BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!-SAFER FOODS ON THE ANVIL?

Quality and safety of foods available to Indian citizens are assured by the Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI), the independent body of GOI entrusted with the above task. Earlier Ministry of Health of GOI through the Central Committee for Food Standards (CCFS) was doing the same job while Ministry of Food Processing Industries had some role through FPO, MFPO and similar other regulatory systems in overseeing some sectors of the industry. Major limitation for any centrally controlled agency to implement food laws is lack of an appropriate nation wide unitary machinery that can carry out the onerous task of monitoring the market as well as auditing the manufacturing facilities on a regular and continuous basis and dependence on the inefficient and inadequate infrastructure at the state level for execution. Only evolving suitable and appropriate standards, safety guidelines, protocols for punishment of offenders, legal aspects of administration etc are being managed by the Center. The results are there to see for every body with insignificant number of prosecutions being launched and pursued year after year with hardly any deterrent effect on the profitable "business" of adulteration

If the new pronouncements from New Delhi are to be believed the country's food laws administration is set for a major overhaul from February 2010. According the new scheme
being proposed, stricter quality and safety norms are to be introduced to prevent adulteration and contamination in some of the foods considered to be of high risk like milk, edible oils and meat. What is not clear is how the new system will be different from the one that exists to day. It is also claimed that packaged drinking water too would be covered which at present is regulated through Bureau of Indian Standards (BSI) which had evolved specifications for this product some years ago. What is intriguing is the statement that "the norms will focus on quality, safety and hygiene" as if, for the last 62 years of independence, these were not important considerations. One redeeming feature is the threat of canceling the licenses of offenders and imposing severe financial penalties on them, if and when proved of their offenses. But it is not realized that more than 70% of the industries in the food sector do not come under the purview of central licensing system.

The new enforcement system being considered also wants to lay down standards for slaughter houses, animals to be slaughtered, transportation of meat and its distribution. Retailers with more than 30-40 stores, Railways and Airlines catering, food services in airports, hotels, eating establishments and even schools are to be included for monitoring the quality and safety under the new dispensation.

With a handful of technical personnel at its disposal how FSSAI is going to accomplish the noble mission it has set for itself remains to be seen. The analytical laboratories which are an integral part of any quality monitoring system will not be able to cope with the increased demand that will be made once monitoring is taken up in right earnest. The woes of these laboratories are best brought out by the reports from the Municipal Corporations in Ludhiana and Ahmedabad where the existing facilities can hardly assess about 20-30 samples a day! There have been proposals to upgrade these labs some time back but lack of trained technical man power may still pose practical problems. Hoping that FSSAI has kept in mind these limitations before announcing the grand scheme, consumers can only wait with bated breath for the month of February 2009 to arrive for getting good quality foods with safety features beyond doubt!

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

PLASTICS FOR FOOD EQUIPMENT-NEWER DEVELOPMENTS

Plastics are making inroads into the machinery fabrication industry which normally prefer metals like steel and aluminum because of their strength, amenability to complicated designs and established fabrication technology. When it come to food industry most preferred construction material for processing machinery that comes in contact with the food is stainless steel. Use of plastics was far and few since they do not have many of the properties necessary for the fabrication of process machinery used by the food industry. Food grade plastics find use in limited areas like making containers, hoppers, conveyor belts etc which are not exposed to high wear and tear and temperatures beyond 100C. Of course Teflon is an exception as it has high temperature resistance and is one of the most efficient anti-friction materials available to day. But its fabrication potential is restrained as it cannot be melt processed and it has to be compressed and sintered to form useful shapes.

The advent of Acetal plastics has changed the scenario and this is one of the most sought after plastic fabrication material by the engineering industry. Acetal polymer, the polymerized formaldehyde or better known as Polyoxymethylene (POM) has every thing a fabricator can ask for and many more user friendly features. POM has superb inherent mechanical properties in respect of dimensional stability, strength, stiffness, low wear characteristics, low friction coefficient, , creep resistance, high surface hardness, low moisture absorption, dynamic fatigue resistance, inert towards aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, gycerols, ketones, detergents, gasoline etc though it cannot resist strong acids. It can stand up to 93C temperature and can replace metal parts in many machinery through injection molding process. Complex geometric features can be achieved using Acetal plastic resins. Some of the machine parts that can be fabricated include conveyor belt components like links, pins etc, fabricated parts of many processing machinery, scrapers, turned parts, threaded components, moving mechanisms, pulleys, gears, bushings, springs, pumps etc.

