PURPLE TOMATOES-WILL THE CONSUMER ACCEPT IT?

Every consumer identifies red color with tomato and brighter the color, more appealing is the produce to most consumers. Can any consumer reconcile to a color other than red when it comes to tomatoes? Wine ripened tomatoes, though cost a little more, are much sought after because of the natural ripening process while still attached to the plant whereas ethylene ripened fruits are a pale shadow of naturally ripened tomato. There are also hybrid varieties that is firmer in texture and easily amenable to stand the rigors of transport over long distances but it appears they are incapable of ripening fully to the glorious red color. Industry is pulled between its desire to please the consumer on one hand and ground realities vis-a-vis handling, packing, storage, distribution and marketing on the other hand  that may entail significant losses through rotting. If the latest development in tomato breeding is any indication scientists are about to launch a new variety of tomato with a purple color and extraordinarily tough texture that can withstand long journeys with almost 100% more shelf life! The GM route adopted by the researchers to create this variety may be some what controversial but if their safety is proved beyond a shadow of doubt, it may be a win-win situation for both the consumer and the produce industry. Here is a take on this new development which will have significant impact on health of the population.

In research to be published in Current Biology, Martin and colleagues studied tomatoes enriched in anthocyanin, a natural pigment that confers high antioxidant capacity. The purple GM tomatoes have already been found to prolong the lives of cancer-prone mice and in the latest findings they also more double the normal shelf life of tomatoes from an average of 21 days to 48 days. "Post-harvest losses due to rotting are such a serious problem for growers and supermarkets that even an increased shelf life of one day would make an enormous difference to them," said Yang Zhang, lead author from the John Innes Centre. One way to improve shelf life is to pick tomatoes early when they are still green and induce them to ripen artificially with ethylene. However, this results in loss of flavour. Another method is to grow varieties that never fully ripen, but these also never develop a full flavour. In the current study, anthocyanins were found to slow down the over-ripening process that leads to rotting and softening, achieving a tomato with a long shelf life and full flavour. The purple tomatoes were also less susceptible to one of the most important post harvest diseases, grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea.

Anthocyanins are well known antioxidants with far reaching health benefits and the new variety of purple tomato will go a long way to protect humans from diseases like cancer if the rat studies are duplicated in humans through clinical trials. Though the exact procedure in evolving this new variety has not been revealed, it is safe to assume that the same will be patented. One crucial question that will throw a spanner on the commercial success of purple tomato is whether the consumers will accept a GM product if there is transparency in labeling. Probably it may take some years before purple tomato starts adoring the dining table, at least in that GMO loving country, America!  

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

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES-GOING OUT OF THE DIET?

It may be a global phenomenon that the market prices of fresh protective foods are always higher than durable foods with predominant starch content like cereals. For example in many western countries fruits and vegetables costs an average consumer almost two to three times more for getting the recommended minimum quantity in the daily diet compared to cereal based foods. Glaringly food industry manufactures more high calorie foods at low costs attracting more and more poor income group consumers than those based on fruits and vegetables. Naturally high calories foods with high sugar, starch, fat and salt flood the market with palate tingling quality and the result is there for all to see with people bloated bodies swelling the ranks of the population day by day, the obesity epidemic showing no sign of being contained. If this is the case of rich nations what could be the situation in a poor country like India? According recent studies, the syndrome of excluding fruits and vegetables from every day diet is spreading fast in India with very serious future implications on the health of the already nutrition compromised population. Here is a take on this new disturbing trend.  

"The fear of bad monsoon has suddenly hiked the vegetables and fruits prices by 300% from the farm to your dining table," Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said in a survey on "Rising prices of fruits and vegetables" in which over 5,000 people took part. Over 88% of middle income group (MIG) and lower income group (LIG) find difficult to manage the household budget and squeezing families' finances to the lowest level due to uncertainty of rains, according to a country-wide survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) under the aegis of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF). The survey was conducted in major places like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Bangalore and so on.  During the last three years, the salary of average common man has gone up by 10-15% but on the other side the prices of vegetables have also gone up by 250-300%,adds the ASSOCHAM paper. The maximum impact was felt in major cities like Delhi (1st), Mumbai (2nd), Ahmedabad (3rd), Kolkata (4th), Chennai (5th), Hyderabad (6th) and Pune (7th). Around 82% of lower middle class families have been forced to skip or squeezed their budgets for vegetables because of skyrocketing prices.
The prices of most of the widely consumed vegetables have shot up during the last two weeks in most parts of the country with the early onset of monsoon rains. The sudden increases of vegetables prices have seriously hit the common men mainly in the metro cities, adds D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM"

