Ever shrinking food packs-Is it ethical or unavoidable?

What is cheating? It is a fairly commonly used and understood English word having association with a negative image. Simplest meaning is "to mislead". What does that have to do with food industry which is highly regulated in almost all countries, overseen by qualified food experts with stiff deterrent punishments for violation. If so how can food industry mislead consumers? While it is understandable that industry may use half truthful information in advertisements, to deliberately mislead the consumers to attract them to their products, it may be difficult to do the same on mandated labels printed on each and every packet of food sold in the market. But in a few case such misleading information is put on the labels also inviting punitive retribution from food authorities, if detected or noticed or on receiving complaints. Scope for misleading the consumer, however, does exist in several areas like ingredient list, brand names, nutritional information, unsubstantiated health claims, suppression of facts etc for which there are remedies, at least on paper, if the enforcement authorities perform their responsibilities with no fear or favor.

Some times not declaring some thing which statutory rules do not mention can also be be misleading. For example the use of GMO ingredients is very common in a country like the US but unlike in other countries the food authorities are not insisting on declaration of the presence of these unnatural food substances. Since there are normal products containing natural ingredients safety of which are beyond any doubt, consumer has a right not to buy GMO tainted products for which label declaration has to be transparent. If a manufacturer does declare that his products contain GMO ingredients, does not it become tantamount to misleading the consumer?. Put it in another way, why not allow manufacturers of foods with out GMO ingredients to say so on the label which is not allowed in the US. That means "cheating" has the official sanction under the US Law! Strange indeed.

Packaging technology which is a vital support industry for the food manufacturing sector has done a yeomen service during the last two decades by providing high class, low cost, functional packing materials and machinery which has dramatically revolutionized the food product manufacturing and marketing in recent years. Multilayer packaging materials with high degree of impervious characteristics to gases, volatiles and moisture have spawned new packaging technologies like aseptic packing, vacuum packing, nitrogen infused packing etc which enabled the food industry to grow rapidly and make the consumer life more livable. Added to this controlled environment bulk packing as well as unit packing has been able to reduce food wastage significantly through out the world. If some food products can be preserved for more than 5 years, it is largely due to the excellent packaging technology available to day.

There is a wide spread perception among the consumers that packaging helps food industry more than the consumer in some ways. Whether it is really true, an impression is being created that food industry in conjunction with packaging industry makes sub standard products with questionable quality parameters in pursuit of increasing profits while reassuringly the product safety is not compromised out of apprehension about punitive punishments and personal damages to the consumer. Unlike in the past when most products were being packed in transparent  polyethylene or polypropylene pouches present day industry uses sophisticated multilayer materials containing non transparent paper or aluminum sheets making it difficult to have a visible feeling about the contents before buying. Ultimately consumers have to rely on brand reputation to guess about the product quality.

Recent practices by the food industry to take the help of packaging technology to redesign their pack size and shape are raising shackles all around, shaking the confidence on this industry. Advent of vending machines made it a necessity for adjusting the size, weight or volume of the product being vended keeping pace with inflation. It is part of the vending machine design that the coins to be inserted cannot be changed easily but the content size can be varied to adjust to the cost to be recovered. Modern machines do accept paper notes and smart cards but it is still difficult to change prices frequently to keep with rise in production cost. Taking a leaf out of the vending industry, main stream industry is also increasingly resorting to a practice of shrinking their pack size while maintaining the price line, to keep up with inflation. Many consumers feel this is a great deceit perpetuated on them by the industry deliberately making them look like fools!  Jury is out on the ethical aspects of this widely practiced "Houdini" act by food industry.

Dispassionate critics do see some justification in the industry practice because consumers are highly price sensitive and industry cannot raise prices frequently that may create a consumer backlash and eventually resistance to their products. It has been proved beyond doubt that consumer sensitivity is highest when the prices shoot up crossing certain thresholds while any thing less than this threshold is not generally noticed. For example if a product has an MRP of Rs 52 per pack, increasing it to Rs 60 or more may invite consumer attention while repricing at Rs 59 may not be noticed! In India there is another dimension to pricing because of acute shortage of low denomination coins and every trader/retailer faces this problem of returning the change if paid by cash. Of course payment by smart cards obviate such a situation but very insignificant number of consumers have smart card facility, the major clientele being poor and lower middle income population who always pay cash. The much touted competition is supposed to bring down prices at the retail level but this does not seem to be happening in India, except in electronic industry.

