-Ever possible in India?

Lot has been said, written and debated about urban gardening which is being encouraged in countries like Canada and the United States. Recently in the US state of California where urban lands are available which are not being used for building houses, incentives are being offered to encourage owners to lease them out to potential "farmers" to cultivate food crops. Specifically in the city of Los Angeles the city council has plans to allow gardening on plots of sizes varying from 0.1 acre to 3 acres to be leased out by giving the owners tax incentives in return. This trend is visible across the country and can be a win-win situation for the stake holders involved like the owners, lessees, consumers, local governments and the nation as a whole. In the US there is a peculiar situation where large tracts of land are lying vacant for the last several years after the migration of city folks to well designed communities out side the urban core areas. These vacated land plots are not being utilized and since they are substantial in terms of total acreage, schemes like the above may work to the advantage of all concerned. Here is a take on this landmark changes taking place in these countries. .  

"There are thousands of vacant, unproductive lots throughout Los Angeles," said Fuentes, who represents the 7th District, which covers the Northeast Valley. "By converting empty parcels into urban farms, we can encourage local economic development, green our communities and provide produce in neighborhoods that lack access to fresh foods." Last year, the state Legislature approved the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act, which authorized a tax adjustment for private property owners who lease land for commercial or noncommercial agriculture use for at least five years. The council members want that law implemented locally. In Los Angeles, parcels would be eligible for the tax break if they are between 0.10 and 3 acres in size, dedicated to agriculture and animal husbandry, free of dwellings not intended for agriculture or educational purposes, and located within a zone that allows for agricultural use. The Los Angeles Food Policy Council estimates that 8,600 parcels in Los Angeles would be eligible. Price, whose 9th District seat represents South L.A., said the motion would benefit residents in low-income areas like the one he serves. "Representing a food desert community, I understand firsthand the need to expand food options for our residents, Price said. "This action will help us transform underused and blighted plots of land that often attract crime into thriving green spaces, encouraging green enterprises and helping us improve the look and feel of our neighborhoods."

Sustainable environment is a compulsion to day because of rapid destruction of nature by indiscriminate industrialization and modern living style of population guzzling non-renewable fossil fuels. More than ever man is getting more and more concerned about the fate of future generations in an exhausted and unlivable world. Urban gardening and local food movements fit into the wheel of changes which yearn for a more livable and healthy world. Though WTO regime wants to make global trade hassle free with no hindrance, fact still remains that long distance haulage of food and other materials contribute enormously to global warming and the consequent undesirable changes. In India urban gardening may have limited impact as most cities are starved of the most critical input viz, water. No city in this country can assure its citizens that the water supplied to its them are safe for consumption and no city supplies adequate water sufficient even to carry out daily activities of its residents. Under these circumstances how can any urbanite ever think of sparing water to raise a garden? Of course there are sporadic reports from some small towns that individuals having their own wells are raising gardens for vegetables on available space around and on top of their houses. But to imagine this will become a significant part of our landscape may be unrealistic.

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

 

SUPER RETAILERS-ARE THEY WITHERING AWAY?

When FDI in retailing was permitted in India, every one thought that the small "pop and mom" stores would disappear from the Indian landscape. This Blogger was the one who argued that the super market chains can never compete with the unorganized retail sector in the foreseeable future, given their great resilience and personal type of service they offered to the Indian consumer. Though it is almost one and a half decades since organized retailing giants entered this business, none of them could become viable even to day! Their share in the retail market is a paltry 5% which is too insignificant to make any dent. Here comes a supporting report which talks about the decline of super markets in the UK during the last 10 years. 

