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

AWARD SYSTEM FOR EXPOSING FOOD SAFETY DEFAULTERS-NEW CHINESE MOVE

In a desperate move to improve its track record in safeguarding the health of its citizens from food fraudsters, China is mulling over the possibility of introducing a reward system for whistle blowers who report about food adulteration and fraud. How far such an "informer" system will help to reduce the the impact of the highly profitable food adulteration industry will have to be seen. With mafias and thugs firmly entrenched having linkage with powerful bureaucrats and administrators, those willing to expose them will naturally think twice fearing about their own personal safety. Nevertheless the Chinese experiment is worth watching. 

"In a latest effort to safeguard food safety, China has ordered local authorities to launch a system to reward those who provide information on food safety irregularities. In a statement issued Thursday, the Food Safety Commission under the State Council, or Cabinet, requested local governments to offer rewards to people who provide useful information in helping to protect food safety. Information on the adding of banned materials and abuse of food additives during plant cultivation, animal raising and food production will be rewarded, the commission said. Rewards will also be handed out to people who give tips on the purchase, processing and selling of birds and livestock that die of illness, as well as on the production and sale of fake food products, it added. The commission said higher rewards will be offered to those who provide information on the underground businesses involved in producing, selling or use of illegal additives or making fake and inferior food products".

In India there is a system of rewarding those who give information about smuggling and tax evasion which probably made some small impact and could not be called a success because of the dangers involved for the lives of informers. The present RTI Act also has brought out the risks involved in ferreting out vital and crucial information locked up in government offices that provides security to the corrupt people. Several RTI activists have been murdered by vested interests as there is no protection to the whistle blowers under any constitutional provision.  In China also the reward system is unlikely to be of any significance unless the identity of the informer is protected by the state.

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

ANARCHY IN FOOD SAFETY ENFORCEMENT-KARNATAKA'S INERTIA!

Karnataka seems to be over obsessed with the IT industry, relegating every thing else to the background. Otherwise why is that the required enabling infrastructure for implementation of the brand new food safety act of the Central Government is yet to be put in place?. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with a heavy bureaucratic, top heavy organization at Delhi seems to be sitting back happily after taking 5 years to enact the Act but no one at the state level has any idea as to how to go about fulfilling their obligations. While the old PFA is legally not valid any more to book food fraudsters, new dispensation is yet to take shape! In the mean time adulterators and peddlers of unsafe foods are having a field day. Look at the situation in Bangalore, proudly called Silicon Valley of India, as reported by the media recently.

The city is a veritable gastronome's paradise, serving up cuisines for every palate and pocket. At every corner, one can get a whiff of a favourite dish being cooked. The large clientele of these fast food joints, however, can never be sure if the food served is safe and prepared hygienically. And that is certainly a cause for worry. According to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) modest estimate, there are around 25,000 food outlets, excluding pushcarts, tea stalls, roadside eateries and a small percentage of darshinis. However, this is just in the core area (old Bangalore Mahanagara Palike). With the city limits extending to around 800 sq. km, BBMP sources say there could be over one lakh food outlets. The BBMP's food inspectors are supposed to collect samples from the eateries and provision stores regularly and test them to ensure that they are safe and fit for human consumption. So, how often is the food from these outlets checked? Almost never, say BBMP sources. Why? Because there are only six food inspectors in the BBMP, with one invariably on VVIP duty.

Is it not a shame that the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Service has not been able to issue the necessary guidelines on the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act so far? Such an inertia seems to be preventing the body from taking any action against retail outlets in the state selling unsafe, sub-standard and date-expired products. Recently, a leading shopping mall in the city was found to sell products, which were well past the expiry date. Prior to the Act, the food inspectors in Bangalore came under the purview of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city's municipal corporation. Already GOI took more than 5 years to pass the FSSA Bill after taking it up in the year 2006. Besides even if the rules are framed and the state begins to implement the Act, the lack of food inspectors will continue to hamper its efficient execution. Currently, there are 6 food inspectors on deputation from the health department as BBMP has only 27 inspectors for food safety. Even by its own estimate the BBMP wants 40 inspectors from the state government to oversee its 100 wards but how is it possible to cover the entire sprawling city with such meager personnel resources is not clear. One gets the unavoidable impression that neither the state government nor the BBMP is serious about tackling the menace of food adulteration and it should not come as a surprise if Bangalore's "Silicon Valley" tag is replaced by "Capital of Unsafe Foods" within a short period of time!

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

HOSPITAL OR A HOTEL?-NEW STRATEGY FOR GROWTH

Medical tourism or Health Tourism is considered a lucrative business and a country like India has great potential to attract people from other countries to provide excellent service at relatively low cost. Some of the hospitals in the country can compare very well with top ranking counterparts in the west. With medical expenses becoming too exorbitant for most people within the country, the hospital industry has to depend on foreign nationals, especially from rich countries who can afford the prevalent costs for hospitalization and required treatment regime. One of the areas that has not received attention by the hospital industry in India is the food service provided to the patients. In most hospitals food service is provided by contractors because of the reluctance of the management to get into day to day logistics of food procurement, preparation and serving. How ever most frequent complaints about hospitals relate to quality of food served, though patients do not cringe much because of their preoccupation with recovery and discharge from the hospital. A new trend is now emerging in some western countries where hospital managements are upgrading their food service portfolio that enables patients to have a high sense of satisfaction from the culinary department without costing any thing extra. This is an approach worth trying in Indian hospitals also.

