Become a food techie, make big bucks

Walk in to any supermarket and you will find a big huge bay dedicated to processed and packaged foods. This bay is usually swarmed with men who can't cook or women who won't cook. Occasionally, you might spot some time-conscious creature who just wants to fix himself a quick meal. Here's where the science of food comes into play.

Purée, pickle and prunes are not merely put in packets and placed for purchase. There's more to coconut milk and ketchup than mere canning and labelling. Readymade Rajma has proved a refreshing replacement for those staying away from home.

In fact, there's a lot of science that goes into making these foods people's favourite. And this science is called food technology -- a course that has been gaining momentum in India, for a while now. A course in food technology is definitely a pathway to make big bucks.

Food technologists use the sciences, such as microbiology and chemistry, to understand how food deterioration and processing works. They may also be involved in research that analyses food nutrition or work to make food healthier, tastier or safer.

Hotels, rice mills, distilleries, and packaging industries are constantly on the lookout for food technologists. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, which started functioning since 1988, has given a tremendous boost to this sector in India.

How to qualify
Candidates seeking admission to the undergraduate programs in food technology need to pass the higher secondary or PU examinations with physics, chemistry, biology or mathematics. For enrolling in a post-graduation course, one must be a graduate in food technology or related areas.

Here’s the syllabus
Students of food technology are trained in all aspects of food, including packaging standards and methodology, health and hygiene parameters, processing techniques, storage and food value, and quality analyses of raw materials. The students are trained to develop methodologies for extracting useful byproducts from industrial and domestic waste. The future of the food industries, on a global scale, is in the hand of food technologists.