YOGURT IN INDIA-NEW CHOICES FOR CONSUMERS

Yogurt or Curd which is an essential component of staple diet in India has been hibernating in the homes for centuries without getting into the main stream market due to many reasons including lack of preservation technology and poor cold chain infrastructure for distribution and retailing. This situation seems to be changing with many domestic and foreign players getting into this sector to make available standard curd based products like frozen yogurt with a variety of flavor and taste. Traditionally curd is made at home and consumed either with the main meals or as a beverage like Lassi and many urban regions have milk shops preparing these products to be made and consumed fresh on the spot. Attempts by some dairy processors to make and market "set curds" using standardized cultures have been going on for some time but without creating any flutter in the market place. During the last few years the curd market is witnessing some turbulence with many cooperative dairy units able to raise volume for their simple curd packed in poly pouches for sale through the fluid milk distribution net work. It is only now that frozen yogurt products which are internationally known are entering in India for offering these products using state of the art technology. If the reports are to be believed the yogurt market is clocking growth in the range of 15-18% annually and business predictions indicate literally flooding of the market place by different branded products in the coming years. Here is a commentary on this exciting development in India. 

The Indian consumer with disposable income is turning to frozen yogurt as a healthy alternative to high-calorie desserts. And leading international players are fast moving in to tap into the growing market, including Red Mango, Canada-based Kiwi Kiss, South Korea's Yogurberry, France's Danone and Switzerland's Nestlé. The Los Angeles-based chain Pinkberry is reported to be getting ready to enter India by the end of this year. Meanwhile, leading Indian brands such as Mother Dairy and Amul have also been expanding their yogurt portfolio. The New Delhi–based research and consultancy firm Technopak Advisors estimates the global frozen yogurt market at around $75 to $77 billion and growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% to 18%. Of this, the U.S. accounts for $11 billion and is growing at a CAGR of 10% to 12%. In India, yogurt is classified under the health and wellness food segment. Technopak estimates that in 2011, this segment garnered around $2 billion in revenues. Over the next three years, it is expected to grow to $5 billion. Pratichee Kapoor, associate vice president for food services and agriculture at Technopak, says the packaged yogurt market (plain and flavored) currently constitutes around 7% to 8% of the total health and wellness segment in India and was worth around $150 million in 2011. It is growing at a CAGR of 18% to 20% and is poised to double in size by 2015. According to Technopak the ice cream and frozen dessert market in India — which includes frozen yogurt — was estimated to be at $450 million in 2009-2010 and is expected to cross $900 million by 2014-2015. A separate figure for the share of the frozen yogurt market was not available.

What ever the market predictions, it is a fact that yogurt is liked by Indians and fortunately curd based products targeted at kids in stead of high fat and high sugar ice cream products, are healthier choices. Originally started as an alternative to ice creams by the industry which wanted to circumvent the rigid standards for ice cream, the concept seems to have become popular with billions of dollars of frozen yogurts being consumed world over. Though frozen yogurt is being promoted as a healthy choice it is some what unclear whether all the health claims made on the label are sustainable under scientific scrutiny. There are flavored Lassi products already being served from thousands of shops, especially in the North. However these are made from fresh curds with no thermal processing involved but packed frozen yogurt does undergo some processing which may affect the effective concentration of probiotic bacteria in such products. One advantage for Lassi over frozen yogurt is that it is available in salty taste also unlike the the latter which are intensely sweetened. The food authorities will have to come out with specific standards, especially with regard to the bacterial levels in such products and probably frozen yogurt will have to come under the category of proprietary products until such time proper standards are promulgated in the country. Commercially processed yogurt preparations now made in India will definitely provide variety to the consumer beyond what is available earlier. From the health point of view there is no doubt that frozen yogurt is preferable to ice cream any day.
V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE GREAT CHEESE STORY-WHY AMERICANS ARE OBESE!

Does any government has a role to play in deciding what its citizens must eat or what should not be eaten? This issue received a sharp focus recently when some of pro-active policies are being taken up by governments in a few countries to discourage consumption of patently unhealthy foods. Higher taxation, limiting large sized packs and more forceful labeling regulations have been the chosen routes for achieving the goal of herding the consumers to live more responsibly and avoid social burden through diseases like diabetes, CVD, obesity, cancers etc. The on-going tussle between the farming lobby and consumer interests invariably ends up in favor of the former because of close nexus between agriculture lobby and the governing political class. Here is an interesting commentary by a critic regarding the systematic blows being delivered to the consumers by the American government through some of the most idiotic policy orchestrations to oblige its farming lobbies with almost all multinational giants investing heavily on an agenda of protecting their financial flanks.   

