HEIRARCHY, BUREAUCRACY AND RESEARCH-THE ABSURD 'COMBINATION'

Research is nothing but pursuit of truth and vision and creativity and honesty are at the core of success of any research endeavor. Research followed by development is supposed to lead to innovations of practical significance. While basic research establishes new principles and theoretic foundations, applied research is the route to commercial development and industrial technologies. In India R & D activities are more or less confined to 8400 universities and a dozen GOI Departments. There are hundreds of universities spanning the country but very few have sufficient reputation to stand tall in the world of science while a large number of them are suffering from low quality infrastructure, manpower and grossly inadequate resources.GOI funded R & D in CSIR Labs, DBT institutions, BARC, ISRO, ICAR group, ICMR group, DRDO group and others are specific task oriented with links to end users. Private sector research is largely profit oriented ending up in the patent office for protection under intellectual property rights.

Since public funds for R & D are provided in GOI budgetary plans, the agencies, organizations, institutions and projects receiving financial support have to conform to the hierarchical and bureaucratic procedures being followed by GOI ministries with minor changes. The characteristic features of GOI working method are based on rigid bureaucracy and tight hierarchy amongst the administrative personnel. Each cog in the GOI wheel has definite designations, power and responsibility. Time is not the essence of working in GOI establishments. Unfortunately by adopting such a system by research agencies, most of them claiming to be autonomous (on paper?), creativity and innovation potential amongst scientists are severely curbed as governance is invariably based on the surmise that "every body is dishonest unless proved otherwise". Proving to be honest is like the proverbial chastity belt and to prevent misuse of government funds, elaborate rules and regulations have been put in place with a heavy administrative machinery vested with overseeing the spending by the scientists. As time is not as important to the administrative personnel as much as the procedure to be followed, stifling of the enthusiasm and initiatives amongst the scientific community lead to mediocre research of little significance.

Hear what Mr Ratan J Tata, the senior member of Tata family which founded the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore 100 years ago and the living Titan in the industrial landscape of the country, has to say about the crisis in India vis-a-vis scientific research, spoken at the centenary celebrations of this premier scientific and training organization. According to him "the IISc must seek to cover new grounds instead of building a fortress around us. IISc has to change and the hierarchy has to be demolished. Money, quality life, opportunities and facilities including the freedom to work are the primary reasons for the brain drain. We need to equip our institutions in a way where all the facilities are available". Well said but is there any body in Delhi taking seriously what Mr Tata had to say? Unlikely!

The archaic procedures, cumbersome purchase mechanisms, delays in releasing funds for required expenditure, compelling scientists to bow before administrative and accounts staff, hierarchical power structure that gives very little power of spending to working scientists and exploitation of credits due to the less powerful working scientists by more powerful 'bosses' up in the hierarchy have made the S&T sector almost moribund during the last 2-3 decades. Paying high salaries to scientists without providing them with the tools and motivation to perform cannot be expected to enrich our scientific temper by any stretch of imagination.


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

'SWEET' SUGAR VS 'BLAND' SUGAR-THE CONSUMER PERCEPTION

Most of the consumers, if not all, believe that the cane sugar or glucose powder is the main source of energy with fast absorption and assimilation. The diabetics, whether of Type I or Type II, scrupulously avoid sweet foods made from sugar as they believe it can adversely affect their blood glucose control achieved through medication. It is least realized that any carbohydrate with high glycemic index(GI) can have equally same effect on blood sugar as human digestive and metabolic system is very efficient in extracting energy yielding sugars from the food ingested.

 

From the nutritional perspectives, a normal adult human requiring 2000 kC of energy per day, is expected to derive 50-60% of this need from carbohydrates working out to 275-300 gm. Complex carbohydrates should preferably be the source of 50% of daily energy demand while 10% can be accounted for by simple carbohydrates like sugars. Three mono saccharides, glucose, fructose and galactose are most important in human metabolism while three disaccharides, sucrose, maltose and lactose also play important role in the energy logistics of the body. Natural foods like sugar, corn syrup, HFCS, honey, malt, maple syrup, invert syrup and milk provide these vital energy ingredients directly while processed foods requiring sweet sensation use these ingredients to impart the desired organoleptic quality. Complex carbohydrates which are poly saccharides like starch, glycogen and dietary fiber need predigestion for deriving energy through the glucose route. While glycogen is confined to animal species, starch is wide spread in plants and they can be considered as the 'bland' sugar since they contain the basic sugar glucose in a bound form but is converted in vivo into glucose in the body.

