NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY-THE ANNUAL ROUTINE!

National Technology Day was 'celebrated' on Monday, May 11. 2009 in India and many functions were organized to remind us that technology has done wonders for the country, to confer honors on so called 'achievers' and make grandiose declarations without any intention to implement the same. No doubt scientific institutions like Atomic Energy Commission, ISRO and a few others have creditable achievements to show for the large investments made on their projects with tax payers' money. But a major part of the scientific establishment has not covered themselves with glory by their pedestrian work and mediocre achievements. Why GOI wants a day to be set apart in the name of technology defies any rationality. Probably GOI thinks that earmarking one day in an year for eulogizing about technology in many platform speeches will make up for the lack of solid achievements this country can boast of. The word technology means different things to different people and there is not much awareness about the role technology has played in shaping human society as we to day, let alone appreciate what potential technology has in improving the quality of life on earth.

Besides National Technology Day which falls on the day in May 1998 when India declared its entry into the exclusive Nuclear Nations Club through the Pokhran explosion of the ingeniously developed atomic device, there are 16 more earmarked days in an year to celebrate various events including Army Day, Central Excise Day, Science Day, Sports Day, Air force Day, Farmers Day and others. Globally there are 44 designated days by different world bodies to commemorate different events and India has thus 61 special days, including its own, to "celebrate" providing scope for many 'photo-op' occasions for people to indulge in verbosity. No body has any quarrel regarding such events provided they are used for introspection, review of past achievements, identify shortfalls of targets and initiate action to achieve well laid objectives, in stead of indulging in self glorification and self congratulation for under performance.

According to a recent report Indian science and technology community is sliding into a state of utter despair with the politics and corruption gnawing at its seams. Public funded scientific and technological institutions, controlled by Delhi, invariably play the political game forgetting their core constituency, viz scientific endeavor. Appointments to head S & T Institutions are no more based on merits and performance but by sycophancy and wire-pulling. Political indecision seem to have made several such institutions headless during the last six months! Awards, Rewards, Incentives, Promotions and Compensation are not decided through rational and logical selection procedures but by 'net-working' and appropriate 'connections' at Delhi. The S & T Ministry is invariably headed by any one but a scientist or a technologist!

Against such a background there are glimpses of hope when one comes across some of the programs in place to encourage excellence in S & T in the country. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) is endowed with Rs 1.5 crore per year for bringing to surface innovative ideas from the grass-root level. Of course this is a minuscule provision for a country of the size of India but still can be a spark for much bigger programs later. Unfortunately these funds remain frozen for the last 9 years for reasons not very clear. NIF started well and its early endeavor was able to identify 10000 new ideas, new innovations and traditional knowledge of significance. It is estimated that the large population of technology students in various Schools, Institutions and Universities work on thousands of technology projects every year as a part of their courses but there is no mechanism by which these projects can be upgraded into workable innovations that would have benefited the country. Even 1% of this idea pool, if pursued could have resulted in thousands of new products. During the celebration of Technology Day in the past, firm resolutions and declarations were made to increase the S & T expenditure equal to 0.5% to 2% of GDP by those heading the ministry but pathetically it remains still at less than 0.1% of GDP, indicating the lack of commitment to S & T by the country. It is time that those at the helm of affairs think beyond Pokhran and Chandrayan and put in action concrete plans to energize grass-root scientific workers to achieve quantum jump in our performance in this field and be counted as a formidable force in S & T in the global landscape.


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

BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION AND DENTAL DECAY

One of the major issues regarding the safety of soft drinks is their adverse effect on teeth due to the acids present as well as the sugar content in them. While frequent mouth washing can remove most of the sugar adhering to the gums and the teeth, acids are supposed to be corrosive causing tooth erosion and hyper sensitivity. Many campaigns of the past against Cola giants Coke and Pepsi were based on the presence of the mineral acid phosphoric acid in the formula which is considered one of the most corrosive chemicals. In other synthetic flavored drinks, organic acids like citric, malic etc are used and many feel comfortable because of their belief that these acids are mild and non-corrosive. But this may be a misplaced hope if the findings by some researchers are taken at their face value.

