3. The food processing sector is highly fragmented industry, it widely
comprises of the following sub-segments: fruits and vegetables,
milk and milk products, beer and alcoholic beverages, meat and
poultry, marine products, grain processing, packaged or
convenience food and packaged drinks. A huge number of
entrepreneurs in this industry are small in terms of their
production and operations, and are largely concentrated in the
unorganized segment. This segment accounts for more than 70%
of the output in terms of volume and 50% in terms of value.
Though the organized sector seems comparatively small, it is
growing at a much faster pace.
4. Brief history
• Food processing dates back to the
prehistoric ages when crude
processing incorporated slaughtering,
fermenting, sun drying, preserving
with salt, and various types
of cooking (such as roasting,
smoking, steaming, and oven baking)
• In 1809 Nicolas Appert invented
a vacuum bottling technique that
would supply food for French troops
5. • This contributed to the • In the 20th century, food
development of tinning and processing developed with
then canning by Peter Durand advances such as spray drying,
in 1810. juice concentrates, freeze
• Pasteurization, discovered drying and the introduction of
by Louis Pasteur in 1862, was artificial sweeteners, coloring
a significant advance in agents, and preservatives
ensuring the micro-biological such as sodium benzoate
safety of food. • In the late 20th century
products such as dried instant
soups, reconstituted fruits
and juices, and self cooking
meals such as MRE food ration
were developed.
6. Fermentation
The fermentation bioprocess:
• Is the major biotechnological application in food
processing
• It is one of the steps in the sequence of various food
processing operations.
• Makes use of microbial inoculants to enhance
– taste
– Aroma
– Shelf-life
– Texture
– Nutritional Value
7. Schematic steps of an ideal
fermentation process
inoculants
Fermented
Raw
product
material Bioreactor
Downstream
processes
Pre treatment Product
separation
Final
product
Incubation
13. The Indian Scenario
India, with the second arable land in the world, and
with diverse agro-climatic zones across the country,
has tremendous production advantages in
agriculture, with the potential to cultivate a vast
range of agricultural products. For example, India
produces 41% of world’s mangoes, 30% of
cauliflowers, 28% of tea, 23% of bananas, 24% of
cashew nuts, 36% of green peas and 10% of onions.
This strong base in agriculture provides a large and
varied raw material base for food processing. These
advantages if leveraged optimally, can translate
into India becoming a leading food supplier to the
world.
15. In recent years, the Indian food processing industry has
experienced sudden growth levels, owing to increasing
urbanization and commercialization. These post
liberalization trends have led to changing lifestyle, food
habits and a more organized food retail.
There has been a notable change in consumption pattern in
India. Unlike earlier, now the share and growth rates for
fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy have gone higher
compared to cereals and pulses. Such a shift implies a need
to diversify the food production base to match the
changing consumption preferences.
17. In terms of policy support, the ministry of food
processing has taken the following initiatives:
1. Formulation of the National Food Processing Policy
2. Complete de-licensing, excluding for alcoholic
beverages
3. Declared as priority sector for lending in 1999
4. 100% FDI on automatic route
5. Excise duty waived on fruits and vegetables
processing from 2000 – 01
6. Income tax holiday for fruits and vegetables
processing from 2004 – 05
7. Customs duty reduced on freezer van from 20% to
10% from 2005 – 06
8. Implementation of Fruit Products Order
9. Implementation of Meat Food Products Order
10.Enactment of FSS Bill 2005
11.Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005
25. Conclusion
Though there is tremendous potential in the food
processing industry, it needs strong and dependable
chain facilities to support the increasing production
of various perishable products like milk, fruits,
vegetables, poultry etc. Any attempts to project
emerging trends during the new millennium must
be viewed in the backdrop of anticipated changes in
the global trade of food commodities under the
WTO(world trade organization) regime. Further, a
number of major influences which will govern the
future trends in new products development so far
as global food is concerned.
