HEALTH FOODS-ARE THEY REALLY HEALTHY?

Food industry is supposed to be providing to the consumer foods that can satisfy both their nutritional as well as culinary satisfaction. Whether the current day food manufacturing sector has been able to satisfy both the above criteria is a subject matter of incessant controversy. A substantial segment of the consumers feel that this industry is more obsessed with protecting its economic interests rather than the interests of the consumer with the result that responsibility for most of the modern day health disorders has been laid at the door steps of the industry. Whether it is CVD, Diabetes, Blood pressure, Kidney disorders or Obesity a substantial segment of the society blames the industry for making and marketing unhealthy foods to the unsuspecting consumer. Though food industry will have to take a large part of the blame for this sorry situation, the government as well as the consumer also have contributed to this mess in their own way. While the regulatory agencies under the government control can be found guilty of not exercising its power of disciplining the industry, consumers must be faulted for not choosing the right food and not following an active life style required to maintain good health.

Sugar including HFCS, fat including the trans fats and salt are the common enemies targeted as villains of the peace when role of food on good health is considered. Why these three constituents in the food should become villains though they were part of the foods consumed for ages is mired in controversies defying a consensus among the pundits of health. It is true that HCFS and trans fats are human creation and therefore their exact role needs to be elucidated through critical and reliable human studies but organizing such studies is fraught with lot of logistical difficulties at the ground level. The empirical calculation that as long as the calorie intake is balanced with expenditure and a diet of varied components is consumed regularly, one need not fear about health deterioration may require a revisit if the large scale use of food additives used by the processors, contaminants that creep into the food during handling and processing, faulty design of products with low fiber and depleted nutrients and unsafe processing practices are taken into consideration. Modern day foods are largely based on too much sugar, refined grains devoid of almost all nutrients, high salt levels, high fat content, all necessary to increase palatability which happens to be the driving force for successful marketing. 

It was not long ago that the industry came up with food supplements and nutraceuticals to overwhelm the consumer who started to worry about the ill effects of over processed foods and success was almost instant. To day this specialized segment of the industry offers a wide range of products,  most of which are considered neither a food nor a pharmaceutical product and the new industry is worth about $ 200 billion world wide, according to one estimate! Ideally for business, food processing makes an easy choice but progressive tightening of safety regulations and increasing criticism from the consumers make it difficult to meet consumer aspirations. Here is where the food supplements and nutraceuticals fit the bill. This is also true for pharmaceutical industry which is a cost intensive sector besides being tightly controlled universally. Almost all products being churned out by this new avatar of the industry such as probiotics, antioxidants, etc are able to make claims on one count or the other regarding their effectiveness on improving health or some medical benefits or preventing many diseases. Unfortunately these foods have not been subjected to any meaningful clinical research for proving the claims. Many of these products are targeted at young or old people with claims of keeping one younger, fitter and slimmer, often offering quick-fix solutions to protecting health. In India there are a few products that blatantly boast of growing taller, sharper, smarter, more healthy, quick energy restoration etc though very little clinical evidence is offered in support. Enrolling some obscure "scientists", obviously mercenaries in nature, in visual promotions gives the claims some respectability. It is a tragedy that government of the day remains a mute spectator to this day light fraud!        

According to some observers the nutraceutical and health food industry is a "placebo" driven business with little margins and therefore it cannot invest too much on clinical research in supportv of its varied claims.  Consumers eager to buy products which are fortified with one or more nutrients or well being ingredients, enhanced and enriched and their ready willingness to buy them, provides the platform for the health food industry to exploit this weakness for enriching itself! There is a famous saying that multi vitamins only improve the "health" of the industry! Probably this may be the real truth in the case of health food industry also. It is the eternal hope of the consumers who are hooked on to these products by high pressure promotional efforts of the industry, that ensures phenomenal growth by many major players in this sector. This situation cannot be allowed to continue knowing well that consumers are being taken for a ride by this industry with no regulatory agencies doing any thing to curb their activities. Probably it is time consumer activists take up cudgels on behalf of millions of unsuspecting consumers and force the governments in different countries as well as international agencies involved in health related developments to bring in some sanity in the form of evolving a regulatory environment to protect the interest of the consumer. The fact that these products do not harm the consumer though the claims made are unsustainable, cannot be an excuse to delay action in this area any more.     

