TAMING THE MNC FOOD GIANTS-CHINESE EXAMPLE

Most developing countries have the tendency to bend backwards to please multinational food companies for attracting foreign investment at "any cost" by evolving policies that are considered too liberal. In India most MNCs have a field day with barely any visible strategy or vigilance on the part of the government to monitor their actions which cannot be considered consumer friendly too often. The infamous Bhopal Gas Tragedy is still fresh in the memory of people and how the government then in power enabled the responsible people to escape with barely rap on their knuckle is part of history. Even to day the successor company Dow Chemicals is least bothered about the human tragedy that shook the international community. With unlimited freedom given to these companies Indian food sector is dominated by half a dozen such giants operating with impunity, destroying the domestic food processors slowly. In contrast look at the Chinese landscape where the government has shown great alacrity in booking those causing potential injury to its citizens. Latest to be booked is the global potato fry manufacturer who had to apologize to the country for its deficiencies in safeguarding the safety of products served by them. Here is a take on this episode as reported from China. 

"Just weeks after launching an advertising campaign focused on food and quality safety in China, McDonalds is under fire for local food safety violations. State-run China Central Television accused the company of selling chicken wings more than an hour and a half after they were cooked, which is about an hour past the company's self-imposed rule. The report also said that workers prepared and served beef that had fallen on the floor. The investigation was launched to mark World Consumer Rights Day on Wednesday. "McDonald's China attaches great importance to this," the company responded on its website. "We will immediately investigate this isolated incident, resolutely deal with it earnestly and take concrete actions to apologize to consumers." 

Interestingly there is an orchestrated campaign in that country as well as in the international circuits that MNCs re being discriminated against by Chinese authorities who are showing extra lenience while dealing with local processors. There may be some truth in that allegation but it does not speak well of these food giants when they start comparing themselves with their domestic counterparts while claiming at the same time that their technological superiority gives the consumers a better and safer product!. Chinese government, in spite of all food safety scandals happening in the country must be given due credit for disciplining the foreign food manufacturers who have greater potential to harm the consumers through their awesome technological and financial clout. Countries like India must learn a lesson from this episode to increase state vigilance on the working of some of the MNCs who have the notoriety in manipulating state policies in their favor and cause irreparable damage in the long run. 

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

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE!-ANOTHER VIEW ABOUT PDS IN INDIA

That the PDS system which is supposed to serve millions of impoverished Indian population is in total shambles is well known with massive pilferage being the hall mark of the program. The only point on which there is difference of opinion among impartial observers concerns the percentage of intended beneficiaries who get the real benefit, the estimates varying from 40% to 65%! In spite of the criminalization of PDS, country's GDP seems to be registering amazing growth with people to day having more money in their hands like never before. If the latest revelation that PDS grains are used by many families to raise Chickens and other domesticated food yielding animals is true, Government needs to rethink the strategy as to whether the PDS is really serving the purpose for which it was created. Probably those who receive the PDS grains find it hard to consume them because of extremely low quality and hence are feeding the same to raise meat, egg and milk! The brand new Food Security Bill further seeks to raise the subsidy and provide these grains at practically throw away prices of Rs 1-3 per kg! These reckless policies, with a hidden agenda of cornering vote banks, especially in rural areas, can only lead to more starvation, under nourishment, malnutrition and bankruptcy of the economy in the long run. 

Padmini, a native of Chertala Taluk in Kerala says that she gets more than enough foodgrains to feed her family at subsidised rates of Re 1 to 2 per kg. So she sees no harm in feeding the excess grain to household chicken and ducks. After all, eggs, chicken and duck fetch substantially higher value at the market. Moreover, it would be far more expensive to buy rice-brawn and coarse cereals which were fed to the poultry earlier. While the political masters are deliberating the prudency and expediency of the newly revised poverty line, millions like Padmini have no doubt crossed the invisible line which divides the poor from the rich in India. Suffice to say that it has been a feat without parallel in Indian economic history. A feat, more remarkable than India's tryst with liberalisation programmes. Despite all the success stories about India's green revolution and self sufficiency in food grain production, per capita availability of cereals stagnated around the 400 gram mark during the past 50 years. Productivity had marched ahead. Food grain production had tripled. But for occasional vagaries of weather and wild swings in production there was nothing substantially wrong with India's food production. The visible signs of prosperity both in India's rural heartland and urban sprawls are real. These signs meant that India's poor were consuming more. Per capita food grain availability should have zoomed. But that has not been the case.