Is it not tragic that the so called democratically elected government is indulging in petty politics by bringing an ordinance on food security (old wine in new bottle!) that is supposed to legally 'guarantee" two thirds of the population with some hypothetical quantity of rotten cereals? Assuming that the guaranteed quantity is delivered without any operational hiccups and imagining the grain is edible, does the government feel that its duty is just to keep the "body and soul" of its citizens together without providing any means of nourishment through protective foods? The spooky statistics from the government may say that there is less than 5% inflation in the country but the prices of essentials like fruits and vegetables have gone through the roof recently! The traders are now quoting the rate of these foods "per quarter kilo" to make it appear reasonable, a gimmick that may not go well with the consumers. Probably if the government further shirks its responsibility for ensuring "nutrition security" to its citizens, traders may start selling such foods "per 100 grams" basis by next year!   

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

      

ANOTHER BLAH BLAH ABOUT STREET FOODS-NEW DECLARATION BY FSSAI!

What are the chances of one getting sick after consuming foods from vendors who serve their "mouth watering" products under the open air without worrying too much about hygiene and sanitation or the likely chance of the same to be vitiated by hundreds of smoke emitting automotive vehicles passing in front of them? Obviously there does not appear to be any major food poisoning episodes in India during the last three decades putting to rest the speculation in this regard by the western educated food scientists based on their perception of science! Could this be due to the extraordinarily tough stomachs Indians possess or is there any other strong reason? Probably these vendors are not as irresponsible as being made out by "scientific" surveys undertaken from time to time by scientists! One of the major reasons could be that most foods offered are cooked on the spot and served hot leaving very little chance of contamination from pathogenic microbes. Those which are not served hot are either sour tasting or salt laden or laced with sour curds that, here also there is very little chance of the customers getting sick. Against this background the recent proposal from Delhi to initiate a "certifying" scheme for these small players, purveyors of tasty local foods, may be somewhat out of place and it will likely to end up as an harassment tool that might be deployed by petty officials to extract extortion from them. Here is a take on this new "awakening" in Delhi about the safety of street foods, after doing nothing for ages!  

"Vendors wearing gloves while serving up plates of pani puri or donning a chef's hat while stirring spicy bhel may soon be a regular sighting to Mumbai's street food culture. Street food is set to become certifiably safer with the central government kicking off their Safe Street Food project across fifteen cities in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Varanasi, Dehradun, Bhubaneshwar, Agartala, Jammu, Trivandrum and Chennai. The project will take off in November this year. Food Safety and Standard Authority of India's (FSSAI) that launched the Safe Street Food project plans to use officials from the state Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to narrow down food stalls at Juhu and Girgaon Chowpatty as a part of the pilot project. Prior to the implementation, a detailed project report has been sought by FSSAI from all states. FDA officials are currently seeking information on 80 food stalls in Juhu and 28 stall in Girgaon about their working practices. "We are closely studying the cooks to see if they maintain hygiene while cooking. We are also observing how they store food and dispose garbage," said Kamlesh Sankhe, joint commissioner (food), FDA. Apart from training the street vendors on handling preparation, storage and presentation of food, the central government has instructed the state and BMC to develop an infrastructure at street food hotspots to make them more tourist-friendly. "We have repeatedly requested the civic and state authorities to provide sheds as protection from the rain and winds. Toilet facilities, waste disposal and drainage facilities should be provided as well," said Atul Gupta, treasurer, Girgaon Bhelpuri Khadya Peey Vikreta Industrial Products Co-operative Society Limited".

The response from the organization that represents street vendors is logical and correct. In stead of a window dressing approach, what the government must do is to relocate these vendors to food complexes with complimentary facilities like safe water supply, access to clean toilet and clean environment. Every city in this country should have a few such infrastructure set ups immediately for shifting the existing vendors and establishing new players with minimum hassles. The street food lovers in this country, millions in number will owe a debt of gratitude to the government, if it thinks in this direction. Of course in a country where every exercise by the government has more publicity value than substance, it may be too much to expect such progressive measures to be implemented in the foreseeable future! 

