Egg powder from India to enter Russian market soon as demand increases

Russia would commence the import of egg powder from India about a month from now (or perhaps sooner), owing to the increase in the demand for it. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s agricultural watchdog, confirmed the development.

India, the world’s third largest producer of eggs, currently exports table eggs, egg white powder and egg yolk powder to about 30 countries, and had been in talks with the government of Russia to facilitate their export.

However, Russia’s strict animal health norms became a stumbling block for the export of egg powder (which is used by Russian food manufacturers as an ingredient in confectionery, semi-finished meat products and mayonnaise) by India.

Indian products cheaper
Indian egg powder is comparatively cheaper than the product made in Russia - where the rising costs of poultry feed are having an adverse impact on its economy - or imported from countries like Argentina.

The Russian media has, in fact, criticised the decision to open the market to Indian imports, stating that the local makers wouldn’t be able to compete with Indian prices and could be wiped out. Nevertheless, Rosselkhoznador has decided to go ahead with it.

Indian poultry body confident
A K Sharma, a Poultry Federation of India member, stated that India could export high-quality egg powder to Russia, but to do so consistently, they would have to maintain the price line.

“We are confident about exporting our products to any country in the world, as they are of a high quality. We would not only fetch the best price, but also be able to contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy,” he added.

Sugar yield estimate in ’13-14 revised from 250 lakh to 238 lakh tonne

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) recently revised the estimated sugar output during the 2013-14 season from 250 lakh to 238 lakh tonne, based on satellite images of the harvested and unharvested sugarcane and the area under sugarcane cultivation. 

Another factor taken into consideration was the heavy rainfall in parts of Uttar Pradesh, the availability of water in Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka and the insufficient quantity of water available in Tamil Nadu.

The association’s committee - which procured the satellite images at the beginning of 2014 - also took into account the trend of yields and sugar recovery, including the trend of diverting sugarcane for use by alternative sweeteners such as gur and khandsari.

It was estimated that Uttar Pradesh would produce 66 lakh tonne, while Maharashtra would produce 78 lakh tonne. Karnataka was expected to produce 35 lakh tonne, Tamil Nadu 15 lakh tonne, Gujarat 11.7 lakh tonne and Tamil Nadu 9.5 lakh tonne.

The sugar yields in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been showing a production trend of 11 lakh tonne and one lakh tonne lower than the respective estimates made by ISMA in September 2013.

The decline in Uttar Pradesh’s output has been attributed to the damage of sugarcane crops due to heavy rainfall in the eastern part of the state and the diversion of sugarcane by farmers to alternate sweetener producers.

This was done to make way for the sowing of wheat due to the late start of sugar mills.  Though the recovery percentage is good in the state, the yield is estimated to be lower than last year.

In Tamil Nadu, both the yield and the recovery percentage of sugar are lower than last year’s level, and accordingly, about four lakh tonne sugar lower is expected to be produced than last year’s level of sugar production (19.3 lakh tonne).

Murginns introduces three variants of gourmet butter in New Delhi, NCR

Dairy-based functional food player Murginns launched a range of gourmet butter in the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) market. It is available in three variants - Garlic and Herb; Cumin and Coriander and Cracked Pepper.

They would be available in 125g packs (priced at Rs 100) at Spencer’s, Reliance and Big Bazaar in Delhi and the NCR. Murginns’ range also includes Vitamin D-enriched dahi, probiotic fruit yoghurt, shrikhand, paneer, flavoured lassi, butter milk and white butter.

BAWARCHI Food Outlet Closed by Food Safety Officers in Technopark!

TechnoparkToday.com: BAWARCHI food outlet in Tejaswini food court, Technopark closed after a quick inspection by food safety officers in Technopark last week. The inspection conducted due to the complaints about rotten prawns biriyani served by the restaurant to techies.

