Food MArketing & Technology In India Food Marketing & Technology In India Vol 10 | Page 49

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across the globe suggest that regular
consumption of Yakult helps improve
intestinal health and immunity and
it benefits in constipation, diarrhoea,
upper respiratory tract infections,
allergies and also helps to reduce
the risk of some types of cancers. 39
million people in 40 countries and
regions consume it every day for its
health benefits.
Since Yakult contains live lactic acid
bacteria, it requires refrigeration.
Keeping it at room temperature for a
while before consumption is fine but
once it is kept out for a long period of
time, it tends to become sour because
of the increase in lactic acid in the
product. This also results in a decline
in the bacterial count.
What makes this category of
probiotics so important?
The reason for probiotics has
everything to do with Intestinal health.
More often than not we tend to neglect
one of the most important organs of
our body – the intestine. However,
increasingly it is being realized that the
intestine is not just the site for digestion
of food and absorption of nutrients
but is also the largest immune organ
of the body since about 70 percent of
our immune system is found there.
This makes it an important organ for
protection from disease. Not only
that the function of the intestine is
determined by the large consortium
of microbes found there which are
essential for almost everything related
to health. They influence digestion
of food, absorption of nutrients, help
build our immunity and are also
linked to our risk of metabolic diseases
like Obesity and Diabetes. Emerging
science talks of the gut brain axis
and it appears that these microbes
can influence our mood, depression,
anxiety and risk of neurological
disorders. Probiotics help to ensure the
balance of the beneficial microbes and
thereby improve intestinal health and
immunity. They play a critical role in
almost every aspect of health.
Are you facing any kind of
challenges in this domain and
how are you overcoming those
challenges?
Yes, we are definitely facing challenges
in this domain. The greatest challenge
arises when people confuse probiotics
for regular traditional fermented
foods. Explaining the difference
then becomes important. We do
this through a 360 degree education
where we begin young from students
in schools, college students and then
go onto stakeholders interested in
the emerging science of the intestinal
microbiota and Probiotics. We realize
that education is very effective, and we
have definitely been able to overcome
some of the hurdles that surround this
category. Another challenge is that
most people are still unaware about
the benefits of probiotics – it becomes
important then to share the latest
science and we do that by organizing
symposia and conferences on the
subject. This provides a common
platform for stakeholders to engage
and discuss the emerging science.
I believe that FSSAI has brought
out regulations for the category
in India. How would the
regulations help?
Yes, the Food Safety Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) has
recently brought out the Food Safety
and Standards (Food or Health
The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
has recently brought out the Food Safety and Standards
Regulation, 2016 gazette notifi cation which was
implemented from 1st January 2018
Food Marketing & Technology
49
August 2019
Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for
Special Dietary Purpose, Functional
Food and Novel Food) Regulation,
2016 gazette notification which was
implemented from 1st January 2018.
The regulation is very useful in
elaborating the minimum criteria that
need to be met by a probiotic product.
The labelling requirement which
mandates mention of the complete
name of the bacteria (Genus, Species
and Strain), number of live bacteria till
end of shelf life and the scientifically
proven health benefits will ensure that
only genuine probiotic products are
being sold in the Indian market. These
regulations will also ensure product
safety, quality, reliability and level
playing for all in the domain.
Please explain the measures
that Yakult takes on food safety
standards, and sustainability?
Yakult is manufactured at an ISO
9001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 and
HACCP certified factory in Sonipat,
Haryana in North India. The factory is
spread over 8 acres of land, of which
more than 30 percent is the green belt
area. The factory is designed as per
International standards and special
care is taken to maintain the highest
level of hygiene standards and deliver
the best quality product. The process
of making Yakult is completely
automated and there is absolutely no
human touch at any point of time.
The product is tested from time to
time both in the factory and from the
retail stores to ensure stringent quality
control. Since the product requires a
cold chain for distribution, we have our
own refrigerated trucks which deliver
the product to our sales centres. We
are also careful about our distribution
and have two channels – our unique
Home Delivery system where we have
Yakult Ladies who visit consumers
and explain Yakult and its benefits to
them and a retail channel.