About the Departmnet

India has advanced from an agro-deficit to an agro-surplus country producing need for storage and processing of agricultural and horticultural goods. Food items are being processed for numerous reasons. Grain has been dried after harvest to extend its shelf life since the beginning of time. Foods were first treated mainly to increase their palatability and digestibility as well as to guarantee a steady supply. In India, some examples of preserved foods prepared from certain fruits, vegetables, or grains are pickles, murabbas, and papads. The demands of consumers have changed over time due to advancements in communication and transportation, as well as growing industrialization. Convenient foods, "fresh" and "more natural" meals, "safer and healthier" foods, and foods with a sufficient shelf life are now in greater demand. Customers anticipate higher-quality foods that retain their nutrients. Better-quality meals that retain nutrients, have certain functional qualities, flavor, texture, and consistency, are shelf-stable, and are simple to package, store, and transport are what consumers demand. Therefore, in order to keep food in a safe and edible state, food processing and preservation are necessary. Techniques for keeping food from going bad after it has been harvested or killed have existed since the beginning of time. The oldest methods were sun drying, controlled fermentation, salting/pickling, candying, roasting, smoking, baking and using spices as preservatives. These tried and tested techniques are still used although, with the advent of industrial revolution, new methods have been developed. The general traits of various food classes, as well as the concepts of food science, chemistry, food microbiology, nutrition, sensory analysis, statistics, and good manufacturing procedures in accordance with regulations, are all incorporated and unified in food processing.