eChapters

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The importance of the best quality planting material as an initial investment is a well-realized factor for persons engaged in horticulture field. So, nurseries have great demand for the production of plants, bulbs, rhizomes, suckers and grafts. But in general, good quality and assured planting material at reasonable price is not available many a times. Nursery is the basic need of horticulture. Plant propagation techniques and practices is the core of horticulture nurseries. The planting materials for horticultural plantations are raised from seeds and vegetative parts. The difficulty of procuring tree seeds and their rising cost makes it necessary to find means to increase seedling survival and growth.

Raising a nursery needs a great skill. Nursery business has become an agro- business for the unemployed youths. Generally, various commercial crop growers require a good quality saplings or grafts of genuine type. So, nursery raising is quite a remunerative enterprise.

Nursery is a special place where seeds are sown, plants are propagated, grown, nurtured to usable size for planting or for sale. Nurseries provide the necessary control of moisture, light, soil and predators and allow production of healthy and hardy seedlings.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

India enjoys a wide range of climates and agro-meteorological zones which are suitable for growing various kinds of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, f lowers, spices and condiments, plantation crops, and medicinal and aromatic plants.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. India stands second both in production of fruits and vegetables next to China. China contributes 21.2% in the world fruit production whereas India produces 12.6%. When we think of vegetables, China produces 49.5% and India produces 14.09%. India is the largest producer of Mango, Banana, Papaya, Coconut, Arecanut, and Cashewnut in the world. In the country, Andhra Pradesh (13.0%) is the leading state in fruit production followed by Maharashtra (11.2%). In case of vegetables, Uttar Pradesh stands first occupying 15.1% share followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh in the range of 14.6% and 10% respectively. In cut flower production West Bengal ranks first.

Total horticultural production for the year 2017–18 was 311.71 million tonnes from cropping area of 25.43 million hectares of land and an estimated production for the crop year 2018-19 is 314.87 million tonnes from an area of 25.6 million hectares.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Life cannot be sustained without adequate nourishment. Human beings need adequate food for growth, development and to lead an active and healthy life. Animals satisfy basic food requirement mainly through natural selection. But human beings have access to a wide range of foods to choose to make up their diet. Since all foods are not of same quality from nutritional point of view, man’s ability to meet his nutritional need and maintenance of good health depend upon type and quantity of foods he is able to include in his diet to satisfy hunger. Human beings need a wide range of nutrients to perform various functions in the body and to lead a healthy life. Several reports have shown that adequate intake of fruits and vegetables forms an important part of a healthy diet and low fruit and vegetable intake constitutes a risk factor for chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and cataract formation. The nutrients include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The foods containing these nutrients which we consume daily are classified as cereals, legumes, nuts and oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products and f lesh foods like fish, meat and poultry. Some foods provide only a single nutrient and some multiples. Scientific evidence indicates that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables can prevent oesophageal, stomach, pancreatic, bladder and cervical cancers and that a diet high in fruits and vegetables could prevent 20% of most types of cancers. Reports indicate that increasing individual fruit and vegetable consumption by 600 g per day could reduce the global burden of stroke by 19% and decrease the risk of coronary heart diseases by 31% respectively. Realizing the food value of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommends per capita use of 120g fruits and 280g vegetables per day.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Owing to a varied agro-ecological and eco- edaphic condition prevalent in one or other part of the country, quite a large number of crops are grown in different parts of India. India is rich in bio-diversity with four hotspots out of twenty-five in the world. About 356 domesticated plant species having economic and botanical importance and 326 species with their wild relatives are found in Indian sub-continent. Besides the above, 9500 other plant species are also available. More than 50 different types of fruits, 50 different types of vegetables, 95 types of spices and condiments, medicinal and aromatic plants, plantation crops and ornamental crop plants have been recorded. To avoid confusion and identity, the horticultural plants are grouped into different categories based on similarity or dissimilarities. Grouping of the crop plants with similar characteristics is referred as classification.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

India is the seventh largest country in the world in total geographical area and has second largest population next to China. Around 55 to 60 per cent of its population depend on agriculture and allied activities. Horticultural crops constitute a significant component of total agricultural production in the country. They require very intensive care in planting, carrying out different cultural operations, manipulating growth, harvesting, packing, transportation, marketing, storage and processing.

1.2 AGRICULTURE

The term agriculture broadly refers to the technology of raising plants and animals. Agriculture is the science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops and raising livestock in varying degree of proportion followed by marketing. In other words, it is the activity of man to produce three basic needs of human being, i.e., food, fuel and fibre (3F) by using terrestrial resources optimally. The term agriculture is derived from two Latin words ager meaning field or land and cultura meaning cultivation or growing.

    1.    What is the percentage of water in an adult’s body weight
        a)    50%    b)    60%
        c)    90%    d)    70%
    2.    __________ is a direct reactant in hydrolytic processes of many foods
        a)    Water    b)    Moisture content
        c)    Both a&b    d)    None
    3.    The bond angle of the isolated water molecule (vapor state) is
        a)    109°    b)    104.5°
        c)    109°28'    d)     103.6°

Introduction

A food safety system revolves around different aspects, beginning right from the farm, where the food is created and transported to where the customers purchase, eat and dispose. This includes production, processing, distribution, preparation, marketing, access, consumption, and disposal. These processes need to have numerous resources like people, business, farms, communities, interventions, policies, and politics. All steps ought to be coordinated for an organisation to make progress. In today’s world of processed foods and industrial farming practices, ingredients and preparation procedures are typically uncertain. In order to reduce the confusion of consumers and to provide quick, straightforward identification of the commodities they’re searching for, many items are now “certified” by revered organizations.

Food safety certification is a third-party verification, to ensure that commodities, processes or systems in the food supply chain meet accepted food safety standards. It is distinct from different systems like supplier declarations, laboratory test reports or inspection body reports. Food certification is predicated on the results of tests, inspections and audits and provides confidence to the buyer as a result of an organization’s commodities or system are being completely evaluated against accepted national and international business standards by a competent third body.

Introduction

Food and water safety is a public health concern. “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver” is a famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi. To provide good health and to maintain it properly for all citizens, the country need to assure the quality and safety of food consumed by it's population (Attrey, 2016). Apart from nutrition and taste, a more important part of food is the safety standards during manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import. Food safety is particularly important in India, where an inordinately high percentage of population suffer from malnutrition and food borne diseases (Bahuguna, 2016). Food borne diseases in India have increased the frequency of mortality and morbidity. Around 5.82 crore cases of food borne diseases and 3.51 lakh food associated deaths were reported in 2010. Nowadays the consumption of unsafe food is being considered as an alarming threat to the growing global food markets. Adulteration and synthetic milk in India, powdered infant formula with melamine in China and adulteration of beef in Europe are a few examples. These issues can be resolved to a great extent, through appropriate food laws and policies. A country should not only possess appropriate statutory, regulatory legislations, policies in place for the su-pply of safe and good quality food at all times, but also should assure that the same is imple-mented seriously (Attrey, 2017).

Apart from health, food safety is vital for economic growth and progress as well. In India, the food processing industry holds tremendous opportunity. It has high employment potential, can boost exports of agro-products out of the country and also provide better returns to farmers for their produce. The concept of food quality and food laws is not totally new in India because food was considered an important aspect of healthy living even in ancient India. India took an important step towards building a safe food culture a decade ago by enacting the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act. In one stroke, it brought about a paradigm shift in the way we look at food safety regulations in India. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) are mandated under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 to protect people from this threat. In its role of a food regulator, FSSAI can be proud that it touches the lives of each of the 1.3 billion people in the country. More than just reaching the people, the watchful eye of FSSAI is assuring them that the food they get in any form, raw or processed is safe to consume (Agarwal, 2016).

