Food Processing

UNIT 2 FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES Industries

Structure

2.0 Objective
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Food Production in India and World, Processing and Value Addition
2.3 Parts of Food Industry
2.4 Trends in Consumption of Processed Food
2.5 Status of Food Processing in India
2.6 Major Food Processing Sectors, their Status, Problems and Prospects
Problems in Food Processing Industries
Prospects
2.7 Cereal Processing
2.8 Pulse Processing
2.9 Oilseed Processing
2.10 Horticultural Crop Processing
2.11 Livestock and Aquacultural Produce Processing
Fish Processing
Meat Processing
2.12 National Food Processing Policy
2.13 Let Us Sum Up
2.14 Key Words
2.15 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
2.16 Some Useful Books

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you should be able to:
• know scenario of food processing industries in India and world;
• explain trends of consumption of processed food;
• describe problems, prospects and status of food processing industries;
• learn about livestock and aquacultural processing industries; and
• explain national food processing policy.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Food processing industries are major industries in developed countries. In
developing countries, it is in growing stage. The food processing industires
include cereals, pulses, oilseeds, bakery, horticultural crops, livestock and
aquacultural produce etc. Now food is a global commodity and hence its
processing industries will play important role in economy of any country. Type
of food is now governed by consumers. The food processing in india is mainly
done by unorganized sectors. So, there is a need to know the status of food
procesing industries in india. The present unit covers the status of food
processing industries in india, trends of food consumption, major processing
industires of India and National Food Processing Policy.

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Introduction to Food
Science and Technology 2.2 FOOD PRODUCTION IN INDIA AND WORLD,
PROCESSING AND VALUE ADDITION
The global food industry, with a value of US$ 2.2 trillion annually, is the
single most important industry in the world economy. Food industry is
expected to be worth $ 10 trillion by 2028 and most of this growth will come
from developing world. The direct impact of the sub sector on growth and
indirect stimulus to other type of economic activity carry important
implications for employment, exports, food security and living standards. The
development of food industries mainly depends upon the raw material coming
from agriculture. The production of food grains of the world and percent share
of India is given in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: Production of major agricultural commodities and India’ share
in 2001

S.No. Commodity World production % Share of India

(‘000 tons)
1. Paddy 601128 21.9
2. Maize 602814 1.9
3. Wheat 585421 12.3
4. Groundnut (in shell) 33802 17.7
5. Sugarcane 1259906 23.3

On an average, agro-industries accounts for about 2% of GDP in developing

countries but 9% in developed countries. The value of agro-processing is about
three to four times that of agriculture in developed world, while it is typically a
fraction of the value of agriculture in developing world. In developed
countries, the share of total value added products in agro industries is 20-30%,
whereas in developing world it is 30-45%.
The distribution of agro-processing industries within the developing world is
relatively unequal. In 1997, 40% of agro-processing value added products in
developing countries were concentrated in South and East Asia and Latin
America. Among the developing countries, India ranked fourth with 9% value
added products of the contribution from developing world. Trade in food
products is increasing with a growth rate of 9.4% each year compared with an
annual growth of 2.1% for agricultural commodities. Growth has been
concentrated among developed countries. About 85% of European Union food
exports are processed food while 60% of African export are primary
commodities.
Now food is a global commodity. Food is traded and shipped around the
world. The modern grocery store sells food from all over the world. These food
might include cheese from Europe, beef from Australia, strawberries from
Mexico, and apple from Argentina. The food processing industries are opening
subsidiaries in other countries and fast food companies are opening outlets all
over the world. Globalization and WTO will affect the world food processing
industries to a great extent with the new global standards and food safety
regulations.
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 Food Processing
2.3 PARTS OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY Industries

