New tech launched to treat organic food waste New tech launched to treat organic foo

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Veena Annadana

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New tech launched to treat organic food waste
ArticleReader Comments Email To Friend By Charlie Lyon
Feb 13, 2012
The new Dulsco Converta, a two-chamber waste composting system, being displayed to customers
Dulsco, a waste-management solutions company, has introducted a new environment-friendly technology to help the hospitality industry dispose of waste food and organic material cost-effectively.

The company has concluded trials on its Converta, developed by the UK-based Converta Limited, which turns organic waste into solid usable bio-compost in 48-72 hours.

It contains two major chambers that treat organic waste systematically by adding natural plant extracts at regular intervals, using low amounts of electricity.

With a fully automated dosing system, bio-stimulant is injected into the Converta chambers at various points. This combines with automated temperature, controlled movement and oxygenation stimulation to enable the rapid conversion of the waste.

Prakash Parab, director of Dulsco Waste Management Services, said: “Typically, organic waste accounts for a major share of landfill material. Proper treatment and management is a challenge faced by all as untreated and unmanaged organic material creates odour, hygiene concerns and causes adverse environmental impacts.

“In our constant endeavour to introduce innovative technologies and products in our portfolio of services, we found it to be an excellent alternative waste management solution. Using this technology, the hospitality industry can treat organic waste at the source itself, thus easing the pressure on the country’s landfills.”

source: New tech launched to treat organic food waste | HotelierMiddleEast.com
 

Africa: Certified Organic Farming Generates 90 Trillion

Africa: Certified Organic Farming Generates 90 Trillion
14 FEBRUARY 2012
Comment
CERTIFIED organic farming is now a lucrative business that generates a whopping 60 billion US dollars (about 90trn/-) annually although millions of farmers remain outside the formal system, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a statement on Monday.

The UN agency said that the world has now an estimated two million certified organic farmers of whom 80 percent are in developing countries with 34 percent of them in Africa, including Tanzania. Asia has 29 percent while Latin America has 17 percent.

"Developing countries account for 73 percent of land certified for organic wild collection and beekeeping...other countless developing country farmers practice organic agriculture without being formally certified," UNCTAD noted. Organic agriculture relies on healthy soils and active agroecological management rather than on the use of inputs with adverse effects such as artificial pesticides and fertilizers.

It combines tradition, innovation and science. Among the benefits are higher incomes, more stable and nutritious diets, higher soil fertility, reduced soil erosion, better resilience to climate extremes such as drought and heavy rainfall, greater resource efficiency, lower carbon footprints,less dependence on purchased external inputs and reduced ruralurban migration, the UNCTAD said.

The UN agency that cater for trade and development pointed out that organic products are increasingly fetching higher prices globally averaging between 15 and 150 percent more than conventional products. "Minor differences in organic standards and certification requirements can hinder this trade. Harmonization and equivalence - that is, mutual recognition of different standards and conformity assessment systems - are a means of overcoming these differences so that markets for organic products continue to grow," the statement added.

The latest news comes at a time when the government has announced major policy shift to allow research on genetically engineered organisms backed by an over 5bn/- per annum grant from United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Professor Jumanne Maghembe said in Dar es Salaam last week that the government is moving towards embracing GMOs which many parts of the world have rejected because of concerns of environment, health and trade patents.

An organic conference started on Monday in Nuremberg, Germany which is co-sponsored by BioFach, the world's largest organic trade show. The conference which will be addressed by UNCTAD Director for Division for International Trade in Goods and Services, Guillermo Valles, Deputy Director General of World Trade Organization, Harsha Singh and Assistant Director General of Food and Agriculture Organization, Alexander Mueller among many other distinguished personalities will review progress made in the past decade since the public-private effort to expand the range of places where developing country farmers can sell their organic products was initiated.

Tagged: Africa, Agribusiness, Business, East Africa, External Relations, International Organisations, Africa on the Move, Tanzania


Copyright © 2012 Tanzania Daily News. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

Source: allAfrica.com: Africa: Certified Organic Farming Generates 90 Trillion
 

India could show the way in organic farming in 30 years

India could show the way in organic farming in 30 years

M. R. SUBRAMANI
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NUREMBERG (GERMANY), FEB. 15:
The world's largest annual organic products event, BioFach 2012, began here with a sharp focus on India and its products.

“Millions of small and marginal farmers practise organic farming by default.

This is because they do farming in rain-fed areas and cannot afford modern agriculture that encompasses using fertilisers and pesticides,” said Mr Asit Tripathy, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Commerce.

Changes were happening in Indian agriculture with mechanisation, corporatisation and contract farming, but in the last 10 years, the Indian Government has woken up to the potential of organic farming, he said.

