"Best before date" to be replaced by "Expiry date" on packed food labels? Imponderable factors

World over the consumer right to know what is offered as food by its makers is recognized and it is for this reason that the food manufacturers are forced to declare unambiguously the ingredients used and the nutrition it offers for which mandatory label provisions have been evolved. Each country has opted for a standard format of its own to be followed by the makers of foods in the county. Though there may be variations in the details of the declaration, basically these labels are insisted upon so that an average consumer knows about the quantity, price, ingredients, allergic and health affecting constituents, manufacturing date and batch number, best before date etc.Because of the realization that consumer may be more discerning in his choice of food, most important items to be included on the label vis-s-vis health are calories, fat, sugar, proteins and some micronutrients. While in India food processing industry has to abide by the law regarding labeling, what is galling is that such demands are not made on the public eateries which offer freshly cooked foods either served in regular brick and mortar restaurants or the informal unorganized street vending outlets though their products have neither any standards of identity in the statute books nor the liability for any food poisoning episodes. When packaged food food business is comparatively small considering that millions of people eat outside their home in such eateries, why these players are not asked to tell their patrons the basic composition of the foods they offer?                                                 

During the last few years eating out scenario has dramatically changed with more and more people being pulled by fast food restaurants, food trucks and street vendors which naturally would have affected the growth of the so called "brick and mortar" eateries.The eternal debate regarding the quality and safety of products offered by casual eateries will go on and on, with no clear answer emerging soon. Whether one likes it or not the current trend of faster growth of the informal sector of catering will continue and the catering sector as a whole has to take this in its stride. Why do more and more people like street foods in preference to going to a "standard" restaurant which at least ensures some accountability that can be enforced? Is it the price factor? Or is it the convenience factor that decides? Very difficult to get any definite answer though both must have some thing to do with such shifting of consumer loyalty. If we go by western standards the fast food industry registered phenomenal growth riding on the consumer desire to save time on eating and later it emerged that these new formats of eateries could also offer good "tasting" foods at comparatively lower prices. Lately the fast food food sector is however being hit badly by the new consumer awareness about health and the relentless onslaught of obesity caused by their low nutrient density food preparations though some of the major ones are in the process of overhauling their menu to make their products more healthy.

In India street food vendors are omnipotent across the urban and semi urban areas working unobtrusively occupying some of the important arterial and busy streets where crowds do collect in the evenings. Though from time to time concerns have been raised regarding the adverse impact of these street foods on the health of the citizens, civic administrations find it difficult to do any thing to discourage the working of these vendors due to humanitarian and political reasons. Neither is there any organized attempt either at the national or state level to improve the system with active policy intervention. Major issues that bother the health experts are the sanitary and safety problems inherent in such a situation where quality of inputs like water, raw materials and cooking environment cannot be considered satisfactory with most vendors. Besides disposal wastes and total lack of toilet facilities nearby make consuming these foods relatively a risk taking venture! Still it has to be conceded that there are thousands and thousands of street hawkers eking out a living through street vending giving it a socio-economic flavor. 

It is against such a background one has to listen to the discourse from the Consumer Affairs Minister at Delhi that Indians are confused by the labels on packaged foods, especially when it comes to the "best before" date and declared that it would be replaced with "expiry date" so that consumer can decide not to buy date expired products. The assumption is that date expired foods can be dangerous while many foods even after the best before date are still edible and safe to consume. May be there is a point in what the Minister has said because even the United Nations agencies have declared that enormous waste of food all over the world, especially in affluent countries is unconscionable. But what is the technical feasibility of arriving at at an expiry date for any food? After all food is a complex cocktail of organic molecules and any prediction regarding interactions among them may be somewhat difficult. Drawing any parallel between food industry and its counterpart in the pharmaceutical sector is not sustainable as most drug preparations have one or two active ingredients and what happens to them over a period of time can be easily assessed through model studies. 