The food industry is divided into four major segments:

i) Production
ii) Manufacturing/processing
iii) Distribution
iv) Marketing
Production: Production includes such activities as farming, ranching, orchard
management, fishing and aquaculture. Technologies involved in production of
the raw materials include the selection of plant and animal varieties,
cultivation, growth, harvest, slaughter, and the storage and handling of the raw
materials.
Manufacturing/processing: Manufacturing converts raw agricultural products
to more refined or finished products. Manufacturing requires many unit
operations and processes that are at the core of food sector.
Distribution: Distribution deals with those aspects conducive to product sales,
including: product form, weight and bulk, transportation, storage requirements
and storage stability.
Marketing: Marketing is the selling of foods in raw and processed form and
involves wholesale, retail, institutions and restaurants
These four divisions are rather artificial as these actually overlap one another.
Nevertheless, the food industry requires planning and synchronization in all its
divisions to be successful. Another way of dividing the food industry is along
major product lines:
• Cereals and bakery products
• Meats, fish and poultry
• Dairy products
• Fruits and vegetables
• Sugars and other sweets
• Fats and oils
• Non alcoholic beverages/alcoholic beverages
These divisions are typically where consumer consumption is measured and
reported. Each segment can be divided into number of sub-segments. For
example cereal processing may include wheat processing, pulse processing,
bakery industries, weaning foods industries, fast food manufacturing etc.
Allied industries: Many companies do not sell food directly but they are
deeply involved in the food industry. These are called allied industries. Allied
industries produce non-food items that are necessary for marketing food. The
packaging industry is a good example. Some specific examples include cans,
food colour and flavour, paper products, and plastic products. Chemical
manufacturers represent another group of allied industries. They supply the
acidulants, preservatives, enzymes, stabilizers, and other chemicals used in
foods. Monitoring and regulatory agencies such as the BIS, APEDA, FPO,
Food & Drug Administration (FDA), lawyers, consumer action and
information agencies, and other regulatory agencies are also part of allied
industries.

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Introduction to Food
Science and Technology 2.4 TRENDS IN CONSUMPTION OF PROCESSED FOOD
Although expenditure on food has increased considerably over the years, the
increase has not matched the gain in disposable income and hence percentage
of income spent on food has declined. As income rises, the proportion spent for
food declines.
Americans spent only about 8 percent of their personal consumption
expenditures for food to be eaten at home. This compares with 10 percent for
Canada and 11 percent for the United Kingdom. In less developed countries,
such as India and the Philippines, at home food expenditures often account for
more than 50 percent of a household's budget. In India, the percent total
personal consumption expenditures spent on food consumed at home is 51.3%.
Consumption trends change over the years, and this influences what the food
industry does. However, demand for individual foods is more responsive to
prices as consumers substitute among alternative food commodities. Rising
incomes increase expenditures on more expensive foods, as consumers demand
more convenience and quality. Demographic factors, such as changes in
household size and the age distribution of the population, can bring about
changes in consumption.
Away-from-home meals and snacks now capture almost half (45 percent) of
the U.S. food dollar. This is up from 34 percent in 1970. Fast food accounts for
the largest and fastest rising share of sales in the food industry. Sales in fast-
food industries now outpace the sales in full-service restaurants. People want
quick and convenient meals. They do not want to spend to much time in
preparing meals, travelling to pick up meals, or waiting for meals in a
restaurant. Consumers want to combine mealtime with time engaged in other
activities such as shopping, work, or travel. For example, McDonald's, Pizza
hut, KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell, and others are now located in conversant
outlets.