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

Buy one, get one free! Another marketing ploy to tempt consumers to buy more than what they need!

What is the big difference between the consumer and the retailer? Very simple, one wants to buy best quality goods at lowest price possible and the other wants to sell as much as possible at greatest profit! Thus every day we can see this war of wits taking place in the market place all over the world. Government is a side player working to ensure that citizens are not cheated through its policy interventions and make the selling as transparent as possible. There are established regulatory frame work for the food industry to abide by and violation will attract punitive measurements including closing the shop for defaulters and fraudulent players. The labeling regulations can be an effective insurance against misrepresentation and facilitate consumers' right to know what he is buying. But in spite of all the safeguards marketeers constantly device ways and means to mislead the unwary consumers through doubtful but legal tactics.

A classical example is the manipulation of the packaging size and shape in such a way that most consumers are not able to perceive that they are being taken for a ride at the super market isles! It is perfectly legitimate to use any size or shape for designing packaging units as per the convenience of the industry. Theoretically it is the responsibility of the consumer who has to be watchful while buying his needs from the market for which sufficient guidelines are available. Transgression by the industry can come in many ways against which no legal recourse may be available. For example there is no law which says that industry must use only particular shape or size or unit prices should be stamped on each packet. "Maximum Retail Price" or MRP can indicate the recommended sale price of a particular pack size and it cannot be compared easily with another brand with different pack size. Of course smart consumers can always calculate the price per kilogram and compare the same among competing brands but most consumers have neither the time nor the inclination to spend too much time in the market for doing such elaborate arithmetic jugglery.

MRP declaration can be very deceptive as it can be easily manipulated by the industry for its gains. By introducing packs of sizes not used by others, MRP can be stamped with a higher figure and retailers can be given higher margins to push their products aggressively. Many manufacturers use bigger looking pouches and bottles while keeping the content size same to give an impression to the consumer that their packs contain more materials than that of their competitors. Of course a diligent consumer can call this bluff by carefully reading the label. Another area of misleading packs is in the declaration of ingredients which are not as transparent as many think. For example if wheat is a component of a particular formulation, the manufacturer has the liberty to use the terminology "whole wheat atta"  or "maida" and in these days of great awareness about health most consumers will prefer a product with whole wheat flour rather than maida. Similarly in multigrain products one particular ingredient may be more than 90% while others may be present in "trace" amounts. Even the list of ingredients supposed to be in descending order can be inaccurate as there is no way to determine, especially by a lethargic enforcement regime, the presence or absence of a particular ingredient and its concentration. 

Expiry date stamped in many packs can be misleading because no one is certain as to what it means! In India "best before" date is being insisted by the food safety authorities but the question remains whether what happens if one buys products beyond this date? Technical problems do exit in this area as adequate data regarding the real shelf life of food products are not readily available. Besides various formulations, presence of different ingredients, varying processing parameters followed by different manufacturers and the variations in the environmental conditions in different geographical areas make it difficult for any one to predict when a product can become unsafe to consume. Unnecessary wastage of foods, especially in wealthy countries which can support a significant number of poor people in the poverty ridden countries in Asia, Africa and South America, is receiving the attention world over these days and many politicians and social activists are suggesting that consumer should not throw away date expired foods. Though there is a demand for printing a date beyond which the food is not safe, there does not appear to be any takers from the industry for this demand due to logistical and practical reasons.   

One of the most elegant strategies now being adopted by the industry is to tap on the gullibility of human beings to temptations of buying at bargain prices more than their actual requirement which possibly drives them in hordes whenever a price slashing sale is announced. The native instinct of pursuing activities that is economically advantageous makes man fall into the trap of marketing pundits who constantly devise and design promotional programs to satisfy this instinct. The memory of the public is too short to remember and recall bad experiences associated with a particular product and economic consideration outweighs all other emotions in going for another product by the same manufacturer. Probably this is at the core of the spate of cases in the market where a few manufacturers are positioning their products promising free supply of a food packet for every purchase of the same product. Whether this is a straight forward situation or there is a hidden agenda in such schemes will have to be carefully examined.

