Agriculture and food technology department of ‘Indian Institute’ promoting health foods
January 10, 2008
The agriculture and food technology department of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) has taken up the task of promoting health foods and drinks.
Besides developing innovative food processing technology itself, IIT-KGP formulated ways to maximise agricultural yield and ensure that no part of the produce is wasted.
According to H N Mishra, professor of food technology at IIT-KGP, “Hardly 2 per cent of the produce is processed and about 35 per cent is wasted due to unscientific post harvest handling and inadequate transportation, storage and processing facilities. The net amount of the produce for consumption is reduced due to insufficient storage and processing. There is a considerable scope for reducing the wastage of raw materials and improving yield through better conversion by using modern equipment and technology. This should also make the finished food products more competitive in world market.”
Technical linkages are also necessary between the production and distribution channels to minimise wastage and achieve price stabilisation.
“The twin problems of low agricultural yields and tremendous wastage of food throughout the food chain in India is due to the antiquated and inefficient farming and agricultural practices. For example, about 30 per cent of the total fruit and vegetable produced in the country is lost due to wastage,” Mishra pointed out.
Another key issue that food processing industry faces is that of food safety.
“Food safety enjoys a very low priority at all levels in developing countries and there is limited awareness of the importance of hygiene and the seriousness of food borne diseases,” said Mishra.
Also, given the projections for this industry, it is likely that unless appropriate steps are taken, food safety problems will become a major issue.
According to Mishra, “Although there is a continuing trend toward increased scientific and technical sophistication, there is a growing consumer demand for products manufactured by traditional methods. This has created the need for a more skilled, knowledgeable and versatile workforce.”
At the production level, developments in the area of process control and more widespread use of mathematical modelling techniques will enable the food manufacturer to produce a more uniform product in terms of taste, texture, colour and so on.
New packaging materials and techniques will result in the appearance of more fresh, portion controlled food products, catering not only to the consumer at large but specifically to the increasing number of elderly consumers.
“The target should be to provide an increasing level of convenience to all consumers,” Mishra added.
India produced 235 million tonnes of food grains including 33.72 million tonnes of cereals, 15.24 million tonnes of pulses and 25.14 million tonnes of oilseeds.
About 54 per cent of the total food grain produced in the country is processed through primary and secondary processing.
India spices production is estimated at over Rs 3500 crore amounting to 30 per cent of world production, which is processed for value-addition and export.
India is second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world with 45 million tonnes and 80.26 million tonnes of produces respectively.
India’s livestock population is largest in the world with 50 per cent of world’s buffaloes and 20 per cent of cattles, but only about 1 per cent of the total meat production is converted into value-added products.
According to recent studies on the food processing sector, the turnover of the total food market is approximately Rs 2,50,000 crore of which value-added food products comprise Rs 80,000 crore.
Size of the semi-processed and ready-to-eat packaged food industry was over Rs 4000 crore, growing at over 20 per cent.
Source: business-standard.com