2.5 STATUS OF FOOD PROCESSING IN INDIA

India is the world's second largest producer of fruits & vegetables, but hardly
2% of the produce is processed. India is the land of spices producing all
varieties worth over Rs. 3500 crores (US $ 900 million) amounting to 25-30%
of world production, which is processed for value-addition and export. It grows
22 million tonnes of oilseeds covering most of the varieties. Other important
plantation products include tea, coffee, cocoa and cashew.
India's livestock population is largest in the world with 50% of world's
buffaloes and 20% of cattle, but only about 1% of total meat production is
converted to value added products. India is the largest milk producer in the
world but only about 15% of the total milk production is processed through the
organized sector. Size of the semi-processed and ready to eat packaged food
industry is over Rs. 4000 crores (US $ 1 billion) and is growing at over 20%.
India has become a surplus producer of food from being an importer of food
grains. However, India does not figure significantly in the world trade of food
and food products. Food processing industry in India has been stagnant for a
long time, although consumers in India spend more than half their expendable
income on food, beverages and tobacco totalling almost Rs. 4000 billion.
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There are a large number of small and medium size processing units and only a Food Processing
Industries
few large process houses. There are more than 800 flour mills, almost 600 fish
processing units with about 4500 cold storages, over 5000 fruit and vegetable
processing units, 170 meat processing units, about 650 soft drink units, more
than 400 sugar mills and 700 solvent extraction units. With bigger units run by
multi national companies, the number may not change significantly but there
might be a qualitative change in the character of the industry.
Processed food industry ranks 5th in size in India accounting for about 5.5% of
GDP, employing more than 1.5 million workers in the industry with a size of
about US$ 30 billion. More than 75% of the industry is in unorganized sector
in terms of turnover with value added foods account for US$ 17 billion. The
size of semi-processed and ready-to-eat/packaged food industry is about US$ 1
billion.
Processed foods worth over US$ 4 billion were exported in 2002-03, of which
rice is about 46% and marine products about 34%. Major exports besides rice
and fish products, have been fruits and vegetable products, meat and poultry
products both fresh and frozen, egg products and tea. There are good prospects
of having grains and grain products as well as milk and milk products also
among the major export items.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1 "

Note: a) Use the space below for your answer.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. How the food industries are segmented?
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2. What is the status of food processing in India?
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Introduction to Food
Science and Technology 2.6 MAJOR FOOD PROCESSING SECTORS THEIR
STATUS, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
Food processing industry in India can be segmented as follows:
1. Cereal/ pulse milling
2. Fruit & vegetable processing
3. Milk & milk products
4. Beverages like coffee, tea & cocoa
5. Fish, poultry, eggs & products
6. Meat & meat products
7. Aerated waters/soft drinks
8. Beer/alcoholic beverages
9. Bread, biscuits & other bakery products
10. Edible oil/fats.
11. Confectioneries
12. Breakfast cereals, malt protein, weaning, extruded food products
2.6.1 Problems in Food Processing Industries
At present most of the industries are in unorganized sectors. So, numbers of
problems are arising from different sections of the industries. Some of the
basic problems encountered by Indian food industries at different levels are
given below.
Farm level problems
• Poor yield of farm produce and therefore low returns
• Lack of material resources necessary for development
• Primitive methods of farming
• No control on quality of inputs and lack of finance to manage.
• Vagaries of weather
• Unavailability of reliable handling and transportation system
• Lack of storage facilities at farm
Distributors problems
• Lack of modern transportation facilities and high cost
• Inadequate cold storage faculties
• Irregular quality of farm produce
Processing industries problem
• Financing
• Higher import duties
• Higher cost of raw material and packaging
• Inadequate transport and cold storage facilities
• Infrequent availability of refrigerated containers
• Staggering advertising costs
• Limited domestic market
Consumer discontent
• Does not get value for money
• The price variation is a day to day affair
• Continued dependence on seasonal products
• Lack of variety of semi processed or prepared convenience food at
30 affordable prices.
The reasons for slow growth of processed foods in India in past are many. Food Processing
Industries
Majority of the population has low-income levels and cannot afford processed
foods. Indians traditionally prefer fresh foods that are cooked rather than use
preserved foods. There is also no national character for food habits and these
keep changing from region to region. However, the scenario is changing with
some foods especially the fast foods acquiring the national character. Also
some foods such as idli, dosa, some Punjabi foods like chhole, alu mutter etc.,
some Chinese foods and now the western foods like burgers and pizza are fast
gaining national popularity.
There are some factors that impede growth in this industry. Transport (both
road and railways) and communication are poor. This causes special problems
for perishable products. There are no reliable cold chains, which are necessary
for temperature sensitive foods like fruits & vegetables, ice creams etc.
Modernization is unaffordable for small-scale manufacturer but the large
companies do not find investment justifiable due to small size of market.
Packaging costs are high. Even the retail business in small stores so large that
an inventory needed to display various brands and that is lacking.
Supermarkets are not yet popular although a few are making appearance.