While government is becoming more and more demanding when it comes to organized industry, the unorganized sector like street vending goes without much of an oversight by the safety agencies. Whether declaration of ingredients or expiry date such rules are enforced only when the players are registered with government regulatory authorities. It is still fresh in our memory as to how the safety regulator in this country systematically hounded the manufacturer of a particular brand of instant noodles slapping on them the unsustainable charge of their products being unsafe due to excessive levels of lead or mono sodium glutamate though there are many others producing the same not subjected to any scrutiny. It is misfortune of the citizens of this country that we are saddled with a food safety "management" agency which believes more in applying the law in letter rather than the spirit behind them. The instant noodle episode is a standing testimony to the character and culture of this agency. The appalling and archaic food safety vigilance and enforcement infrastructure controlled by state level departments cannot instill much confidence among the consumers that things will improve one day! 

The Consumer Affairs Minister was forthcoming regarding his ideas to stream line the street vendors by establishing specialized food vendors' zones to shift the existing vendors so that the quality of foods served would be much better though it is not clear as to how the central government can orchestrate the policy in an area considered coming under the state's power. Also he should have suggested that all food vendors, in the organized as well as in the informal sectors, must follow a declaration format containing some basic information regarding the two most important components, total calories and total fat to begin with. Why he was not considering this as important may be due organized objections the restaurant sector would raise citing technical difficulties in providing such information to their customers. Though this may be a valid argument it is not insurmountable.because such information can be generated with enormous technical resources available in government funded food laboratories in the country. A still better approach could be to generate data on the Indian culinary preparations and lay down guidelines for some of them for the catering industry to follow. 

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

"Eating out" practice in India-Any one concerned about irrational prices?

Compared to western population Indians generally do not go out for eating as frequently as the former, probably due to traditional culture of eating home cooked foods, prepared and served lovingly by the mother. But this trend is slowly changing with the advent of fast food culture dominated by reputed MNCs, who offer a variety of "taste good" foods with empty calories such as french fries, pizzas, fried chickens, coffee and allied products, pop sodas besides providing ambiance and social environment. Younger generation who seem to have been bowled over by this new experience does not realize how unhealthy these foods can be! Thinking for a moment they should see for themselves how Americans have been made to be addicts of these foods and consequent obesity epidemic spreading there like a wild fire!  The fast spreading life style disorders like diabetes, CVD, blood pressure, kidney ailments, intestinal afflictions etc have their origin traced to fast foods and similar unhealthy and imbalanced food products available at relatively low costs across the country with easy accessibility.

One of the grave consequences of proliferation of nuclear families, because of fragmentation of once redoubtable joint family system, is the slow disappearance of cooking skills among young house wives, most of whom are professionals having very little time to spend in the kitchen or for engaging with their kids. Progress in technology also played a role in accelerating this trend, consciously or unconsciously, by developing life style products like instant mixes and a whole range of ready to eat foods etc, aided and abetted by house hold gadgets like blenders, grinders, toasters, refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, induction stoves all available at affordable prices and deferred payment system. How many house wives to day can make a decent curry, southern or western style, similar to what their mom and grandma used to make? Very few! This is one of the reasons why cookery shows are becoming the staple of all TV channels irrespective of the language in which they are presented. This is also the reason why eating out practices are becoming more and more common these days.

Catering ready made food preparations can take different formats ranging from home messes to star hotels supposed to fit the pockets of different income populations.To day street vendors dominate the market because of the affordable prices, fast service, excellent taste and informal environment offered by them. Small hotels with specialized menus are an omnipotent part of many towns and cities while many high end restaurants cater to those looking for a relaxed eating session with family members. Having stated the current scenario vis-a-vis eateries in the country, a valid question that arises is whether this industry is really behaving in a responsible fashion without taking recourse to arbitrarily high prices not related to the cost of preparation of various foods offered by them? It is very difficult to answer this rational question without indicting a sizable section of the industry for their "customer fleecing' attitude by charging abnormally high prices through collective collusion and conspiracy in fixing high prices which cannot be justified under any norms of real time costing. 

