Beverages & Food Processing Times

India’s Ist Fortnightly Newspaper For Beverages, Food & Allied Industries

Vol.4, Issue 19, July(I) 2012, Rs. 20/-

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Will ensure minimum damage to grain stocks: Food ministry

T

he food ministry assured the nation all efforts were being made to ensure foodgrains were not damaged because of improper storage.

This, despite the fact that due to poor storage facilities, 6.61 million tonnes remain vulnerable to the vagaries of the impending southwest monsoon.

“I can assure all the best efforts are being

made to ensure no grain is damaged in the monsoon,” Food Minister K V Thomas told reporters. He added of the total foodgrain stock in central pool, estimated at about 82 million tones, about 87 per cent was in safe storage facilities. The rest faced high risks, since it was stored in katcha facilities.

“We have prepared a comprehensive plan to ensure all the grain stored in katcha storage facilities is shifted from there at the earliest so that minimum grain is damaged,” Thomas said, adding 1.7 million tonnes would be shifted in June, and 1.6 million tonnes in July. In shifting the grain, those stored in low-lying areas would be given priority, followed by those stored in rice and sugar mills. Stocks in the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state governments would come next.

“By the end of July, almost half the highrisk stocks would be shifted before the monsoon hits the northern parts of the country in full steam, as most of these

stocks are in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana,” Thomas said. He added the remaining stocks would be shifted in phases, since these were not as vulnerable as the rest.

He said along with augmenting storage space through the Private Entrepreneurship Guarantee Scheme, under which the Centre plans to add 15 million tonnes of additional storage space (space for four million tonnes has already been constructed), it had also planned an initiative with the rural development ministry.

Under this, construction of grain storage facilities in villages and talukas would be carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

“We have, in principle, agreed to implement this programme. The finer details would be worked out soon,” he said.

Lamenting the fact that FCI had emerged the sole buyer of foodgrains in India in the

last few years (which led to storage woes), the minister said a policy needed to be formulated to correct this. “I have written to the prime minister to formulate a policy, as in the last few years, FCI purchased 8090 per cent of the grains coming to mandis.

A few years earlier, it was 25-30 per cent,” he said.

He added the recent decision of an empowered group of ministers to allocate an additional five million tonnes of grain for distribution through ration shops and three million tonnes for sale in the open market would also help create additional storage space. “We are working to make the scheme for open market sale more liberal, so that the entire allocated quantity is purchased by bulk consumers,” he said, adding he had written to all chief ministers to take their Public Distribution System allocation for six months at one go. He said he was willing to work with them to resolve financial concerns.

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Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

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Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Food & Drink

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Top 10 food and drink trends for 2012 1. Health and wellness Health and wellness is a trend which has had an over-arching influence on the developments of the food and beverage industry in recent years and this influence is set to continue into 2012. Key priorities for companies include the continued efforts to meet guidelines on the reduction of salt, fat and sugar as well as the active promotion of health benefits on products (ranging from 'one of your five a day' to more niche areas such as the inclusion of functional ingredients).

2. Sustainability There is a continued focus from companies on issues of sustainability and this is likely to be a present and influential trend for many years to come as companies work hard to streamline their practices and supply chains into more ethically-sound operations. This encompasses a whole range of issues including packagingreduction initiatives, ever-more ethical sourcing policies and reduction of food miles.

3. Convenience While we're engaging with food more than ever, our busy, chaotic lifestyles simply will not allow elaborate homecooked meals during the working week. In addition, the development of new 'ready meal' concepts in the form of meal kits and premium offerings ensure that choice and quality of prepared meals are like never before.

4. Flavour solutions Compensating for lower levels of salt, fat and/or sugar will continue to increase the need for more flavourful solutions. Combinations of herbs, spices and other strong flavours will provide a flavourful backdrop to many products – such as lemongrass, garlic and ginger or the use of seaweed as a salt enhancer.

5. 'Free from' foods market The crux of this market lies within the seemingly growing number of

consumers who do not have a diagnosed food allergy but do believe their general health improves with the omission of certain foodstuffs from their diet for example avoiding wheat/gluten to combat bloating.

Therein lies an opportunity for both mainstream manufacturers to highlight additional product benefits as well as allowing the traditional 'free from' brands to break the niche mould within which they've traditionally operated.

6. On-going demand for natural While the hype around the natural trend has dampened slightly, the effects are on-going particularly as larger multinationals weigh up the cost/benefit of switching to natural components (e.g. food colours, flavours). However, the practicalities have set in and companies now need to consider issues such as the sustainability of supply as well as the longevity of consumer demand in their particular product area (e.g. those product categories with inherent natural associations are likely to remain in demand).

7. The budget conscious still seek affordable luxuries Unrelenting pressure on household budgets will see retailers continue to flex their 'value for money' credentials, thus manufacturers will persist in their efforts to seek costeffective solutions. Conversely, however, food is seen as an affordable luxury and therefore lucrative opportunities do exist, for example in the form of 'staying in' solutions (such as meal kits) and more premium offerings.

8. Quality linked to location The demand towards locallyproduced and -sourced fresh food including meat, vegetables, fruit, and cheese has not abated and will continue into 2012. Secondly, more exotic ingredients such as Madagascan vanilla will also benefit from an overt provenance message.

The clear message is that location

helps to give consumers a distinct impression of the product's quality.