Carbonated non-alcoholic beverages are generally sweetened, flavored, acidified, colored, artificially, carbonated and some times chemically preserved. In such beverages sugar concentration can be between 8-14% while acid levels may vary from 0.1% to 0.2%, the pH range being 2.6-4.0. In aerated drinks CO2 itself lowers the pH by dissolving in the syrup at the low temperature used in processing while addition of acids like phosphoric, citric,fumaric, tartaric and malic acids, is common. Sports drinks are specialty products targeted at athletes and other personnel engaged in heavy exercises regularly for more than an hour each day. They are mostly isotonic solutions containing 5-7% glucose and optimal levels of electrolytes designed to recoup water and nutrients lost through sweating during the work out. Some drinks are hypotonic while few hypertonic drinks are also available for use under certain conditions. Sweating is a natural phenomenon that is intended to maintain the body temperature constantly at 37 C and significant amounts of water and nutrients are lost during sweating. 2% loss in body weight during sweating can cause impaired performance, 4% loss reduces work capacity, 5% loss results in heat exhaustion, 7% loss can create hallucination and 10% loss leads to circulatory collapse and heat stroke.

A typical male athlete has 90 gm of glycogen stored in the liver while the muscle stores another 400 gm of glycogen. During vigorous exercise body loses 3-4 gm of glucose per minute and prolonged exercise an deplete the glycogen level severely which may take 24-48 hours to replenish. Normally 300-400 ml of sports drink is consumed in a day with 5-6 sips every 15 minutes, creating a situation where the teeth are in constant contact with the beverage for prolonged time and their consequent erosion over a period. Erosive Tooth Wear (ETW) is a common dental disease condition, different from caries as the former affects only the enameled surface of the teeth. Appearing as a yellow patch at first ETW can dissolve the minerals in the dendrite underneath and cause considerable damage, eventually leading to loss of the tooth, unless treated properly. The reported finding that citric acid present in the sports drink can cause ETW is based on studies conducted on Cow teeth which was immersed in sports drink for 75-90 minutes and evaluating its impact. Whether these results can be applied to human beings and how far they will be realistic require deeper consideration. It is debatable whether any athlete will keep the drinks in the mouth for such a long time to have ETW and validation is necessary through actual human studies to subscribe to such a conclusion.

It is rather scary when one hears that 45.9% of American children have ETW of varying severity and such tooth ailments in early phase of growing, can have serious health consequences at later stages in life. As a precaution drinking soft drinks or juices with a straw and not swirling the drink in the mouth before swallowing will reduce the chances of prolonged contact with the teeth significantly. Brushing immediately after drinking a beverage can cause further damage as most tooth pastes are abrasive in nature. Frequent consumers of soft drinks, who cannot chuck this undesirable practice, are better advised to use neutralizing/remineralizing tooth paste to help re-hardening of the soft enamel.

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

"CUT- FRUITS" THROUGH VENDING MACHINES

Sale of cut fruits through push carts near many schools across the country is a common sight and many parents try to prevent their children from patronizing such road side vendors fearing its potential for diseases like diarrhea caused by microbial contamination. Many schools restrict the operation of such vendors near their premises though without much success. Lately such vendors seem to be spreading in many urban areas offering cut fruits from Papaya, Guava, Water Melon, Pineapple, Jack fruits, Green mango etc during the fruit seasons. Generally the cut fruits are laced with a mixture of salt and chilli powder to make them tastier. Fruit chat preparations popular in northern parts of India use black salt on cut fruits including banana, sapota, apple and other seasonal fruits. In all these cases the cut fruits are prepared on the spot in front of the consumer and are not kept for more than a few minutes that ensures minimum microbial contamination. However the personal hygiene of the vendor, cleanliness of the utensils and knives used, safety of the plates in which it is served are all risks one has to take when patronizing such road side preparations in India.

