VIETNAMESE AGRICULTURE-A LESSON FOR INDIA

Vietnam evokes past memories involving its long drawn out domestic war for domination between the communist philosophy and capitalistic practices during 1967-73. Eventually communism was able to prevail and the whole country was unified under one regime dominated by communist ideologies. While Russia as one sees to day is a poor shadow of the erstwhile USSR for which communism is being blamed, China projects itself as a shining example of communism as it has become a super global power, capable of challenging the most powerful nation on earth, the US, the very embodiment of capitalism. When Vietnam started its independent existence after the war, many did not give much chance for this small country to survive unless economically supported by its patron, the China. To day Vietnam is a vibrant country with reasonable economic strength and can be counted as a regional power of some importance in the Asian continent.

With a population of just 86 million, expected to go up to 120-130 million by 2030, Vietnam is second largest rice exporter, no small achievement for a country of predominantly rice eaters.

The GDP per capita of $2300 (PPP basis) is projected to increase substantially in the coming years after the economy and trade were liberalized. It is one of the few Asian countries with a literacy exceeding 92%. Its export earnings touched new heights and in 2008 the same was placed at $ 63 billion, more than 70% of its GDP, though its national debt also crossed 30% of the GDP. Besides rice Vietnam is also a significant exporter of coffee, marine foods, cashew and spices.

What is remarkable is the life expectancy enjoyed by the Vietnamese population at 72 years of age. Though there are 54 ethnic groups that co-exist in the country, there is hardly any communal disharmony witnessed during the past. Political will is reflected by the resolve of the government to banish hunger totally by 2012, boost farmer income 2.5 times by 2020 and increase average calorie intake to 2600-2700 kc per day per person.

Shifting of agricultural land to non-agricultural use in its pursuit of industrial development has shrunk the effective cultivated area by 3,60,000 hectares (ha) since 2000. The country produces 30 million tons (mt) of rice from an area of 4 million ha, the productivity touching 7.5 tons per ha, obviously due to use of modern technological tools. The grain storage capacity, so vital for cutting down post harvest losses, is scheduled to go up to 4 mt soon. Rice export which brings in substantial foreign exchange is estimated to be around 5 mt to 6 mt making the country one of the biggest exporters of rice in the world. An active policy to arrest the diversion of land use to non-agricultural activities is being put in place taking away such powers from the local authorities which is expected to keep at least 7.2 million ha for agriculture necessary to produce 40 mt of foodstuff annually.

With such strong political will and disciplined planning that ensures translation into action at the ground level, it is no wonder that Vietnam poses serious threat to Indian exports in areas like rice, marine products, coffee, cashew nuts and spices. Probably by building closer ties with this country, especially in areas like agriculture and food processing, India may be immensely benefited in the long run.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

TECHNOLOGY IMPROVISATION-ROLE OF INDUSTRY

Development of technology has many facets and the innovators invariably leave the task of converting new ideas into commercialization to others better equipped to give "flesh and bone" to the basic concepts. Classical route to transform a concept into a viable technology involves proving the technical viability, laboratory scale process development, pilot production for basic data generation for designing a production system and setting up the manufacturing version with all necessary service inputs. In established industries which specialize in specific areas of food, new product development is closely related the existing product lines and very little deviation is encountered in bringing the new products into production. Such developments do not take long time and new products can be launched with least run up time. But diversification has totally different logistics and many a time external assistance may be required to evolve new production-worthy technologies.

When the R & D is done in a public funded institution, both development and transfer of technology call for greater cooperation and mutual confidence. In India as the public food R & D agencies have very little interactive relationship with the user industry, even concept generation is seriously flawed. Working on new concepts and novel ideas will have some relevance only if the ultimate user of the technology eventually viz the industry is convinced about their relevance and need from the market end. These R & D institutions with a large body of scientific personnel have ample funding from the government and since annual work out put has to be shown, they generate their own ideas based on their own perception. Such a situation is responsible for the "claimed" development of hundreds of "technologies" within the four walls of the organization with very little scope for commercialization by the industry. No hawking around will find any buyer for such technologies.

Industry has severe limitations in buying technologies from such institutions because of lack of confidence on the credibility of the scientists, most of whom would not have seen even the gate of a processing facility, let alone the production floor! As industrial ventures are investment oriented, the potential for failure of new technologies from the government agencies weight heavily with the users and in absence of any "guarantee of performance", the technologies developed in "isolation" will continue to remain on paper with no chance of transfer. It is not realized by the industry that unless there is a synergistic relationship with the technology generators, it cannot expect a matured technology to emerge from them. Unless industry appreciates the limitations of the R & D agencies and be prepared to work on the technology offered on "as is where is basis" for building up further, it is unlikely that they will succeed.

