The rabid"Fatophobia"-Consequences of past practices now being felt!

There has been a frenetic pace in the criticism of fats present in the diet during the last 3 decades, attributing practically every ailments at the doors of this food component present in all foods in varying quantities. The food industry world over has been castigated for manufacturing high fat containing and tasty foods that attract the consumers and dietary guidelines have been telling the consumers to shun foods rich in fat. It is true that fats, especially saturated versions, that too present in animal derived foods do cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease etc when consumed in excessive quantities though precise data were never generated as to how much is too much! American consumers and their counterparts in many affluent countries were told that fat consumption through the daily foods should not be more than 30% of the total calorie needs of the body. This did create a perception all around that fat is a "dirty" component in a healthy food to be shunned as much as possible. Even a school going child "knows" fat rich foods are not good for health! What are the consequences of such a great fat phobia? They are there to see in a country like the US where industry started pandering to this trend developing thousands of products with the so called "low fat" claims! 

How far we have been right in taking the fat phobia to such great heights? It now emerges that such commonly perceived beliefs were highly misplaced as reflected by the failure of such low fat foods to prevent the increase of obesity and other related diseases in these countries during the last 3 decades. It now emerges that the recommendation to cap fat calories at 30% of total calories was wrong and in stead of reducing the incidence of obesity, such a policy created the opposite effect! Why? Because the place of fat in the diet was taken over by carbohydrates which seem to have contributed to health afflictions. Of course the emphasis on unsaturated fats and plant derived fats was correct as they are relatively less harmful compared to saturated fats. Even blaming carbohydrates may not be wholly justified becauser the quality of carbohydrates consumed makes a big difference in deciding the healthiness of a diet. Food technology may have some thing to do with decreasing the carbohydrate quality progressively during the last 5 decades by developing newer technologies to "refine" food which effectively means removing healthy components during the processing.  

Fortunately a spate of recent research studies have been able to establish the futility of focusing too much on low-fat foods. Many recent scientific observations do confirm the above reality. Studies using large randomized trials involving thousands of subjects between 2006 and 2013 brought out the stark reality that a low-fat diet had no significant benefits in ameliorating incidences of heart disease, cerebral stroke, diabetes or cancer risks. In contrast a high-fat, Mediterranean-style diet rich in nuts or extra-virgin olive oil providing more than 40 percent of calories in total fat was able to significantly reduced cardiovascular disease, diabetes and long-term weight gain. There are also other similar studies which have shown that high-fat diets can have same effect or better than, low-fat diets for short-term weight loss. The types of foods, rather than fat content, relate to long-term weight gain. It is not proper to rule out completely the perception that high-fat diets are not healthy  or low-fat diets are less harmful. A universal principle that should be borne in mind is that too much focus on a particular food component in the diets can be misleading and food has to be viewed in a holistic way. Focus on total fat or other abstract numbers printed on the labels of packed foods will have to be replaced with right emphasis on eating more minimally processed fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans, fish, yogurt, vegetable oils and whole grains in stead of highly refined white grain flours, white potatoes, added sugars in what ever form and processed meats. 

Quantity of food eaten must be related to what we eat: As commonly believed cutting calories in the diet without improving food quality cannot be expected to cause long-term weight loss. It is this belated realization that has prompted health and food experts to modify the dietary guidelines, after singing the "song of 30% calories cap" for decades for consideration by the government without any upper limit on total fat. In addition, reduced-fat foods were specifically not recommended for obesity prevention. Instead, they want to encourage consumption according to healthful food-based diet patterns. The limit on total fat is an outdated concept, an obstacle to sensible change that promotes harmful low-fat foods, undermines efforts to limit refined grains and added sugars, and discourages the food industry from developing products higher in healthy fats. Fortunately, the people behind the Dietary Guidelines understand that but whether policy makers and the food industry take notice of this sane advice remains to be seen.

This discussion cannot be complete unless a mention is made about the life styles followed by the people to day,  especially with respect to their sedentary way of living with practically no exercise or any physical activity. The right way to lead a healthy life is to eat a balanced diet with adequate nutrition derived from whole grains, fruits, vegetables etc as mentioned above and do enough physical activity in any format that will burn the calories and achieve a dynamic metabolic activity in the body that can ensure sound health and mind.

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

Obsession with "freshness" in foods-Unjustified loss of foods is the result!