Introduction

Food quality control systems in all sectors of food chain around the globe are driven by guidelines to help the authorities to enforce rules and regulations to protect the public from fraud and deception in various levels of food production and facilitate fair trade. This also helps authorities to select suitable options of infrastructure and enforcement mechanics. Such documentation provide possible infrastructure and approaches to national food control systems to use them or further improve them wherever needed (Temesgen, 2015). To make a food control system most effective; it is strengthened by improving the existing fragmented legislation, multiple jurisdictions, and weaknesses in surveillance, monitoring and enforcement in many countries. Organisations like FAO and WHO help enforce food laws and regulations to meet a country’s sanitary as well as phytosanitary requirements.

Generally, food law may be divided in two parts: (i) a basic food act, and (ii) regulations. The Act itself give broad principles, while regulations contain detailed provisions governing the different categories of products coming under the jurisdiction of each set of regulations. Detailed provisions are needed for effective administration of and enlightened compliance with the basic food laws. In governments where there is a division between the responsibilities of the legislative and executive branches, the legislative branch enacts the basic law, while detailed regulations are elaborated and promulgated by the executive agency or agencies responsible for administering the law. Regular revisions of regulation is necessary because of novel scientific knowledge, change of processing technology, or quick action to protect public health. Such revisions can be made much more expeditiously by executive agencies than by legislative bodies. In some of the countries food standards are a part of the regulations; in the other countries they are separate enactments.

Introduction

The conventional thermal processing technologies are dependent on high temperature to control the growth of pathogenic and spoilage causing microorganisms. However, the exposure to high temperature for prolonged time results in several biological, chemical and physical modifications leading to their sensory, nutritional and textural changes. Currently, consumers are more interested in minimally processed food products with improved safety and shelf life. In order to fulfill the market demand, innovative non-thermal food processing techniques to inactivate the microorganisms have been developed. These techniques retain freshness, nutritional value and sensory characteristics of food items without any significant thermal degradation.

Non-thermal technologies are used in interdisciplinary sciences, and in many other applied areas. The three main pillars related to the use of novel food technologies are food safety, quality and environmental impacts. Besides the food safety and quality dimensions, these non-thermal processing technologies have the possibility to shorten treatment time, lower energy consumption, and lower carbon footprint. Depending on the source of energy transfer, non-thermal technologies have different types of action. It includes inactivation of microorganisms in radical formation (plasma, ultrasound, ozonation, UV light, etc.); mechanical action through hydrodynamic effects, shock waves (ultrasound and plasma), electric and magnetic fields; or extremely high pressures that are causing disruption of the cell organelle.

The novel non-thermal technologies destroy the pathogens at room temperature as well as utilize less energy compared to conventional ones and have the potential of developing new food products having distinctive functionality. For optimizing the product quality, time for processing and also to inactivate the enzymes and bacteria, each of these techniques can be used either alone or in combination. The adverse effect of some technologies on the sensory, texture, and nutritional values of food could be overcome by using hurdle technology. Combination strategies are more efficient for improving the food quality and have the potential to ensure the microbial safety of foods. An overview of the effect of novel process technologies on the quality and safety of food is elaborated in this chapter.

Introduction

Packaging helps to maintain the benefits of food processing and enables safe transportation of foods from their point of origin to point of consumption without compromising the wholesomeness of processed food in terms of its physico chemical and microbiological quality. However, packaging technology must balance protection effects with environmental issues, material and energy costs and should comply regulations on municipal solid waste disposal and release of pollutants. These regulations are different in jurisdictions around the world.

Safety implications of food packaging raise concern in recent times due to advances in technology leading to variety of packaging materials and additives. Also there is an alarming situation of damages to environment and natural resources of the planet, due to indiscriminate use and disposal of packaging materials.

However, food packaging as a means to protect and preserve food integrity, to enhance its shelf life and improve consumer appeal cannot be overlooked.The applications of food packaging and its primary role to protect and preserve food has remained the central focus of packaging innovations.Packaging materials are available in variety of forms and are made up of variety of ingredients.While paper. While paper, plastic, petroleum based materials have been in use for many years, the recent approach is towards environment friendly options from agricultural produce such as plant fibres sugars and starches. Advances in packaging has led to development of newer materials and combinations with specific economic and functional benefits.Food packaging ,in general , provides the ability to withstand thermal processing and acts as a barrier against light, moisture,oxygen and other sources of contamination.

Introduction

The green revolution which initiated in India during 1960’s to 1980’s was an attempt to overcome the then prevailing threats of food scarcity and lack of foreign exchange. The food scarcity was a result of severe drought which engulfed the country as well as the political situation it had to face after its short period of gaining independence (Reddy, 2010). The only way out to overcome the acute food scarcity was intensive agriculture, with the use of high yielding varieties, chemical fertilisers and pesticides which heavily boosted agriculture production in India. The remarkable increase in production and productivity resulted in non-judicious use of chemical inputs to extract the maximum from the degrading soil. This marked the era of soil, water and air pollution and extreme health hazards to all life forms.

Rachel Carson’s “Silent spring” in 1962 was an insight into the path of DDT the then prevalent pesticide through its effect on the food chain as well as the environment. She was one among the scientists to raise her voice against the indiscriminate use of pesticides. The evident impacts raised concerns over the continued use of chemical inputs (Lairon, 2010). The situation warranted the reduced or limited use of chemicals in agriculture which resulted in an “organic movement”. This caused a slow, but evident shift in the interest of growers and consumers towards organic agriculture for health security, food safety, quality and better returns (Niggli et al., 2007).

This review is an attempt to analyse the various factors affecting the safety and quality of organic food products in comparison with conventional food. Drawing a proper conclusion was a difficult task due to the limited availability of scientific papers published in this aspect, indication of only trends rather than solid proofs and non-revelation of non-significant data regarding related experiments. However, this review could evaluate the positive and negative aspects of organic cultivation and food production from the available data, so as to suggest measures for improving the quality and safety of organic food products.

Introduction

Food is a culture, emotion, hospitality and prestige which is closely knitted with tradition. Traditional knowledge is a community based functional knowledge system which is developed, preserved and refined by generations through continuous interaction, observation and experimentation with their surrounding environment. It includes beliefs, values, and practices gathered from the practical experience of older generation, and its whole function is survival and development of culture of people. Traditional foods, originated from ancestral kitchens are developed through ages, invented, modified, utilised and evolved to improve nutritional and social wellbeing of the people around the world. Most of them are culture specific, region specific, environment specific, community specific and season specific. These foods are socially, culturally and economically important and provide food security, enhance livelihood and improve nutritional and social wellbeing of people. Food culture arises out of the place of a people’s origin and so traditional local foods hold the potential to bind and stabilise communities and enable a cultural continuity through conserving their histories. Indian cuisine is represented as a wide spectrum of food cultures with distinctive regional differences and preferences (Achaya, 1998).