A shining example is the fruit bar process, developed in sixties of the last millennium at CFTRI, Mysore which remained as an unwanted technology for more than 3 decades, till Natura Foods, then part of the Nurtrine Confectionery group took it up for commercialization. Though it took lot of time to design the plant and start regular production, to day it is a shining example of how a responsible industry can make use of a lab process for setting up a profitable venture. The batch scale process was modified by the company into a continuous one for increased productivity and sizable exports were achieved through impeccable quality assurance creating the necessary confidence. Recent launch of sugar free fruit bars from fruits like Mango, Apple, Strawberry and others is another feather in its cap. Even the scientists who developed the original process were not able to concede that fruit bar production can be made continuous or it is possible to make it with out addition of sugar.

Though it is too much to expect every industry to play the role model, at least there must be some realization about the limitations of public research while the scientific world must come out of its "ivory tower" research mode to meet the industry half way. It is more easily said than done. For this to happen the R & D agencies must not be headed by "tunnel vision" scientists who tend to ignore the interests of industry in their pointless pursuit of so called "excellence" and industry must loosen its purse strings to support research on well identified areas of interest.

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

FOOD "INFLATION"-INDIAN AGONY

A recent report from Bangalore highlights the sorry plight of families with fixed income confronted by galloping prices for staples like rice, wheat, etc and fruits and vegetables such as Banana, Orange, Mosambi, Capsicum, Cabbage, Beans, Brinjal, Cucumber, Tomato etc. The market prices of many of these food materials have jumped by 50% to 100% for no apparent reason. It may be true that the truant Monsoon, causing drought in some parts of the country, could have played a role but it is incorrect to blame inadequate rains for the market distortion. While many consumers may get themselves adjusted to the ground reality for short periods, the consequences of such run away inflation can cause serious consequences to the health of the population. What is intriguing is that the procurement prices of most of these food materials are a fraction of the retail price raising the inevitable question as to who is cornering the major share of the retail price.

According to nutritional experts fruits and vegetables must be consumed as an essential part of a balanced diet and only such eating practices will keep many of to day's health disorders at bay. But if the current trend continues it is likely that many families will cut down on purchase of these vital protective foods to adjust their food budget. Is it not an irony that on one hand great efforts are being made to promote increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and inculcate the habit amongst children and youngsters while on the other hand nothing worthwhile is done to control the unjustified increase in retail prices? Lot of hope was raised by the National Horticulture Mission launched in the present 5-year Plan, the programs of National Horticulture Board and the Fruit and vegetables project of NDDB started in early eighties of the last millennium. But as a country India seems to have failed its citizens in providing nutrition security.

There is a considered view amongst some impartial observers that the reason for the price increase is solely due to the market manipulations indulged by the retail trade. Establishment of Agricultural Marketing Yards is supposed to improve the transparency in the dealings between traders and the farmers but the results are contrary to the expectations. With organized retailing taking its roots in the country, one would expect more uniform prices for perishable commodities since these players have the wherewithal to establish effective supply chains across the country and large scale storage infrastructure. There is a nagging suspicion that improved cold storage facilities in the country could have helped some of the retailers to manipulate the market to derive highest returns for their produce. Earlier low prices used to be prevalent in growing regions but to day high prices have pan India foot prints. Import of fruits and vegetables and retailing them at high prices have again distorted the prices of local produce because of the rising purchasing power amongst many consumers.

Added to this, the galloping prices of pulses, the only source of proteins for the poor and the impoverished population, are debilitating the strength of this country at its foundation. Is it a hopeless condition for which there is no solution? One wonders what prevents the government to take this situation seriously and do some thing radically to overcome the same within a time frame? Of course imports can serve to buffer the prices to some extent but this can at best be a short term measure. It is time that "Pulse Emergency" is declared in the country and a long term strategy is drawn to solve this in 5-10 years time. Sure food technology can find a way to expand the availability of protein products looking, tasting and nutritionally like traditional dals from oil seed meals which will go a long way to supplement the natural dals. It is possible that "designer" dals can be made at a fraction of a cost and such low cost products will naturally attract low income populations for their survival. If rice and wheat can be made available at highly subsidized rates, there is no reason why man made dals also cannot be included in this low cost "food basket". Technological challenge involved in creating dal like products can be squarely faced by the public funded food R & D agencies if a clear mandate is given with proper funding.

