Spices
and condiments are seldom adulterated, because sellers like the
Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) – which operates a large
wholesale market in Vashi, Navi Mumbai – take complete precautions to
supply and sell goods as per the regulations of the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006, according to Kirti Rana, director, APMC's spice
market.
He added, “To safeguard the spices, we add preservatives
suitable to the type of spice, the climatic conditions at the place of
production and the climatic conditions at the places where they would be
consumed. But at times, the consumer mistake the preservatives for
ingredients used for adulteration. This could also be because of rumours
that do the rounds.”
Oil and salt are used as preservatives for
chillies, which are imported from various states of the country. The
quantity the 180 wholesalers in Vashi add is essential and is as per the
climatic conditions of Maharashtra. As far as chillies are concerned,
they are faint red in colour, so artificial red colour is used to give
the impression that they are fresh.
In some cases, artificial
flavour or aroma is added and unscrupulous sellers pass it off as a
Grade I spice to lure customers and earn an extra profit. “Although
there have been cases of adulteration in spices in various parts of the
world, we at the APMC market (which employs about 100 people for
grading, powder-making, storage, etc.) ensures that there is no such
malpractice,” Rana said.
He said, “Now the APMC market
distributes and trades about 3,500-4,000 trucks of agricultural produce,
and feeds a population of approximately 2.5 crore. But cases of
adulteration are not rampant; there may be just one or two cases here
and there. So blaming the traders is not justified.” In fact, Indian
spices – renowned the world over for their nutritional value – are in
demand.
Now Japan is one of the largest importers of cardamom,
coriander and cumin from India. The US imports about 90 per cent of the
world's total psyllium husk, a herb and soluble fibre known to affect
metabolism significantly and be an effective cure for both diarrhoea and
constipation. By providing a feeling of fullness, it helps in weight
control.
Government policies
Commenting on the policies
framed by the government, Rana said, “Our government keeps coming up
with rules and regulations, but they need to be more practical while
drafting the rules and taking the wholesalers into consideration, as the
rules are made for them. Although the rules pertain to food safety and
not to adulteration, the infrastructure to implement and adhere to them
is inadequate.”
“Spices and condiments are imported and exported
at the international level, but there are no laboratories in India to
test spices as per the international safety standards before exporting
them. However, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
has approved 37 mobile labs, but this number would not be sufficient, as
there are approximately 3,500 traders in the APMC market,” he said.
Rana
said, “There are other important things that FSSAI should take note of.
For instance, Indian farmers use a number of pesticides which are
banned in America and other European countries, so why is India allowing
the usage of these harmful pesticides?”
“Also for the safety of
the product, several parameters must be kept in mind conducting lab
tests. For instance, if chillies are brought from Andhra Pradesh, people
should know what pesticides are used, how much is the percentage of
pesticides used, when did it come to the market, will the consumption of
these pesticides grown product safe consumption, etc.,” he added.
“Research
and development is always welcome and essential for the success. But
adopting a genetic way for the production is not good, as original taste
and nutrition is lost in the process. Government officials should
instead see that people do not produce genetic foods and also ensure
that the urea used for the crops is from America and not from India”,
Rana said.
'We're specialists'
Responding to Kapil
Sibal's comment that wholesalers are middlemen, Rana said, “We are not
middlemen, we are specialists. We know every aspect of our product, be
it trading, storage, consumers' demand, grading, output or input.
Calling us middlemen doesn’t do any justice to our profession as
wholesale traders.”
“Today there is a trend of organic food. But
has anyone ever noted that in the name of organic food, there is so much
money looted from customers whereas middle-class people can’t even
afford it. Instead I would say Kapil Sibal is a middleman who don’t have
know about the wholesale business or farmers' plight and wants to bring
Walmart, which has already proven itself unsuccessful in foreign
countries, to India. We may get little profit on the arrival of Walmart,
but we are not fine with the discriminatory treatment that we are
getting,” Rana, who is into trading of spices and condiment for the past
40 years and has travelled all over the world to learn new techniques
and apply and teach new acquired knowledge to India, said.
He
said, “We have been paying heavy taxes to the government from the
profits or loss we make, but what is the government doing in return for
us? Even if the government sets aside a small amount from our paid taxes
for to educate small wholesale traders, train them and introduce them
to new technology, its operation will be more beneficial to government
in return. Then there would be no need of FDI in India. Provided with
the same infrastructure that other countries have, we Indians can come
up with our own Indiamart. Given a chance and the support of the
government we can become a world-class agricultural market.”