 

Starchy foods after cooking lend themselves to further break down on ingestion using a series of amylolytic and hydrolytic enzymes like salivary amylase, pancreatic amylase and enzymes such as sucrase, lactase etc secreted by cells of the small intestine, ultimately yielding the mono saccharides for absorption across the intestinal wall into the blood. D-glucose and D-galactose are actively absorbed in the small intestine while D-fructose absorption is not still understood well. Only glucose goes directly to the cells requiring energy whereas galactose and fructose are transported to the liver for conversion to glucose before reaching the cells. It is a relevant question whether simple sugars can deliver energy faster than starchy foods for normal adults because of the high pitched and aggressive promotion of glucose as a palliative for "instant energy" in people during their normal work schedule. We have glucose biscuits, glucose drinks, glucose bars all aimed at the vulnerable consumer who can be carried away by the dicey commercials flashed across their television, day in and day out. Where does the truth lie?

 

When it comes to utilization of sugar by the body there is very little difference between sweet tasting foods and starchy foods because they go through the same route before manifesting as glucose in the blood. The only difference may be the time it takes for the first dose to reach the blood from the food material, glucose having a slight edge because of the time saved, which otherwise is necessary for conversion of starchy foods into glucose. Considering that glucose also has to reach the small intestine for absorption which cannot be instant, delay for starch derived glucose to appear in the blood may not be of much significance for a normal healthy person. Glycaemic Index (GI) which is a measure of efficiency of glucose absorption from foods can predict the behavior of each food vis-a-vis its ability to deliver glucose into the blood. The GI scale constructed with 138  as maximum for pure glucose gives an idea of different foods regarding their glucose 'yielding' behavior in the body. There are foods like rice cakes with a GI of 123, white bread ( GI 101), instant rice (GI128), puffed rice (GI 123) and many others which can match pure glucose in pumping 'energy' into the body. 

 

Food technologists are to day in a position to design foods with low as well as high GI suiting the needs of every consumer and already scores of such foods are in the market. It is ludicrous to go for a flavored glucose powder in the name of health while more nutritionally balanced wholesome food products are available, serving the same purpose! 

 

 

 

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

THE 'OMNIPOTENT' WATER AND THE 'POWERLESS' TECHNOLOGIES

A modern day kitchen is not complete unless there is a water purification system installed for continuous supply of safe water because people's trust and confidence on the ability of the civic authorities to supply safe water to their houses are at an all time low. As mentioned in an earlier post in this blog, unsafe water in India has spawned a whole gamut of business for the industry that makes bottled drinking water and an array of equipment for water clean up, the most preferred being the reverse osmosis system using selective membranes to remove minerals and microorganisms. Process water for commercial processing and bulk supply is made using large scale systems involving filtration, decolorization, deodorization, ion exchange treatment and disinfection. Current WHO guidelines for safe water lay down upper limits of many minerals, insecticide residues and other parameters.

With country's surface water sources not being able to supply adequate water to the burgeoning population in the urban settlements, ground water is being extracted in large scale all over the country by going down to as much as 500 ft below the surface of the earth. The chemical, physical and microbiological quality of water from underground vary enormously and they are often found to be high in hardness Hard water, though not unsafe by itself, is not liked because of its taste and the tendency to form hard scales inside the supply lines, corrode taps, reduce the cleaning capacity of detergents, take longer time for cooking and cause stains on utensils, containers, walls and flooring. In many towns and cities, houses in the main areas are supplied with 'treated' water while those in suburban and extensions get bore well water with varying degree of hardness.