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

WELL BEING FOODS IN INDIA-THE NEW TREND, A SIGN OF MATURITY?

People are increasingly getting aware about the nuances of healthy foods thanks to a barrage of information blared through the idiot box and "writings and lecturing" from many informed as well as misinformed "pundits". The result is that every product in the market is being scrutinized critically before making a purchasing decision. Whether this is good for the industry or not, is a million dollar question. Obviously industry feels that front of the pack label is an important medium for communication with the consumer and therefore try to cram it with as much information about the product to win over them. Though there are still some questions regarding the adequacy of information provided on a label, it still serves a useful purpose as far as a discerning consumer is concerned and both industry and consumer activists must sit together to improve upon it as much as possible to serve the purpose of transparency and fulfilling the right to information for the citizens.

Label claims as being made on labels are invariably questioned with regard to their veracity and regulatory authorities need to be more careful in permitting printing of such claims. It was not long ago that that European food authorities evaluated health claims by hundreds of products and found most of them based on flimsy scientific data. That only a few could get through their critical lens speaks volume about the mechanism in place in the EU countries that favors the citizens. Many heath claims are made with barely any reliable data but drawing on some academic research by students in Universities. Human health parameters have many features similar to that of animals but there are also major differences which necessitate cautious interpretation of results generated through animal experiments. 

There is a subtle distinction between a health food and a well being food. While a health food must have specific advantages in restoring or promoting on or the other aspect of human health, a well being product just needs to prove that it is good for preventing any diseases and disorders afflicting humans as long as they are not harmful. Many  nutrient fortified and enriched foods come under the category of well being products and cannot be called a health food. There are hundreds of such products already in the market well accepted by the consumers all over the world. Foods supplemented with Omega-3 oil from other sources can be considered as health products and there are similar products coming into the market to address specific health related need. Of course there can be a totally fabricated or designer food containing sch health boosting ingredients and such products are becoming main stream consumer items patronized by health conscious consumers.

In India there are a few natural products already in the market containing increased amounts of vitamins, minerals and other special micro nutrients which are popular with people in spite of the stiff price tags on them. There are also designer products made with permitted ingredients and offering diverse flavor and tastes making tall claims regarding their usefulness to improve health if consumed regularly. Unfortunately there is no effective mechanism in the country to bring to books the manufacturers of such products who are able to get away with impunity while making money riding on unproven claims. Some of the claims include fantastic brain development, fast body growth, getting tall in no time, increasing memory and many others. What is unfortunate is that respected nutritionists and University academics are drawn into this racket for pecuniary benefits! 

Amid such a scenario recent launch of two products by well established industry players provides a sharp contrast. The first one containing Oats and dehydrated vegetables deserve some applause for it fulfills the need for a ready to cook Oatmeal preparation for the well being of most of the consumers including diabetics. Most products based on Oats in western countries are rich in sugar and these are not considered desirable for regular consumption. This Indian product is superior to others in that it contains a variety of vegetables in dehydrated format. Cooking this with sufficient water provides a ready to consume product rich in beta glucans and nutrients contained in the vegetable ingredients. Most importantly they come in diverse tastes and organoleptically superb. Of course there is some scope to improve this product further and the same can be expected soon once the product gets established.

Another product is a malted beverage boasting of the health advantage of Oats. It is not clear whether Oats and Malt extract are compatible in nature and how much oats can be loaded into a beverage. Besides oats need cooking to disperse while a malted beverage is just mixed with hot milk. Though this product has been launched through out the country, the relevance and acceptability are factors that will determine its success. From a food technologist's perception malted beverage is a poor carrier for oats and there is a limit as to how much oats can be consumed through this products. Normally 50-100 gm of oats only can confer any health advantage and this fact goes against the soundness of the product design.   