"Buying one and getting another one free" is a practical way of liquidating stocks of products which are slow moving or for products nearing the "best before date". What the consumer feels about it is not very well understood and the experience of the industry in undertaking such schemes is also not in the public domain. But unquestionably every consumer must be wondering why these products are being sold literally at half the price and their suspicion about unjustifiable price tags of many of the products in the market gets strengthened. A common sense consumer always debates the rationality of a product like Corn flakes commanding prices as high as Rs 400 per Kg while the basic material used in the process viz, Corn is available at a relatively low price of about Rs 20 per Kg! Another dimension to this tangle is the eternal distrust of the industry by the consumer vis-a-vis quality and a dramatically reduced price can raise doubts regarding the real quality of the product offered for sale.  

Offering newly launched products at reduced price is a genuine marketing strategy by a new player or by an established manufacturer but the natural price or "viable" price is subsequently recovered once the product or the brand attains critical sales volume. Similarly giving "free" another product from the same company or from another known company is very common as both get almost free publicity. After all during these days of high sound bite electronic media, promotion does not come cheap and diverting a part of the advertisement spend on schemes involving "giveaways" is quite normal benefiting mutually. Though consumer stands to benefit from such periodic schemes, it is imperative to be on guard to ensure that the product has still significant shelf life as per declared expiry date. When ever a consumer buys these products, it is better to keep in mind that food products tend to lose their quality progressively with time and too much of stocks may eventually end up in the trash can due to signs of spoilage!    

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

Looking beyond thermal processing-Emerging new technologies for the food industry

Who does not want to enjoy a safe and tasty meal? The food we eat is as precious to creatures as it is to us, who live along with us in this planet and therefore competing with man to have a share of the pie is quite natural, But man in his perpetual fight for ensuring continuous supply of food for himself and his fellow denizens innovate tirelessly to protect the food supply through "killing" technologies which are widely deployed through out the entire spectrum of food chain. By far his fight has been of epic proportions when it comes to eliminating vectors and pathogenic bugs. Many of them, besides eating the food which man considers as his, they also contribute a host of diseases with mass destruction potential. Once this is achievable the next focus is keeping the food as fresh as possible to utilize the nutrients present in them fully and enjoying the unique flavor and taste associated with fresh foods.

Historically food preservation was accomplished by using natural substances like salt and sugar both of them being injurious to pathogenic microorganisms at high concentrations raising the osmotic pressure of the medium to intolerable levels. Fermentation to lower the pH of the food system was also as old as human civilization. Use of heat to cook the foods achieved destruction of undesirable microbes besides imparting highly palatable qualities to the food. Pasteurization and sterilization became common place to prolong the life of many foods and thermally processed foods in bottles and cans supported human lives especially during stress times like wars, famine, drought, epidemics etc. Even to day heat is used in some modern processes like aseptic packing, HTST and UHT technologies and in-package sterilization. Advent of chemical preservatives like sulfur dioxide, benzoates, sorbates and many other chemical substances provided an easier option to thermal processing. But to day's consumer is not willing to accept any chemically tainted foods because of the unknown consequences, especially in the long run,  of ingesting them on his health.   

Under such an environment it is no wonder that food scientists and the processing industry are looking for new technologies that will be more efficient and less intrusive as far as flavor and texture of the food is concerned. Consumer is fully justified in demanding more and more fresh , improved quality and healthy foods for him as well as his family and this demand from the market place is the driving force for novel technologies that can provide chemically free, palatable and healthy foods. Here comes the challenge because severe processing conditions can irrevocably change the characteristics of the natural food giving the consumer some thing like a pale shadow of the original food. Also environment friendly processes with minimum power and water use and less and less pollution potential are inevitable. New emerging technologies such as high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF) and cold plasma are considered very promising and can be expected to be main stream processes in the coming years..

HPP does not use heat for achieving disinfection of products and is in the forefront as a choice for a non-thermal pasteurization technique. Here products are subjected to high pressures between 300 and 600 MPa for a duration of about 10 minutes. The advantages of HPP over the conventional thermal processing techniques can be manifold, most important ones being significantly reduced process times, very low heat damage to the product and retention of product flavor, texture, color and heat labile nutrients. But HPP cannot be effective in achieving destruction of dangerous spores of some bacteria if used alone, though it can be used in conjunction with low acidity of the medium or use of refrigeration. HPP is versatile in that it can inactivate pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, yeasts, molds and viruses but not effective when it comes to inactivation of undesirable enzymes. Its application is linked to factors such as the type of microorganism, food composition, pH and water activity of the food system. Its use world wide  by industrial establishments is reported to be wide spread during the last few years. HPP is excellently suited to liquid and semi-solid food products such as fruit juices, purees, smoothies, jellies etc. Major constraints for its growth are high capital expenditure, low productivity and batch type of operations. 

