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Ours is Japanese curry, we can patent it, says House Foods

Paran Balakrishnan in London

The Japanese food giant at the centre of the red-hot curry controversy has denied that it is trying to patent the flavours of the Indian sub-continent.

Osaka-based House Foods Corporation says it has applied for a patent on a “Japanese-style curry sauce” which is nothing like the fiery concoctions which are consumed in South Asia. “Our curry sauce is very different from Indian curry dishes,” Toshikazu Kato, general manager (legal), told rediff.com.

The ‘curry controversy’ broke out after a leading British newspaper, The Independent on Sunday, reported that House Foods Corporation had applied for a patent on a recipe which it had developed in its kitchens. “Not content with taking over world markets for cars and camcorders, entrepreneurs in the Land of the Rising Sun have developed a taste for tikka masala,” said The Independent on Sunday.

The newspaper’s story triggered a spicy row which has raged from Birmingham to Bangalore. “If it [the patent] is granted, the so-called 'inventors' will be able to claim royalties every time a curry is sold in Japan,” said the Yorkshire Post which quoted enraged curry chefs in Bradford.

House Foods strenuously denies that it is trying to corner the growing market for Indian curries in Japan by a legal ruse. “The patent application relates to ready-made Japanese-style curry sauce products with ingredients such as potato, carrot, onion, beef, curry-roux and special spice extraction. The feature of the said patent application is to use special spice extraction,” says Kato from the company’s headquarters in Osaka.

The company, which is famous for a variety of curry sauces, says it has applied for a patent on a process developed by its chefs and scientists. “In Japan, we can patent the cooking method of industrial purpose,” says the company spokesman. However, the company points out that it cannot patent recipes which are used “for the purpose of family or personal use in household”.

Japanese curry dishes are long-standing household favourites. The Japanese also make a dish called “English Curry” which is a mild-flavoured favourite especially with children. The curry is usually eaten with rice. “It has been a long time since curry has been introduced to Japan. Japanese-style curry sauce is firmly fixed in Japan as different type of dishes from curry sauce in India and England,” says Kato.

Britain’s ‘curry millionaires’ don’t appear worried by the Japanese threat.

“It is ridiculous. Can you patent beef roast? Every chef has his own recipe and own method,” says top food magnate Ghulam K. Noon. Noon Products is one of Britain’s largest manufacturers of Indian food.

Officials at Britain’s Patent Office also point out that it is tough to patent recipes. Adds Nigel Parker, a food industry consultant: “It would be extremely difficult to patent a recipe. You would only have to make a small alteration to circumvent it.”

But the curry story which was widely reported in the British newspapers has sparked worldwide interest. The South China Morning Post has reported that, “An attempt by two Japanese scientists to patent curry has fuelled a growing debate over how to prevent the wholesale plundering of its [India’s] native resources.” The newspaper also reports India’s battles to prevent the patenting of neem and basmati-style rice.

Ghulam Noon does not believe that the House Foods application would stop him selling to Japan. “Korma is korma, makhanwala is makhanwala. I won’t follow their process. There are hundreds of processes,” says the entrepreneur who has put Indian curry on Britain’s supermarket shelves.

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