Street Foods-An Introduction

The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors (2004) defines street vendor as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure but with a temporary static structure or mobile stall (or head load). Street vendors may be stationary occupying space on the pavements or other public/private areas, or may be mobile in the sense that they move from place to place carrying their wares on push carts or cycles or baskets on their heads, or may sell their wares in moving trains and buses. The total number of street vendors in India has been estimated to be ten million and the number of street food vendors has increased sharply in the past few years (Bhowmik 2005).

The preparation and sale of street food is an age-old activity with historical roots and complex socio-economic and cultural implications. Street food vendors are mostly outside the regulation of the governments and unregistered thus making them an informal sector. Similar to most other informal sector enterprises street food operations too are carried out with minimal investment, infrastructure and as familial operations. Street food outlets are seen mushrooming at crowded public places like bus stands, cinema halls, market areas and parks. They operate as temporary structures or as pushcarts parked near the roadside or at pavements. Most street food vendors operate their food stands alone and are able to generate sufficient income for sustenance.

Introduction

Thermal processing is an important treatment for food preservation is, especially in the manufacture of shelf-stable foods with specific nutritional properties. It is also indispensable for determining the sensory properties, particularly, colour, flavour, and texture of fried, baked, and roasted products. As a result of heat treatment, chemical changes induced, and a plethora of new molecules are formed in foods, some of which have been claimed to be health-promoting antioxidants and anti-mutagens. However, reports suggest that thermal processing leads to the formation of certain toxic compounds, so-called process-induced contaminants in foods. The process-induced toxicants are certain compounds which are formed in food as a result of food processing, exert adverse toxicological effects, and cause potential health risks to humans. Acrylamide, furan, chloropropanols, heterocyclic aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and N-nitrosamines are some well-known examples of thermal process contaminants.

Introduction

Food additives are substances of natural or synthetic origin, which are added to foods to serve a certain technological or sensory function. They are utilized in the preparation and processing of almost all types of food in order to give favorable attributes to the food. Additives are the substances which are of little or no nutritive value but are added to food to enhance its flavour, appearance or other favourable quality. They are used in the processing or storage of foods especially in the developed countries includes antioxidants, food preservatives, colouring and flavouring agents etc. Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste and appearance (Latiful Bari and Yeasmin 2018). Some additives have been used for centuries for example, preserving food by pickling with vinegar, salting, as with bacon, or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines. The use of food additives is not a modern-day invention; they have been used for centuries. The practice probably started when man first discovered that fire would cook and thereby preserve his meat. Later he realized that the addition of salt would preserve without cooking. Food preservation began when man first learned to safeguard food from one harvest to the next and by the salting and smoking of meat and fish. The Egyptians used colours and flavourings and the Romans used spices and colours for preservation and improving the appearance of foods. Thus, food additives have been used for centuries to enhance the variety of food products, to preserve, improve its taste and appearance, and provide a better mouth feel. Food additives afford us the convenience and enjoyment of a wide variety of appetizing, nutritious, fresh, and palatable food. Their quantities in food are small, yet their impact is great.

Introduction

The term pesticide refers to any chemical or mixture of chemicals intended for preventing, attracting, repelling, controlling or regulating a pest, including unwanted species of plants and animals during the production, shipment, transit, storage, processing or distribution of any food or agricultural commodity. The term includes compounds classified as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, accaricides, rodenticides, plant growth regulators, sprouting inhibitors, chemosterilants, desiccants etc. The term excludes substances like animal drugs and food additives. Pesticides are chemicals used to destroy or control weeds, insects or other pests. The term pesticide residue refers to the remnants of the pesticide after weathering and it consists of the parent molecule and the degradation products which are toxicologically significant. In general, the pesticides, by virtue of their inherent toxic nature are recommended to be used as per Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) only. If GAP is not followed, contamination of the produce with the residues may pose significant health risk to consumers, non target organisms, biota and environment as a whole. When a pesticide is used for pest control purposes, they may reside in the form of metabolites.

Pesticide residues occur as the leftover of any pesticide after its application for pest control and it includes the parent compound and its toxic metabolites. Pesticide residue analysis may be defined as qualitative and quantitative analysis of samples drawn from agricultural field, market and environment for pesticides and toxic metabolites. Pesticide residues are invariably present in micro – quantities and generally estimated at ppm/ ppb levels. After application of the diluted spray solution, they are present at sub microgram levels in the substrate and hence their estimation at ppm or ppb levels is very cumbersome and need to be performed with utmost care. Moreover, the residue data generated should be accurate, reliable and reproducible. The level of residue in any edible commodity has to be below their prescribed maximum residue limits (MRL) value for market acceptance and below maximum permissible intake (MPI) for safety to consumers. Pesticide residue data are mainly utilised by regulatory authorities for estimation of MRLs and for assessing impact on human health and environment, particularly their adverse effect on non-target organisms. The detection of the pesticide residues must be confirmed beyond doubt and confirmation by GC-MS/MS or LC-MS/MS is generally acceptable. Since pesticide residues include parent compounds, isomers and toxic metabolites, appropriate methods of detection should be selected so that all the components are measured separately. Environmental samples/ market usually contain residues of large number of pesticides, for which multi residue methods are required for estimation/screening of such samples.

Introduction

Fruit and vegetable development starts with formation of an edible part fruit setting, seedling emergence, tuber development and ends with loss of edible character, or spoilage through physiological deterioration, development of fibrous character or spoilage through microbiological intervention . The state of maturity of a fresh horticultural commodity is therefore is a continuum process along the development scale. The term mature implies that point in the development scale when the horticultural commodity in the state that is ready to use (consume, process, store). For the packing house, maturity means suitability for storage followed by sufficient shelf life to assure profitable supply to markets. On the other hand, the retail consumer may value colour, flavour, or textural attributes. This implies that maturity and an appropriate compromise must be achieved through the marketing process.

Quality, on the other hand, relates to the degree of the satisfaction that the consumer or customer is likely to obtain through the use of mature commodity. Maturity and quality are interrelated with market expectations or requirements. These expectations or requirements are expressed through regulations or guidelines of grower groups or through legislative authority expressed as quality standards or grades and enforced through inspection agencies associated with government departments.

Introduction

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are good sources of phytochemicals like carotenoids, phenolics, dietary fibers, minerals and vitamins and are considered as important components of a healthy diet. These bioactive compounds in fresh F&V have been linked to delay in onset of many diseases including cardiovascular, chronic and other non-communicable diseases. WHO reported an approximate 3.9 million deaths all over the world in 2017 due to insufficient consumption of F&V (WHO, 2019). Hence, health advisors and nutritionists recommend inclusion of fresh fruits and vegetables to complement the daily diet, and WHO recommends the consumption of a minimum of 400g F&V daily in five portions. However, beneficial raw F&V may contain pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria that can pose threat to consumer safety. Since fruits and some of the vegetables are eaten raw, there are chances that pathogenic microorganisms may also enter food chain. Nearly a half of food borne illnesses in United States are caused by microbes on fresh produce (CDC, 2019). The F&V are handled by producers, dealers, wholesalers, retailers and several intermediaries, and therefore, are at greater risk of possible contamination till it reaches the consumer.

The ever increasing demand for F&V has led to overexploitation of pesticides usage in the farms, leading to harmful pesticide residues in air, soil, water and on the F&V surfaces. Thus, it is imperative to maintain the quality and safety of F&V all through the supply chain. In this chapter, we discuss various pre and postharvest factors affecting the quality and safety of F&V, storage techniques to extend shelf life and reduce the safety threat as well as methods available for microbial and pesticide decontamination of fresh F&V.

