China companies flood Indian markets with substandard MSG

Chennai: Chennaiites beware of cheap Chinese food products that are now being smuggled into the south Indian markets through various ports.

A recent consumer research by the Japanese foods and seasonings giant, Ajinomoto India had revealed that the unorganized and non-branded Chinese companies pump in close to 9,000 tonnes of mono sodium glutamate (MSG), a salt like taste enhancer in to the country in which a major share reaches the markets in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala and north east India.

MSG is a common taste enhancer used in Japanese and Chinese food recipe. With south Indians consuming soups and fried rice, the usage of MSG is gradually growing in the country attracting the Chinese companies.

“Chinese companies have already flooded the Indian markets with cheap substandard electronic and hardware materials, now food and cosmetic industry is also facing Chinese invasion,” said a highly placed official source, who had held positions with Chennai Customs and Enforcement Directorate.

“In India, the market for MSG is 10,500 tonnes per year and of this 90 per cent is from Chinese companies that push in their products without valid food safety documents. The grey market product is 60 per cent cheaper to that of branded companies and this poses a threat for both consumers and the branded companies,” said Govinda Biswas, marketing manager, Ajinomoto India.

“Ajinomoto is a global brand operating in 27 countries. Japan and US laws are more stringent and if there are any health hazard our brand would have been shown the door long back,” said Chaiyapat Ongri, associate director, Ajinomoto Thailand Pvt Ltd.

India is a growing market for and the company is in the process of introducing more products. “Primarily, our focus is Tamil Nadu, but we are slowly expanding to neighbouring states like Karnataka and Telengana. The US Food and Drug Administration had given MSG as 'Generally recognised as safe' (GRAS) designation,” said Biswas.

Ajinomoto to launch products specific to Indian palette

Eyeing potential in the Indian market, Japanese Food Giant Ajinomoto, which has manufacturing plant in Kancheepuram, is working on a few products that will suit the Indian cuisine ranging from coffee to readymade brunch items.

The market is estimated at 4,100 tonnes and the launch of new products will first focus Chennai," said Govinda Biswas, marketing manager, Ajinomoto India.

"Other than Ajinomoto MSG, we have already launched Hapima, a seasoning used for making fried rice. We also launched Blendy', 3-in-1 coffee and tea. It is a combination of coffee, tea, milk and sugar and you just have to add hot water to it".

These pre-mix powdered beverages market in India is growing at 6 per cent every year with few national and International players in this category.

Blendy will ride on Ajinomoto's distribution network, which extends to 44,000 outlets in Tamil Nadu. The company hopes to take Blendy to about 22,000 outlets by next year. 

Hapima, fried rice mix, was launched in 2014 and now the Fried rice mix segment has two variants.