2.6.2 Prospects
Indian government is now making an effort to promote better growth of this
industry by giving it a priority sector status for lending by banks, most of the
industry (except in alcoholic beverages and those products reserved for small
scale), have been exempted from licensing, have relaxation in small scale
reservation, foreign technology agreements, agro-based export oriented units,
assistance in research and development etc. Government is also trying to
improve infrastructure support such as cold chain facilities, transport, storage
warehouses, etc. Governments are setting up Food Parks, 10-year tax holiday,
and replacement of PFA Act with a new more rational act. The bill for
Integrated Food Law is likely to be introduced in the Parliament.
Because of liberalization and other developmental measures being taken,
future of the industry looks very bright. To some extent cold chain is being
provided, which will help in retaining quality, freshness and reduce post-
harvest losses. With the new hybrid varieties being added the production
season is also being extended. These developments shall result in the greater
availability of quality raw materials to the industry thus resulting in better
capacity utilization and producing a wider range of products and of
international quality. The quality is now the watchword for success. The
multinationals now entering the food industry have an international marketing
network and have their brand loyalties all over the world. This will enable the
Indian products reaching all over the world in the form and packing required.
With the rise in the per capita income particularly of the middle classes a
drastic change in the food habits has been noticed. This will lead to an
increased domestic consumption of processed foodstuffs.

2.7 CEREAL PROCESSING

India produces about 200 million tonnes of different food grains every year.
All major grains like paddy, wheat, maize, barley, and millets like jowar (great
millet), bajra (pearl millet) & ragi (finger millet) are produced in the country.
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Introduction to Food The country is self sufficient in grain production and is the second largest
Science and Technology wheat and rice producer in world, with a 20% share in total world production.
Primary milling of rice, wheat and pulses is the most important activity in food
grains. There are over 91,000 rice hullers and 2,60,000 small flourmills
engaged in primary milling. Further there are about 43,000 modernized rice
mills/huller-cum sheller and the quantity of rice bran processed for bran-oil
extraction stood at 3.4 million tonnes in 1999-2000.
Around 820 large flourmills in the country convert about 10.5 million tonnes
of wheat into wheat products. Branded rice is becoming popular in the country
and significant corporate presence is there in the domestic as well as export
markets. Some quantity of wheat and wheat products is also exported.
The total market of bakery product, bread and biscuit is 1.5 million tonne and
1.1 million tonne respectively in year 1998. The cake market alone is estimated
at 0.4 million tonne. The organized segment of the biscuit market is estimated
to be 0.44 million tonnes whereas the unorganized sector accounts for the
balance 0.66 million tonnes. Bread market is estimated to be growing at around
7% per annum in volume terms, whereas the biscuit market in the recent years
has witnessed a little higher growth at around 8-10% per year.
Besides the industrial areas in leading metropolis, the bakery products and
confectionery are carried on small-scale basis also at household level.
Whereas, the confectionery industry has developed remarkably with the
international brands mingling with the domestic market toffees, chocolates etc.
produced at large scale in important industrial regions of the country. During
the last 2 decades, small and unorganized players shared the growth in the
industry. Currently, there are an estimated 2 million bakeries across the
country engaged in production of bread, biscuits and other products. The
estimated annual production of bakery products in India is in excess of 3
million tonnes, of which bread accounts for nearly 50% and biscuits 37% in
volume terms in the organized sector. Sugar-boiled confectionery, consisting
of hard-boiled candy, toffees and other sugar-based candies, is the largest
confectionary segments and valued at around Rs 2,000 crore. The
confectionery industry has a current capacity of 85,000 tons; the market is
growing at the rate of 10-15% per annum.