9. Over 55 and fitter than ever Longer working lives and a strong interest in maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle is leading to the creation of more products which are tailored to the specific needs and wants of these consumers. Health benefits will be at the forefront of the market and this will be a key area of development for the functional ingredients market in particular (think glucosamine for joint

health, and omega-3 products).

10. Softer claims EFSA regulations have taken the shine off the functional health market and the cost/benefit trade-off of substantiated EFSA claims is unlikely to provide a strong competitive edge in most cases.

Instead manufacturers will persist with seeking out a softer approach to deliver key messages to their consumers (within colour, imagery, and phraseology).

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

6-25 million tons of grain rot while 3000 child malnutrition deaths occur each day in India

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This is a case of criminal neglect by the government," said D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, an opposition group. "The ruling party has been the worst manager of the

demand-supply of food grains."

Officials say that, in all, about 6 million tonnes of grain worth at least $1.5 billion (955.5 million pounds) could perish.

Analysts say the losses could be far higher because more than 19 million tonnes are now lying in the open, exposed to searing summer heat and monsoon rains.

In India the government buys rice and wheat from farmers at a guaranteed price, a support system akin to the subsidies that led to Europe's notorious butter mountains and milk lakes.

Rajiv Tandon, a senior adviser for health and nutrition at aid organisation Save the Children in India, said that to diversify the country's food basket farmers should be offered incentives to grow vegetables and other cash crops.

However, he said root-and-branch modernisation is needed. The farm sector was transformed by the introduction of high-yielding seeds, fertilisers and irrigation during the Green Revolution nearly half a century ago, ending a dependence on imports, but it has seen only incremental reform ever since.

Storage is one of the biggest problems of all.

"For the last 25 years the storage capacity has not been upgraded at all," Tandon said.

"Part of the grain is officially stored outside store houses, where the chance of rotting is high. There are often not enough sacks and tarpaulins, and sometimes it is dumped by a graveyard or cremation centre."

A government-supported survey published earlier this year found that 42 percent of India's children under 5 are underweight, almost double that of sub-Saharan Africa.

The finding led Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to admit that malnutrition was "a national shame".

Food Grains News

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CCEA nod for export of wheat to create more storage space

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he Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved export of 2 million tonnes of wheat to create storage space for the new crop.

Minister's chief of economic advisory council, C Rangarajan, recommended exporting 2 million tonnes of wheat through state agencies and another 1 million tonnes

A floor price of Rs 12,400 per tonne has been set by the government for export, but considering the international market rates it could entail a subsidy upwards of Rs 1,000 crore.

The government paved the way for immediate export of 90,000 tonnes by the State Trading Corporation through its recent tender. The export of the rest of the foodgrains would be overseen by a panel headed by the commerce secretary.

India has already exported 1.3 million tonnes of grains so far, but the scare of monsoon destroying millions of tonnes of grains lying in the open in unscientific conditions made the government to opt for further batch of exports.

The decision was taken after the Prime

through private traders. He had also suggested 8 million tonnes of grains to be distributed to BPL and another 2 million tonnes to APL cardholders. He estimated the total subsidy bill to be around Rs 17,000 crore.

With a record procurement this year - above 38 million tonnes so far— the state and central storage agencies foresee a tough time in managing the grains that are overflowing as monsoon lashes across the country.

The attempt to offload grains on an ad-hoc basis through the public distribution system too is unlikely to yield results, with the states not keen to take increased allocations on a one-off basis.

The cause of this widespread malnutrition cannot be tied mechanically to a lack of staples like rice and wheat.

Many families living on less than $2 a day are fuelled and filled by subsidised

carbohydrate-rich food like wheat chapatis.

These lack the much-needed protein and other nutrients that come in more expensive food. Poor hygiene and contaminated water are also to blame because they cause illnesses like diarrhoea, which prevents nutrient absorption.

Still, there are real grain shortages in the poorest states.

Here the problem is an inefficient and corruption-prone distribution system.

Eighteen months ago investigators said millions of dollars worth of grain meant for poor families had been siphoned off and sold locally and abroad in a scam involving hundreds of government officials.

In 2010 the Supreme Court urged the government to distribute grain free to the hungry rather than let it go to waste in warehouses and open fields, but that hasn't happened.

This is because state governments are reluctant to buy extra grain for distribution under the food welfare programme and, even if they were, only people with underthe-poverty-line ration cards would be entitled to buy it in subsidised shops.

"The problem of rotting grains and the poor going hungry lies in the system itself," said Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser on food issues to the court.

The government is now planning a food security scheme that will guarantee cheap grain to 63.5 percent of the population.

However, critics see this as political gimmickry. They doubt that the new scheme will be less corrupt, more efficient or better targeted than current programmes, and they suspect that the government will not be able to afford a plan that may cost as much as $12 billion in additional subsidies a year.

India planning to export 2 million tonnes of wheat

I

ndia is planning to export two million tonnes of wheat from government stock involving a subsidy of Rs 1,000 crore and a decision in this regard is expected soon.

The proposal is to be taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) shortly as part of government's moves to offload food grains in view of storage crunch in the country, sources told.

At present, the government has food grains stock of 82 million tonnes as of June one against the storage capacity of only 63 million tonnes.

Sources said the export of two million tonnes of wheat would entail a subsidy of around Rs 1000 crore as the cost of the food grain in international market is lesser than in India.

