Organic foods with pesticide residue? An unenviable Indian situation!

Organic foods are supposed to be free from pesticides as the they are produced using no chemicals at all. Though some countries like the US permit limited use of chemicals and still call the product organic, this is not an acceptable option in many other countries. Fear of adverse effect of "artificial" or unnatural substances in raising crops or meat animals or during processing drive consumers in droves to the open arms of the organic food industry, willingly paying almost 50-100% more prices for them. But is the consumer guaranteed about the genuineness of organic foods, branded by the industry or is there an overseeing agency mandated to monitor the market and ensure the consumer is not defrauded? Obviously such controls by regulatory authorities in countries like India are at best nebulous. With such an unfettered access to the market, fraudsters and deceitful producers are having a field day! 

It is not that Indian government has not done any thing to encourage organic farming and processing but the progress in bringing the organic food industry to international level is less than encouraging. Organic food market world wide is estimated at $ 50 billion (bn) and current cultivation covers an area of 35 million (mn) hectares, spread of 141 countries involving more than 1.2 mn producers. Australia is the pioneering country that sets the agenda for organic food production and innovations related to it. USA is the major producing and consuming country accounting for more than 40% of global production. Compared to this India produces about 0.12 mn tons valued at $ 20 mn,  the cultivation area being mentioned as 2.5 mn hectares but these figures are some what skewed because a more reliable estimate puts it at 40, 000 hectares. India produces and exports about 30 products under the organic product banner which include Basmati rice, mango pulp, pineapple pulp, cashew nut, sesame, honey, walnut, spices, coffee, tea and tea and Indian products are imported into more than 70 countries through out the world.. 

Standards for organic foods are not uniform in all countries and even definition of what constitutes an organic food varies some what among the producers. In the US one can see 100% organic, 95% organic, 70%  organic etc throwing lot of consumers into confusion. World standards, about 61 in number, accepted among most nations include IFoam, Codex, EU, Demeter, JAS etc. In 2000 India government came out with the National Program for Organic Products (NPOP) to organize the production on a scientific footing and National Standards for Organic Products were set up to monitor the industry. Presently Agricultural Product Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been vested with the task of ensuring quality standards for organic products produced in the country. There are 11 accredited certification agency approved by the National Accreditation Board for checking the veracity of claims made by the industry vis-a-vis organic foods.

The malpractices in Indian organic food industry came to light recently when Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, came out with its findings that many organic food samples tested in Delhi by it contained pesticide residue. According to this institute its laboratory analysis showed 33% of the samples it checked  during the last two years containing pesticide residues which are not supposed to be there at all as per mandatory regulations. Probably it may be a shock for the consumers but the practice of using pesticides must have been there since long without any hindrance from any quarters. The vegetables that tested positive for pesticides included brinjal, ladyfinger, tomato, capsicum, chillies, cabbage, cauliflower, coriander and green peas. Many were found to contain residues from multiple pesticides. Dearth of reliable brands and sources is posing a major challenge to genuine buyers of organic foods in the country. Consumers have to be convinced about the authenticity of the organic food certification as only such a situation will  ensure that organic food product conforms to the respective national standards established by the certification procedures set out in 2000. 

What is disturbing is that this fact was known since last two years from the on-going testing program in IARI in Delhi, located just a few kilometers from the offices of APEDA, the government agency earmarked for certifying organic foods and supposedly to be looking after the welfare of Indians domestically and other citizens in importing countries where Indian products are exported! Can such callousness be condoned? World over organic food industry is growing at a fast pace and to day the value of these "safe"products churned out by the industry is about 1% of that by the mainstream industry which generates a business volume worth $ 5 trillion. If India continues to neglect the organic food industry by not putting in place an effective surveillance mechanism soon, the faith and trust of dedicated consumers wedded to organic foods will be badly shaken, if not lost once for all. Millions of denizens across the world want their children at least to grow in an environment not vitiated by the main stream food industry which uses thousands of chemicals and other unnatural additives to make their products look "sexy" and taste "glamorous" so that consumers get hooked on to them without realizing the terrible consequences of eating them regularly! Probably government of India could set up a dedicated organic foods certification and monitoring agency with adequate powers to enforce the national standards for organic foods, in stead of the present ad hoc arrangement involving APEDA.