Introduction

Biological, physical, chemical and other hazards associated with food have been detailed in Chapter 4. This chapter would address the risks associated with these hazards as well the scientific approach is assessing them. Risk analysis is an inevitable platform for food safety assurance which measures the impact of hazards on the health of consumers. To improve public health and maintain consumer trust in the food supply and to provide a sound regulatory foundation for national and international trade in food, an efficient food safety management system is essential. Therefore, World Trade Organization (WTO) developed food regulations governing international trade in foods based on science and risk assessment. A sound knowledge of food hazards and risks they pose to consumers, along with the capacity to take appropriate interventions, deserve top priority of a responsible authority and industry.

Risk

The word ‘risk’ is used to describe a situation that involves a possibility of something undesired to happen (Rowe, 1977). In food processing, hazards are considered as risks. Hazards are often thought of as synonyms of risks, however, hazards are quite different from risks.

A food borne hazard is defined by Codex as “a biological, chemical or physical agent in or condition of food, with the potential to cause an adverse health effect”. A risk is the chance, low or high, that any hazard will actually cause harm. Some of the emerging food hazards that must be assessed and managed are listed in table 1. Assessment and management of risks posed by these hazards is the responsibility to be urgently addressed by the scientific community.

Introduction

Food Safety is the assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption according to its intended use. The slogan of the World Food Safety Day 2019 “If it’s not safe - it’s not food!” portray, unsafe food is a threat to mankind. Ensuring food safety to protect public health and promote economic development is of utmost importance and it remains a significant challenge in both developing and developed countries. Food borne diseases remain a real and formidable problem, causing great human sufferings and significant economic losses. According to WHO 2019-20 World Water Day report, one third of the population of developed countries may be affected by food-borne diseases each year and the problem is likely to be even more wide spread in developing countries, where food and water borne diarrhoeal diseases kill an estimated 2.2 million people each year, mostly children. While unacceptable rates of food borne illness still remain, new hazards continue to enter the food supply.

A food safety hazard refers to any agent with the potential to cause adverse health consequences for consumers. It occurs when food is exposed to hazardous agents which result in contamination of food. In other terms it can be defined as anything that could contaminate food or could otherwise violate established food safety program criteria, if left uncontrolled. The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF, 1997) defined a hazard as a “biological, chemical, or physical agent that is reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in the absence of its control”.

A hazard may be introduced into the food supply any time during harvesting, formulation and processing, packaging and labelling, transportation, storage, preparation and serving. Food safety hazards are generally categorized into four classes: Physical, chemical, biological and allergens. Food manufacturers can adopt Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), which include Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and other practices to strictly check the hazards and make the food safe.

Understanding the hazards that contribute to food borne illness and injury is important to determine the necessary steps to prevent or reduce it to an acceptable level or eliminate hazards altogether before food reaches the consumer.

Introduction

Food is a resource of vital importance and its safety in the whole chain, from producer to consumer, is a worldwide concern. In fact, as food trade expands throughout the world, food safety has become a shared concern among all consumers. This issue began to be taken seriously at a period where there is a significant increase of illness caused by infected food in both developed and developing countries. Unsafe food contains hazardous agents or contaminants that can make people sick, immediately or by increasing their risk of chronic disease. Contaminants can enter food at many different points in the food production process, and can occur naturally or as the result of poor or inadequate production practices. International competitiveness depends more on quality and safety concerns than on prices. Governments and local authorities intervene in the market place in setting technical regulations; and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. This encouraged food processing companies around the world to implement food safety management systems which guarantees the production and distribution of safe foods. Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) are considered as the integral part of food safety standards and audit schemes all over the world. It is essential to implement food safety programmes in every company to check the chances of illness or injury due to unsafe food.

Food is a resource of immense importance and its safety in the whole production and supply chain, is very crucial. In the last century, drastic increase in the incidence of food borne illnesses, large-scale food poisoning outbreaks and surfacing of new foodborne pathogens and hazards were widely reported. Contaminants can enter food through various pathways in the food production process, and can occur naturally or as the result of inferior or inadequate production practices. Concerns on food safety are fuelled by the industrialization of agricultural production, liberalization of trade, tourism, food consumption pattern and food preparation practices. The availability of information through the mass and social media increases the number of reported cases of inadequate food safety. International competitiveness depends more on quality and safety concerns than on prices and this creates a need for safer food production and distribution practices.

During the latter part of the 20^th century, rapid economic development in most countries coupled with population growth propelled the inevitable demand for more food and manufactured goods. However, requirement of more food is placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources. Humans have made agriculture the dominant environmental threat by clearing forests, cultivating marginal lands, and intensifying farming in sensitive landscapes and watersheds. Most of the land use systems in the tropics are characterized by a rapid decline in productivity and high rates of soil and environmental degradation which need to be addressed in a proper way.

Agriculture has changed radically since the end of World War II. Productivity of most crops has scaled to new levels because of the adoption of new technologies, machines, increased chemical inputs, and government policies. However, continuing agricultural production without harming the environment is a challenge, which must be tackled along with economic growth. Some of the environmental issues related to agriculture are top soil loss, groundwater contamination, air pollution, greenhouse gas emission, decline of family farms neglect of the working conditions of farm labourers, new threats to human health and safety by the spread of new pathogens, economic concentration in food and agricultural industries, and disintegration of rural communities (Brodt et al, 2011). This situation prompted world nations, political leaders, scientists and planners to pay more attention to the concept of sustainable development. As a concept, sustainability is concerned with the continuity of environmental economic, and social aspects of human society.

Introduction

Food safety and quality are the prime concerns in a global food supply chain. With the globalisation and advancement in the technologies, the global agricultural system transformed to a stage where food standards and international trade work hand-in-hand to promote food safety. The key drivers for this change in food regulations include digital technologies, novel food processing technologies, product labelling, marketing trends, e-commerce, etc. International trade in food sector is governed by the agreement on the application of Sanitary and PhytoSanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). The agreements allow member nations to impose all measures or standards to protect human, animal, plant life and health, harmonize with the international standards, environmental protection, protection of consumers against deceptive practices and prevention of unjustifiable barriers to international trade.

In general, the developing countries have negligible contribution in the international trade. There are instances where the quality attributes of the commodities do not meet the required parameters as envisaged by the international market. Various issues associated with the product rejection on the basis of food safety and health standards are a matter of concern today rather than before. Hence, United Nations FAO and WTO urged the active involvement of the developing countries in the food standard setting processes in Codex Alimentarius as well as in SPS and TBT Committees. This will ensure harmonisation of food quality standards and traceability for rapid response to food borne disease outbreaks. Governments and local authorities shall intervene in the market place in setting technical regulations; and sanitary and phytosanitary measures which in turn will encourage the food processing companies around the world to implement food safety management systems to ensure the production and distribution of safe foods.

Introduction

Food is any substance or a product obtained from nature, which contains nutritive and non-nutritive components that help to maintain or improve the health of an individual if consumed in optimal amount (Sukhneet and Malhotra, 2014). Globalization of food production and procurement makes food chains longer and more complex and increases the risk of food safety incidents. Infections and diseases arising from contaminated/adulterated food remain threats to global public health (Havelaar et al., 2015; Luo et al., 2019). The WHO reports shows that every year foodborne diseases cause the death of 33 million people including many children (WHO, 2019). Food safety is linked to the presence of foodborne hazards in food at the point of consumption. Since food safety hazards can occur at any stage in the food chain it is essential that adequate control be in place. Therefore, a combined effort of all parties in the food chain is required to deliver safe food products to the final consumer. Effective and harmonized food safety systems shall manage and ensure the safety and suitability of food in each link of the supply chain.