2.8 PULSE PROCESSING

In India, around 75% of pulses produced is consumed after having been milled
for removal of the husk and splitting or after some processing. Losses take
place at various stages after harvest viz. during storage, loosening of husk, at
the time of processing, etc. Among post harvest operations, storage causes the
maximum loss of 7.5%, processing, threshing and transport causes 1%, 0.5%
losses respectively, aggregating 9.5% total loss. Though the main cause of low
per capita availability is considered to be poor productivity and production but
reduction in post harvest losses can enhance the availability to a considerable
extent. However, most of the commercial technologies available for this
purpose are either obsolete or inadequate and result in heavy losses due to
breakage and powdering of the grain. Successful efforts have been made to
develop improved technologies to reduce milling losses and improve product
quality. Similarly there is a need for development and utilization of improved
technologies for the manufacture of products based on grain legumes.
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Conversion of pulses to dhal is the third largest food processing industry in the Food Processing
Industries
country after rice and wheat milling industries. It is estimated that about 75%
of the pulses produced in the country are converted to dhal. Milling of pulses
has been practiced as a small-scale rural operation from time immemorial and
more recently as large commercial operation. About 30% of the production of
pulses is retained by the farmers and is processed in rural sector using
traditional techniques. Presently the dhal available in the market comes almost
entirely from the large-scale mills. There are about 10,000 dhal mills working
in various parts of the country processing different pulses throughout the year.
A majority of the 5500 mills, reported in the country are big and semi-
automatic/ automatic. They process more than 80% of the pulses produced in
the country. However, there is a good scope for new entrants in this field is of
particular significance as pulses are the main suppliers of proteins and
nutritious food to the poor masses.
Depending upon the scope for processing pulses, dhal-milling plants can be
setup in rural areas so that the waste material available from this industry could
be beneficially used for cattle feed and other purposes.
Many pulse milling machines, technology and process have been developed by
different research organizations of the country to overcome most of the
anomalies of the traditional methods. Some of these methods have better
milling efficiency, more yield in lesser time and at lesser processing costs
compared to the traditional process.

2.9 OILSEED PROCESSING

The vegetable oil processing and extraction industry also plays a vital role in
our edible oil economy. It comprises the orthodox bullock driven crushers and
the modern expander/extruder units. In recent times the processing sector has
passed through a transitional phase, attempting to cope with the rapidly
changing processing methods the world over.
Over the years the demand for both edible and inedible oils in India has been
on the rise. The gap between demand and supply has been largely bridged by
using innovative technologies and unconventional oil sources from forest
based oilseeds. In recent years per capita consumption of edible oil has also
been rising. It was estimated that edible oil demand would be about 7.1 million
tonnes or 26 million tonnes of oilseeds. Although India produces about
7 million tones of edible oils annually, a gap may still arise as the industry
sources are expecting an increase in our annual per capita consumption of
edible oil to 9 kg. The domestic demand for edible oils has been growing at
about 6.7 percent per annum whereas production only at 4.5 percent per
annum.
The processing by the solvent extraction industry declined to 10.4 million
tonnes in 1996 compared to 11.2 million tonnes in the previous year. Exports
of oil meal, oilseeds and minor oils have reached 4.55 million tones) valued at
Rs. 3766 crores ($ 1067 million) during the year 1996-97 at against 4.54
million tonnes (valued at Rs. 2873 crore equivalent to $ 820 million) in 1995-
96, i.e. a quantum jump of 35 per cent over the previous year.
India has about 2.5 lakhs ghanis and kolhus and around 50.000 oil mills of
different capacities. While most of the former categories have low
33
Introduction to Food productivity, majority of the oil mills have only the capacity of 1 to 5 tonnes
Science and Technology per day and about 150 are having that of 50 tonnes per day.
Vanaspati production has been growing at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent during
1990-91 to 1995-96. Yet of its 161 units, 49 have put down the shutter during
1996. The vanaspati producer’s are pressing for decontrolling the use of
mustard oil in vanaspati production. Now the Vegetable Oils Products (VOP)
industry is permitted to use only certain specified varieties of mustard. High
input cost is a major constraint faced by the manufacturers. The vanaspati
industry’s capacity utilization went down to 36 per cent in 1994-95 from a high
of 66 per cent in 1987-88. The industry has also added substantial capacities is
complete disregard to the market demand, 26.6 lakh tones in 1994-95
compared to 15 lakh tones in 1986-87.
For increasing domestic production potential for vegetable oil (edible &
industrial) from non-conventional sources, and integrated approach is
necessary for exploitation of non-traditional oilseeds. Soybean and oil palm are
two promising oil bearing materials for achieving self-sufficiency for India.