V.H.POTTY

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

MAKING HOTEL FOODS SAFER-THE NEW "MOVE" IN DELHI

"Eating out" phenomenon is becoming common in India with high purchasing power of an increasingly "leisure loving" population emerging since the advent of economic liberalization in early nineties of last millennium. The family planning program to restrict the family size to 2+2 and the disintegration of joint family system have created millions of nuclear families mostly settling down in urban areas with smaller houses and kitchens where elaborate cooking is not practiced. Added to this, the modern house wife has very little time to devote to food activities with her time spent mostly for professional work that supplements the family income. Under these circumstances eating out frequently becomes an attractive and inevitable choice. In many cities the frequency of dining out is reported to have increased from 2-3 outings a month to 2-3 visits to restaurants every week.

With millions of eateries, serving hundreds of different items of food, attempting standardization, uniformity and safety can be a nightmare for any government. But consumer welfare demands that eventually these eateries as well as the foods they serve satisfy the customers without compromising on safety. Though no one knows precisely how many eateries are operating in India due to lack of dependable statistics, globally the restaurant industry is worth $ 800 billion employing 60 million people. Some estimates place Indian restaurant industry's worth at $16.7 billion or Rs 700 billion which is one fifth of what China has but this must be a gross under estimate considering the widespread operation of millions of dhabas, darshinis and small sized eateries spanning the country serving a population of almost 300 million living in the urban areas.

Eateries are generally graded either based on a star system or an 'A to C' scale or number scale or color coding through out the world and in most cases the grading reflects more on the culinary quality of foods served, ignoring critical aspects like hygiene and sanitation. A restaurant with A grade or category I or green color code is supposed to be safest and most ambient suggesting customers can derive maximum eating pleasure there. Interestingly cities like New York are reputed for their restaurants but the citizens there are reported to be not the happier lots compared to smaller places with no reputation for high end restaurants suggesting that eating out in good and reputed restaurants cannot ensure good quality life.

The move by FSSAI is indeed timely and appropriate considering that food service sector in India does not enjoy a good reputation and restaurant foods are invariably associated with bad hygiene and indifferent quality. While tourists from abroad are faced with the problem of choosing safe eating joints when they visit the country, discerning domestic tourists are also faced with the same piquant situation. Here is where chain restaurants score over others because of the reputation built by them due to their self efforts in providing good quality and safer foods to their customers. But such restaurants are far and few and a country wide system of grading needs to be put in place sooner than later in the interest of the consumers. Any grading by a government agency must be restricted to safety aspects leaving the gastronomic grading to the consumers who will flock those serving tasty and enjoyable foods.

According to the FSSAI proposal, announced recently, claimed as a 'Safe Food, Tasty Food' scheme, wants to set up specific guidelines for small restaurants and dhabas to upgrade their standard of food to international level.The scheme is expected to put in place a grading system that will rate food joints as platinum, gold, silver and bronze or A to D scale and the Quality Council of India (QCI) is supposed to do the accreditation after strict scrutiny of different parameters like quality of food, hygiene, service and a few others like hand washing, serving procedures, cleaning process, waste disposal practices etc. From the look of it the grading is not going to be mandatory as those aspiring for a grade will have to "apply" to FSSAI. The scheme appears over ambitious as it wants to give the benefit of grading even to dhabas and smaller eating joints. There may be a rush to get the top grade since it also means economic gains for those receiving good grades.

What is not clear in this novel approach is the logistics involved in translating the paper scheme into a practical, workable, reliable and sustaining operation. The primary responsibility of FSSAI is to set quality and safety standards for foods in the country and operate a workable system to implement them through state machinery with adequate qualified and experienced monitors in the field and sound infrastructure for food analysis. If FSSAI takes it work seriously, priority needs to be given to tackle the organized sector first and then spread its activity to informal sector players. Also it is not certain that the frenzy with which the scheme is announced on the eve of Commonwealth Games being organized in Delhi will be evident after the event is over, for its country wide implementation. The task is Herculean but can be achieved if there is sufficient seriousness, a long term planning, massive involvement of technical personnel and adequate investment. If any government thinks that such mammoth projects can be undertaken with the scanty staff it has for the purpose, the situation is ripe for a disaster! Probably there has to be a different approach involving accredited and reputed private agencies with earmarked responsibilities in different regions of the country to shoulder the responsibility of operationalizing the excellent concept initiated by GOI.

