The proposed National Food Security Bill (NFSB), under consideration of Standing Committee of Parliament, may be reviewed for procurement and distribution of maize or corn (under coarse grains scheme) at Rs 1 per kg to intended beneficiaries.
Without going into the merits and demerits of ever-increasing subsidies under NFSB, corn for human consumption is highly vulnerable to impermissible limits of fungal toxicity — called “aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2)”. There are no aflatoxin limits specified for maize on the FCI web site. The broad requirements of maize’s procurement at MSP (Minimum Support Price) of Rs 11,750/mt ($210 of 2012-13) are mentioned as “uniform shape and colour. It shall be in sound merchantable condition and also conforming to PFA standards”. Internationally notified aflatoxins parameters of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US (see table), are meticulously adhered to all over the world.
POOR SHELF LIFE
For human ingestion, aflatoxin limits should not exceed maximum 20 parts per billion (ppb). Aflatoxins’ toxicity primarily attacks the liver. The toxicity can occur from short-term consumption of very high doses of aflatoxin-contaminated grain, or long-term ingestion of low levels of aflatoxins.
As a starchy grain, corn promptly absorbs moisture beyond an allowable level of 14 per cent during harvest or in unscientific storage and transportation, thereby raising its fungi levels beyond 50-300 ppb or more. The rate of contamination goes up in geometrical progression in weeks, and not months. Such grains are unfit for human intake.
There is a perennial scarcity of hospitable warehousing in the country for main cereals such as wheat and rice. Corn is neither a staple food of Indians, nor is corn a viable substitute for wheat or rice. Therefore, any public procurement will imminently expose it to poor conditions of storage and contamination, elevating its toxicity to unacceptable levels. Such expenditure will be futile to begin with.
Corn has a short shelf life, more so if badly handled; it would become unfit for consumption much before it can be despatched to the targeted recipients. Maize procurement by FCI under PDS has been disposed of in local auctions below MSP, due to lack of quality compliance.
Corn has multiple consumption formats as food, feed and industrial inputs (starch), including ethanol production. Enhanced fungi intensity of 50-100 ppb is used for poultry and 100-300 ppb for livestock. Availability of corn below aflatoxin levels of 20 ppb in our country is very limited.
Unless this is complemented with well-maintained scientific storages, its delivery to local population via the public distribution system is fraught with health hazards. In the US, China, Argentina, Brazil — the main producing origins — corn is handled by systematic elevator bins/storages, aided with moisture control and drying facilities that are not feasible at this stage in India. The Standing Committee of Parliament may, therefore, evaluate this predicament while considering consumption of corn through NFSB.
TOUGH REGULATONS
India produces around 20-22 million tonnes of corn and exports 2-3 million tonnes to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan annually. Exported corn from India is utilised as feed for poultry and livestock where fungal contamination beyond 50 ppb is permissible. Indian exporters recently had to contend with tough quarantine regulations in these countries over aflatoxin levels.
Some corn cargoes faced rejection, diversion or distress sale due to variations in the acceptable levels of this fungus. Fumigation by pesticides can take care of live infestation, but not of mouldy formations. Revenue earnings per tonne from domestic and export markets are around Rs 10,000 per tonne. The very idea of distributing mouldy/decomposed corn to the public at Rs 10,000 per tonne is bizarre.
Paddy is milled for rice and then dispensed under PDS. Wheat is cleaned, washed dried and then ground for flour. Their shelf life makes them safer for human consumption.
But corn gets irreparably damaged by the fungus, unless consumed quickly. It is particularly unsuited to distribution by an inefficient PDS. For other coarse grains, too, such aspects of fungal toxicity need to be addressed, before the Standing Committee formulates its views on inclusion in the NFSB.
(The author is a grains trade analyst)