MAN'S RECKLESSNESS AND NATURE'S HELPLESSNESS-A DISASTER IN THE MAKING,

Water is so abundantly available in nature, it is rarely that any one thinks of a major calamity due to water starvation. While irrigation is critical to raise adequate food crops, potable water is critical for sustenance of the very life in this planet. No wonder that the recent discovery of water in the Moon during the Chandrayan I voyage launched by India created such a sensation amongst the scientists that colonizing it is already a subject matter of serious discussion. Though a major part of planet earth is covered by water, the quality of all water sources is not suitable for use for most of the human activities. The saline water from the seas and the oceans can be used only if pure water is recovered from them through technological means costing heavily and therefore unaffordable under present day situation.

Karnataka state was one of the relatively better placed areas in the country five decades ago but to day it is reeling under water shortage of unbelievable dimension. The situation is so desperate that many urban centers are supplied water once in a week and there is not even a single township receiving continuous supply of water daily. There are at least 30 urban centers which are in the grip of a water famine of unprecedented proportion. According to the official version more than 15% of the 22000 bore wells dug during the past to provide drinking water to urban areas have become dry while many others require drilling deeper to depths beyond 600 feet to get sufficient discharge. According to experts in many areas in the state viable volume of water cannot be obtained at less than 1000 feet below ground level. Logistically pumping out water from depths more than 1000 ft requires more powerful pumps with 3-phase connection, not easily obtained from the power starved utility companies in the state. Power management in Karnataka is based on very simple philosophy "do not care for the citizens, switch on power when available and switch off when not available" with even the God ignorant of the extent, duration and schedules of shut down!

It is known that deeper the bore well, less reliable can be the quality and safety of water extracted, especially the unacceptable levels of fluoride in such waters. Bore well water is also invariably high in soluble solids, the hardness being more than 500 ppm, unsuitable for use for laundering, bathing and cleaning. The roaring business by the water softening industry ensures that practically every house hold has a softener based on physical filters, resins or semi permeable membrane costing between Rs 2000 and 15000 per unit. The minimum need of water for a family of 5 is estimated by the state government babus at 250 liters a day, though this is less than one third of the international standard. In practice average water that can be drawn at present is no more than 75 liters a day for a typical urban family and 55 liters in rural areas. These estimates are from the state administration itself and one can imagine what could be the ground reality. The weak excuse that water is supplied through tankers in some areas is not believable because as against the permitted rate of Rs 200 per tanker, private suppliers charge Rs 500 to 700 per tanker and no wonder that private water supply under government tutelage is a lucrative business in the state!

Major reasons for such a sorry state of affairs include indiscriminate drilling for water with out any regulation, gross neglect of rain water harvesting practices, insensitivity to water wastage, disappearance of thousands of water tanks, lakes, wells, etc in many urban regions, dilapidated distribution pipe lines in many cities and towns with practically no maintenance and low cost at which water is supplied to the citizens in the name social equity. The land grab mafia that operates in some of the urban areas has developed the "technology" to reclaim lake areas for real estate development in nexus with political class depriving almost the entire catchment area for rain water. It is beyond comprehension as to how water shortage can be experienced in coastal areas in southern Karnataka which is blessed with abundant rains almost year round! It speaks volume about the lack of fore sight and far sight on the part of successive governments in harnessing and protecting the bounty offered by nature in the form of "heavenly down pour"!

If the position of Karnataka is so desperate, the conditions in other states may not be much different. If this situation continues for too long, India may be facing the stark reality of a civil war in the name of water. It is time some hard decisions are taken, snail-paced water supply projects are put on a fast track, water wastage made a criminal act, rain water harvesting made mandatory, all lakes and wells that existed 50 years ago restored, water recycling programs given priority and accountability demanded from all the water supply boards.

