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

"FOODSCAPING"-A MORE REWARDING VERSION OF LANDSCAPING

Any casual visitor to the United States of America cannot help wondering about the priorities of American families in their life style and one thing that strikes any body is the fanatic attachment to automobiles, each family having a minimum of 2 cars. Of course one cannot blame the citizens for their love of cars and SUVs because these are essential tools of daily life without which it can be a huge logistical log jam. Being a wealthy country with one of the highest personal income figures, they can also afford to buy new automobiles or replace the existing one every three years. But what bothers rest of the world is the heavy carbon emission caused by the American population by its over dependence on fossil fuels which happen to be on the "extinction" list as world reserves are about to be depleted irreversibly once for all! Modern day phenomenon of global warming, due to which droughts and floods are becoming more frequent affecting food production, is also due to this reckless living style of the society here. Though alternate and sustainable energy sources are being developed in many countries, Americans do not seem to have heart in such endeavors, still addicted to petroleum fuels like a spoiled brat!

After overcoming the automobile "shock", another feature of American homes is the extra ordinary attraction to maintain a home front that is "spic and span", the front lawn being the center piece of the landscape. Billions of dollars are being expended in designing and maintaining home front gardens, mostly with seasonal flowering plants that need care and money to look after with dedication and supervision. Excessive obsession with carpet green lawns in front of every home extracts a heavy toll on the family budget  and rarely it is understood that maintaining a lawn is fraught with environmental damage of significant magnitude. The lawn mowing machinery and tons of manure and chemicals used to maintain the lawns in "picture scene" condition contributes further to environmental degradation of unimaginable dimension. Of course the culture of home front landscaping, deep rooted in American way of life has spawned industrial activities valued at billions of dollars, providing valuable employment to millions of people. It is another matter that most manual labor force is made up of illegal immigrants from South American countries!

One should not grudge the pleasure Americans may be deriving from their home front lawns and flower gardens as long as the burden of protecting these privileges is not passed on to the poor countries in Asia, Africa and South America. It is ironical that poorer countries are being asked to cut down on their carbon emissions while with great difficulties they are trying to shake of the perennial poverty and scourge of hunger and give their people a glimmer of hope to lead a decent and honorable life. Increased energy, water and food are their basic right and if they have to pollute the planet for this reason for some years at least, wealthy nations should not grudge the same. Between a square meter of land raising a lawn and another plot raising food, which should be the choice? Of course the latter. Here is where more pragmatism needs to be shown by the wealthy nations in managing their resources more efficiently with minimum wastage. It is not that Americans are totally insensitive to the food problem, though their concern is largely confined to safeguarding their health from unsafe food produced and marketed in the country.

Modern day industrial agriculture has unleashed a devastating destructive force in the form food crops which are tuned to make the farmers and the processors rich rather than making the lives of ordinary people safe. If food industry and the farm lobby are being blamed for the obesity epidemic rampant in the country, there is some justification and the reaction of the consumers is manifested in the form of many efforts like locavores, farmers market, urban farming, terrace gardening, vertical gardening, farm shops etc. to by pass the main stream food industry. The ever growing organic food industry is another testimony to the disappointment and distrust consumers are showing towards the established food players. The most pressing issue to day is whether man will really be able to keep the food production going, in tune with the population growth and every ounce of food produced will count in avoiding food shortages in future. Here is where urban farming may have a role to play.

Here is the connection between home front lawns and future food production. If all the American homes shift the emphasis from lawns to vegetable gardening the result would be dramatic in the coming years. Imagine each family able to harvest its own vegetables from its gardens in front of the house for daily consumption, in stead sitting back and watching the immaculately mowed lawn day in and day out! A cultural change needs to take place to change the present mindset but it can be done provided every stake holder including the local civic authorities, real estate industry, home owners' associations across the country collectively usher in a new era of community cooperative endeavor that will also help the nation to build a healthy society of future citizens with more responsibility and respect for the fellow citizens. The efforts of Michigan University to set up a research center at Detroit for developing techniques, technologies, practices and other logistics of urban based farming will go a long way in providing the much needed impetus to boost food production through better exploitation of urban resources. What is needed is development special seeds with plant characteristics like heavy bearing, bushy in nature, bright flowers, longer duration, easy harvesting etc by horticulturists for adoption by home owners. Existing service outfits that provide garden services for lawns and flower plants can provide the same services for maintaining the vegetable gardens also. Americans must shift their focus from landscaping to "foodscaping", if they want to be honorable partners in safeguarding and augmenting global food supply and reducing the burden of environmental degradation. 

