Origins of Vermicelli:
Googling vermicelli returned numerous recipes from Italy, India, China, Thailand, America and Japan. The different types of vermicelli vary depending upon the ingredients used in their making and the thickness of the strand. Vermicelli is said to have evolved from pasta. The Romans came up with this innovative method of preserving wheat, which otherwise had to be thrown into the Tuber River as it was liable to be infested by parasites. According to Wikipedia, the Italian vermicelli is made from the whole durum wheat, whereas in India it is made from semolina (purified middlings of durum wheat). A kind of vermicelli, the Longkou Vermicelli was granted GI status in 2003in China. The Longkou vermicelli is however not made from either rice or wheat.
Should GI registration be awarded to Bambino vermicelli?
On the lines of a previous post on the GI for Tirupati Laddu by Sumathi (and a series of posts on the same), the Bambino case involves a single producer. GIs are predominantly aimed at protecting the interests of the producers of a particular region. The GI Act categorically states that an application can be filed only by an association of persons or producers (as opposed to producer) or an organization representing the interests of the producers. The Bambino vermicelli is however produced by a single producer across plants located in Bibinagar (Andhra Pradesh), Gurgaon and Nagpur (Maharashtra). Bambino vermicelli already has a registered trademark on the same. Granting GI status to Bambino vermicelli would amount violating the spirit of the GI Act which has been enacted towards protecting the collective interests of the producers. Contrast this with the case of Channapatna toys, the origins of which can be traced to the 18th century, are manufactured by around 254 home factories and 50 small factories in villages around Channaptna (Bangalore Rural District). (General info: Of the 117 GIs registered till date, Karnataka has the highest number of registrations – 27 followed by Tamil Nadu with 18 registrations).
A similar attempt was also made by Reliance Industries to obtain a GI status for gas pumped from its Krishna – Godavari fields and petroleum products made at its Jamnagar refinery. This was met with four oppositions and was subsequently withdrawn (abandoned by the GI registry owing to lack of prosecution), as reported by Livemint earlier this month (also look at guest post on the same). The reasons for withdrawal were cited as non-production of no-objection certificate from the petroleum and natural gas ministry.
Image from here.
