Wednesday, 28 August 2013

India’s Food Security Bill nears finishing line

28-Aug-2013

India’s controversial Food Security Bill has moved a step closer to reality after the country’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, approved the controversial Rs1.3lakh crore (US$20bn) plan to provide cheap grain to the poor – a key part of the ruling Congress party's strategy to win re-election next spring. 

Under the terms of the Bill, the government will sell subsidized wheat and rice to more than two-thirds of its 1.2 billion population.
India’s finances and it’s ability to meet the vast cost of the scheme has made it unpopular with many sections of society, while the government has been accused of being a cynical vote-winner ahead of next year’s general elections.
However, finance minister P Chindambaram was adamant that the nation can afford the scheme. 
"As the rollout takes place in different states on different dates, the money would be made available. In fact, after providing for the food security bill, we would still remain within the limits that were accepted in the Budget papers," he said.

A case of semantics: Snax biscuit brand denied trademark

By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn, 28-Aug-2013

Indian snack company Britannia Industries has lost a trademark battle for its Snax brand despite winning in a similar case against PepsiCo back in 2009.



Britannia, which said it has been using the brand name since 1965, has been denied the right to trademark its Snax biscuit brand name since it resembles too closely the word snacks.  
According to the final judgment of the Indian patent authority IPAB: "The trademark Snax is phonetically similar to the word snacks. Snacks means some light food. When a trademark has a direct reference to the quality of the goods for which registration is sought for such mark shall not be granted".
This rule is enforced in order to prevent one player from monopolizing the use of a common word that characterizes a good.
A history of trademark troubles
Britannia won a legal scuffle with PepsiCo in 2009 for use of the Britannia Snax trademark, yet was unsuccessful in this latest case, which claimed just the word Snax.
Britannia itself was in trouble back in 2011 when Kraft Foods sued it for trademark and copyright violations, claiming Britannia’s Treat-O biscuit was a copy of Kraft’s well-known Oreo biscuit.  
Spotlight on Indian economy
Media attention has focused on the Indian economy recently since its apparent resilience to the 2008 world economic crisis seems to be coming to an end. In the two years following this crisis the country recorded 9% GDP growth, yet in the past few weeks the value of the rupee has plummeted to a sixth of its value against the US dollar. 

India’s food industry laid low by increased wastage

By Ankush Chibber, 28-Aug-2013

India’s food production industry is being crushed under alarming post-harvest losses that may cross US$36bn in 2013-14, new research into the country’s agri-processing sector has revealed. 
According to the study done by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (Assocham), India is trailing only China when it comes to food production, but the country’s post-harvest losses continue to be a concern.
At least 30% of fruits and vegetables were rendered unfit for consumption due to spoilage after harvesting, negligent attitudes, absence of food processing units and the unavailability of modern cold storages. At present, only 22.3% of produced fruits and vegetable actually reach the wholesale market in India. 
Innovative mechanisms
India’s current levels of food processing continue to be low in perishable categories like fruits and vegetables [2-3%], poultry [6-8%] and fisheries [10-12%],” said Rana Kapoor, Assocham’s president. 
This can be turned around by adopting innovative institutional mechanisms to upscale both our warehousing and logistics infrastructure.”
He pointed to effective collaborations between the public and private sectors as one cure and sighted the “Vision 2015” plan put forth by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

FDA clearly ramping up scrutiny of Indian pharma businesses

By RJ Whitehead, 27-Aug-2013

With two more warning letters sent by the US drug regulator to Indian companies for violation of acceptable manufacturing practices, America has brought to six the number of India-based drugmaking facilities against which it has taken action over the past three months.

 

Moreover, these six warnings from the US Food and Drug Administration’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) account for almost two-thirds of all the letters it has sent out globally over that period. 
They seem excessively high when taken in the context of just 10 India-bound warning letters sent by the CDER between 2010 and 2012 - out of a global total of 130.
Targeting India
Given that many of these communications refer to established companies that operate under consistent practices, these numbers might indicate that the FDA has set out to target Indian companies.
Moreover, the US regulator is planning to grow the number of staff in its Indian bureaux to 19 from less than five in 2009, giving further evidence that the FDA plans to monitor Indian activities more closely.
Its two Indian offices, in Delhi and Mumbai, monitor the quality of foods and drugs made in India, the second largest drug exporter and the seventh largest food exporter to the US. Nearly one quarter of the spices, oils and food colourings used in the US comes from India, the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices globally.
In the most recent development, the CDER issued warning letters to Promed Exports and Posh Chemicals, accusing both companies of manufacturing violations. And, echoing the prominent cases of pharmaceutical majors Ranbaxy and Wokhardt earlier this year, the centre also suggested that Posh, which is headquartered in Hyderabad, had manipulated its data - a much more serious charge.