Is it not strange that a vast majority of consumers will go to any extent to access to the so called "fresh foods"? What do they get by relentlessly pursuing the "fresh" mantra, some times paying prices much higher than that for processed foods? Can it be an obsession that is passed on from generation to generation because of the low population in olden days, lack of processing technologies and plenty of foods available within easy reach ensuring easy availability of ever fresh foods? Or this is nothing but the eating disorder fancifully known as "Orthorexia nervosa" when people over obsessed with pure food lose interest in eating altogether? Other wise how can we explain the obsession of many people with freshly obtained milk from the cow or buffalo, to be milked right in front of them at the farm, ignoring ready availability of dairy milk nearby? This is all the more puzzling because this fresh milk is brought home to be boiled for a long time before use! Same is true with fruits, vegetables and lot of other foods. This syndrome is visible while buying packed foods also with consumers looking closely at the manufacturing date before buying, ignoring those with older manufacturing date! 

Most interesting is the case of vegetables and it is a usual sight to see house wives buying the same from road side vendors believing they are fresh and taking home to promptly over cook them destroying its texture and flavor. After all when these vegetables are used to make dishes the major taste and flavor come from the spices and other adjuncts used rather than that of the vegetables used! Probably people are not aware that to day's technological prowess enables food industry to deliver fruits and vegetables in prime conditions as they resort to cold storage, cold display, controlled atmosphere packs etc and super market can supply fresh produce which can be much superior to that offered by the road side vendor. Usually vegetable vendors get their supplies from the local Mandis where farmers bring them without any preharvest and post harvest precautions, leaving them wilted and "exhausted"! Why is that frozen food industry in India is not able to prosper during the last 2 decades? Frozen food industry is more or less confined to ice cream products with a few ready to "heat and eat" products and the frozen food space occupied in a typical market is practically insignificant compared to the space occupied by main stream products. This industry is paying the price for Indian consumers' obsession with fresh foods or despising of "old" foods!   

The density of refrigerators in the Indian households is fairly high and some of the brands of refrigerators available in the market can rival any foreign markets across the world. Still there are innumerable families not using them for keeping the foods overnight for consumption next day if they can afford. With microwave ovens also gaining foothold in India, habits are changing and many nuclear families do store foods for use later in conjunction with microwave heating. Some of the Indian foods like cooked rice and preparations based on rice are not amenable to storage beyond a certain time and such stored products are difficult to be made tasty " again" in spite of microwave heating. Same is true with wheat based products like roti, bread, uppuma, semia etc. It is a question of compromising a little bit vis-a-vis the eating quality of recooked cold stored foods which the younger generation is learning to live with. Does it portend a change in perception over the next few years? If so the food industry can look forward to better days.

The preference for or obsession with fresh foods, whatever one may call it, is not unique to Indians. According to a recent report emanating from the Gulf countries, it seems tens of thousands of liters of milk, and huge volumes of bread and other perishable food products are being thrown away in countries like Abu Dhabi and Dubai every day because of consumers' attitude towards foods which are not fresh according to their perception. .A large number of people in the UAE are so obsessed about freshness of food that they refuse to buy products dated a day or two before the date of purchase, albeit the products being safe to consume and being well within the shelf life. Out of about 8 lakh liters of milk marketed in UAE every day about 16-32 thousand liters are reported to be wasted because of the tendency on the part of the buyers, probably most of them Indian immigrants, to reject the products processed earlier, with 2-3 days still remaining for expiration. These consumers, who hardly know the implication of their attitude, are paving the way for good food products going waste running to millions of dollars in value. It is least realized by the consumers that In the long run, this can also boomerang on them with hike in prices for the wasted categories of food products becoming a reality. Imagine thousands of liters of precious milk of good quality being dumped in the drains every day in these countries because of consumer weariness in accepting the reality that freshness need not always be associated with quality and good health!  

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

FOOD SECURITY ACT-THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN!

One of the most populist schemes churned out by the UPA government during its tenure has been the distribution of government stored food grains practically free to almost two thirds of the population. This scheme was started in a haste without studying in depth the consequences of such pampering of the public on the economic, social and life styles of the beneficiaries who number about 700 million. The subsidy outgo was estimated at 1.3 lakh crore annually which has to come from the general kitty, contributed by the honest taxpayers of the country. No thought was ever given whether such large scale diversion of development funds can be sustained year after year by the succeeding governments that may come to power in future.

One of the consequences already being felt during the operation of this scheme has been uncontrollable food inflation that is eating into the budget of every family in the country. While supply of highly subsidized grains does ensure "survival"of many people by keeping hunger away from their door steps, practically cost of every other thing in life has become intolerably high. It is like taking away with one hand what is given with the other hand! The warped thinking of political shenanigans who came out with the doling scheme is that all it requires for a decent life is cereals like rice and wheat! They seem to have ignored the nutrition security of these beneficiaries by not including pulses, fruits, vegetables or milk in the basket of subsidized "foods"! Is the nation heading for a future where people are destined to stunted growth and less than optimum mental health?