PEF is a unique process which can kill bacteria present in liquid food products at low temperatures within a short period of time. Here the food is exposed to a pulsed high voltage field for less than 1 second and this process ensures better retention and storage stability of phytochemicals like carotenoids, phenolic compounds and flavonols, in comparison to thermal processing. Combining the PEF treatment at moderate temperatures with the presence of an antimicrobial, effective against both Gram-positive and -negative pathogenic bacteria, would significantly enhance process efficiency, reduce the number of pulses and outlet temperature and lead to significant energy cost savings. A major limitation of PEF is that it is not suited to foods with high conductivity, high salt content and liquid foods with high particulate content. Research efforts are in progress to further refine the technology for as wide applications as possible and fool proof with 100% kill efficiency against most food borne pathogens.   .  

Cold plasma technology is another choice when it comes to processing foods without using high temperatures. Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter that is energetically distinguishable from solids, liquids and gases. Plasma is a source of different antimicrobial substances including UV photons, charged particles, and reactive species such as superoxide, hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide and ozone. Non-thermal plasma which does not use high temperature and power can be generated by electric or magnetic discharges at lower pressures, Cold plasma can be effective in the sanitization of the surface of fresh produce like fruits and vegetables, liquid products like juices and still beverages besides decontamination of processing equipment  in food industry. It may take more efforts for the cold plasma processing to become a fool proof method for the food processing industry as there is no assurance that it can achieve a 100% kill rate in all food systems.  

Though the on-going public interest in non-thermal process technologies is very high, investments sufficient to fast track these developments are not forthcoming due to many reasons, the major one being the high capital cost involved in fabricating industrial capacity machinery with high productivity. One example of a non-thermal process that remains untapped fully is irradiation technology, in spite of high investments made over the last three decades in evolving industrial scale plants for treating a variety of food products with assured decontamination efficiency and minimum damage to the products processed. Probably this may be the non-motivating factor that is impeding development of many non-thermal food processing technologies at a pace commensurate with the growth of food industry world over.

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

The mythical "Elixir of Life"- Does it exist to day?

The mythical potion described in ancient times as "Elixir of Life" is supposed to bestow eternity to those who drink it but no one knows whether it really existed at any time in the long history of mankind. From time to time many foods and ancient plant preparations were described as health promoting substances though no adequate scientific evidence has surfaced to justify such a claim by any product made by man so far in a conclusive way. It is against such a background that Turmeric, the humble condiment grown and consumed in India widely, is being touted by some as some thing nearest to the hypothetical elixir of life. In spite of centuries of history behind turmeric which seemed to be in use as early as 5000 BC conclusive evidence still is wanted to really place it on a pedestal as the most versatile food adjunct with manifold health benefits attributed to it. Whether in Ayurvedic system of medicine or the Siddha system, turmeric really has an exalted position recommended to deal with many diseases that afflict humans. It is only during the last 3 decades that substantial scientific evidence has surfaced, at least in studies with animal system, about the remarkable properties of some of the bioactive compounds present in turmeric in ameliorating a number of diseases in a far better way than currently used allopathic drugs.   

Turmeric is a condiment closely associated with Indian curry preparations and practically every meal adjuncts prepared from vegetables contain turmeric in varying proportions. Since it has a deep yellow color which is imparted to the food prepared incorporating it with staining potential of the hand with which foods are eaten in India, western population generally avoid using turmeric in day to day preparations. Also the typical aromatic flavor imparted by turmeric is not so much relished in Western countries restricting its use severely in foods prepared by the population there. However accumulated scientific revelations during the last two decades are making the world realize, albeit slowly the remarkable health protecting capabilities of bioactive compounds present in turmeric.  But the million dollar question is whether the full health protection potential of turmeric will ever be realized if this valuable crop continues to be neglected except in a few countries like India.  