Unless products are developed keeping in mind the basic concepts of nutrition and health promoting nutrients, there is every likelihood of such products falling on the way side during their progress towards a viable one. One or two products like the oats+vegetables cannot make the well being industry a mature one and unless many major players pitch in with similar products with undoubted positive health benefits India will continue to be a market for only fast foods and not-so-healthy foods.   
  

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

"ENGINEERED" FOODS-A PANACEA FOR 'UNHEALTHY' LIFE?

Engineering discipline strives to give practical operational frame work for a scientific finding and success of process and equipment designs will depend critically on the soundness of the basic findings on which they are based. Food engineering has come a long way since emerging as a distinct discipline during the second world war from the main stream mechanical engineering discipline and is dependent on chemical engineering to be successful in creating commercial production systems. The enormous variety of processed products in the market are possible to day because of tremendous advances made by food engineering discipline in the last 3 decades. With the advent of robotic technology, mechanization and automation are bound to become industry watch words as the need for human intervention and increased scale of operations tend to bring down production costs significantly. At a time when processed foods are being blamed for many ills of the society, does such a development augur well, is an important question.

As early as 1956, CFTRI pioneered synthetic rice from tapioca roots through a revolutionary technology which was much ahead of time. To day practically every processed food is made by application of food engineering in a big way whether it is for flavoring, coloring, texturizing, viscosity modification, shaping, concentration, drying, fortification, enrichment, cooking, sterilization or packing. Beyond this, new foods are 'engineered' to provide novelties for attracting new consumers and boost health attributes. Cold extrusion has given to the consumer pasta products from wheat, rice and other ingredients while cooker extruders have been able to give hundreds of new products with ready to eat characteristics. Breakfast cereals, one of the earliest convenient foods created by the industry became a regular part of diet in the western food system and continuous innovations and diversification to meet the needs of young and old alike are being made. In India engineering application to traditional foods area has contributed to a number of innovations, mainly for increased productivity and product standardization. Commercial plants for mass manufacture of staples like roti, idli, dosa, vada, many RTE foods are now available from the food machinery manufacturers.

A technology is like a double edged sword and its utility value depends on the way it is applied. If unsound ingredients are used in the recipe, the product also is bound to be unsound in terms of quality,safety and nutrition. If right ingredients and balanced recipes are used engineered foods can revolutionize the health status of the consumers very significantly. There are innumerable examples of healthier foods evolved by conscientious industry to meet the lofty goal of keeping the population healthy all the times. Meat analogs, omega-3 fruit juices, mocroencapsulated probiotics, protein enriched foods, interesterified fats, cheese based snacks, healthier ice cream products, digestive biscuits, whole wheat breads, fiber enriched products, low calorie foods, low glycemic breakfast cereals and snacks, low salt and low fat meals and snacks and many others strengthened with many phytochemicals like isoflavones, antioxidants, stannols, carotenoids, etc, are all excellent products based on the innovations of food technologists and food engineers.

In spite of such fantastic range of engineered foods available to the consumer during the last few years, why is that the health status of population is declining rapidly with many diseases assuming epidemic proportion? Probably food technology is not 'the be all and end all' for every food related health problems which must be recognized. The products coming out of the industry are not meant to change the life style of people but are only to supplement or augment the consumption of natural foods, especially fruits and vegetables, as much as possible. It is the consumer who should make a choice regarding what he should eat, how much he must eat and to what extent the processed foods should replace naturally cooked foods at home in his daily menu. Depending entirely on food industry for sound health and blaming it for all the ills, can never be justified.

