GNDU to be training hub for food processing

The Dietetics and Nutrition Division, Department of Agriculture of the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), has taken a major step in research, innovation and entrepreneurship in food technology by setting up a food processing unit on the campus.

The facility has been set up with the grant of around Rs 1 crore under RUSA 2.0 and spearheaded by the university’s Golden Jubilee Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. It houses a line extruder for continuous food production, enabling the manufacturing of breakfast cereals, snacks, pet food, pasta, noodles and textured vegetable proteins.

The inauguration was attended by renowned Indian-origin Japanese scientists Renu Wadhwa and Sunil Kaul from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan, along with faculty members, students and staff from the Agriculture Department.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh stated that the facility was among the few institutions in India offering an end-to-end food processing ecosystem — from raw material handling to market-ready product development.

“We are trying to build a system fostering sustainable, innovative food solutions and supporting agri-preneurs and startups in establishing viable businesses in the food processing sector. Under the research-based projects being undertaken at the department, the students are exploring functional food and nutraceuticals, which is the future of food industry, especially packaged and processed food business,” said the VC.

Prof PK Pati, Head, Department of Agriculture, and Coordinator for the Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (CARI), said the department in expanding its scope to serve as a premier training hub for students, researchers and entrepreneurs.

“Our students in the Nutrition and Dietetics unit have been working on creating several nutritive recipes for packaged food that does not require additives or preservatives. We have been working to create dried snacks from black carrots, apple, Indian gooseberry and other seasonal fruits. Our students have also created linseed flour and millet flour for cakes that can replace gluten or corn flour-based baking flour, offering healthier alternatives,” he said.

Other products developed by students include sugar-free jams, health drinks without any chemical preservatives, millet-based functional food for people suffering from diabetes and food allergies.

He shared that scope for the research in food and nutrition hold value as it enables developing and standardising affordable recipes for vulnerable groups and aid food education.

“When we talk about food security and challenges in packaged food industry in terms of sustainability, we need to be able to design food and nutrition plans that suit our demographical, climatic and economic concerns. The reason why this area requires a larger participation from government as well as academia,” said Prof Pati. Currently, one significant research that the unit is undertaking is developing dry green chili powder for use in fast food industry.