By Bukky Fadipe
Ethiopians in London are raising concerns about a new process to manufacture an ingredient in their national dish.
A Dutch company has patented the process of Teff flour but claims it has “nothing to do with Injera”, the North African speciality. Eaten by countries in the Horn Of Africa, Injera is a spongy, sour flatbread which is used to scoop up meat and vegetables in traditional stews.
Gluten free and rich in nutrients, Teff flour is derived from the grain of the genus Eragrostis Tef. Jans Roosjen, is named as the “inventor” of the new way of producing it .
But how can a man from the Netherlands, have a patent on a process that developed in Ethiopia between 4,000 BC and 1,000 BC, in 2005?
According to a company spokesperson speaking to the Holloway Express on the phone from the Netherlands, the process does not “disrupt the Injera process”.
The spokesperson, who did not wish to be named, laughed at claims that their company appropriated the dish. Their patent covers the “processing of Teff flour, not the process of making Injera”, he said.
“It’s all fake news and without proper investigations, people have jumped to conclusions. It’s all nonsense and ridiculous.”
A waitress at Bisha, a local Ethiopian restaurant on Holloway Road, said “I don’t know about their process but if it makes Teff flour, then it makes Injera.”
The recent furore surrounding this patent has highlighted how easy it is for foreign companies to have a monopoly on things in Africa. Birhana Art, an Ethiopian artist living in London said: “The thing is, he is taking advantage of the fact Ethiopian people and the government are not in connection with the courts.
“Injera and the whole fermenting process of Teff is ancient. It’s highly arrogant, I would like to know how he supposedly even ‘discovered’ it.”
The patent does mention the acknowledgement of Injera being made from the process of Teff flour but claims that their version does not have the “unattractive taste or an unattractive texture”.
“Our process is different to that of the Ethiopians – different country, different climates, different machinery, everything different,” the spokesperson said.
When asked about how they discovered their process, he declined to comment. Jans Roosjen was unavailable for comment.
Leave a Reply