"And yet a decade on, the supermarket sector is in meltdown. An overstatement? Hardly. In the cool-headed assessment of the Grocermagazine, the most authoritative voice on UK food retail, "consumers are abandoning supermarkets in their droves". Tesco, once the darling of the stock market, the government's pet performing British company, is in the most acute distress. From January to June this year, its profits crashed by 92%. Investigators have yet to plumb the depths of the big black hole in its books. Morrisons is also in a bad way – its pre-tax profit for the six months to August was halved. Sainsbury's share price has dropped. Even the supposedly trend-bucking Waitrose cannot be complacent: its profits for the first half of this year slumped by 9.4%. Overall, sales at the "big four" supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons – have been stagnant, or in decline, since last May, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. Rating agency Moody's predicts that their profit margins and sales will shrink further. Two German discount chains, Aldi and Lidl, acted as the immediate nemesis of the fat, smug, greedy status quo of British food retail. They dealt a deadly blow to our familiar chains by exposing just how expensive they really are and continue to shave grocery market share off them. Before the discounters appeared, most British consumers swallowed the attractive proposition that UK supermarkets offer unbeatable value for money. In truth, they overcharge routinely, putting a minimum 30% mark-up on everything they sell, although the most egregious margins are systematically squeezed from sales of fruit and vegetables."

One of the strongest arguments while opening the sector to FDI was that foreign players would assure about their operations being able to support poor farmers of this country. Above report speaks about the power of the super market chains to force consumers to buy only those products with high profit margins and how healthy foods like fruits are vegetables are priced sky high! While many western countries have traveled a long way to confer almost invincibility to their retail chains by spreading their wings across the country eliminating small retailers totally, now they have nothing to fall back on even if consumers want to boycott them! In that way India is blessed with almost 8 million small stores distributed evenly through out the country and discerning consumers are likely to go back to these family friendly shops once disenchanted with the mechanical approach and impersonal attitudes of the big retailers. Hail the small fellow around the corner of our house who has been providing useful grocery service in the past and will continue to do it in spite of any move by the government to bring in large players in the name of farmers and efficiency of operation.

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

INDIAN CONSUMERS WITHOUT "CONSUMER SERVICE"!

One of the oft repeated statements by the marketing pundits is " consumer is the king"! (One wonders why they have left out the queen!) But the cardinal principle involved in making a product and selling it, is that consumer acceptability and patronage can be expected to a reasonable extent. It is also a known thing that a dissatisfied consumer will never buy the same product. The free market gurus propound the theory that when there is competition consumer gets better service. But are these theoretical considerations work in India? Probably not if the following report is an indication.

"Inspite of all these healthy signs and the availability of the latest gadgets concurrently in India and the rest of the world, there is a disconcerting gap in the attitudes of companies selling the same products in these regions. In the West, for example, complaints against goods purchased are given top-most priority and most retail outlets do not have the slightest hesitation in refunding the consumer the amount he has paid for his goods or offering him an exchange in case he is dissatisfied with the product. As a rule, this facility is not easily available to the average Indian. Even though the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Government of India has stated that the mantra of "Goods once sold cannot be returned or exchanged'' is not permitted and amounts to unfair trade practice, most Indian retailers blatantly print this statement at the bottom of their cash memos and adhere to it strictly in practice. Lack of after-sales service and prompt redressal of complaints can lead to immense harassment to the unfortunate consumer who lands up buying a product which has in-built defects. Even though courts have held that a product which malfunctions within a few months of its purchase will be presumed or deemed to have a manufacturing defect, manufacturers continue to give a tough time to the consumer who buys such a product. Customers who have had the misfortune to buy a defective mobile set or a two-wheeler narrate stories of untold misery in getting the manufacturer to even acknowledge their complaints. Even when these issues are taken up by representative consumer bodies, most companies turn a deaf ear to the calls for help. In most Indian hospitals, the medical care may be world class but the post-operative care lags far behind and leaves much to be desired. Similarly, Indian consumers feel that the products they get are world class but the after-sales service is almost non-existent. With international e-tailers like Amazon, E-bay and others vying for the Indian market and news reports stating that the on-line purchase system is making inroads into the marketing and sales of goods, the problem is likely to further intensify.  It would be far easier for the consumer to fight with a face he sees in his store than an unknown post box address in Gurgaon or Noida, with call centres giving mechanical answers and unfulfilled promises of succour. Lack of laws and regulations to discipline errant manufacturers and retailers is the other major hurdle for the consumer to succeed in his attempt at getting justice in such cases". 