The dangers inherent in road side vending is too well known to be discussed and the clientele consists of mostly school children near the teaching institutions and lower middle class population having good immunity to infections commonly encountered in public place eating. If a more decent and better product is available with assured safety, the clientele can be expanded and sky is the limit for developing this line of business. True, hotels and restaurants do serve fruit salads based on seasonal fruits, but it is unlikely any one will visit such joints only for fruit preparations and generally they are part of the meal, being a dessert preparation. Besides the very concept of a fruit preparation, being all natural and healthy, is compromised by serving them with ice cream or custard. In such a situation products like fresh cut fruits with longer shelf life and easy delivery mode, can fill a vacuum in the market and provide incentives to the consumer to eat fruits more regularly to meet with the recommended dietary guidelines for consuming 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables daily by normal healthy persons.

Fruits are biologically respiring and transpiring materials taking in oxygen and giving out CO2 and water at ambient temperatures. Even as a whole fruit, its life is limited and its quality can slide down rapidly losing its characteristic texture and flavor with time. Cold stores with appropriate low temperature conditions and controlled atmosphere storage technology can extend the life by a few days though there is a limit for its ultimate life. Some fruits like mango have very short life while others like apple stay well for months together under ideal conditions. When fruits are cut, the quality deteriorates rapidly due to release of destructive enzymes which can impart discoloration, textural changes and off flavor if not properly processed. Poly Phenol Oxidase (PPO) is the most destructive enzyme which produces ortho quinones on the cut surface, a highly reactive substance capable of further reaction non-enzymatically with other quinones, phenolic compounds, thiol compounds, proteins, peptides and amino acids etc to produce brown, blue-grayish and black colors on the cut surface.

Fruits after cleaning, peeling and removal of inedible parts are cut into cubes or chunks of desired size, washed well, spin dried to remove adhering water and shrink wrapped for display and retailing under low temperature conditions, 4-8C with a limited life of 2 days beyond which they cannot be sold. These preparation steps and cutting introduce a series of physiological disorders like softening, browning and microbial infection, all considered undesirable from consumer perspectives. To prevent or lessen the undesirable changes, treatments with ascorbic acid (Vit C), its isomer erythorbic acid, edible organic acids, sodium phosphate, sulfites etc are resorted to by the processors. Though sulfiting is one of the most effective pretreatment procedures practiced by the industry, severe allergy to SO2 by many consumers makes this less and less acceptable as a universal practice. As freshly cut fruits are physiologically still active, the tissues being alive and respiring all the time and requires about 2% oxygen in the atmosphere surrounding them. Use of sodium alginate, gellan gum, modified starch, pectic substances, carrageenans etc as a coating reduces surface enzyme and non-enzymatic activities significantly. pH being less than 3 on the cut surface also helps slowing down the enzymatic reactions. Infusion of O2 containing gas mixture maintains the Kreb's Cycle biochemical reactions generating CO2 which protects the fruit surface from microbial spoilage.

It is intriguing as to why the coin operated vending machines widely used for dispensing products like soft drinks, chocolate candies, snacks etc are not adopted for cut fruit vending also. The technology of extending the life of cut fruits to 7-30 days is readily available for the industry to introduce such vending system in a massive way and popularize its consumption especially amongst the youngsters. The Singapore experience where vending machines are being tried in a limited way to dispense chilled and diced fruit chunks under refrigerated conditions at an affordable price of S$ 1-1.8 per cup, transparent and sealed, has already shown the business viability of such an approach. Each vending machine with a capacity to store 180 cups can be left unattended for two days unless refilling is called for, since the products have at least 5 days life once loaded into the machine. It should be possible to design larger capacity machines, if the response and demand increase for the products amongst the consumers. It is time such retailing format is thought of in India also where a fantastic range of fruits are available all around the year.