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

MEAT FOODS-CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS

Meat foods form an important source of proteins and other nutrients for more than half the population in the world. They are obtained mostly from farm raised animals like beef, lamb, sheep, pork, poultry, turkey, veal etc, each having its own characteristics liked by different consumers. Organized farms with tight control and technology intensive operations are supposed to keep the animals disease free, well fed with scientifically formulated animal feeds and slaughter them under humane conditions as per international guidelines. Traditional free grazing is practically non-existent to day, replaced by the much maligned"factory farming" which is amenable to large production of meat with rigid quality and safety parameters to ensure the protection of health of the consumer from food borne diseases.

Traditionally animals are still slaughtered in many developing countries in municipal abattoirs and the dressed carcass in fresh condition is hung from hooks in thousands of small retail kiosks for selling the cuts to consumers on the spot. The fresh meat is generally cooked same day though some keep them in the refrigerator for a day or two. In contrast the organized meat industry uses better slaughter house facilities and process the carcass in well protected processing units for freezing and retailing. Export consignments, in frozen condition have to meet strict hygienic and sanitary over seeing to ensure that they conform to buyers' specifications. Global trade in frozen meat foods form a substantial portion of food business.

In many western countries processed meat cuts are well protected from light, oxygen and other spoilage factors and retailed through super markets with well controlled refrigerated modified atmosphere packs (MAP) and equipped with efficient frozen storage and display facilities. While fresh cuts are universally preferred, the processing and distribution compulsions make it difficult to deliver the products same day. Meat preserved under MAP and cold conditions can be as old as a week when the consumer lays his hands on them in the super market shelves while frozen versions have comparatively longer life in commercial freezers.

Cured meat with nitrites exhibits bright color but these products are not gaining acceptance because of presence of salt and other chemicals used in the curing solution. With the advent of modern technology fresh meat products with attractive color and other desirable quality features have replaced the traditional ones. Color is the single most important factor that attracts a consumer and different sources of meat have varying hues of red color typical of them. Beef cuts are cherry red in color, lamb dark cherry red, pork grayish pink and veal pale pink. As the color imparted by the pigment myoglobin is not stable in presence light, UV rays and oxygen under ambient conditions, meat processors take sufficient care to preserve the desired color through controlled processing conditions. Under adverse conditions both Myoglobin and Oxymyoglobin, the pigments that impart color are converted to Metmyoglobin with a brownish red hue not considered the hall mark of fresh meat. Color stabilization is generally achieved through lower temperatures, MAP conditions and well protective packing materials.

Current practice is to use MAP system with high oxygen content, about 80% of the gas mixture so that the bright red meat color is preserved under refrigerated temperatures. However high oxygen levels can also increase the incidence of oxidative changes in the meat generating off flavors, marring the over all quality of the product. Recent discovery that the desirable color in ground beef can be maintained by incorporating about 200 mg per kg tannic acid has opened up new opportunities to offer better products to the consumers as per their expectations. Use of polyphenols like tannic acid allowed for use under the GRAS regime prevents lipid oxidation while allowing oxygen to stay in the MAP at levels as high as 80% desirable for maintaining the optimum quality. Tannic acid polyphenols have been reported to have superior radical scavenging and shield the product from lipid oxidation activities in fish also and their use in ground meat preparations should offer same advantages.

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

"99% "PERSPIRATION" AND 1% INSPIRATION"-HALL MARK OF A GENIUS?

One of the oft repeated slogans to exhort people to work hard,"genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration", was originally attributed to Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of electric bulb who made this statement in 1903. Whether it has lost relevance in to day's world is worth looking into.

Figuratively speaking perspiration or sweating is associated with hard physical work but it is a biological phenomenon of immense importance to human life is not known widely. According to human physiologists, perspiration is caused either due to physical heat or emotional stress and the sweat glands present in human body excretes sweat through the pores in the skin. Evaporation of the sweat drops cools the body considerably as a part of the thermo-regulatory mechanism. While physical heat causes sweating through out the body, emotional stress generates sweating of palms, soles and some times on the fore head. Sweating, transpiration or diaphoresis means same, referring to production of fluid, consisting of mainly water as well as various dissolved solids, 0.2 to 1%, such as chlorides of Sodium, Potassium and mineral salts of Zinc, Copper and others in small quantities. Ortho Cresol, para Cresol and urea are the three organic substances present in sweat fluid.