"Also, the Golden Age of Cheese was not purely the result of individual choices. It reflects decades of pro-cheese U.S. agriculture policy. I am not making this up. The nation's cheese binge is a case study in the broader dysfunctionality of federal farm legislation, the latest iteration of which is being debated in Congress. Yes, there are real social trends at work, too. An aging population consumes less milk as fluid and more in solid form; a wealthier population can afford a richer diet, including cheesy dishes eaten at restaurants. But the country's appetite for cheese also reflects U.S. policy. Since the New Deal, Washington has tried to protect dairy farmers through price 

supports and production controls so arcane that only specialists can understand them. As a 2004 Agriculture leaving Department report explained, the net effect of dairy programs is to prop up fluid milk prices even when producers make more of it than people want to drink — plenty of excess to dump on cheese manufacturers. "Thus, consumers see lower butter and cheese prices and higher fluid milk prices than would appear in the absence of the programs," the USDA found. Not surprisingly, fluid milk consumption has stagnated while cheese consumption has grown. Of the 188.9 billion pounds of milk produced in 2008, some 82 billion were sold to cheese makers, according to the USDA. On top of those warped incentives, the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 authorized the Agriculture Department to collect a fee from all dairy farmers and turn the money over to a corporation known as Dairy Management, which promotes consumption of cheese and other dairy products".

Cheese and ice cream are two products liked universally and one of the reasons for this phenomenon in a country like the US is the ridiculously low prices at which they are offered in the market. In contrast fluid milk consumption is deliberately depressed by making it much more costlier which has the effect of stagnating consumption by those who find it increasingly difficult to buy it due to escalating prices. The twin objectives of satisfying the farmer as well as the industry are achieved by increased retail prices of milk to the consumer and supply of excess milk production to the dairy processing industry to turn out products like cheese, butter and ice cream at relatively low prices. It is the consumer who is left behind in this convoluted situation as drinking milk is progressively reduced and consumption of high calorie and high fat foods is increased putting the consumer health in jeopardy. This explains the tripling of the population that has become over weight and obese in the last 40 years and to day more than two thirds of American population are categorized as either over weight or obese! It is the unfortunate political compulsions that make the ruling class blind to the dangers of wrong and unhealthy food and environmental degradation due to pollution, global warming and other scientifically proven findings. If the US is facing frequent hot weathers, droughts, floods and similar abnormal situations to day, one must thank its government for the wrong policies being pursued by it. 

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

AN OVER BEARING GOVERNMENT-BASHING THE CITIZEN

Inflation is supposed to eat into the real buying power of people and all responsible governments try hard to rein in such distortions in the economy. India is no exception to this bitter reality. Inflation affects different people in different ways, the affluent families not feeling the pinch to the same extent as those in the low and middle income groups of population. Economic liberalization in India two decades ago has unleashed a force that is influenced more by international developments than by any ameliorative policies of the national government. In a democracy every citizen has a right to protest against the policies of the government elected by him if they are found to be heaping misery on him. While the suffering citizens do expect the government to be sympathetic to his woes, bashing him for raising his voice against price rise especially of staple foods, is not an acceptable behavior of a responsible official of the very same government. Here is the controversial "admonition" from a senior minister in Indian Government who expressed his displeasure against citizens railing against price rise. 

"Answering a question on the burden on the common man, the Home Minister referred to the different segments of the population and the schemes that benefit the different segments.  He referred to higher MSP (as benefiting the farmers); MGNREGA (as benefiting the rural poor); mid-day meal scheme (as benefiting millions of children); and he referred to PMGSY (as benefiting thousands of villages).  He referred to the price of crude oil and how the Government was constrained to first raise petrol prices and then how it was reduced twice to benefit the middle class.  He then said (as can be seen from the exact text of the answer): "You mentioned high food prices.  Yes food inflation is high.  But higher procurement prices will reflect in slightly higher food prices.  But higher procurement prices benefits millions of farmers.  If you increase the price of sugarcane, sugar cannot be cheaper than before.  If you increase the price of procured wheat or procured paddy, rice and wheat for the consumer cannot be less. Sometimes, and I have written about this once, we are prepared to pay fifteen rupees for a bottle of water but we will not bear one rupee increase in the price of a kilo of wheat or a kilo of rice.  We are prepared to pay rupees twenty for an ice cream cone but won't pay a rupee more for a kilo of wheat or rice." 

Here is a comment by an enraged citizen after hearing the above statement which aptly reflects the revulsion among the masses.

