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With processed and ready-to-eat foods capturing a bigger and bigger chunk of the market slice, the demand for food technologists is on the upswing, writes Sunit Dhawan "While he from
forth the closet — John Keats in the ‘Eve of
St Agnes ‘
FOOD being a basic
requirement of the humankind, its importance in our lives cannot be
over-emphasized. The overwhelming demand for healthy and
ready-to-eat foods, coupled with the increasing paying capacities,
has opened new vistas for the enterprising entrepreneurs in the
filed of food technology. In the modern era, more and more people
are becoming conscious about what they eat. Having realized the ill
after-effects of binging on fast foods, many people are now turning
towards a nutritiously rich and balanced diet. In fact, healthy
eating has become a necessity in the present age of widespread
medical problems and people don’t mind paying some extra bucks for
clean and healthy food. Thanks to this desire, the rapidly growing
food industry provides one with a whole gamut of career
opportunities in the areas of food processing, analysis,
preservation, fortification, packaging and so on. The upcoming
discipline of food science and technology has immense scope for
students with a science background and scientific temperament. Many
colleges, universities and other institutes offer courses in food
science and technology. These courses usually include in-house
practical training sessions in food-related industrial units or
research laboratories. A student venturing into the area is taught
the basics of food processing, food analysis, food microbiology and
food engineering. He or she can later specialise in dairy
technology, milk, meat, fish and poultry products, cereal
processing, bio-processing, bakery products and other such
sub-disciplines. Those with a technical bent of mind can even go in
for developing machinery and small devices for food processing and
packaging. After passing their exams, the college or university
students can go in for higher studies. In case they want to join a
job right away, plenty of opportunities await them in various
sectors. They can join some fruit and vegetable-based processing
unit, ready-to-serve beverage industry, bakery industry, packed food
and confectionary units, hotels, milk plants, food analysis
laboratories, airlines and fast-food chains. Those interested in
serving in the public sector can join the defence services, Railways
or a Tourism Department. While the research-minded ones and
studious types can join the Research and Development (R&D) wings
of big industrial units, the enterprising ones can start a
food-processing or manufacturing unit or bakery or confectionary or
dairy plant of their own. Given the changing tastes and needs of
the people as far as food habits are concerned, there is a
tremendous potential in the field for innovative ideas. Due to
increasing incidence of heart-related ailments, low-fat and
low-cholesterol foods are being preferred these days. Similarly, the
demand for sugar-free sweets and bakery products is also increasing.
Such food products can be manufactured with a little effort,
though it should be simultaneously ensured that the taste component
is not compromised. Students and professionals can also incorporate
certain useful herbs in food products, thereby giving the consumer
some extra value for his money. For example, the Centre of Food
Science and Technology at Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar,
recently won kudos for making high-fibre Brahmi biscuits, which
contained dried organic carrot powder and Brahmi, the
memory-enhancing herb. Food technologists can play a major role in
inventing techniques for increasing the shelf life of food products,
including fruits, vegetables, chappatis, dairy and other animal
products. All in all, the food sector is replete with possibilities
and offers a promising future to today’s youth.
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