"Make in India"- Slogan Vs reality

There was a time when world was frowning on Japanese made products for their low quality compared to those from western countries. See how this tiny country, shattered by World War II, became one of the most industrially advanced countries within a span of 25 years after the War. Same thing happened in Korea too, which, through its sheer hard work reached a stage to day when it can stand shoulder to shoulder with Japan, the US and other wealthy countries. How about China? It is another story which is a lesson to aspiring countries like India as it is the second most economically powerful country to day after the US. True there are many reasons to counter argue that India is not like China as we have an over dose of misguided democracy where accountability does not exist at any level, be it top echelons of the power structure or the lowly rated daily worker. Our Prime Minister must be admired, for nothing else, but for his courage of conviction when he coined the famous slogan, "make in India" exhorting the industry to expand their production base to manufacture quality products! Are we realistic in expecting such a thing to happen in our life time?

Quality and reliability are the two pillars on which reputation of products rests. Unfortunately in to day's India both are conspicuous by their scanty presence. The country's infrastructure in monitoring quality is practically non-existent. The quality monitoring agencies, most of them, are highly bureaucratized, resulting in delays and inefficient execution of their duties. There is a shortage of technical skills for which no action is being contemplated though every state is competing with each other to start more and more capitation fee based engineering colleges with doubtful credibility. Look at the land bill controversy which is being played out in the open by the politicians who do not care to be the laughing stock in the international landscape! Farmers whose cause these remorseless politicians are claiming to be championing do not think about the relentless suicides going on in the country side as the farmers are caught between deep sea and the devil! Their land, many of them too small to be viable, cannot bring them adequate returns, pushing them deep into debt burden while selling their land to buy more time is not allowed under the existing laws. Talking of entrepreneurs, there are many serious aspirants with high hopes who want to start new industries but where will they go for getting the wherewithal to venture into manufacturing arena? Bureaucrats, financial institutions, technology agencies and industry promotional departments of the government just pay lip sympathy without raising a finger to help them out. Sorry situation indeed.

Coming to food industry sector, will any serious entrepreneur venture into this area after the recent foolish move by the government to penalize one of the most reputed global companies without giving them even an hearing before taking such a severe penal action? The food safety and quality system is in shambles with bureaucrats running the show and the state machinery supposed to "control" the industry is archival and under functioning or malfunctioning. How can we swallow the bitter truth that 16 of the 30 states do not have even a single food testing laboratory? The judiciary in the country and the money chasing, irresponsible lawyers espousing the cause of food fraudsters, have contributed to this mess by causing inordinate delays in clearing thousands of cases, many of them 10-20 years old. Food Parks and similar grand sounding schemes have not borne any fruit till now though hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent on them. Food exports from India are grievously hurt because of the callousness, dubiousness and recklessness of the manufacturers and exporters. Look at the recent ban of import of snacks from India by the US because of quality and safety considerations and it is a pity that a major exporter claims that Indian laws under which they manufactured the products are different causing rejection! How naive and frivolous such an argument can be!  

Here is a telling commentary on the present sorry state of affairs in the country vis-a-vis the manufacturing sector which self revealing:    

