The Union Budget seems to be an unlikely place to talk about food safety. Yet, the Budget is where it has been overlooked with far-reaching implications. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), for example, sought ` . 5,000 crore in the 12th Five-Year Plan, but was allocated less than half of this amount. In pursuing an environment of promoting cleanliness, sanitation and healthy living, there seems to be no better time for food safety to be one of the Budget high spots. Food safety needs to be looked into seriously because of the myriad(A large indefinite number) benefits it can offer to society as well as to the economy (including to its fisc). It also has an interface with big programmes such as the `Make in India' and Swachh Bharat initiatives.Food (including water) safety is an integral part of food security however one defines it. Unsafe food has significant economic costs -with budgetary implications -underpinned by its disease burden. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), although food-borne illnesses cause many deaths, their disease burden is not known.
Consider the soaring(Ascending to a level markedly higher than the usual) cases of cancer. Carcinogenic( cause cancer) pesticides that are omnipresent(Being present everywhere at once) in food are estimated to cause up to 20 deaths a day in Punjab.The incidence of cancer is so widespread that a train emanating(Proceed or issue forth, as from a source) out of Bhatinda is tragically spoken of as the `Cancer Express'. From the same fields, the food reaches our plate and feeds all, including children and pregnant women. This aside, 13% of under-five mortality in India is caused by diarrhoea (28% in Bihar, according to The Lancet). The health and associated budgetary costs of these are anybody's guess.
The time is ripe for the Budget to take a lead in funding assessment, monitoring and mitigation( lessen) of foodborne diseases. As part of the public health budget, money should be earmarked for laboratories, information campaigns and certification systems. The government has targeted safe drinking water in 20,000 habitations affected with arsenic, fluoride, heavytoxic elements and pesticides through community water purification plants over the next three years.
. 3,600 crore under the It has allocated ` 2014 National Rural Drinking Water Programme. The Budget should expand this initiative nationwide since different water contaminants exist throughout the country .
Food safety systems offer an economic opportunity through increased export earnings and higher domestic prices for farmers and manufacturers. The story of non-cereal food in India is one of a big producer but failed exporter. (India is the second-largest producer of fruit and vegetables after Brazil and China respectively , but it has 0.5% and 1.7% shares in global exports.) Several studies show India as globally competitive in highvalue agriculture products (World Bank, 2006), but losing out because of low safety standards. Even with small exports, India leads food consignment rejections in both the EU as well as the US markets.
Food safety , often thought as detrimental to small producers is, in fact, an opportunity . Research at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) shows how with proper institutions, small grape farmers in Maharashtra have consistently been exporting to high-standard European markets.
Like charity , food safety also begins at home. Institutional arrangements, i.e., mutual recognition agreement (MRA) on standards (a strong trade facilitation measure) will happen only when domestic standards rise and are implemented in practice. Higher domestic standards can provide a cushion(soften) to exporters and moderate their market risks.
Like the `Make in India' campaign, the government should also invoke(raise) a `Produce in India' initiative for which food safety is pivotal(Being of crucial importance). Only with product differentiation will agriculture be a money-spinner. A strong budgetary support for food safety systems is certainly required in this context. Even in `Make in India', one of its spokes is food processing, and if this sector were to fly, it would need food safety wings.
Through field experiments, IFPRI research shows a strong latent demand for food safety among urban Indian consumers. The government needs to harness this by setting up a credible food certification system. Though the FSSAI has started with labels for processed food -covering 355 products, compared to the over-3,500 products covered by the international Codex Alimentarius -it needs significant expansion. As of now, such a system with the Quality Council of India re mains largely in the `to-do' list.
Food safety can offer fiscal benefits and lend a hand in dealing with climate change. As the government mulls(Think deeply ) over the last subsidy frontier (urea), it can also step on the gas on the demand side. A credible GAP organic farming that rewards controlled use of chemicals (and, by ex tension, water) would go far in rationalising input use. (Although, organic might be a comparatively weak food safety standard as a lot of contamination happens off-farm, for which a GAP covering the whole value chain is needed.) However, all will be well only with a system of credible certification for which the government needs to allocate funds.