POM comes as homoploymer or copolymer with slightly different characteristics and food industry prefers copolymer material because of features like increased thermal stability, better elongation properties and toughness. These properties are achieved by addition of ethylene oxide at random to the homo polymer chain. With a temperature range for operation between -40C and 80C, tensile strength of 8800 psi and a specific gravity of 1.41, Acetal plastics are here to stay as an ideal fabrication material for a wide spectrum of industries in the coming years. Coating with Teflon can further improve the performance in terms of non-stickiness and friction reduction.

Two properties now being incorporated in Acetal plastics are metal detectability with conventional detection equipment and antimicrobial features which make them much superior to other fabrication materials. Foods being processed in machinery with parts made of Acetal plastics can be guaranteed to be free from contamination with particles of POM up to a size of 3 cubic millimeter if metal detection step is part of the manufacturing system. Similarly the antimicrobial properties against bacteria, mold and yeast make Acetal plastics ideal choice for fluid food contact applications. Safety approval by USFDA for its use by food industry probably will see its wide scale use in the coming years by the food machinery industry all over the world.

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

VISION 2015-THE FOOD "DREAMS"!

The "Vision 2015" has now become the official version of GOI proclaiming the intention of the country to give a boost to the food processing sector. The contour of the projections contained in the Vision document was known for some time but with the Lok Sabha taking cognizance of the plans projected by MFPI, it is time to get down to the "bolts and nuts" details for achieving the dream targets set forth,to be achieved in 5 years

According to the statement made by the Minister for Food Processing Industries, GOI, Mr S. K. Sahay in the Lok Sabha, his ministry's "Vision 2015" plan envisages tripling the size of the processed food sector by increasing the level of processing of perishables from 6 percent to 20 percent, an herculean task indeed. It further projects to increase the value addition from 20 percent to 35 percent and boost the share of Indian food exports in the global food trade from 1.5 percent to 3 percent within 5 years. There is a fair amount of word play in the document using niche words like "integrated strategy", "vision to promote agribusiness", "strategy and action plan" for the food-processing sector, etc which do not mean anything.

Five year period is too short to achieve any thing substantial, especially in a country like India where a conducive atmosphere for unhindered growth of food industry still does not exist. A more appropriate approach would have been to evolve a "Vision 2025" mission with sufficient provision for periodic mile stones to be reached. There is a perception amongst foreign investors that too much bureaucratic control and unbearable red tapism make India a miserable destination for investment. Putting in place a transparent and truly free environment with minimum centralized control can only provide sufficient impetus for growth of any industry. Government must confine itself to only protecting the consumer from economic exploitation and the dangers of unsafe foods. Provide the right atmosphere and see how the private sector will respond and flourish.

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

"GREEN" PLASTICS-ADOPTION BY INDUSTRY

Indestructibility of plastic materials which are used extensively in almost all activities involving day to day life has become one of the biggest challenges facing the world to day. It takes more than 700 years for some of the plastics to be removed completely from the environment and the pollution potential of millions of tons of plastics discarded after use is mind boggling. Besides, the feedstock used viz, petroleum products, from which most of the plastics are manufactured, is not perennial and can run out in the foreseeable future. The recycling option, if practiced world wide on a large scale, could have reduced the magnitude of the problem of disposal and it would not have been so burdensome as it is to day. Unfortunately not even 5% of the used plastics enter the recycling route, increasing the accumulation of waste plastics every year to astronomical levels.

Present level of technology for making polyethylene uses 1.75 kg of petroleum material to get 1 kg of the end product and the process of conversion entails high energy making plastic truly an energy intensive product, besides contributing to significant green house gas emissions. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) based packing materials are produced to the extent of 30 million tons annually and the films made from this plastics has unique properties making it a darling of the entire spectrum of industries. Its ability to withstand temperature as high as 120C for limited time and 110C continuously and suitability to blow molding process to manufacture hard bottles and hollow goods, make it a universal choice by food and allied industry. Almost 8 million tons of HDPE are used in making bottles used by dairy, beverage and pharma industries. Though PET bottles have lately come to the fore, HDPE is still preferred by many industries.