# Check Your Progress Exercise 2

Note: a) Use the space below for your answer.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What are the major problems and prospects of processing industries?
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2. What is the status of grain and oilseed milling in India?
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2.10 HORTICULTURAL CROP PROCESSING

The commercial processing of fruit & vegetables is less than 2%. The main
reason being that domestic consumption of processed items is quite meagre
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because of economic reasons and also as a matter of habit as consumers prefer Food Processing
Industries
fresh fruits & vegetables. The high cost of packaging pushes up the cost of the
processed items and thereby makes them out of reach of the common man.
Because of the varied agro-climatic conditions some fresh fruit & vegetable are
available throughout the year.
Presently there are a little over 5198 units registered under the FPO distributed
all over the country. Most of the units fall in the cottage and or small-scale
sector. A few modern processing plants have, now come up and many more are
in the pipeline. The installed capacity, which was 11.08 lakh tonnes, in 1993,
increased to 21.00 lakh tonnes at the end of the year 1999. After the
liberalization of the economic policies in the country, a few very modern plants
produce mango pulp, tomato paste etc. in aseptic packing, freeze drying of
many fruit & vegetables including mushroom is being taken up. It is expected
that in the years to come, many modern state of the art plants shall come up.
The important items manufactured in the country are fruit pulps particularly of
tomatoes & mangoes, ready to serve juices, canned fruits, jam, pickles,
squashes, etc. Recently, items like frozen fruits, pulps, dehydrated & freeze-
dried vegetables, canned mushrooms etc. are also being produced. In the
coming years, new industries like carbonated fruit drinks, dehydrated and
freeze dried fruits, fruit juice concentrates are expected to come up.
India in a small way has been in the export market for almost 30 years. Among
the popular items in export are mango chutneys, pickles. Fruit juices, canned
and dehydrated mushrooms, frozen & canned fruit & vegetables. In the year
1997-98 the exports of processed fruit and vegetables were in the order of 299
thousand tonnes valued at Rs. 761 crores (US $ 200 million).
Due to the WTO Agreement, all the exporting units will have to follow the
Codex Alimentarius standards. This makes the compliance easier as one does
not have to try to comply with several different legal requirements of different
countries. There are many processors who export their products to several
countries. Codex Alimentarius also has another requirement and that is Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). This has been incorporated to
ensure safety of food products. Although this is new to most Indian
manufacturers, several processing units have already incorporated these
requirements in their units.
The future looks quite promising for food processing industry. It is bound to
grow at much more healthy rate as many plans are implemented. Government
has a big role to play in its development and has already given its willingness
to help the industry.