It is beyond the capacity of an ordinary family to invest individually in large treatment systems that can ensure clean water for all the house hold activities though for drinking purpose small purification gadgets are installed. Are these citizens left with no choice but to depend on hard water for their sustenance? Probably there is some hope if the claims by two innovative technologies, using no power for water treatment, are true. Water can be categorized based on its hardness scale into very soft water (0-70 ppm hardness), soft water (70-140 ppm), slightly hard(140-210 ppm), moderately hard (210-320 ppm), hard (320-530 ppm) and very hard (>530 ppm). Hardness in water is due to presence of mineral salts, carbonates, sulfates and chlorides, especially that of calcium and magnesium which get precipitated inside the pipes and appliances like geysers, washing machines, dish washers etc reducing their life in the process.

In one of the technologies an alloy of about 12 noble and semi-noble metals is used in a housing over which water flows and according to the theory electrons are 'added' to the water, completing the missing electrons in the constituent elements of the minerals contained in the input water. The electro-physical changes in the minerals neutralize the scale producing properties of minerals such as silica, alumina and calcium sulfate and prevent their adhesion to pipes and equipment. The minerals, though still present in the out put water flow through without causing any scale build up. It is claimed that this technology is in use in over 30 countries across the world, working satisfactorily in house holds, hotels, factories, industries, farms, nurseries, municipalities etc. Weak electric fields through which water is passed, in conjunction with venturic effects stemming from unique configuration of the core alloy prevent adhesion and cohesion of the water borne mineral particles. The flow rate must be about 1-3 meter per second and the device has to be grounded. At Rs 15-20 thousand rupees for a 1 inch pipe unit, the system deserves consideration.

The second technology on spotlight is magnetic purifiers where water is passed through or over a magnet having high level of energy and a reduction in pH level increases the Carbonic acid formation through break down of calcium bi carbonate. The de-scaling is initiated and argonite, a soft hydrated version of calcite is formed which is in a fine colloidal form to be flushed along with the flow. There is electromagnetic or electronic variant of the system. The cost for a small scale unit is estimated at about Rs 18000, considered reasonable as a one time investment. Both the technologies claim absolute freedom from regular maintenance and replacement of parts for a period of 10-20 years.

While these technologies are not India-specific, reasonable confidence can be placed on their claims but the problem lies in the manufacturers of these systems whose credentials are yet to be established. There is some scope to bring down the cost to less than Rs 10000 if organized mass production materializes due to consumer confidence on the system. Probably a government agency like National Environmental Engineering Institute at Nagpur could give the potential users the required assurance regarding their feasibility under Indian conditions.

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

FOOD TECHIES, BE ON ALERT, ENEMY IS REGROUPING!

Food technologists have the onerous job of developing ways and means to protect food from spoilage of any type and save the people from the adverse consequences of consuming spoiled foods. Food infection is as old as human history and man has been striving hard to preempt such incidences of food related damages to the society. The recent food contamination episodes in the most powerful nation on earth, United States of America have compelled its president to overhaul the food safety monitoring system there, on a war footing to preempt such mishaps in future. How far man will succeed in his cherished goal of achieving absolute safety remains to be seen.

Living creatures in nature are endowed with amazing ability to survive adversity and the the fundamental basis of evolution is centered around this phenomenon of adaptation. There are millions of instances when living organisms in different shapes, sizes and complexity of structure and intricacies of the working systems were able to outlive the calamities facing them through sheer ingenuity and marvelous adaptive capabilities endowed on them by Mother Nature. If man has been able to attain a higher degree of survival in the ladder of evolution, it is because of his superior attributes conferred on him during the development process. When it comes to single cell organisms like bacteria, their simple structure masks their ability to survive under most trying circumstances and it is a tribute to their strength that man's superior intelligence has not wiped them out of this planet. The way the recent H1N1 virus was able create a global scare still haunts the world with WHO declaring it as pandemic and despite tremendous advances in the field of virology, no one can predict when the next mutated virus is going to appear on the horizon to cause havoc!

