June 16, 2015
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Maggi controversy: More than a two-minute concern

Maggi is in the soup. The Bombay High Court has declined Nestle's plea for stay on orders of the food regulator's banning nine variants of the noodles brand. Such an act by the Company — if it is really found to be failing standards — is plainly unacceptable, and although I am not much enthusiastic about the government's knee jerk reaction, there is not an iota of doubt that the controversy has brought to the fore an issue that is long overdue — India's extremely poor food safety mechanism and the culture of governmental indifference to matters of food safety. How has such a popular brand aimed mainly at children been selling for so many years without being caught till now?

Very often we come across newspaper articles and television reports on violation of even minimum food safety standards — pesticides in vegetables, antibiotics in poultry, MSG in 'Chinese' food, and so on. Instances of sub-standard products, misbranding and food adulteration are reported in dime a dozen. But the authorities hardly pay heed to them. We, the common people, on the other hand, remain unaware of most of these evil practices or find no other way out but to silently digest everything from simple stones in rice to sophisticated hard-to-detect food adulterants.

We are lagging far behind. The new food safety act seems to be hastily made; people even from the food industry, particularly the small, informal-sector players in the industry, are unaware of the norms to be followed; there is no common implementation — each state decides in its own way what people can eat; there is even no coordination between the FSSAI and the food and drug administration agencies of the states; states are reeling under severe lack of technical staff and testing labs; with no steady supply of electricity or due to low voltage in small towns, facilities there cannot even run the sophisticated equipment. Meanwhile, the challenge of food adulteration is getting tougher with every passing day

While we all will agree that access to safe food should be the right of every citizen, further inaction will prove fatal not only for consumers, but also for the economy, particularly by jeopardizing the future of India's processed food industry. This is a sunrise sector, showing a robust growth over the recent years — nearly 8.4 percent during the five year period between 2008-09 and 2012-13. In this scenario, it is high time for the country to set new food safety standards. Instead of knee-jerk reactions, the policy makers should give serious thought to framing comprehensive, transparent policies and strengthening the required infrastructure. This will ensure food safety for consumers and at the same time ease of doing business for the industry.

Do you think the Maggi controversy will herald a new era in food safety in India?

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