V.H.POTTY

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

THE "BLOATED" FOOD PACKS-TECHNICAL NECESSITY OR DECEPTION?

Packaging designers seem to be working over time in their "design" to impress the consumer through what ever means possible. The latest ploy is to use over sized bags for packing which in conjunction with nitrogen filling gives a bloated appearance and consumers are attracted to buy these jumbo packs without sparing any time to read the information on the labels. Legally no one can argue that such practices are not right but ethically it cannot be condoned easily. It is unfortunate that the Weights and Measures Act has done away with the provision in force that restricts the pack size to a particular range, making it easy for the consumer to recognize them. To day the industry can market any pack size and it is common to see an enormous range of pack sizes with no uniformity or standard weights that can be remembered by the consumer.

One can argue that the existing labeling regulations compel the industry to declare the contents either in weights or volume or in numbers in some cases. Unfortunately there is no compulsion to declare the price on a uniform unit weight basis thus giving considerable scope for playing around with the figures. Thus one can get the same product manufactured by different manufacturers apparently for the same price but containing different quantities. It is not fair to leave such a situation where alert consumers are left to fend for themselves to calculate the prices on per unit weight basis and such calculations become complex to do mentally as most the declared weights are not easily multipliable or divisible. Probably a time may come when house wives going to the market will have to carry a calculator to make the purchase decision!

This is not a phenomenon confined to India only. In some of the developed countries it is jokingly being said that,"even after being processed, breaded and frozen, fish continue to enjoy the feeling of the open ocean" because of the big size of the package containing ample air space! In a recent survey in a western country it was found that there were many products that filled as little as half their packages, a practice that, even given accurately listed weights, it may look deceptive for any discerning consumer.

There was a time not long ago when industry was striving hard to reduce the packaging cost by optimizing the design and using less of the packaging as far as possible without compromising on the functionality or the integrity of the package. Computer aided designs were once popular for evolving optimum shape of bottles and boxes that can be made using least quantity of raw materials. The unbearable taxation burden, prevailing then, which increased the proportion of cost of packaging in the final product price, necessitated such practices. The progressive reduction in taxes and duties on raw as well as finished products of the packaging industry has reduced the packaging cost from a high of 35-50% of the product cost to less than 10% to day which probably might have provided the incentive for the "bloated packs" phenomenon being seen widely in the food processing industry in the country. It is time the industry is made to declare also the prices per unit weight along with the pack price for the benefit of the consumers.

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

DAIRY PRODUCTS-INDIAN DEVELOPMENTS

Though the "operation flood" program or the so called "white revolution" pioneered by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) during seventies and sixties of last millennium pushed India to the top of the milk producing nations, the dairy industry has been more or less confined to handling fluid milk through various cooperative milk federations at the state level. Value added products have been far and few, restricted to butter, ghee, flavored milk beverages, ice cream, evaporated and condensed milk till recently. Of course there are some other low volume products, again pioneered mostly by NDDB, like Canned Gulab Jamun, Processed Cheese, Shrikand, Canned Rasagolla and others. In contrast the unorganized sector has been concentrating on three main semi-finished products viz Paneer, Khoa and Chaana, derived from fresh milk, prepared on a cottage scale and sold through local markets. These intermediate products are essential in making many Paneer based dish and hundreds of milk based sweetmeats by the unorganized sector and they usually have very limited shelf life.

Why the above important traditional milk products could not be brought into the main stream industry still remains a mystery, though one of the reasons could be lack of sustained R & D inputs for stabilizing their keeping quality and in designing appropriate and cost effective equipment for increasing productivity without adversely affecting the sensory attributes. Using conventional vacuum evaporators, roller driers and latest high tech scraped surface evaporators, Khoa has been made but its acceptability to the sweet meat makers and consumers was very low, especially with regard to flavor and texture. Many studies in the past have brought out the unhygienic and unclean way these products are made in open kettles, wrapped for marketing and traded in the local markets. Nothing much seems to have changed this reality during the last three decades.