There is a mistaken belief that profuse sweating enables the body to excrete toxins in the blood and there is multi-billion dollar industry sustaining on this belief by health conscious populations, especially in some of the wealthy countries. Sauna bath sets costing as high as $ 6000 are acquired for home use and many health clubs offer facilities for sauna bath to its high paying guests. But scientific findings do not support this theory and extensive research by the International Hyperhydrosis Society could not find even traces of any toxin in the sweat fluids of human beings. What one achieves by sitting in a sauna bath set up is not clear to both the service provider as well as the user! Definitely it does not produce any genius!

The perception that hard work generates sweating cannot be taken as the gospel truth though the metabolic reactions taking in the muscle can generate physical heat causing sweating provided the environmental conditions reflect hot weather and high humidity. To day's work places are mostly air-conditioned regulating the temperature as well as humidity to comfortable levels and even the "hardest" and "heaviest" worker does not sweat at all. It is a different thing for the unskilled workers working in open fields and factory sheds with asbestos or GI sheet roofs where temperature can reach as high as 40C and if it is a coastal area humidity may go as high as 70-100%! Whether providing 1% inspiration to them can create a genius, unless he is a born genius is a matter of speculation. Also interesting to note is that dogs generally do not sweat though horses do perspire under their armpits and both of them are hard workers. Whether there are geniuses, as measured by human yardstick, amongst these animals is not precisely known.

Inspiration is supposed to mean stimulation of mind and feelings to do beyond a person's usual ability. If this is so right inspiration can motivate workers to be geniuses in their own field. In to day's world, there is nothing more inspirational than money and financial incentive is the best inspiration for increased productivity.If inspiration can play a really decisive role in upgrading human behavior, Indians should have been "inspired" by the great soul of Mahatma Gandhi who preached and died for the principle of non-violence and become the most peaceful country on earth. Unfortunately this country has become the cradle of violence for narrow parochial considerations based on religion, language, caste, politics, pecuniary issues and other destructive causes. Probably Edison's iconic statement may need a modification in India and it should read as "An Indian is 1% perspiration and 99% relaxation"!

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

MANGO GOES THE "APPLE"WAY!-WHOM TO BLAME?

The prediction that there would be a Mango famine this year in India is really sad because this is not the first time the country is facing such a situation. Simplistic explanation that Mango production is "cyclic", is routinely offered by the establishment without ever bothering to look into the scientific basis for such a phenomenon if it really exists. Indian horticulture scientists have creditable records in developing newer varieties of fruits during the last 3 decades but their inability to ensure uniform production is a bitter reality. What it takes to prevent wide fluctuations in production of a fruit like Mango should have been found out long ago. True, organized cultivation of Mango is far and few and a major portion of the annual production comes from thousands of scattered gardens owned by individual families. The trees are neither irrigated adequately nor fertilized regularly, most growers considering what ever crop is harvested as a bonanza with practically no inputs. There are no systematic efforts to replace old trees which start yielding less and less after 40 years. The pre-harvest contracting system puts the responsibility of maintaining the trees on the contractor who takes great care but only to prevent people "pilfering" from his captive tress.

In sharp contrast Apple orchards in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are better organized and have collective bargaining strength in fetching attractive price for their "fruits of labor". Added to this the governments there pitch in with economic support to boost the income of Apple growers. Considerable scientific research world over has enabled the growers as well as the whole sale buyers to harvest, pre-treat, pack, store, distribute and retail the fruit with minimum losses and earn substantial income from Apple growing. No wonder that Apple is available any where in the country 365 days an year and the retail price never comes down to a level less than Rs 80 per kg. With easing of import regulations, Apple varieties from China, Australia, the US and other countries are flooding the market, their retail price hitting the roof at about Rs 150-200 per kg.