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 

THE BUG THAT SHOOK EUROPE-ARE OTHERS SAFE?

In the wake of the deadly deadly Escherichia coli ( E.Coli) outbreak that's swept Europe in recent days, a logical question that worries food safety experts is whether such episodes can happen elsewhere in the world. The issue is too complex to get a ready answer since E.coli, considered for long as an innocuous bug has metamorphosed into a monster group of microorganisms capable of causing death amongst humans. It was known for quite some time that a virulent strain of E.coli can cause food poisoning and it was identified as E.coli 0157:H7 which can damage the kidney if infected, though early treatment can abate the symptoms. Almost a decade of tireless work by microbiologists resulted in evolving reliable techniques to identify and assay them, giving considerable confidence to safety monitoring agencies to nip such poisoning with reasonable degree of accuracy. In some countries mandatory testing of foods for 0157:H7 is in place to prevent large scale food poisoning. In spite of all these efforts, more than 60000 people per year are affected by food poisoning episodes in the US alone due to infection from this bacteria.

There are also several other virulent strains isolated from soil but very little is known about most of these dangerous versions and practically no reliable assay method has been evolved that can be applied in the field. Thus there are gaps in the food safety systems of most of the countries as it is not feasible to test for new illnesses emerging caused by various strains of pathogenic E.coli. It is true that most safety agencies are focusing on a single strain, 0157:H7 considered most dangerous, ignoring other strains which also caused occasional food poisoning episodes to a limited extent. Now that the culprit in the EU food contamination case has been tentatively identified as E.coli 0104:H4, world has to sit and take note of the potential for damage by this strain. Probably the EU incidence may be a wake-up call for agencies like WHO to channel more resources to tackle this menace.

Why should this bacteria infect such products like tomato, cucumber, aubergine or lettuce which after all are not energy dense products giving sustenance to them? Could it be that they are just carriers becoming active only when suitable environment is available? How do they survive the rigorous processing steps which include washing and disinfection practiced by the industry most of them following the HACCP practices? Do they possess extra-ordinary capacity to with stand the scientifically sound disinfection processes followed by the industry? How come they possess the ability to resist antibiotics used for treatment of affected consumers? What precaution consumers can take to avoid ingesting such deadly foods? These are all disturbing questions that need to be probed without any delay.

Some of the clues available are helpful in understanding the problem and these must be kept in mind while evolving preventive action to avoid such contamination taking place at the grower's end and at industry level. E.coli is a bacteria associated with feces and they live in the guts of most mammals including human beings. Unless the affected product was exposed to an environment containing these bacteria in adequate numbers, it is unlikely that they would be contaminated. It would be advisable for fresh produce industry to ensure that at least a distance of 5 ft is kept between areas containing E.coli sources and the produce materials. The reported fact that those affected by the food poisoning are not responding to antibiotics Penicillin and Streptomycin points out to the possibility of raw meat as a source of contamination because the meat industry uses antibiotics in heavy doses in the feed tending to cause resistance of many pathogens to these antibiotics.

Now that the large outbreak in EU has been more or less traced to the emerging super-strain O104:H4 which is reported to have sickened at least 1,600 people and killed 18, intensive efforts are on to trace the source of contamination so that such future incidences can be avoided. The sacrifices by those unfortunate people felled by this pathogenic bacteria should not go in vain and the mankind owes to them for preventing such tragedy in future.

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

FOODS FROM THE "SKY"!-WHY NOT?