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

CORPORATE INCENTIVES FOR IMPROVED PUBLIC HEATH

More or less all agree that the health crisis facing the world to day is brought about by uncontrolled consumerism, thoughtless product expansion favoring obesity and CVD and mindless life style changes consequent to plenty of money in the hands of the consumers who do not exercise discretion in choosing foods that are good for them. From food industry's perspectives, the portfolio of products offered by them is based on their "saleability", not their health boosting ability and invariably these products have excellent organoleptic profiles liked and craved for by a majority of the consumers. It is true that a healthy product can never be as appealing as those rich in fat, sugar, carbohydrates, functional additives, natural or synthetic and made by not necessarily optimum processing conditions from health angle. A 100% nutritionally literate population can only demand healthy foods and the world is no where near that target yet. Most consumers are unaware of the consequences of over eating and eating of foods with 'empty' calories and they indulge in such foods for the sake of palate satisfaction. Under these conditions is it inevitable that world is left to its fate while those who have the wherewithal to arrest the trend ignore the writing on the wall non-chalantly?

Many nations do spend enormous money in supporting food programs that subsidize or offer free nutritionally balanced foods at least once in a day to stave off hunger and promote nutrition amongst some segments of vulnerable population. How far they serve the purpose is another matter. More over can a government take up the whole responsibility to protect the health of its entire population through bureaucratic muddles for which it is notorious? While supportive programs are useful when paid for by the taxpayer directly through the government for the benefits of most vulnerable population, who is going to "guide" the eating habits of well- to- do consumers? No matter how much voluntary efforts are channeled to promote consumption of' 'well-being' products, the impact is not likely to be dramatic. In India the food industry floated the grandiose organization called Protein Foods and Nutrient Development Association in sixties with the objective of promoting nutrition in a big way but very little has happened during the last 4 decades of its existence. In stead of resolving to voluntarily to manufacture 'well-being' products for the Indian consumers, the Association went for the all too familiar "seminar, workshop and symposium" mode for promoting the concepts for which there were no takers even amongst their own members!

It is in this context that one must admire the new initiative coming from the law makers of the US who wanted the industry to be roped in to promote well-being of, at least, its own employees. Taxation is a powerful tool in the hands of the governments to make or break the industry and it is unfortunate that many third world countries use taxation as a means of collecting revenues for profligate spending on non-productive activities. Under the new administrative dispensation in the US, a move is afoot to enact legislation that will give significant tax breaks to the industry if it promotes health and well-being amongst its employees. At present any welfare scheme promoted by an industry is not recognized by the government as bonafide expenditure in the balance sheet and the recipients will have to pay income tax on such special allowances. Thus if a particular industry reimburses to its employees expenditure on buying regularly healthy and nutritious foods, such payments are considered as part of the salary attracting taxes at the individual level. Under the proposed Bill being considered in the US these payments can be shown as valid corporate expenditure admissible for tax computation. Probably the US cannot delay such welfare schemes for long as its population is on the brink of a dangerous implosion of epidemic nature, caused by obesity, CVD, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and similar life style diseases.

Do we learn any lesson from the experience of this affluent country? Lulling ourselves into a false sense of comfort through garbled statistics which says we are far behind other countries as far these diseases are concerned, is a short sighted policy that can put our country in great peril in the coming years. Our taxation policy is most regressive and even food is not spared by both state and central governments as most of the processed foods attract one or the other tax making them dearer to the consumer. Repeated pleas during the last 6 decades by the industry and consumer groups to declare the food industry as a "zero tax" industry have fallen on deaf ears and how can we expect these governments to think in terms of a pro-active taxation policy to promote healthy foods? In stead of looking for luxury foods to slap taxes, it may be a better strategy to grade the foods based on their health protecting quality and besides exempting from all taxes, additional financial incentives should be offered for marketing such products. Dairy foods, low fat, low sugar and low salt products, high protein foods, nutritionally balanced products and others with stress on health must be exempted from the taxation net, irrespective of who buys them.

At the Corporate level the industry must be encouraged to put in place eateries exclusively for their employees manned by dietitians and nutrition consultants, enlist a product portfolio available in the market that are considered specialty health products and identify people with good health for special pay based on acceptable national health parameters like body mass index, effective control of illnesses, good dietary habits, regular health check ups etc. Such employees can be paid ex-gratia health allowance, all expenditures allowed as genuine corporate expenditure eligible for IT deduction.



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