"Tea Re.1.00 Soup Rs.5.50 Dal Rs.1.50 Meals Rs.2.00 Chappathi Rs.1.00 Dosa Rs.4.00 Veg Briyani Rs.8.00 This is actual price list. These items are meant for "POOR PEOPLE" & is available at Indian Parliament Canteen. The salary of those poor people is Rs.80,000.00 per Month!! PLUS HEFTY BONUS IN SCAMS.... Pls forward to all Indians (this all money comes from our pocket, TAXES YOU PAY)" 

Probably the minister, drunken with absolute power felt that he is not answerable to the people who elected him as his survival in the government depends more on paying obeisance to people not answerable to the constitution of India where accountability is the last thing that counts in public life. With luxurious life given on a platter to the "elected" representatives in the name of "serving" people, there seems to be a disconnect between common man and their representatives as reflected by the comments quoted above. Whether it is the salary, perks, living facilities, transport, communication facilities the "leaders" seem to be united in granting these privileges liberally to them selves unanimously with hardly a few seconds deliberations! Probably it is time that the present constitution is thoroughly over hauled to return the real power to the people of the country in the true sense.

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

EDIBLE WRAPS-THE IMPONDERABLES!

Any consumer while eating a cone ice cream might be thinking of similar wraps like the cone in which ice cream is filled, in the cases of other foods also. Of course cone ice cream has an outer wrapper which needs to be peeled before having a go at the cone part. But as a concept edible wrappers or packaging materials is no more Utopian as there are a few stubborn players harping on them through development of such edible wraps for some food and beverage products. How far such developments will go or how much time it will take for the main stream industry to use them widely after development is a question that has no answer right now. While the development efforts are going on in full swing how the safety regulators are going to react to this new paradigm is another uncertainty. After all packaging is meant to protect the contents from undesirable chemical, physical and microbiological changes and there is always the possibility that the outer surface of such packs may have contaminating agents requiring them to be cast away. Against such a situation how can an edible packaging material be eaten unless protected with an inedible but functional wrapper? A difficult question that must be addressed before introducing edible wraps in a big way. Here are some of the nuances on the subject which provides interesting reading.

Leading the way (in publicity terms, at least) is the Dumbledore of food technology, Harvard wizard Dr David Edwards whose previous innovations include an "breathable" chocolate delightfully called Le Whif. He has now turned his attention to WikiCells - an edible membrane made from a biodegradable polymer and food particles - that can imitate "bottles" found in nature, such as grape skins. So far, Dr Edwards and his team at Harvard's Wyss Institute have created a tomato membrane containing gazpacho soup, an orange membrane filled with orange juice that can be sipped through a straw, a grape-like membrane holding wine and a chocolate membrane containing hot chocolate. He believes pretty much any flavour is possible. He recently told Harvard's campus newspaper Harvard Crimson that his team was working on a prototype bottle that had an eggshell-like hard coating in addition to the membrane that could be peeled off or eaten whole. "In the near term, we will be encountering WikiCells in restaurant settings," he told the paper. He then plans to expand WikiCells into shops and supermarkets. Meanwhile, Indiana-based MonoSol is hot on Dr Edward's heels. Its water-soluble casings are already widely used to make squidgy pods of washing detergent. The company has been developing tasty edible films that are strong enough to act as packaging until they come into contact with water and dissolve. Products in the pipeline include individual servings of hot chocolate and other drinks that you slip straight into cups, and single servings of flavoured porridge. The company currently is punting the product to major food brands and it could be on the shelves in a year or two. Closer to home, Leicester-based Pepceuticals last month won a £1.3m European research contract to develop an edible coating for fresh meat, which the company says could increase shelf life, reduce waste and do away with the need for oil-based plastic vacuum packs. It cites research that shows UK consumers spend more money on meat than any other food item, but waste an astonishing 570,000 tonnes each year. "The potential to apply an antimicrobial film in the processing factory should significantly prevent the deterioration of the fresh meat product, and save waste. It will revolutionise the look and feel of the traditional meat counter," the company claims (pdf)

A possible alternative could be use of functional bulk packs containing multiple units made with edible packaging materials for easy dispensing at the retail point. Then comes the question as to the consequences of carrying these 100% consumable products by the consumers to their home, storing them and consuming after a few days. These are issues that must be addressed before the concept can be put into practice. Probably edible wraps may fit into the format of fast food outlets which can dispense food preparations in edible bowls and plates. Such a step may reduce the need for reuse of plates after one service and avoid the consequent risks inherent. Taking the cone ice cream example, keeping the cone and ice cream separately and serving them together at the serving counter is frequently practiced. To expect long shelf life food products to be packed in edible materials for wide distribution may remain a pipe dream unless some dramatic break-through takes place to circumvent the logistical and safety problems cited above.

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