During the inspection, the team found some serious violations like, the food vendors added banned ajinomoto in chicken curry prepared for serving. The food safety team given notice for explanation to BAWARCHI outlet and for a week of time for giving the reason/explanation for further approvals for operation. The food safety inspector Bhooshudha along with her team CL Dileep, Jayakumar conducted the inspection in the food outlet.

Readers, please share your comments and feedback about the food outlets and quality of food served in technopark restuarants.

Food poisoning: Kids in hospital, bakery shut

KANNUR: District collector has ordered the closure of a bakery in Kannur town after nearly 26 Class X students suffered food poisoning on consuming the snacks.

The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon in C H Muhammed Koya Memorial Higher Secondary School, Valappatanam. Many of them are still admitted in the hospital, thus leading to concern over their appearing for examination on Monday, said collector P Balakiran.

"Since the other outlets of the bakery were closed the health and food safety officials could not conduct any search there, but we will check all their outlets on Saturday and actions will be initiated against them too, if any complaint is found against them," he said.

He also said that random raids will be conducted in food outlets in the district in the wake of the incident in the coming days.

Do not adulterate sago, says District Collector

District Collector V. Dakshinamoorthy has warned of stringent action against those adulterating sago.

Under the Food Safety and Standards Act a fine between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh can be imposed on adulterers, he said while participating in a meeting organised for tapioca farmers and owners of sago units here on Wednesday. Officials from various government department too attended the meeting.

There were 127 units that manufactured sago from tapioca, of which 10 were defunct.

Following allegations by farmers during a grievances redress meeting that some of the units were adulterating sago using low quality materials, a team of officials inspected 13 factories in the district, he said.

Mr. Dakshinamoorthy added that a test of samples collected from these units revealed that nine units have adulterated sago.

Action has been taken against these units under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

He asked owners of sago units to give reasonable prices for the tapioca procured from farmers and maintain quality of sago.

District Revenue Officer V.R. Subbulakshmi, managing director of SAGO Serve (Salem), too participated.

500 students fall ill after eating stale food

HYDERABAD: Nearly 500 students of Sumathi Reddy Junior College, Boduppal, fell ill on Wednesday night reportedly after consuming stale food served by the college authorities for lunch. A case has been registered against the college management on the basis of a complaint lodged by the students.

On Wednesday afternoon, nearly 1,000 students were served lunch at the hostel. However, by night the students started vomiting and showing symptoms of food poisoning, Medipally police said. As many as 478 students were shifted to local private hospitals. "The condition of 50 to 60 students is serious and they are undergoing treatment," Medipally inspector Ravi Kiran Reddy said.

According to him, a case was registered against the college management under sections 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and section 47 of the Food Adultration Act.

Meanwhile, panic-stricken parents, who came to know about the incident through the media, rushed to the hospitals and blamed the college management for not responding to their calls. Several students unions also staged dharnas on the college premises. Incidentally, the students are also slated to sit for their annual exam in less than a week.

The police are now trying to determine which food item had caused the illness. "As of now, we do not know which food item was stale. It is being investigated," police said.

Newcastle varsity’s team identifies seaweeds preventing fat absorption

Scientists at Newcastle University have identified the seaweeds which are most effective at preventing the absorption of fat. The table produced by them includes alginates, which are natural dietary fibres found in sea kelp.

They are among the largest commercially-used seaweeds in the world. They have been found to reduce the amount of fat available for absorption by the body by approximately 75 per cent.

Alginates have been used as stabilisers in jam and to maintain the foamy head on a pint of beer, but the scientists explored their potential as a food supplement that prevents fat absorption.

Prof Jeff Pearson, of Newcastle University’s Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, said, “We have already added alginates to bread, and the initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging.”

“Now, the next step would be to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective they are when eaten as a constituent of one’s normal diet,” he added. Alginates are made up of long chains of sugars, gulutonate and mannuronate.

Tested in an inhibition assay, using olive oil as a substrate, scientists identified that alginates that contained more guluronate were more effective at preventing the digestion of fat.