Research finds urban Indians have little time for healthy breakfasts

By RJ Whitehead,27-Aug-2013

Only 3% of Indians regard breakfast as an essential meal, nearly three-quarters do not eat an adequate breakfast each day and one in four skip it completely, according to a study sponsored by Kellogg’s.

Eighty-four per cent of all subjects felt that breakfast should be light and 91% preferred it to be home cooked. Seventy-nine per cent of the people surveyed felt that fruits were important for a balanced breakfast. 
The long-term research project by the Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science in Mumbai, began in 2009 and covered over 3,600 respondents between the ages of eight and 40 in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. It found that fears of weight gain and a lack of time in the morning fuelled Indians’ lack of focus on breakfast.
Not the most important meal of the day
"Even among those who eat breakfast, we found glaring deficits in nutrients as per the recommended dietary allowance
About 72% of the subjects are having nutritionally inadequate breakfast, especially in terms of iron and fibre intake," Malathi Sivaramkrishnan, research director at the institute said.
Among adolescents, it’s worse, with one in three skipping breakfast completely to control weight, said Sivaramkrishnan. Yet nutrients missed by skipping breakfast are not being compensated through other meals in the day.  
Residents of Kolkata were the most likely to miss out on a balanced breakfast, followed by Mumbai and Delhi, while those in Chennai opted for the most nutritious morning meal.

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Amul plans to enter cookie market, new plant coming up at Mogar, Anand

Tuesday, August 13, 2013 08:00 IST 
Abhitash Singh, Mumbai

The country's biggest dairy brand Amul has plans to venture into a new territory - the fast-growing cookie space - by setting up a plant to produce 20 tonne of cookies a day.

Interestingly, the big players in the cookie and biscuit sectors are not perturbed but seem to be happy with this development and feel that it will aid the growth of the overall market.

Speaking to FnB News, R S Sodhi, MD, Amul Dairy, said, “The cookies market is really growing, in fact, booming. We are planning, but it is at an initial stage and we can't reveal anything about it right now. We have been selling cookies in chocolate, multigrain, butter and coconut varieties for two years in the Anand region, catering to neighbouring markets of Ahmedabad and Vadodara in central Gujarat.”

Revealing the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of his new products, an optimistic Sodhi said, “Thinking about the long-term prospects we are looking at a 40 per cent annual growth for cookies, buns and bread that account for over Rs 20 crore. The USP of our cookies would be the use of Amul butter and consumers would like it.”

About the investment and the plant, Sodhi said, “The automated plant will be set up at Mogar in Anand. Since the planning is at initial stage, I can't say about the investment because we are not in a hurry to take our non-dairy business national.”

As for the overall market, Sodhi pointed out, “This segment is very competitive and is a low margin category. One has to put a lot of investment in branding too, though we succeeded during the test trials, we will have to wait and watch.”

Commenting on Amul’s plans, Parle Products group product manager B K Rao stated, “ The company is growing at a very rapid pace. The overall market for biscuits is Rs 15,000 crore. I am very much aware of the Amul entry into cookies market. Its entry into the market will expand the overall segment and there will be  very good competition.”

He added, “Our most of the packets are priced at Rs 5 and maximum Rs 15-20. If Amul sells for bigger price points, then it will not be easily accepted by the consumers.”

When asked about impact of Amul’s entry on Parle, Rao said, “Parle has already made its reach in the national market and it has been appreciated by everyone. Amul will be coming up with premium cookies, which will be priced at higher rates making it difficult for the consumer to buy. So I don't think Parle will get the heat, if Amul enters the biscuit market.”

Iqbal Singh, owner of Prince Food Products, Punjab, a biscuit manufacturer concluded, “The biscuit sector in India is of more than Rs 10,000 crore and there are many small and big players in the market and thus the entry of Amul in this segment will be beneficial for the biscuit industry.”


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India quicker than China to adopt private labels

By RJ Whitehead, 12-Aug-2013

India’s modern food retailers are adopting private labels at a faster pace than their counterparts in China - and in Europe before them - according to a new report from Rabobank, which says Indian retail reforms will likely boost the uptake of affordable private labels.