There are many pathogenic bacteria that haunts food industry and the restaurant sector and these include Salmonella, Listeria, virulent E. coli, etc. Food scientists have been able to design excellent technologies to make food safe from these infecting vectors with endo- and exo- toxins. Annihilation of these disease causing organisms in the food, through thermal, chemical, physical, irradiation and biological techniques has been possible with reasonable assurance of safety. Modern machinery designs incorporate CIP(Clean In Place) features that enable food technologists to ensure freedom from contamination between batch operations. Still contamination of processed food continues to pose dangers to the processors as well as the consumers. Of course one can always find the reason in many cases, most of them being management failures but it does not help unless the food safety regime is able to prevent such system failures.

It was almost two decades ago microbiologists raised the alarm after discovering the ability of bacteria to form biofilms which are colonies of these microorganisms, tougher to destroy than planktonic cells. Quorum sensing(QS), known in higher forms of living creatures like insects, was found to be existing in bacteria also which enables them to form biofilms on inter face between liquid and a solid surface. Using signaling molecules called auto inducers or pheromones, the bacterial cells can communicate with each other in the same species or with other species for coordinating through QS and often act as multicellular organism capable of making, detecting and integrating information from multiple auto inducers for cohesive action. While oligopeptides are used as signaling molecules by Gram positive bacteria, homo serine lactone serves the same role for Gram negative bacteria. QS controls such varied activities like bioluminescence, secretion of virulent factors, biofilm formation, sporulation and exchange of DNA.

Biofilm formation occurs on solid surfaces in contact with a liquid. Organic and inorganic material in the liquid sediment on to the solid material. Biologically active microorganisms are attracted to the solid surface and adhere to it for initiating growth for forming an attachment matrix for developing into a complex community. Such biofilms are common on solid surfaces in contact with many different kinds of liquids like fresh water, sea water, oil, milk and others. Cleaning and sanitizing practices generally focus on food contact areas and non-food contact surfaces are not given much attention where biofilms can form with potential for contaminating foods processed in the area. Bends in pipes, conveyor belts, cutting boards and tables, water recycling systems, filters and such areas are vulnerable to biofilm formation and subsequent spread of bacteria into the food materials. This is where food technologists will have to pay more attention to preempt such possibilities. Technology needs to be upgraded to include meeting the challenges posed by biofilms to the safety of processed foods coming out of factories and knowledge emerging about the QS properties of microorganisms will help in designing more reliable approaches to preempt any potential threat.

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

THE '100 DAYS' DREAM-PRAYING FOR ITS FULLFILMENT!

India is blessed with a minister lording over the affairs of Ministry of Food Processing at New Delhi, who took over as MoS reluctantly in 2004 after some 'persuasion' by the Prime Minister and if 5 years of announcements and pronouncements made by the minister between 2004 and 2009, are taken seriously food industry in India must be in the pink of health. His promotion to full fledged cabinet rank seems to have brought out his talent in speaking as reflected by the proclamation of his proposed "plans" for the food sector during the first 100 days of the new government. It is not clear whether the counting starts from the day the minister is sworn in or from the day he made the announcement, July 1, 2009. Plus or minus a few days, still the target set by him is indeed ambitious. A sample is given below:

1. MoFPI will set up 350 new food processing units in sectors like fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy,grains and consumer products
2. It will generate 10 million jobs by 2015, the program starting in 100 days
3. Financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh or 25% of the investment which ever is less will be extended to each new unit
4. Employment of 18 people directly and 64 people indirectly per Rs one crore investment will be the guideline for new industries
5. The ministry will usher in an 'evergreen revolution' to ensure continuity of the benefits derived from green revolution in agriculture
6. It will set in motion plans to train 1 lakh trained personnel for the food industry
7. MoFPI will prepare a blue print for creating one million skilled workers and 0.5 million women entrepreneurs
8. The much touted NIFTEM at Kundli, Haryana, MoFPI's brain child conceived during the last 5-year Plan, is proposed to be inaugurated during this period
9. Focus will be on creating infrastructure for supporting the food processing sector and proposes to commission two integrated cold chain projects
10. Proposal to set up India's first Mega Food Park named Patanjali Food and Herbal Park near Haridwar in Uttarkhand will be given shape and this program will be expanded to set up another 10 such mega parks within two years
11. MoFPI will seriously pursue efforts to declare a tax holiday for the food sector, lower customs, VAT and excise duty rates on products, raw materials and packaging inputs as it has realized now that such financial levies are crime against the farmers of this country
12. Not to be left behind, R & D agenda for the food sector will be set by the ministry
13. It will launch nation wide "campaigns" to address safety and quality issues and improve competitiveness in the unorganized sector, small and medium scale enterprises
14. MoFPI 'wishes' to raise the level of food processing from 6% to 20% by 2015
15. Value addition to raw materials through processing will be raised from 20 to 35 % while country's share in global food trade will be enhanced from 1.5% to 3% by 2015