In an effort to test the interest of global

buyers in Indian wheat stock, state-owned trading firm STC, under the Commerce Ministry, had recently floated a tender and about six-seven bids have been received.

The export proposal is based on the recommendation made by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman Dr C Rangarajan.

The government is in the process of shedding some excess food grains rather than allow these to decay for lack of proper storage.

The Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee, recently decided to offload an additional eight million tonnes of rice and wheat to BPL families and bulk users at subsidised rates, costing Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer.

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

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Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Organic Food

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The Whole Story About Whole Foods Market

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rganic food has become the mantra of consumers who are aware of the dangers of pesticides, chemicals and hormones used in the growing and processing practices of the commercial food industry. Many of us have come to trust stores making the implied agreement with us that the food they are selling is largely organic, pure and free from pesticides, chemicals and hormones. We enjoy those stores where we can revel in nature's bounty, enjoy righteous culinary delights, and take home whatever appeals to us because we're sure it's also good for us. Unfortunately, the merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats may be a signal that it's time to take off the rose colored glasses.

Behind the Merger It came as no surprise that this merger was allowed even though it effectively wiped out the major competition in the organic market segment. The surprise involved the bizarre, pseudonymous behavior of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey during the six years between the first offer Whole Foods made to acquire Wild Oats, which was rebuffed, and the second offer made in February, 2007.

During those years Mackey posted almost daily on the Yahoo message board for Wild Oats' stock under the name of "Rahodeb" (an anagram of his wife's name). In these posts he belittled Wild Oats whenever its stock price rose, without disclosing who he was. In a post written in March of 2006, Mackey as Rahodeb said, "Whole Foods says they will open 25 stores in OATS territories in the next 2 years. The end game is now underway for OATs... Whole Foods is systematically destroying their viability as a business - market by market, city by city."

These posts were designed to keep down the price of Wild Oats shares. The lower the Wild Oats stock price, the sweeter would be the merger price for Whole Foods.

Mackey's efforts to hold down the price may have also helped create pressure by OATS shareholders for their board to accept the depressed bid when it finally came. This sort of conventional commitment to the bottom line belies the feel-good healthy vibes pumped out by the Whole Foods publicity department, and it smacks of the behavior of more traditional corporate scoundrels.

Whole Foods: Image vs. Reality Mackey has had great success at marketing Whole Foods to the typical affluent, welleducated, liberal organic supermarket customer. This is a lifestyle customer with a need to feel that he or she is contributing to the betterment of himself, mankind and the earth.

But it is harder than ever to make the case that shopping at Whole Foods is socially commendable. Whole Foods has faced well-deserved criticism for the effects it has on the environment, and its employees. In Michael Pollan's bestseller, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he describes Whole Foods as an "industrial organic" company that has done away with the counter-cuisine and local distribution that were the center of the 1960's back-to-nature movement. As Pollan points out, there is nothing environmentally friendly or health conscious about Whole Food's practice of flying asparagus from Argentina in January.

Whole Foods has responded to criticism by

by Barbara L. Minton initiating programs to fund low-interest range, vegetarian fed, rBGH free, pastured loans to local farmers, and put farmer's or organic, although it does carry some market space in their parking lots. Followorganic meats. The word 'naturally' is not through on this initiative has been minimal defined, nor does it have an industry although the store windows have been standard definition. As applied to meat and plastered with posters extolling the benefits poultry it can apparently mean anything of eating locally grown foods and from 'free of all chemical additives' to 'not spotlighting individual farmers. born with two heads'.

But again, as one tours the produce section For produce the quality standard is there is the perception that image and "colorful and lovingly stacked". Clearly reality are quite different. In displays of Whole Foods shines in its variety of fresh largesse, fruits and vegetables are heaped organic fruits and vegetables, most of into towering displays. Most of them have which has come a long distance from large tags declaring their points of origin, and corporate farms. There is little locally these points are California and Mexico for grown produce. Along side the organics are the most part, no matter where the store is colorful and lovingly stacked conventional

located, no matter what the season.

Labor unions are also upset with Mackey.

Although the image of the stores is abundance, bounty and the good life, Whole Foods is the second largest union-free food retailer, behind Wal-Mart. In its twentyseven year history, only its store in Madison, Wisconsin successfully unionized, and that fell apart with no contract to show for the efforts of workers.

Whole Foods has taken the position that unions are not valid, and has a pamphlet to give workers titled "Beyond Unions". The chain has also fended off unionizing attempts in Berkeley, California; St. Paul Minnesota; and Falls Church, Virginia.

Quality Standards at Whole Foods According to the Quality Standards page of the store's website, Whole Foods features products that are "natural", meaning "free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated oils". It does not claim that all their products are free of such ingredients, just the featured products. They claim commitment to foods that are fresh, wholesome and safe to eat. This is the extent of the quality pledge the store makes to its customers. It does not claim that all the foods it sells are organic or free of everything troublesome.

There is an extensive Unacceptable Food Ingredients list posted on the website, and the impression is that these ingredients are not to be found in any foods sold at Whole Foods. Notably missing from this list is any mention of recombinant bovine growth hormone.

The quality standard for meat and poultry is "best tasting, freshest and most wholesome, naturally raised meat available". There is no promise that its meat and poultry is free

fruits and vegetables, priced as though they were organic.