"We also want to make it like part of a five star experience for our patients and part of that is quality food service. In the past we did cold, batch cooking, heated only at the point of service. It was prepared the day before. Now when a patient checks in it's much like a nice hotel where you check in, your menu is in the room, you are able to order food when you want it, what you want, and it be prepared by a trained culinary staff," said Beeker. Chef Donnell Johnson says patients can pick from a wide variety of foods. "We have pot roast. We have green beans, turkey, we have so many items that you'll want to eat. We have pizza. And so it's real exciting and the cooks are very excited about it, serving that type food," said Johnson. They can even order from the grill".

It may be a debatable point whether patients suffering from different types of afflictions will really care about the quality or the presentation of foods to them during their sojourn in a hospital. The food service in hospitals are generally tuned to design and prepare special foods under the guidance of diet experts with different patients requiring different nutritional content. Though at present catering is a supplementary line of earning, major hospitals can always make their food service a high end affair open to even the public if necessary to make it viable. Railways through their Food Plaza strategy has shown the way as to how general public can also be attracted by designing their eating establishment with access to the public besides those traveling by trains. Similarly the hospitals can also design their food outlets in such a way that general public can also patronize them. One of the major advantages the hospitals enjoy is that customers will have a better perception about their credentials in ensuring quality, nutrition, safety and health aspects of the food served by them. Hospital restaurants are also better equipped to offer "authentic" health foods for customers with different types of food related problems.

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

"ROARING" DECLARATIONS BUT MUTED ACTION!

National attention is riveted on news reports whenever they are made sensational by the media and with time, the issues raised are forgotten leaving every body "happy"! This may be true in all countries but in a country like India even news about rotting of valuable foods under the custody of the government does not evoke any revulsion amongst the population, except some bad feelings for a couple of days. Other wise it is hard to explain the lethargy on the part of the government in properly securing the surplus food grains through appropriate policies and determined action. The track record of the government whether it is NDA- led or UPA- controlled, is at best dismal in this regard as brought out by successive expose in the national media. The political parties which administered this country during the last two decades owe an explanation to the often "ignored" "aam admi" as to what prevented them while ruling the country from building adequate storage facilities for safe guarding the quality of the food procured at enormous cost. Is it not a shame that the judiciary has to intervene to indict the government for its "inexcusable" dereliction of duty by grossly mismanaging the country's food grain security? Here is another instance of total apathy to the problem by the present administrators which is indeed abominable.

Even as the Sharad Pawar-headed ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution has come under a hailstorm of criticism over rotting food grains, a Rs 7,000-crore proposal to build additional climate-controlled storage capacity has been gathering dust. Preliminary discussions are yet to take place on a July proposal to float a special purpose vehicle to build additional storage and lease capacity from private entrepreneurs. The ministry estimates that the country needs an additional storage capacity of 17 million tonnes. "As of now, we need additional storage capacity of 17 million metric tonnes," minister of state KV Thomas said. India's agricultural production has risen sharply, leaving storage capacity far behind. Currently, 87 million tonnes of grain is being stored by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC). The task of shoring up storage capacity, however, is facing two important issues. For one, the pace at which CWC is adding capacity, lags the growth in demand by a huge margin. The public sector unit plans to build 91,050 tonnes of capacity during 2009-10 and 177,300 tonnes during 2010-11. Food Corporation of India is not currently building additional capacity. FCI's efforts to spur private investment in warehousing by guaranteeing a ten-year lease period has also met with lukewarm responses. Sources in the ministry said many prospective investors are discouraged by the stringent terms and conditions. The proposal for a special purpose vehicle that can work outside the existing administrative framework and fast track the building and leasing of storage capacity took shape after a delegation from the ministry visited China in June, to study the massive strides that country has made in food storage technology. The delegation comprised of the heads of both FCI and CWC, apart from Thomas and others.

It is a shame that hordes of politicians and bureaucrats have to go on countless "jaunts" every now and then to China to marvel at this country's massive achievement in building grain storage facilities and then promptly forget about the issue after returning to the country. Recently when some critics suggested that those responsible must be "hanged" for their crime against Indians through negligence, it was deplored by the very same politicians saying that India does not have a "Kangaroo Court" system or Indians are not "Talibans" to resort to such "barbaric"way of crime punishment. But do the honest citizens of this country deserve a "Kangaroo Government" working with no logic, responsibility and accountability? Raising their own salaries and perquisites periodically for their so called "service" and "sacrifice" seems to get more priority than attending to problems of the people they are supposed to serve! Can it be that "the people get the government they deserve"? But what option the people of this country have when their choice is limited between "the devil and the deep sea", considering that all political parties are of the same color when it comes to "performance" ?. Probably building more temples, churches and mosques and making more prayers to the "Almighty" with eternal hope for a better tomorrow seem to be the only recourse left to the Indian citizen!

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