This book provides different facets of India's agro and food processing industry in both organised and unorganised segments. It brings forth the topical issues having potential to accelerate the pace of growth in its employment, investment and productivity and strive for improving the global competitiveness. Using advanced quantitative techniques, it brings new evidences on inter-sectoral (agriculture-industry-services) employment and production linkages, contractual arrangements through Farmer Producer Companies, and subcontracting in the processed food sector. It also throws light on India's comparative advantage in export of primary and processed food products. With rising per capita income, urbanisation, and changing food habits of people, India is increasingly striving to improve productivity and competitiveness in agriculture and manufacturing. A concerted policy focus to accelerate private investment in food processing, largely viewed as a sunrise industry, is expected to contribute to large scale job creation and external trade not only in the manufacturing but also in the agricultural sector. Keeping this in mind, considerable insights are featured in the book at the industry and firm levels due to a significant bearing of technological, tariffs and non-tariff barriers and labour regulations on their trade intensity, employment and efficiency. Containing perspectives from the top agriculture and industry economists in the country, the book will be very useful to researchers, academicians, trade analysts and policy makers.

This open access book examines the interactions between India’s economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a “Food Systems Approach (FSA).” The Indian growth story is a paradoxical one. Despite economic progress over the past two decades, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition problems persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity along with micro-nutrient deficiency portend to a future public health crisis. This book explores various challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through diversified production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater individual capability to access a balanced diet contributing to an increase in overall productivity. The authors bring together the latest data and scientific evidence from the country to map out the current state of food systems and nutrition outcomes. They place India within the context of other developing country experiences and highlight India’s status as an outlier in terms of the persistence of high levels of stunting while following global trends in obesity. This book discusses the policy and institutional interventions needed for promoting a nutrition-sensitive food system and the multi-sectoral strategies needed for simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in India.

The book deals with value addition and processing of agro-food crops. Each agro-food crop is discussed from the point of its production, processing, value addition, packaging and storage. Main food crops of special importance in the food processing sector like cereals, millets and pulses, minor forest products, fruits and vegetables and milk and milk based products are considered at length. The book gives a comprehensive account of food processing and value addition with regards to encourage for setting up small food processing industries in their local area using local agro food crops base. Indigenous food preparations based on fermented cereals and pulse, milk and other crops based products have been discussed. Various food laws and regulation by the Government to control food quality and standards are highlighted. Agro food based, food processing industry, in small or cottage scale level in their local region with available resource projects are alsodiscussed in details. An outstanding text for students, researchers and entrepreneurs in food processing with little or no previous instruction in food science and technology, food science is also a valuable reference for professionals in food processing, as well as for those working in fields that serves, regulates or otherwise interfaces with the food processing industry.

The organization of quality control. Health problems in food. Chemical aspects. Food processing and nutritional values. Microbiological quality control. Statistical methods in quality control. Tasting panels. national and international standards. Quality standards and specification in the food industry.

Residues from agriculture and the food industry consist of many and varied wastes, in total accounting for over 250 million tonnes of waste per year in the UK alone. Biotechnological processing of these residues would allow these waste products to be used as a resource, with tremendous potential. An extensive range of valuable and usable products can be recovered from what was previously considered waste: including fuels, feeds and pharmaceutical products. In this way Biotechnology can offer many viable alternatives to the disposal of agricultural waste, producing several new products in the process. This book presents up-to-date information on a biotechnology approach for the utilisation of agro-industrial residues, presenting chapters with detailed information on materials and bioconversion technology to obtain products of economic importance: The production of industrial products using agro-industrial residues as substrates The biotechnological potential of agro-industrial residues for bioprocesses Enzymes degrading agro-industrial residues and their production Bioconversion of agro-industrial residues. Written by experts in Biotechnological processing of Agro-Industrial Residues, this book will provide useful information for academic researchers and industry scientists working in biotechnology, waste management, agriculture and the food industry.

Drying is by far the most useful large scale operation method of keeping solid foods safe for long periods of time, and is of fundamental importance in most sectors of food processing. Drying operations need to be precisely controlled and optimized in order to produce a good quality product that has the highest level of nutrient retention and flavor whilst maintaining microbial safety. This volume provides an up to date account of all the major drying technologies employed in the food industry and their underlying scientific principles and effects. Various equipment designs are classified and described. The impact of drying on food properties is covered, and the micro-structural changes caused by the process are examined, highlighting their usefulness in process analysis and food design. Key methods for assessing food properties of dried products are described, and pre-concentration and drying control strategies are reviewed. Thermal hazards and fire/explosion detection and prevention for dryers are discussed in a dedicated chapter. Where appropriate, sample calculations are included for engineers and technologists to follow. The book is directed at food scientists and technologists in industry and research, food engineers and drying equipment manufacturers.

"Food Process Engineering focuses on the design, operation and maintenance of chemical and other process manufacturing activities. The development of "Agro Processing" will spur agricultural diversification. There are several benefits of promoting small scale agro-processing units rather large scale for the promotion of rural entrepreneurship. Appropriate post harvest management and value addition to agricultural products, in their production catchments, will lead to employment and income generation in the rural sector and minimize the losses of harvested biomass. Adoption of suitable technology plays a vital role in fixing the cost of the final product and consequently makes the venture, a profitable one. It is observed that imported agro-processing machines or their imitations are used for preparing food products. Actually, the working of these machines should be critically studied in context of the energy input and the quality of the finished product."