Rabobank examined private label products and found that growth in the segment is closely linked to the outlook for modern retail market penetration.
Last year, Indian regulators eased restrictions on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, encouraging growth in modern retail alongside India’s 8m traditional retailers. 
Gathering pace
Shiva Mudgil, an analyst for Rabobank’s food and agribusiness research and advisory in India, said: “While it took Europe 50 years to achieve 28% market penetration of private food labels in retail, Rabobank expects India and China to reach the same level in just 15 to 20 years.”
Rabobank believes that modern food retailing in India will reach 15% market share by 2020, and achieve 26% by 2025. At the same time, it expects the private label market share in modern retail to be around 10.5% in 2020, and reach 25% by 2030.
Currently, India’s modern retail market is relatively small, accounting for 6.5% of total food retail. But major national retailers such as Reliance Retail, Aditya Birla Retail and Bharti Retail, have private labels in food categories so we see significant growth potential,” added Mudgil.
Today private labels in India’s modern food retailers account for about 4.5% across all categories. However in staples like rice and wheat flour, it can be as high as 30% to 50%, due to high price sensitivity and low brand recognition,” he said.

Rising fish prices hurting India’s marine industry, says industry body

By Ankush Chibber, 12-Aug-2013

Wholesale fish prices in India have risen by a huge 131% over the last five years on the back of rapidly growing demand. 

And, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), this growth has been damaging the domestic fishing industry.
India's appetite for fish has reached new heights thanks to a combination of rising per-capita incomes, rapid urbanisation and ever-evolving eating patterns. 
Wholesale inland fish prices rose by a whopping 200% and marine fish prices rose by about 91% from 2008-09 to 2012-13,” said DS Rawat, National Secretary General of Assocham.
However, this growing demand is fast leading to depletion and over-exploitation of fish stocks in the country. Growth of fish production declined to half from about 7% in 2008-09 to just about 3.5% during 2012-13.
The index value of fish, which is the normalized average of prices for fish during a given interval of time and indicates its trading value as a commodity, was just over 126 during 2008-09 but rose past 291 as of 2012-13 with high wastage and spoilage of fisheries. This was due to a combination of factors like falling fish catch, lack of organised retail, an ailing distribution system, post-harvest losses and rising fuel costs.
Business of fishing fast becoming unviable
Rising fish prices have made the business financially unviable for the fishing community and all stakeholders, traders, processors and others involved in fishing-related ancillary operations,” said Rawat. 
Growing urbanisation and the advent of supermarkets has lead to the growth in fish consumption across India, but a lack of poor post-harvesting equipment, inadequate food processing technology and storage facilities is bleeding the fishing industry, and thereby significantly hampering its growth prospects,” he added.

Government groups target healthy food for India’s school canteens

By RJ Whitehead,12-Aug-2013

India’s central government has proposed initial moves to phase out the sale of unhealthy food in school canteens.

After submitting a set of draft guidelines of the items to be covered by the ban to the Delhi High Court, the Centre is expected to begin the move with schools in the capital. Judges there are expected to look into the report over the coming week.
Moreover, government agencies are also looking at way to highlight the benefits of consuming  healthy food through television and social media. 
‘Reckless habits’
The problem of obesity among children is on the rise mainly due to reckless dietary habits. Based on a study conducted by the health ministry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, we can say that junk food items such as burgers, pizzas, chips, fries, samosas, biscuits etc. sold rampantly in school and college canteens contain no vitamins or proteins and are instead high on salt, sugar and saturated fat
The food available in and around schools thus, must be nutritionally balanced,” the draft document reads.
Citing studies that indicate that reducing healthy food prices leads to a rise in their consumption, the guidelines added that school management and canteen committees should look at way to subsidise the prices of healthy food items and make sure they are prominently available around schools.
It also called for school canteens to come up with diversified diets with a judicious mix of a variety of food groups. “Cereals, millets and pulses must also included in food items available in canteens,” it said.

Thursday, 8 August 2013

India’s cardamom traders cheer lower prices with exports set to rise

By Raynah Coutinho, 07-Aug-2013

After a largely destroyed crop in 2012, cardamom planters have witnessed a bumper harvest this year. Yet while traders of other commodities normally cheer at higher market prices, those who deal with cardamom are now celebrating them going down.

Last week, the spice fell by Rs15.50 (US$0.25) to Rs658.70 (US$10.76) per kg in futures today as speculators booked profits at existing levels amid weak spot demand.

[Lower prices mean] there has been an increase in domestic as well as international demand for bolder varieties of cardamom,” says Hemen Ruparel, chief executive of Samex Agency, one of India’s spice majors. “This has opened up a host of opportunities.”

Housewives’ favourite
Cardamom is one of India’s most important spice ingredients, with a domestic market of 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes a year. But its use is heavily cost driven, meaning that Indian consumers are prepared to substitute bolder grades with inferior, lower-priced alternatives while using the same amount of pods. 

