DEDICATED FACILITY FOR FOOD INDUSTRY-SINGAPORE'S NEW INITIATIVE

Why is that R & D in food technology in India does not blossom in spite of billions of rupees of investment by the government during the last 5 decades? The answer is straight and simple. "Ivory tower" research with no user value is to be blamed for this malaise. If industrial research is to be relevant, the researchers must have organic linkage with the industry concerned which only can ensure that the efforts are beneficial to the actual users. An institution like the DRDO is a captive research organization of the Defense Forces and all R & D projects taken up are vetted by them before actual investment. It is another matter that even in this case enormous wastage of human and financial resources does take place due to many reasons.  Singapore is no doubt a small country but its forward looking policies have set it apart as a modern country with vision. Here is the latest example of its enterprising spirit as exemplified by its investment on a food industry oriented program with potential to achieve a quantum jump in the performance of this sector soon.   

"A new S$7-million facility will be unveiled on Wednesday at the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to test local food products on a smaller scale before they are produced commercially. The new facility of the Food Innovation and Resource Centre comes with state-of-the-art processing and packaging equipment. It has four main sections including a cooking studio and a consumer suite for work in meats, ready-to-eat meals, sauces and beverages. There is also a section for Asian specialty sweets and bakery products. Launched in 2007 to cater to the needs of local food enterprises, the centre is a joint initiative between SPRING Singapore and SP. SP said it has engaged over 260 companies and overseen more than 250 consultancy projects to date. The new facility is expected to enable the centre to help more small and medium enterprises grow their businesses to create value-added products and services to compete in the global market. Mr Tan Hang Cheong, SP Principal, said: "The increasing sophistication and competitive pressures in the food and beverage market means that the centre needs to evolve in order to continue its support for the industry."

Is India resource-constrained to think and do similar things for the benefit of the country? Absolutely not! In fact all GOI Ministries work with plenty of funds and most of them find it difficult to spend the budgeted amounts within the stipulated time due to poverty of ideas and bureaucratic mindset of the babus  who manage them. Other wise how can any one explain the attitude of GOI in allowing a once reputed food R & D organization like CFTRI at Mysore to become redundant by not providing dynamic leadership and vibrant scientific staff with far sighted ideas to provide back-end support to the food industry in the country most of which are in the unorganized sector? Look at the suicidal action of this institute in systematically closing its regional outfits, in stead of expanding the existing network across all the states. Even now it is not too late to strengthen this institute through firm linkages with the food industry through a mutually respecting partnership. The doors of this institute must be thrown wide open with no restriction on inter action with entrepreneurs and industry players without bothering too much about "earning' money. The scientists have to be imbibed with a spirit of bon homie, in stead of hostility and suspicion with the industry and such a strategic alliance between the institution and the industry can beat every nation on this earth when it comes to development food industry.

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

HAWKER CENTERS-HALLMARK OF SINGAPORE

Many people vouchsafe for the high taste notes of street served foods but it is difficult for safety conscious individuals to accept them easily. The reasons are not far to seek. The quality and safety of water used for preparing the food and cleaning the plates and utensils always worry hygiene sensitive people though there may be a few road side eateries taking some elementary precaution to use good water. These days one can even see some vendors using bulk bottled water, at least for drinking by the customers. Added to this absence of provision for waste water disposal, unhygienic and polluted environment, uncomfortable seating arrangement etc can put off many people. From time to time some of these issues have been addressed though most street vendors continue to do what they were doing for years without realizing the risk they pose to their customers. Singapore's unique Hawker Center program, thought about decades ago and established through out the city Republic is a model concept worth emulating by other countries having thousands of street vendors hawking unsafe foods across the length and breadth of the region.

According to a recent report there are about 112 Hawker Centers in Singapore managed by the government agency which has the responsibility to maintain the facilities to ensure safety to the customers who flock such places. While most of them attract plenty of customers who even have to queue up for their "fill", some does not attract sufficient number of clients threatening their very viability. Since heavy investments have been made by the State and the rents are mostly subsidized because of the rehabilitation tag this program carries with it, Government is in a dilemma regarding their future. The clamor for opening more Hawker Centers is growing as the population is expanding and new dwelling settlements have been established, away from the existing Centers. Since the last Center was opened in 1981, it is almost 3 decades after which the possibility of setting up new centers is under consideration.