Although the food industry has the prime responsibility of ensuring safe foods in most societies, the maintenance of a safe food supply is regarded as a responsibility of the government of that country. This responsibility has, over many years, led governments to adopt legislation, standards and regulations for food processing and to impose penalties when a business fails to meet the expectation. As with any legislation, an effective system for detecting failures to comply with the legal requirements increases compliance and hence, in this case, promotes food safety. Governments have an obligation to protect consumer health and this includes protection against food borne diseases. Food standards are therefore necessary to aid governments in protecting public health. However, the standards can only be effective when they are enforced through an efficient food control system. This therefore requires comprehensive legislation inspection, food monitoring and food borne surveillance. An efficient food control system must be supported by competent staff with good laboratory services. Political and institutional support and stability are also important elements.

Introduction

Oils and fats are the major class of compounds in lipids. Oils and fats are essential nutrients in both human and animal diets and produced from plant, animal, marine and microbial sources. Dietary oils and fats are concentrated sources of metabolizable energy (9 kCal/gram) compared to protein or carbohydrates (4 kCal/g). According to the recommendations of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the maximum total fat intake for adults is 30 to 35% E (total energy calories). The minimum fat intake recommended is 15% E for most individuals and 20% E for women of reproductive age and for malnourished populations (FAO, 2010).The current dietary guidelines for optimal health and prevention of diet-related chronic diseases like diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer and obesity emphasize the importance of both the quantity and quality of total fat in the diet. In addition to the caloric and nutritional value, oils and fats exhibit many functional properties in the diet. Oils and fats enhance the value of foods by releasing the flavours of other food components, provide texture, increase palatability of food, and impart the feeling of satiety after eating. Oils and fats provide essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) which are the building blocks for several metabolic pathways for the healthy life. Oils and fats are excellent carriers of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and the absorption of these vitamins is impaired at very low-fat intakes. Due to this reason, sseveral countries have started using edible oils and fats as a suitable vehicle for the fortification of vitamin A and D as edible oils are consumed by almost everyone (Diosady and Krishnaswamy, 2018). Oils and fats are structural bodily components, and are involved in vital physiological processes, including growth, development, inflammation, and brain function. Lipoproteins are important cellular constituents, occurring both in the cell membrane and mitochondria, and also serving as the means of transporting lipids in the blood. Oils and fats are responsible for making biological membranes such as phospholipids and cholesterol, vital for making the cell membranes. Most of the edible oils contain several minor constituents which are known as potent nutraceutical constituents with several health benefits. In addition to edible purpose, oils and fats are being used in many industrial applications such as soaps, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants, specialty chemicals, biofuels, etc. Hence oils and fats are indispensable source for food (edible oils and nutraceuticals), fuel (biodiesel, lubricants etc.) and fabulous chemicals (oleochemicals).

Introduction

Baking is a traditional activity which has a long history, and according to some recent discovery, it is indicated to be dated back to as early as around 21,000 B.C. It is termed as a complex operation of prolonged heat transfer through radiation, convection, and conduction. Baking is considered to be one of the oldest methods of cooking, most commonly the bread baking but it is not only limited to the bread instead it provides a wide range of products such as cookies, pastry, pizzas, breakfast cereals, etc. Baking includes lots of raw materials such as flour, water, yeast, milk and milk derivatives, shortening, sugars, eggs and some minor ingredients such as malt products, cocoa products, dough improvers, inhibitors of microbiological spoilers, spices, etc. Food items which are rich in sugar and carbohydrates such as chocolates, candies are known as confections, and the art of making these products is termed as confectionary. Confectionery can be broadly classified into two major categories, namely sweet confectionary and baked confectionery. Conventionally cake was defined as the flour based sweet food, whereas bread was defined as the flou-based non-sweet food.

Baked confectionery, also known as flour confectionery includes products such as cakes, pastries, and similar baked goods, especially which are served in dessert. These delicacies hold history not much later to the bread baking. Earlier the baked confectionery especially cakes were only affordable by the rich and were prepared for special occasions such as festivity, celebrations, etc. but now a large number of flour confectioneries are being produced in the world which is delightfully acceptable and are much more in demand by a various group of people.

Wheat Production and Consumption

Wheat, rice, maize, barley, sorghum and the millets are the main crops that provide nutrition to people worldwide. The production of grains in different countries depends on the various factors such as water availability, soil conditions, temperature, cultural and economical are most critical factors. Nutritional needs of the developing countries are more dependent on cereal grains compared to the developed ones. Approximately 60% of the calorie requirements in the developing countries are met from cereals. The International Grains Council (IGC) forecasted for total grains production in 2017-18 to 2.079 billion tonnes. There is a need to have major research to increase their productivity, reduce storage losses, enhance efficiency of processing and to ensure food safety in the entire supply chain. Among them, wheat is one of the most important crop species and is a staple food for about 35% of the world population. Wheat is unique among the grains because of its protein type, which when mixed with the water by mechanical forces yields into viscoelastic dough due to the formation of gluten. This unique property of dough is capable of retaining the gases which are produced by yeast or baking powder resulting in the production of an array of leavened products such as bread, cookie and cake.

Wheat is also an important source of dietary proteins for humans but like other cereals, it is deficient in the essential amino acid lysine. Wheat crop is adaptable to the wide range of growth conditions compared to other major cereals and hence it is cultivated widely throughout the world. Wheat cereal is the major dominating staple in the North Africa, Central and West Asia, providing the 50% of the calorie requirement in the region. The world wheat production is 740 million tonnes, with China ranking first by producing 125 million tonnes of wheat annually. Other major wheat producing countries are India, USA, Russia Australia, France and Canada. The global per capita consumption of wheat is about 66 kg, which varies widely in different regions. In Algeria, Egypt, Israel and other Middle East as well as Eastern Europe the consumption of wheat flour is high (150 kg/year). The food uses of wheat in developing countries are more than 80%, while in developed countries it is less than 50%. The consumption of the wheat in developing countries is significantly increasing due to globalization and growing economies. After rice, wheat is a major cereal crop in India and contributes to more than 50% of the total calories. It is grown in the cooler regions of India during the period of November to April. In grain production, rice ranks first with the production of about 105 million tonnes per year. In India, total grain production is 136 million tonnes for the year 2016-17 as per the International Grains Council. India ranks second in the production of wheat in the world and produce about 95 million tonnes annually. The bread wheat (astevum) contributes to approximately 94% while durum wheat is 4% and dicoccum wheat accounts to 2%.

Introduction

Food is an important contributor to human well being and is essential for sustaining life. From this point of view food is expected to contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein fat, vitamins and other essential minerals which support life. The food production initially started for individual sustenance which slowly developed in to a community requirement necessitating the involvement of man and machinery for various activities concerned with food. The progress from famine in many parts of the world to the level of self-sufficiency and the role of science and agriculture have been absolutely significant in many parts of the world. India is no exception and the green revolution during the post 1960s and the succeeding blue and white revolution ensured the self-sufficiency in India.

