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There is a sense of being cheated when the thawed produce has freezer burns, something not visible at the frozen stage
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The Indian F&B industry, and the frozen food sector, are critical to each other’s growth; Chetna Chakravarthy sneaks a look at how practical it all is really.

The debate on frozen food is one of perception over function. Ironically, although the food processing industry is one of the country’s largest in terms of production, consumption, export, and growth prospects, our productivity is much below the world average.

The teething problems of this sunshine industry are immense, indeed, it wouldn’t be amiss to say it’s a classic Catch-22 situation. Demand stutters because the supply side has not got its act together, and supply efficiency stumbles because low demand is holding back efficiencies of scale. Choosing functionality over all else is the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) segment, for whom an efficient cold-chain is a boon.

Says Ivan Rodrigues, vice president, format and marketing, Sodexo Radhakrishna Foodland: “The mushrooming of QSR’s, along with gourmet stores and a modernising retail segment, has attracted an increasing number of international food brands, and change”.

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Restaurateurs are showing their impatience in waiting for the cold chain system to improve. The upmarket restaurant Moshe’s, in Mumbai’s trendy Colaba area, is a barometer of the industry frustration with frozen food.

Owner of the self-named restaurant, Moshe Shek says: “Why would I use frozen produce when I can get fresh produce locally? Besides, I prefer chilled meats and seafood over frozen, as procuring the latter in an undamaged condition is quite rare.”

Shek’s ire stems from the damaged finished product he receives. Nine out of ten times, the smoked salmon is bruised or the rich cream is thawed, making it thinner than the required quality.

There is a sense of being cheated when the thawed produce has freezer burns, something not visible at the frozen stage. Chef Gresham Fernandes of Mumbai’s Salt Water Café, is yet to get a good explanation why manufacturers and suppliers do not invest in the cold chain.

“Nonrefrigerated vans and silicon ice boxes reduce the shelf life, as refreezing the meat or seafood that has thawed in transit often results in loss of water, and a change in texture. It makes it a very expensive inferior item.”

The Indian cold chain industry is pegged at Rs8,800 crore, with a growth rate of 20%. Technopak and FICCI says another Rs13,200 crore of investment is expected by 2012, according to their report ‘Land of Opportunities – The Food Industry in India’. Yet, going by Shek’s and Fernandes’ problems, many issues are still to be addressed.

“Some companies offer refrigerated vans”, says Rustom Dalal of Fortune Gourmet Specialities. “However, very few have the dual temperature facility”.

The key hurdle for frozen food is storage at -18° Celsius and below; chilled food can be stored at a relatively warmer 3-4° Celsius. Suppliers fight their case with the supply-and-demand argument; the demand in India is not big enough yet to justify new investment and full truckloads every time.