“What we have shown is that the seaweeds that have a high level of guluronate stop the body breaking down and absorbing the fat,” stated Newcastle University’s Matthew Wilcox.

“As they have already been used in the food industry in small amounts, we are looking at increasing the levels in foods which could reduce the amount of fat that we get, which could help in weight management,” he added.

The seaweeds containing the right alginate were listed in the descending order of their effectiveness at preventing the digestion of fat. Tangle or Cuvie was found to be the most effective.

The others on the list were Laminarea hyperborea (a brown sea kelp); Bladderwrack; Lessonia nigrescens (a giant grey weed) and bull kelp [Durvillea potatororum (a brown algae)].

The next steps for the research team are to test the different seaweeds in a model gut and recruit volunteers to study whether the effects they have modelled in the lab could be reproduced in real people, and whether such foods were truly acceptable in a normal diet.

The research, which was funded by the United Kingdom-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), was published in the journal Food Chemistry.

Swiss ice cream brand Movenpick launches boutique in New Delhi’s Saket

Movenpick launched New Delhi’s first ice cream boutique at Select City Walk, Saket. This is the Swiss brand’s third outlet in India. It has an established presence in Kolkata and Chennai.

Its super premium range comprises eighteen flavours of ice cream and sorbet, ice cream dessert creations, gourmet selection, sundaes, shakes, fat-free refreshments, etc. These do not contain artificial flavourings, colours or other additives.

The brand was brought to India by Star Foods Speciality, whose managing director, Tarun Sikka, said, “We have plans to open about 50 ice cream boutiques in the next three years.”

“The Indian super premium ice cream category is growing rapidly, and our brand and offerings are perfectly positioned to capitalise on this,” he added.

Strawberry Festival on in full swing at Mumbai’s Peninsula Grand Hotel

Mumbai’s Peninsula Grand Hotel has conceptualised a twenty-day Strawberry Festival named Berry Berry Strawberries. It is currently underway at the hotel 24x7 coffee shop, Carafe.

Crystal Mendonca, the hotel’s executive chef, has planned an elaborate menu, comprising beverages, soups, main courses (vegetarian and non-vegetarian), salads and desserts. Each of these would have the fruit as an ingredient.

It comprises three beverages - Strawberry Fizz (priced at Rs 200); Strawberry Lassi (Rs 190), and Strawberry and Banana Preparado (a coconut-flavoured banana and strawberry shake with grenadine, priced at Rs 250).

The two soups [Spanish-style Strawberry Gazpacho (a chilled concoction of vine ripened tomatoes with garlic, cucumber and zingy strawberries), and Canadian Style Cheese Soup with Strawberries (a blend of mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar cheese with strawberries)] are priced at Rs 175.

The vegetarian main course comprises two variants - Paneer and Strawberry Chilli (cottage cheese in a yin-yang avatar, priced at Rs 350) and Paneer and Sweet Pepper Tacos (with a spicy strawberry salsa, priced at Rs 325).

The non-vegetarian main course comprises one dish - Prawns in Thai Chilly Basil (batter-fried prawns with strawberries in chilly basil). These are priced either at Rs 300, Rs 350 or Rs 650.

There are two kinds of salad - Strawberry Raita (a creamy yoghurt with strawberries, priced at Rs 150) and Summer Fruit Salad (which comprises strawberries, melon and black grapes, tossed with mint and orange dressing, and is priced at Rs 250).

The dessert range comprises Jharberi Ka Meetha (a combination of ghee-roasted bread slices with rose-petal jam, rabdi and strawberries, priced at Rs 200); Strawberry Rabdi Kulfi (served with falooda sev and priced at Rs 250); Chocolate and Strawberry Trifle (chocolate sponge cake covered with rich chocolate and strawberry cream, priced at Rs 200); Sizzling Strawberry Blondie with Ice-Cream (a white chocolate and strawberry bake with strawberry ice-cream, priced at Rs 250).