In that land of free enterprise, viz the US, a consumer is really a king or a queen when it comes to product servicing. any dissatisfied consumer can invariably return the product within 30 days of purchase for a full refund and this makes the purchasing decision easy for millions of consumers which may be the reason why American market place is vibrant and a consumer delight. Product servicing in India is at best a laggard affair involving hours or days of chasing the manufacturer or the retailer to get the grievances addressed satisfactorily! With the FDI in retailing now allowed in the country there are both domestic and foreign players who have set up their shops with glittering super markets and Malls, copying the picture that exists in western countries. Unfortunately these big players are the ones who do not entertain product return while the mom and pop shop near by invariably accepts returns! Why Government regulators are not taking action on these big players is a mystery.

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

HUNGRY FOR CALORIES OR HUNGRY FOR MICRO NUTRIENTS? THE GLOBAL PARADOX

What is hunger? How does one feel hunger? How can one satisfy hunger? Very complex questions eliciting different responses from different experts, each looking at this phenomenon from their own perspectives. Many administrators feel that by supplying adequate quantity of food  the problem hunger can be solved! But nutrition and health pundits do not agree with this approach because such a simplistic solution does not take into consideration the vital needs of human body vis-a-vis micro nutrients such as minerals and vitamins. Take the case of India where a misguided political class came up with the idea of a food security act to confer upon its citizens the right to access food at low cost and if the assumptions of the government are to be taken seriously, there would be no hunger when citizens are provided cereals practically free of cost. Unfortunately the hunger does not not seem to be coming down in spite of all these freebies and India ranks a lowly 120th position in the Global Hunger Index with just about 8 countries worse than it. Imagine India being worse than its neighbors like Nepal and Sri Lanka! Whether this "good achievement" is due to government efforts or through statistical jugglery is a matter of speculation. The distinction between calorie hunger and nutrient hunger makes a lot of difference as good healthy individual with maximum human productivity can be ensured only when nutrient hunger is also eradicated eventually. Here are some data released by some international agencies recently highlighting the position in India and 127 other countries which offers some clue regarding the direction India is going in dealing with hunger among its population.  

"Is it possible to have food on your plate, but still go hungry? Yes, is the answer, according to the latest Global Hunger Index, compiled by German World Hunger Aid together with the Irish aid and development organization Concern Worldwide and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). "Eight hundred million suffer from not having enough to eat, so it is quantity, it is calories," said Shenggen Fan, general director of IFPRI. "But 2 billion people suffer from lack of micronutrients." "The question is the timing, how soon the people will die. So lack of food, particularly lack of calories, can lead to death very quickly," Fan said. "But the lack of micronutrients is equally damaging."

It has to be borne in mind that India is a huge country with a large population but low income levels which restricts many of its citizens access to food whether good or otherwise and it calls for herculean effort to lift those who are still impoverished above the poverty line. How far the statistics by the government agencies can be relied upon to draw any conclusion about the extent of poverty prevalent in the country is any body's guess! Indians are known to be reluctant to share their true personal information to statisticians surveying for such data for various reasons. If one takes the example of income tax paying population in the country, almost 90% of those who qualify for IT payment escape the net by suppressing their income and never filing their returns regularly.The farming community is in distress because of the nonviable land holdings and uncertainties of weather as most of them rely on rains to raise their crops. If any tangible improvements are to be realized, land consolidation is a prerequisite which only can make agriculture an income generating avocation. Can any government do this? Do they have the courage to think in this direction leaving aside the politics of vote consolidation? Sending condolences and paying ex-gratia payments to farmers committing suicide due to unbearable debt burden cannot achieve any thing. As long as this situation does not change, India is consigned to the bottom of the GHI for decades ahead.

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