Whole Foods conventional produce is grown under the same conditions as produce at the 'regular' supermarkets. This means it may be grown in depleted soil and fertilized with chemical fertilizers. Unless conventional produce is tagged as being pesticide free, it probably isn't. And remember that other countries do not generally have the level of laws restricting the use of extremely toxic chemicals on produce that are in force in the US. Growers will tend to use the most cost effective pesticides rather than the least harmful.

Grocery items including cleaning products, pet foods, dairy and bulk are held to the standard of being "natural". Many grocery items contain organic ingredients. Some of them are formulated identically with items sold at 'regular' stores, but sell at much higher prices.

Many of the canned or boxed items such as, soups, chili, stews, gravies, and prepared frozen or boxed entrees and meals contain MSG although it is on Whole Foods list of unacceptable food ingredients. Because MSG is so ubiquitous in formulations, you can suspect its presence in large numbers of bagged, bottled, frozen or canned foods at all stores including Whole Foods, but it is often hidden under another name. When you see any of these ingredients, you know the product contains MSG: * Vegetable Protein Extract * Gelatin * Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein * Autolyzed Vegetable Protein * Textured Vegetable Protein * Yeast Extract

* Autolyzed Yeast Extract * Sodium Caseinate * Calcium Caseinate * Soup Base * Textured Whey Protein Foods containing these ingredients often contain MSG: * Malted Barley * Maltodextrin * Broth * Bouillon * Carrageenan * Protein Isolate * Pectin * Enzymes * Seasonings * Spices * Soy Protein or Soy Protein Isolates * Cornstarch * Rice or Oat Protein * and anything fermented or modified with enzymes None of these appear on the unacceptable food ingredients' page. Apparently if it's called something else, MSG is acceptable at Whole Foods.

Dairy products may or may not contain rBGH. The ones that don't are displayed next to the ones that do. Some are organic, some are not.

Bakery items contain no bleached or bromated flour. Many do contain processed white sugar.

Personal care products contain many of the ingredients listed on the unacceptable food ingredients' list. Apparently if it enters your body through the skin instead of the mouth it is okay with them.

The crown jewel of Whole Foods is probably its hot and cold prepared foods.

Again, the quality standard for these foods is the nebulous word 'natural'. There are no artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, or synthetic preservatives in their prepared foods.

The salad bar contains a few organic items, denoted by red tongs. Most items on the salad bar are conventional, the kind that are found in salad bars everywhere.

The deli dishes as well as those on the hot bar are also made to the 'natural' standard.

They contain almost no organic ingredients.

Some contain MSG in the form of vegetable/beef/chicken stock, or hydrolyzed vegetable proteins. Many are liberally laced with canola oil.

What it All Means Whole Foods is a Fortune 500 Company, a huge and highly profitable corporation that owes its allegiance to its shareholders. As every good corporation yearns to do, Whole Foods is exploiting a niche market in which it is the only big player. Since it has cleared the field of major competitors, it is free to raise prices and reduce quality. But if prices go too high or quality too low, another competitor will come along. This is the way of big business. That the schism between image and reality may be less at Whole Foods than at many corporations is of some comfort.

About the author Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a breast cancer survivor using "alternative" treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Event News

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International FoodTec India & PackEx India 2012 promises to be BIGGER & BETTER

I

ndia – The Growing Economy As the world's largest democracy and a rising power, India has begun to play a bigger role on the global stage. As an emerging economy the country has experienced unprecedented levels of economic expansion, alongside China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil. India is a cost-effective and labor-intensive economy with a strong manufacturing and export-oriented industrial framework. India has the 2nd largest GDP among emerging economies based on purchasing power parity (PPP), which is USD 4.19 Trillion and is the 4th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

Food Industry – A recession proof sector due to huge domestic consumption in the country India's food processing industry is a dominant segment of the food industry with a share of 32%. India is the world's 2nd largest producer of food, next to China.

While India has abundant food supply by being world's largest producer of cereals and milk and 2nd largest producer of rice, wheat, sugar, fruits and vegetables and inland fish, only 2% of fruits and vegetables and 15% of milk is actually processed which exposes huge potential for the processing technology in this sector.

Despite this, the food processing industry

ranks 5th in size, contributing 6.3% to GDP, 19% to India's Industrial force and 13% to exports.

Indian Packaging Industry – Poised for a fast growth Alongside all the major sectors packaging industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors with an obvious direct or indirect influence on all other industries.

The total worth of the Indian packaging industry is about USD 13 billion, which is expected to grow to about USD 14.5 billion by 2015. The industry's average annual growth rate stands at around 13-15%. With India's per capita consumption of packaging at 1.3 kg, which is very less compared to Asian neighbors like China and Taiwan showing 6 kg and 19 kg respectively. This reflects the great potential for business opportunities in the Indian Packaging industry. Growth in the Indian packaging industry is backed by a number of factors including enormous domestic consumption of food, beverages, agriculture products, pharmaceuticals, FMCG products, etc. and supported by the growing middle-class, increasing consumer purchasing power and a boom in the retail sector.