"While authorities are now making an example out of Maggi, it's hard to believe that this is the only consumer product in India that fails to meet safety norms. In fact, a 2015 report by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the national food regulator, revealed that almost a fifth of all food samples tested were adulterated or mislabeled. In 2012, a government study revealed that over 68 percent of milk sampled was adulterated with potentially harmful additives such as detergents, hydrogen peroxide, and even urea.
While some commentators in India tend to blame foreign multinationals for producing lower-quality goods for Indian consumption, even when this claim turns out to be true, the real fault lies with Indian authorities. With a patchwork quilt composed of a central regulator and an array of state government regulators, many of which are woefully understaffed, it's a miracle that this system finds any product quality lapses at all. In such an environment, it's hard to see how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grand "Make in India" initiative to turn the country into a global manufacturing powerhouse can possibly come to fruition. India is not yet a major exporter of manufactured food products, but it does export its generic pharmaceutical products to over 200 countries. Could a Maggi-style disaster be awaiting the Indian drug industry?
If you believe the results of a 2014 academic study by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, the University of Ottawa, and the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank, the answer could well be yes. The researchers tested samples of antibiotic and tuberculosis drugs labeled "made in India" and sold in India, Africa, and other non-African middle-income countries. They found that 10.9 percent of the products were of poor quality — that is, they either contained none or less than the required dosage of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Of this 10.9 percent, 7 percent contained less than the required dosage of active ingredients, while 3.9 percent were duds without any of the necessary active ingredients. Drugs without or with less than the required pharmaceutical ingredients will be ineffective, and therefore potentially harmful since they won't treat the condition they're meant to address.
What's more, poor-quality drugs were more likely to show up in Africa than in India or other middle-income markets. While some of this difference could be due to counterfeit drugs and poor storage conditions, the authors of the study claim that a more plausible explanation is that Indian companies are directing lower-quality drugs to the African market. Roger Bate, one of the researchers on the drug study, believes that Indian drugmakers or their distributors are deliberately doing this since regulation in African markets is even looser and laxer than it is in India. For those who claim that Western multinationals are producing lower-quality products for India, the shoe might be on the other foot. Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are poised to keep Indian drugmakers on a tight leash. In May 2013, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., a major Indian drug company,pleaded guilty to seven felony charges and paid a $500 million fine for fabricating data, committing fraud, and selling adulterated drugs in the U.S. market. Regulation may be at the heart of the issue. India's national drugs regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, has a staff of a little more than 300 employees, or about 2 percent the size of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). What's more, it only has authority over newer drugs; pharmaceuticals that have been on the market for over four years are under the regulatory jurisdiction of state-level regulators, who are understaffed and, in some cases, corrupt.
Low-cost Indian generics also continue to draw the ire of advanced economies like Canada, whose socialized medical system is trying to cut costs by importing cheaper drugs from India. Currently, some 5 percent of generic prescriptions in Canada are filled by drugs made in India. Meanwhile, in the United States, a whopping 40 percent of over-the-counter and generic drugs consumed are made by India's pharmaceutical companies."

What has been said about pharma products is true with respect to food products also. Can we be serious in bringing about a drastic change for the better and take actions, many of them painful, to streamline the food processing sector through scientifically sound, financially supportive, entrepreneur motivating, technically supporting, land acquisition facilitating and venture promotion policies without wasting more time on political chicanery? Being one of the top producers of many food materials like cereals, milk, fruits and vegetables, plantation crops, meat , poultry and fish, why can't we take up a massive program of establishing thousands of food processing units across the country with least bureaucratic hassle? Then only Indian can really claim that it is the food basket of the world.

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

REGULATIONS VS REALITY-FOOD SAFETY ENFORCEMENT

Food quality and safety are concerns for both the governments as well as the consumers. While governments world over have the onerous responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens besides preventing quality related frauds, consumer community is helpless in deciding on its own whether a particular product offered in the market is good and safe. It is creditable that the modern food regulations make it easier for the consumers to understand better what is inside a packet of food and the front of the pack labeling rules combined with the weights and measures control regulations are indeed revolutionary in nature. Implementing these rules and regulations calls for a sound infrastructure, adequately trained enforcement personnel and stern deterrent regime which are lacking in many countries, even if the food laws are excellent on paper.

Take for instance countries like China and India, both together accounting for more than 35% of world population, most of them not considered rich enough to lead a good quality life. But food frauds and adulteration are so rampant that it is difficult to keep track of violations that take place every day in these countries. The fraudsters and food criminals are so ruthless that they have no consideration or value for the lives of even children and old age population. On the other hand many unscrupulous manufacturers exploit the ignorance of the citizens in churning out inferior quality and safety suspect foods. Look at a super rich country like the US which boasts one of the best food quality monitoring infrastructures in the world and all one can see is a population most of which are big, fat, obese in appearance causing a big health crisis of unparalleled dimension.

Having stated the obvious, who is to be blamed for such a sorry situation which affects both rich and poor countries, whether under eating or over eating? Of course every one with a stake in food sector has to bear the blame to varying extent. Governments have invariably failed the citizens by not carrying out its sacred responsibility in disciplining the food industry in making healthy and safe foods. Industry pursuing a relentless strategy of earning more and more with least concern to the well being of the consumers, though there are some exceptions with some players still being honest. As for consumers, a reckless life style of eating unhealthy but tasty foods in quantities more than that required by the body is creating an increasingly morbid society afflicted by many health disorders. Added to this, most consumers lead sedentary living style with practically no regular exercise, needed to maintain a good health. If such a situation continues what will be the future of humanity in 100 years from now?