Expanding a little bit further regarding the prices prevalent to day in most of the established restaurants, how can any one justify paying Rs 20-25 for a cup of coffee served in a "not- so-clean" cup, that too three fourth full, or for that matter Rs 15-20 for an idli or vada or Rs 30-40 for a plate of poori and bhaji or a dosa, with his hard earned money?  It still rankles in the minds of many customers, who do not go to restaurants regularly that on an average one has to shell out at least Rs 80-100 per person to get a reasonable satiety. It is mind boggling that there is a mark up of prices for the items doled out by most of the caterers which often works out to 200-1000% when calculated based on the raw material cost incurred by the vendor! Such exploitation was earlier noticed only with multinational companies like breakfast  products which cost about Rs 300-400 per kg though the basic raw material maize can be bought for less than Rs 20 per kg! The catering sector should not be allowed to get away with impunity for perpetuating such perfidy on the hapless citizens in this country. No wonder street vendors, home messes and self service "darshinis" are flourishing, providing succor to the low and middle income population. 

It is to e admitted that in spite of the government claim of low inflation, practically every food item costs almost 10%-20% more than what they were 2 years ago. Naturally this inflation has to be built into the pricing regimen and consumers know this fact fully. "Reasonable" price escalation is understandable but irrational hike up cannot be condoned as it amounts to consumer "fleecing" and fraudulence. A country like India where free enterprise concept has been embraced, any government control will amount to violation of the economic fundamentals.But government also has a responsibility to protect the citizen from fraud and exploitation. Those in power cannot wash off their hands saying that under the free marketing system each player has the right to fix the price for his product or service. What can the consumer do if these players all gang up and "fix" prices and who will protect them? A vexed question indeed!

 the established restaurants, how can any one justify paying Rs 20-25 for a cup of coffee served in a not so clean cup, that too three fourth full, or for that matter Rs 15-20 for an idli or vada or Rs 30-40 for a plate of poori and bhaji, with his hard earned money?  It still rankles in the minds of many customers, who do not go to restaurants regularly that on average one has to shell out at least Rs 80-100 to get a reasonable satiety. It is mind boggling that there is a mark up of prices for the items doled out by these caterers which often works out to 200-1000% when calculated based on the raw material cost incurred by the vendor! Such exploitation was earlier noticed only with multinational companies like breakfast  products which cost about Rs 300-400 per kg though the basic raw material maize can be bought for less than Rs 20 per kg! The catering sector should not be allowed to get away with impunity for perpetuating such perfidy on the hapless citizens in this country. No wonder street vendors, home messes and self service "darshinis" are flourishing, providing succor to the low income population. Here is an example of such a low cost vending service reported from a village near Surat in Gujarat where a home mess is doing a yeoman service by offering reasonably priced food preparations which appears to be a roaring success as measured by their popularity and increasing demands from their customers.

The helpless citizen can always go back to the road side vendor or to the darshini type of small eateries where food is still affordable but how many families can go to such places with their children expecting some relaxation from their routine and dreary chores? It is where government has to step in to provide succor to its citizens through regulatory policies. In a free enterprise country like India, competition is supposed to decide the prices in the market but catering services in the organized sector is proving the opposite by collective "muscling" of the consumers through unholy nexus among themselves to manipulate the prices! No wonder the Amma Canteen chains promoted by Tamil Nadu government has been wholeheartedly welcomed by citizens belonging to the low income category and there is a pressure on the government to expand the reach of this canteen chain from the public. If established caterers do not relent in reducing their prices to reasonable levels, government must encourage families and small entrepreneurs to start catering business by providing them required facilities and financial support. There must be a pro active policy to encourage mobile canteens all over the country and such a national endeavor requires designing of low cost mobile vans with minimum necessary facilities to cook and serve hot foods in designated places with over sight from the civic authorities regarding safety of food they serve. 

V.H.POTTY

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

Food trucks in India-Will they succeed?

Catering service comes in many formats and street vending is an established system in many parts of the world. Besides the foods served being cheaper, street vendors are supposed to provide a better sensory satisfaction to their clients. Unfortunately the urban infrastructure in India is so bad there is a constant conflict between the pedestrians and the vehicular traffic in moving ahead in this chaos to reach their destinations. Where is the space available for these vendors to serve their dedicated clients without attracting punitive action from the civic bodies? Whatever may be the constraints these vendors, thousands in number still manage to do business though the relevant question is whether they become a potential source of food poisoning dangers associated with inadequate hygiene and sanitation.

