Technology of Indian Milk Products
Source: IRMA Network, April-June, 2003
Review by Katar Singh*
Modern technology is considered an engine of economic growth. In many
ways, it is a sine qua non of economic development. Many development
scholars, notably W. Theodore Schultz, Yujiro Hayami and Vernon W.
Ruttan have propounded theories of development, which had modern technology
at their core. More recently, Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug has been
a crusader for widespread adoption of modern technology in agriculture
as a means of eradicating hunger and malnourishment in developing
countries. In the Indian context, it is well known that it was the
widespread use of modern technology that ushered in the Green Revolution
in the mid sixties and the White Revolution in the early eighties.
Now it is time for a Quality Revolution in all the sectors of India’s
economy, including agriculture and animal husbandry. In India’s
dairy sector, this is possible only through widespread adoption of
modern technologies for clean milk production, processing, storage,
transportation, and marketing of milk and milk products. The book
under review, Technology of Indian Milk
Products, is the pioneering effort
on the part of its co-authors and its publisher aimed at compiling
and collating various pieces of information relating to technologies
in use for manufacturing of India’s indigenous milk products
and bring out a comprehensive handbook on the subject.
They deserve commendation.
The book documents India’s experience in mechanising and modernising
the production of traditional milk-based sweets, puddings and desserts.
It also explores the scope for large-scale manufacture of ethnic dairy
products, while pointing to opportunities for their marketing in emerging
national and international markets and prospects for attracting investment.
It is designed to serve as a practical guide for manufacturers of
milk-based sweets and other products as well as for students, teachers,
trainers and researchers interested in the subject.
Different management systems for product quality
and food safety such as ISO and HACCP have been dealt with at length.
These aspects are becoming increasingly important to win consumer
confidence in domestic and export markets. Nutrition
and health aspects of these products are also discussed in a separate
chapter.
The market for traditional dairy products in India exceeds Rs. 50,000
crore, and it is the largest and fastest growing segment of India’s
dairy industry. For example, the consumption of ‘dahi’,
a plain yogurt-like traditional product, exceeds 5 million tonnes.
This is 50 times the amount of all types of yogurt consumed in the
United States.
The credibility of book is fairly high
as it is coauthored by India’s four distinguished dairy
professionals, who together have over 100 years of R&D experience.
Dr. V. Kurien, the architect and the
father of world’s biggest dairy development programme, Operation
Flood, which ushered in the White Revolution in India and enabled
India to emerge as the World’s highest milk producing country,
has commended this book.
The book has come at a time when the wave
of globalisation ushered in the wake of the new world trade regime
launched by the World Trade Organisation is changing the ways in which
the world is looking at food. The search
for new, exotic dairy delicacies is rapidly transforming the profile
of today’s food market. The consumer is in search of something
new and different that would expand the choice of food that s/he would
like to buy. S/he is demanding fresh flavours to tickle the taste
buds to surprise and delight him/her. One new source to meet this
need is the wide range of ethnic dairy delicacies. They provide an
exciting opportunity to expand the choice of gourmet dairy delights.
In short, this handbook puts together practical technical data and
guidelines that are useful to dairy technologist, product developers,
production managers and personnel, manufacturers and suppliers of
inputs, services and equipment, consultants to dairy and food industry.
It would also help enhance the technical knowledge of buyers and suppliers
of various ingredients, technical sales representatives, research
scientists, teachers and students, entrepreneurs, and market analysts
and the like.
*Mr Singh is the Chairman, India Natural Resource
Economics and Management (INREM) Foundation.
Order the handbook. Have queries? Contact
us.
E-mail:
mail@indianmilkproducts.com
|
New
Economic
Opportunities |
| Technical advances for
production of traditional milk products are creating new economic
opportunities for a range of agribusiness enterprises to expand
avenues for enhanced income in rural India. These exciting developments
have triggered a revolution that is transforming the socio-economic
life of millions of small farmers and landless workers, largely
women. |
|