Polylactic Acid, claimed to be a green plastic, is made from lactic acid obtained by fermentation but it has become a controversial issue, the claim being contested by some experts. Cellophane, made from regenerated cellulose obtained from wood, cotton, hemp, bagasse etc, could be truly termed a green plastic and it has the advantages such as low air permeability, oil and grease resistance and imperviousness to bacteria and other destructive vectors but suffers from its unsuitability for heat sealing. Besides it may not deserve the green label fully if the CO2 foot print of cellulosic sources used for its production is taken into consideration.

Ethyl alcohol, produced by anaerobic fermentation of sugar sources by yeast is one of the most versatile industrial raw materials man has ever known. Its oxidative product acetic acid is another industrial base from which a number of products are made. Using ethyl alcohol for the manufacture of HDPE is a new route for making polyethylene that can rightly claim to be "green" but commercial production may still be uncertain due to economic factors that still weigh in favor of petrochemical based plastics as long the latter is available cheap. It goes to the credit of an enlightened player like Tetra Pak of Sweden to come forward to start using green plastics made from ethyl alcohol. Ethylene is first produced from alcohol which is then polymerized using special catalysts to prevent branching and yield HDPE.

Brazil, one of the largest producers of sugar from cane, converts a significant portion of its crops into alcohol, mainly to make biofuels either as it is or based on blends with petroleum fractions. Its bold initiative to divert a part of its alcohol production to make HDPE is considered most welcome. In a landmark agreement Tetra Pack, largest producer of cartons for packing milk and beverage products, is supposed to buy about 5000 tons of alcohol derived HDPE per year, 5% of their annual requirement, from the Brazilian petrochemical company Brakem which is slated to start production of the so called green plastics by the end of next year. According to Brakem, alcohol based HDPE production would reduce overall green gas emission significantly compared to traditional process.

What effect such large scale diversion of sugar cane based alcohol to HDPE manufacture, will have on biofuel program or on global sugar prices remains to be seen. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil are being blamed for massive deforestation to reclaim land for cultivation of commercial crops like Oil Palm and Sugarcane and endangering the environment by reducing the extent of carbon sink provided by these forests. How such a dilemma can be addressed must be the concern of the whole world.

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

NEW LYCHEE "CRAZE"- PROMISING HEAVEN?

Man's continuous endeavor to unravel mysteries of Nature and unearth resources that will boost or protect health, has brought out a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, spices, herbs, cereals etc with varying claims regarding their health value besides the inherent food value. Amongst the food constituents that gained prominence during the last two decades for their special ability to improve or protect health, antioxidants were the most studied because of their supposed role in neutralizing oxyradicals generated at the cellular level which accelerate cell destruction and cause debilitating diseases like cancer in humans. Polyphenols present in many foods are admired for their ability to work as antioxidants and some of the rich sources include tea, cocoa, coffee, fruits like strawberry, grapes, pomegranate, grapefruit, apple, kiwi fruit and lychee, many vegetables kale, broccoli, artichokes and brussel sprouts, nuts like pecan, walnut and sunflower seed and cereals such as oats and barley.

Though there has been lot of excitement regarding the beneficial role of polyphenols as a group of phytochemicals, many uncertainties cloud the claims by many commercial manufacturers of polyphenol ingredients extracted from natural sources. While many of these polyphenols have been found in many studies to be of proven health value, the findings have not been consistent due to many reasons. Lack of uniformity in technical analysis of various polyphenols present in different foods, large molecular weight and complex molecular structure of these compounds, insufficient knowledge about their fate in the GI tract of human beings, difference in the behavior of different polyphenols in different foods in different individuals consuming variable diets and extent of circulation of effective polyphenols in the blood etc make it difficult to predict their effect precisely.

