RESEARCH AREAS
RTE Health Foods & Nutraceuticals
Relevant R&D expertise and capability for the development and commercialization of RTE convenience foods, functional foods and nutraceuticals is being undertaken. The major areas of interest are ready to eat convenience foods enriched with naturally occurring bioactive substances (e.g., dietary fiber, probiotics and prebiotics, natural antioxidants, natural food colours etc.) which have been introduced to traditional foods. Another focus is to formulate functional foods developed from non-traditional novel raw materials, which can act as substitute for traditional foods and also aid in alleviation of diseases such as like cardiovascular disorders (CVD), obesity, diabetes, celiac disease etc. Non dairy functional milk, ice cream, yoghurt, beverage have been successfully formulated. Therapeutic foods like gluten free pasta and bread, cholesterol free cream, fruit confectionaries are under development. The in-vitro and in-vivo testing of efficacy of developed products is also being taken up for the proper scientific documentation of the health claims.
Extension of Shelf-Life of Perishable Foods
High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a method of food processing where food is subjected to elevated pressures(>600 MPa) with or without the addition of heat, to achieve microbial inactivation. HPP retains food quality, maintains natural freshness, and extends microbiological shelf life.HPP can also be used as a pre-treatment in several processing operations viz. freezing, thawing, drying and extraction etc. to enhance the final product quality and to improve the micro-structure of the developed products apart from reducing the time of processing considerably. A variety of new products development would be possible with this novel technique application. Hence, HPP is being currently applied for the extension of shelf-life of high value commodities like litchi, mangoes, shrimps, strawberries, non dairy ice-cream, flavoured yoghurt etc.
Novel Food Products and Process Development
Traditional methods of shelf life extension like refrigeration / freezing / thermal treatments / chemical treatments / fumigation etc sometimes lead in altering the sensory quality of the perishables; also the technologies are not commercially feasible in long run. Hence, novel innovative processing technologies for the extension of shelf-life of perishables and semi-perishables through use of microwave drying and sterilization; controlled and modified atmospheric storage (CAS & MAP); extrusion technology; super critical fluid technology (SCFE); freeze drying, spray drying and vacuum drying is been undertaken. CAS and MAP is being utilized for the shelf-life extension of mushrooms, bananas, tomatoes and guavas. SCFE is being utilized for the extraction of functional bioactive compounds and removal of cholesterol from foods.
Algal Food Biotechnology
Algal biomass may offer significant potential for future supply of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates for the food sustainability and security. Macro and micro-algae cultivation, bio-discovery and bioprocessing are rapidly growing sources of new products and industries, influencing research and development of contemporary technologies and policies. However, its sustainability from an economic perspective and at the commercial scale is still in its infancy. Hence, algal bioprocessing has been initiated to develop, optimize, evaluate and demonstrate innovative sustainable processes for the production of food supplements, biochemicals and nutraceuticals from algal biomass.
High Pressure Processing
High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a method of food processing where food is subjected to elevated pressures(>600 MPa) with or without the addition of heat, to achieve microbial inactivation. HPP retains food quality, maintains natural freshness, and extends microbiological shelf life.HPP can also be used as a pre-treatment in several processing operations viz. freezing, thawing, drying and extraction etc. to enhance the final product quality and to improve the micro-structure of the developed products apart from reducing the time of processing considerably. A variety of new products development would be possible with this novel technique application. Hence, HPP is being currently applied for the extension of shelf-life of high value commodities like litchi, mangoes, shrimps, strawberries, non dairy ice-cream, flavoured yoghurt etc.