Vol. 3, Issue 2, Part G (2017)

Food processing adds value to agricultural or horticultural products by grading, sorting and packaging. It is a method of making and preserving food products to increase shelf life, quality, and functionality. It includes items from agriculture, horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry, and fisheries. Food processing links agriculture and industry, which is essential for economic growth. It diversifies and commercialises farming, boosts farmer income, creates agro food export markets, and creates more jobs. Such enterprises might sell and deliver more food goods to remote regions. Food processing is India's fifth-largest sector by production, consumption, and export. Food processing was mostly limited to preservation, packing, and transportation, including salting, curdling, drying, pickling, etc. With new markets and technology, the industry has expanded. It now makes ready-to-eat meals, drinks, processed and frozen fruit and vegetables, marine and animal products, etc. Post-harvest infrastructure for food processing comprises cold storage, food parks, packaging, value addition, irradiation, and modernised abattoirs. Primary and value-added food make up the food processing industry. Packaged fruit and vegetables, milk, wheat, rice, spices, etc. make up 62% of processed food value. Value-added foods including juices, jams, and veggies make up 38% of processed food.