What impact the new scheme will have on the labor market in the country also has been ignored. To day the country is suffering from gross shortage of workers to do any chores, be it farming, manufacturing or civil construction. If food is provided practically free, what incentive people will have to go to work? If this is a correct reading of the labor market, the country may be in an unenviable position of negative growth in almost all spheres of economic activity with grave consequences. The ever escalating cost of getting labor is telling on every front. During the last few years labor has been demanding higher wages but this took a dramatic turn during the last one year with labor cost rising as much as 25-30% in states like Kerala. 

Why was there any necessity to ignore the well developed PDS which was working in many states with reasonable efficiency while propagating the present food security scheme? Many believe that this is largely a ploy to garner votes in the coming election for the present ruling dispensation by stealing the credit from a few states which have been operating their PDS with high management efficiency. It is true that in a few states PDS has not been working as expected and pilferage of rains was reported to be high. But proper reforms of the system and application of modern management technology should have been attempted. 

The quality of food grains supplied under the new food security scheme might not be good as in the case of PDS supplies with many recipients not using them for self consumption but diverting the same to flour mills and poultry industry! From where can the government bring good quality grains as the storage conditions in most ware houses are pitiable and not conducive to preserve the quality. There is even some suggestion that good quality food grains can be imported when there is a shortage in government granaries. With foreign exchange being maintained through generous remittances from immigrant Indians abroad, can the country afford the luxury of importing food grains for doling to the voters? Unthinkable indeed!  

Recent reports from Karnataka which is implementing the food security scheme indicate the ground reality as far as working of the scheme is concerned. Faced with shortage of grains in the state granaries, government started buying grains from the open market and it was soon realized that there was an active recycling process involving collusion between the beneficiaries and the grain trade. The beneficiaries who received grains promptly sold their quota to the private trade which in turn sold the same back to the government!      

Most interesting case regarding the adverse consequences of distribution of freebies comes from the state of Chhatisgarh where it was noticed that the alcohol consumption in the state went up dramatically after implementing the subsidized grain distribution scheme. It appears that beneficiaries of the food scheme in the state were selling the grains they received and using the money they got for buying alcoholic beverages! The State seemed to be happy because its liquor revenue jumped by as much as 90% during the last year. In 2013-14, Chhattisgarh is reported to have earned Rs. 1,900 crore from liquor sales, nearly Rs. 500 crore more than the revenue earned in the previous year. Paradoxically  the earning from liquor sales appears to be going to subsidize the food security program of the state! In effect the food security program intended to improve the health of the people inadvertently is driving them to be alcoholics! Probably the same story will be repeated in other states also and the only beneficiary is likely to be alcoholic beverage industry! Mahatma Gandhi must be turning in his grave seeing such things happening in his Motherland for which he sacrificed his life.

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

  

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN INDIA-GROWERS' NIGHTMARE!

Agreed that fruits and vegetables come under the category of protective foods because they, if consumed in adequate quantities, can provide the precious micro nutrients like vitamins and minerals besides many health boosting phytochemicals and valuable dietary fiber. During the last hundred years the habit of consuming these foods is coming down dramatically with consumers increasingly craving for meat foods. It is forgotten that the tragic health slide being experienced by the population in rich and wealthy countries is to a large extent, attributable to this switch from fruits and vegetables to animal foods and carbohydrate/fat based products. The astronomical farm subsidies flowing into the farm sector due the folly of the governments in many advanced countries are distorting the dietary regimes in favor of cheap processed foods ignoring the crucial importance of fruits and vegetables in maintaining health. If this is so in the developed world, what is the fate of consumers in the developing countries?

Take the case of India. Theoretically it is one of the top fruit and vegetable producing nations in this globe though it is also the second most populous country after China. The mere size of the population can be daunting for any government to provide for the well being, health and safety of its subjects. It is well known that India is plagued by malnutrition and soaring inflation. But an in-depth reality check will reveal that it is not due to inadequate production that the country is suffering from lack of food. Though it is the world's second largest grower of fresh produce there is more or less unanimity that the country loses an estimated 40 percent ( or a guesstimate?) of its fruit and vegetables to rot because of gross deficiency in the infrastructure like cold stores, refrigerated trucking, negligence of railways to provide dedicated racks, poor roads, inclement weather and the despicable corruption that pervades the whole country. Of course it is a poor consolation that post-harvest food losses of the scale found in India are also a problem throughout the developing world and translate into lower incomes for farmers and higher prices for consumers.

