Mysore lab gifts Siachen soldiers biryani

Away from home and in inhospitable climes, soldiers of the Indian Army on the icy heights of Siachen and Kargil have hankered for food, especially non-vegetarian fare, cooked at home. Soon, they will be able to fulfil their food cravings.

The Mysore-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), has now found a way in which mutton and chicken biryani, and non-vegetarian sandwiches, can have a long shelf life without losing their nutritional value. The disclosure was made at the inauguration of the three-day 20th ‘Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists’ in the city on Monday. The focal theme of the convention is ‘Specialised Processed Foods for Health and Nutrition: Technology and Delivery’.

Director of the DFRL, Amarinder Singh Bawa, said, “In high altitudes, where oxygen is less, soldiers tend not to eat much. Appetite is affected, and the soldiers’ health might be affected. The Army had evinced an interest in non-vegetarian food that tasted like it was homemade, for these soldiers. We developed this product in response to that.”

The convention took note of the heightened consumption of processed food in India. While fresh food is still the norm, there is growing demand for processed food. Consumer patterns are slowly undergoing change, speakers noted.  PG Chengappa, vice-chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, said, “Consumer patterns are changing, with the high levels of education and larger incomes in urban areas.”

Chengappa added, “Many multinational companies see food processing in India as a wide and untapped market, with such a large population of youth,” Chengappa said.

Inadequate processing infrastructure means that processed food does not easily find its way into the domestic market. Chengappa said, “Processed food is expensive in the local market. Unreliable infrastructure makes it hard to access quality raw material. There are numerous middle-men, and the supply chain for these is fragmented.”

AK Srivastava, director and vice-chancellor of the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, said, “The Indian agri-industry has been incurring a loss of Rs76,500 crore each year due to lack of proper infrastructure. At least 30% of this loss is due to vegetable products going bad before reaching consumers. The $26 billion Indian food processing industry has a long way to be developed.” Srivatsava added unlike in a country like Netherlands where 100% of the milk produced is processed, in India it is only 16%.
Hema Arvind, chief dietitian at the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, however, said, “To extend the shelf life of food, preservatives are used. If such food is consumed for long, it would adversely affect one’s health.”