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

BEEF EATING ON THE RISE IN INDIA? SCIENCE VS FAITH

Are the Indians predominantly vegetarians? If so, is it due to culture, religion or economic compulsions? Very difficult to answer but if statistical pundits are to be believed most of the Indians population do not consume non-plant foods except milk and milk products and a small minority does not even consume dairy products. For those who are delighted to see figures, here are some data which may be of doubtful veracity but still some thing to go by! 20% to 42% of Indian population ( some say 39% only) are vegetarians while another 9% though vegetarians have no qualms about eating eggs. Diehard non-vegetarians  who consume meat and other animal derived foods regularly constitute 30% while the rest are fair weather non-vegetarians eating meat foods occasionally.   

Having stated the obvious, a crucial question that is always considered sensitive is how many people eat beef, derived from cows? Statistics may be hard to come by since most Hindus will not admit to beef eating due to peer pressure and sacredness of cow that is legendary in the country. Interestingly India to day tops the world in terms of dairy production, cattle production and beef export. Why is this interesting? Because what happens to millions of cows which become dry, not yielding viable volume of milk regularly? They cannot be killed in most of the States in the country and the present rulers in Delhi are known to oppose vehemently cow slaughter.What about Buffaloes? Since hardly any distinction is made between meat from cow or buffalo, both being categorized as beef, how can one differentiate dishes made from the meat derived from these two animals. This can be done only through sophisticated biological tests but no one seems to be bothered about this inconvenient question at any point in the meat supply chain. 

Indigenous breeds of cow that flourished in the Indian sub-continent include Bhadhwari, Desan, Gujarati, Sorti, Surati, Red Sindhi, Mahi, Sahiwal, Ongole, Deoni etc all of which hailed from one or the other part of the country. Imported breeds, considered exotic, which played a crucial role in the White revolution through cross breeding and animal upgradation projects during the last 5 decades include Jersey, Holstein, Brown Swiss, Red Dane, Ayrshire and Guernsey and to day it is next to impossible to identify any pure desi breed, if at all there are any. One of the contentions of those who start consuming beef is that only desi cows are sacred and they would not eat the meat if they were slaughtered! 

Some of the social and religious activists who uphold the sanctity of cows run the so called "Goshalas" where "spent" cows are given shelter and allowed to die gracefully due to old age when they reach that stage. There are some Goshalas who run production facilities for making many products from Cow's urine for curing or ameliorating an array of diseases ranging from simple itching to cancer. However these are far and few not being able to make any dent on the population of cows with no milking potential. The big dilemma a country like India faces is what to do with these spent cattle with out hurting the sentiments of a significant number of people across the country believing sincerely that cow is sacred. Is it feasible to build thousands of Goshalas investing huge resources on an unproductive venture like this? This is all the more relevant when it is realized that there are millions of senior citizens with no dependents and support crying for a shelter to live in peace awaiting their last days and die gracefully! 

A recent report from Delhi brings the question of unwanted cows and their uncertain fate in sharp focus calling for attention by the governments at the Center and States. There appears to be over 40000 cattle roaming the streets of Delhi, some unwanted and uncared for while others are left in the open by their owners for want of shelters of their own. This has led to the generation of cattle lifters called "Rustlers" who are adept in stealing the animals surreptitiously in an organized way for selling to illegal slaughter houses operating in thousands across the country. In Andhra Pradesh alone there are reported to be 3100 illegal slaughter house as against 6 licensed Abattoirs! Though Delhi police is trying to do their duty entrusted to them to checkmate the activities of these people, the effort is rather insignificant and success far and few. Same must be happening in all cities, towns and small urban entities where there is a demand for beef cattle creating a flourishing business for those willing to take some risks of lifting the animals, transporting them to fly by night operators for butchering mercilessly. Another added worry is how safe are these meat products made in unlicensed and unclean slaughter houses with questionable technical competence to process meat.

Beef production and consumption is a dynamite which no government would like to touch for fear of creating societal turbulence and when there is no meeting ground between science and faith as in the present case, the problem is likely to remain as intractable for a long time to come. The Rustlers will have a roaring time making easy money with practically no investment to make.  

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

A MILK CITY IN INDIA? WHAT IS THAT?