Looked from any angle the plans are mind boggling and the country should consider itself lucky even if a fraction of what is proposed, materializes at the ground level, not in 100 days but at least within the next 2 years It is believed that God, up in the heaven, has a habit of saying 'Asthu' frequently and if the time of making this proclamation on July 1, 2009 has coincided with God's blessings, we may yet see the fulfillment of the minister's dreams, if not within 100 days, some time there after!.

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

THE APPLE 'STORY'-A REALITY CHECK

The statement that"an apple a day keeps the doctor away", is literally taken as true and consumers do not mind buying this fruit even at sky high prices varying from Rs 60 to Rs 120 per kg in India. While consuming apple as a part of the daily servings of fruits and vegetables recommended for good health is understandable, how far the health tag attached to it, is justified cannot be easily discerned. No doubt the typical aroma and texture associated with apple are truly enjoyable and its suitability for long term storage under modified atmosphere conditions have made it possible to organize its cultivation and marketing into a successful industry in India. Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh account for almost all the apple production in the country. Consequent to economic liberalization and globalization under the WTO regime, apples grown in USA, Australia, China etc are available in the Indian market though the imported fruits cost almost double compared to that of the domestic produce.

Apple has the reputation of being associated with the healing God of Greeks and Romans Apollo who lived in 700 BC and probably the name must have been derived from this association. Cooked apple was a popular ameliorant for bowel disturbances, lungs and nervous system and ancient physicians Hippocrates and Galen recommended apple for facilitating digestion. Of course these legendary references to apple must have some basis and probably cannot be rubbished straight away. The fact that apple fruit is still revered by many reflects its popularity. With to day's scientific knowledge, it can be safely said that apple is a desirable fruit with some pro-health and healing properties. Many believe that regular consumption of apple helps in over coming anaemia, digestion problems, heart diseases,head aches, eye disorders, kidney stones and many other every day afflictions. There are apples with tints of green, yellow and red. While green apple is considered good for strong bones and teeth, vision and prevention of cancer, yellow ones are associated with heart and eye health, immune system and the red variety is linked to benefits of good memory, anti cancer traits and urinary tract health.

According to fruit 'astrologers', those who like apple are endowed with a personality that reflects their extravagant nature, impulsiveness, persistence, out spoken quality, moderate temper, good organizing capability, quick decision taking ability, travel craze, charming personality and infectious enthusiasm! It is not clear whether such a prediction is based on science or any statistical study. A look at the nutritive profile of apple does not reveal any thing extraordinary quality that qualifies it for any particular mention. Each 100 gm of its edible portion contains 10.39% sugar, 50 kC of energy, 2.4% of dietary fiber (1-1.5% pectin), 0.17% fat, 0.26% protein, besides small levels of micronutrients most predominant being vitamin C, about 4.6 mg% equivalent to just 8% of daily value. But where apple scores over other fruits is the extent of valuable phytochemicals present in it with many health protecting properties. Flavonoids and phenolics contained in apple makes it the second highest ranked source amongst fruits. Querceitin (mostly in the peel portion), catechin, phloridzin and chlorogenic acid in apple have very strong antioxidant effects and especially the relatively high content of free phenolics which are much more easily bioavailable to humans must have conferred on this fruit the awesome power to claim 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'. In fact the antioxidant activity of the phytochemicals in one apple is equivalent to that from 1500 mg of vitamin C.

