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The influx of foreign Corporations, bringing in or manufacturing in Bharat, new edible packaged products, most with strange additives, preservatives, taste-color-smell enhancers, getting FSSAI approval on questionable batch quality, is a serious matter for health and well being of youth and for TRADITIONAL FOODS.
The attractive promotion, marketing methods and easy availability makes these products seem the right thing to the youth and kids. When deeper analysis is done and the downside of these products gets exposed, new labels like Junk Food, High in Fat and Sugar, poor food value, are used to dissuade young and old from consuming these products.
It is therefore important to counter this onslaught by presenting alternative wholesome food items which have stood the test of local evolution and time in various regions of our vast Bharat. NGOs and Agencies could seek global patents and copyright for most with support from concerned experts.
It is proposed that we list out traditional and safe items with their constituents, making processes, region of use, pictures, etc so a Manual gets prepared. Emphasis must be on items that can be stored for a week or more, preferably without refrigeration or added chemicals, and which allow localisation in making. One must note that most preservatives used traditionally are: dehydration and sanitisation in sunlight, salt, oil, common spices, clean containers, dry air storage, and the like.
The traditional products may be classified as: Condiments and Preserves, Savories, Sweets, Main eatables, Drinks, Chutnies (dry and wet), Others. These could be organised for various regions of Bharat, such as: Himachal, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra, TamilNadu, Kerala, Bengal, Assam, etc. Each item must have related appendix with maximum details on constituents and sources, pictures, recipe and detailed process, equipment, quality checks, taste leads, storage details, usage conditions and usage life. Suggestions on accompanying items too may be suggested for a balanced meal. A bibliography for reference would be good. A reference guide for words too will be needed. A superficial google search shows lots of data on traditional foods state vise, but details needed for our purpose are listed below.
A website with registered participants and Wikipedia type revised reports will encourage our Citizens to participate. A multilingual support for a few languages, with a qualified editorial board consisting of expert regional Chefs, will help develop the website. A legal cell to guide global registration is also recommended. Note this whole exercise has limited scope for governmental agencies, except as source for guidance at a later stage when the website lists one hundred key items, edited multiple times, over atleast one year. Help to promote concept and website by popular media is needed to attract participants.
I request expert help in putting up a spreadsheet as an initial exercise for populating the cells.
Compiled: Prafulla Vora, 01st June 2018.
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