Press Release The Trade Fair

Keeping in view the immense business potential being offered by these sectors and with an objective to create best of the platforms to discuss and deliberate the latest technological developments for these two sectors, Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd., an Indian subsidiary of one of the world's leading trade fair organizers Koelnmesse GmbH, Germany will be organizing 8th edition of International FoodTec India – International Exhibition on Food Processing and Packaging along with its concurrent exhibition PackEx India – International Exhibition on Packaging Material, Technology, Equipment and Supplies scheduled to be held from Sep. 11 – 13, 2012 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.

Retrospect 2010 The previous edition held in 2010 became a landmark event for Indian Packaging and Food Technology sector with 366 companies exhibiting their products and services including 108 international companies and the exhibition was spread over an area of 20000 sq. mt. 12142 trade visitors from the relative industry sectors from India and abroad witnessed these products and services on offer.

PackEx India 2012 & International

FoodTec India 2012 – Bigger & Better Continuing the success trends of 2010 edition PackEx India 2012 and International FoodTec India 2012 are receiving an overwhelming participation response from both national and international companies with confirmed pavilions from Germany, Italy, France, Europe, China and Taiwan. With over 40% international participation, the exhibition is expected to be the meeting place for “Who is Who” of Packaging user industries and food & beverage processing industry.

With Industry leaders participating in the exhibition including companies like ACG Worldwide; Bosch Packaging; Heat & Control; Ishida; Veripack; IMA Industries; ITW India; Siemens; Beckhoff; Nichrome; Sanko Machinery; Shanghai Precise; IDMC; Hitachi; Buhler; Multivac; Habasit Ikoka; Reda; Diversey India; Sealed Air; Azo GmbH; FASA; Krueger & Salecker; CFS; GIMA; Sacmi Filling Spa; Sanko Machinery, Sapal SA; Visys NV; Domino Printech; Ecobliss; Videojet; Can Pack; Hindustan National Glass; Wraptech Machines; Kris Flexipack; Pragati Pack; Parksons Packaging; and many more, the exhibition will be one stop solution for all processing and packaging needs with live demonstrations of machines from over 100 companies from world over.

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Food Ingredints

8

How do antioxidants stack up as beauty food ingredients?

Y

ou can always tell the age of a woman by her neck and hands,” says Karina Bedrack, sales and marketing manager with LycoRed. “You can use a face cream but only an inside-out approach to beauty has an overall effect on the skin on the whole body – not just the face.”

This statement captures the essence of nutricosmetics and illustrates why consumers are increasingly buying into the concept of ingestible beauty products.

According to Euromonitor, nutricosmetics have become a $4 billion market globally and sales are expected to hit $5 billion by 2015.

However by far the largest growth is coming from Japan and China which between them account for over $3 billion of the market, while Europe is under-performing.

This is backed up by data from Mintel, which found that new beauty food introductions in Europe peaked in 2009, with just under 40 launches and have since fallen year-on-year – there were just 18 introductions in 2012.

Mintel's David Jago blames the health and nutrition claims regulation for thwarting innovation. “The obvious explanation is the EFSA regulation – everyone has become very wary of claims being made,” he says. “I hope it is just a temporary blip but it is still a grey area and companies are nervous of making anything other than bog standard claims.”

Anti-ageing defies downturn Interestingly, within the skin-care market, anti-ageing products have proved particularly resilient to recession, according to Ewa Hudson, global head of health and wellness research with Euromonitor, and she suggests this could also be a lucrative avenue for nutricosmetics.

Bruno Baudoin, global manager of DSM Nutrition Products' 'nourish your beauty' business, shares her view.

“The European population is ageing and this, combined with the health and wellness trend, means consumers are increasingly likely to seek products to slow down the skin-ageing process,” he says.

The dietary supplements market seems to have already latched onto this opportunity. In the UK, for example, Unilever has launched an anti-wrinkle supplement branded 'Strength Within' which it claims is clinically proven to

reduce lines and wrinkles, thanks to a combination of lycopene, vitamins C and E, soy isoflavones and omega-3 fatty acids.

But what works in supplements won't always work in food, as Aurore DeMonclin, Healthy Marketing Team's beauty-from-within consultant, points out: “When it comes to food, people look for ingredients that sound safe to eat and as natural as possible. In supplements, you can get away with

Leatherhead's marketing intelligence manager. Other categories are also making beauty claims, such as chocolate because of the purp-orted antioxidative benefits of the naturally present polyphenols.”

Examples of products with a beauty positioning based on their antioxidant content from Mintel's Global New Products Database include Together Drinks' Açai Age Defence drink. The UK producer is claiming the powerful

adding more scientific-sounding ingredients such as CoQ10.”

antioxidants found in the berries in its one-a-day drink 'help fight the effects of free radicals caused by toxins in the body and in turn slow the ageing process'.

In April this year, Brazilian entrepreneur Cristiana Arcangeli brought her Beauty'in beauty candy to the French market. According to the marketing, nutrients in the candy such as collagen and vitamins provide for 'renewal, hydration and cellular protection'. In Austria, meanwhile, Nöm's Forever Young Superfruit Drink is said to contain healthy antioxidants from acerola cherries to fight free radicals and premature ageing.

These claims are all pretty strong and, in the current climate, it is unlikely that many manufacturers would want to risk such bold statements unless they could really be confident of their legality and credibility.

Antioxidant appeal Antioxidants are arguably one of the most consumer-friendly groups of ingredients on which to base a skinhealth or anti-ageing nutricosmetic.