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

"CONTROLLED" VS "CONDITIONED" AIR FOR FOOD PRESERVATION

Modern world depends on 'air conditioning' technology to get relief from cold or hot weather conditions and dramatic developments have taken place over the years in the design of such systems both at the house-hold level as well as industrial scale. Basically the objective is to reduce the temperature of an enclosed space through production of 'refrigerated' air and its circulation. Cost of air conditioning is mainly for the power the system uses for the compressor and the diffuser and is considered a disincentive for many people to go for investment in this area. Continuous developments are taking place in improving the efficiency of air conditioners and to day's air cooling technology is far superior to what it was even a decade ago. One of the drawbacks of air conditioning for use in preserving food is the tendency for it to reduce the humidity leading to unwanted dehydration over a period of time. Of course there are special systems that can also compensate for humidity loss. As the temperature range for an air conditioner is 15-23 C, it can extend the life of perishable foods for only a couple of days at the most.

The "controlled air" technology is the core of Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CAS) and packing (MAP) where the air composition is changed to reduce oxygen and increase CO2 so that the microbicidal property of CO2 is exploited. In respiring and transpiring materials like fresh produce, the air composition is continuously manipulated to keep the material fresh without "aging" by removing gases like ethylene, excess CO2 and infusing oxygen at optimum levels. Combined with refrigeration, MAP and CAS can extend the shelf life of perishables like fish, meat, fruits, vegetables and flowers significantly. High capital investment and large scale systems that are available to day make it difficult for this technology to be adopted in countries like India in a massive way.

It was the food science group in University of Wisconsin which developed an effective technology for NASA in nineteen nineties for extending the life of fruits and vegetables taken in the space vehicles under the space exploration projects for scientific studies. Though the rarefied atmosphere in the outer space cannot support any life including that of spoilage microorganisms, the oxygen enriched environment within the space craft, created for the comfort of the astronauts was ideal for microorganisms to thrive. As it was difficult to maintain any CAP or MAP system that could have extended the life of perishable materials like fruits and vegetables, NASA was forced to look out for alternative technology for achieving the purpose. Limited room available in the spacecraft called for a system that does not need much space, light in weight and low on energy consumption. Out of this necessity was born the NASA technology for food preservation using "conditioned" air aptly called AeroCide technology or 'enconditioning technology' which involves using air to kill microorganisms in the environment where food is kept. The scientific principle behind the technology is based on the ability of ultra violet rays (UV) to generate hydroxy radicals over a Titanium dioxide(TiO2) surface which kills all microorganisms including bacteria, mold, yeast and virus.

The system generally consists of a chamber containing thousands of tiny glass tubes coated with TiO2 on which UV light is shone and all air borne particles become surface bound, not being able to float around. Particles like bacteria get disintegrated and are no more viable to be of any harm. The air passed through the chamber is sterile and can be used for preservation of food products. During conditioning of the air, hydroxy radicals and super-oxide ions also react with volatile organic compounds that can taint foods. Removal of ethylene in the AeroCide chamber delays ripening and senescence, extending the effective life of cut flowers, fruits and vegetables for 2-3 weeks. The technology is widely being used in the last two years by the horticulture, floriculture and health care industries. Major food players like Del Monte, Coke and many hospitals in the US are already using the system for some of their operations. High refraction rate and photo catalytic reactions help to reduce the power consumption dramatically. The low maintenance cost is another USP of the system as it requires only a bulb to be replaced occasionally. Absence of air filters and no necessity to clean up the system periodically further recommend this technology for food industry. Enconditioners are available in India in capacities varying from 3000 cubic feet of air to 20000 cubic feet air treatment. According to the dealers in India a 5000 cubic feet air treatment capacity enconditioner will cost just Rs 1 lakh which can be installed easily in a few minutes in the room where air is to be sterilized.