According to recent reports, country's food production is expected to be unusually high and if procurement prices are right there could be a large inflow into the granaries of the government. With the storage capacity in the country being limited a substantial portion of the procured grains will have to be kept under CAP system of open storage which will further aggravate the quality problem already being experienced with PDS grains. If the cash distribution option being considered in lieu of food grains is implemented what will happen to the PDS is a million dollar question. A fundamental issue that is ignored by the policy makers is whether such free distribution of national wealth will not impact the human productivity in the country adversely as the need to work to get food is obviated by the government largess. Unless subsidized food is confined and restricted to those who are really poor by standard economic markers as assessed by scientific census there is no justification to waste national wealth so recklessly as being proposed.

V.H.POTTY

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

BUSINESS CAN BE A "BINDING FORCE"-THE "PULSE" AGREEMENT

A hungry China is a sure bet for good business for many developed countries as the Chinese foreign exchange holdings are very high sufficient to pay for import of goods required by the population there. USA and Canada are two countries which produce lot of excess agriculture crops including food which are more than that required by their population. Interestingly pulses are never a significant part of neither American nor Canadian diets but still commodities like dry peas and Lentils are produced in these two countries most of which need to be exported. Chinese is also not a legume consuming country and the recent agreement for China to import legumes from Canada is therefore surprising. Here is a take on this new bon homie between Canada and China. 

"We've been told China is a hungry country looking for partners to help feed it. Canada, a country heavily dependent on exports, is emerging as an important player in this quest. China has the ways and means to pay its bills, and represents a superb opportunity for North American farmers. It's becoming increasingly aggressive in wanting to sign food-related deals with the western world. Although it claims to be about 95 per cent self-sufficient in grains, its agricultural trade deficit grew by almost 50 per cent last year, as its population grows interested in an increasingly varied and healthy menu. Among its new interests are pulses — peas and lentils among them, which despite having been around forever are becoming renowned for their exceptional nutritional benefits. Canadian farmers grow the world's best pulses, and last year Pulse Canada, the progressively minded commodity group representing these crops, began collaborating with the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association to pursue new product development using pulses. Pulse Canada says Canadian and Chinese researchers are now working together to introduce pulses into Chinese staple foods such as noodles, steamed breads and dumplings, as well as snack foods and meat products. Last week, Canada and China signed a new memorandum of agreement — in which education, agriculture, science and technology were specifically mentioned — to increase the connection between the two countries, opening even more doors for development as the two countries drive toward a potential free-trade agreement. At the signing of the memorandum, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the rapidly increasing commercial, cultural and scholastic ties between our two countries are creating new jobs and economic growth. Indeed, this is a hot market and a growth area that Canada does not want to miss."

One is reminded of the historic attempts in the past by the US in expanding wheat consumption in Asian countries like Korea so that the surplus wheat production can be exported to these countries. Organizations like the Wheat Associates were conspicuous by their promotional activities in countries like India till recently and to day wheat has become a standard item in the menu of many erstwhile rice eating nations. Same is happening in legumes also and the presence of agencies representing the growers in the US and Canada are working over time to find markets for their pulses in these places. The unfortunate aspect of this development is that the imported pulses compete directly with domestic produce and with heavy subsidies received by the farmers in these countries the market price for the imported pulses are invariably much less than that of the local produce. China may well aware of these implications while operationalizing the bilateral agreement.

V.H.POTTY

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

IGNORE THE HOME, SHOW CHARITY ABROAD-THE NEW GOI APPROACH

It is amusing to read that India is acting like a super power going valiantly to help Africa rise like a food industry giant through extending credit and technical help. What is not understandable is regarding the capability and strength of this Ministry to really plan, design and implement food industry clusters for which enormous experience is needed. One gets rather nervous hearing about such grandiose plans because this Ministry, in spite of its pedestrian existence for the last two decades plus has practically nothing to show as its accomplishments within the country! The 'proclamation"by the Babus in the Ministry is indeed pathetic. Where are the people, qualified and competent to undertake this task? Is the Ministry going to hand over the money to some "favorite' consultants without bothering about the success of the so called "Mission"? Can India afford such lavish spending in a foreign country when the small food industry is languishing across the country? Whatever is the worth of this policy pronouncement, one thing must be made sure and that is to make India a laughing stock abroad for inappropriately executed and inordinately delayed projects which ultimately fail to take of.  There are many "monuments" in some parts of Africa bearing testimony to such crude attempts in the past! Reading the announcement is nonetheless interesting for what it does not say than what is said!