Most consumers are familiar with antioxidants from the cosmetic market, even if they don't fully understand them. The term 'antioxidant' is also scientific sounding enough to be credible but not so technical as to be off-putting.

“General awareness of antioxidants is quite high today – almost everyone knows what antioxidants are; that they help against oxidative stress and improve your immune system,” says Bedrack.

Although innovation in nutricosmetics has stalled in the last few years antioxidants continue to feature as a key ingredient in beauty foods, particularly to communicate antiageing and skin-health benefits.

“Superfruit berries such as pomegranate and açai feature heavily especially in drinks,” says Matt Incles,

Sound science?

So what science is there linking antioxidants to beauty benefits and what on-pack claims can be made?

As Matt Incles explains, the body is endowed with a number of antioxidant

systems with the ability to readily quench free radicals and repair the resulting damage. The idea of replenishing or topping up the body with dietary antioxidant to prevent free-radical damage is the key point behind this approach.

However the scientific evidence to support this theory is limited.

“Although we know free-radical damage is linked to ageing it is hard to make the scientific link between eating antioxidants and a visible benefit,” says Incles. “There is great interest in antiageing substances derived from food and the most popular ingredients are polyphenol and carotenoids. The antioxidant capacity of a food has often been associated with a higher concentration in a fruit that has led to the classification of superfruits. But the presence of antioxidants in the food, the amount available in the fruit, as well as any measured capacity to scavenge antioxidant in vitro, is only a predictor of a benefit that cannot easily be proved in the body.”

In other words, just because an ingredient demonstrates high antioxidant activity in vitro, that doesn't tell you how it will behave in the human body.

ORAC is a widely accepted means of measuring the antioxidant capacity of an ingredient. According to Dr JeanMarie Bard, scientific consultant for contract research organisation Biofortis, most of the ingredients with the best ORAC results are extracts of flowers, vegetables and fruits, including cocoa and tea, rich in phenolic compounds, flavonoids, flavanols and anthocyanidols.

“Some of these extracts may yield results of 10-15 times those obtained with vitamin E as a reference,” he says.

However, he emphasises that ORAC tests do not say if the ingredient will effectively reduce oxidative stress in vivo.

“If a company wants to make a claim, there is no chance of success without a clinical study run according to Good Clinical Practice,” he says. “In this clinical study, it is absolutely necessary to measure one or several biomarkers of the oxidative stress in vivo.”

After 30 years of researching polyphenols, Peter Hollman, associate professor nutrition and heath at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, has come to the

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012 conclusion that they don't work as antioxidants when ingested in foods and supplements.

“The antioxidant capacity of a pure polyphenol is determined in a test tube,” he explains. “To be of use for hair, skin and so on, the polyphenol has to be absorbed by the body and only a fraction of the compound will reach the specific tissues. In addition, upon absorption, polyphenols are extensively metabolised which will change their antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant capacity values of polyphenols do not take into account absorption and metabolism, hence there will be no relation between antioxidant capacity and skin health.”

With regards to carotenoids, according to Professor Wilhelm Stahl, of Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, various small human studies have shown that carotenoids prevent UVinduced inflammation.

“Such photo-protective effects have been demonstrated for beta-carotene, lycopene, canthaxanthin and lutein,” he says.

As for the mechanism behind the photo-protective effects of the carotenoids, there is no conclusive evidence that it is due to their antioxidant capacity.

“Carotenoids are efficient antioxidants and it is assumed that their photoprotective properties are linked to this effect. However vitamin A-related pathways, impact on cell signalling or membrane effects may be operative,” he explains.

fully understand how antioxidants work in the body but EFSA has nevertheless issued some positive antioxidant-related general function health claims which could potentially be used on beauty foods.

Products containing copper, riboflavin (vitamin B2), selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc can claim that the nutrient 'contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress'; and products containing olive oil can claim 'olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress'. In addition, article 13.1 claims relating to selenium and

Food Ingredints

zinc (in relation to their contribution to maintenance of normal nails), vitamins A and C and zinc (in relation to their contribution to maintenance of normal hair), have also received favourable opinions.

However as Dr Mary Gilsenan, head of regulatory services at Leatherhead, points out: “the question of whether claims relating to beauty are within the scope of the EU nutrition & health claims regulation has been raised many times during meetings between the European Commission and representatives from member states, but there has been no consensus on this

Positive opinions More investigation is clearly needed to

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to date and we await further guidance from the commission.”

It is not surprising, therefore, that companies are shying away from making hard claims. And even when the commission does clarify whether the regulation extends to nutricosmetics, Mintel's Jago thinks companies will stick with soft, generic claims.

“I think the language will be safer – companies won't talk about beauty – they will talk about nourishing hair and skin,” he says.

No claims necessary?

In some ways, the outcome of the health claims regulation is immaterial for beauty foods positioned on an antioxidant platform as consumers are drawing their own conclusions based on other influences.

“The amount of information on antioxidants and health – especially beauty – that is out in the market, in women's magazines, on the news, is huge, compensating for the fact you can't make a health claim on your product – you don't need to,” says Aurore DeMonclin from Healthy Marketing Team.

She cites Dr Brandt's detoxifying antioxidant water booster goji-maqui as an example of a product that has no need for a claim because it has pictures of berries all over the bottle.

