Oct 8, 2012

Does KFC want 13-month-old infants in India to eat its chicken?

 A schoolgirl walks under the KFC advertisement in Bengaluru (Bangalore). This hoarding is 
visible to all traffic on one of the city’s major roads, Richmond Road.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in India is advertising a chicken meal that costs 35 rupees (USD 0.67, EUR 0.51). Hoardings such as this one are visible now in all the major metropolitan cities (Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi) and KFC has taken outdoor advertising space along major roads in these cities.
This hoarding advertises “Real chicken” for 35 Indian rupees, “KFC wow! price menu”. In small letters on the lower bottom right of the hoarding the advertisement also says: “Products contain added monosodium glutamate. Not recommended for infants below 12 months”.
There are two culprits here at work to further the interests of the junk food/fast food industry. One is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India which is nowhere near as vigilant as it ought to be, especially given its ‘Advisory on Misbranding/ Misleading claims’ which invokes the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, Rules & Regulations, 2011. This has said: “(2) The various false claims made by the Food Business Operator about food articles and consequent violation, if any, are punishable under the provisions fo FSS Act, 2006; (3) Violations related to food items, seriously jeopardize public health as well lead to unfair gains to Food Business; (4) Misleading advertisement related to food items are imputed with malafide intent on the part of person making the claim and is normally made to misguide a consumer to purchase food item without disclosing the complete details on the advertisement. Companies (Corporate bodies including firm or other association, individual) are also covered u/s 66, FSS Act, 2006.”
The objectionable disclaimer is in small letters on the lower right edge of the hoarding,
unnoticeable to passing traffic.
The other culprit is KFC and its parent company, Yum! Brands, Inc. Just how important is India to Yum! Brands? Consider the statement by the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, David C Novak (available right now on the company website) in which he has mentioned India and its market:
” …we have made incredible progress in India, opening 101 new restaurants in 2011. Ten years ago, we were essentially just beginning with KFC in India, and now it’s our second leading country for new unit development. In fact, we’re so excited about our prospects in India, and its impact on the future growth of Yum!, that we’re going to break it out as a separate division for 2012 reporting directly to me. It’s encouraging to see that our new unit progress with KFC in India is very similar to what we saw in China during its first 10 years. Our India team has identified the key elements driving success in China and are adapting these strategies in India to leverage our iconic brands and build concepts with broad appeal.”
No thank you. We want 0 such restaurants per 1,000,000 people

India’s business and financial English-language dailies, since they function as mouthpieces of industry and propaganda sheets for industry and trade associations, and since they function as uncritical endorsers of the current ruling regime’s reckless gallop into ruin, have had only laudatory noises to make about the invasion under way by KFC and similar global junk food peddlers.
The Economic Times published a gushing interview with Muktesh Pant, CEO of Yum! Restaurants International, which is described as running “the international operations of US quick restaurant chains Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants”. The newspaper asked: “How is the Indian restaurant market evolving, compared to say China?” and Pant answered: “If you compare the stats of the two countries, the consumer class of 300 million in China has an access to 3,000+ KFCs, while the consumer class of 100 million in India has access to only about 140 KFC outlets. Hence, there is a huge potential for us to leverage our expertise in the untapped market. Our aim is to have 1,000 outlets in India by 2015 and China has helped us provide a blueprint for this rapid growth.”
The influence of KFC on the diet of India’s urban schoolchildren? See the schoolbuses driving past the hoarding.

The same gushing interview contained answers from Niren Chaudhary, president of Yum! Restaurants India, who was described as “reporting directly to Yum! Brands, Inc, Chairman & CEO David Novak after the world’s largest restaurant company last week made India only the third country after the US and China with a standalone reporting division”. How fabulously exciting for all the 13-month-old infants wetting their diapers in anticipation of their next KFC portion.
The question was: “Will it translate into faster expansion and more hires?” And Chaudhary’s answer: “Our goal is to double our store base to at least 1,000 stores, employing 50,000 people, in three years. The new structure is a change in reporting relationship and reflects the importance of India as a future growth opportunity.”
Now we know why the KFC advertisements say what they do (and hide much). This CEO Pant is reported to have studied at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, and if so that particular IIT – and the IITs and IIMs of Bharat – have much to answer for.

