TEACHING KIDS ABOUT FOOD THEY EAT-THE IRISH EXAMPLE

A billion dollar question that begs for an answer is why Americans are "bloating up" at a pace that may soon find mention in "Guinness Book of World Records"! Of course there is no simple answer to this complex question and the policy makers in that country are going in circles to overcome this national disaster. But here is a small country in Europe, Scotland which seems to have realized the reason for people gaining uncontrolled body weight and its conclusion is fairly simple. Gross ignorance of any thing and every thing about foods eaten every day is the root cause of wrong foods consumed beginning from early childhood. These foods are qualitatively poor measured in terms of nutritive and health yardsticks. The remedy being thought of this economically rich country is to invest on education to teach kids more about basic aspects of food including sources, production, processing, safety, nutrition and health information. It is interesting to read the minds of the policy makers who are talking about the changes in the education system that will equip future citizens to be conscious and careful about the food they eat and the way they eat. 

"School pupils are to learn more about the food they eat as part of a £2 million project to improve the nation's diet. A group of experts made up of those from the food industry and the education sector will steer the three-year programme, which will help children understand more about their diets and how food impacts on their health and on the environment. The project, which was announced today by rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead, will encourage children to visit farms, fishing and food companies to learn more about their health. It will also be made easier for teachers to use food as a topic in Curriculum for Excellence: Mr Lochhead said: "Whether through farm visits, working with local companies or embedding food topics in the curriculum, food education is key to helping young people understand the role food plays in their lives. By encouraging pupils to learn more about these issues they can have the facts they need at their disposal to make informed choices for their future. "It's no secret that Scotland faces issues around the health of our nation and – like every other country – we need to protect our environment and face up to the challenges around climate change. "Food education has an important role to play in this, helping our youngsters make healthier choices and ensuring they are more aware of the importance of eating sustainably. That's why every schoolchild in Scotland will benefit from the food education package announced today."

One redeeming feature of this pro-active policy is to rope in the industry as a partner to transform the perceptions into workable programs at the ground level. Does it not make sense that small kids in early stages of development are more amenable to sensible

suggestions and advice? Why is this not happening in many countries where food is causing immense damage to the populace due to wrong products being manufactured by insensitive industry and wrong choices by the consumers, mostly because of economic factors? Probably such positive things may not happen unless industry cooperates in showcasing their facilities for better understanding by the children. This is happening in Scotland giving the experiment a better chance of success.

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

FOOD RESEARCH ALLIANCE-IRISH EXAMPLE

Scientific research is meant to be for the benefit of mankind and any R & D activity of theoretical and academic interest cannot get priority over application oriented scientific pursuit. Scientists are often blamed for their "frog in the well" mindset which ignores what is required to be done to further the quality of life on this planet. Unfortunately such thoughts are shared by very few scientists while the vast majority has a limited vision for furthering their self interest. Thousands of scientists engaged in research have very low satisfaction threshold and are happy if their endeavor results in publication in international periodicals, preferably peer reviewed ones. In the area of food R & D being pursued in national institutions and Universities do not end up in innovations of any commercial or social significance that could benefit the citizens who bear the financial burden for supporting their research. Whether it is the failure of the policy makers or the scientists themselves can be a fit subject for critical examination, if the resultant conclusion can help reorient the science policies. The example set by the small country Ireland in optimizing their resources for food research to derive maximum impact is laudable and worthy of emulation by bigger countries like India.

"The alliance aims to underpin the development of a sustainable, competitive and innovative Irish food industry and to consolidate Ireland's strengths in food science, technology and innovation. UCC and Teagasc resources will now be deployed to build a common food research and innovation programme on the themes of food and health, food science and technology and food and the consumer. More than 250 researchers, post-doctorates, and post-graduates are currently working across a wide variety of disciplines in food science, food technology, nutrition, food for health and food business. A work plan and management framework for the alliance is now being prepared by a steering committee headed by Professor Michael Dowling, who chaired a joint working group that helped bring the idea to fruition".

There has to be dramatic change of attitudes amongst the scientists as well as the industry managers and the prevalent hostility or non-appreciation of the strength of each other will have to give way to mutual appreciation and cooperation. While industry will be better off with co-opting scientists into their management structure, research organizations must meet the industry half way by inviting industry captains or associations to be part of their decision making apparatus. Resource limited poor countries cannot afford the luxury of ivory tower research and what ever investment is made in R & D must be deployed for result oriented and mission mode accomplishments with tangible impact. Ireland is setting the agenda for others to follow to get the desired results.

RESTAURANT FOODS AND SAFETY-IRELAND SHOWS THE WAY

While safety of foods from the organized processing industry receives critical attention, the restaurant sector usually gets away with hardly any monitoring system or deterrent mode working in many developing countries including India. The mere logistics of putting in place an effective safety enforcement regime is nightmarish when it is realized that majority of catering players are in the unorganized sector with a moribund vigilance system under the local administration with neither adequate personnel nor the much needed critical laboratory infrastructure. The recent announcement by the FSSAI that hotels in New Delhi would be graded for the guidance of tourists expected to converge in the metropolis during the forth coming Commonwealth Games, is supposed to project a good impression about the country. How far its intention will be translated into ground reality remains to be seen. Contrast this "impotency" with the rigorous action taken against safety violations in a country like Ireland which can be discerned from the following report.

"The FSAI today announced that it served four closure orders and four prohibition orders on food businesses for breaches of food-safety legislation during April. A prohibition order is a temporary order that can be applied if a business is selling or storing food not fit for human consumption. A closure order meanwhile means that a business represents a very real risk to public health in respect to food safety. It cannot be lifted until action required by safety officers is taken to correct the risk. Closure orders were served on:

• Mother India restaurant, The Square, Roscommon
• Kitchen of The Central Bar, Market Square, Roscommon
• 'Honeybear' Ice cream van, Reg No. W471EOB, Shore Front, Buncrana, Donegal
• Roscommon Golf Club Restaurant, Golf Links Road, Roscommon

Prohibition orders were served on:

• Iskon Ireland Ltd, trading as Govinda's, 4 Aungier St., Dublin 2
• Iskon Ireland Ltd, trading as Govinda's restaurant, 18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2
• Iskon Ireland Ltd, trading as Govindas, 83 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1
• Real Brasil grocery, Unit 2, Castle Street, Roscommon

A ROSCOMMON golf-club restaurant, three restaurants run by the Hare Krishna movement and the luxury Harvey's Point Hotel in Co Donegal feature in the latest list of food safety breaches published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The owner of the four-star Harvey's Point Hotel, Marc Gysling, was fined €500 and ordered to pay costs of almost €1,200 after being convicted of food hygiene breaches in Donegal District Court last month. The hotel kitchen failed to reach required standards when visited by inspectors on several occasions last year, the court heard. The hotel said an outside contractor had been hired to set a hygiene standard but this had not been completely effective".

Can Indian consumers expect a transformation from the present decadent system to a more effective enforcement regime in the foreseeable future? Conceded that India is a big country and it requires enormous resources to mount a vigilance system that can do a reasonably good job in safety monitoring but more than any thing else, there has to be a will, commitment and dedication on the part of agencies vested with authority to carry out this task. It is unlikely that such human quality can be found amongst the people who are "managing" the food safety portfolio now.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com