From food to fossil fuel-Guar bean's long journey!

India is the top most guar bean producing country and this humble seed is a vital source of a variety of gum used extensively by the food industry for viscosity and texture modification properties. There are also other edible gum sources from plants but guar gum is preferred for its extraordinary properties liked by the food processing industries world over. Besides there are gum like materials derived by modification of starch which also find application in some products. Guar gum became "famous" after the fossil fuel industry found that it is essential for extracting underground fossil fuel products through the process of fracking which has made America self sufficient in its energy requirement. This diversion has made guar gum more and more expensive and in spite of the fracking industry trying its best to find effective substitutes to it, not much success has been achieved so far.

The guar price which peaked at one time to about $15 per kg has crashed to a more sedate figure of  about $ 2 per kg at present. What future guar gum will have is some what uncertain as furious efforts are on hand to develop universally acceptable fracking fluid sans guar gum in the US. Also efforts are on to cultivate guar in Texas region in the US though the production there is still minuscule and the fracking industry still looks to India for bulk of its supply. Guar gum has become so dear to the oil industry there that many leading players are stocking the same to avoid escalation of prices in the international market in the near future. The pull from other industries like textiles, paper, explosives, mineral ore processing, food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing etc also is a contributing factor to the escalating demand for guar gum. Guar gum and its modified version Partially Hydrogenated Guar Gum (PHGG) have properties such as solubility, stability under acidic conditions and heat that make it a choice for many of these industries.

Though Jodhpur in Rajasthan is closely associated with guar gum industry as large number of processing plants are located nearby, Kutch region in Gujarat account for more than 70% of country's production. The country produces about 3 million tons of guar beans and out of 1 million tons gum derived from it 90% is exported for use mostly for hydraulic cracking to extract gases from the shale underground. Almost 70% of the international demand comes from oil and gas industry. Imagine the gas industry in the US needs guar beans harvested from one thousand acres in India to dig a well and what efforts go for achieving this production at the farm level. A valid and relevant question that does not get a satisfactory answer is how far the farmers are benefited by this gas industry boom in the US? Like all other agricultural commodities guar beans also are susceptible to manipulations by middle men who invariably gorge a major part of the sale proceeds with no one able to control their activities. Probably the growers must be getting only a fraction of the money involved in guar beans trade!

The recent crashing of petroleum prices has added to the worries of the growers in India because an oil production cut is a distinct possibility which in turn may affect demand very significantly. Whether fracking industry will also resort to production cuts is some thing which cannot be predicted as of now. In the long run, guar beans growers will have to be weary about their future and if alternate crops can be raised in their lands that could be a better alternative option. Such a trend is seen when erstwhile guar farmers are shifting to cotton, sesame and cumin in large numbers due to steep fall in demand and their income from this crop. Food industry which uses guar gum for many functional applications like baked goods, ice cream, dairy products, fried foods, emulsification, antistaling etc probably may shift to guar gum  and partially hydrogenated gum (PHGG) as the current prices are considered reasonable. Also produced are Hydroxy Propyl Guar (HPG), Carboxymethyl Hydroxy Propyl Guar (CMHPG), metal complexes with Boron, Titanium, Aluminum, Antimony, Zirconium and Chromium all of which have properties suitable for different industrial applications. Besides the health connotations associated with guar may raise its stature further as it is considered a dietary fiber source and many health foods are right candidates for its wide scale use. While guar gum as available in nature is fermented to the extent of 75% in the gut, PHGG is 100% fermentable producing desirable volatile free fatty acids. They are regarded as pre-biotics because of their action in the intestine.  

There is also another face to the guar gum industry which many do not know. A casual visit to the so called guar mills can expose the indifferent and unhealthy working environment where thousands are employed at wages not considered comparable to other industrial workers. What is appalling is the "dusty" environment within the mill resulting from the inefficient machinery used by the owners spewing out fine particles of gummy cotyledon which are inhaled by the workers causing serious lung disorders. There does not appear to be too much concerns on the part of the government to protect their health through strict control measures. We only see the glamorous side of the industry which boasts of bringing in sizeable foreign exchange to the national kitty!

