India’s evolution in food habits has opened floodgates for industrialisation of traditional food items .jpg) There is a lot more to food than what meets the sensory organs. Food is integral to our culture, which has evolved through the ages. What people ate in the last millennium, or in the last century, is certainly different from what we eat today. This transformation is an outcome of cultural and technological evolution. The food that we have been eating since generations are termed as traditional, and different geographical boundaries and cultures have inherited distinct kinds of traditional food.
Compared to the rest of the world, Indian food is different in terms of taste and methods of processing and preparation. It mirrors a wonderful combination of various cultures and ages. Traditional food is recognised for its characteristic flavour and taste, imparted by spices and condiments, which are used generously throughout the country.
Challenges ahead for food technology
The challenge for food technology lies in transforming conventional, small-scale manufacturing of traditional food, hitherto practiced by halwais and vendors, into mechanised, automated and computer integrated production systems, adopting international standards for food safety and hygiene.
Even though traditional food items form an integral part of daily diet of domestic consumers, they must address the criteria of appearance, flavour, taste, texture, freshness, nutrition, shelf-life and convenience, which characterise modern food products. As most traditional food items are extremely fragile, they need to be packaged properly for physical, chemical and biological protection, for providing convenience, and in fulfilling the marketing functions of communication, display, label, promotion, storage and transport.
Concerns
Embracing modern manufacturing technology, with integrated packaging systems, for traditional food manufacturing is definitely not without perils. The environmental impacts need to be carefully evaluated. One of the biggest problems confronted by industrialised nations is the disposal of non-biodegradable waste, arising from packaging materials.
Food packaging systems need to be designed and evaluated in a manner that does not pollute the environment, in order to safeguard ecological balance. Conceptualisation of new traditional food product formats, their engineering, management of unit processing operations to optimise processes and energy application and prevention or minimisation of material waste or by-products are the overriding concerns of food technology.
Industrialisation of conventional food
The process of industrialisation of traditional food products has already been started by Amul, Bikanerwala, Chitale Bandhu, Haldiram, ITC Foods, KC Das and MTR Foods, among others, taking the lead and making foray into both domestic and international food markets. For marketing authentic Indian food products in the international markets, new product formats with quality focus need to be designed.
The new genre of ‘traditional’ food products need to have certain characteristics such as authenticity, variety and exoticism.
For instance, Italian pizza and Chinese noodles have become global phenomena today. These food items have become a rage, retaining the authentic format of the product, yet catering to exotic tastes and offering variety to consumers. Food markets are being increasingly shaped by the twin strands of globalisation and localisation, and India needs to take this challenge forward with its extensive offering of traditional foods on a golden platter.
Professor Vinod K Huria, senior scientist, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore and president of Association of Food Scientists and Technologists, India |