Finally , talking of synergies, any one can see the blurring(confusing) of lines between unsafe food and our unclean streets. The Japanese, for instance, are a finicky(particular) lot. When they come for business-cum-golfing visits to India, they would also want very safe food.
Consider the soaring(Ascending to a level markedly higher than the usual) cases of cancer. Carcinogenic( cause cancer) pesticides that are omnipresent(Being present everywhere at once) in food are estimated to cause up to 20 deaths a day in Punjab.The incidence of cancer is so widespread that a train emanating(Proceed or issue forth, as from a source) out of Bhatinda is tragically spoken of as the `Cancer Express'. From the same fields, the food reaches our plate and feeds all, including children and pregnant women. This aside, 13% of under-five mortality in India is caused by diarrhoea (28% in Bihar, according to The Lancet). The health and associated budgetary costs of these are anybody's guess.
The time is ripe for the Budget to take a lead in funding assessment, monitoring and mitigation( lessen) of foodborne diseases. As part of the public health budget, money should be earmarked for laboratories, information campaigns and certification systems. The government has targeted safe drinking water in 20,000 habitations affected with arsenic, fluoride, heavytoxic elements and pesticides through community water purification plants over the next three years.
. 3,600 crore under the It has allocated ` 2014 National Rural Drinking Water Programme. The Budget should expand this initiative nationwide since different water contaminants exist throughout the country .
Food safety systems offer an economic opportunity through increased export earnings and higher domestic prices for farmers and manufacturers. The story of non-cereal food in India is one of a big producer but failed exporter. (India is the second-largest producer of fruit and vegetables after Brazil and China respectively , but it has 0.5% and 1.7% shares in global exports.) Several studies show India as globally competitive in highvalue agriculture products (World Bank, 2006), but losing out because of low safety standards. Even with small exports, India leads food consignment rejections in both the EU as well as the US markets.
Food safety , often thought as detrimental to small producers is, in fact, an opportunity . Research at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) shows how with proper institutions, small grape farmers in Maharashtra have consistently been exporting to high-standard European markets.
Like charity , food safety also begins at home. Institutional arrangements, i.e., mutual recognition agreement (MRA) on standards (a strong trade facilitation measure) will happen only when domestic standards rise and are implemented in practice. Higher domestic standards can provide a cushion(soften) to exporters and moderate their market risks.
Like the `Make in India' campaign, the government should also invoke(raise) a `Produce in India' initiative for which food safety is pivotal(Being of crucial importance). Only with product differentiation will agriculture be a money-spinner. A strong budgetary support for food safety systems is certainly required in this context. Even in `Make in India', one of its spokes is food processing, and if this sector were to fly, it would need food safety wings.
Through field experiments, IFPRI research shows a strong latent demand for food safety among urban Indian consumers. The government needs to harness this by setting up a credible food certification system. Though the FSSAI has started with labels for processed food -covering 355 products, compared to the over-3,500 products covered by the international Codex Alimentarius -it needs significant expansion. As of now, such a system with the Quality Council of India re mains largely in the `to-do' list.
Food safety can offer fiscal benefits and lend a hand in dealing with climate change. As the government mulls(Think deeply ) over the last subsidy frontier (urea), it can also step on the gas on the demand side. A credible GAP organic farming that rewards controlled use of chemicals (and, by ex tension, water) would go far in rationalising input use. (Although, organic might be a comparatively weak food safety standard as a lot of contamination happens off-farm, for which a GAP covering the whole value chain is needed.) However, all will be well only with a system of credible certification for which the government needs to allocate funds.
Finally , talking of synergies, any one can see the blurring(confusing) of lines between unsafe food and our unclean streets. The Japanese, for instance, are a finicky(particular) lot. When they come for business-cum-golfing visits to India, they would also want very safe food.
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