Carmit Candy to exhibit gluten-free chocolate clusters at Anaheim Expo

Carmit Candy Industries will showcase a new line of gluten-free chocolate clusters at Natural Products Expo West, which is slated to take place in Anaheim between March 7 and 9, 2014. The new line would be available in multiple international markets.

“Our new line of gluten-free clusters targets both the mainstream market and the specific niches of people suffering from celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and those following a gluten-free lifestyle,” explained Steve Grun, Carmit’s chief executive officer.

“This has been a strong focus for Carmit over the past decade,” he added. Global confectionery launches with a gluten-free positioning increased by 46 per cent in 2013 from those launched in 2012, according to Innova Database.

While this indicated significant growth in gluten-free claims, gluten-free product launch activity was still relatively niche for the confectionery sector. Only seven per cent of confectionery product launches tracked in 2013 filled such positioning.

A cluster is a snack which is based on a blend of ingredients and does not have a structured shape. The gluten-free cluster line includes various combinations of gluten-free cereals and dried fruit or nuts, and is covered in either chocolate or yoghurt.

The clusters can be custom-packed in different sizes and shapes as private-label for marketers, restaurant chains and retailers, and for on-the-go packages or multi-packs. All are designed to address a healthy, gluten-free lifestyle.

“We launched the line regionally and gained rapid success in food chains and health food stores, culminating in our winning the prestigious product of the year award this week,” said Adrian Sagman, Carmit’s vice-president, export marketing and sales.

A significant industry challenge is in how to blend cereals such as corn flakes and rice puffs with nuts and/or dry fruit, and bind them with 70 per cent chocolate in a way that the inclusions are not dominated by the latter and maintain overall great taste and texture.

To achieve this, Carmit conducted trials to hit the perfect balance in each ingredient’s percentage and the chocolate’s viscosity. The final product is a rich, bite-sized cluster of crispy cereals and chewy dried fruit, covered in milk or dark chocolate.

Nutra India Summit’s 9th edition in Bengaluru to give nutrition fillip

The ninth essay of the Nutra India Summit, which would take place at the Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru, between March 12 and 14, 2014, would give a fillip to the nutrition, nutraceuticals, functional foods and dietary supplement sectors. With preventive healthcare having become the new buzzword, the three-day event - whose theme is ‘New Sutra for Nutra for Emerging Global Economics’ - would provide a glimpse of wellness.

The event would be organised by MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications Pvt Ltd, the International Society for Nutraceuticals, Nutritionals and Naturals (ISNNaN) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and supported by the government of Karnataka, leading international associations like the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and key industry associations.

The summit - which was unveiled in Bengaluru in August 2013 by Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka’s minister of state for food and civil supplies and consumer affairs - would witness the participation of about forty countries. These include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil and a number of countries in South-East Asia and Latin America.

It would be a platform for exporters, importers, sourcing companies, production and purchase professionals as well as doctors, nutritionists and research and development (R&D) heads of companies. With India poised to be among the world’s largest markets for fast-moving health goods (FMHG) in the near future, the event would also be a platform to interact with researchers, business gurus and policy-makers from the Indian and international nutraceutical sector.

The exhibition is expected to play a crucial role in knowledge-sharing and in finding new avenues for business growth for the nutraceutical industry, and facilitate symbiotic linkages between global nutraceutical industry with the Indian markets. Participants and delegates can gain insights on the latest trends, strategies, opportunities and challenges in the nutraceutical space.

The growing awareness about nutritionals, nutraceuticals and health food products in India is attributable to its robust economic growth and the fact that is a bio-diverse hub having a wealth of plant medicine and a significant source of traditional knowledge. The organisers said, “Much of the herbs and herbal flora are used in the compositions of nutraceuticals and functional foods.”

India’s inherent strength in medicinal flora has made it an  emerging hub for domestic and international manufacturing of nutraceuticals, health and food products. For instance, in March 2011, global food major Nestle identified Karnataka to set up a state-of-the-art culinary production plant at Nanjangud, off Mysore.

Why Bengaluru?