The broad class of substances coming under Curcuminoids which are present in turmeric to the extent of 4-5% have received riveted attention from scientists and health pundits because of their well established beneficial effect in human body. Curcumin which is the most predominant curcuminoid present in this plant material has become a darling of the health conscious community looking for natural plant derived antidotes, preferring them over synthetic drugs, for leading a disease free life. Curcumin is established as a substance with anti- inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, antibacterial and antiviral properties reflecting its versatility as an effective medical tool. Its major impact is in controlling inflammation through curtailing the proliferation of microphages believed to be linked to diseases like heart ailments, obesity, Crohn's diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, diabetes, etc. Turmeric is also a source of volatile oils like Turmerone, Atlantone and Zingiberene of which the first mentioned one is receiving increasing attention as a unique chemical that promotes stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain. Unwinnable medical conditions  like strokes and Alzheimer's disease which involve degeneration of brain cells can now be treated with Turmerone which can be administered through nanoemulsions based on castor oil and polypropylene glycol. Though turmeric is the only source of these two bioactive compounds, a larger question that has been bothering scientists is how far the human intestine can utilize them when ingested along with food. However new approaches like nanotechnology provide solution for effective delivery of bioactive chemicals like turmerone and curcumin to any part of the body affected by diseases.

The humble rhizome which is cultivated in countries like India, China, Myanmar, Nigeria and Bangladesh are mostly consumed locally after cooking, drying and powdering. There is a limited export market, demand coming mainly from countries like UAE, USA and some few countries. Of the 1.1 million tons of dry turmeric produced world wide India accounts for about 80% and global export is rather limited to about 6000 tons, probably most of it to meet the demands from expatriate Indian population. Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu in India can be literally called the turmeric capitals as they account for more than 80% of the country's production. Turmeric industry got a bad name a few years ago after it was discovered that some unscrupulous traders were adulterating it with Lead chromate for boosting its color value but this has been severely dealt with in India, such a scare becoming a part of history. Even the practice of cooking in lime water before drying for intensifying the typical color of turmeric is not widely practiced with consumers demanding pure and natural turmeric for their culinary use.

   

World has been focussing on extraction of curcumin from turmeric as the excellent yellow color of this chemical is widely accepted as a natural colorant in many processed food products after the ban of many synthetic colors during the last few years. The oleoresin technology developed indigenously in India in nineteen sixties and seventies helped a lot in evolving a vibrant spice extraction industry that is supplying the world a variety of oleoresins for flavor concentrates for use by food industry across the world. Turmeric oleoresin containing high levels of curcumin can be hot pressed to recover most of the color fraction in a relatively clean condition. Modern Super critical carbon dioxide fluid extraction technology is also being used increasingly for separation of curcumin from turmeric. If the importance of curcumin is recognized by the pharma industry and health supplement sector, it is likely that emphasis may shift in the years to come from use as a food additive to more and more curcumin containing formulations. Already curcumin containing capsules are in the market which claim to reduce levels of oxidized cholesterol by 33%, total cholesterol by 63% and increase HDL cholesterol by 29% within a week of consuming them. Probably this is based on the scientific findings that curcumin prevents cholesterol oxidation and the role played by oxidized cholesterol in building up arterial plaques that lead to cardiovascular disease. 

Turmeric volatile oil (about 4.5%) is not that extensively studied as the resinous fraction containing curcumin but it is emerging as a treasure house of the turmerones of which aromatic turmerone is hogging the limelight currently. This is due to its unique properties like antivenom, antiplatelet, antioxidant and anticancer. Almost 40-50% of turmeric oil is made of turmerones and modern techniques like Supercritical Carbon dioxide extraction can yield turmerones of more than 85% purity. Probably if the medicinal properties of turmerones are established by more studies including clinical trials, the technology for producing higher purified preparations may emerge in future. But even with the present level of knowledge, turmeric can be a truly wonderful food material that cannot be ignored any more as just an Indian curry constituent.

The relatively stagnant production base of turmeric is a worrying factor and neither productivity targeted nor enrichment targeted agronomic studies are being done in India. It is time that agricultural research is directed towards improvement of varieties to increase the yield as well as to increase the oleoresin content. If world wide studies in different countries do confirm the "elixir of life" role for turmeric, global demand is bound to rise benefitting Indian growers significantly in future.

V.H.POTTY

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

Food security scheme in Andhra Pradesh-The name does not matter but management does!