Indians, he says, prefer bolder grades for the feeling, flavour and aroma cardamom can give to traditional cooking. “Consumers associate cardamom with a feeling of richness in food. The bolder grades, which have a higher seed-husk ratio, impart a more intense taste to the product and hence this preference.

But when prices decline, consumers will go for better quality, rather than reduce costs by continuing with the cheaper kind. This shows that there is a preference for the bolder grades in the domestic market only when the prices are in a tolerable zone.” 
Of course, higher demand is pushing rates, and there is now a wide US$7.50 to US$8.00 difference between the lowest and highest grades that Samex sells. Stockists are being instructed to keep prices at this level in order to enjoy continued demand. 

Exports pick up

Keeping prices at the attractive and lucrative levels they are now at will have follow-on benefits, not least with exports likely to pick up. Ruparel estimates that India’s exports this year will touch at least 3,500 tonnes, whereas it only shipped around 1,500 tonnes last year despite a record 4,600 tonnes in 2011. The dip came after a poor crop, which in turn resulted in a production shortfall in the country. 

However the industry is evidently positive, banking on a good crop this time around, combined with just the right pricing and more awareness overseas, particularly in the Middle East, where it is commonly used in tea. 


FDA defines 'gluten-free' for food labeling

August 7, 2013
FDA defines 'gluten-free' for food labeling
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a new regulation in the Federal Register defining the term “gluten-free” for voluntary food labeling. This final rule will provide a uniform standard definition to help the up to 3 million Americans who have celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive condition that can be effectively managed only by eating a gluten-free diet.
“Adherence to a gluten-free diet is the key to treating celiac disease, which can be very disruptive to everyday life,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The FDA’s new gluten-free definition will help people with this condition make food choices with confidence and allow them to better manage their health.”
This new federal definition standardizes the meaning of gluten-free claims across the food industry. It requires that, in order to use the term gluten-free on its label, a food must meet all of the requirements of the definition, including that the food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten. The rule also requires foods with the claims “no gluten,” “free of gluten,” and “without gluten” to meet the definition for “gluten-free.”
The FDA recognizes that many foods currently labeled as “gluten-free” may be able to meet the new federal definition already. Food manufacturers will have a year after the rule is published to bring their labels into compliance with the new requirements.
“We encourage the food industry to come into compliance with the new definition as soon as possible and help us make it as easy as possible for people with celiac disease to identify foods that meet the federal definition of gluten-free, said Michael R. Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
The FDA was directed to issue the new regulation by the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), which directed FDA to set guidelines for the use of the term gluten-free to help people with celiac disease maintain a gluten-free diet

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Bihar incident, reminder to speed up action against pesticides: UN FAO

Thursday, August 01, 2013 08:00 IST 
Rome, Italy

The tragic incident in Bihar, where 23 school children died after eating a school meal contaminated with monocrotophos, is an important reminder to speed up the withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides from markets in developing countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday.

Monocrotophos is an organophosphorus pesticide that is considered highly hazardous by FAO and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Experience in many developing countries shows that the distribution and use of such highly toxic products very often poses a serious risk to human health and the environment.

The incident in Bihar underscores that secure storage of pesticide products and safe disposal of empty pesticide containers are risk reduction measures which are just as crucial as more prominent field-oriented steps like wearing proper protective masks and clothing.

The entire distribution and disposal cycle for highly hazardous pesticides carries significant risks. Safeguards are difficult to ensure in many countries.

Among international organisations, including FAO, the WHO and the World Bank, there is consensus that highly hazardous products should not be available to small-scale farmers who lack knowledge and the proper sprayers, protective gear and storage facilities to manage such products appropriately.

FAO therefore recommends that governments in developing countries should speed up the withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides from their markets.

Non-chemical and less toxic alternatives are available, and in many cases Integrated Pest Management can provide adequate pest management that is more sustainable and reduces the use of pesticides.

The International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, adopted by FAO member countries, establishes voluntary standards of conduct for all public and private entities involved in pesticide management. This Code has been broadly accepted as the main reference for responsible pesticide management.

The Code states that prohibiting the importation, distribution, sale and purchase of highly hazardous pesticides may be considered if, based on risk assessment, risk mitigation measures or good marketing practices, are insufficient to ensure that the product can be handled without unacceptable risk to humans and the environment.

For monocrotophos, many governments have concluded that prohibition is the only effective option to prevent harm to people and the environment. This pesticide is prohibited in Australia, China, the European Union and the United States, and in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America

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