Against the above background, promotion of Lychee fruit as a miracle source of polyphenols with 'fat bursting' properties, needs to be viewed with some caution. According to the available information Lychee polyphenols, extracted from the fruit and processed into smaller molecular weight polyphenols, supposed to be more readily absorbed in the body, are capable of reducing waist size by 3 cm, reducing the sub-cutaneous fat area by 15% and cans significantly lower the BMI besides improving insulin resistance amongst those pone to metabolic syndrome. Women with expanded waist line are believed to be susceptible to development of dementia in later stages of life and Lychee may become extremely popular with these subjects, if the claims are proved beyond any shadow of doubt.

The process of reducing the polyphenol chain length, called oligomerization, is supposed to generate monomers and smaller molecular weight oligomers which are absorbed 3-5 times more efficiently. Whether the fat bursting property comes from Lychee itself or by the process of oligomerization is not clear. Of course Lychee is one of three top polyphenol containing fruits, others being strawberry and grapes. Also not known is whether consuming the fruit as fresh or as extracted juice will confer same benefits. However, if the claims are true, probably Lychee may become the most sought after tropical fruits in the world.

Oligonol, a commercial product made from Lychee extract, is being promoted as an elixir of life with some supporting evidence and probably may become a GRAS chemical because it is obtained from a natural fruit which has more than 2000 years of history, being the favorite fruit of the Tang Dynasty of ancient China. Nutritionists and health pundits always maintain that, for best effect of any phytochemical in the body, blends of natural foods containing different nutrients are the most desirable route and isolated ingredients may not have the same effect always with all the people. Oligonol from Lychee must be subjected to further scientific scrutiny before considering it as a universal health supplement.

V.H.POTTY

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"COTTON" BISCUITS-ANOTHER SENSATIONAL NEWS!

That the scientists, big and small, cannot resist photo-ops for getting easy fame is borne out by many sensational development news which later turn out to be a damp squib. Incomplete development, half baked technologies, recycled past works and fictitious patents are becoming a part of the scientific world and their credibility is at its lowest ebb to day. In India one can see even the heads of R & D agencies vying with each other to project themselves as super achievers based on R & D works of their colleagues which are still incomplete with questionable claims. Here is the latest example of an Indo-American scientist claiming to have developed technology for making bread and biscuits from cotton seed flour and predicting that cotton seed flour would be available in the market in 10 years, sufficient to feed 500 million people!

It is known that cotton linters, the short fibers, covering the seed coat is used by the ice cream industry as a source of cellulose but it is limited to a minuscule of the industry that makes specialty health foods. Cotton seed is a major by-product during the processing of cotton into textiles and for every kg of cotton fiber extracted 1.6 kg of seed is obtained. Cotton seeds are a good source of edible oil, about 21% and moderate quality protein, about 23%. If world has not seen proper exploitation of this material as human food, it is due to the presence of a toxin by name gossypol in the seed which can harm the liver and the heart in humans, if consumed. Gossypol, a polyphenol compound, also affects non-ruminant animals precluding the use of cotton seed or its flour in most types of animal feeds.

About 4 decades ago a physical process ( Dorr Oliver Process), more popularly known as Liquid Cyclone Process (LCP), was developed to remove gossypol from cotton seed flour without affecting the quality of proteins present and a commercial unit was established in Hubli, Karnataka which could not take off due to poor demand from the food processing industry. Even the interest evinced by the Food and Nutrition Board of GOI to use gossypol free cotton seed flour as a protein source in foods developed for applied nutrition programs could not translate into any practical application. Availability of other de-oiled seed flours from soybean and groundnut at lower price did not help the cause of cotton seed flour at that time. But the attractive color, an acceptable nutty flavor and relatively high protein content can still make cotton seed flour and its concentrates a good ingredient for food industry provided it is freed from gossypol. But it can be only as a supplementary source, being deficient in Lysine and Methionine, the two essential amino acids human body cannot make.