China is blessed with world's largest apple orchards, its production being 40% of the global out put of 55 million tons worth $ 10 billion while in India J & K and Himachal grows apple to the extent of 2 million tons. Considering that human DNA gets on an average 10000 hits per cell every day which can have high potential for derailing some of the important metabolic functions, apple phytochemicals, with its high density contents of flavonoids and phenolics, can provide the protection when consumed regularly without peeling. Technology for extending the life of apple is well developed in the country and the growers must be supported with necessary infrastructure to market the fruit at affordable prices to make it within reach of the common man of this country.



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

'COLORFUL' LIFE VS 'QUALITY' LIFE-THE DECISION IS YOURS!

How about a cola drink that is transparently white? Can you readily accept a fruit flavored soft drink with out the cloudiness? A chocolate drink without the familiar brown color? That brown blemish on the potato chips can be a disaster in the market place. An orange cream biscuit must contain only the orange colored cream between the biscuits. Candies with different flavors usually use colors which is supposed to help the consumer to associate with the corresponding natural source of the flavors. There also exists a situation where the sweet meat industry uses all types of colors without any correlation with natural foods. Even the Popsicle vendor on the road sides are experts in making their humble products attractive to the school children by evolving their recipes with exciting colors whether permitted or not.

Why does the industry, whether small or big, consider appearance more important than the quality of the contents? Answer is simple, people like colors and consider color as "the spice of life"! It is just like cosmetic products which are supposed to enhance the beauty or handsomeness of a person which of course is not quantifiable and it is this tendency of humans that is being exploited by food sector to enhance the attractiveness of the products to the buyers. Food industry technically justifies use of colors for off setting color loss during processing, uniform color for the end product made from raw materials with different hues, masking natural variations, enhancing natural color appeal, providing identity to foods they produce, protecting flavors and vitamins from damage against light and decorating baked foods. Colors like Brilliant Blue (E-133), Indigotin (E-132), Fast Green(E-1430. Allura Red (E -129), Erythrosine (E-127), Tartrazine (E-102) and Sunset Yellow (E-1020 are the most commonly used primary synthetic colors which give characteristic shades of colors when incorporated singly or in different combinations.

Though each country has its own laws governing use of synthetic colors, due to inadequate management system many dangerous dyes used in non-food products also get into food products causing enormous risks to the lives of the unsuspecting consumers. Some of the dangers associated with use of synthetic colors include dermatitis, tumors in brain, bladder, kidneys, breasts and adrenal glands as shown in animal studies. Besides they also cause broncho constriction, chromosomal damage, hyper activity especially with young children, asthma, allergies and angioedema. Correlation has been established between children eating foods colored with artificial colors and the commonly seen childhood afflictions like 'Attention Deficiency Disorder' (ADD) and 'Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder' (ADDH). Synthetic colors aggravate the above syndromes amongst growing children significantly. Norway had even banned all artificial dyes for use in food some years ago but lifted the ban subsequently probably because of considerations other than consumer safety.

There are natural colors like caramel, annatto, cochineal, green from chlorella algae, belanin from beets, yellow from marigold and chrysanthemum, curcumin from turmeric, anthocyanins from red chillies and blue grapes, saffron etc which are currently available as alternates to synthetic colors but industry seems to be reluctant to switch over to natural colors due to their lower tintorial power and poor stability. The larger question is why should any food be colored at all when to day's packing technology can simulate any colors through printing on the containers. According to psychologists colors do play a role in appetite stimulation with blue being the least 'appetizing' color and brown, red and yellow the most desirable colors. Eating a colorful food in darkness is considered to be less exciting than eating the same food in bright light. Probably human beings, with high color differentiating sense, are driven by their instincts towards colorful foods and industry only plays to their tune.

If we take the classical example of tomato, ketchup and sauces were colored artificially not long ago but to day tomato varieties with high color content are grown to meet the demand from this sector. There has to be a total ban on all synthetic colors for the sake of safety of the consumers which only can drive the industry to develop better raw materials and use natural colors in processed products. A consumer movement to shun products artificially colored can send a strong message to the industry for such a paradigm shift. The option of choosing between a colorful life and a good quality life with minimum health disorders is with the consumer!

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