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Call for Nutrition Index at Fi India
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Saturday, 06 October, 2007, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ronita Torcato, Mumbai
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gical Research Institute, Mysore, and coordinator, United Nations University ( CFTRI), made an impassioned plea for a national movement for ensuring a higher nutrition index with the support of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Health and all state governments, while delivering the inaugural address at the Food Ingredients (FI) India 2007 Conference and Exhibition at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon.
Urging the inclusion of nutrition in the national agenda and as a state subject, Dr Prakash said the CFTRI was working on reaching a good definition at an empirical level for quantifiable measurement.
He said nutrition, physiology, molecular biology, the challenges of genetic biodiversity, the preservation of species, food policy, the responsibility of the corporate and food industries to ensure healthy foods were vital issues that could possibly be addressed by a quantifiable parameter called the Nutrition Index.
Acknowledging that "the term may not be so common," Dr Prakash suggested that the heath and well being of individuals could be measured from the pediatric to the geriatric stages by an index consisting of such parameters including nutritious food, physical and mental exercise.
He said, "Nutritious food plays an important role in the global agenda of health and nutrition. Nutrition itself has become crucial in synergising with the food processing system. When we look at food processing, we need to worry about food safety and also the cost effectiveness. "
The Protein Foods & Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI), headed by Dr Jagdish S Pai (Executive Director) and CMP India, a part of United Business Media Plc, one of the world's leading business-to-business media and market information companies, organised the two-day (Oct 3-4,2007) conference.
Dr Prakash emphasised the role of home food in the supply chain of semi processed and processed foods and submitted that national laboratories, educational institutions and women in food science and technology in developing countries could make a difference in the spread of good nutrition. Nutrients can be enhanced and retained through biotechnology and bioprocessing. Stressing the importance of ingredients which enhance flavour, colour and taste, Dr Prakash noted that the nutraceutical market had crossed $110 billion.
The effects of lifestyle changes on dietary habits, nutrients, nutrigenomics, specialised ingredients requirements, developments, innovations and trends in the food industry that will help shape the food ingredients sector were underlined at the conference.
Issues relating to food processing, safety, compliance and quality assurance were also highlighted at the two-day event which brought together food producers, processing specialists, service providers, suppliers and other experts in the field of food ingredients to explore industry trends, test new products, view the latest developments and interact with business contacts.
The exhibitors included Chlorella India Naturals, Unique Dehydrates Ltd, the Solae Company, Roquette India, Tate & Lyle, CP Kelco, DSM Nutritional Products, BSA India, Kamani Oil Industries, Jay Chem Marketing , Ruchi Soya Foods, VKL Spices, Amarjee /the Gum Arabic Co Ltd, Fine Organics, S.A. Pharmachem from among the Indian participants and Tsuno Foods & Rice and Sun Chlorella Corp, (Japan) Kievit ( Holland), Breko (Germany) Koko Budi and Matrix Flavours (Malaysia) MAFCO Worldwide Corp., Butter Buds Food Ingredients and FiberStar Inc (USA) Neotron (Italy) Premium Ingredients (Spain) Wei Teh Flavour & Poloku Foods (Singapore) from the international exhibitors.
Accentuating the theme "Food Ingredients for Life-Style Changes," the conference was arranged in the light of social and lifestyle changes which show that, increasingly, consumers have become more conscious about their health, weight, and overall diet and are moving towards healthy lifestyles despite having less time for food preparation.
The consensus among foreign delegates in particular was that with a population of over one billion, India represents an enormous marketplace that is looking for new ways to eat - and new flavours to enjoy. Indian experts noted that, in addition, a rapidly growing middle class, increasingly wants healthy and nutritious food, but also convenience to meet a faster pace of life.
A large part of the shift in consumption is driven by the processed food market, which accounts for 32% of the total food market. It accounts for Rs 1,280 billion ($29.4 billion), in a total estimated market of Rs 3,990 billion ($91.66 billion). The popularity of ready-to-eat packs and the bottom-line of eateries have an exciting story to tell.
The inaugural session also discussed the effects of lifestyle changes on dietary habits and consequently on personal health. Faster and more stressful lifestyles in polluted environments, with little time or opportunity for proper nutritious meals, have caused several health problems. With hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer showing rapid rise, the experts exhorted the necessary to seriously consider nutritional and dietary options to counteract some of the problems.
In his keynote address, Dr B Sesikeran, Director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, underlined the effects of newer life-style and dietary changes on health and elaborated on the various ways (excess calories, excess fat, more insulin, high BP.) in which an unhealthy lifestyle can cause cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems among other diseases
The solution for adults, he said, lay in avoiding or eat less of calorie dense foods, consuming fish and fish oils, vegetables and fruits, low to moderate alcohol intake and increasing physical activity (half and hour of brisk walking at least three days a week)
For children and adolescents, he suggested an active lifestyle, limited television viewing, increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables; restricting the intake of energy -dense, micronutrient - poor foods (e.g.packaged snacks) and sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
Dr Sesikeran pointed out that the visible fat requirements for Indians range between 20g and 50g. The current daily intake of visible fat is highly skewed with rural and urban poor consuming 12g and the urban high income group consuming 40g per person.
An assessment of the Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) nutritional status in Indians belonging to different socioeconomic groups consuming different quantities and qualities of fat showed that n-6 PUFA nutritional status is good whereas n-3 PUFA nutritional status needs to be improved.
Dr Sesikeran said this can be achieved by consuming vegetable oils, increasing plant foods, and preferring fish over other non-vegetarian foods.
Ravi Naware, CEO, ITC Foods, Bangalore, gave a special address titled Vision 2020 For Modern Food Processing Industry.
In the sessions following the inaugural, Krishna Kumar, MD, GIRACT, Switzerland, spoke on the Global Ingredients Sector and India's Growing Role, Tansukh Jain, MD, Chr. Hansen (India) & Regional Industry Manager - Food & Beverages for APMEA region, spoke on Functional & Health-Promoting Probiotics.
It was pointed out that changing lifestyles facilitate new food products which will in turn require new types of ingredients. In Indian and western markets, Indian foods are becoming very popular. Foods prepared traditionally are now
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