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India has huge potential in nutraceutical and functional foods which are beyond basic nutrition : DR. V Prakash, director
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Wednesday, 28 October, 2009, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bangalore
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 Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), today, stands out among the largest and most diversified technology laboratories in the world. The institute is one of the constituent of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and till now, has built a network with these laboratories for further utilizing the infrastructure.
CFTRI plays a very major role in opening its doors to the outside world to see how people across the globe can synergise with the institute for their advantage and for the advantage of the institute in cross-ventilating the knowledge power which is tomorrow's wealth. With the 5th nutraceutical summit all set to take off at The Lalit, New Delhi from 28-30 October, 2009 and CFTRI being part of the organisers team, CFTRI Director V Prakash tells Nandita Vijay about the trends in nutraceuticals market, latest developments and events like the Nutraceuticals summit playing an important role in accelerating the industry.
What was the reason for the Nutraceutical Summit to be shifted to Delhi since Mumbai was always the base for the event?
The event has been happening in Mumbai all these years and it is only pertinent that it should go around the country. Next year, the venue could be one of the other metros in the country: Hyderabad or Bangalore. It is good to have the event in a different city as the nutraceutical industry is spread across the country.
What are the key objectives of this event?
The event which was flagged off five years ago has grown in stature. When the event started six years ago, the nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and functional foods sector was valued globally at $40 billion today this sector is estimated at $ 200 billion. One needs to take the stock of the industry and study the developments, shortfall, understand the demand and begin research in those areas. An annual event like this is the only way to keep tabs of the latest trends and the way forward for the nutraceutical and dietary supplement industry. We also need to look at what the industry needs to address in the future to generate the response and the revenues from this ever green market.
There has been always a confusion among the consumers about the definition of the nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. Could you provide us with an explanation on this?
There is nothing like a strong definition. In fact one should add many other parameters here. The definition of nutraceuticals is complete nutrition. Dietary supplements are indispensable as it can provide beyond the basic vitamins, minerals and proteins required to function the body. But nutraceuticals are recommended for disease prevention. Nutraceuticals does not work in kilograms! Dietary supplements are targeted to treat deficiencies or control specific deficiencies. When these are being addressed the person has to have the basic nutrition. Nutraceuticals and Dietary supplements are not-for-stand alone consumption, but need to compliment each other along with basic nutrition. For instance rice has starch which provides the required carbohydrates but there is need for dietary supplements like dietary fibre besides functional foods like parboiled rice contains starch which is easily digestible. Therefore we need to supplement and compliment the two required for normal body functioning, beyond basic nutrition through food based approach.
What are the latest efforts by CFTRI in the development of nutraceutical foods and dietary supplements to prevent the life style disorders?
There has been ample research carried out by CFTRI on food-based nutrition. The idea is to provide the consumers all the nutrition through food, at an affordable cost with plenty of adaptability and we have the best. We can integrate the collage of small and large industries into a network.
What are the future focus areas by the Institute in this space?
CFTRI has an important focus and research efforts are on. There are plenty of foods which need to be assessed and classified. Our main agenda is food safety. Validation of claims on product displays bring in awareness and knowledge empowerment.
How would you describe the scene for dietary products and nutraceuticals in India ?
The scene holds ample opportunities and the future has immense prospects. The primary reason is the increasingly sedentary lifestyle and intake of fast food coupled with a preference by the consumer for preventive therapies. We will see lot of value addition in food which will be based on sound scientific validation and also with our unprecedented treatise of traditional and ethnic foods and India’s biodiversity.
What are the types of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements which are much sought after?. For eg. probiotic curds or the health drinks or nutrient flours and the like?
It is a combination of all foods. There is a growing perception among people to challenge the life style disorders. Nutraceuticals do more than just supplement the diet and can be in any food form. The message is that of a holistic approach rather than a specific area
What are the visible trends in the sector?
People are aware of what they eat, and how it might affect their health. There is constant discussion and growing interest for the Recommended Dietary Allowances with regards of vitamins and minerals. The nutritional requirement and functional foods that are in demand in different facets of foods including the low glycemic foods for diabetes put us into the right challenge for solving it as scientists.
What is the future of India in the nutraceutical and dietary supplement space?
India has all the advantages of becoming a nutraceutical hub. Just like Information Technology and Biotechnology efforts by the country, India’s next growth path is Food Technology where nutraceuticals and dietary supplements will be much-sought-after. Today, the country’s growth in nutraceuticals and dietary supplements is less than 2 percent. Policy makers industry and researchers and experts in the field are looking at increasing it to 10 percent. Therefore the varied sessions at the Nutraceutical Summit held at Delhi will addresses all this. Therefore at every Summit, we review the progress of the country in this segment. There are a lot of challenges. We need to tap the public-private partnerships in the sector. We need to network, maximize the benefits and capitalize the advantages of this sector from farm to forkand cannot forget the farmer and grower. The entire chain is crucial. As the chairman of the Nutraceutical Panel under FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) efforts are on by me to aggressively bring out more clarity to the sector. In this regard we have also to integrate the industry, MNCs, academicians and government to regulate the sector.
In the global meltdown has the sector witnessed a slow down or have you seen a dip in terms of response ?
The food consumption has not decreased during the global meltdown in India. It might have had an indirect effect but has hardly witnessed a direct impact. India has been doing relatively well during the global economic crisis. Our firm economy is the key reason for this. Therefore there has been no meltdown in terms of progress and this is because the country is stone solid and not like ice. We have a solid agrarian economy foundation which has seen several industry sectors build up strong pillars to succeed. With regards to the res
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