An action plan will be prepared soon for setting up food processing units in agricultural universities located across Uttar Pradesh so that impactful work is done in the field of food processing in the State, said UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Sahi.
“I’m happy that I visited this institute which has made significant contributions in the areas of food security and food processing. Its contribution in developing skills among students is also commendable,” said the Minister after visiting the CSIR-CFTRI with two other ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.
Dinesh Pratap Singh, Minister of State (independent charge) for Horticulture, and Baldev Singh Aulakh, Minister of State for Agriculture accompanied Mr. Sahi along with Manoj Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of UP, Anjani Kumar Singh, IAS, and officials from the Department of Agriculture, UP and Karnataka, recently.
CSIR-CFTRI Director Sridevi Annapurna Singh received the UP Ministers’ delegation and an interaction was held at Cheluvamba Hall of CFTRI where a presentation was made about the contributions of CFTRI and its role in agro-food processing.
Success stories
The director shared the success stories of CFTRI such as AMUL (the baby food), leaf cup making machine, spice oils and oleoresins, high amylase rich energy food, spirulina chikki, nutri bar etc. She emphasised the role of millets on health, machinery for millet processing and innovative technologies on millets developed at CFTRI.
She also spoke about efforts made to address malnutrition and supplementary foods for severely acute malnourished children in Odisha and Karnataka.
The dignitaries visited the CFTRI facilities such as the food engineering pilot plant, International School of Milling Technology and Food Safety and Analytical Quality Control Laboratory. The scientists of the Food Engineering Department demonstrated food processing machinery housed at the pilot plant and the dosa making machine. The delegation saw the Mobile Food Processing Unit that is designed and developed by the CFTRI and tomato processing was demonstrated.
The delegation lauded innovative ideas for reaching out to farmers at the rural level and also appreciated the role of CFTRI in training farmers through PMFME, and ODOP programmes. It also commended the infrastructure developed for the stakeholders During their visit to the wheat milling facility, the scientists explained the importance of a one-year ISMT certificate course in roller flour milling which has benefited both India and developing countries from Africa and South East Asia, a press release from CFTRI said.
The Minister and his team members also visited FSAQCL Department where they were apprised of various labs and instrumentation facilities related to food safety such as detection of heavy metals and contaminants, pesticide residue analysis, etc.
COMMents
SHARE