The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is at the eye of storm for its alleged move to endorse PepsiCo's Tropicana juice and Quaker oats. The IMA, an 80-year-old national organisation of doctors of modern scientific system of medicine, has risked the wrath of union health minister Anbhumani Ramadoss. The IMA, however, has paid scant attention to Ramadoss' criticism and sees no harm in promoting oatmeal, which is a cholesterol reducing food. The 1,76,000 strong body of doctors, has denied reports of receiving a payment of Rs 50 lakh for the endorsement.

Organised retail sector will create the right environment for the growth and development of food processing industry in the country, Union minister of state for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai, said on Saturday. Most of the processed foods produced in the small and micro sectors in India are not properly developed and branded yet.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today defended its decision to endorse a particular brand of fruit juices and cereals arguing it has always favoured healthy food. "It is an endorsement of the ingredients of products and not the products themselves. Besides, the endorsement is not supposed to be displayed on the packets," IMA Secretary S N Misra said. Everybody knows fruit juices are good for health and similarly the other product Oatmeal cereal is good for keeping cholesterol levels under check, he said.

It's a conflict of interest

The Union health ministry has taken strong objection to Indian Medical Association's move to endorse PepsiCo's Tropicana pure juices and Quaker Oats. Speaking to TOI, Union health minister A Ramadoss said IMA should focus more on irrational use of drugs and blood products rather than endorse Dettol and juices.

The move by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) of endorsing Tropicana juices and Quaker Oats has invited widespread criticism. Calling it an issue of ethics, Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said, "We are clear that it's completely wrong. In fact it's legally wrong. The Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act clearly says that no medical association can endorse a product. There is an issue of ethics here, doctors' associations all over the world have always been resisting to get into such endorsements. How can Pepsi ask IMA about it."

IN A global first for all PepsiCo markets, Indian doctors will soon begin endorsing the cola giant's Tropicana juice and Quaker Oats. PepsiCo India's snack foods arm Frito-Lay has tied up with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to promote both products, marking a shift of sorts for a company that is synonymous with celebrity endorsements.

The Union government has decided to provide subsidy to all cooperative milk marketing institutions for switching over to natural vanilla as a flavoured ingredient in their various milk-based products. The commerce ministry is preparing a scheme for this and a notification will be issued shortly. The ministry has planned to provide the difference in prices between natural and synthetic vanilla as subsidy.

In the backdrop of high inflation and global food shortage forcing the likes of Wal-Mart to consider rationing of food products, Indian retail chains are trying to maintain prices of agri products at the base levels and are wooing consumers with combo-offers. Indian modern retail stores maintain that there is no shortage of food and agri products and have denied any kind of panic situation among consumers or traders.

The Coimbatore-based Sabols, a leading packaged drinking water company in South India, is repositioning itself as Sabols Foods India Pvt Ltd to tap the growing ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food market in the country. "We want to be a pan Indian company catering to the discerning, quality conscious consumers across the country,' KM Senthil, chairman said.