Mango season is generally spread between April and August and it is normal for early and late arrivals to command high price. A price around Rs 20 to 40 per kg is considered affordable though fancy varieties like Alphonso may fetch even Rs 80-100 per kg. Mango business is not as transparent as it should be, because it is often difficult for the consumer to identify the variety offered. There are more than 1000 varieties of Mango grown in 85 countries all over the World though commercially hardly two dozen cultivars are important. About 50% of tropical fruits produced globally,is accounted for by Mango, grown in an area of 3.7 million hectare with an annual production estimated at 27 million tons. India is reported to have about 1.5 million hectares under mango cultivation producing 13 million tons annually, the nearest competitor being China accounting for just 3.8 million tons.

Though Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar account for bulk of the production, the variety wise statistics are not reliable. Indian varieties like Alphonso, Badami, Chausa, Dusehri, Langhda, Totapuri, Banganapalli, Kesar, Mallika, Mulgoa, Neelum, Pairi, Raspuri etc are well known and well established with unequaled taste, texture and aroma characteristics. But paradoxically the Florida originating Mango cultivar Tommy Atkins predominates the global market because of its positive traits like high productivity, firmer fruit texture, low spoilage and longer shelf life, though it is fibrous and less aromatic. In India fruit losses are heavy on the trees before harvest and post harvest perishability can be as high as 50%! It is a shame that the specialized National Horticultural Board of GOI has not been able to do much in putting the Mango growing and retailing business on a sound economic footing so far, in spite of tons of literature generated by Indian scientists available on every aspect of growing and preservation of Mango.

What is urgently needed is to develop varieties that can grow all year round with fruits that can keep well under low temperature and modified atmosphere storage conditions, amenable to country-wide marketing with minimum losses. Considering that almost all Indian varieties score well over those originating from other countries in terms of eating quality, the export market may be unlimited. GOI must come out with a policy to encourage organized massive cultivation of Mango dedicated for export by credible industry players. APEDA, the export promoting arm of GOI is doing a wonderful job in positioning Mango as an exotic fruit in the international market but the impact has not been dramatic as the traders are not able to sustain the quality and quantity. The present pre-harvest contracting system must be abolished and adequate organizational net work should be created to market Mango produce from small growers scientifically to benefit the consumer by preventing the middle man gulping a major part of the consumer price.

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

FAST FOOD INDUSTRY-MAKING ZOMBIES OUT OF HUMANS?

The recent reports about the influence of hooking on to the habit of consuming "fast foods" regularly on human behavior is indeed disturbing. While the so called fast food preparations served by some of the largest corporate food service organizations in the world have been blamed for over weight and obesity and associated health disorders, no one has raised the potential of such foods on influencing the behavior of people in the society. Fast foods present a dilemma to the nutritionists, health experts and national governments in many countries because of their stranglehold on the consumers and the nutritional imbalance inherent in most of these processed foods. Most fast foods are supposed to contain high calories contributed by sugar and fat with practically no useful essential nutrients, attracting world-wide criticism and demand for their regulation.

Why sugar and fat are blamed while the willing consumer is spared the criticism defies logic. While children need to be guided and mentored up to a certain age regarding right combination of foods to be consumed till attaining adulthood, normal adults are considered responsible members of the society requiring to use their intelligence, wisdom and experience to follow scientifically sound eating habits for maintaining their health. Individual freedom and responsibility go hand in hand and irresponsible attitude towards food, alcohol or tobacco is a burden on the society for which counseling and treatment may be required. Food industry is blindly blamed for the "bad" foods being offered to the consumer ignoring the fact that any business is bound to survive only if the market demand is met fully as consumer is considered the "king". Where the industry really deserves a rap on their knuckles is misrepresenting scientific facts, distorting truth, excessive promotion of "bad" foods and not providing healthy options to those who are willing to try.