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

RISE OF BARLEY-A GOOD THING

But for the brewery industry barley as a commercial crop would have faced extinction long ago. As it is the main ingredient in the manufacture of beer and a few spirits, cultivation of Barley received a fillip and there is no looking back once alcohol industry started growing in India at a frenetic pace. It is not that all alcoholic beverages need barley for the fermentation because most Indians consume Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), made by fermentation of molasses a by-product of sugar industry. Besides Arrack the distilled product from coconut toddy is the most popular drink in Kerala with practically every person consuming it regularly. Barley has a USP in that when germinated it produces the typical enzymes that convert starch into malt which in turn is a base material for making malt extract and alcohol fermentation. Interestingly Barley got further boost when consumers started getting more and more aware about health and the importance of non-starch polysaccharides like beta glucans in lowering cholesterol in the blood that keeps heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc at bay. Being a grain with low Glycemic Index (GI) it is considered one of the best foods for controlling blood sugar in those persons affected by diabetes. Here is the story of the revival of Barley as illustrated by one of the admirers and what future it has in India. 

Barley, a rabi (winter season) coarse cereal that had lost out to wheat in the post-green revolution period in terms of productivity and consumer preference, is back. The revival of farmers' interest in this versatile cereal has been triggered by increased demand from the malting, brewing, confectionery and pharmaceutical industries, coupled with the evolution of its high-yielding varieties suitable for industrial uses. Besides, it underwent an image makeover to regain consumer appeal as a health food, thanks to its high content of cholesterol-lowering fibres, both soluble and insoluble, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Barley is now increasingly being used as an ingredient in the multigrain health foods, including multigrain atta(flour) and bread, baby foods, cocoa-malt drinks and several other products.

It might not have escaped the notice of consumers who are bombarded with promotional ads in the electronic media regarding the USP of malt based dairy beverages which have very appealing flavor and color attracting every child. Malt extract prepared from barley malt is one of the most sought after flavoring materials in chocolate industry. The original Ovaltine and Horlicks, age old health drinks, owed their popularity to the barley malt extract. It is another matter that there are many new avatars which have appeared in the Indian market, equally popular with kids and adults alike. With prices of rice hitting the roof in India, Barley offers an attractive low cost alternative available at about 70-80% of the price of rice. Cooked whole Barley looks and tastes almost like red rice and the high nutritional content is an added bonus. Probably Barley getting into the mainstream cereal market may dramatically revive its fortunes. The only worry is that it should not go the Oat's way becoming a super hyped gran with all types of health claims priced at three times that of rice!    

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

FOOD FRAUDS ON THE UPSWING?-IMPACT OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

Economic conditions and food frauds have a direct connection and higher the inflation bigger will be the incentive for fraudsters to imitate high priced food products to make a fast buck. History is replete with instances where costly products like olive oil, saffron, cavier, scotch whiskey and a host of others being imitated with even experts some time getting fooled! If recent reports are any indication this malaise that affects every society in this world is spreading its tentacles far and wide with safety management agencies not being able to cope up with the pace of growth of "innovators" for imitation who are able to imitate practically every product including the day to day foods of the citizens with impunity. Look at the milk industry in India, a country which happens to be the top most nation producing huge surplus milk where "man made" milk is flooding the market to attract cost conscious but innocent citizens in greater and greater numbers. A concoction of oil, shampoo, detergents, urea and and a host of other chemicals can be made to look like milk, behave like milk and fool the consumers while these "formulations" are sold at prices far below the ruling market price for genuine milk! Here is a commentary on fraud foods from Europe which seem to be reaching unmanageable proportion with safety authorities mulling over its consequences. 