From time to time the issue of controlling street vending outlets crops up nationally as well as internationally and sporadic efforts are made to help them manage their business better with least inconvenience and risks to the citizens who flock to such places for a relaxed eating experience. Even recently the street vendors association organized a workshop in Delhi to train their members on sanitation and hygiene keeping in mind their vulnerability to undesirable food borne illness due to deficiency in service. Still street vending poses challenges to the civic bodies in terms of regularizing their activities without compromising on foot path facilities for the pedestrians. Though these bodies control them through the licensing provisions, very little is being done to oversee the quality and safety of the foods they prepare and sell through open vending exposing to the questionable quality of the environment they are working.

One of the biggest problems as far the consumer is concerned is the water being used by street vendors for their preparation, washing of cooking utensils and serving plates and disposal of waste generated. In many parts of the city where street vendors operate the stench emanating from the waste, droppings and wash water an be unbearable some time. Regular cleaning of the pavements every day by the civic authorities with antiseptics like phenyl, bleaching solutions and powders could reduce the dangers significantly. But this is almost never done leaving scope to cause discomforts to the customers, some times becoming a hazard with potential for major poisoning episodes. That Indians have strong bellies which are not easily affected by minor incidences of food transgressions cannot be an excuse to shut our eyes to wards negligence of hygiene, sanitation and tainted water and foods.

From time to time suggestions have been made to create food plazas in cities located at different locations where adequate facilities are provided for clean water, waste disposal and toilet facilities. But the food plazas that are coming up are invariably posh ones serving high cost foods and common man finds it difficult to access to these places because of cost considerations. The Amma canteens in Tamilnadu did create an aura for some time and they are still popular among low income population like workers and laborers but this is a government subsidized venture leaving very little for individual entrepreneurship. Recent advent of Food Trucks on India roads is a welcome development though we do not know how long they will last under the suffocating environment of bureaucracy and cluttered roads in most cities. In a country like the US where Food Trucks have notched up phenomenal success there are clearly demarcated areas where food trucks can be parked for doing business for limited ours without hindering the flow of pedestrians or vehicular traffic. It is doubtful whether the street vendors in India can ever be transformed into a food truck business entrepreneurs given the reality that exists in the country.

In spite of such reservations the news that some bold entrepreneurs have jumped into the fray in places like Delhi and Bangalore can be very encouraging. Properly designed food trucks should be elf sufficient in terms of on the spot cooking, serving facilities, waste handling, refrigeration etc, though one cannot expect them to provide toilet facilities. According to one view one can have a food truck with an investment of Rs 3-5 lakh but such improvised "trucks" would be probably mounted on old van type vehicles which cannot be called a food truck. A good self contained food truck many cost upwards of Rs 25 lakh with necessary minimum facilities and whether with such investments entrepreneurs will be able to garner sufficient business to ensure decent returns remains to be seen.

Catering sector in India is booming with regular eateries making a kill in the market with the consumers becoming insensitive to the prices at which the preparations are sold. Even a small eatery gets away with prices varying from Rs 15-50 for their preparations while more reputed and established caterers have steadily hiked up the prices during the last two years. It is impossible today for a family to get a decent meal for less than Rs 200 and buffet lunches are ruling at prices beyond that! Still most conventional eateries are doing very good business because of increasing disposable income with the lower and upper middle class population. This is the right environment for food trucks to blossom in the country and governments and civic bodies must facilitate their entry and help them to sustain with least impediments and supportive policies, in stead of harassing them as is being claimed by some of the pioneers who started this business recently.  

A recent development in street food market may throw a damper at the plans of new food truck entrepreneurs trying to venture into this new marketing ploy to attract the erstwhile customers of traditional street vendors. Many high end restaurants with reputed Chefs in their pay role are reported to be trying to romanticize street foods and introduce some of the items popular among street food patrons as a part of their menu. Their strength lies in the fact that they can provide a better ambiance within their premises and the safety of the foods they serve would be guaranteed institutionally and responsibly compared to the addressless street vendors. How far they can attract or shift the loyalty of regular customers of street vending segment remains to be seen.      

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