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

CHICKEN EGG FROM THE PLANT? SOUNDS CRAZY!

Egg is a unique food that is considered almost complete with respect to most essential nutrients required for a normal health. Unfortunately the human world is divided into two succinct groups based on the dietary habits. One group eats practically every thing that is edible on this planet while the other one abhors most foods of animal origin that include meat, fish and poultry. In between there are sub-groups who take milk called lacto vegetarians and others consuming eggs called ovo vegetarians. Newer generation of vegetarians do not have inhibition in giving egg and products based on it to their children, realizing that it provides the best nutrition to growing children along with milk as most plant sources of proteins are inferior to milk and egg in terms of amino acid make up and protein efficiency ratio. 

Egg industry is big business and has a powerful lobby that protects its interests. Though egg can be from a variety of creatures that include Chicken, Duck, Quail, Roe and Caviar fish, most commonly consumed comes from Chicken. As its unique nutritive role is well established many countries classify egg as a meat food. Chicken egg is a historically important food its antiquity dating back to 7000 BC. To day world consumes annually about 65 million tons of eggs produced by about 6.5 billion Hens. Besides its high value proteins present in the white portion ( 12-13%), egg is also a rich source of Vitamin A, B2, B6, B9, Choline, Iron, Calcium Phosphorus and Potassium. though 75% of its weight is accounted for by water! Controversy surrounding the dangers associated with regular egg consumption is so confusing that many health pundits opine that healthy individuals should not take more than 4 eggs a week to avoid developing diseases like CVD, Stroke, Diabetes etc. The rationale of this view is that egg is a rich source of Cholesterol (424 mg %), triglycerides (10-11%) and lecithin, all considered villains of peace as far as human health is concerned.

Fear of Cholesterol and fat keeps consumers away from the egg. Is this justifiable? Probably not, because at moderate consumption level and with normal physical activity, egg cannot do any harm at all. After all both Cholesterol and fat are normal biologically relevant nutrients which are metabolized in the body. Still egg poses some challenges in terms of health hazards because of the recent finding that the lecithin present in it can produce artifacts in the intestine such as TMAO which facilitates plaque formation in arteries leading to heart damage. Also true is the potential allergy caused by egg white to many consumers. Due to unsatisfactory hygiene conditions in many egg producing facilities, one of the biggest threat to egg industry is fatal contamination with Salmonella which is known to kill scores of people every year. If egg consumption can raise the chances of heart attack because of its association with TMAO formation through action of intestinal bacteria and Salmonella threat perception becomes serious in the coming years, what is the alternative to it for consumers who are used to egg consumption in the form of boiled egg, fried egg, omelet, scrambled egg and many other products containing egg solids?. Here comes an interesting development which speaks of vegetarian egg!

Many ovo vegetarians consume egg because modern day egg is an unfertilized one incapable of forming live birds on incubation and thereby justify its consumption. As for regular egg consumers Salmonella infection is sought to be addressed by vaccinating the birds in countries like England against this pathogen. Some ovo vegetarians are put off by the fishy smell due to generation if Triethylamine when feed materials contain rape seed meal or soy meal. The so called "Plant Egg" is not an egg possessing the shape of the regular egg but at best an egg powder analog that can be used in many food preparations containing egg solids. It cannot make a boiled egg like product or a fried egg but preparation of omelet and bakery products is possible. 

Scientific efforts in creating  products from plant sources similar to meat or egg have been going on for quite some time and there are a few products already being marketed with some success. In India soy chunks and granules are used to at least extend the meat used in preparations cooked at home and thus save some money. But except for texture these meat substitutes do not measure up to the expectations of the consumer. Similarly there are egg substitutes made from plant proteins which are not easily accepted by those used to natural egg. It is against this background that a new claim is being made recently by a US company regarding development of egg powder like product which cannot be distinguished from egg powder made from chicken eggs. How far this claim is substantiated is not clear as it is not yet launched commercially.