“Antioxidant is more of a belief driven proposition. You cannot feel the immediate physical benefit. It is more intellectual and emotional – you believe you are better because you know berries – antioxidants – are good for you,” says DeMonclin.

Traditional Chinese Food Ingredients Prevent Breast Cancer

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wo foods commonly eaten as part of the traditional Chinese diet can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer by as much as 90 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Western Australia in Perth, and published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Researchers compared consumption of mushrooms and green tea between two groups of Chinese women, one with breast cancer and one without. They found that women who ate at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of fresh mushrooms per day had a 64 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who did not eat as much.

Those who also regularly drankgreen tea reduced their risk by a total of 90 percent. Dried mushrooms also reduced breast cancer risk, although they were not as effective as fresh ones.

The protective benefit of mushrooms and green tea remained significant even after researchers adjusted for other

Western countries, a fact widely attributed to a different lifestyle.

"Breast cancer incidence rates do vary

breast cancer risk factors, including weight, exercise, smoking and education level.

Breast cancer rates are four to five times lower in China than in most

in different countries, and China has lower rates than the United Kingdom," said Sarah Cant of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. "This is likely to be due to cultural and lifestyle differences such

as having children earlier or exercising more [as well as diet]."

Previous research has supported the cancer-fighting properties of both mushrooms and green tea. Mushrooms are believed to suppress tumor growth and boost the immune system, and may also block production of the hormone estrogen. Green tea contains polyphenols, which have been shown to remove free radicals from the blood and hamper breast tumor development.

Julie Sharp of Cancer Research UK noted that mushrooms and green tea alone cannot make up for an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.

"It is important to remember there is no one particular 'super' food that will protect you from cancer," she said.

"Large scientific studies have proven that the best way to reduce your risk of many cancers is to eat a healthy balanced diet."

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Organic Food

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We debate: Is organic food healthy?

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any people prefer organic food because they want to avoid conventional pesticides and colouring/flavouring agents, along with the idea of propagating environmental-friendly practices.

This has created a popular belief that organic foods are healthier than nonorganic foods. Recently, however, experts have questioned organic food's claim of being a healthier option. Some research suggests that organic food's healthier status is more perceived than real. Today, with expert inputs from Sheela Krishnaswamy Bangalore-based registered dietitian and wellness consultant, and Neelanjana Singh - Chief Nutritionist, Heinz Nutrition Foundation India (HNFI), we tell you whether organic food is indeed healthy,

superior, greener or more beneficial than non-organic foods.

First of all, let's understand the answer to this question: What are organic foods?

As per perception, organic food is food produced without the use of chemicals, pesticides and other synthetic formulae to maintain natural goodness. In reality, the term 'organic' refers to a broader scope of the way agricultural products are grown and processed. For a food item to be organic, it has to grow on safe soil, devoid of modification, and must remain separate from conventional chemicals. If the food item is 100% authentically organic, it is grown without the use of bio-engineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, synthetic pesticides and sewage sludge-based

fertilizers.

People may think that organic food is healthier when compared to conventional foods, because of the following reasons: Pure organic food is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals. If chemicals are used, they are supposed to be the natural kind.

Organic food is supposed to go through fewer stages of processing.

It is believed that only the food items, which are 100% organic, taste better because they are grown in a natural manner.

Organic foods are grown through the process of organic farming where the norms of wildlife are respected, and the focus is on water, soil and resource management.

Organic food and environmental factors.

This is one area that organic food seems to trump. Sheela Krishnaswamy says, "This can be seen through an environmental perspective. Organic foods certainly benefit the environment. Also, any chemical going into the human body through non-organic foods is bound to have a reaction. The kind of reaction, intensity, duration and time lapse between ingestion and reaction will depend entirely on the individual and his health status." Singh says that one cannot deny the fact that organic foods do not contain residues of harmful pesticides. She says, "Environment safety is a concern with the use of pesticides and fertilizers as these pollute the soil, water and air. A safer environment is an asset for future generations. In organic farms, the animals are treated better and are kept in a more natural environment. They are given natural feeds without being injected with growth hormones, antibiotics etc, unlike in the production of non-organic foods."

Now that we know the health factors linked with organic foods, let us find out if it is actually healthier than non-organic food.

Over the last decade, health studies have evaluated the nutritional differences between organic and non-organic food. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition review found that these nutritional difference are minute. The man who led the review, Public Health Nutritionist - Dr Alan Dangour, said, "This is the first time all this evidence has been brought together under one single study. Organic food is no worse than conventional but there is certainly no reason for suggesting organic food has a superior nutritional content." [Via] "Nothing is conclusive yet as far the health factor of organic food is concerned", adds Sheela Krishnaswamy. She says, "Although organic supporters claim that there's more nutrition in organic foods, unless the soil nutrition profile improves, the plant nutrition profile will not. As of now, there seems to be no major nutritional difference between organic and non-organic foods."

Singh believes that more research is needed in this area and that the future may reveal new facts. "So far, based on 50 years of scientific evidence, there does not appear to be any marked difference between the two in terms of nutritional content/quality.

However, a few studies have shown that organic milk and organic tomatoes have a higher content of certain antioxidants," says Singh. (Via - The Independent) In our second post of this two-part series on 'Is Organic Food Healthy?' we will delve deeper into sustainable organic practices, harmful effects of overexposure to pesticides and the right way of buying organic food.