Recently there was a news report about the plans of the new government in Andhra Pradesh (AP) to launch a scheme for supplying food grains and other essential foods to low income group of population at a subsidized price considered affordable to them. The news value is not on the content of the scheme but about the name proposed under which the program will be propagated. While the same program was in operation in 2013 itself introduced by the previous government, the new regime wants to rename it under the pretext that it would supply better quality foods under the package. It is claimed that under the previous dispensation bad quality foods were distributed bringing bad name to the scheme and hence the need to rename the same. The issue of repacking or renaming old schemes is a debatable one with such tendency becoming evident even at the national level. 

The launching of Swatch Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) by the new NDA government is an example of renaming popular schemes where governments invest heavily. It seems there was a similar program taken up by the earlier government with the same objectives under the name Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan which the present government found it wanting and ineffective in many ways which was the justification offered for renaming this national project. In AP a scheme was introduced under the name .Indira Gandhi Amma Hastam (IGAH) under which 22 lakh identified low income families (BPL Families)  were provided with a "food pack" containing wheat flour, pulses, edible oil, sugar etc for Rs 185 which in the market would have costed Rs 292. The new scheme is to be launched to replace the earlier one under the name NTR Aapanna Hastam (NTRAH) providing same package but claimed to be of better quality. What ever be the name of the scheme, it is a laudable one because a government is thinking for the first time that cereals alone do not constitute food security.

One another feature of NTRAH is that the beneficiaries are identified based on their income to be eligible to receive the special white card under which entitlement is given. This is in contrast to the so called Food Security Act (FSA) passed by the Parliament last year under which cereals are offered to 67% of the Indian population at a ridiculously low price of Rs 1-2 per kg! It is a tragedy that the new government is continuing with this Act in spite of knowing that it is seriously flawed. Any welfare scheme can be acceptable only when truly deserving people receive the benefits and FSA suffers from this lapse as 67% of population to be provided such heavily subsidized cereals, cannot be considered poor by any stretch of imagination! Committing an astronomical sum of Rs 1.30 lakh crore of rupees every year from the national exchequer cannot be justified if such a huge expenditure is meant to really help poorest of poor people in the country. Like in AP, the central government must insist on identifying the beneficiaries through dependable surveys regarding their income before rolling out the scheme pan India. 

The NTRAH offers a mix of wheat flour, pulses, edible oil, sugar, salt and some spices supposed to be sufficient for a family for one month. It is not clear as to how such a mix has been identified as sufficient for a person though prima facie this "food pack" does help the beneficiaries who also get subsidized grains under the FSA. Currently AP has a population of 5 crore ( roughly about 1.2 crore families) and it is not known how many people will be covered under the new NTRAH. The earlier estimate of 22 lakh families for the undivided AP may see some revision and the contours of the new scheme will emerge when the same is finalized before launching from January next year. But the state has to keep in mind that such subsidies should reach only the very poor people whose quality of life is bound to become better with the supply of 9 essential commodities under the scheme.

IGAH scheme presently in operation was severely criticized by the present government because the quality of the commodities supplied was claimed to be poor especially in terms of color and flavor though no safety issue was raised. The million dollar question is how the new scheme will overcome the deficiencies pointed out because the quality of food ultimately will depend on sourcing the supplies and managing procurement efficiently. Of course the operation is not massive posing any logistical nightmare but still there could be quality issues which need to addressed to avoid people calling it as "old wine in new bottle"! Government will face a dilemma as to whether the scheme will be run by a public agency or it will be PPP model both having some limitations. While government agencies are heavily bureaucratized hampering sound management decisions, private contractors tend to indulge in short cuts and corruption to make a fast buck in the process.  

Finally a word about the mix of commodities proposed under NTRAH. Probably it may need some modification viewed from health and nutrition perspectives. Salt is a cheap commodity and buying the same from the open market may not be a problem. Similarly supply of maida is questionable because it is not considered a healthy food compared to whole wheat atta. Why not increase atta correspondingly? Also to be considered is whether mustard seeds can be included in the mix as it is one of the most frequently used condiment for flavoring most of the food preparation. If milk powder is also included the pack could be considered nutritionally well balanced. 

AP deserves all kudos for thinking about such a project for improving the quality of life among poorest of the poor and every state must watch the performance of this scheme for introduction of the same in their own states soon. 

The name of the scheme does not matter but its content, management and benefits count a lot in deciding whether it becomes useful and popular!

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

The Jute bag controversy- A Lobbying "contest"!