'The ministry of food processing industries is planning to set up a food processing cluster in Africa. The proposed cluster would entail an investment of Rs 117 crore to be spent primarily on the setting up of common infrastructure for food processing parks which includes cold storage, food testing labs, incubation centres, standard designed factories, pre-cooling chambers and other modern technologies used by the industry. This cluster is part of India's $5-billion credit line for Africa announced at the India-Africa Forum Summit last year. "The cluster is likely to come up within next three years. We are floating a competitive bid to appoint a project management agency which will help the ministry in implementing this project," said a top ministry official."

There are some Technological Institutions involved in food technology development but none of them possesses the required management dynamics to design and execute manufacturing projects as exemplified by their relatively obscure presence in the industrial landscape of the country. One wonders how many incubation centers have been established by the Ministry in India during the last 5 years! Also debatable is the success of so called Food Parks touted as achievements by the Ministry. A more logical step would have been to rope in private sector players and experienced consultants to lay out a road map to attain the objective. Good projects with trouble free functioning in foreign countries can be a standing testimony to the technological prowess of the country and spending millions in the name of foreign assistance will have no lasting impact.

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

SEAWEED CULTIVATION-WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL?

It is not understood why seaweed is considered as a food since it has practically no nutrients worth crowing about. There is no protein, no fat, only 1 gm carbohydrate per 10 gm, only 4 calories per 10 gm but still people are reported to be consuming it as a food in their regular diets. Indonesia which produces the largest quantity vie with others like Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Taiwan etc. If the following report is to be believed there is nothing as nutritious as Sea weed! Here is the startling claim by some new "growers" of this muti cellular algae in the West.   

"Spend time talking to Charles Yarish and Paul Dobbins, and you'll start to believe seaweed farming could be the answer to some of the world's most intractable problems. For starters, it could provide a highly nutritious, sustainable food source to a hungry planet; it could be transformed into biofuel that removes heat-trapping carbon dioxide even as it cleans offshore waters of pollutants; and it could create environmentally friendly economic opportunities for coastal communities including Long Island Sound. Cultivation of this "virtuous vegetable," as Dobbins has dubbed it, is a multimillion dollar worldwide industry, supplying key ingredients for medicines, cosmetics, fertilizers and food products ranging from sushi wrappers to ice cream thickeners. Dobbins is president of Ocean Approved, a year-old kelp farming company on the Maine coast, that sells frozen kelp to restaurants and speciality food stores, growing the sinuous green ribbons in about 8 acres of offshore beds supplemented with plots tended by local shellfishermen and lobstermen".

It is true Sea weed is a valuable source of widely used food additives Alginate, Agar and Carrageenan. loved by the food industry for their water retention characteristics, emulsifying ability and viscosity/texture modification potential. With low fat food products in great demand these sea weed derivatives are valuable ally of the industry because of their fat sparing effect. As it is a type of marine algae capable of growing on coastal areas where plenty of light for photosynthesis, access to brackish water and some sort of attachment point, growing of Sea weed is an avocation common in coastal areas of East Asia. In ideal areas the Sea weed growth can extent many miles into the deep sea. Calling it a "virtuous vegetable" is some what far-fetched though it contains appreciable chlorophyll pigment inside the cell. Its use as a food additive is increasing exponentially providing big opportunities to people having access to sea coasts.

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

"BUDGET"-FOR WHOM?

One of the severest criticisms about the latest Budget presented by the Finance Minister is that the much hyped poor "aam aadmi" is again left fending for himself while corporate sector continues to receive government's priority attention. Many reforms have been set in motion to free the manufacturing sector from unnecessary bureaucratic control, interference and messing up but the much awaited agricultural reforms and smooth backward linkages for the food processing industry have not received the attention due to it. The Budget takes care of just increasing food production on a short term basis to prevent serious shortages of food, in stead of any long term strategy to lay a firm foundation for the farming sector. It looks more like a fire fighting operation which is bound to fail no matter how much money is pumped into the prevalent archival farm management system. Here is a take on this issue articulated by some news media.