Fast foods need not be always unhealthy and there are healthy foods catered by some vendors with balanced nutrients in them but the mode of serving can be similar to a McDonald or Wendy's. For example most of the foods catered to by the Mexican food catering chain Taco Bell, though a fast food restaurant player with franchisee net work all over the world, are considered generally healthy. Not being a regular restaurant, the foods are served fast with turn over time of less than 5 minutes for executing the order. Same is true with the Subway chain which serves its 6" and 12" subs with a variety of vegetables, cheese and meat, considered nutritious by any standards. Same cannot be said about the dhabas and other fast food outlets that operate in India offering fat rich products of doubtful health value. As there is no control over the quality of oil used the food preparations may not agree with many patrons if consumed more frequently.

The findings by the Canadian scientists that regular exposure to fast foods can condition the mindset of the consumer vis-à-vis "instant gratification" and practically in every endeavor such people undertake such "time efficiency" is anticipated bordering on "impatience". They also found that uncontrolled eating in such places creates further craving for food and suppress the natural impulse for saving money. This is a socio-economic-physiological-psychological phenomenon with potential for spreading fast in the community which has access to easy to reach fast food outlets. Is the world facing a daunting situation where people are becoming increasingly impatient and at times becoming aggressive because of lack of instant gratification? Can it be that fast foods condition the brain to look for all things that can save time in every activity of such individuals depending on fast foods?

In India we see a different scenario where most people are in a hurry the moment they leave their home for completing all their personal work while patience of epic proportion can be perceptible at the workplace! A significant segment of the population wants to jump a queue, if possible to get preferential service while "influence peddling" to get out of turn service is the rule rather than exception. Even for getting darshan in reputed temples like Sabarimala, Titrupati, Guruvayur etc the devotees look out for influential officials and agents for "instant" darshan without wasting time in the queue meant for the "cattle class", as described by the just resigned GOI minister, meaning the "aam admi"! The Indian experience does not prove the fast food-impatience connection as reported above because fast food consumption is abysmally low in the country. More probable factor could be the "environment", education system and the societal "values" that condone such attitudes and behavior in the public

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

"HATING" THE FOOD INDUSTRY-AN INTROSPECTION

Food industry is facing a crisis to day because there is a feeling all around that it cares more for its profits than the safety and well being of the consumers who nourish this sector. Historically food processing has evolved to serve a definite purpose and that is to preserve the food from spoilage and deterioration from many harmful vectors. Food production has been a seasonal occupation and different foods were being produced during different seasons. Surpluses created serve the needs during the off season. The classical preservation technologies like salt, sugar and vinegar based techniques and dehydration are still prevalent to day though to a considerably lesser extent.

The industrial revolution saw a see change in the development of food technology and newer processes emerged to make food more attractive, palatable, diversified in taste, convenient to use and store for longer time. Here is where the health aspect was pushed to the background in quest of other life style satisfaction. To day more than 90% of processed food products serve to satisfy the sensory demand of the body, ignoring the necessity of meeting the nutritional and health needs. The four aspects of organoleptic quality, viz color, aroma, texture and taste overwhelmingly influence the minds of the product developers in the food industry and very little attention is paid to the long term harm that can visit upon the consumers by consumption of millions of unbalanced foods coming out of the industry stable.

Health conscious consumers of to day feel strongly that, in spite of so many advantages to food processing as conceived originally, there exist sufficient grounds to blame the industry for many of the ills facing mankind. There are a few realistic reasons which sound reasonable to a dispassionate observer. According to critics, the further a food product is from its natural form, the less it retains its healthful nutritional properties. Vitamins are destroyed, minerals are leached out and fiber is ignored to be cast away during processing. Though it is grudgingly conceded that the decrease in nutrients is compensated by high tech enrichment and fortification technologies, these add only a small number of nutrients back to a product, whereas hundreds of others are lost in the conversion process from the natural raw material into a ready food to be packed in plastic bags and bottles of questionable safety.