"Investigators have uncovered thousands of frauds, raising fresh questions about regulatory oversight as criminals offer bargain-hunting shoppers cheap versions of everyday products, including counterfeit chocolate and adulterated olive oil, Jacob's Creek wine and even Bollinger Champagne. As the horse meat scandal showed, even legitimate companies can be overtaken by the murky world of food fraud. "Around the world, food fraud is an epidemic — in every single country where food is produced or grown, food fraud is occurring," said Mitchell Weinberg, president and chief executive of Inscatech, a company that advises on food security. "Just about every single ingredient that has even a moderate economic value is potentially vulnerable to fraud." Speaking at a recent conference organized by the consulting firm FoodChain Europe, Mr. Weinberg added that many processed products contain ingredients like sugar, vanilla, paprika, honey, olive oil or cocoa products that are tainted. Increasingly, those frauds are the work of organized international criminal networks lured by the potential for big profits in an illicit trade in which most forgers are never caught. The vodka gang boss, Kevin Eddishaw, was — but not before he had counterfeited liquor on an industrial scale, generating profits to match, according to investigators, who estimated that his distillery produced at least 165,000 bottles costing the British government £1.5 million, or $2.3 million, in lost tax revenue. "He was living a very nice lifestyle," said Roddy Mackinnon, criminal investigation officer for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, "a couple of properties, nice cars: a Range Rover, a Mercedes." Here at Moscow Farm, the gang used the production techniques of a modern-day factory equipped with at least £50,000, or $77,200, in equipment (while ignoring safety rules). Gang members bought bottles from the supplier of the real makers of Glen's vodka, saying they were destined for Poland. When forged label prototypes printed in Britain were deemed unpersuasive, higher-quality ones were brought from Poland. The gang faked duty stamps on boxes. "They tried to do as much as they could to replicate the real thing," Mr. Mackinnon said. "They were very professional, there was attention to detail." So well was the secret plant hidden that it was detected only when someone suspected in another case led investigators there in 2009. Though Mr. Eddishaw worked through intermediaries and used pay-as-you-go cellphone numbers, investigators tracked his calls, proving from the location where they were made that the phone belonged to him and linking him to a fraud that brought him a seven-year prison term. The plot fits a pattern, identified by Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, which says organized crime groups have capitalized on the economic downturn".

The "accidental" uncovering of the imitation Vodka factory in England as reported above shows how blatant adulterators  and fraudsters can go in cheating the consumers with no concern about the adverse impact of their products on consumer health. This disturbing revelation is all the more perturbing considering that the helpless consumers have no recourse to avoid such fraudulent foods with the safety authorities grossly under manned to tackle the situation though infrastructure wise European testing facilities are one of the best in the world. In contrast countries like India are doubly handicapped because they have neither adequately qualified staff in quality and quantity nor the requisite testing infrastructure! Most citizens are food illiterate, ignorant of food safety, health and nutrition. How can the world face such a "no win" situation though there are honest intentions? Probably one of the effective deterrents could be very severe punishment including capital punishment for serious offenders indulging in life threatening food fraud episodes and plugging all loopholes in the legal system.  

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

ANTIBACTERIAL UMBRELLA-WHAT IS THAT?

Increasing episodes of Listeria monocytogenes contamination of animal based products like meat are causing serious concern, especially in retail super markets where meat muscles are sliced before serving to the consumers. As these slicers can harbor this pathogenic bacteria, transmission from serving to serving becomes a reality posing safety risks. L.monocytogenes happens to be one of the most versatile pathogens that can thrive even at cold temperatures if right moisture conditions prevail and almost 20% mortality is being attributed to infection with this pathogen, young and the elderly being highly vulnerable. What is interesting is that incidence of L.monocytogenes contamination occurs more frequently at the retail preparation level while factory processed products are comparatively safer. Though there are powerful chemicals that can kill the bacteria, their use in meat is restricted by food laws and use of chemicals invariably taint the product affecting the flavor and taste. Recent report that bacteriophage preparations specific to L.cytogenes are highly effective in sanitizing the meat products is a welcome news that is going to give relief to the retail Deli meat industry. Here is a take on this important development.   

"To comply with the regulation, Deli Brands initially used lauric arginate and a smoke derivative, but that created "issues with our process," Tew says. Next the company tried injecting sodium lactate and sodium diacetate into the meat products, but that caused flavor issues and increased processing costs substantially. Then, when USDA approved Listex as a processing aid in May of 2011, Tew and his colleagues were able to resolve their dilemma. "We started using Listex about 18 months ago on all of our whole-muscle cooked products," Tew says. "We found that by using Listex as a surface treatment with sodium lactate and sodium diacetate in the carrier solution, we improved our products' flavor profile, reduced our processing costs, and significantly increased our shelf life — to as long as 70 days. And because it's a processing aid, Listex does not have to be listed in ingredient statements, which means we didn't have to change our product labeling." Developed by Micreos Food Safety, Wageningen, The Netherlands, Listex is a culture of bacteriophages (or phages for short) that effectively eliminate Listeria monocytogenes. As phages occur in nature, are specific to their target bacterial species, do not affect desirable bacteria in foods or in the human gastrointestinal tract, and do not alter the finished product's organoleptic properties (such as taste, texture and color), Listex is listed by the Organic Material Review Institute, meaning it can be used in processing of natural and organic foods. Listex is one of the most cost-effective interventions on the market, says Dirk de Meester, Micreos' business development director".