Inflation is already undermining living standards across Asia with world food prices at record highs since December last year, according to the FAO of the U.N. In India, home to more than a third of the world's 150 million malnourished children under 5, food inflation hovers around 10 percent stubbornly. Is it not a criminal neglect on the part of the government to allow wastage of such magnitude when poverty is an omnipotent phenomenon? When will it dawn on the government that just reducing the waste could make a significant dent  in bringing down food inflation and making food more affordable to the vulnerable segment of the population? Visit any vegetable market in India and one cannot escape the heaps of rotten vegetables accumulating side by side with vendors selling salable commodities! Imagine the frustration faced by an average consumer when exorbitant prices are charged by the vendors who factor the cost of the wastage into the price charged to the consumer! How can the food inflation be controlled in this country under such a condition? The economists and the financial pundits seem to be barking at the wrong tree when the inflation is sought to be moderated through Reserve Bank by increasing the banking rates across the board, forgetting that the price distortion is purely a supply-demand distortion with too many people chasing too little food available in the market.  

it is not that sporadic efforts are not made to address the sad situation prevailing in the country by successive governments at Delhi. Recall the efforts made by the NDDB in early eighties, under direction from the government in power at that time, to organize fruit and vegetable industry under the cooperative mode, similar to milk. However while NDDB had achieved sterling success with milk, it could not boast of similar success in either the edible oil sector or horticulture produce sector. Why it has failed is a story that is not well known. Could it be because of the obsession of the government with cereal grains ignoring the fresh produce industry? In spite of the recent pompous announcement of a Horticulture Mission by the government of India to augment production of these commodities, nothing precious has happened at the ground level. One is familiar with the fate of similar Missions in the past on Pulses and edible oils and even to day the country is still dependent imports to bridge their demand-supply gap!

Is it not a shame that a consumer has to pay Rs 15-25 for an average sized Apple where as for the same amount one can get almost two kg of coarse cereal that can keep the body and soul together for a poor person as long as a week? If the poor villagers in the hinterlands live on leafy vegetables, mostly grown locally, unable to buy any normal fruit or vegetable during his life time, what quality of life he can hope to live? Practically every fruit or vegetable in the market costs upwards of Rs 20 per kg and if the NPC has defined poverty line at Rs 32 per day, what choice a poor person under the BPL category, has when it comes to buying his food? With fertile agricultural land being diverted to support the real estate business through out the country, where will be the land for increasing production of horticulture produce to meet the increasing demand for them. Horticulture scientists may be working hard to develop newer and better production technologies for many important horticultural crops but in the absence of government support for propagating these technologies nothing tangible can come out of such efforts.

If the government of the day is to be believed, it is also concerned about the situation and it has "begun" work on a strategy to cut post-harvest losses by building modern grain silos, cold storage warehouses and setting up farmers' markets in remote areas to link vegetable growers with retail outlets in the cities. If the track record of the past is any indication nothing substantial will happen, at least in the near future except frequent statements, repeated ad naseum by the concerned ministers and bureaucrats. Ask any farmer in the country and they will confess that they have no faith in the government and even the promised changes are years away if not decades. admittedly. It is recognized that growing vegetables and similar perishables in India is a business fraught with serious financial risks with the farmers finding it difficult to find ready buyers at for such perishables like tomatoes, capsicum, and other vegetables at reasonable price. They face the risk of these vegetables rotting at every stage, whether in the field, on the road, or in the markets. It is familiar sight in almost all major mandisin the country to see hundreds of vegetable and fruit trucks reach the wholesale market each morning and commission agents scouting for the best bargains in a frenzied atmosphere and most farmers are lost in this wheeling dealing atmosphere not able to strike a favorable bargain..

Paucity of refrigerated trucks means that delays at state border crossings, traffic jams, or the frequent landslides that clog hill roads can cause vegetables to wilt and rot. There are only a few trucks run by private firms, that are refrigerated. The rest are open trucks, with tarps or plastic sheets for cover in case it rains. People travelingin these trucks perched on the sacks of gunny bags containing the produce is a familiar sight to behold! Too often the contents are crushed with practically no life left when the destination is reached. The recent opening up of the retail sector to foreign investment is viewed with hope that supermarket giants such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour when start operating in India's multibilliondollar retail market, there could be success where the government has failed. The provision for backward integration and building infrastructure for preserving the fresh produce is cited as the reason for such a hope. One has to wait and see whether India will really attract FDI in this sector under such stringent preconditions. Even if they arrive, it is to be seen whether they can reform the fragmented farm sector ans improve the agricultural to any significant extent. 

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