SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Ajit John
It is a constant at breakfast in many Goan households, the ubiquitous pao. One can have it with tea or perhaps with butter and jam or with a vegetable mix. It is also present on various occasions that dot the family calendar. There are bakeries that specialise in making the pao and several have a loyal clientele. However, in the recent past, there have been instances of illegal bakeries operating out of small rooms coming to light. This has corresponded with complaints in a drop in standards. Now in an attempt to stamp this menace out the Food and Drugs Administration has asked the pao sellers to get registered. This it is hoped will help eradicate the illegal bakeries that have cropped up in various nooks and corners of the state. Jill Rodrigues a homemaker said it was a very good move. She went on to say with the recent FDA coming strongly with regards the baker's registration it would be good since it would now be possible to define between traditional bread makers and commercially made bread. She said “In the recent past it has been noticed that pao sold at sweet-mart shops are not the traditionally made paos, but the softer commercial version of the same. So in a way, it will streamline and safeguard our traditional Poders promising to give us quality and healthy fresh pao as against the commercially made pao”Milroy Goes may travel to Hollywood to meet with film executives but at heart, he is a Goan who loves his pao. He felt it was a very good decision and the certification would ensure that hygiene standards were met. He said, “This will mean there will be checks which will mean they will have to a ensure standards are met”.Andre Shackleton a senior corporate consultant many not eat bread every morning but when he eats it likes to have pao that is genuine and meets the necessary standards. He said “Regulation is always a part of governance and it ensures quality and consistency. It might not help the enthusiastic and uninformed but it serves the greater good. As a consumer myself, I want to feel secure that what I ingest, meets the basic minimum standard”.Another corporate executive Franz da Costa felt it was a good move because it was known that hygiene levels were not great. He said “In days gone by earthen drums were used and later electrical ovens were used. Both of which were not very hygienic, I hope with this, things improve. The pao is basic fare with people having two pieces of bread with some filling every morning. I welcome the move and I hope it achieves what it sets out to do”.Vaibhav Naik was more realistic when he said the move was a good decision if it eradicated bakeries that did not maintain standards. He said “You have to however realise that people don’t look at the interiors of the bakery when they are buying the bread. Now however with the authorities having initiated this move it will enter the consciousness of the people and they will think of the conditions under which these paos are made.”For Amey Chodhankar however it was a case of the importance of supporting local bakeries because he strongly felt the illegal bakeries were operated by people from outside. He said this was not a phenomenon restricted to Goa only but also in Bengaluru where stores would take on the names of famous local brands and pass off as a branch. Abram DeMello who is a Portuguese national living here who said, it was one of the things of Goa that kept him back. He said “It is so unique to Goa and can’t be found anywhere else and I miss it. When I am here, I have it every day. This move by the authorities will help protect a Goan institution”.One can only hope this move will help protect the quality of the pao.