FIR against nine in milk adulteration case

RANCHI: The scare of milk adulteration has created panic in Jharkhand. Four milk tankers belonging to Sudha Dairy which supplies over 2.5 lakh litres of milk daily to Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Ranchi, Dhanbad and other centres in the state have been seized since 2011 for milk adulteration. The food and adulteration department of the state has also served notices on the brand for selling adulterated milk.
On Sunday two tankers, each containing 40,000 litres of milk, were seized from Ormanjhi locality by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and local police after the drivers and helpers of the tankers were found pouring water from a road side hand pump into the milk tanker. As many as 15 Sudha Diary tankers carrying milk come to Ranchi from Bihar everyday.
K Saryu, officer in-charge of Ormanjhi police station, said: "An FIR has been lodged against nine persons in the milk adulteration case." Saryu said two persons arrested from the spot were mixing water with the milk in the tanker from a hand pump. Jharkhand food controller T P Burnwal said, "A team is carrying out investigations and samples have been sent for tests. Legal action would be taken against Sudha Dairy in case the milk samples are found to be adulterated."
The food and adulteration department has served notices on Sudha Dairy on previous occasions as well. "We have not received any report of chemical mixing in the milk so far," Burnwal added. It is, however, a challenge for department which has only seven food inspectors to keep a check on adulteration of milk. News of adulteration has shocked parents. "It ia a criminal act since we are totally dependent on the packaged milk," said Geeta Sharma, a mother. S R Mishra, general manager, Sudha Diary (Ranchi) said,
"A total of 15 milk tankers carry milk from Bihar to various destinations in Jharkhand as the state itself does not produce much milk. For the transport of milk we've hired agencies. We have also received complaints about adulteration by drivers of these tankers."
Drivers of these tankers have formed a nexus with line hotels located along the state highways.
"They break the hinge of the tanker cap and drain out the milk. The hinges are not of stainless steel and thus can be easily welded," said a source. To compensate for the loss of milk they pump water from hand pumps which are usually dirty, the source said. In 2011 officials of Sudha Dairy (Ranchi) had conducted raids to check the adulteration of milk. Former Sudha Dairy (Ranchi) general manager A K Singh had raided a place in Ramgarh last year.
The driver of the tanker, who was found pouring water into the tank containing milk had, however, managed to escape with the tanker. Sudha Dairy (Patna) MD Sudhir Kumar said, "We had cancelled licences of few of the agencies when we received complaints against them." However measures for quality control of the packaging unit in Ranchi ends there since there is no mechanism to check the quality of the milk which arrives here in these tankers. Kumar said a proper mechanism of sealing the tankers was in place at all the milk-collecting units in Bihar.If a packaging unit does not get sealed tankers, they can refuse to accept it," he added. Shakti Singh, physician said milk adulterated with tap water can cause diarrhea, typhoid and other water- borne diseases."If it is contaminated with che cicals, it can also damage to the liver and kidneys," he added.


1 held for milk adulteration

MUMBAI: The Kalachowkie police on Sunday arrested a milkman for adulteration. The accused, Satish K Lingeyar (25), will be produced before the court on Monday, the police said.

The authorities acted after local residents alerted the distributor, Amul. The accused was caught in a joint operation mounted by the distributor and police officials. Empty pouches and packets were also found at Lingeyar's residence on Parel Tank Road.

DINAMALAR NEWS


Don't sell 'chutney' and 'jam' in re-used jars, Britons told


Uk girls
The growing number of 'chutney' and jam-makers in UK, inspired by model Kate Moss and Kate Middleton, may have to abandon their re-used jars after a warning that they are breaching European health and safety regulations.
Legal advisers to Britain's Churches have sent out a circular saying that while people can use jars for jam at home or to give to family and friends, they cannot sell them or even give them away as raffle prizes at a public event, the MailOnline reported.
The circular from the Churches' Legislation Advisory Service is pointedly headed: "Please take note: this looks like a spoof but it's not."
The advisers say the rules that are being breached are the snappily-titled EC Regulations 1935/2004 and 2023/2006, which prevent containers being re-used unless they are specifically designed for that purpose.
The Food Standards Agency said that the rules had been introduced because there was a risk of chemicals leaching out of old containers and contaminating food, though it added that it was not aware that re-used jam jars were a safety hazard.
The agency said it was up to local authority to enforce the regulations, and penalties can reach a maximum of a 5,000 pounds fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.
The news will alarm the growing number of jam-makers inspired by model Kate Moss, who makes damson jam out of fruit from her Cotswolds estate, and the Duchess of Cambridge, who keeps pots to give away to friends.

Pesticide in veggies? Home remedies to help


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Agro-scientists working on reducing pesticide residue in vegetables and fruits have come up with simple home remedies for the same.
It was following a study on the impact of pesticide residue on farm-produce - conducted by the pesticide research and analytical laboratory of the Kerala Agricultural University - finding that a cross-section of leafy vegetables and curry leaves had pesticides beyond permissible limits that the agro scientists of the university tried out various organic methods to remove pesticides.
"In our study, we found that tamarind water and vinegar were best suited to remove pesticides from vegetables," says Dr Thomas Biju Mathew, department of entomology, who conducted the tests along with a team of scientists. He says they used a majority of pesticides available in the market -- rated red (extreme), yellow (high) and blue (moderate) according to toxicity levels, for the tests.
"Tamarind water and vinegar were effective in removing the pesticide residue (up to 95%), especially in spinach, curry leaves, chillies, lady's finger, snake gourds and brinjals that were contaminated with heavy doses of pesticides."
The vegetables need to be dipped in tamarind water (prepared using at least 20 mg of tamarind) for 15 minutes. The curry leaves and chillies should be washed thoroughly before cooking. "Curry leaves and chilles can be dried, kept back in the fridge and used when needed. Bitter guords and beans need to be brushed with a soft bristle brush after dipping in tamarind water and washed once more,'' he says.
The tests also revealed that basmati rice had higher traces of pesticide when compared to brown rice available in the state. "The pesticide level in samples of rice decreased by 85% once they were washed and cooked." The Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee had, in August, approved 240 pesticides for use in the country while banning 70. An earlier study by KAU had found that many vegetable samples -- mainly chilly (18 of 48 samples) and curry leaves (47 of 79 samples) -- had traces of pesticides that should not have been used on them.