In a country where every food material sold in the market has suspect safety credentials, the citizens are left wondering where to go or what to do to ensure that they get the right quality of food with assured safety to their health. With a government proving to be a helpless spectator in this sordid drama, private traders are having a swell time amassing fortunes at the expense of the health of citizens. FSSAI, the much touted safety agency in the country comfortably ensconced in Delhi and a highly dysfunctional implementation system at the state level throwing up its hands due to inadequate infrastructure, personnel and wide spread corruption make sure that traders and the manufacturing industry get away with murder. Added to this, the judicial system, working at a snail's pace, help the retailers and food handlers buy time in terms of decades even if they are indicted eventually. 

It is against this background one has to view the recent proclamation from Delhi by a group of entrepreneurs that they would set up a dedicated "Milk City" that could ensure equity to the producer as well as the consumer. Though this is difficult to believe considering the enormous odds they face, concept wise it can be a win-win situation. One may recall the vision with which the late Dr Verghese Kurien led the White Revolution which catapulted India into international light and made this country the top milk producing player in the world. While the NDDB efforts deserve full praise for its farmer friendly policies, there is a feeling that consumer is left behind in this high stake marketing game. To day there is practically no difference between the prices of milk products sold by the private industry and that charged by the milk cooperatives. There is no dispute that farmers who form the backbone of country's food security must be rewarded amply but creating a niche farmer group with extraordinarily high income at the expense of the consumer is a questionable strategy. This is what is happening in the country with milk prices soaring each year and surplus production is claimed, probably because high prices invariably restrict milk consumption while excluding many from buying this precious healthy food.

On one hand most cooperative milk federations in the states are reporting collection of milk beyond their capacity to process and sell while on the other hand hungry children in low income families are denied this protective food in many parts of the country. Recent news report that the state milk federation in Andhra Pradesh is holding huge stocks of milk powder without being able to sell them is disturbing indeed. Adding to this unfortunate situation is the inability of the Federation to strike a deal with the applied nutrition program authorities in the state in supplying the powder to the vulnerable segment of the population on account of the price at which its stock has to be disposed off. Probably every one seems to be forgetting the reality that food has a limited life, with each passing day causing irreversible quality damage. One wonders whether these powerful federations will end up like the FCI which finds itself in a precarious position to protect the food grains it procures leaving significant quantities to rot in the open!    

If the media reports are to be believed a group of private milk dealers from the National Capital Region (NCR) around Delhi are planning to take up a project for setting up a dedicated milk producing cum processing facility in the region to be called a "Milk City" (outside the city precincts) that is capable of handling about 1000 to 250000 liters of milk per day to consumers in the Delhi Metropolitan area in direct competition with the Mother Diary and private milk suppliers. Their USP is supposed to be lower prices charged for their fluid milk compared to that charged by others. It is true that there is widely perceived feeling that cooperatives and corporations are currently fleecing both the farmers and consumers, by purchasing milk at low prices from farmers and then selling it at high rates to consumers. The high profit margins gained by these current players due to helplessness of the consumer sought to be neutralized by the new venture. How this can be achieved remains to be seen as no one can expect any industry to work like a charitable organization and profits are the drive engine that ensures growth for the industry. Still if these idealistic entrepreneurs are able to bring in such a revolution, that too in Delhi, it may have ripple effect heralding another white revolution in the country in a different way, viz an equitable way.

According to the blueprint unveiled by the Milk City promoters, the brand new facility would come up on 300 acres of land in Gurgaon, and the development model will be similar to that of NDDB, the major difference being that it will be an integrated facility encompassing both production and processing. In contrast NDDB model is based on widely dispersed production centers in villages from where milk is ferried to the centralized facility for processing. It is mind boggling to imagine about 100,000 cattle being housed in one place with about 8,600 milkmen from areas adjoining Delhi like the districts of Jhunjhunu and Alwar (Rajasthan) and Mewat (Haryana), having registered with the milk city. It is some what far fetched to believe that a cattle population of 1 lakh heads can deliver only 10-25000 liters a day and the concept needs more clarification on this issue. Rearing so many cattle in one place presents many logistical problems which one hopes the organizers have taken into consideration. Also not clear is what spin off projects are planned that can run concurrently with milk production program. Probably one lakh cattle can generate sufficient methane gas to meet the power needs of a small city! The view of the Government on this project is not yet clear as it involves migration of thousands rural families to Delhi region presenting some socio-cultural problems.

