Lateral Thinking.

The solving of problems by an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light.

Problem: Food adulteration.

Cause:

1. Lack of awareness/knowledge

2. Rapacity

Solution:

SUMMARIZING - SUBMISSION

Why don't schools emphasis on the factor of teaching us to tackle food adulteration?

How to approach the problem?

1. Look to improve existing solutions.
2. Create a new solution.


Existing solutions.

1. Create Awareness.

How?

1. Posters
2. Ad films
3. Comics

2. Food Literacy (noun: Understanding the impact of your food choices on your health, the environment, and our economy.)

1. Include more about the matter in school books.

More:

This series called "YEAR:2038" targets the teens. 

Comic Strip.
The comics focus on spreading awareness on Food adulteration.

Spreading awareness.

How?

Posters, Movies , Ads , billboards.

But is spreading awareness is all that'll take to tackle this?

NO.

Though Ad films are made it fails to reach the audience or it isn't detailed enough.

Breaking down the Ads.

Usually the advertisement show how the food is unsafe.

Why is this a flaw?

Informing people about unsafe food is just the start. We need to inform them how to tackle them.

We need to make the producers realise how they harm humanity.

in my opinion changing the notion of money should bring down adulteration in food, as in, making people thoughtful about one another. Though it is inconclusive. This is the way to go about it.

How do I do that?


I am aiming for the younger minds. As we can educate them on how the whole food adulteration scene works. Hopefully, This should make them prioritize what is right.

Corruption in FSSAI.

Here are a few headlines from newspapers.

1. Only 1 out of 15 food businesses registered with FSSAI.

2. FSSAI officials caught: Centre asks Uttar Pradesh govt to take action against guilty.

3. For a few thousand rupees, food authorities in UP ban or pass food product. 

Genetically Modified Food.

What?

Genetically modified foods or GM foods, also genetically engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Genetic engineering techniques allow for the introduction of new traits as well as greater control over traits than previous methods such as selective breeding and mutation breeding

Genetically modified organisms can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. 

The technology is often called 'modern biotechnology' or 'gene technology', sometimes also 'recombinant DNA technology' or 'genetic engineering'.Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods

History

With the discovery of DNA in the early 1900s and various advancements in genetic techniques through the 1970s it became possible to directly alter the DNA and genes within food.By 2010, 29 countries had planted commercialized biotech crops and a further 31 countries had granted regulatory approval for transgenic crops to be imported. The US was the leading country in the production of GM foods in 2011, with twenty-five GM crops having received regulatory approval.

How it works.

Genetically engineered organisms are generated and tested in the laboratory for desired qualities. The most common modification is to add one or more genes to an organism's genome. Less commonly, genes are removed or their expression is increased or silenced or the number of copies of a gene is increased or decreased.

The producer applies for Approval test, called a "field release." Field-testing involves cultivating the plants on farm fields or growing animals in a controlled environment. If these field tests are successful, the producer applies for regulatory approval to grow and market the crop. Once approved, specimens (seeds, cuttings, breeding pairs, etc.) are cultivated and sold to farmers. The farmers cultivate and market the new strain. In some cases, the approval covers marketing but not cultivation.

How to test Food Adulteration.

Here is an Instruction manual by FSSAI

What is FSSAI?

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an agency of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 , Fruit Products Order , 1955, Meat Food Products Order , 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order 1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 etc will be repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006.

The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command. To this effect, the Act establishes an independent statutory Authority – the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India with head office at Delhi. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Food Safety Authorities shall enforce various provisions of the Act.

FSSAI has been mandated by the FSS Act, 2006 for performing the following functions:

1. Framing of Regulations to lay down the Standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and specifying appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus notified.
2. Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in certification of food safety management system for food businesses.
3. Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
4. To provide scientific advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments in the matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing of food safety and nutrition .
5. Collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various, contaminants in foods products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
6. Creating an information network across the country so that the public, consumers, Panchayats etc receive rapid, reliable and objective information about food safety and issues of concern.
7. Provide training programmes for persons who are involved or intend to get involved in food businesses.
8. Contribute to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
9. Promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.


Click here to view the full Food Safety Act:

http://www.fssai.gov.in/Portals/0/Pdf/FOOD-ACT.pdf

RESEARCH

Reading News paper articles on Food Adulteration. The results were many. Here are some of them.

Design Process (2016): Problem - Food Adulteration.What is Food Adultera...

What is Food Adulteration?

 Adulterated food is impure, unsafe, or unwholesome food Causes of Food

Thinking Process:

Problem - Food Adulteration.

What is Food Adulteration?

Adulterated food is impure, unsafe, or unwholesome food

Causes of Food Adulteration.

1. The one main reason why food is adulterated is to make profit. The greed of money.
2. Lack of Education.
3. Lack of Hygiene

Result.

The consumer is either cheated or often become victim of diseases. such types of adulteration are quite common in developing countries or backward countries.

The next posts will be about my Research and Thinking Process.