Why it is time to rethink the standards for the food we eat every day
Indian Hindu Veg Thali / food platter, selective focus
| Photo Credit:
Arundhati Sathe
Food choices have grown increasingly curated. Ingredient labels are studied, sourcing stories are celebrated, and packaging aesthetics often shape perception as much as taste. But the enthusiasm for speciality items has created a blind spot. The everyday foods that feed households, such as rice, wheat, and pulses, have somehow been left out of the quality conversation.
Gourmet coffees come with farm names and altitudes. Artisanal chocolate tells stories of origin and fermentation. Meanwhile, the grains that form 70–80 per cent of a typical diet continue to be sold loose, anonymous, and unchecked. This is not a matter of luxury or preference. It is a structural imbalance that deserves closer attention.
Daily food gets the least attention
In most homes, staples are bought based on habit, availability, or packaging. There is little questioning of where they come from, how they were stored, when they were harvested, or whether they carry pesticide residues. Familiarity has led to unquestioned trust. Yet poor storage, adulteration, and lack of traceability in staples can have a direct impact on health. These are not rare occurrences; they are routine realities.
By contrast, high-end products are sold with transparency baked in. Batch-level traceability, moisture analysis, ethical sourcing labels, and nutritional claims are marketed as standard. This contrast creates a system where quality is expected only from niche products and ignored in essentials. It reinforces the idea that food safety is a premium feature, not a baseline requirement.
There is also a class dimension that cannot be ignored. Those who can afford boutique food brands are often the ones with access to cleaner food and clearer sourcing. Everyone else is expected to settle for vague assurances and attractive price points. The message is subtle but persistent: quality is a privilege, not a right.
Solutions are ready. Standards are not
What makes this problem more troubling is that solutions already exist. The tools for quality control, traceability, and storage monitoring are not concepts on the drawing board are operational. AI-led systems for tracking grain age and moisture, digital sourcing ledgers, and automated contamination checks can now be deployed even at scale.
But these tools have not been applied to Staples widely. Because demand has not forced it. Consumers have not been conditioned to expect quality from everyday food in the same way they expect it from specialty items. And as long as the bar remains low, the supply chain has no reason to raise it.
Changing that expectation is where the real shift begins. When people start asking where their rice was grown, how old their wheat is, and whether their pulses were tested for residues, the market responds. What is measured improves. What is questioned gets addressed.
Every plate deserves proof
The food system must make room for dignity in the everyday. That means bringing the same levels of care, consistency, and data to staples as is applied to snack foods or meal kits. Trust should not be given by default but earned with information. Especially when the same dal or atta is consumed daily by millions.
This is not a call for the premiumisation of staples. It is a call for basic accountability. If farmers can be traced for their coffee beans, they should be traceable for their wheat and rice, too. If cafés highlight sourcing down to the micro-lot, then households should have access to batch-level data for the rice they feed their children.
Food safety cannot depend on economic status. Nor should quality be a performance limited to niche aisles in retail stores. Every household has the right to know what they are consuming, especially when it comes to what they eat most often.
Policy frameworks, retail practices, and industry norms need to reflect this change. Food safety certifications for staples, clearer packaging disclosures, and stronger post-harvest controls should become standard. These are not optional upgrades—they are foundational elements of a reliable food system.
The most impactful changes in nutrition and safety will not come from the next exotic grain or rare berry. They will come from better quality wheat, cleaner dals, and traceable rice. Innovation in food should no longer be defined by indulgence but should be rooted in consistency.
Food habits, after all, are built around the ordinary. What is eaten daily influences energy levels, disease resistance, childhood growth, and elderly health. It shapes economics, agriculture, and even social dynamics. Ignoring the quality of staples is a public health risk.
Trusting food out of habit must stop. Trusting food based on evidence must begin. Every plate deserves the same scrutiny as every product launch. Until that happens, the food system remains partial, favouring a few, failing the many.
The author is Head of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Value Added Services at FarMart
Published on May 10, 2025