"Removing supply-side constraints - a major cause of food inflation - is among the five focus areas that Mukherjee outlined in his speech. Steps likely to follow include importing food in small amounts during occasional shortages to keep supplies up, taking perishables out of government regulation, avoiding multiple taxation of food items and increasing inter-state trade. Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand, which would have been the biggest farm-sector reform, is still stalled amid political opposition. "Agriculture will continue to be a priority for the government," Mukherjee said. Total funds for the department of agriculture have gone up to Rs 20,208 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 17,123 crore last year, up 18%. As it takes farmers to grow food, but scientists to show them how, the new budget has set aside Rs 200 crore for boosting research in the field of agricultural technology. Kisan credit cards for farmers are being upgraded to smart cards that can be used in ATMs. However, despite all the positive factors, the big miss continues to be big-ticket reforms, which alone can deliver high farm growth. The country's contrast with China is stark, which began with reforms in agriculture, not industry. India freed industry first, but remains cagey about opening up its farm sector. Without reforms, agriculture cannot do anything more than just feed the nation".

It is truly said that a paltry Rs 200 crore for R & D to upgrade farm technologies for achieving quantum jump in land productivity cannot be expected to yield much positive results. The realization that subsidies do not work in motivating farmers but good infrastructure and correct inputs, both for production and marketing only can make agricultural system vibrant and strong, has not yet dawned on the government. As every body knows China is where it is to day, is largely due to agricultural reforms and with such a strong agricultural base it is a power to reckon with in the global arena. If with all the subsidies amounting to trillions of rupees during the last few years, India still cannot stop the farmer suicides taking place across the farm belt, there is no way it can reach a position any where near China.

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

FOOD IRRADIATION-ISO'S NEW INITIATIVE

Food irradiation process on which enormous investments were made both in terms of valuable money as well as time is still to take off in spite of its proven efficacy and safety to human beings. Every day one is confronted by revelations that enormous amount of food produced in the world is lost irretrievably due to spoilage and other causes and according to one estimate this lost food would feed the entire world. Similarly food poisoning episodes due to contamination with many pathogens like Salmonella, virulent E.coli, Pseudomonas, Listeria etc are continuing posing serious safety problems in many countries. Why is that industry is reluctant to use this technology for the welfare of the consumers?. There are several reasons, most important of which is the regulatory authorities' insistence on mentioning irradiation on the label. It is a paradox that GM foods need not be labeled in a country like the US but irradiated foods must label it!  

"A new ISO standard—ISO 14470:2011—provides state-of-the-art requirements for food irradiation, commonly used to improve quality and safety in food processing. According to a press note by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), a developer and publisher of international standards, the standard will benefit manufacturers, irradiation operators, regulators, customers and, ultimately, consumers. The new standard pertains to requirements for the development, validation and routine control of the process of irradiation using ionising radiation for the treatment of food, not only providing requirements, but also guidance for meeting them. The note adds, food irradiation is the process where food is exposed to ionising radiation in order to improve its safety and quality. It is intended to be used only on food that has been produced under good manufacturing practice (GMP) principles. The irradiation of food can be used for different purposes including control of pathogenic microorganisms and parasites, reduction of the number of spoilage microorganisms, inhibition of the sprouting of bulbs, tubers and root crops, extension of product shelf life or phytosanitary treatment.The main objectives of ISO 14470:2011 are - Provide requirements for the irradiation of food consistent with current standards and practices; Provide directions for a technical agreement between the customer and the irradiator operator; and Establish documentation system to support the controls on the food irradiation process". 

The new ISO standard is good but for whom these standards are made is a question that does not have any ready answer. Of course small quantities of food products are irradiated, especially with low doses for some specific purpose whereas pharmaceutical and medical industry uses them extensively. If finalization of ISO standards for food irradiation heralds a new initiative for popularizing the technology, then it is timely. Otherwise it will remain as a sterile exercise with not many takers for it in the near future.

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