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Dr. Jyoti Prakash Tamang was born in Darjeeling on 16th November 1961. He did his primary schooling at British Gorkha High School in Hong Kong and later joined Turnbull High School, Darjeeling. He completed his Higher Secondary from St. Joseph's College and obtained a B.Sc. in Botany with Honours in 1983 and an M.Sc. with 1st class 1st position in 1985, both from Darjeeling Government College. He obtained his PhD from North Bengal University in 1992. He further received his post-doctorate degrees from the National Food Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan) in 1995, and from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Karlsruhe (Germany) in 2002. He was married to Dr. Namrata and was blessed with two children, Ashweela and Ashwaath.
Dr. Jyoti Prakash Tamang became one of the leading food microbiologists in the entire Eastern Himalayan Region of the country. He had worked on more than 150 ethnic fermented foods and beverages of the Himalayas over a span of 22 years. He headed the team at the Food Microbiology Laboratory and the Department of Botany, Sikkim Government College, Tadong, Gangtok. Dr. Tamang was also associated with the newly established Sikkim University at Gangtok as Visiting Faculty. He supervised several PhD students, out of which seven scholars from Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills were awarded PhDs.
Dr. Tamang published more than 70 research papers in national and international journals besides filing a patent on optimized production of kinema (fermented soybean food). He authored a number of books to be published by reputed publishers. In addition to being invited to Universities, IITs, IISER, and National Research Institutes across the country, Dr. Tamang also presented his work in various countries including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, China, Nepal, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia.
Dr. Tamang was associated with many academic and scientific organizations both within and outside India. He served as the Chief Editor of the Journal of Hill Research (the only scientific research journal published from Sikkim) for 15 years. He often reviewed both international and national scientific journals and books published by Elsevier and Academic Press. He was also connected with many Government Departments, NGOs, and VOs.
Dr. Tamang was conferred the Gold Medal of North Bengal University in 1985; the United Nations University-Women Association Award from Japan in 1996; and the prestigious National Bio-Science Award by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, for his significant research contribution towards the improvement of traditional fermented foods and beverages of the Himalayas in 2005. Dr. Tamang was perhaps the first Gorkha to receive this prestigious scientific award. He was also conferred the Fellowship of the Biotech Research Society of India in 2006. He was among the few to have recorded modern Nepali songs from Ratna Recording in Kathmandu in 1980 when he was in his 1st year of B.Sc. at Darjeeling Government College.
An excerpt of an earlier discussion between Vimal Khawasand Dr. Jyoti Prakash Tamang.
VK: What do we mean by fermented food?
JPT: Fermented foods are defined as cultural foods produced by the indigenous knowledge of ethnic people from locally available raw materials of plant or animal sources either naturally or by adding starter microbial culture(s) containing functional micro-organisms (bacteria, yeasts and mycelial fungi) which modify the substrates biochemically and organoleptically into edible products that are safe, nutritious, flavoursome and socially acceptable to the consumers.
VK: What is the importance of fermented food across the Himalayas in general and in Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali cultures in particular?
JPT: The Himalayan fermented foods have biological importance such as enrichment of bio-nutrients, bio-preservatives, resources of functional microorganisms, medicinal value, probiotic, degradation of anti-nutritive factors, bio-availability of minerals, socio-cultural and ethnic values. These ethnic fermented foods are food security of the entire Himalayan region and are with the people at the time of famine and extreme environmental and man-made disasters. These foods are also source of revenue for mountain people to sustain their livelihood. The food culture of the Himalayas is a blend of Nepali, Lepcha, Bhutia and Tibetan cuisines guided by the ethos of Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
VK: You are a pioneer in fermented food research in the Eastern Himalayas. What is the present status of Fermented Food Research in the Himalayas, particularly Darjeeling-Sikkim Region?
JPT: The present status of Research on Fermented Foods is:
i) Major contribution towards improving functional properties of fermented foods, promoting traditional food products and understanding the nature of functional microorganisms involved in the fermentation processes.
ii) Reported, for the first time, several species of microorganisms (Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, Weisella, Enterococcus), Bacillus, yeasts (Saccharomycopsis, Pichia, Saccharomyces, Debyaromyces, Geotrichum, Candida); and moulds (Mucor, Rhizopus) from ethnic fermented foods and beverages, which again is a major contribution to the significant knowledge of unknown microbial genetic resources of the Himalayas.
iii) Studies showed that microorganisms play major roles in bio-preservation of perishable vegetables, bio-enrichment of nutritive value, production of vitamins and enzymes, protective properties, probiotic characters, non-production of biogenic amines, degradation of anti-nutritive factors, antioxidant activities, anti-carcinogenic, etc. I filed a patent registration on kinema, a traditional fermented soybean food of the Himalayas.
iv) We have set up a well-equipped laboratory to promote advance research in fermented foods of the Himalayas and of the country at large.
We are not inventors of any fermented foods but our forefathers. We are researchers to find out the scientific mechanism of traditional fermentation and to correlate the indigenous knowledge of the ethnic people with modern food microbiology concept to validate their worth, knowledge and wisdom. The scientific mechanism of fermented food is totally unknown to the indigenous people, but they know how to get the best edible products of their choice.
VK: Have you been collaborating with scientists researching on food outside the country?
JPT: Yes. I have been working with the leading Japanese scientists in food microbiology. They include: Dr. Sayuki Nikkuni of National Food Research Institute (now, National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Sciences), Late Prof. Michio Kozaki of Tokyo Agricultural University and Dr. Ryosuke Fudo of Ajinomoto Co., Japan, etc. We have published several papers as a result.