Of late food acts as a vehicle for inclusion of hazard in food meant for human consumption. According to Grunert (2005), factors responsible for the alarmingly higher rate of concern by public include significantly higher number of food scares in public domain, critical understanding of production and processing of certain food products sold in the market as well as the diversified food choices of the consumers in different parts of the world. Besides, the increased awareness of the consumers on food related health issues also have its share in the increased concern on food at large.

Presently food is considered as a commodity which crosses international border concurrent with the human movement and hence quality has become a major concern. The traditional food is getting replaced with value added products, particularly ready to cook, ready to eat, partially cooked products, etc. consequent to life style changes. In order to meet the demand of the trade, the conventional processing is getting replaced by community processing or industrial processing with increased number of players in the primary production, processing, transportation and other value chain activities prompting larger product control. In the process, consumers are exposed to a variety of products produced as business ventures in modern food production systems needing efficient quality control and quality assurance to tackle the issues of quality. The increased incidence of hazards in both raw materials and final products consequent to the absence or inappropriate production schedule calls for increased food safety concerns. Besides the shelf-life of the products, addition of chemicals during the production also add to the concern.

Introduction

Meat derived from animals are subjected to various contaminations from number of sources. The animal itself is a major contributor of both pathogenic and spoilage organisms. Further contamination may be introduced from water used, equipment used for product preparation, from the meat handlers and the surrounding environment. Microbiological problems such as food poisoning or spoilage may arise when the desired effect is not achieved and is usually due to errors in the handling or processing procedures. The detection and rapid correction of such errors and their future prevention is a major objective of any quality control system.

In traditional approach to meat and meat product quality control system, only the samples of the final product were analyzed by laboratory test to check for compliance with specifications. However, the responsibility for control of hazards rests with individuals involved in all stages from farm to ultimate consumer. And the control of hazards at each stages of food chain may be achieved by Hazard Analysis Critical control point (HACCP). Hazard analysis critical control point is an internationally recognized system that helps to ensure the manufacture of safe food products. HACCP is not a zero risk system but rather a system designated to minimize the risk of food safety hazards. HACCP concept is a systematic and rational approach Firstly by consideration of the hazards i.e., microorganisms or their toxins, that need to be controlled in a specific operation by structured hazard analysis and secondly on the identification of the most effective means of controlling the identified hazards. This system, by focusing attention on the factor that directly affects the microbiological safety and quality of meat foods, eliminates wasteful use of resources and superfluous consideration. As a consequence, the cost/benefit relationships are more favorable. The system is applicable at all levels of meat food chain from farm production through processing, transporting, merchandising and ultimate use in the meat food service establishment or at home. Ensuring food safety and quality is the responsibility of all links in the food chain. Now a day’s food consumers are very much health conscious and they want their food to be safe and of good quality. As meat being highly perishable and high risk food product, it is very much imperative on the part of meat and meat products producers and exporters to produce safe and quality meat to stand in the competitive world and further hygienic meat processing is important not only to provide safe and wholesome meat but to provide a good public image and to increase consumer demand.

Introduction

Humans have primarily consumed "meat/meat products based on where they lived and how they evolved. According to Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, “meat means fresh meat, poultry and game meat which could be in the form of whole pieces, cuts or comminuted (minced etc.), whereas, meat products are those that have been processed by various methods so that they no longer resemble fresh meat”. These products include meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts that are cured salted and dried, processed by non-heat treatment, fermented non-heat treated products, heat treated or frozen products. Edible casings used for sausages etc. also come in the category of meat and meat products. Through a notification dated 12^th September, 2017, the FSSAI has included domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation 2011 in the regulation under meat and meat products.

With the advent of globalisation, there has been an increase in food trade which has led to the introduction of exotic meat and meat products. Moreover, rapidly growing economies like India, now demonstrate a growing appetite for meat. As the consumer demand for high quality meat is increasing in most countries, the meat industry should consistently produce and supply quality meat that is safe and healthy for the consumer to ensure continued consumption of meat products.

Introduction

Milk, an integral component of our staple diet is nature's most ideal and complete food. There is a long history and tradition of high consumption of dairy products in India. Consumption pattern of dairy products in India is quite unique and is centred on traditional products; however, novel products are gradually gaining momentum in urban areas. Despite being the largest milk producing country in the world, India accounts for a negligible share in the worldwide dairy trade. Domestic demand for dairy products is showing an increasing trend and it is expected that demand-supply gap will further widen which might transform India being a net importer of dairy products. The domestic demand for dairy products is showing an increasing trend and it is expected that demand-supply gap will get further widened. India, world’s largest milk producer has enough scope for diversified value addition as this can definitely assure a better margin of profit. However, for this, one has to maintain reputation and competitiveness in the market. To emerge as a leader in this competitive global market, continuous improvement of quality is highly essential. Safety, just as the other side of the coin is also of utmost importance to reinforce consumer confidence. Nowadays, quality is not a matter of choice but a necessity and even a responsibility of all stake holders. In the case of food, the term, 'Quality' refers to physical, chemical, microbiological, technological, economic and aesthetic characteristics. From consumer point of view, the word, 'Quality' embraces mostly the organoleptic characteristics like body, texture and flavour than the objective properties like fat, protein, lactose and acidity as determined by science based tests.

Introduction

Over centuries, spices have been used as an important addendum for colour, flavour and preservation of foods. In addition, their medicinal and cosmetic utilities have been widely recognized (Purseglove et al., 1981; Srinivasan, 2005). All these benefits made them extremely desirable with an ever growing demand in the international market. India holds the title of the largest producer and exporter of spices with major share for pepper, capsicum, turmeric, ginger cardamom, seed spices, curry powders, spice oils and oleoresins. The other primary producers of spices includes China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Turkey Brazil and Mexico while USA, Europe, Japan, East Asian and Middle East countries are their major importers.

Spices are made from diverse plant parts viz. rhizomes, barks, leaves, fruits and seeds and hence its processing methods vary depending on the raw material. However, the basic unit operations namely harvest, pre-treatment, drying, cleaning, particle size reduction, packaging and microbial decontamination in sequence remains common for the production of most of the spices. Inappropriate conduct of basic unit operations often lead to high microbial load, aflatoxin contamination, losses of valuable compounds, change in sensory characteristics, physical damages and incorporation of contaminants in spice products (Table 1). Moreover, spices being natural products, they may be fraught with a large number of microorganisms including several pathogenic species of bacteria and fungus depending on the prevailing conditions in their cultivation areas. In addition, poor food sanitation awareness and practices in spice producing countries may worsen their microbiological safety. Although spices are nonperishable in nature due to their low moisture contents after drying, they may act as a source of microbial populations upon contact with moist food products with no further thermal treatment. The outbreak of ‘salmonellosis’ in Germany (1993) due to contaminated paprika and paprika-powdered potato chips is an example. The aforesaid disadvantages related to conventional spice production may confound their international trade unless desired objectives of food safety management schemes such as International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) are met. Moreover, international agencies have set standard to guarantee safe spices and augment business interests of their adherents. For example, both the European Spice Association (ESA, 2015) and American Spice Trade Association have set a maximum level of 1% w/w extraneous matter in spices (ASTA, 2017). These challenges associated with the conventional production system may be effectively addressed by preventive risk management strategy by which suitable control measures are enforced at earlier phases of food chain prior to consumption. The control measures must guarantee that the level of contamination has not exceeded the maximum permissible limit at every phase of spice production from farm to table.