While enconditioners can be had for a small investment, deploying it for food preservation calls for design of treatment systems for different foods. While for general air sterilization the compact units are suitable for protecting environment in houses, offices, factories, store houses, restaurants etc and cutting down over all microbial load, combination of CAS and AeroCide technologies can be much more effective than either of them singly when it comes to food preservation on a large scale. Probably passing the gas mix in CAS system through the enconditioner before entering the storage chamber may provide a better hygienic atmosphere in such ware houses supplementing the efficiency of CO2 as a germ killer. It has also the added advantage of removing ethylene from the circulated air, retarding ripening and senescence significantly and destroying product specific aromatic volatiles that emanate from different sored products in a mixed CAS ware house.


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/

ARE VEGANS WEEK-KNEED? NO WAY!

The topic of human diet is as controversial as any other subject of human interest. There are vegans, lacto vegetarians, ovo vegetarians and non-vegetarians, all based on whether one consumes milk, egg or meat and fish. While vegans depend solely on foods of plant origin others get their vital nutrients from rich foods like milk, egg, meat and fish. For many it is intriguing as to how human beings growing up in the early stages with mother's milk can shun milk at later stages because milk is one of the most complete foods in nature. Of special interest is the calcium content in milk which is biologically more potent in terms of absorption through the intestine and its critical role in bone and skeleton development. More crucial is the fate of post-menopausal women whose bone density tends to fall due to hormonal disturbances at that stage in life.

The recent findings in a limited study in Australia that the vegan women had bones as healthy as those eating animal foods regularly have surprised many health pundits because of the fiction built up over the years about bone health and animal derived foods. Though the intake of protein and calcium by Buddhist women covered under the study were lower than that by non-vegetarians, the bone density values were not much different in both the groups. Milk has been hailed as the major source of calcium for ordinary vegetarians who consume this nutrient rich source regularly and naturally exclusion of milk in the diet of vegans was expected to cause some problems in terms of bone health including early development of osteoporosis. The fact that this was not true raises the pertinent question as to whether milk and milk products have such an important role in human diet as being touted, especially for adults. The Daily Value for calcium for human beings is in the range of 1000 mg to 1300 mg and a cup of milk gives about 30% of this need. Other sources like vegetables also contain calcium with collard green giving 357 mg per cup, spinach 352 mg per cup and Okra 180 mg per cup.

Probably one does not have to look far to understand the reality that milk is not as crucial as it is being made out to be, especially for an adult. Take the example of the most important herbivore on earth, the elephant which is totally a 'vegan' as far as the diet is concerned. Weighing 8-12 tons, Elephants require about 60 gm of calcium every day to maintain its huge body mass which is derived from 140-270 kg of forage it consumes each day. Except during its early childhood when the calf depends on its mother's milk, Elephant derives all its nutritional needs from plant sources. To add to its dietary problem, the digestive system in Elephant wastes almost 60% of the food it consumes with the remaining providing the nutrients vital for growth and maintenance. Green leaves, grass and tree barks on which this animal depends for most of its food supply contain calcium to the extent of 0.4-1.5%. Sugarcane liked very much by Elephants is both juicy as well as rich in calcium. The black strap molasses, a by-product of sugar milling industry contains calcium as high as 200 mg per table spoon. Same is true with jaggery which is often an important ingredient in animal feeds.

One of the important questions that remains unanswered is the role of protein in utilizing and/or maintaining calcium present in the food by the body. Otherwise why should a typical Western women get osteoporosis when her diet is invariably rich in calcium from sources like meat, fish, milk, cheese and others which also incidentally contain high levels of proteins. Could it be possible that high levels of proteins cause demineralization in the bones, in spite of the presence of high calcium content in the food? The vegan population, estimated at 5% of the population in the World by willful choice, can derive comfort from the thought that their food is as healthy as that consumed by others, if not better!