If excuses can solve the problem there are plenty being touted by all thes above stake holders. Some of them may be genuine which must be more carefully looked into. For example in a country like India, more than 75% of the food products available comes from the small scale processors with practically no adequate resources to carry out their operations in a way that can ensure safety of their products. On paper, India can claim to have a good food quality and safety law under the much vaunted Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI) but at the ground level practically nothing is happening with the infrastructure for enforcement in tatters! If there is a modicum of order in this area thanks are due to the prevalence of a few giant food players with deep pockets setting up their most state of art facilities for quality control. However the small players in the country have no access to such facilities for periodic testing of their products as establishing such captive laboratories is beyond their means. The question is where will they go and how can they maintain quality and safety of products churned out by them?

There are many universities and food research institutions in the country which do have some decent facilities for food testing but they are mired in bureaucratic procedures which cause considerable delay in getting the results. Besides their testing fees are not low enough to be affordable to every one. From time to time grand statements emanate from the industry saying that it would set up modern facilities on its own to help those who cannot afford to spend too much on testing their products regularly. It is in this context one has to listen to a recent declaration by the hospitality industry regarding its intention to set up cost-effective alternative food testing facilities as per the norms of NABL across the country with easy access by the small scale entrepreneurs. Similar initiatives have to come from the processed food industry also sooner or later as neither the government is capable of addressing the issue nor the private testing laboratories are going to reduce they charges.    

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

SWEET MAKING TECHNOLOGY-NEW TRAINING PROGRAM

Indian traditional foods, often called the Ethnic Foods number over 5000 and are prepared and consumed locally with very little national foot print. Why? The main reason is the difficulty in keeping these products for long with out quality deterioration and assured safety. Most of them have water activity much beyond the safe zone and are vulnerable to spoilage by microorganisms like bacteria and mold. True many of them contain high sugar which also provides extended storage. How ever for establishing a pan-India market, food products need to be stable for at least 3-4 months. Though with reliable cold chain transport and storage their shelf life can be extended for a few days or a couple of weeks, slow growth of organized retail sector with modern facilities, which controls less than 5% of the retailing business, does not ensure seamless distribution, reliable cold display facilities and strong sales promotional regime.

The mere diversity of sweetmeat and savory products makes it difficult for the food industry to pick and choose the right product mix that can ensure nation wide acceptance. It is most unfortunate that even after 64 years of independence, there are no reliable and comprehensive information base regarding these foods, their relative popularity, production details and authentic recipes and preparation methods. Most of these products are made at the micro-enterprises level managed by skilled artisans with some experience and practically no mechanized production equipment are available for increasing productivity if they are to be part of the main stream food industry. The most "reputed" food research institute with a history of more than 60 years has done very little to look at these products from a technological perspective. Catering training institutions with their emphasis on preparing their trainees for making prepared foods in eateries and hotels and presenting them attractively are constrained to go beyond recipes and preparation mode because of limited technical capability. Probably there is a need to set up "culinology" institutions in India which can combine recipes, preparations, process standardization and mechanization as the existing R & D players in the country have miserably failed to bring to surface the fantastic potential of Indian traditional foods to capture the imagination of the world, through their sheer negligence.

One may be tempted to ask the question as to how the industry is meeting the current needs of the market for some of the favorite foods in great demand, if large scale production facilities are not in existence and any one even faintly familiar with this industry knows that what is being offered through thousands of sweetmeat shops in the country have their origin in small homes and kitchens prepared by one or hundreds of artisans in hostile environment with sweat pouring from their bodies and presented attractively in small as well as big shops. Most "industrial" type kitchens employ these artisans who are mostly illiterate and who have very little knowledge about hygiene and sanitation though some units do deploy some mechanized unit operation equipment like grinders, mixers, fryers, stainless steel containers, pumps, extruder etc. There are also a few large scale players who do manufacture some traditional foods for pan-India markets using modern fryers, vacuum evaporators, continuous forming machine, canning facilities, inert gas filling units, modern packing materials, gas fired and electrical heating systems and others, rightly claiming to be technology savvy. Products like potato chips, canned gulab jamun and rasagolla, preserved shreekand, tetrapack lassi and chaas, inert gas filled snacks, roti and papads, chikki, spice mixes, traditional meal preparations in RTE format, many frozen products etc are coming from main stream food industry with well developed modern manufacturing facilities.

