The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysuru, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Kerala-based food processing enterprise for the transfer of its puff-and-serve chapati technology.
Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Director, DFRL and Noble Varghese Kannathu, Managing Director, Daddy’s Food Products, Thrissur, Kerala, signed the agreements at DFRL here on Friday.
The inventor, G.K. Sharma, Scientist “G”, Additional Director A.D. Semwal, Scientist “G”, Head, Technology Transfer Division, Pandit Srihari, Technical Officer and senior scientists from DFRL were present.
Daddy’s Food Products is a start-up enterprise set up in 2013 at Thrissur to provide traditional foods of Kerala in hygienically packaged form. The major food products of the firm include idiyapppam, chapati, appam and many more.
The puff-and-serve chapatti technology was developed by DFRL to meet short-term requirement of armed forces during field operations, a release said.
These are partially baked chapatti stabilised by incorporating certain anti-mycotic, anti-staling and softening agents. Baking over a hot flame or hot plate puffs them readily to be served as hot phulkas. The process is fairly simple and adaptable by any small scale entrepreneur, according to DFRL.
DFRL has already transferred this technology to 10 enterprises, including Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Godrej Pillsbury Ltd., Mumbai, ITC-Agro Tech Ltd., Secunderabad, Real Contract Private Ltd., New Delhi, Sanfoods, Mysuru and Chacra Foods, Madurai.
DFRL had recently signed a MoU for transfer of retort processed ready to eat food technology with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for providing safe and nutritious food to passengers of the railways.
DFRL had transferred this technology to 71 enterprises, including MTR, ITC, Kohinoor, Tasty Bite, Chokhi Dhani Foods, Haldirams, Taste’L Fine Food, Annamalaiyar Foods etc., for production and large-scale supplies in India as well as abroad, the release said.
Retort processing of foods in rigid containers and flexible packaging systems is the most acceptable form of food preservation with a shelf life of more than 12 months under ambient conditions. The technology is essentially based on three important critical factors namely packaging systems, processing schedule and the requirement of product recipes, the release added.