The eternal fight between jute lobby and plastic lobby for cornering a greater share of orders for packing bags for sugar and food grains does not seem to be ebbing as reflected by the attempts to dilute the much touted Jute Packaging Material Act of 1987 (JPM ACT) promulgated by Government of India to protect the interests of the jute farmers and jute mills predominantly located in North Eastern India. It was realized early by the government that jute industry is vital for saving employment and sustenance of jute farmers for which policy protection is necessary. There appears to be about 4 lakh workers engage by the jute industry who are not adept in doing any other work and therefore working of these mills is imperative for their livelihood. Besides about 40 lakh families are involved in farming activities to raise jute fiber whose very existence depends on the working of the jute mills. In the light of these compulsions government's move in promulgating the above Act mandating the use of jute bags for packing food grains and sugar has been timely and reassuring.

Advent of cheaper plastic sacks seems to have tempted the food grain and sugar sector to switch over to them though under the Law there is a limit beyond which plastics cannot be used. Offense under the JPM ACT is serious punishable crimes capable of attracting financial penalty and imprisonment. Still this Act is violated frequently while the government is a helpless bystander! The reasons are many for such a peculiar situation vis-a-vis jute bag use. According to JPM Act at least 40% of sugar produced must be packed in jute bags while 100% of grains stored and distributed must be in jute bags. From time to time government dilutes the stringent provision of the Act mainly because of inadequate availability of jute bags when required, based on the recommendations of ministries concerned. In 2012-13 the jute bag demand was about 14 lakh bales while the jute industry could supply only 13 lakh bales calling for increased use of plastic sacks. Similarly in 2013-2014 Government projected a need of 20 lakh bales but jute industry could only "commit" 16 lakh bales. Ultimately how much they can really supply is some thing one has to wait and see.

As a packing material plastic sacks recommend themselves because of their greater functionality, especially with regard to moisture ingression. For a commodity like sugar protection from moisture is absolutely necessary to prevent moisture absorption by this hygroscopic product. Some blame must be borne by the jute industry for its stagnant technological base and lack of innovative spirit. If adequate research and development activities were practiced it could have thrown up modified jute bags with superior functional properties. Still jute use must be encouraged in India because empty bags generate so much down stream business activities providing gainful employment to millions of people. Besides jute is a sustainable commodity unlike plastics which are made from fossil fuels with high polluting capacity.

In a move that smells of a victory for the plastic lobby, recent advocacy by the textile ministry for allowing plastics to be allowed for packing 80% of sugar production in the country, raises many uncomfortable questions. There is nothing wrong if plastic sacks are allowed to be used if there is a genuine shortage of jute bags. But whether there is really a shortage is not clear though there are reports that domestic jute industry is importing jute bags from Bangladesh illegally. Indian situation is some what odd because the government is being asked to micro manage two industries and it can never satisfy both of them. Probably since the government buys more than 40% of the jute bags produced in the country for packing procured grains in different states, it may be inevitable that such a role is played to act equitably for all the stake holders.

If there is a choice between plastics and jute, government is justified in going for the latter considering social, environmental, economic and other advantages inherent in the case of jute. By providing a minimum support price (MSP) to jute farmers government is doing a yeoman service and in the absence of such a mechanism jute would have vanished from India long ago. It is another matter that to day's market price for jute is significantly higher than the MSP but these are good times for jute industry and MSP's USP will be realized only during distress time when market value plunges due to extraneous problems, both domestic and international. The unique strength of India as a top jute producing country must not be forfeited though Bangladesh is almost at the heels of India in matching jute production. As against India's production of 2 million tons (MT) Bangladesh raises 1.5 MT and China 4,400,00 MT. 

A million dollar question that begs for an answer is whether the domestic demand for jute bags will remain same if and when the country goes in for modern storage technology like silos which can considerably reduce jute bag use. Similarly use of paper bags with ultra strength properties may also pose a challenge while new technologies in the plastic front can throw up much superior and cheaper alternatives to jute. Here is where the jute industry must try to diversify jute uses and exploit the "natural" tag attached to their products. Besides its "Green" credentials are high making it the choice for millions of people concerned about global warming and environmental destruction through unsustainable technologies and resources. probably it could take a leaf out of the strong coir industry in Kerala which has diversified the use of coir in a wide variety of modern day products.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
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Life is precious-Why do people give it up?

