Are some foods more addictive than others? New findings with far reaching implications!

Can some foods be compared to alcohol, tobacco or psychotropic substances from the point of view of creating addiction?. A significant number of experts are veering around to the view that there are a few foods being manufactured by the food processing industry which are capable of inducing addiction and one suspects that the industry also is fully aware of this, exploiting this knowledge to develop more and more such foods for catering to the consumers vulnerable to addiction. If this is true can the industry get away with such sinister designs and will not they be liable for class action before the judiciary for suppressing such an evidence? We cannot forget how the cigarette industry was caught doing the same and what penalty they had to pay running into billions of dollars as reparation for destroying the health and lives of millions of people in the US. Food technology has evolved into a fine art to day and creating a food with right proportion of sugar, fat and flavor is very easy. This is what the industry seems to be doing world over to improve their bottom line! In such a situation what needs to be done to reduce such addiction which is playing with lives of people in countries like the US as manifested by obesity, diabetes, hyper tension, kidney diseases etc? Here is a critique on this important issue that is worth reading. 

"Are Americans in denial about symptoms of food addiction? But are these foods addictive?  Michael Moss, author of Salt, Sugar Fat, states: "I tried to use the "A" word sparingly because the industry argues convincingly that food lacks some of the technical definitions of addiction and narcotics. They prefer words like alluring, craveable, smackable. But the aim is the same, which is to create the perfect formula and amounts of salt, sugar and fat that will send us over the moon and make their products irresistible." (2) Moss reports, "There are estimates, of course, but we're averaging something like twice the recommended amount of salt. The best estimate of sugar is 70 pounds a year. We're averaging 11 percent of our calories [from] saturated fat, the bad one linked to heart disease, and the recommendation is to get it down to 7 percent or less." (2) New study reports that highly processed foods are shown to be addictive, leaving consumers with substance dependence symptoms and behaviors. The University of Michigan is hoping that their new study will help consumers make more informed decisions. The new study confirms what many people have suspected:highly processed foods like chocolate, pizza and French fries are the most addictive (3) This is the first study to examine which foods can truly be implicated in food addiction. This has recently become a growing interest due to rising obesity epidemic. Prior studies with animals showed that highly processed foods or foods with added fat and refined carbohydrates trigger addictive-like eating behavior.  Clinical studies performed with human subjects indicated that individuals eating processed foods meet the criteria for substance dependence. (3) U-M assistant professor, Ashley Gearhardt, explains that highly processed foods are known to be preferred for their taste, it has remained unknown whether these food elicit an addiction response. Unprocessed foods such as brown rice and salmon have not been associated with addictive behaviors. (3) Erica Schulte, lead author, explains that individuals with symptoms of food addiction or higher body mass indexes report greater difficulties with processed foods. "If properties of some foods are associated with addictive eating for some people, this may impact nutrition guidelines, as well as public policy initiatives such as marketing these foods to children," Schulte said. (3) Nicole Avena, co-author of the study, reports, "This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response," she said. "This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of 'cutting back' on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking and drug use." (3)"

To be fair to the industry it must be argued that they have to look for decent returns for their investments and efforts in the form profits by creating a market for their products and after all they can sell only products consumers demand. Whether one likes it or not, organoleptic quality of foods has been the single most driving force as far as product development programs are concerned and launching a product is invariably precede by a market acceptability study trying to gauge the reaction of the consumer. Until recently consumer always decided whether a product is acceptable based on his perception regarding over all flavor including color, taste and texture and only now health aspects are coming into focus with demands being made on the industry to make healthier foods. If foods like chocolates, pizza and others with high sugar or fat or salt content are really addictive as being made out to be, there must be restrictions against their manufacture and marketing. Can any country treat foods like alcohol and regulate their sale without impinging on the rights of the consumer to decide what he wants to eat from among the products that pass the quality and safety standards prevailing there? One has to only recall the experience of the government in New York which tried to restrict the size of bottle sizes of soda which was rejected by the courts there as violation of personal freedom! Similarly look at the resistance that is emerging in the US for a simple proposal to include extent of added sugar to a product by the processing industry on the nutritional label and it is unlikely that similar efforts in reining in food industry will ever succeed!