2.11 LIVESTOCK AND AQUACULTURAL PRODUCE

PROCESSING

2.11.1 Fish Processing

With over 8000 km. of coastline, 3 million hectares of reservoirs and
1.4 million hectares of brackish water, India has vast potential for fishes from
both inland and marine resources. Units mostly exist in the small-scale sector
as proprietary or partnership firms or fishermen co-operatives. Over the last
decade, the organized corporate sector has become increasingly involved in
preservation, processing and export of coastal fish. But the wide variety of fish
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Introduction to Food resources found in Indian inland waters, coastal areas and deep seas
Science and Technology comprising India's Exclusive Economic Zone, still remain grossly under
utilized
Processing of produce into canned and frozen forms is carried out almost
entirely for the export market. In all, there are about 393 freezing units,
13 canning units, 160 ice-making units, 12 fishmeal units and also about 476
cold storage units. Processed fish products for export include: conventional
block frozen products, individual quick frozen products (IQF), minced fish
products like fish sausage, cakes, cutlets, pastes, surimi, texturised products
and dry fish etc.
2.11.2 Meat Processing
India has a livestock population of 470 million that includes 205 million cattle
and 90 million buffaloes. The country produces about 450 million broilers and
30 billion eggs annually. Animals, which are generally used for production of
meat, are cattle, buffalos, sheep and goat, pigs and poultry. Mithun is also
slaughtered for meat in North East and Sikkim. Rabbit meat is also used as a
specialty in Kerala and some other states.
Consumption per head of both fresh and processed meat in India is very low at
1.5 kilograms. This compares with the world average of 35.5 kilograms. The
production of meat and meat products has shown an impressive growth. The
details of production of meat and meat products from 1994 to 1998 are as
given Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: Production of meat and meat products (in thousand tonnes)

S. Meat product 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

No
1. Mutton and Goat 637 647 669 670 675
Meat
2. Pork Meat 366 420 420 420 420
3. Poultry Meat 422 578 480 580 600
4. Cattle Meat (Beef) 1290 1292 1202 1292 1295
5. Buffalo Meat 1200 1204 1204 1205 1210

The total meat production in the country is 4 million tonnes, which includes
beef, buffalo meat, mutton, goat meat, pork and poultry meat. However, only
about 1% of the total meat is converted into value added products like
sausages, ham, bacon, luncheon meat, kebabs, meatballs etc. The total meat
export during 1999-2000 was Rs.845.00 crores consisting mostly of mutton
and buffalo meat out of which 70% was contributed by export of buffalo meat.
The country has 3600 slaughterhouses, 9 modern abattoirs and 171 meat-
processing units licensed under MPO. A few modern pork-processing plants
are also coming up in the country. These are primary meat processing houses
and are administered by local authorities. Most of them are outdated and use
primitive technologies for the production of meat. There are very few modern
facilities, although a few such units do exist for pork and bacon processing, for
the integrated slaughter and processing of buffalo, sheep and goat meat and for
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the processing of poultry meat. In addition to this, a large proportion of meat Food Processing
Industries
production is slaughtered in houses or small-unlicensed establishments.
Poultry processing is still in its infancy. There are only seven modern
integrated poultry processing plants. However, there are a good number of
small poultry processing units engaged in production of poultry meat products.
There are five egg-processing units engaged in exporting egg products.
The level of processing in the Indian market is very small and the potential for
rapid growth is therefore substantial. With the advent of fast food outlets in all
the metropolitan centers, the impact on meat processing industry is immense.
As per capita incomes rises and urban families live in smaller units, the
demand for processed meat products, which can be rapidly cooked, will rise.

2.12 NATIONAL FOOD PROCESSING POLICY

The Government has come out with a draft national food processing policy
with a vision to motivate farmers and food processors and to provide
interactive coupling between technology, economy, environment and society
for steady development of food processing activities to build up a substantial
base for production of value added agro food products for domestic and export
markets with a strong emphasis on food safety and quality enabling the farmers
especially to realize direct benefits of new technology and marketing network
and to ensure adequate availability of quality food products for the consumers
at affordable prices.
The policy will seek to create an appropriate environment for the entrepreneurs
to set up food processing industries through rationalization of tax structure,
harmonization & simplification of food laws, promotion campaign to create
market for processed foods by providing financial assistance to Industry
Associations, NGOs/cooperatives, private sector units, State Government
organizations. It also includes infrastructural development programs like
establishment of cold chain, low cost pre-cooling facilities near farms, cold
stores and grading, sorting, packaging facilities, application of biotechnology,
remote sensing technologies, energy saving technologies and technologies for
environmental protection, building up a strong infrastructural base for
production of value added products with special emphasis on food safety and
quality matching international standards etc. The policy has many backward
and forward linkages between farmers, market, processors and consumers.

