The grand organic food opera

Ethical and health concerns are motivating people to eat wisely and well. Some of them share with Michael Patrao simple rules for healthy living.

Like Cliff Richard who sang, ‘Searching for a Green Light’, people in Bangalore, with depleting green cover and increasing stress and pollution, are looking for solutions which will keep their sanity and health intact.

A growing number of Bangaloreans are consciously choosing organic food. They have a wide choice as a number of outlets have sprung up across the City offering organic fruits, vegetables, pulses, spices and other food items. Bakeries and supermarkets stock whole-grain and multi-grain bread, biscuits and even noodles, unheard of a decade ago. Branded and certified organic food products are available in most supermarkets besides exclusive organic outlets.

Green tea, said to have anti-oxidant and anti-cholesterol properties, savoured without
milk or sugar, is slowly replacing conventional tea. It is quite a trend in many corporate offices in the City.

The consumer of organic food is today wiser and understands that organic vegetables and fruits cannot look uniformly similar and evenly coloured like the imported, hybrid and genetically modified fruits and vegetables which have flooded the market. For instance, the informed consumer does not expect a tomato to be perfectly-shaped and have a bright red hue.

There is a marked preference for food that is cooked without additives, preservatives, baking soda, ajinomoto, hydrogenated fats and artificial flavours and colours. The dark green palak paneer, the vivid orange kalmi kabab and the bright blue aerated drink, all made to look appealing with added colours, do not find favour with many consumers.
A major drawback in shopping for organic produce is the price, which is marginally higher. However, the upwardly mobile Bangalorean does not mind shelling out a little extra for quality and good health.

Indian organic food now available in UAE

DUBAI: Organic food products from Indian farms will now be made available to UAE residents as part of a new deal signed between a leading UAE supermarket chain and an Indian organic food producer, according to a media report.
More than 80 organic food products including cereals, pulses, spices and fruit juices will be sold across the country in Choithrams stores, following the chain’s partnership with Indian organic food producer, 24 Mantra Organic.
The new product line is expected to be more affordable than existing organic products in the UAE.
“We already have organic products but this is the first time Indian organic products will be sold in our stores. We will introduce more organic products if there is a demand from customers,” Subhash Kurup, retail marketing manager of Choithrams, told the Khaleej Times.
The company, which produces popular Brown rice, peanut and wheat products, is putting strict quality control measures in place to meet international hygiene and food safety regulations.
“Organic food is all about trust. We have control from the seed to the kitchen and each food product can be traced back to the farm and the farmer who cultivated it,” Raj Seelam, managing director of 24 Mantra Organic, told the paper.