TEMPLE PRASADAM TURNS DEADLY-A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY

The recent food poisoning episode in Bangalore must open the eyes of every concerned citizen of this country regarding the toxic environment in the country posed by the conditions prevailing here. Each and every day the citizen faces hazards of different nature, some minor and others more serious, which are neglected by a benign state with least concern for its subjects whose protection they have sworn to be responsible under the Indian constitution. The latest food poisoning episode in a temple in Bangalore claimed two precious lives and injured more than 4 dozens of people after partaking the prasadam served by the Temple authorities to devotees visiting the worshipping place on the occasion of Ramanavami. Many disturbing questions arise out of this episode for which there is no satisfactory answer yet. The situation is alarming in this country in that there are hundreds and thousands of temples spread all over the country and each one serves prasadam in some form or the other and these eatables are prepared in places/kitchens not too satisfactory with respect to hygiene and sanitation. Added to this the personnel preparing them are mostly illiterate people with doubtful health conditions and personal hygiene, having no rudimentary knowledge regarding food safety. Here is a take on this sad situation prevalent in the country. 

"A five-year-old girl and a priest at a temple died and more than 50 people reported sick on Friday after consuming 'Panaka', a lemonade made with jaggery, distributed at a temple of Valmiki Nagar in Chamarajpet, the previous day, on the occasion of Rama Navami. Ganga, daughter of Balamurugan, a painter of Bande Gudisalu, Valmiki Nagar and Krishna Murthy, 45, were the dead. Murthy, the priest at the temple, who too partook the lemonade, was admitted to Jayadeva hospital and died on Saturday evening. The police are find out if Murthy died because of consuming the lemonade or because of cardiac arrest, as he had a history of heart-related ailments.Local residents claimed that 'Panaka', a popular summer drink, distributed at Muttu Maramma temple in Valmiki Nagar on Friday was not hygienic and they suffered symptoms of food poisoning".

Major temples like Tirupati, Sabarimal and others periodically come under the scanner due to reports of devotees affected by unsafe prasadam served but in the absence of any verifiable documentation system, every episode is swept under the carpet with the authorities not learning any lesson for future. in the present case itself though the reports claim two as dead and 50 people as sick from consuming the prasadam, no one knows what is the real situation and the actual casualty figures as many well to do people do not go to government hospitals seeking treatment in private hospitals. It is a paradox that in the absence of reliable documentation Government feels that food poisoning is not a major issue unlike in countries like the US where every thing is documented systematically.  

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

THE "APPAM WOES"!-A TEMPLE's UNENDING PROBLEMS

Neyyappam which is the most sacred prasadam offered at the ancient hill shrine at Sabarimala is again the the news for wrong reasons! This fried product made from rice flour, coconut and jaggery is a traditional component of feasts and other festival celebrations in practically every home in Kerala and is made by shallow frying the semi pasty batter in ghee in special cast iron moulds, called "Appa Kara" and depending on the temperature and time, the product can be soft or hard to chew. The Sabarimala appam is supposed to be fried to a low moisture content with a view to confer long shelf life so that pilgrims can take home the same for sharing with their families and friend. Unfortunately there is neither science nor technology involved in this preparation as it is a traditional product evolved over centuries requiring inherited or acquired skills. Food scientists seem to be least concerned to study this product from a scientific angle and preparing this product on a large scale calls for battery operations requiring artisans in huge numbers. According to recent reports, an acute scarcity of workers in this labor starved state is hampering the authorities to increase production to meet the unsatisfied demands of pilgrims who visit this shrine in droves from all over the country. Here is a take on this situation as being reported by the Travancore Devaswam Board (TDB) authorities.   

'A shortage of hands is affecting the production and distribution of 'appam prasadam', at the Lord Ayyappa temple. The situation, which has been continuing for the past two weeks, is yet to be solved. The restriction on the sale of 'appam prasadam' to two packets per pilgrim, continued  until Monday. The shortage of workers has affected 26 of the total 96 appam 'karas'. Though the production and packing of appam were given on contract, the contractor has failed to employ adequate number of workers, sources said. Contractors are offering only a meagre `200 per day for a worker. This is affecting the possibility of finding sufficient number of workers. The passive attitude of the Devaswom authorities towards the problem, has left the problem unresolved".

This sorry state of affairs is a bad reflection on the callous attitude of the state government while the food research organizations in the public sector also have to bear equal responsibility for neglecting such traditional products for a long time in their pursuit of "glamorous" research! Unlike many other temples, bringing about beneficial transformation in Sabarimala is much easier as there is no cast or communal clash when modernization is taken up. Can the Government of Kerala take adequate courage in its hand to appeal to the Government of India to direct an institution like CFTRI or DFRL or others with adequate facilities and expertise to take up immediately a project that will come up with a standardized process and a mechanized manufacturing system for manufacturing clean, hygienic, safe and high quality appam at Sabarimala. After all there is no dearth of money with TDB and it is time it spends the same for the welfare of millions of devotees coming to the shrine every year. 

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