MOVE OVER 'JUNKIES', 'FRESHIES' ARE COMING!

A responsible food company must combine business with compassion and consideration for the welfare of the society. If the blame for to day's obesity and CVD epidemic is to apportioned, the major culprit will be the food processing industry which in its relentless pursuit of better financial performance put the consumer fate to the back burner. Of course mindless indulgence with junk foods in response to the high voltage commercial campaign and high purchasing power seem to have distorted the thinking on the part of the consumer, making him almost like a zombie!. Basics of nutrition and health sciences are well known to the industry players and still many products launched,to day cater to the sensory satisfaction rather than well being of the consumers.

It is refreshing that under the bleak scenario that exists to day, at least one large industry player is making an attempt to wean away the consumer from the high calorie, high fat, high salt products by offering convenience fruit based natural products. "The product line includes whole bananas, packaged using a Del Monte's technology that slows down the ripening process and maintains the yellow fruit for five days. Other products include fresh-cut pineapple chunks, apple slices, grapes, baby carrots, celery sticks and grape tomatoes. Some of the cut fruits and vegetables are available with light dips".

Last year similar attempts were made in Singapore where vending machines were designed for easy access to freshly cut fruits and installed at vantage points in the city. The reported success of this enterprise could have inspired the American giant to try out this line and hope for a 'win-win' situation. Probably vending system for salad preparations may also be welcomed by the consumers knowing the value of vegetables in their well being. Indians may have to wait for an enterprising entrepreneur to emerge for access to such healthy foods. It is a pity that NDDB's F & V Project has not thought about it so far though it could have provided the necessary spark for development of this line by the private sector companies.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FRESH FRUIT TRANSPORTATION-OZONE TECHNOLOGY

It is believed that about 25-50% of the fruits and vegetables produced are spoiled between harvest and the consumer's table due to many reasons. Low temperature transportation in refrigerated trucks on the roads and reefer containers in overseas freight carrying vessels give protection to some commodities though optimum storage conditions for many others are still to be worked out. Though Modified Atmosphere Storage(MAS), which is becoming the industry standard for global trade in perishables, it has not yet become universal due to inadequate availability of such specialized carriers for meeting the demand. While use of a mixture of air and CO2 in varying proportions can regulate respiration and transpiration in live commodities, microbiological damage due to many spoilage organisms is also controlled to varying extent depending on the commodity. Purfresh, one of the industry leaders in fresh food transport business has come up with a new technology where ozone is used to retard microbial spoilage.

"Purfresh Transport, the industry`s only ozone-based, active 
atmosphere management solution, constantly  monitors
and dynamically manages the environment inside
the refrigerated container throughout the voyage-providing
the ability to ship even highly sensitive fruits and vegetables
long distances. Using powerful ozone molecules
to kill molds, yeasts, and bacteria in the air and on surfaces,
Purfresh Transport provides superior decay control without
impacting the product`s natural characteristics". 

How far this technology will be effective on different varieties of fruits is not  known though claims are being
made that it works for Mangoes, Cherries, Ginger and Papaya. Though technology trials were carried out using
Mexican mangoes and even after 22 days the fruit remained firm, how some of the premium Indian
mango varieties like Alphonso will behave in presence of ozone is not known. It is worthwhile to explore
the relevance of this technology for some of the tropical fruits produced in abundance in many developing
countries like India, for which there is good demand in the international market is worth exploring.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com