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

POULTRY INDUSTRY-THE INDIAN SAGA

During these days of globalization and liberalization of economy, how is that an egg in India cost to the consumer less than 5 cents (Rs 2.50) while same egg sells for more than 20 cents (Rs 10) in the markets of rich nations? After all same hen lays the egg, people have to work hard and certain minimum infrastructure is necessary to maintain poultry industry whether it is in UK, USA, Japan or India. Some leeway can be given for the low cost of labor, lower power cost, cheap raw materials and low purchasing power of the population in general for the prevailing low prices for egg in the country. Still how can the poultry industry, which does not enjoy the economy of scale in running the poultry farms as most of the farms are much smaller than what one can see in other countries, afford this give away?. There are a very few farms that can boast of a bird population of more than a lakh and most of them have only a few thousands at ant given time. Though reliable statistics cannot be a a strong point in this country, one may go along with estimates by different sources regarding the strength of the poultry industry. It is estimated that there are about 60000 large poultry farms in the country with more than 1000 birds per farm while another one lakh farms operate with bird strength of 50-1000 . Still poultry industry is a thriving activity employing 3 million people in production, distribution and retailing with another 15 million farmers producing the ingredients that go into poultry feed.

India is supposed to be the third largest producer of eggs in the world with a production estimated at 47 billion eggs an year working out to an average per capita annual consumption of 41 eggs where as the recommended intake is 180 eggs. The skewed consumption profile is reflected by very low consumption in rural areas, about 5-20 eggs per year while in urban and semi urban areas the intake is 42-170 eggs an year depending on the population of the cities. An egg weighs about 43 gm (small) to 71 gm (extra large) and is one of the richest sources of concentrated nutrients known to mankind. On an average one kilogram of egg provides 11.2 gm of carbohydrate, 126 gm of protein with very high biological value and 106 gm of fat besides meeting 51% of RDA for Vitamin B1, 33% for B2 and 28% for Pantothenate. True it also is a significant source of dietary cholesterol, about 426 mg/100 gm. Consuming about 6 eggs a week by a normal person is not known to precipitate diseases like CVD, Stroke and Diabetes as being commonly perceived but those with these diseases may have to restrict its intake to avoid aggravating the already existing compromised health conditions.

Out of 45 countries which produce eggs, India is rightly acclaimed as the cheapest egg producer where it costs just 50 cents a kg at the wholesalers' end compared to 145 cents in Argentina, 80 cents in USA, 102 cents in France, 86 cents in Holland, 108 cents in Japan, 136 cents in New Zealand, 108 cents in Taiwan and 117 cents in Bangladesh. Interestingly the feed cost which constitutes more than 75% of the cost of production is not the lowest in India. That honor goes to Zimbabwe where it is 18 cents per kg while in India feed cost is 44 cents per kg. China, which is the top producer of eggs in the world makes available to its poultry farmers feed at 27 cents a kg while the whole sale price of egg there is 94 cents per kg. In many developed countries feed costs are heavily subsidized to protect the margins of the producers and it is ironical that still the consumers there pay 400 % more to buy an egg compared to an Indian consumer. Similarly the cost of chicks in India is not the lowest as the producer has to pay 39 cents a chick while in Sri Lanka the corresponding figure is 29 cents a chick.

With egg production concentrated in the South, distribution poses tremendous logistical challenges and the infrastructure put in place by the poultry industry can deliver egg to every nook and corner of the country. The role of Governments in this endeavor is practically nil as specially trained drivers, well developed distributor-retailer net work and country wide communication system in place, all industry's own creation, have been able to sustain the industry weathering frequent hiccups from to time. The breakage during handling and transportation and spoilage during storage and retailing have been minimized. It is unfortunate that this industry has not been able to build any infrastructure for washing, grading, pretreatment of eggs for better shelf-life, regional assembling facilities with cold stores, local cold storage facilities and any significant processing platform for value added products from eggs. This has exposed the industry to a situation where it is vulnerable to wide price fluctuations caused by supply and demand stresses. Under these conditions the role of Indian poultry industry in providing to the consumers the cheapest egg in the world is indeed amazing and they deserve all kudos for their ingenuity, enterprise and hard work in making this possible.

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