Yogurt or more popularly known in India as Curd, a product universally claimed as a probiotic food world over is produced to a very limited extent in India and here again the milk federations have taken the lead to pack them under refrigerated conditions in polyethylene pillow pouches with limited shelf life. Refrigerated Yogurt in plastic tubs, produced using specialized Lactic cultures having thick consistency, is also available in some niche markets. The initiative by the Gujarat based Amul cooperative to develop and launch spiced butter milk is one of the most serious attempts to "technologise" a traditional product like "Chaas" but the product promotion and marketing efforts seem to be woefully inadequate with lot of uncertainties in its availability in many parts of the country. In all such endeavors, one can see the basic strength of the dairy industry in developing and manufacturing diversified products but intriguingly volumes refuse to rise in spite of the goodness of these products.

Entry of foreign firms like Elbit of Israel for establishing modern dairy industry in Andhra Pradesh with 10000 imported high yielding cows from New Zealand and diversification by some of the Indian players into traditional milk products like Yogurt give hope that value added products from milk will pick up critical business volumes in the near future. Punjab Milkfed's Verka brand Lassi and Kheer and Parag Dairy's "Fruit & Dahi Fusion" range of yogurts are expected to stir up the market significantly. The reported growth of 49% for Lassi and 97% for Kheer by the Verka brand in the last one year may be an indicator of the potential for their pan India presence. Yogurt and fruit combination using true fruit extracts from Mango, Strawberry, banana, Pineapple etc will be welcomed by the Indian consumer provided the price is right.

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

SPICE OLEORESINS-FOOD OR NUTRACEUTICAL?

India is universally recognized as the "spice country" because of the occurrence of a wide variety of spices, condiments and herbs which are used in culinary preparations by population across the country. However the major focus for the spice extractive industry has been on Chilli, Black pepper, Ginger, Turmeric and Cardamom. While Cardamom oil is a much valued flavor material for hundreds of food preparations and beverages, whole spice extractives, more commonly referred to as oleoresins, have become important ingredients for the food industry for incorporation in many processed food products. Oleoresins with standard and reliable "active constituent" concentration have several advantages compared to use of whole spices, hence the preference by the industry.

Oleoresin technology remained an exclusive possession of some multinational companies covered by patent protection till the monopoly was broken by India through the efforts of CFTRI, Mysore. Attempts to stifle this indigenous development were made by changing the product specifications to restrict solvent residue levels and banning some of the solvents found to be efficient in getting increased yields. It is a tribute to Indian scientists that they were able to overcome these hurdles and enabled Indian spice industry to attain dominance in the international market. With an export of 6850 tons of oleoresins last year India accounted for more than 70% of global supply in this category. To day India has the awesome capability to extract about 42 different spices to meet every demand from the industry.

Against the above background comes the news that India has imported 400-500 tons of Chilli oleoresins from China which is not known to be a major producer of spice extractives. Probably the reputation Chinese have in dumping industrial products at ridiculously low cost must have lured some users to import from China and the lax import procedures also must have helped in clearing the imports without necessary safety assessment, especially with respect to solvent residue in the product. Whether China has developed its own technology or copied from others or the product really conforms to international standards is a mute question but India must be ready to face the "Dragon" in the coming years through constant technology upgrade for which adequate R & D investment is inevitable.

The above news may be alarming because oleoresins are increasingly becoming important for pharmaceutical industry with many applications being considered effective in treating several human afflictions. Curcuminoids in Turmeric, Piperine in Black pepper and Capsaicin in Red Chilli, are the three major materials of commercial importance. These phytochemicals have been proved to be of excellent nutraceutical value capable of preempting or curing most of the disease conditions that human race faces to day. Recent revelation that curcumin and piperine are effective in killing stem cells that differentiate into breast cancer cells, is of prime importance to the medical community. Similarly capsaicin has been proven to be effective in treating prostate cancer besides an excellent resource to treat inflammation, pain relief, fight sinus infection, irritable bowel syndrome, burning body fat, reducing cholesterol and triglycerides, dissolving clot inducing fibrin, preventing platelet aggregation and protecting the heart, relief from arthritis, psoriasis and diabetic neuropathy.

If these claims are true a time may come when oleoresins may not be available to the food industry with demand from the pharmaceutical industry outstripping that from the former. Probably cultivation of crops like Chilli, B. Pepper and Turmeric may expand several fold as commercial non-food crops! Such developments may also spur synthetic organic chemists to look for synthetic routes to make these much valued substances. Already synthetic capsaicin is available in the market and time may not be far off when synthetic versions of others start appearing. The present preference for natural sources for internal consumption is the only constraint that stands in the way of synthetic analogs dominating the market.

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