Check Your Progress Exercise 3 "

Note: a) Use the space below for your answer.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What is the status and prospects of meat processing industries?
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Introduction to Food 2. What is National Food Processing Policy?
Science and Technology
……………………………………………………………………………….
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2.13 LET US SUM UP

The food industry is divided into production manufacturing distribution and
marketing. The industry is highly responsive to change and interrelated with
others. Consumers drive the food industry and to some extent the food industry
drives the consumer, making changes in food consumption, types and meals.
Food is now a global commodity with changing tread scenario in the world.
The food processing industry in India is in its growing stage. It contributes
5.5% of GDP. Most of the foods processing industries are in unorganized
sector. There are number of problems which are responsible for slow growth of
food Industry. But the prospects of food industry are very good, as changes in
the food habits have been observed in the recent past.
Cereal processing is the major food-processing sector in India. Numbers of
bakery products are also produced in the India and the market is growing fast
rate 7.5% of pulses produced in India is processed for preparation of dall.
There are about 5500 processing mills in India. There are about 2.5 lakh ghanis
in India. Vanaspati production sector is slow. The commercial processing of
fruits and vegetables is only 2% in India. There are 5198 food processing units
which are registered under food product order.
In fish processing the organized sectors are now coming up. There are about
393 freezing units in the country. Meat is one of the important export
commodity in food processing export sector. Only 0.2% of total meat
production is further processed at commercial scale. The poultry processing is
in the starting phase.

The government has come out with a draft national food processing policy
with a vision to motivate and provide interactive compiling between all
stakeholders. The policy will seek to create an appropriate environment for the
entrepreneurs to set up food processing industries through creating enabling
environment, infrastructure development with backward and forward linkages.

2.14 KEY WORDS

National food processing
policy : Draft of government on food processing policy of
India.

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 Food Processing
Food processing
Industries
industries : The industries engaged in commercial processing
of foods.
Allied industries : The industries indirectly associated with food
processing industries.
Cereal processing : The processing of cereals like wheat, paddy etc.
Primary processing : It includes cleaning/grading of raw material and
dehusking.
Pulse processing : The processing of pulses to get the dall or any
other product.
Oilseed processing : Processing of oilseeds to extract oil from oil-
bearing seeds.
Horticultural crop
Processing : Processing of fruits and vegetables to increase
their shelf life and prepare other products.
HACCP : Hazard analysis and critical control points.
Fish processing : Processing of fish includes, freezing, canning,
deboning etc.
Meat Processing: The processing of animal carcass for human consumption.

2.15 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
"
Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1. Your answer should include following points:

• Classification based on units of industry

• Classification on food products

2. Your answer should include following points:

• Past and present status

• Future prospects and scope

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1. Your answer should include following points:

• Problems of farmers, market, processor and consumers

• Future scope, government policies

2. Your answer should include following points:

• Cereal, pulses, oilseeds

• Processing industries, potential

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Introduction to Food
Science and Technology Check Your Progress Exercise 3

1. Your answer should include following points:

• Meat, fish, poultry processing

• Present status
• Future scenario

2. Your answer should include following points:

• Vision of policy
• Linkages, creation of enabling environment, infrastructure

2.16 SOME USEFUL BOOKS

1. Economic Survey 2001-2002. Economic Division, Ministry of Finance,
Government of India.
2. Fellows, P.J. (1998) Food Processing Technology, Principles and Practices.
Woodhead Publishing Limited. Cambridge, England.
3. Parker, R. (2003) Introduction to Food Science. Thomson Learning Inc.
New York.
4. Potter, N.N. and Hotchkiss, J.H. (1995) Food Science, 5th Edition.
Chapman & Hall Publishing Inc, New York.

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