21^st International Conference on Food Technology & Processing October 04-06, 2018 London, UK

The nanotechnology and biotechnology also play their role for bringing up the food innovations to the next level. The nano scale material use, genetically modified organisms also have profound effect in meeting the global demand on food. With each innovation food technology is reaching its next level.

Scientists and researchers tries to improvise the advancements with the minimal damage. Yet there persist problem of microbial contamination and nutritional loss of the processed food and migration effects in case of the packaging material.

The processing methods of fruits and vegetables can be classified into two. They are the traditional methods which include drying, concentrating, heating, salting, pickling. Improved traditional methods of processing which includes sterilization, pasteurization, canning, controlled atmosphere, modified atmosphere, freeze drying etc.

As both the domestic market and export market are being benefitted this sector is gaining its importance worldwide. Much advancement is being made including the packaging technologies to maintain the quality after post-harvest.

The two-major content which are standardized in most of the milk products are Fat and Solid Not Fat (SNF). Also, the products are divided based on these two contents. Many starter cultures are used to get the desired milk product, and these include Lactic acid bacteria, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Penicillium, Acidophilus species.

The dairy industries experiencing the tremendous growth and increases their production on a large scale. Large sized equipment is handled such as homogenizer, heat exchangers, cream separators and packaging equipment. The top 10 countries in milk production are India, USA, China, Pakistan, Brazil, Germany, Russia, France, New Zealand and Turkey.

The types, growth, multiplication and ways of contamination of microorganisms are dealt in detail. The pathogen contamination occurs due to improper handling systems, insufficient heat treatment and poor knowledge on the spores and microorganisms. As heat treatment temperature varies for spores and microorganism’s proper temperature need to be followed. The proper checks are necessary to avoid contamination.

There are various beneficial microorganisms such as Lactobacillus species, Penicillium, yeast etc. These are helpful in the process of fermentation and results in various products which are rich in nutritional value. Cheeses, Beer, Vine, Dry salami, Soy sauce, Sauerkraut, probiotic food such as yogurt are example of the food products developed by fermentation. These beneficial microorganisms are also involved in maintaining the acidic environment which hinders the growth of undesirable microorganism.

Food processing techniques also damage the nutrition levels in the food. As multiple heat treatments and other techniques are followed, this damages the vitamins and minerals present in food as these are heat sensitive. Measures are taken to avoid the nutrition losses during the processing steps to a maximum extend.

Value addition is a recent trend to improve the nutritional content of foods by adding the essential nutrient which it lacks. Many researches are done to develop value added milk products, fruit and vegetable products etc. As it enhances the health benefits and consumers also prefer for more nutritious and organic food the scope keeps increasing.

Now a day as the consumers not only demand for nutritious food but also the food safety, there occurs a growing demand.  This gets reflected even on the labeling where the allergic information is provided. As the food can be contaminated at any point from postharvest handling till distribution, therefore in each processing steps critical points are monitored to prevent the contamination.

The World health organization states that more than 200 diseases are spread through food and 420,000 people die as a result. It also states that food contaminated with metals have a long-term effect on humans. Thus, the food safety becomes a necessity to avoid the increasing death rate and to ensure that the consumers are served for what they are paid.

Though the food additives claim to enhance the quality of food, as the coin have both sides it is believed that additives bring health issues like hyperactivity, asthma symptoms, toxic effect, obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes, brain tumor, headache, gastric cancers etc.

Many additives are banned due to their ill effect on humans. After the series of toxicological tests, the adequate daily intake (ADI) of additives are standardized. Yet there occurs a controversy in the use of many additives and researches are still conducted.

The changing recombinant DNA, protein engineered technologies and exploration in food industry results in the increasing application of enzymes in food. There are various ongoing researches on enzymes to improve its thermo stabilities, catalytic efficiencies and specificity properties.

As the efficiency of the production process increases and quality is improved the enzymes are used in baking process, fruit and vegetable processing, starch processing, brewing, dairy processing.

The packaging has gained its greater importance as this acts as a bridge between the manufacturers and consumers. The properties of the food are maintained by its efficient packaging. A good packaging should never fail to gain the consumer satisfaction and meet the consumer’s demand.

Due to the growing demand many recent trends are developed in food packaging. These include time temperature indicators, 2D barcodes, auto coding, and radio frequency identification. Many automated equipment is also developed for form, fill and seal operations, labeling, packing, unpacking, wrapping and converting. All these advancements will pave a new way in the packaging world.

Even the recent report by National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) states that the household waste accounts for the largest food waste generation in America, overall a 40% of food goes as waste. Many initiatives are being made all over the world to reduce the food waste. The “Save food” initiative by Food and agriculture organization, Food donation programs, consumer education campaigns.

As the food waste has major environmental impact management of food waste is a necessary check to meet the global hunger. When enough is being produced, then the need should be served. Still starvation?? Should not be a point of question.