The graphic pictures of the First Lady in the US harvesting vegetables planted in the White House along with school children have sent a powerful message across the world viz, "act now and do not regret later" as the time is running out for this planet to save itself from depredations and destruction due to negligence and mismanagement. It is more than 5 decades since man realized that,while bulk foods such as cereals provide taste, flavor, pleasure, energy and satiety, it is the much neglected vegetables that can keep him healthy and free from diseases. Ever since that there have been thousands of studies which confirmed the inevitability of courting vegetables in a big way for a truly healthy living because of the presence hundreds of phytochemicals, high levels of fiber, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and hormone like chemicals in most of the vegetables consumed by man, all with beneficial effects..

Preaching and practicing are two entirely different avocations and invariably there is a disconnect between these two traits in reality. India is blessed with a variety of vegetables, grown and eaten from time immemorial and most of the rural families do vegetable raising along with their main crops. Organized vegetable growing in farms provide the needs of the urban families and 'subji mandis' are omnipotent by their presence in all urban settlements, big and small. The government intervention programs over the years have considerably reduced exploitation by unscrupulous traders and middle men by setting up agricultural marketing yards for transparent deals between the sellers and the buyers. Amul type of cooperatives do operate in some places with the assistance of NDDB which helped to set up scientific collection mechanism, central processing facilities and distribution net works for ensuring equitability to the farmers as well as the consumers. Unfortunately this approach has not transformed the vegetable marketing as expected and the consumer is faced with hard choices when it comes to source their daily vegetable needs.

Looking at vegetable prices that rule during a span of 12 months in any year, the variations can be any where from 100% to more than 1000%! The consumers can buy tomato for Rs 2 a kilo when there is a glut but pay as high as Rs 50 a kilo at other times! Same is true with all vegetables, Even gold prices do not show such variations and consumer is helpless under such a situation, especially when GOI tells him that inflation is minus 1.5%!. National Horticulture Board (NHB) set up to stimulate the horticulture sector is handicapped by many factors and has become more or less a GOI arm with practically no relevance as far as consumer is concerned. Lack of cold room and low temperature transport infrastructure is often blamed for this sorry state of affairs in the country. Who is the real culprit responsible for this no-win situation? Ourselves, of course, who are good in preaching but poor in practicing!

It is time we take a leaf out of Americans who seem to be taking seriously the role of safe vegetables to protect their lives and the local produce movement and the recent sky garden strategy may still change their quality of life if translated into massive action plans. The tax incentives being offered by cities like New York to encourage roof gardens to grow vegetables for at least self consumption are beginning to show positive results and may be a fore runner of viable vegetable growing schemes in hundreds of other metropolitan regions where high rise buildings are prevalent. The innovative micro gardening technology provides the where withal for setting up such gardens with investments, between $1000 and $ 6000 depending on the size of the garden. Imagine a city like Mumbai having such gardens on their roof top which will ensure cooler houses below while meeting, at least, a part of the vegetable requirement of the owners of the apartments.

The inefficient water supply, low quality roof construction, lack of local expertise and reluctance for offering incentives by the authorities may be stumbling blocks for such an initiative. There are many Self Help Groups promoted by Banks which can step into this area while NHB can evolve workable garden models with assured seed supply and scientific growing practices. Ready boxes containing the required mulch, sand and nutrients need to be designed and supplied in urban areas at affordable cost for growing different vegetables and all the owners of apartments have to do is sowing and watering. True, foods will not drop from the sky by just looking at the heaven but the 'will to do' and hard work can make it happen.

V.H.POTTY
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'LAB' TO HELP DIABETICS?

Chinese scientists have made a splash in the international circuit recently by claiming the development of a technology to make low carbohydrate juice products from vegetables like carrot using lactic acid fermentation and further claiming that these products are good for diabetic people. What is not clear in this claim is whether they have found a new strain of microorganism that will 'eat up' complex carbohydrates like starch present in many vegetables. Use of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in many traditional vegetable products is ancient dating back to centuries and many traditional foods in Asian and African continents are based on this fermentation. Professor Steinkraus, an internationally acclaimed and highly knowledgeable microbiologist, has brought out an epic book on the fermented foods which is virtually an encyclopedia on the subject. It is difficult to understand what is new in the present findings reported by Chinese scientists. Lack of any substantial data on their study makes it difficult to come to any meaningful conclusion.