Bt Cotton varieties which have become popular in some countries are reported to be gossypol free but the genetically modified versions do not find favor as far as food use is concerned. Incorporation of the boll worm killing gene into the seed makes it a suspect candidate for use in foods. But major cotton producers that include China, India, the US, Uzbekistan and Brazil have adopted Bt Cotton probably because of its high yield potential. In the US same volume of cotton is produced to day from one third of the land that was cultivated two decades ago. Of course the world production of cotton estimated at 25 million tons can yield about 3 million tons each of proteins and oil. Gossypol is now being investigated for its properties to counter act malaria, as a contraceptive and development of anti-cancer drugs and such an approach if succeeds can make the technology for edible cotton seed flour more viable.

There are international specifications for edible grade cotton seed flour with upper limits prescribed for gossypol. Regarding the claim that bread, biscuits, break fast cereals, pancakes, etc can be made using blends of cotton seed flour and wheat or corn flour, it may be technically feasible but to make the products acceptable to consumers may not be that easy. While technologically cotton seed flour of edible grade can be made as per standard specifications, the cost factor may still hamper its widespread use by the industry in the foreseeable future, even if acceptable food products are developed.

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

THE PROTEIN CRUNCH-HOW ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS?

In a country like India where vegetarian food consumption is predominant, more by economic compulsions rather than preference, milk and legumes are the major sources of proteins in the diet. Cost wise milk proteins cost almost twice that from legumes and affordability is a factor to be reckoned with. Even the grain legumes which command almost 2-3 times the price of cereals are in short supply in the country, necessitating imports in large quantities. Most preferred legume in the country is the pigeon pea or Tur which is an important component of curries in the South as well as the North. There are others like Bengal gram, Green gram, Masoor, Dry pea, etc which are also used, though not every day. These legumes are normally milled into splits for making many traditional preparations though whole legumes are used directly also.

The normal daily protein need is estimated at 50-60 gm per day and more than half of this is met from legumes, balance coming from cereals and milk in a typical vegetarian diet. For consuming 25-30 gm of proteins a day, average legume consumption has to be about 125 to 150 gm for a person. Whole country's requirement can be met only if the annual availability is about 50 to 55 million tons where as in reality the production in the country never crossed beyond 20 million tons leaving a wide gap that needs to be bridged. With India becoming the diabetes capital of the world, importance of legume as a low glycemic food will assume more importance in the coming years. The current escalation in prices of legumes is scandalous with tur dal price crossing the Rs 100 per kg mark recently, probably because of large scale hoarding by traders, making it beyond the reach of most lower middle class consumers in the country.

Efforts in fifties, sixties and seventies of the last millennium to wean people away from legumes to some extent and meet their protein needs, oil seed cakes with more than 50% proteins in them were investigated as a supplement to the legume proteins but very little came out of such attempts as consumer acceptability became a problem. Advent cooker extruder technology made it possible to produce dal looking and behaving like natural dal. Work on leaf protein concentrates, single cell proteins and other non-conventional protein sources just became a part of history, again on account of poor acceptability. But further research on these aspects and more supportive state policies may yet resurrect this option in future under more compelling circumstances of large scale scarcity and unbearable economic burden on account of high prices.

Suggestions have been made regarding the possibility of exploiting wild and underutilized legumes which have emerged as cost-effective alternatives to the unreliable supply of animal-based protein in some of the developing nations where meat poultry and fish form important part of the diet. It is true that common legumes such as pigeon pea are available in limited quantities and it is unlikely the demand for these protein-rich sources, even if they are reasonably priced, can be met under the current production scenario. Focus is now on some of the natural but wild legumes which are not being adequately exploited. According to nutritionists some of these legumes that include Sesbania, Mucuna and Canavalia possess high nutritional value besides having some medicinal value also. But how far these obscure legumes which may be nutritionally similar to traditional legumes can be grown under the current agricultural practices and uncertainties regarding the economics, may still hamper any organized plans to encourage their cultivation. The processing parameters that can give good quality splits and doubts regarding consumer acceptability are other issues to be considered.

Increasing the protein content in staple cereals like rice and wheat through biotechnological intervention may be another long term option and necessary research tools are available with the scientists but in what way such "tampering" at genetic level will influence consumer acceptance is an issue that needs to be kept in mind. Unless the serious pulse crisis that faces India is addressed with high priority, the nutritional status of a large proportion of the population may reach crisis dimension in the coming years.

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