Karnataka has always been the pioneer of new industry revolutions, which has led India to its growth curve. Bengaluru is the recognised information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) hub for global players to encourage foreign investments here. It has impressive infrastructure, coupled with the right government support and regulatory policies in place to encourage the  new industry units to set base here and succeed.

Keeping this in view, the organising committee decided to host the ninth edition of the summit in the southern state’s capital. “Over the last eight editions, the summit has evolved, and it is now recognised as one of India’s largest events for the nutraceutical, functional food, dietary supplement, ingredient and health food industry,” they noted.

Summit highlights

The international conference will focus on today’s trends and tomorrow’s opportunities. Speakers from across the globe will discuss topics such as product innovation in functional foods, dietary supplements and ingredients; business growth in ingredients for nutraceutical and dietary supplement; markets, analysis and instrumentation; natural and traditional ingredients; strengths of India; process engineering and manufacturing; health claims, and labelling and regulations.

It will also feature a a Doctors’ and Nutritionists’ Forum on Immunity and Disease Delaying, with a special focus on lifestyle diseases, and two special focus workshops.

One of the key highlights is the Annual Nutra Excellence Awards, which would confer upon an eminent personality the lifetime achievement award for their commitment and dedication in leading the industry.

The recipient would be assessed on the efforts made to provide a  roadmap and guidance to the coming generations of scientific leaders and food entrepreneurs.

The past recipients of the lifetime achievement award are R A Mashelkar and Ashok D B Vaidya. Apart from the Nutra Excellence Awards in various categories, the summit will also honour exhibitors and best posters.

One of the highlights of the summit would be NuFFooDS, The Health & Food Expo (a B2B & B2C platform for the nutra sector). The expo creates opportunities for brand leaders as well as small- and medium-scale enterprises to showcase products, technologies and services, and would be an ideal platform for new product launches.

The eighth edition of Nutra India Summit, held in  Mumbai, witnessed participation from over 20 countries.

Nearly 650 delegates from 300-plus companies participated in the three-day conference, that was addressed by over 65 national and international experts.

NuFFooDS Expo had 70 exhibitors and 3,000 business visitors. The poster session attracted more than 50 young researchers representing the best research institutes from across the country.

The InterlinX - Nutra Partnering India (NPI) programme would enable networking opportunities for participating companies and delegates with their target audience, leading to technical tie-ups and business collaborations. In fact, the 8th Nutra India Summit facilitated 140 B2B meetings.

The summit would provide young researchers a unique opportunity to share their innovative ideas and research through the interactive poster session, 'Walkway of Discovery'.

Another highlight of the summit would be the CEO Panel Discussion. This time, it would be a special industry networking event that would bring together visionaries from the nutraceutical business community to create a collaborative and industry-driven vision that can drive growth in the Indian nutraceutical sector.

A special session will be dedicated to Doctors & Nutritionists Forum that will enable Doctors, Nutritionists, Dietitians and Researchers as well as students of Nutrition Science to discuss on health and lifestyle concerns in current food habits, dietary supplements and towards creating awareness among the general public about food safety & security for the welfare of the society.

“Nutraceuticals is a local as well as global challenge, and is driven by strong partnerships,” said Dr V Prakash, chairman, Nutra India Summit, who added that the event was the main hub of interface between the industry and academia.

There is a need for considerable value-addition in food products. The consumption of nutraceuticals is seen to be an ideal fit to prevent diseases and maintain good health. In addition, dual incomes and fast-paced lifestyles have created a need for a healthy substitute. This has now made the ninth Nutra India Summit a platform for to derive holistic benefits from nutrition, functional foods and dietary supplements.

“There is a huge demand for the government with the industry consultations to look at devising  regulations to be more science-based and food safety norms to be implemented into every area of food processing from farm to fork,” said Dr Prakash.

“The theme of this year’s event has aptly been decided by the Advisory Council. Its objective is to ensure that the future of the sector would allow strategic networking and synergy across segments and markets,” he added.