Indian organic products exports currently are valued at $400 million and the target was to top $1 billion by 2015, he said.

“The $400 million makes up just 16 per cent of organic products produced in India,” Mr Tripathy said, adding that the domestic organic market was growing.

“Domestic organic products are competing against mainstream products in supermarkets in India,” he said.

With the setting up of National Project for Organic Farming, the Government was trying to launch organic certification programme for the domestic market. Default forums have been asked to set up a group of 500 farmers and encourage them to take up certification of their products, he said.

India is the ‘Country of the Year' at BioFach 2012 and there is a strong presence of 51 manufacturers, including in textiles, at the fair.

Besides Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development Authority, the Tea Board and Spices Board are also participating.

Earlier in his address, Dr Ulrich Maly, Mayor of Nuremberg, said that a meeting of network of organic cities in Germany would be held during BioFach.

Dr Gerd Mueller, German Secretary for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, said that Germany was attempting to expand organic cultivation to another 10,000 farms to meet the increasing demand.

Dr Felic Prinz zu Lowenstein, Chairman of Federation of Organic Enterprises in Germany, said organic farming can provide food security and feed the world.

He said that India could show the way in organic products in 30 years, especially in sustainable agriculture and food safety.

Mr Andrew Leu, President of UN's IFOAM, said the current focus was on food security and poverty reduction. “If this has to be achieved, logically the focus should be small growers who make 70 per cent of farming in the world,” he said.

(The trip for the event has been sponsored by Nuremberg Messe with the collaboration of Apeda.)

mrsubramani@thehindu.co.in

Source: Business Line : Industry & Economy / Agri-biz : India could show the way in organic farming in 30 years
 

Arsenic discovered in organic foods, baby formula

Arsenic discovered in organic foods, baby formula
Products containing organic brown rice syrup found to have higher concentration of dietary arsenic


NEW YORK—
The “organic” food health craze has provided a health-conscious generation with more nutritious food options.

But as it turns out, some of the foods you think are making you healthier may in fact contain a very toxic ingredient – arsenic.

A team of researchers from Dartmouth have revealed many organic food products that contain a supplement known as organic brown rice syrup have a much higher concentration of dietary arsenic than foods without the syrup. They tested numerous organic foods with the ingredient, including infant formulas, cereal and energy bars, and energy supplements used by marathoners and cyclists.

One of the infant formulas tested had a degree of arsenic six times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safe drinking water limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Brian Jackson, research associate professor and lead author of the study, said the study stemmed from previous studies the team had done on arsenic in baby formulas.

“The main brand infant formulas were pretty low,” Jackson told FoxNews.com. “Then I was at a local super market and saw two infant formulas we hadn’t run, and they had 20 to 30 times higher rates of arsenic than all of the other main brand infant formulas. I looked at the label and the first ingredient I saw was organic brown rice syrup.”

“I’d done work on arsenic in rice before, and we knew rice can take quite a high concentration of arsenic, so immediately thought the arsenic was from the rice syrup,” Jackson said. “So it got me thinking what other foods contain brown rice syrup.”

Organic brown rice syrup increasingly is being used in organic foods as a healthier sweetener option. The brown rice variant is (also) typically used as an alternative for high fructose corn syrup after criticism surfaced that corn syrup was a much more harmful component than sugar and was substantially adding to the obesity epidemic.

Rice’s tendency to have higher concentrations of arsenic is a result of how it grows. When rice is cultivated, it absorbs a compound known as silica, which helps the plant grow more vigorously. In the conditions in which rice is grown, arsenic closely resembles silica, so the plant absorbs it as well.

Brown rice absorbs even more arsenic than white rice because a lot of the arsenic in the rice grain exists in the husk of brown rice.

Previous tests of drinking water have shown a link between high arsenic concentration and an increased risk for some cancers and cardiovascular disease. However, Jackson said it’s too early to determine the potential dangers of eating too much organic brown rice syrup.

“We really don’t know what the risks are,” Jackson said. “We have a good handle on what the risks of arsenic are through drinking water, but those calculations are based on a lifetime of exposure. Whereas, arsenic in food is a different issue. Your diet choices are variable, so some items may contain arsenic and some don’t. So it’s hard to make those comparisons.”

While the researchers aren’t looking to scare people away from eating organic foods, they are hoping people will be better informed about the foods that they choose. The team also hopes their study will encourage the FDA to establish better guidelines in terms of organic foods, specifically infant formulas. They feel babies could be affected by these arsenic levels the most.

“Infants are the ones who get a disproportionate arsenic exposure,” Jackson said. “Our limits are based on our weights, and infant’s have very low body weights, so they are getting a comparatively large dose. That’s a lot of arsenic.”