The USP of chicken egg is the extraordinary properties of the proteins present in it which help to make many products from it. The proteins in the yolk coagulates at a temperature of 150-158F while that in egg white gets coagulated between 145F and 165F and this phenomenon is responsible for the unique texture of preparations like boiled egg, fried egg and omelet. To replicate this has been a Herculean effort for the scientists as most plant proteins are more heat resistant and the protein texture when coagulated does not match with that of chicken egg. This is sought to be addressed by screening a vast array of plant species to identify those capable of mimicking egg protein. The new development is based on discovering plant protein sources which resemble the egg protein in their response to heat.    

Eggs have also some amazing properties, such as the ability to enable oil and water-based foods to mix permanently. The challenge to create a genuine substitute for the egg is daunting as such replacements should also match the latter in terms of nutrition which calls for massive studies involving proteins from different edible plant sources. If the claims made so far are to be believed a few baked goods can easily be prepared using egg replacements from plants with barely any difference. One of the species of plant from Asia it was found that its proteins coagulate and turns solid, with heat  similar to the process that scrambles the eggs. With present state of knowledge, plants like the one identified it should be possible to create hundreds of products that can provide the culinary pleasure to the carnivores without going through the animal route. 

Animal system is increasingly being criticized for some of the ills the world is facing to day including global warming. In general livestock is considered environmentally taxing producing 51% of greenhouse emissions due to flatulence. Besides considerable acreage of land is locked up in rearing them. Added to this, according to some calculations, livestock consume more food than it would take to feed the 1.3 billion people in this planet who go to bed hungry every night! Probably the world will have no option but to turn to the plant kingdom to sustain itself before long!

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

THE FOOD-BEYOND HUNGER AND GASTRONOMY

The twin 'drive engines' for food in humans are hunger and gastronomic pleasure. Who does not salivate by the mere mention of a food very ear to them in anticipation of the pleasure of consuming that food and the consequent enjoyment arising out of it? A hungry person how ever can devour any food as long as it satisfies his hunger. Only during the last 6-7 decades the nutritional and health dimensions weighed in selecting right foods and increasing awareness of the connection between food and health is transforming the food sector into a complex service provider to cater to the different needs and demands from populations spanning across all ages and different compromised health conditions. While the mainstream food products, with lot of nutrition and safety information splashed on the label, cater to a vast majority of consumers whose choices are guided by the eating quality of the products, fast changes are taking place amongst the population in their concept of healthy food leading to development and marketing of a vast array of products with more and more emphasis on nutrition and health. There is another dimension to the food discipline which is not generally noticed. This pertains to the contributions made by this sector to the English Lexicon during the last one century. Many descriptive terminologies used to define or describe food quality such as color, shape, appearance, smell, taste, texture etc have slowly crept into every day uses to describe real life situations. It is common to use some of the colors of foods to communicate effectively the color description in other cases too. Thus Lemon Yellow, Orange Red, Saffron Red, Cherry Red, Coffee Brown, Chocolate Brown, Mustard Yellow, Milky White and Wheat Brown are some of the contributions from real foods to the common vocabulary used every day for conveying the reality better during conversations. Egg Head, Corn on the feet, Egg shaped objects use the peculiar shape of the egg which other wise cannot be conveyed effectively. Sweet Memories, Bitter Memories, Sweet Heart, Sour Note, Fruity Odor all translate the feelings into appropriate expressions. A Crisp sentence in a script, Sizzling Hot condition, Watery consistency, Popping noise, Gritty determination convey the most effective experience in many dialogs. Wafers and Chips, Sandwich, Crust, Extrusion, Swallow, Cooking, Stew, Pulverize, Blend, Soup, Boiling, Baking, Essence, Bean stalk, Butchering, Jam, Nutty and many others are not confined to food alone but find widespread use in many other areas to communicate with better effects. It will be interesting to introspect as to the extent of contribution made by food to make the English language more forceful and communicative in our day to day life. After all the role of food is not confined to physical well being of man but also mental stimulation through better communication through some of the vocabulary associated with food. V.H.POTTY http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/