26 Dec 2022|Noida | Amity University, Noida
Amity University organizes a Five-Day Workshop on “Innovative Non-Thermal Processing of Plant-Based Foods for Extending the Shelf Life”
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Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, is organizing a five-day workshop on “Innovative Non-Thermal Processing of Plant-Based Foods for Extending the Shelf Life”, sponsored by SERB India, Accelerate Vigyan (Department of Science & Technology), from 26th December to 30th December 2022.
A total of 25 participants from various institutions including Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi, University of Horticulture Science, Bagalkot, Karnataka, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM), Sonipat, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Andhra Pradesh, amongst others, will be participating in this Workshop.
Highlighting the significance of “Innovative Non-Thermal Processing of Plant-Based Foods”, Dr. Rita Singh Raghuvanshi, Professor & Ex-Dean, Dept. of Food & Nutrition, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, averred, “Nutrition is a 100-year old Science which helps in identifying the deficiencies of nutrients in the human body. Sustainable nutrition is extremely crucial, which should be environment-friendly and well-balanced. Food Groups can be classified into three categories- minimally processed food, preserved food and ultra-processed food, out of which ultra-processed food is extremely hazardous for health. Non-thermal processing of Foods saves the food from the harmful effects of heating, thereby protecting the environment, saving energy and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Addressing the gathering during the Inaugural Session, Dr. Parmjit Panesar, Professor, Dept. of Food Engineering & Technology, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sangrur, Punjab, stated, “Through this Workshop, the students will learn many new techniques about Food Technology. Heat destroys the nutrients of food, for e.g., Vitamin C present in fruits and vegetables, is destroyed completely by heating, therefore, non-thermal processing of foods is essential to retain the nutritional elements of plant-based foods. Some of the technologies which are safe for the processing of plant-based food include cold sterilization and radiation, since food needs to be processed at room temperature. Reheating of food is harmful for food and bad for health, as well. Therefore, Green Technology, Eco-friendly Techniques and less use of chemicals must be adopted for the processing of plant-based foods.”
Introducing the theme of the Workshop, Dr. V. K. Modi, Professor & HOI, Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, said, “The workshops aims to encourage deliberations and discussions for providing solutions to the challenges of the Food Technology Sector. It also aims to emphasize on the scope of non-thermal processing which means processing of food without the application of heat, thereby providing sustainable solutions to the problems caused by thermal processing of food.”
During the five-day workshop, technical sessions on various themes such as “Emergent non-thermal processing techniques to extend the shelf life of plant-based foods”, “Effect of sustainable food packaging techniques on storage life of plant-based foods”, “Irradiation & Cold Plasma Processing of Plant-Based Foods”, “Supercritical Fluid Processing of Plant-Based Foods”, “Quality Changes with Ultrasound & Pulsed Electric Field Processing of Plant-Based Foods” and “Significance/Implication of novel techniques in retaining the nutritional value of foods”, will also be conducted, where renowned domain experts will share valuable insights and information with the participants.
The Inaugural Session concluded with a Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Shweta Suri, Assistant Professor, Amity Institute of Food Technology, and a “Workshop Dossier” was also released during the Inaugural Session.