Increasing the shelf life of a food requires the use of preservatives and these may be natural ones such as salt, or artificial chemicals. Since chemicals are specific in their functions, hundreds of them need to be deployed with specific functions like mold inhibition, bacterial destruction, antioxidant functions, etc. Some of them obviously have adverse side affects on some or all human populations. Similarly, to make food more palatable and attractive, many additives are used, though approved at prescribed levels, but with uncertain long term health consequences. Food colorings are a huge category of additives. Though color of a food is an important psychological consideration all artificial colors are not safe for use in human foods. Despite studies that have shown correlation between food colorings and cognitive problems in children, the food industry uses them because they are cheaper than natural sources.

The recent uproar regarding the indiscriminate use of antibiotics by the meat and dairy industry is justified because of the long term repercussions it can have on the effectiveness of many currently used antibiotics to fight against serious infectious epidemics. The inhuman conditions that prevail in many cattle farms, pig farms and poultry farms, the cruel slaughtering practices, wide scale Salmonella contamination of fresh and frozen foods, emergence of GM crops as major input raw materials for the processing industry and many other developments do not help to boost the consumer confidence on the sincerity of this industry. If food processing has to regain its preeminent role as a friend of mankind , it has to collectively restrain its appetite for gaining economic gains at the expense of the health of its patrons, the consumers.

V.H.POTTY

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

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR AGED-FOCUS ON "MUSCLE" BIOLOGY

Living long and living well are two entirely different things and with the number of aged population increasing at an alarming rate, improving the quality of life for them is becoming a priority for geriatric scientists. Muscle atrophy or sarcopenia is the most visible affliction that occurs due to reduction in muscle mass and its proteins, especially Myosin. If such age related changes in muscle can be prevented, it is possible to reduce the onset of diabetes and obesity associated disorders, contributing to better quality of life. A better understanding of the protein synthesis in the muscle probably may help to reverse their degeneration and degradation during aging.

According to a recent estimate the world population can reach the staggering figure of 9.1 billion by the year 2050, a whopping increase of more than 30% of the current population. With mortality rate dramatically coming down and longevity reaching unprecedented levels, the proportion of people with age beyond 60 may reach 21% in 2050, compared to 10 per cent in 2000. A population with gross disability to look after themselves can be a handicap for any country striving to achieve all round development. Of course there are many well being foods, geriatric formulations and health programs for rejuvenating the body but most of these are commercially motivated with no guaranteed results.

During aging process the muscle production rate declines progressively and this results in lesser muscle mass available for carrying out the routine physical activity. The age at which muscle atrophy begins varies widely over a range and depends on genetic factors, dietary practices and the level of physical activity. As muscle and its protein content diminish, fatigue sets in more easily and frequently leading to a sedentary life style. Such a situation if not allowed to develop and the slow down can be reversed through appropriate diet and exercise, an active life style can be ensured. Adding another dimension to this problem is the propensity of the body to develop the much dreaded metabolic syndrome when the muscle atrophy starts due to body's inability to spend the calories resulting in abdominal obesity. Excess weight is known to cause glucose intolerance or resistance to insulin action. Metabolic syndrome also involves changes in lipid levels, hyper tension and increased clotting tendency which can lead to cardiovascular deaths.

If the age related changes in muscle can be prevented, the onset of Type II diabetes and obesity can also be avoided. Against the above background it is being felt that a concerted effort must be mounted to evaluate the potential of synergizing protein intake and exercise to stave off the gradual decline in muscle strength and function for this growing age group. Maintaining an optimal body composition and adequate muscle mass during the lifespan can be expected to enhance significantly the general physical performance and the overall quality of life. Food plays a critical role in maintaining health and assessing scientifically the impact of nutrition and exercise on the quality and quantity of muscle mass can also help to evolve optimally designed foods for young adults whose performance can be enhanced. Major players who are presently peddling different types of health foods can be expected to jump into the fray for coming out with scientifically established geriatric foods that can stop muscle atrophy and give hope for senior denizens for a better quality life.

V.H.POTTY

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