There is also confusion regarding delivery of milk to the consumers and it may not be practical to imagine that residents' associations will come forward to the milk city for taking up the distribution responsibility. Ultimately there is the possibility that the new venture may also become identical to the current players with almost the same distribution infrastructure as these players have! Whether the promised cheap milk will remain a mirage remains to be seen However if this concept really works as being propounded by the Delhi 'Milk City' dreamers, other major cities also should think of such mega projects near by for meeting the milk needs of their population at affordable prices..

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

CALLING THE BLUFF-DUPLICITY OF FSSAI!

From day one since the advent of the much "acclaimed" Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with a hard core bureaucrat at the helm of affairs, it was pointed out by many with a fair knowledge of Indian food industry that nothing much was going to happen by changing PFA to FSSAI unless this body is equipped with experts in the field of food science and technology and vested with real Authority to chase the fraudsters for bringing them to books. Unfortunately people in Delhi with power to do any thing they want, have neither the time nor the inclination to listen to the views of others opposing their policies. The result is the creation of a moribund organization going in circles, in the face of a serious crisis that threatens the health of citizens with foods most of which are sold in the marker after adulteration, not knowing how to tackle the situation.

The very foundation of India's food safety program is shaky as Government of India has passed the buck for protecting food supply to its citizens to the states under the pretext of constitutional propriety. The resulting dichotomy is a ripe recipe for disaster as neither the Center nor the States do any thing substantial to establish the required infrastructure to monitor foods, commodities as well as that manufactured by the industry, and book the culprits who indulge in selling unsafe and unfit foods day in and day out. Poverty of ideas, lack of vision, low sensitivity to the sufferings of the citizen and practically no dedication are the hallmarks that exemplifies the food safety program in the country. 

Look at the situation in the country to day! For a nation with a population of 1.2 billion plus, the food requirement is huge and the country is fortunate in managing to produce adequate food grains to feed the nation, thanks to the hard work and sacrifice by its farmers. But due to mismanagement by the government, poverty and hunger are rampant and the country continues to be at the top when international hunger index ranking is considered with many African countries faring much better! The quality of food grains distributed under the PDS is scandalous and if FSSAI conducts a serious check on them real truth will come out.Take the quality of milk supplied by many vendors which are worse than poisons and the cooperative diaries do not fare better. FSSAI or the State safety authorities seem to have an unwritten understanding that milk quality of these diaries need not be checked at all with the result most of the time sub-standard quality product is supplied to the unsuspecting citizens.

While the criticism is a well intentioned one, probably it might have no impact at all since all government controlled consumer products industries are totally insensitive to any sufferings of people as they are "drunk" with power entertaining the notion that they are all "mini Gods" with license to do any thing! Take for instance the recent introduction of Masala Butter Milk by a cooperative diary in Karnataka and if one has to believe the label declaration the product as 10% fat, 13% carbohydrate and 11% proteins! Probably these diaries are manned by personnel who do not know even the fundamentals of food! The tragedy is that the Dairy still gets away with such rabid misdeeds. 

In an interesting case that reached the High Court in Delhi recently, no less an Authority than FSSAI submits an affidavit declaring that "there is a well established system to monitor presence of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and other food items in the country"! Can there be a bigger "lie" than this and fortunately the honorable judges were able to see through this "fraud" pulling up the Authority for misleading the court. The court rubbished the declaration of the FSSAI" in the light of facts" available with the court! Further the court had the wisdom to say that on many occasions non-permissible pesticides have been found in vegetables sold in Delhi and surrounding areas and dubbed the "tall claims" of the FSSAI as "surprising" after perusing their affidavit, which informed the court that there were 68 state pesticide testing laboratories, besides regional and the referral central insecticides laboratory for monitoring food products in the country. Similarly court also had to ridicule the stand of FSSAI that the presence of Endosulfan in food items, despite the pesticide being banned, is due to its presence in water used for irrigation, already contaminated years ago! These instances show that FSSAI is not all equipped to deal with country's food safety program as they have neither the manpower to fulfill their responsibility nor necessary knowledge about the ground reality in the country.

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