Though the Hawker Center program was completed in 1981, taking into consideration advances in knowledge and technology Singapore government did undertake an upgradation project in 2001 to modernize some of them providing more comforts and facilities to the customers. New Centers, if going to be taken up, can be expected to be more savvy as the country is one of the fastest technology assimilators in Asia. Why Singaporeans prefer such Centers to other known eating places is attributed to the atmosphere provided inside the Hawker Centers offering better opportunity for social interaction irrespective of economic status. In contrast to food plazas and food courts Hawker Centers are known to be more spacious, well ventilated and better furnished besides having fabulous choice of foods. Another big question is why the erstwhile road side vendors are willingly shifting their business into such centers? Obviously they find the facilities too attractive besides being much cheaper to operate with minimum maintenance responsibility.

One of the reasons customers flock to street side eateries is that they yearn for authentic traditional ethnic foods which are not available in most established restaurants where "quick to assemble" standard menu is offered. With Hawker Centers offering modern facilities, will the vendors stick to their simple menu or migrate to more sophisticated product regime to include products like Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, sandwiches etc? Though such possibilities cannot be ruled out, ultimately the customers will decide if such changes are acceptable to them. This is especially true when new Centers are opened up and new entrepreneurs not belonging to the original street vending community move in for starting their business. After all the skill inherent in making traditional foods is slowly disappearing and there is no established training program that is capable of reviving this skill and imparting the same to new entrepreneurs.

Why is that Singapore does not consider food truck system that is popular in a country like the US for emulation? Obviously the small size of this nation with limited land availability and high density population cannot afford to clutter its streets with large trucks causing potential traffic jam. Already the country is tightly regulating sale of new cars and many street are designated as toll roads to pre-empt too many cars entering them causing traffic snarls. The Hawker Centers also play its part in decongesting the foot paths which otherwise would have been cluttered with hawkers. India is a country where thousands of such Centers need to be put in place in hundreds of towns across the country for the sake of uplifting the lot of poor vendors as well as protecting the health of the population. Is any one listening in Delhi? Unlikely as this is the season for scams of all nature, with little time left for GOI to worry about real governing!

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

SINGAPORE'S "HEALTHIER CHOICE"LOGO-HELPING THE CONSUMER

Is it not amazing that a small country like Singapore can implement a policy of guiding its citizens on the health quality of packed foods through simple symbols understood easily by the consumers while giants like China and India are still groping in the dark regarding the need for consumer protection? What is still more impressive is that more than two thirds of the population are already familiar with the Healthier Choice Symbols (HCS) one finds in most of the products in the retail market. The scheme is based on the composition of products with importance being given to some of the negative and positive health ingredients. Extent of unhealthy ingredients like sugar, fat, saturated fat, salt etc and healthy ones like fiber, calcium present in processed food products determines the eligibility for awarding the HCS symbol.Why other countries cannot follow this simple scheme is some thing not understandable.

To date, there are guidelines covering over 60 food categories. To find out if your product is eligible for the HCS, download the updated nutrition guidelines here You can also view the list of products currently carrying the HCS here. The Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) on packaged food products indicates that they are healthier options and this helps consumers to make informed food choices when grocery shopping. Products carrying the HCS are generally lower in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar. Some are also higher in dietary fibre and calcium compared to similar products within the same food category. Each food category has a separate set of nutritional criteria to adhere to. For example, breads displaying the HCS should contain no trans fat, less sodium (≤450 mg/100g) and more dietary fibre (≥3g per 100g) compared to the regular bread. 3-in-1 coffee sachets, on the other hand contains no trans fat, less saturated fat (≤0.6 g/100ml) and less sugar (≤5 g/100ml) compared to regular 3-in-1 coffee powders.As part of the continual review process of the healthier choice guidelines to stay relevant, the HCS guidelines for the below categories has been reviewed.

A variant of the HCS for snack foods, known as the Healthier Snack Symbol (HSS) has also recently been introduced. This category includes plain biscuits and cookies, crisps, ice-cream and plain cakes. Products which are eligible for the HSS are individually packed in small portions according to serving sizes reflected on the Nutrition Information Panel,and they are generally lower in fat, saturated fat, sodium or sugar compared to regular products. You can view the list of products currently carrying the HSS here by selecting "Healthier Snacks".

The Singapore innovation has no element of compulsion and as it is not mandatory individual manufacturer can decide whether to go for these symbols or not. When more and more players opt for availing of this facility, naturally there is going to be peer pressure forcing others also to fall in line. From consumer angle what a pleasure it is to go to a retail market and choose only those considered healthier as certified by the government without any need to strain one's eyes to read through the label information which is often unreadable or vague.

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