About - CFTRI

India stands second in the world for production of fruits and vegetables, and owing to the remarkable diversity of its geographical conditions, produces a great variety of these invaluable horticultural produce for common use. The country actually produces about 50 million tonnes of fruits and 85 million tonnes of vegetables per year, but just about 2% of this goes for processing, while over 25% is spoiled due to improper handling and storage, and the rest is consumed in fresh form.
India is, therefore, incurring a precious loss not only in terms of revenue, but also in terms of health, because fruits and vegetables play a vital role in human diet as fresh food sources of calories, vitamins, dietary fibre and special nutraceuticals.

CFTRI envisioned this scenario five decades ago, and thus made its very beginning with the establishment of an independent department-Fruit and Vegetable Technology Department-with the objective of undertaking basic and applied research work and development in the area of fruits and vegetables, for minimising wastage, maintaining quality and imparting convenience and value addition to agro-horticultural produce. The ultimate focus of the department has always been on the country's economy, particularly the rural economy, as well as the health of the final consumer.

With this end in view, we are endeavouring to evolve suitable packages and storage conditions to extend the freshness of fruits and vegetables in multiple ways.

· Pre- and post-harvest technologies for extension of storage life and better handling and transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables, to
sustain freshness and reduce spoilage

· Development of technology protocols for fresh fruits and vegetables for international marketing and export by sea

· Low-temperature and modified atmosphere storage of minimally
processed vegetables to reduce bulk, minimise spoilage and
preserve in "ready to cook" form

· Processed and value-added products from fruits and vegetables, with the idea of preservation, and economic utilisation of processing wastes

· Production and processing of mushrooms under the guiding
principles of biodegradation and bioconversion of agro-residues into
useful forms of food

· Basic work: Biochemical, physiological and pathological studies
during fruit maturation and ripening

Major Technologies Developed/Transferred

Over the years, we have studied most of the commercially important fruits and vegetables for defining conditions for their optimum storage life, and developed technologies for commercial exploitation of the potential by a whole range of innovative means:

FRUITS

· Pre-/Post- harvest technologies for optimising the storage life and
facilitating the shipping (in reefer containers) of fresh mango and
banana to western countries ( For the first time mangoes were
exported to the UK from India, using these technologies. Similar
technologies are on trial for grapes, guava, pomegranate, orange,
lime, pine apple and several other Indian tropical fruits.)

· A variety of processes for turning fruits into juice, juice concentrates, beverages, squashes syrups, nectar; jams (continuously produced), jellies marmalades, and ketchup, sauce; cereal flakes, fruit bars and toffees, tutti-frutti, candied fruits; preserves, pickles; dehydrated fruit products

· Process for extraction of pectin from citrus peel and apple pomace,
of commercial value in making jams, jellies, marmalades and
pharmaceuticals

VEGETABLES

· Processes for effective dehydration, freezing and canning of several vegetables too, for long storage life, availability in their off-season

· Minimal process and modified atmosphere technologies for over 30 vegetables to reduce the bulk, curtail the spoilage and preserve the commodity in ready-to-cook form for long periods

· Processes for carrot juice (a great source of beta-carotene and a
general health drink); instant pickle from raw mango, lime and other
vegetables to enhance shelf life, reduce handling cost and enable
ready use

· Dehydration of vegetables for formulations of ready-to-use vegetable and curry mixes to reduce bulk for storage, transport and packaging and increase storage life; garlic and onion powders

MUSHROOMS

· Technology for production, processing and export of directly edible
mushrooms as oyster mushroom, button mushroom and paddy
straw mushroom, towards fulfilling objectives concerning conversion
of inedible, low-cost, ligno-cellulosic plant wastes. (The mushrooms
produced using this technology constitute typical organic food as it
demands no use of chemicals, fungicides or pesticides

· Preparation of drum-dried powder from paddy straw mushroom

· Production of economic yields of oyster mushrooms on commercial scales by using lignin-rich coir waste and phenolic-rich coffee pulp

· Vertical bed systems (urban and rural models), specially for
large-scale production of oyster mushroom, to suit industrial needs
to conserve space, time and labour (The systems create maximum
surface area for easier production and harvest)

· Methods for storing fresh mushroom

· POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY: State-of-the-art experimental and
semi-commercial controlled atmosphere storage facilities to preserve
the freshness of fruits and vegetables

· MINIMAL PROCESSING OF VEGETABLES: Facilities for sizing,
pre-treatment, packaging and storing of minimally processed
vegetables

· PROCESS ENGINEERING: Pilot plant facilities for canning of fruits
and vegetables, and demonstration of pilot-scale dehydration of fruits
and vegetables and their ready-to-use formulations

· MUSHROOM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : Unit to demonstrate
large scale production and storage of mushrooms for industrial
adoption, under natural and regulated conditions