Present status of Food Processing

To meet the current demand of food materials, the industrial food processing sector has emerged.
The food processing sector in the country is mainly handled by the unorganized sectors. About, 42%
of the output comes from the unorganized sector, 25% comes from the organized sector and the
rest of it comes from the small scale players. The small-scale food processing sector is a major source
of employment and adds value to crops by processing. It is a major source of food in the human diet.

The small-scale food processing sector is, however, under increasing threat and competition from
the large manufacturers who, through economies of scale and better presentation and marketing.
Good packaging lies at the very heart of presentation and thus customer appeal. It is an area of vital
importance for small and medium food manufacturers if they are going to continue to compete and
expand. With food processing, it is possible to maintain a nutritious and safe food supply for the
millions of people that inhabit both urban and rural areas. Improvement in processing efficiency, by
increased yield of usable product, is a tangible means of reducing food loss and increasing food
supply. Demand for increased convenience of food preparation in the home, institution and
restaurant has created a need from processing industries for food ingredients as well as new food
forms.

1.4 Importance of Food Processing

All the raw food materials are processed to improve their palatability, nutritional value and shelf-life.

Foods are processed for five major reasons:

1) preservation for later consumption or sale to fetch better price

2) removal of inedible portions

3) destruction or removal of harmful substances

4) conversion to forms desired by the consumer and

5) subdivision into food ingredients.

Generally, the first - preservation for later consumption or sale – is the primary reason for food
processing.
Field crops, including grains, oilseeds, sugar crops and forages are major contributors of the
nutrients required by man either through direct consumption of the seed kernel or isolated
components as food, or through utilization of the plant and byproducts as feed in the production of
meat, poultry, milk, eggs and fish. Field crops also have major non-food uses. However, in
essentially all instances, harvested field crops must be processed in some manner prior to utilization
as food or feed or in industry so as to reduce their post harvest losses. A nation-wise study on
quantitative assessment of harvest and post harvest losses for 46 agricultural produces in 106
randomly selected districts was carried out by Central Institute of Post Harvest Institute (CIPHET) and
found the results as given in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Per cent of losses estimated for major produces

Cereals Pulses Oilseeds Fruits & Vegetables Milk Fisheries Meat Poultry

3.9 – 6.0 4.3-6.1 6.0 5.8-18.0 0.8 2.9 2.3 3.7

1.5 Scope of Food Processing

India is the world's second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the
biggest with the food and agricultural sector. The total food production in India is likely to double in
the next ten years and there is an opportunity for large investments in food and food processing
technologies, skills and equipment, especially in areas of Canning, Dairy and Food Processing,
Packaging, Frozen Food/Refrigeration and Thermo-Processing. Fruits & Vegetables Processing,
Fisheries, Milk & Milk Products, Meat & Poultry, Packaged/Convenience Foods, Alcoholic Beverages
& Soft Drinks and Grain processing are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. The
consumer product groups like confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, Soya-based products,
mineral water, high protein foods, soft beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit beverages, etc.
along with the health food and health food supplements is another rapidly rising segment of this
industry which is gaining vast popularity.

India produces nearly 16% of the world’s total food grain production. It is one of the largest
producers of agricultural produce. With a population expected to reach to about 590 million people
by 2030 in urban India, India has a huge potential domestic demand for processed foods other than
the demand from the exports. There are many socio-economic factors that are driving the demand
side of the Indian Food Processing Industry. The changing consumption patterns, both in tier 1 and
tier 2 cities, rising income levels among the middle-class and changing lifestyles, are some of the
factors providing the demand side push for the Food Processing Industry. Moreover, the central
government has given a priority status to all agro-processing businesses.

1.6 Key constraints for growth

There are other two constraints which pertain to maintaining the standards of quality. First
constraint is poor infrastructure for storing raw food materials. Two main types of storages – the
warehouses and the cold storages, lag in storage standards. The pests infest the grains sometimes
due to lack of monitoring, proper use of pesticides and proper ventilation. Similarly, the power
outages result in sub-optimal function of the cold-storages and the quality of food material in the
cold storages becomes questionable. The second important aspect is having poor quality standards
and control methods for implementing the quality standards for processing and packaging the
processed foods. For example, vegetables may not be washed properly and processed into either
‘ready to eat food’ or packaged as ‘cut and ready to cook’ vegetables.

Also, continuity of quality power, good quality of water for processing, instruments for rapid and
reliable analysis, versatile instruments/equipments for multi commodity, cultivars are not suitable
for specific processing, etc. are other limitations for food processing industry.

Unless these important constraints are addressed it will be difficult to break the cultural barrier
where people prefer fresh food over packaged food. It will be difficult to gain customer confidence
and the perceived growth of this industry may actually not be so lucrative.