If there is a slow but perceptible trend of large manufacturing enterprises enjoying brand reputation entering the traditional food line, there must be money in this area of business. While technology, trained work force and financial resources are the foundation for a sound manufacturing entity, it is only in the area of good quality labor that organized industry feels the pinch and if they are not able to sustain themselves against SMEs it is only because their products do not compare well with that of SMEs with regard to authenticity and eating quality. This is where a trained working force will help them to bring up the credentials of their products. The million dollar question is from where they will get these personnel? The high tech courses run by Universities in food processing are not relevant as far as traditional food manufacture is concerned and any how a university trained food technologist will never agree to be a "Halwai" in the industry! The need for a short duration training course to benefit the traditional food industry is increasingly being felt and it is time for the AICTE to evolve a training course of the above type for universities and other technical institutions in different parts of the country on a priority basis.

While on the subject of training in ethnic food manufacture, the recent decision by a private institute in Orissa to start a one year course in sweet making for the benefit of local industry is a welcome development. Bikalananda Kar Industrial Training Centre at Salepur in Cuttack district has recently announced the launching of a one-year certificate course in sweet technology soon which if materializes may be the first such course in the country. According to the organizers the course is aimed at creating skilled manpower in sweet industry and stream lining local industry with use of modern technology and hygienic practices. As per the details provided the trainees, 64 in number every year with a Class X education, are expected to learn the art of preparing modern and traditional sweets popular locally. If learned food processing teaching faculty from the nearby Jadavpur University in West Bengal can pitch in to "train the trainers" through a well designed program, the course will become a technically sound one. Any such course must cover in a simple language preferably in local language various aspects of food processing operations relevant , machinery that can be used, importance of hygiene and sanitation, waste disposal, water quality, food safety and quality control, food microbiology, food contamination and food packaging. Tendency to over emphasize theory must be avoided as the trainees will have relatively low science awareness and practical aspects must receive priority.

It is good to see a new awareness being created regarding the heritage foods and their importance for the country. If their rich culinary qualities and nutritional advantages are rightly emphasized, there is no reason why Indian foods cannot capture the imagination of the whole world. What is needed is to accord high priority to them by the public funded R & D agencies and Universities in the country for making them more science based than artisan dependent and provide the industry with minimally trained work force. Institutions like the one in Cuttack must be replicated all over the country for which GOI and State governments should extend liberal financial support.

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

FOOD AID-QUALITY VS QUANTITY

Though the United States of America has developed a hate-love relationship with most countries in the world during the last two decades, it still remains one of the most charitable countries in this planet. According to available information the US contributes more than 20% of the global development aid followed by Germany, about 10%, of 120 billion dollars committed for development of poor countries. The Millenium Development Goals (MDG) signed in the year 2000 by all UNO members seek, among other things to eradicate poverty and hunger in the world and halve the population suffering from hunger by 2015 by committing 0.7% of GDP of each developed country for this Mission.

It is true that there is no compulsion on the part of any country however rich it may be to provide economic aid to poor nations which lag behind in the development ladder due to many reasons. Of course centuries of exploitation by the colonialist countries like Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and others had left many of the countries under their yolk unconscionably poor measured by any yardstick and unless these poor countries are provided massive economic and technological assistance they will always remain as lagers! MDG sought to address this problem which if not tackled with priority can endanger world peace seriously.

The three biggest colonialists Britain, France and Spain ruled almost half the world at one time and it is their moral duty that their erstwhile colonies are helped to become truly independent nations with reasonable standards of life for their citizens. Unfortunately the US had to assume the mantle of the global savior by providing economic aids to many of these poor countries. It is not a mean task to feed 55 million hungry people in 46 countries which the US has been able to do it last year costing millions of dollars to its Exchequer and the world must salute this country for its humanitarian effort. Obviously such endeavors can also attract criticism and some critics do believe that the economic aid provided by the US is an extension of its selfish agenda, viz furthering the interests of its farmers and industry. More over the aid helps only 55 million people out of about a billion hungry ones spread over the three continents.

The aid arm of the US, globally known as USAID channels the government program of food assistance

works through host governments, multilateral institutions, NGOs and private companies to ensure maximum efficiency in aid delivery. The African Growth Opportunities Act of 2000 ( AGOA) is intended to benefit the targeted countries through capacity building and it is tribute to the success of this program that countries like Angola, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal and South Africa were able to export to the US goods and services worth $ 44 billion last year. Improvements in efficiency and impact of the program need assessment from time to time and a recent study report by the Tuft University of Massachusetts regarding the need for changing the orientation of the aid programs from quantity to quality is indeed revealing.