Introduction

As the world population continues to grow, the global market for food products is expanding, together with an increased emphasis on food safety. Consumers have become more discerning in the type of foods they buy and how these foods affect their health and well being. Food safety is generally defined as the assurance that the food will not cause any harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use ( To achieve food safety, a management system has been developed which aims on preventing problems before they occur, rather than trying to detect failures through end product testing. It also places more responsibility for ensuring food safety on food manufacturers, who have to develop control and traceability of their products from ‘farm to plate’. The system requires the identification of specific hazards throughout the entire process of food production, concentrates on the points in the process that are critical to the safety of the product, and highlights measures for their control (Henson and Caswell, 1999).

Introduction

Tropical tuber crops viz., cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), taro (Colocasia esculenta), yams (Dioscorea sp.), Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) etc., are the important sources of starch after cereals and are used as staple or supplementary food in many of the tropical and sub tropical countries. Being the crops with adaptability to wide range of soil, climate and environment of the tropics and sub tropics and requiring minimum agronomic input and care for growth, they can be very well fitted into the prevailing cropping systems. They are the most efficient converters of solar energy and have the ability to reserve energy in the form of carbohydrate in the bulky roots and hence tuber crops are also called as calorie density crops. Tuber crops, though branded as poor man’s crops in rural areas have considerable unrealized potential for processing into high end products for food, feed and industrial uses. They are generally consumed as vegetable after boiling it in water and eaten along with some spicy curry or by extracting starch or flour. Besides serving as an insurance crop during times of food scarcity, it can also function as an industrial raw material for a wide spectrum of products

Introduction

India, with its unique agro climatic conditions is capable of producing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. These highly perishable produce in both fresh and processed forms are of high demand in domestic as well as international market. Nowadays farming is becoming an enterprise and shifting towards consumer driven agriculture. Produce quality measurement is of utmost importance as consumers are more quality conscious and ready to pay higher for quality. Consumer preference is moving towards healthy food, minimally processed and, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, prepared salads, ready to cook, ready to eat and ready to drink health beverages. Hence health, nutrition, convenience, quality and safety of produce should be guaranteed to the consumers. Due to globalisation of production and trade, legislations and standards for markets are strict and product quality is the necessity for competitive markets.

Quality of a produce, based on subjective and objective measurement, is defined differently by consumers, wholesalers, retailers, processors or any other who is associated with it and varies with market either national or international. Quality of foods may be defined as the composite of those characteristics that differentiate individual units of a product, and have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of that unit to the user (Kramer, 1965). According to ISO (International Organisation of Standardisation), “Food quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” and as per CAC (2003), “Food safety is the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or consumed according to its intended use”. Food safety is the most important component of quality.

Introduction

Water is not only a vital environmental factor to all forms of life, but it has also a great role to play in socio-economic development of human population. Since antiquity humans have valued the importance of clean water and have used various techniques to improve its quality. In modern times, the safe drinking water became first a public health issue and then a human rights issue. The access to safe drinkin gwater now considered as a basic human right which is an essential component of effective policy for health protection. Improving access to safe drinking-water can result in tangible as well as intangible benefits to health. It has been shown that investments in water supply and sanitation can yield a net economic benefit, because the reductions in adverse health effects and healthcare costs outweigh the costs of undertaking the interventions (WHO, 2017). Past experiences have also proved that interventions in improving access to safe water favour the poor in particular, whether in rural or urban areas, and can be an effective part of poverty alleviation strategies. The disparity in water availability, reliability, and quality between the developed world and developing countries is enormous. Unfortunately, in many developing countries people lack access to safe water and therefore waterborne diseases are still a major cause of death, especially among children under age of 5. According to a joint report by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) (WHO/UNICEF report 2017), around 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe and readily available water at home, and around 4.5 billion, lack safely managed sanitation facilities. Moreover, many of these countries that have set drinking water standards often lack the resources to implement or enforce them.

Introduction

Food grains have been the key component of the human diet for thousands of years and have played a vital role in framing human civilization. Rice, wheat, and maize, and to a lesser extent, coarse grains are major staples, crucial to the daily endurance of billions of people around the world. Cereal grains are consumed by more than 50% of world population to meet daily calorie requirements. Most grains undergo a milling process that ideally removes the outer bran (pericarp) and germ layers; catering to consumer market requirements. To a farmer, yield is the most prominent aspect. As the grain moves along the supply chain, and as the product reaches the market, quality becomes the key determinant of its sale-ability and economic value. Grain quality is defined by a range of physical and compositional properties where threshold necessities are set according to end consumer use requirements. Most industries and consumer markets have become habituated over the years to demand grain with specific attributes. Where consumers are close to the source of grain production (e.g. in local markets), their own preferences and the laws of supply and demand control the grain quality. However, where grain is traded over large distances, particularly internationally, consumers almost have no direct influence on quality, requiring regulatory standards to be established and imposed to protect consumer rights. Therefore in the grain supply chain, all points have effects with respect to grain quality.

Introduction

The world does not function without mathematics. In our day-today life we come across many problems which are solved mathematically. The mathematical logical system follows “Yes” or “No”, “True” or “False”, “1” or “0” which are precise outputs for the precise inputs. There are several ambiguous or vague problems which cannot be given with accurate precise value with the conventional logical operators. Beyond this Boolean logic operator the logical system which mimics the human brain and gives precise solutions for the imprecise linguistic variables is the Fuzzy logic system. Fuzzy logic is a novel approach that intends to imitate human reasoning using calculations and operations with fuzzy systems and linguistic variables. The problems with vague imprecise data which we come across in our day today life cannot be solved by conventional binary logical method. The fuzzy logic solution spontaneously splits a complex problem into its component parts. This reduces the solution to its component parts. Compilers may re-assemble the code for effective execution on some target, but at the programmer level the problem is a number of simple tasks.

Fuzzy sets theory was introduced by Zadehin the year 1965, and it allows uncertain phenomena to be treated mathematically.

Introduction

The food that we consume should not only contain all essential nutrients like carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, fibre etc but also should be hygienic and safe. Safety and quality of food is to be ensured not only during food production but also should be continuously monitored till it reaches the consumer (Coles and Frewer, 2013). The characteristics of food are altered during every processing operations viz., cleaning, sorting, transportation, thermal processing, packaging, storage, distribution etc which may be desirable or undesirable. Persistent physical, chemical and microbiological analyses have to be done at all levels of supply chain to ensure the quality of food. Traditional methods of food safety analysis are spectrophotometry, aerobic plate count method, microscopic plate count, titrations, chromatography etc. Though these techniques provide accurate results, the analysis demand cumbersome extraction steps, trained technical staff and are time consuming (Di-Natale et al., 2000). Hence, steady, sensitive and rapid monitoring of food analysis technique is a need of the hour in the present era. Biosensors can effectively replace the conventional techniques owing to its reliability, rapidity, economic and field applicability (Prasad et al., 2014). Biosensors are an attractive diagnostic alternative owing to their in situ detection ability and comparatively reduced detection time from several days to hours, or even minutes (Ruiz et al., 2017). Rapid food analysis can also minimise spoilage, especially in freshly harvested agricultural commodities, such as fruits and vegetables, meat, fish etc. In addition, the portable detection devices provide in-situ detection capabilities without extensive training and assist in integrating real time analysis in food processing centres.

