India’s food processing industry is expected to reach $482 billion by 2020 creating extensive employment opportunities.
Food is the basic need of every human being and a very crucial part of our life which is why it is being processed to make it available in different variants. The consumption pattern of people is changing from the traditional cereal and pulses to nutritious diet of fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, milk and poultry products. All this has resulted in the rise & betterment of Indian food processing industry.
Food processing includes the methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for human consumption comprising of 6 segments viz. Fruit & vegetables, Milk, Meat & poultry, Marine products, Grain processing, Consumer foods. Food industry is one of the largest industries in India and ranks fifth in terms of production, consumption and exports.
India is the single largest producer of milk along with the largest livestock population, second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Though every year there has been a considerable loss of fruits and vegetable in the country due to the lack of cold chain facilities and infrastructure. This presents a lot of opportunities for the processing of commodities.
Various food safety laws and standards have been established world wide for ensuring the food has been handled and processed in a safe and hygienic manner. The Indian government has also been actively involved in the upliftment of Agriculture & food industry by providing various schemes and incentives to the stakeholders.