I also had a collaborative research project with Prof. WH Holzapfel of Institute of Hygiene and Toxicology (Germany), one of the authorities on lactic acid bacteria, on the "Role of lactic acid bacteria in fermentation, safety and quality of traditional vegetable products in the Sikkim Himalayas", during 2001-2004. We later published scientific paper based on the project and also presented at Food Micro 2004 in Slovenia in 2004. Further, I also worked at Prof. Holzapfel's Institute in Germany in 2002 and 2004.
Prof. Holzapfel visited our laboratory (1996). Other foreign scientists that visited our laboratory include Dr. MJR Nout of Wageningen University (1996), Prof. Jan Sorensen of the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen (1999), Late Prof. Kozaki and Dr. Fudo (2000), Prof. Y Tahara of Shizouka University of Japan (2001).
I am in touch with several other scientists abroad such as Prof. Cherl-ho Lee of Korea University (Korea), Prof. K.H. Steinkraus of Cornell University (USA), Prof. Graham Fleet of New South Wales University of Australia (written a book chapter on "Yeasts Diversity in Fermented Foods and Beverages", Springer (in press), Dr. U Schillinger of IMBB (Germany), Dr. Warunee of Kasetsart University (Thailand), Dr. Yokotsuka of Kikkoman Co. (Japan), Prof. Koji Tanaka of Kyoto University, Prof. Kalidas Shetty of University of Massachusetts, USA and others. Few Indian scientists from Central Food Technological Research Institute, National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Institute of Food processing etc. have made collaboration with me either in publication or consultancy etc.
VK: What are your future plans to enhance the fermented food research?
JPT: The Himalayan fermented foods can be exploited to enhance the regional economy and sustainable development. No one can compromise on the quality of food s/he consumes as it has a direct impact on her/his health. Some ethnic Himalayan fermented foods are popular and more preferred than others. Such foods can be popularised to non-consumers in other parts of the world. Consumers prefer foods that are tasty and flavoursome, safe and healthy and have health-promoting benefits.
The possible prospects of the Himalayan fermented foods for commercialisation are based mainly on the following important characters:
· Medicinal Value as therapeutic uses
· Total substrate utilization and biodegradable
· Sources of bio-active compounds
· Microbial genetic resources comprising mycelia fungi to yeasts to bacteria
· Food tourism in the Himalayas
These are the areas I shall be focusing on more specifically to conduct advance scientific research on fermented food. Further, we need to set up a National Institute of Traditional Foods. I am planning to start Darjeeling Centre for Traditional Food Research at Darjeeling soon.
VK: Food biotechnology has gradually been becoming an important area of research and development particularly in the context of increasing food insecurity. How do you project the future of food microbiology and food biotechnology in the country?
JPT: Food Biotechnology deals with genetic modification of microorganisms for production of industrially important bio-products such as enzymes, organic acid, organic and functional foods that induce therapeutic value. Food Biotechnology is a promising component of food industry which is a sunrise industry. It emphasises on health, safety and nutrition. Food Microbiology basically deals with the study of microorganisms present in the foods (fermented foods, stale foods, raw foods, frozen/canned; food stuffs, etc.) and their biological functions and beneficial as well as harmful effects, such as food-poisoning, disease inducers, carcinogenic etc.
As far as the future of food microbiology and food biotechnology in the country is concerned, both the subjects are at present not fully developed due to the lack of proper understanding about their importance. On the other hand, sectors like Information Technology and Management have attracted undue emphasis.
Once the legislation is made on the total ban of food adulteration, use of synthetic preservatives and food additives; total implementation of HACCP concept; maintenance of food safety and hygiene conditions; promotion of functional and health-promoting benefits instead of single 'balance diet concept', Food Microbiology and Food Biotechnology will be automatically uploaded into the food sector. We are in a dire need of such legislation to deal with these problems for a safe, cost-effective, functional, organic and healthy food with therapeutic values for the consumers. Today every consumer looks for a single food that has palatable taste, aroma, texture, all functional properties for health-promoting benefits as well as food that cures illness. There is no separate PG course in Food Microbiology and Food biotechnology in any University of India except in CFTRI Mysore. Sikkim University proposes to start such a course in the near future.
My suggestion is that each food item should be tested for pathogenic bacteria and toxic materials that may induce cancer and other harmful diseases before they are declared safe and healthy by competent authority. We do have such system, but implementation of modern tools of food microbiology and biotechnology has been very poor, unlike Japan, USA, France etc.
VK: Has the government been receptive to the increasing importance of food security and the need to promote serious research in food biotechnology?
JPT: The Government is aware of food insecurity issue and has given priority to the importance of food security. But the understanding of the concept of food security at the policy level differs with that of the scientists. Food security for the government is to stock the food grains and sufficiently distribute / supply food grains to the poorer sections of the society at subsidised rate. It also means the supply of adequate food grains during the occurrence of unforeseen events like natural calamities. We, however, define food security as the nutritional security and health security; balance intake of food and food bio-resources that include ethnic foods, wild edible plants and fruits, cardamom, tea, ginger and other important agricultural produces.
VK: What are the problems faced by the food scientists/biotechnologists, particularly researching on fermented food today and how should they be encouraged by the government?
JPT: We have never faced any problem in conducting scientific research on fermented foods. Indeed, whenever we visit villages across the Himalayas, people cooperate and share their indigenous knowledge of food fermentation. With regard to research funds and adequate infrastructure, it is the personal interest and dynamism of individual scientist / researcher to create facility for her/him. Today there is no dearth of fund for research in India. We have several government funding agencies such as DBT, CSIR, DST, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, UGC, etc. The Government of India always encourages the pro-active scientists to carry out research on local and regional problems. We have many scientists working on the national and international issues. However, only few are working on the regional issues.