The very mention of virus (bacteriophage) evokes some apprehension among consumers as they are causative agents for many deadly diseases mankind has been facing for centuries but bacteriophage preparation developed in the Netherlands is a harmless product that does not affect friendly and beneficial microgenome of humans, being highly specific to L.cytogenes. Industry seems to have accepted the technique of using the bacteriophage preparation for surface treatment which provides a protective umbrella to preempt contamination from L.cytogenes. As it is not considered an ingredient in the processing, there is no compulsion to declare the same on the front of the label of the pack. 

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

EVOLUTION OF LOW NUTRIENT FOODS-A HISTORICAL PERSEPECTIVE

When one looks at the phenomenal growth of organic food industry, there is an inescapable yearn among the people to day for things of the past, their ancestors were used to centuries ago! Why this change in attitude towards food that is consumed every day? Because the rampant spread of modern day diseases like CVD, Obesity, Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Cancer, Kidney disorders etc is awakening people regarding the link between the food and diseases. To day awareness about health is rising rapidly as educational levels are increasing due to economic development. This is precisely the reason why organic foods are finding increasing shelf space in supermarkets all over the world. To what extent the modern civilization must take responsibility for destroying the old culture that ensured production of nutritionally healthy agricultural crops, replacing it with "nice" looking food crops through mechanized cultivation techniques and hybridized crops that contain progressively less and less nutrients. Whether it is modern tomato or the good looking white maize the story is same. Man seems to have dug a hole for himself by these reckless short sighted evolutionary activities from where it is difficult to climb! Here is a critique on the transformation of old age agriculture into the modern industrial agriculture which is indeed very revealing! 

"Is the quality of our food decreasing as quantities increase? There is no doubt that industrial agriculture is extremely successful in producing food abundantly, but does the plant breeding that delivers big yields - along with the pesticides and fertilizers that compromise environmental safety - also result in lower-quality food? In a recent column I reported that tomatoes are now a pale facsimile of their formerly delicious selves, containing fewer nutrients and more sodium than they did when they tasted good. It seems that tomato breeders looking for qualities like transportability neglected nutrition. Now scientists are reporting that many of our foods have also become low in certain nutrients, including phytonutrients, the compounds that help reduce the incidence of four major modern health threats: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. Declining food quality is not a new thing, but industrial agriculture's emphasis on volume over quality has accelerated the pace of nutrient loss. "Each fruit and vegetable in our stores has a unique history of nutrient loss," journalist Jo Robinson reports in the New York Times, "but there are two common themes. Throughout the ages, our farming ancestors have chosen the least bitter plants to grow in their gardens. It is now known that many of the most beneficial phytonutrients have a bitter, sour or astringent taste. Second, early farmers favoured plants that were relatively low in fibre and high in sugar, starch and oil. These energy-dense plants were pleasurable to eat and provided the calories needed to fuel a strenuous lifestyle. The more palatable our fruits and vegetables became, however, the less advantageous they were for our health."

Nutrition and health paradigm has significantly changed during the last 6-7 decades and human beings are discovering what they have lost by their reckless pursuit of high productivity, increased profitability and palate comfort. Foods devoid of fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals etc are wreaking havoc with the health of humans and if diseases like CVD, Diabetes, Cancer, Blood Pressure, Kidney disorder etc are becoming the norm rather than exception, only the modern agriculture system needs to be blamed. Added to these woes comes the much hyped GMO foods which has divided the world vertically into opposing camps vis-a-vis their relevance and safety. There needs to be a paradigm shift in the thinking of the industry, scientists, consumers, policy makers and farmers regarding the best way to make the food more healthy and nutritious, forgetting the past baggage! 

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