The Hindu Business Line : Combating food adulteration

"In a recent study we found that over 80 per cent of imported food products in our country are violating all our laws. For example, packaged soups don't declare ingredients, which is mandatory. The consumer is drawn to imported products in attractive packaging, but many of them don't even have the name and address of the manufacturer, and `Best before' information. A recent case is that of the Chinese chocolate that should have had a red dot because it is non-vegetarian, having used beef gelatine. But this had been superimposed with a label with a green dot! A common man thinks all chocolate is vegetarian, which is not true," says Bejon Misra, one of the pioneers in consumer activism in India and the CEO of Consumer Voice, which he started way back in 1983 in Jamshedpur.

As is often the case for power cuts, non-functioning telephones, police extracting money, and the like "all of us would sit in the club and curse the Government and the system but nobody did anything about it. So some of us said let's start a consumer organisation, and instead of just grumbling let's be part of a solution," recalls Misra, who at that time ran a travel agency and had earlier worked as an executive with Tata Steel. The very next year, in 1984, the Central Government invited consumer organisations to Delhi for a seminar. "We were only 20 organisations then; today there are over 2,000," he says.

In 1994 he shifted to Delhi, and "till then had thought that this kind of activity has to be voluntary. But in Delhi some friends working with UN agencies and ministries said: We'll pay you for your time." So he took up small projects as an advisor for agencies such as UNICEF or UNDP. But in 2000 he took up this work on a full-fledged basis, as "I found that I'd earn much more from this than from my professional work as a management consultant!"

This kind of work can fetch a fee of $ 450 a day; "at present I've signed an agreement with UNDP for 100 days work for a year. So I can afford to do voluntary work for the other 265 days!"

Misra is currently chairperson of the Consumer Co-ordination Council, with 57 leading Indian consumer groups as members. The Council is an issue-based national coalition which primarily does advocacy with policymakers to benefit the consumer. His organisation is involved in the comparative testing of products and services, such as informing the consumer how to choose a product in the face of a plethora of advertisements and claims. Consumer Voice brings out a magazine that compares various brands and models of cameras, washing machines, TVs, fridges, voltage stabilisers, etc. "Today consumers depend on shopkeepers who push products where they get the best margins." The annual subscription of the magazine is Rs 125, and it has about 15,000 subscribers.

But Misra's major focus is on food and health and developing international standards in this area. "We're looking at how we can make the regulations on food safety and health issues as friendly as possible, at the same time encouraging development in the sector. Our aim is to make available for the common man wholesome, nutritious and safe food at affordable prices," he says.

Be aware

A laudable aim, which is easy to conceive or articulate than attain!

"I agree, but the fundamental challenge is to build a strong consumer awareness," responds Misra.

But is the Indian consumer aware and demanding?

"A change is happening. The Government of India has launched a huge multimedia campaign called `Jago grahak jago' (Consumer, awaken), and the Council had been made a nodal organisation to manage the Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre (CORE)."

He says over the years the Government's attitude and response mechanism have drastically changed. "Funding for consumer awareness and education has increased; this year over Rs 75 crore have been allotted for publicity and awareness campaigns to empower the consumer."

But the key concern of consumer activists and professionals like Misra is the "overbearing influence that the food industry has on policymaking, not only here but globally."

The Council is engaged in combating food adulteration. "In India, the best piece of legislation we have compared to other countries is the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. Its loopholes have been plugged through amendments but, unfortunately, the State governments, which have to implement this Act, have till now shown a low level of sensitivity in doing so. All of a sudden Maharashtra woke up and took strong action against violations on food labels and false claims. But such action is sporadic and not institutionalised."

He says adulterations take place on several fronts — misbranding, wrong labelling, misinformation and wrong advertisements. Under the law even misleading ads constitute adulteration; the mixing of kankar, colours etc has reduced thanks to packaging of food products. "Today even an ordinary consumer prefers to buy a branded product in decent packaging as it is easier to store."

On the recourse a wronged consumer has on local or imported food products, he says, "The consumer can sue the shopkeeper and include as parties both the importer and the manufacturer. But we're not talking of suing but friendly redressal mechanisms that the Government can put in place." He warns that more and more imported stuff is likely to come in and because of poor enforcement in our country a lot of food products taken off the shelves of other countries are getting dumped here.

Shop right

So consumers need to do the following:

Shop only in reputed shops.

Read the label before putting the product in the cart.

Watch out for the `Best before' date

Insist on a bill as this documents the purchase and creates evidence of sale.

Feedback from the consumer is a must; if you find anything wrong, take the trouble to complain.

As a pilot initiative, the GOI has opened a helpline (toll-free number 1600-11-4000) managed by the Delhi University six days a week from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. where consumers can complain, seek information or counselling. But this can be used only from BSNL and MTNL telephones.

Giving the example of packaged drinking water and efforts to bring in standards, he says, "Ultimately the buck stops with the consumer; he/she will have to be vigilant and proactive." On the inadequate penalty or punishment for adulterators, he says, "We're telling the Government that if somebody plays with my safety or health, I don't want him to just pay a fine of Rs 500 or spend three months behind bars. That doesn't mean anything to me. The offender should compensate me for playing with my health."

Tough laws

But Misra's biggest concern is related to some aspects of the Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005, now before a Parliamentary Standing Committee. "The Ministry of Food Processing Industry was given the task of piloting this Bill; they consulted all the task-holders and heard us also. But the shape and form of the Bill is totally anti-consumer and anti-citizen. It is pro-industry in terms of penal action."

He says the penal action is negligible; "the compensation is a very small figure. They're talking about wilful and non-wilful adulteration, but how can you prove that the adulteration was wilful or otherwise? The offender could always say that by mistake some information got missed from the label, `so you can't penalise me'. We're saying you committed a mistake; even if it did not harm a consumer, it could have caused big damage."

On the consumer organisations' lobbying power, Misra says, "How can we fight against the industry? They are so resourceful and have a long and wide reach. But luckily, it has become an inter-ministerial fight. We are saying the law should be within the purvey of the Health Ministry because the Industry Ministry's mandate is to promote the industry and its business. But the mandate of the Health Ministry is to protect the interest and safety of the citizen. So we're not against the Bill; but the law should be implemented by the Health Ministry."

With consumer awareness being abysmally low in rural areas, the focus of activists like Misra is to spread awareness to rural areas and involve more women in this movement. "We now want to involve panchayats, and women. In this movement, not even two per cent women are there. In Consumer International with 200 members we have an unwritten understanding to always elect as president a woman from a developing country. The present president is from Brazil but we don't have leadership from women in India. If we want this movement to grow, more women will have to come in. I've coined this slogan: `Consumer movement has to move towards pro-poor, pro-rural, pro-women."

Those seeking consumer guidance can go to the Consumer Voice website: www.consumer-voice.org; "you can get technical information or ask questions and we'll reply," promises Misra.

Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh

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