To begin with most vegetables are low in carbohydrates including sugars and their consumption is recommended because of this reason. Besides they are rich in dietary fiber, several vitamins and essential minerals. The carbohydrate content in most of the vegetables vary from 2.5% in bitter gourd to 9.7% in carrot but is high in some like Peas (14.4%) potato (22.1%), Yam (18.4%), Breadfruit (15.8%) and Plantain (14%). There are many vegetables grown in India with low carbohydrate content like bottle gourd (2.5%), brinjal (4%), squash (3.4%), okra (6.4%), snake gourd (3.3%), pumpkin (4.6%), ridge gourd (3.4%), spinach (4.3%), radish (3.4%), and tomato (4.7%). More over the glycemic index (GI) of of most of the vegetables is very low because whatever little carbohydrates present in them, are encased in so much cellulosic material that they cause practically no rise in blood sugar even if consumed in large quantities. Only some like Potato ( GI 80+), Peas (GI 48), Corn (GI 53) and Carrot (GI 47) are considered having some what higher GI values. Vegetables are rich sources of dietary fiber, both soluble as well as insoluble and many of them contain 2-6% fiber, considered vital for good health. If this is so where is the need to reduce the carbohydrate involving costly technological intervention which will also remove the beneficial dietary fiber and other nutrients in the process? Nonetheless LAB fermentation process does not involve heating of the raw material and there fore the products may contain some health protecting phytonutrients like isothiocyanates in significant quantities generated by live enzymes like myrosinase.

If the purpose is to make drinkable juice products, use of pectinase can serve the same purpose faster. Subjecting vegetable pulps to LAB fermentation is time consuming and cumbersome and the products will have a distinct acidic taste which has to be adjusted to suit the palates of the consumers that calls for significant dilution. Again addition of salt or sugar may be necessary to make the product palatable especially to young age consumers. A 3/4 cup juice is supposed to be equivalent to one serving of vegetables and if 5 servings are to be made, almost 4 cups of juice will have to be consumed requiring at least 4 g of salt to make them palatable! It is true that health freaks are already consuming such juices from many vegetables and herbs but their number and quantities consumed are rather limited raising a question regarding the commercial viability of these LAB fermented vegetable juices.

LAB group consists of homofermentors and heterofermentors, converting sugar to lactic acid and CO2 or a mixture of lactic acid, acetic acid, ethyl alcohol and CO2 respectively. These include Lactobacillus acidophilus, L.bulgaricus, L.plantarum, L.caret, L.pentoaceticus, L.brevis and L.thermophilus. Streptococcus and Leuconostoc species also produce lactic acid but much less than that produced by Lactobacillus species. They are all microaerophilic organisms requiring no oxygen for their growth and metabolism. Traditional sauerkraut fermentation of cabbage brought about by Leuconostoc mesenteroides is a classical example of lactic acid preserved vegetable, consumed widely by Europeans. There are typical traditional fermented products in many countries, almost all of them preserved by lactic acid fermentation in presence of salt. Kimchi of Korea, Gundruk of Nepal, Kocho of Ethiopia, Pak-gard-dong, Hum-dong, Hua-chai po and Naw-mai-dong of Thailand, Hum choy and Tai-tan-tsoi of China, Tempoyak of Malaysia, dozens of pickles from mango, lime, gooseberry etc in India, are all LAB mediated preserved foods that have stood the test of time for centuries.

The critical substrate for LAB is sugar and only in case of vegetables that contain small concentration of sugar can initiate fermentation. The role of the salt is primarily to bring out the juice and subsequent liberation of sugar for further action by the microbes. During LAB action glucose is broken down mainly to lactic acid and lactate which enters the blood when pickles are consumed is converted to pyruvate in the liver for deriving energy through the Kreb's Cycle. Excess accumulation of lactate in the blood can end up as glucose through the pyruvate route. Though lactic acid fermentation does bring down carbohydrate load, it does not guarantee against rise in blood sugar in the blood under certain conditions. While LAB fermented vegetable juice products can be a separate category of newly developed beverages which should stand scrutiny of the consumer for its acceptability, claiming it to be a panacea for diabetic people is some what far-fetched!

V.H.POTTY
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