Expert Credits: Sheela Krishnaswamy is a Bangalore-based Registered Dietitian and Wellness Consultant, with a passion to promote healthy eating. She has nearly 30 years of professional experience in clinical nutrition, corporate healthcare, public speaking and writing.

Neelanjana Singh is the Chief Nutritionist at Heinz Nutrition Foundation India (HNFI). She believes that people get confused by too many unverified pseudoscientific theories and strongly propagates practical dietary solutions to health as well as weight problems afflicting both the young and the elderly.

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

News

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Private label is big business capacity.

If you can't beat them, join them One option is to adopt an 'if you can't beat them, join them' approach and move into producing private label products as well but it is a risky strategy, says the report.

As the pressure on smaller, second-tier suppliers rises, many will look to private label goods as a way to retain their scale and make the best use of their production facilities. By locking in new private label supply contracts, they may be able to offset, or at least alleviate, the pressure on their branded production volumes.

However, while this may work in the short term, it is not as straightforward a strategy as it might appear, says Rabobank.

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rivate label will double its market share to half of all goods sold in supermarkets by 2025.

This represents a challenge and an opportunity to the food industry.

That's the conclusion of a new report

by Rabobank, the Netherlands-based financial services group.

The Producing Both Brands and Private Label report says that coproduction of B-brands ('second tier' brands) and private label is a fairly

risky strategy which can pay off but only if the private label part of the business is economically viable on its own and is fully embedded in the supplier's strategy.

These B-brands already suffer from overcapacity, according to Rabobank, and being able to make the most efficient use of their assets is crucial to their profitability. As a result they will have to focus on cutting costs and find new strategies to maintain production

The dual-tracking approach The danger for those that adopt a dualtracking approach, as the strategy is known, is that they weaken their bargaining position in relation to their branded products which rests on the information asymmetry between supplier and retailer as to the supplier's cost base, pricing structure, and innovation pipeline.

Private label suppliers have to disclose more of this information, so dual trackers may find their negotiation position undermined with potentially

detrimental impact on their profitability levels and brand power.

Successful negotiating strategies include: Firewalls: By using completely independent sales teams, activity-based cost accounting or splitting the branded and private label businesses by geography and/or market segment, the brand and private label production can coexist, allowing the dual tracker to benefit from the economies of scale but making it difficult for food retailers to back them into a corner.

Opportunistic: Brand suppliers may fill spare production capacity on an ad hoc basis. This makes it difficult for a food retailer to get a grip on the dual tracker but it can increase earnings volatility.

Defensive: A private label specialist may be using fancy brands to augment the overall product offering and facilitate the needs of specific customers. Typically, the supplier is not supporting these fancy brands with any marketing effort.

Category Management: Consumer knowledge of the brand supplier may prove a valuable asset in order to maximize the shelf return for the food retailer by offering different price points, creating a win-win situation for both retailer and brand supplier.

India's grains stocks at record high, exposed to rot

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ndia's wheat stocks at government warehouses surged to a record 50.2 million tonnes on June 1, well above the official target of 4.0 million tonnes for the quarter ending June 30, government sources said.

Rice inventory for the same period was 32.1 million tonnes against a target of 12.2 million tonnes. The government has an extra 3 million tonnes of wheat and 2 million tonnes of rice as strategic reserves over and above the monthly stocks.

Much of the grains are left out in the open exposed to potential rot as staterun warehouses can store only 63 million tonnes against the total 82.4 million tonnes of current stocks, which includes some coarse grains such as

millets.

The government aims to add up to 4 million tonnes of storage capacity by the end of June, one government source has said, still leaving a gap of 8 million tonnes.

The government's storage problem has worsened as farmers have just finished harvesting a record crop, forecast to be 90.23 million tonnes in 2012. Demand runs at about 76 million tonnes a year.

A sharp rise in the price the government pays to buy wheat from local farmers

has led to bin-bursting harvests since 2007, exacerbating storage problems in the world's second-biggest wheat producer.

The government has raised the price it pays to buy wheat by more than 70 percent since 2007.

Overflowing grain bins forced India to lift a four-year old ban on exports in September but lower global prices scuppered efforts to trim bulging stocks, forcing the government to store wheat under tarpaulin and exposing the grain to rot and decay.

Beverages & Food Processing Times-July-I-2012

Indian food processing firms toseek business s ynergies in Ghana

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ood processing companies and allied firms have all geared up to make a new partnership in Ghana, the new business partner in West Africa. More than 100 companies including health, IT, ITES, telecom & financial services, value added manufacturing including mining and minerals, energy, infrastructure, construction, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, science & technology, textiles and education are expected to seek business opportunities in their three-day visit in India show to Accra, a major city of Ghana from July 9.

Led by Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Chairman and CEO of Sun Group, the FICCI business delegation will be participating in this show to promote

Indian business strength in West Africa.

India's trade with Africa has risen from US$ 25 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 53.3 billion in 2010-11. India's exports to Africa have risen from US$ 10.3 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 20.9 billion in 2010-11, primarily due to increase in exports of transport equipment and petroleum products.

India has signed trade agreements with almost all West African countries but the volume of trade and investments between India and these countries remains relatively modest. The reasons are lack of infrastructure facilities and other trade amenities, which have limited India's trade to basic commodities. The language barrier is another contributing factor.

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