The safety of the food supply suitably remains a high main concern for industry stakeholders, regulatory agencies and patrons. With the surfacing of new safety challenges and issues, companies are establishing and upgrading programs to reduce risk factors. These programs are constantly monitored for reliability, repeatability, reproducibility and effectiveness. Due to the health and safety risks posed by chemical, microbiological and environmental contaminants, analytical methods are progressively more becoming a pride and joy of food safety programs. Innovative analytical approaches are being developed in response to budding food safety issues. To monitor for known issues only the established and officially approved methods are used often. Oftentimes, new analytical methods are developed, improved or modified quickly in response to issues, such as melamine contamination, which are unforeseen. In such instances, accurate data derived from sound, validated analytical methods are required to facilitate industry stakeholders and regulators to make sound methodical decisions.

Through research, industry has improved a host of analytical methods in recent years, resulting in higher sensitivity and accuracy for difficult-to-detect contaminants, detection of contaminants in new matrix classes for grades. These advances have been made in the face of changing set of laws, more painstaking method-validation standards and end user demands for safe, quality products. Further to this, this spirit of innovation will continue to be fundamental in industry’s efforts to ensure the safety of the comprehensive food chain.

Introduction

For the year 2016-17, as per the FAO global estimate, the food grain production has crossed over 2.6 trillion metric tons, while the steadily increasing the demand is anticipated to be approximately 3.3 trillion metric tons for 2016-17. Similarly,the global production of all horticultural commodities has crossed over 1.8 trillion metric tons. The global trade of these commodities is purely based on their quality, the demand for good quality produces increases day by day. The term “quality” is a broad terminology used to explain many parameters and differs from commodity to commodity. Usually, the term ‘quality’ is classified into internal and external quality. The external quality refers the external colour, size, shape appearance, uniformity, external damage, cracks and bruishness etc. These parameters may be common for both perishables and durables.

But, in case of internal quality, each and every parameter vary from commodity to commodity, product to product. For food grains, the internal quality refers to moisture content and other nutritional parameters like carbohydrate, protein content etc. But in fruits, the internal quality refers to internal pulp colour, TSS, pH, acidity, juice content, ripeness, other biochemical and nutritional quality parameters. 

Introduction

Food safety and quality assumes paramount significance in any food industry. Globalization has driven both the food and agricultural firms to adopt systems that functions in a way to interlink food standards and international trade so as to achieve superior food quality and safety. Food industries follow several regional and international food safety procedures to procure certification from the government and other agencies in order to survive in both domestic and international markets (Ryan, 2014). The essential components in the food safety include handling, preparation and storing of the food products to ensure the food quality and to avoid food-borne diseases. The unwanted substances in a food product included by an accident is known as contaminants and the unwanted substance added to the food product to reduce the cost or to improve the other properties are known as adulterants. Contaminants and adulterants may lead to pathogens and toxins that pose serious concerns over the health of the consumer (Jha, 2016). The adulterants and contaminants are classified as physical adulterants and contaminants, chemical adulterants and residues, microbiological and pathogenic contaminants and toxins.

Hazards in food can be categorized into physical, chemical and biological.

Physical Hazards: Physical hazards are foreign organic or inorganic objects or extraneous materials in the food products. Hard and sharp physical hazards are of particular concern. Examples of physical hazards are broken glass, plastics, metal pieces, wood pieces, stones etc.

12.0. Introduction

The benefits of food laws to the consumers and the processing industries depend upon the efficacy with which the laws are implemented. The implementation of laws requires not only a well organized national infrastructure for inspection and quality control, but also requires reliable methods of analysis, that can be used to check the quality standards for improvement of the food product w.r.t. nutrition, safety and sensory attributes. Early and accurate analysis of food product prior to preservation, during preservation or post preservation is a crucial component for quality evaluation and their quality control. Quality control in food industries depends upon three principles viz. i) raw material control, ii) process control and iii) finished product inspection. Once a product has gone through the manufacturing process, little can be done to alter its quality or to overcome the faults. Examination of the finished product at the most represents analysis with respect to standards – to accept or reject. Effective control over the raw material and process minimizes the rejection of the products. The food spoilage can be managed most effectively, if control measures are introduced at an early stage of food preparation/contamination. Reliance on symptom is often not adequate because spoilage may occur before symptom appears. The spoilage of the food may affect sensory, physical, chemical or microbiological attributes. Therefore, now a day, food processors want to analyze their food samples quickly without any delay in shipment for which they have to depend on the different methods for their quality evaluation. The analysis and quality control of food products involve physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory methods. So, widely used standard procedures / methods for evaluation of quality of food prior to preservation, during preservation or post preservation has been given in this chapter for easy implementation.

11.0. Introduction

Agricultural marketing is one of the important branches of agricultural economics. Farmers have one commodity or the other in surplus and need to be disposed off or sold to earn some money to satisfy other needs, which otherwise cannot be satisfied on the farm or in the village. Thus, agricultural marketing has two-fold objective i.e. Sale of surplus commodities and buy other commodities to satisfy family needs. In modern commercial agriculture, the surpluses with farmers are steadily rising, so also their family needs are changing with the change in lifestyle. Therefore, agricultural marketing has assumed important place. Traditionally, market is place or building where buying or selling of goods takes place. But, in modern times with fast and long distance communication facilities like telephone, market is no more restricted to a particular place only, but it has become wider and has assumed regional, national or even international status. Buying and selling is finalized on telephones only from distant places. Thus, the concept of market has radically changed.

So, marketing of food/ processed food is an important and vital constituent of modern business management. Knowledge about market is critical for the success of the product in such a highly competitive global market place. Now a day, in such modern time, marketing is itself a highly specialized and distinctive discipline. Based on marketing rules and laws, marketing is sometimes regarded as marketing science. Modern marketing strategies, tools and techniques have attained such complexity that marketing is linked with those of the modern warfare. The results of the marketing wars are witness by Cola wars and other brand bars being fiercely fought in the global market. So, the markets have become virtual battlefield for the brand wars. Markets and technologies are the two powerful forces driving the food processing industry. Further packaging has become a powerful tool in the promotion and marketing of the processed food products.

10.0. Introduction

Food processing is an important sector in agriculture, the scope of which has increased manifold that can help to prevent wastage of perishable commodities to a great extent. But, at the same time, food processing industries generate a large quantity and variety of food products, provide employment to a large number of people and uplift their economic status. The production, processing and preparation of food, all results in generation of huge quantity of waste material causing health hazards due to environmental pollution. The waste material may be in the form of leaf/ straw, waste during harvesting, food preparation waste, after processing waste, unused material as waste, food processing operation waste etc. The huge wastage of the food material is due to lack of control on such agri-economy practices. So, the disposal of waste material has become a challenge to the processors, as different agencies are pressurizing for an environment friendly treatment of waste material. The utilization of waste for the production of value added products is very important in the management of food processing waste. Different types of food industries wastes are: i) fermentation industry waste, ii) fruit and vegetable industry waste (Table 10.1) iii) Sugar and starch industry waste, iv) diary industry waste, v) meat processing industry waste, vi) coffee industry waste and vii) palm oil industry waste, viii) fish processing industry waste. So, there is great need to find out options which have positive values of food waste. The options having positive values are: i) minimization of the waste generation, ii) development of value added products. Most of fruit and vegetable wastes are a rich source of vital constituents like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, fibres etc. Mango seed kernel is rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals; orange, melon and pumpkin seeds can provide fats and mineral matters. Apricot kernels are rich source of oil (45%) and proteins.