Read more: Organic foods: secret source of dietary arsenic? | Fox News

Spurce: Arsenic discovered in organic foods, baby formula - KCPQ
 

Slump in Europe may drag demand for organic products

Slump in Europe may drag demand for organic products

M. R. SUBRAMANI
SHARE · PRINT · T+
RECENTLY IN NUREMBERG (GERMANY):
The outlook for growth in the global market for organic products is positive. However, the pace of growth is likely to be mixed, particularly in Europe due to economic instability.

According to experts of the organic products industry who took part in BioFach 2012 that had India as the ‘Country of the year, the demand for organic products could witness a slower growth in the UK and Italy. However, Germany and France could see a better growth rate.

The US is witnessing better overall growth this year and therefore, it could see its demand for organic products increased to a record $30 billion. This year, the market for organic products in the US could further grow to $31.5-32 billion, according to Ms Laura Batcha, Organic Trade Association of the US.

“The growth for organic products in the US is currently 10 per cent against 0.6 per cent for conventional food,” she said, adding that farmers' markets in the US increased 17 per cent 2010 – an indicator of growth in organic products.

Dr Helga Willer, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland, said that cultivation of organic produce increased to 10 million hectares in Europe last year, while it declined in Asia.

According to Mr Amarjit Sahota, Organic Monitor, the UK, the area under organic farming is likely to touch 2 million hectares this year with Asian organic markets likely to grow approximately by 20 per cent until 2012.

RISE IN DEMAND

The promise for growth comes from increasing small and medium enterprises sector that is developing awareness of food quality and a cosmopolitan outlook. This has led to rise in demand for organic products in China and India.

Ms Diana Schaack, Agrarmarkt Informations-GmbH, Germany, said that the growth in organic food last year was helped by dioxin and e-coli scandals in Europe.

Dioxins that were reported to have been found in animal feed, pushed up demand for organic animal products, particularly, she said.

The E-coli outbreak during May-June last year changed consumer spending from certain vegetables such as cucumber to organic and conventional foods.

“The year 2011 saw a rebound in prices and production of organic farm produce. Fresh products will continue to dominate the organic market,” she said.

Dr Susanne Padel of the Organic Research Centre in the UK, said the area under organic farming dropped to 50,000 hectares in the UK from 1,20,000 hectares in 2009 due to faltering ‘political commitment'.

“There is stagnation in land being diverted for organic farming, while retail outlets are unwilling to stock organic products,” she said, pointing to the dropping demand.

France, the second largest market for organic products in Europe, has been witnessing a boom since 2008 and already four out every 10 French people consume organic food.

Brazil, too, could see growth in demand for organic products.

However, the growth rate will depend on how the European crisis is solved according to Mr Sahota.

Russia and the US could see healthy growth but much would depend on how supply can match demand since there was a growing imbalance with consumption.

“Food inflation will also have a role to play in growth of organic food,” said Mr Sahota.

mrsubramani@thehindu.co.in

Source: Business Line : Industry & Economy / Agri-biz : Slump in Europe may drag demand for organic products
 

India: Agro-biodiversity benefits from organic production

India: Agro-biodiversity benefits from organic production

The preservation of indigenous crop strains, a strong political will and a movement towards organic farming were the subjects for a discussion on agro biodiversity that took place at the Vasundhara International Film Festival this week.

A group of seven farmers from various parts of the country exhibited organically produced produce as examples of organic farming's contribution to agro bio-diversity.

Seedbank promotion has taken off successfully in Karnataka, said Bangalore-based Krishna Prasad, who has set up the state's first organic producers' company.

"Karnataka is the first Indian state that brought out an organic farming policy and also allocated Rs 250 crore for organic farming. We have an organic village programme, now in its third phase, where it is implemented in every district through a network of NGOs," said Prasad, who works with a network of 30 farmer groups across the state.

Satish Awate from Pune-based Centre for Environment Education, said, "We are gradually going the organic way and people are realising the nutritional value of what they eat. Indigenous species of crops that comprise a rich dietary heritage need to be preserved."

Deepika Kundaji, who focuses on conserving rare and endangered vegetable varieties in Auroville, Pondicherry, said, "We have 90 different varieties of vegetables that are being shared with gardeners and farmers all over India. National seedbanks make no sense because these are ex situ conservation attempts.

Sabarmati, who works with a network of farmers in Orissa's Nayagadh district, faces the challenge of promoting the indigenous crop varieties in her area. "People have to gain back faith that indigenous varieties also do perform well.

The rising production cost of farming led a group of farmers in 15 villages of Sangamner district to resort to the organic way. "Six years ago we began to acquire private plots for growing produce organically. We've realised this project can be branded and packaged properly for mass consumption," said a farmer from Sangamner.
Publication date: 2/24/2012

Source: India: Agro-biodiversity benefits from organic production
 

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