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

MNC RETAIL GIANTS-INDIA TO "BEND" THE FDI POLICY FURTHER?

After the euphoria about the likely massive inflow of foreign investment in multi brand retail market operations in India, the earlier enthusiasm seems to be fading in the light of the prevailing ground realities in the country. Many critics raised the issue regarding the adverse impact the new policy would have on the 8 million and odd domestic traders and small stores because of the deep pocket the MNCs have in aggressively pushing their agenda. Eventually it was feared that millions of people would be deprived of their livelihood by the modern air conditioned super markets and malls that may come up under the aegis of internationally established and recognized brands. Now comes the news that some of the major global players are putting pressure on the Government to modify the policy and they seem to be "concerned" about the preconditions like mandatory procurement of 30% of their products from local sources and investment requirement on back-end operations, the very heart of the policy to protect the local interests. Here is a take on this "behind the scene" maneuvering going on at Delhi to influence the government!

"Among the norms making global players jittery are the 30 per cent mandatory sourcing from small and medium enterprises, at least 50 per cent investment in back-end infra and state-wise approvals. The government's stand on not allowing FDI in e-commerce is also seen as a hurdle, as most foreign chains have been pushing the on line format to cut cost and beat competition. According to highly-placed sources, the French retailer, which was keen to expand India footprint from being just a cash-and-carry (wholesale) player, is now "going slow" and might even decide to "review" its investment plans, if things didn't go according to its expectations. Top Carrefour representatives, in their meetings with the government, are learnt to have demanded certain significant changes in the policy. To address foreign retailers' concerns and to woo them back, the commerce ministry is understood to be planning to issue a comprehensive clarification. Asked if the company was reviewing its India plans and had conveyed its disappointment to the French and Indian governments, Carrefour's India spokesperson said the company had "no comments" to offer. Besides India, where it only has cash-and-carry operations, Carrefour is present in two other Asian markets - China and Taiwan. As of December 2012, it had 218 hypermarkets in China and 61 hypermarkets and three supermarkets in Taiwan. Over the past few months, it has withdrawn from key Asian markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, to reduce debt and generate cash flow. Among other geographies, it has exited from Colombia and cut stake in Turkish business, triggering speculation it might withdraw from there, too. In India, Carrefour runs a fully-owned cash-and-carry business, with four wholesale outlets - one each in Delhi, Jaipur, Meerut and Agra. It has yet to identify an Indian partner for retail operations.On the other hand, the US' Walmart, which has 20 wholesale outlets in India under a 50:50 joint venture with Bharti, is expected to extend the partnership for front-end retail, too. The UK's Tesco has a franchise agreement with the Tata group for back-end and wholesale; these two are also likely to extend the partnership for retail"

Whether government will buckle or not remains to be seen. However one thing is clear about the so called "muscle" of MNC retailers which was feared to annihilate the poor "mom and pop" stores round the corner of ever street in the country. In spite of massive efforts and investments by many industry giants who entered the retailing sector during the last one decade the organized players have not been able to capture even 5% of the business generated by this sector! Only future will tell whether MNCs will be able to fare better than their domestic counterparts. If government does relax the provisions related to domestic procurement and investment in back end infrastructure, it does not need any extra intelligence to predict that India will be swamped by cheap Chinese products sounding a death knell for the domestic players. Already Chinese products are dominating the markets for many consumer products but food products from China are yet to make a mark. One can only hope that government will stick to the original policy without bending backwards to the clout of some of the retail giants who are eying the lucrative Indian market. 

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

AGRI-RESEARCH IN AFRICA-FOOD SECURITY UNDER THREAT

African continent faces enormous challenges in achieving a modicum of food security because of over dependence of many countries there on foreign economic aid for sustenance. Especially those nations, liberated from French colonialism do not compare well with others as they have very little resources to meet the food requirements of their population. If a country like India could achieve self sufficiency in the production of staple foods, it is due to enormous indigenous efforts in agricultural research that brought about the Green Revolution. That each country must invest at least 1% of its GDP on agricultural research is a standard norm accepted by international experts and practically no African country can muster sufficient resources to meet this basic need. The tendency of international donors to tie their contributions to buying of food from their countries rather than strengthening the agricultural base in the donee countries further aggravates the problem. Also deplorable is the attempt by some western countries to use Africa for pushing their GM seeds which does not make any sense at all. Unless there is a concerted effort by the international community to upgrade the research infrastructure in Africa, many countries in the region are likely to face enormous unrest and misery in the long term.

