Inventing "Banana"-A new claim by Indian Scientists!

It was in 1989 that a classic monograph was brought out from Mysore based on 2 decades of technological work carried out since 1969 by some stalwarts like Messrs V B Dalal, N Nagaraja, M.s Krishna Prakash, Paul Thomas etc who were pioneers in developing post harvest technology of Banana varieties grown in India. The monograph was titled "Banana in India-Production, Preservation and processing" and was a highly popular publication from the renowned food research institute, popularly known as CFTRI. Scientists who spent almost their life time on preservation and preservation of Banana must be appalled by a recent claim by the present authorities in this august organization that they have developed the technology for various products from Banana as if nothing had happened earlier! Look at the press release from the present head of this once reputed research agency which speaks for itself about veracity of these claims.

CFTRI to sign a MoU with Trichy based cooperative in January. Despite India being the largest producer of bananas in the world, lack of resources to handle the produce, storage facilities and post-harvest technologies, high post-harvest losses are reported. To address these issues, the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), in the city, has been developing technologies to reduce the losses One of the technologies that has attracted the cooperative sector recently is 'Clarified Banana Juice' from over-ripe bananas.Speaking to Deccan Herald, Ram Rajsekharan, Director of CFTRI, said, the shelf-life of fruits, especially bananas, is low. "A few days after harvesting, banana skin turns dark, prompting banana growers to discard them, as they cannot be sold in the market. Using the technology developed here, three products can be produced," he said. If the technology is implemented, even the darkened banana peel will not go waste. The peel can be dried and powdered and used as animal feed. The fruit can be processed to develop clarified banana juice, while the residue could be used to make high nutrition bars or as flavouring agents, he said. The shelf-life of the juice is about a year and the CFTRI is working on developing an aerated form of the drink. Rajsekharan said, the technology had caught the interest of a cooperative of banana cultivators from Trichy district, in Tamil Nadu. "They have been producing dried bananas to reduce post-harvest losses. Learning about the CFTRI's technology, the cooperative has held preliminary discussions with us," he said. He added that CFTRI was likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the cooperative in the month of January. He said, the CFTRI would provide all necessary training for the cooperative functionaries, with scientists working in collaboration with them. It can be recalled that the CFTRI had recently tied up with the Palakkad Coconut Producers Cooperative Private Ltd (PCPCL), a cooperative of about 26,000 farmers, to develop 'neera', a non-alcoholic palm beverage and its extended products.

The technologies referred to above were all transferred earlier and to state that these are new technologies reflects the ethical standards of scientists these days in general in this country. It is unfortunate that this comes immediately after another similar claim on turmeric processing which was touted as the achievement of the new regime at CFTRI. This tendency is also reflected by a press release recently from the same agency that they have invented a new grains called Quinoa though this was known in South America for centuries before! Probably this resembles the mindset of our present day politicians that citizens have too short a memory and they can get away with any thing and every thing which do not stand the test of truth. Of course transfer of the technologies developed earlier is the bounden duty and continuing function of the organization despite any regime change but what leaves a bitter taste in the mouth is to camouflage them as new technologies developed under the aegis of the new regime!

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

THE BANANA "STORY"-NICARAGUAN EXPERIENCE

Use of pesticides for crop protection is an inevitable step adopted during the last one century and to day's food production has reached a level that is in pace with population growth, largely due to application of these chemical protectants. What is being criticized is their indiscriminate use causing havoc to all those exposed to them. If there is a successful organic food movement to day that meets the needs of consumers who want "clean" foods, it is largely due to the "scare" factor on account of pesticide and insecticide residues on agricultural crops. It is true that crops can be raised without using any chemical but whether such a practice can be adopted universally is debatable. If 100% of the world population is to be fed on organic foods, it is doubtful whether it is technically and logistically feasible. This is where one has to consider judicious use of chemical food protectants with least possible risk to human health. Here is an example of a multinational company using a deadly pesticide recklessly on its Banana plantations in a developing country in South America causing untold misery to thousands of its employees working in the field without caring about the consequences.

"We see them in piles at the grocery store, on our kitchen counters, atop our cereal, but for many plantation workers in Nicaragua, daily exposure to bananas has had a much more profound impact on their lives. Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten's Bananas! artfully relates the true stories of a handful of these plantation workers as they battle the Dole Food Co. in court.Represented by famed Los Angeles lawyer Juan "Accidentes" Dominguez, the workers sued Dole for using a pesticide known as Nemagon on its bananas in Nicaragua during the 1970s, even after the chemical was banned in other countries across the world. Though the chemical has been proven to cause a wide range of health issues, Dominguez chose to focus on the cases in which exposure to the chemical caused sterility.As the film follows Dominguez's journey through Nicaragua to talk to some of the affected Dole workers first-hand and subsequently fight for their rights, it also provides a very intimate look at the heart-wrenching circumstances and stories of the employees that were unknowingly exposed to the harmful chemicals. By piecing together recent interviews with Nicaraguan men, women and children and footage of what went on at the country's banana plantations more than 30 years ago, Gertten is able to shed light on a side of the global food industry that many do not know exists".

Millions of people world over eat these nicely presented and branded banana without ever knowing the story behind the dangerous cultivation practices followed by the company in search of higher and higher profits and the documentary film "Bananas!" deserves applause for graphically detailing the woes of the banana plantation workers. Of course lawyers are bound to smell money in pursuing legal cases against the company for financial compensation and ultimately the workers may get some consolation. But such financial hand outs will never be able to restore their health, consigning them to a life of eternal misery! In India the tragic story of Endosulfan in Kerala highlights the fact that it is not only multinational companies who are callous and even governments can be criminally negligent in protecting the health of their citizens by not taking timely action in banning dangerous pesticides. Consumers who eat Dole brand banana must remember the sacrifices of the Nicaraguan plantation workers when and if they eat these "misery" fruits again after reading this story!

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