Life is considered a precious gift from God by most people in the world though there are a few atheists who think there is nothing like a God. However as long as man is not able to revive a completely dead person back to normal life or create artificial life one has to admit the existence of an omnipotent force with powers beyond what human beings, in spite of vast scientific and technological prowess at their disposal, possess. There are occasional reports that some scientists are on the threshold of creating artificial life though it cannot be still considered satisfactory to sideline God yet. Probably in years to come man may succeed but one has to wait for that day before casting serious doubt about the existence of God. This is a controversial issue and people on both sides of the divide will have to respect each others' feelings.

If life is a precious thing why do people commit suicide so often knowing pretty well that they can never return back to life? One of the most accepted views is that suicide happens when the extreme mental condition of the person does not allow him to think seriously the mind boggling consequences of committing such an act and in many cases those who fail in their effort to take their life in the first attempt invariably give up unless there is serious mental derangement. According to WHO experts on a global basis, one suicide takes place every 40 seconds working out to an annual suicide rate of 8 lakh per year. It is interesting to see that suicide rate varies from country to country though low income and middle income countries report higher suicide rates. Thus no one country is immune to suicidal tendency whether rich or poor, whether in Asia, America, Africa or Europe. Another notable phenomenon is that those who choose death voluntarily are mostly illiterates! 

India is a country where suicide rates are considered high though there are others with almost double the rate in other continents. If one believes in the babu version of government of India there were only 134, 600 deaths due to suicide in India in the year 2012 but WHO where such deaths are systematically documented the real figure was 258, 075 out of which 99, 977 were women and 158, 098 men. Obviously there must be some suppression of data in India or the documentation system is faulty. Overall there is 21.1 suicides for every 1 lakh population. It is not a consolation that a poor country like Guyana has a suicide rate as high as 44.2 per one lakh population or for that matter Sri Lanka recorded 28.8 deaths or Nepal had a figure of 24.9 suicides per one lakh. What is appalling is that in Indian suicide rate is high when it comes to the age group of 15-29 years aggregating to 35.5 per lakh while among 30 to 49 years group the rate falls to 28 per lakh. 

Suicide by farmers is always sensational and the media loves to report them promptly accusing the governments for such happenings in the country. However farmer suicides are less than 10% of the national figure though self inflicted deaths in rural belt is mostly due to serious financial indebtedness and insurmountable difficulties to meet both the ends meet on account of drought and crop failure. Pesticide poisoning, hanging and self immolation account for most deaths in countries like India while firearms are extensively used in countries like the US where they are easily available in the market. Interestingly in most wealthy countries poverty or hunger is not the primary reason for self-inflicted death but it is the acute mental disorders that drive them to this extreme step. Koreans are an interesting case where suicide rates are as high as 28.9 to 38.5 per lakh. Though on the development scale South Koreans are far ahead with high per capita income, the suicide figure tells a different story. There the figure is almost 29 per lakh while in North Korea it is 38.5 per lakh. 

What about our neighbor China? It is a confusing picture there as there are no independent reports that can substantiate the official claims by the government, The claim that it has dramatically reduced suicide rate from 22.3 per lakh a decade ago to 9.8 per lakh, a reduction of about 58% cannot be verified but even if if it is partially true the achievement is really noteworthy. One of the reasons attributed to this phenomenon is the rapid, conscious and massive urbanization programs initiated by the communist government and many social welfare supports available to the citizens. This is understandable because suicides take place mostly in rural and semi-urban areas for which no credible explanation is still available.    

In absolute numbers maximum suicides take place in India, about 2.6 lakh out of a global figure of 8 lakh (almost 33%) though country's population is less than 18% of world population. This may prompt critics to call India the suicide capital of the world. It is a poor reflection on the metal strength of the nation which boasts of 5000 years of glorious history, an ancient civilization and the epicenter of epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana,  In a land where Buddha and Mahavir Jain were born, peace within and around should have been a strong trait among their descendants. Also this is the land where Mahatma Gandhi, the Universal Apostle of nonviolence was born and attained martyrdom. If so why this depredation, deprivation, desperation and predisposition that drive people to destroy their own lives? Where has this country gone wrong in evolving such a destructive environment when people think of taking their own lives? Is there a spiritual bankruptcy or lack of self confidence or a sense of helplessness which is responsible for this situation? There is an urgent need for introspection among Indians vis-a-vis the factors that drive some of their fellow citizens towards self destruction so as to bring about radical self corrective measures.

   

V.H.POTTY

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