"Studies show that investments in agricultural research and development have greatly contributed to economic growth, agricultural development, food security, and poverty reduction in developing regions over the past five decades," said Nienke Beintema, head of IFPRI's Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative, which carried out the survey. "New agricultural technologies and crop varieties have helped to increase yields, improve nutrition, conserve natural resources, and expand rural markets." In 2008, only eight countries in the study - Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, and Uganda - spent more than one percent of their agricultural GDP on research and development, in line with a target set by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), an African-led redevelopment effort for the continent. Many countries depend on donor funding, which tends to be short-term and unpredictable, leaving programs vulnerable and hurting efforts at long-term planning, the study found. To address the problems, the report calls for a boost in consistent and coordinated agricultural research funding, better pooling of resources, information and innovation at regional and sub-regional levels, and better efforts to build capacity, including more investment in agricultural higher education and better recruitment and training.

As the problems of countries in this continent are some what common, an appropriate approach could be to pool the local resources for undertaking organized and targeted research that would benefit most countries. Of course there are international organizations like the Rice Research Institute at Manila, Philippines or International Crop Research Institute Semi-arid Tropics ( ICRISAT) at Hyderabad, India which serve as examples of regional cooperation and similar research centers with focused programs on staple foods of Africa, assisted by international community can go a long way in addressing the long term food needs of the continent.

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

PRIVATE SECTOR RESEARCH IN INDIA-A REALITY CHECK

Research activities in the food area are invariably are confined to government funded institutions under the CSIR, DRDO and some universities. These institutions also undertake training programs for churning out technical personnel for the food industry. To add to the existing research infrastructure, GOI is reported to be building another food technology R & D and training institution, in spite of the proven inadequacy and irrelevance of the existing redundant set ups under its wings. How the Indian food industry is managing its technical and technological needs is another issue that is both intriguing and baffling. While most of the big players improvise their quality control facilities for developing new products, it is the small scale and micro enterprise sectors which are left with no choice but use their common sense in staying in business rather than depending on GOI research research outfits. Under such an environment it is some what a pleasant surprise to see the establishment of a high investment R & D center of international standards by one of the joint venture food companies in collaboration with the foreign partner. Though it is a captive set up, the opportunity provided for home grown food technologists for exposure to global quality research activities need to be acknowledged.

"FieldFresh Foods , joint venture of the Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific Ltd, on Tuesday inaugurated their Research & Development and manufacturing facility here at an investment of Rs 115 crore.

The facility is the first-of-its-kind in India with beverage and processed food production under the same roof with the band name Del Monte. "The inauguration of the new facility clearly heralds a new phase of development for brand Del Monte in the processed food and beverages category in India. This investment underlines FieldFresh Foods' commitment of delivering world class products of great quality and taste for the discerning Indian consumers and raising the standards of the industry", Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Bharti Mittal said in a statement here. "Going forward our vision is to make Del Monte as one of the top 10 brands in the processed food and beverage industry over the next few years," he added. The facility with an initial investment of Rs 115 crore is spread across 21.4 acres and would produce fruit drinks. Besides, the facility would also process fruit drinks at the rate of 300 cans and 200 'PET' bottles per minute and over four tonnes per hour of culinary products, it said".

It was some years ago that GOI offered tax incentives by way of weighted deductions for industries to set up in-house research facilities with the hope that it will strengthen the technical base of the processors and help to diversify the product portfolio for improving business. For unknown reasons this facility was discontinued and industry seems to be happy in importing technologies, often along with fully operational plants or employ foreign consultants to solve their technological problems. This is at best a short sighted policy and privatization of food research can have many advantages. Even the existing government R & D organizations can be considered for privatization with stakes being offered to the industry. There are many such models which are operating successfully in the EU and the the US which can be emulated in India too for the benefit of the low technology driven food industry in the country.

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