According to the findings of the above group, the American government should not be smug in its feeling that every thing is fine but must realize that delivering any and every food to the hungry is not enough. Quality needs to be upgraded and differentiated depending on the nature of the targeted groups. Tailoring the type of food delivered to specific consumers is the need of the hour as the nutritional requirements of recipients like children under the age of two, sick children, pregnant women new mothers and sick people. Most striking recommendation was for trying combinations of foods which are always better for the consumer than are combinations of nutrients in a single food. How far such wide ranging changes in aid paradigm are feasible, remains to be seen.

One of the most stringent criticisms against American food aid is about the stipulation that the budgeted amounts must be spent in America paying for American goods and services while Europeans allow 95% of the aid to be spent in the recipient country which is valid to some extent. Probably the food aid program in the US may see some see change in the coming years though the quantum of aid may shrink taking into consideration the current economic downturn in that country. What ever be the quantum of aid, it must be spent more efficiently through precise targeting and well balanced food products. The philosophy that "provide them calories, hunger is taken care of automatically" must give way to a policy "provide better food, make hungry people lead quality life".

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

"REHEATING" OF PRE-PREPARED FOODS-THE SAFETY ISSUE

Hand washing before sitting for the food is a basic tenet inculcated even at young age because of the underlying principle that cleaning removes dangerous disease causing bacteria and other harmful materials preventing their access to the stomach. There are many pathogens that can cause minor stomach upset and some times serious gastroenteritis. Even hand washing is mired in controversy though many believe that thorough washing using soap suds can remove most, if not all, harmful bacteria from hands. The efficiency of washing is a function of quantity of water used and thoroughness with which hands are rubbed against each other. Use of antiseptic hand wash preparations often leave behind significant counts of bacteria leaving no alternative to washing under profuse running water. The disturbing question that keeps coming back when hand washing is considered pertains to water shortage being experienced in many developing countries making it impractical to expect people to use the required water for thorough cleaning before touching the food. The problem is very acute in countries where food is eaten with bare hands unlike westerners who use spoons and forks.

Another dimension to food safety is posed by the need to store foods for some time and it is very common for people to store prepared foods for at least a few hours, especially when excess foods are prepared, for consuming later. Of course refrigerators do help to control the density of microbial colonies because bacterial growth is temperature sensitive. But how many households in India or other developing countries have access to refrigerators? Very few families belonging to middle and upper class income group can afford the luxury of refrigerators and foods will have to remain under ambient conditions for a few hours before actual consumption. Even when refrigerators are available, house wives rarely shove the food into refrigerator under the mistaken impression that it is safe for few hours. Unfortunately the bacteria can grow exponentially if the initial contamination level is high, especially in foods rich in nutrients. Some of the serious contaminants which have caused havoc recently include Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157;H7

There is an impression that bacteria pose danger only in nutrient rich foods like meat, fish, poultry etc which are considered highly perishable and most incidences of food poisoning occur in this category of foods. But the belief that other foods are not vulnerable is a fallacy as reflected by a series of food poisoning episodes involving such innocuous materials like spinach, tomato, lettuce, peanuts, walnuts etc. Improper handling and storage can make any food vulnerable to contamination and adequate precaution must be taken to preempt such incidences. According to microbiological experts all foods are risky to be exposed to a bacterial "danger zone" when temperatures are between 5C and 60C enabling these bugs to multiply rapidly. It is not exaggeration when a microbiologist states that every single bacterial cell can multiply within half an hour reaching several millions in less than 12 hours!.One can imagine the consequences of the presence of such high levels of bacteria in foods, especially if they are pathogenic!.

What about reheating? Does it help to make the old food safe? It depends on the nature of food and extent of heating. Cold foods such as salads are not fit to be heated while cooked foods cannot be reheated to kill all the contaminants without compromising on the eating quality. The composition of food also makes a difference. While high salt or sugar or acidic foods are relatively safer, others with normal composition and taste can pose safety risks of higher order. As a thumb rule experts believe that if cooked food is to be preserved for a few hours, it must be refrigerated under 4C or reheated to at least to 75C before consumption to be safer.

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