Abstract:
The conversion of horticultural products into food, or one kind of food into another, is known as food
processing. Food processing assists in reducing negative food changes over time, pleasing customers
with flavours, taste and colour, catering to cultural beliefs, empowering women, and providing choice,
knowledge, and convenience to health-conscious customers. There are various sectors in food
processing industry like fruits and vegetables processing, milk processing, sugar processing, cereal
processing, etc. The nutritional security of processed food can include four basic issues i.e., food
availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and food stability. The study aims to identify the status
of food processing industries in terms of their production, employment, and number of units established
in India. The study also tries to find out the extent to which food processing units play a role in
achieving nutritional security among people in India. To achieve these objectives, the study collected
data from various secondary sources including reliable data available in published and unpublished
books, reports, journals, newspapers, and different research sites. Appropriate statistical tools are used
to show the increase in the number of food processing units, number of persons engaged, and total output
in various subsectors of food processing industries in India. The requisite regression equations are also
calculated in the study which shows that the growth in the number of units and employment is positively
related to output levels of food processing units in India. Results by applying tests of significance
show that there is a strong association between two attributes viz. imports and exports of processed
products in India. Thus, we can conclude that India is self-sufficient in making processed products
from different subsectors of food processing on the one hand and in achieving nutritional security
(food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability) among the people of India on the other. |
Keywords:
Food Processing, Nutritional Security, Availability, Accessibility, Utilization,
Stability. |
