VALUE ADDITION :"Method to increase farmer's income"

 India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables . India produces 99.07 million metric tonnes of fruits and 191.77 million metric tonnes of vegetables. Though the country is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world , our per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables for one billion population is very low. More than 25% of the fruits and vegetables production is lost due to poor post harvest facilities. So here comes the role of post harvest technology . Post harvesting comprises  all the processes right from the harvest of the commodity till the commodity reaches the customer. So post harvest technology is a long process which is followed at each and every level of commodity.

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One of the post harvest technology method that not only prevent the post harvest loss but but also increase the market value of the product is Value Addition.

What are Value Added products?

Value Added products are raw agricultural products that have been modified or enhanced to have a higher market value and/or a longer shelf life. Some of the examples like jam , jelly of fruits and  pickle and chutneys are the value added products.

  Need :

• The importance of the value addition is lies in the sense  that if the production of the farmers is very high and there is no demand in the market , then the farmers will have to face huge loss. But if he/she add value to his products ,then the product/harvest that had no value earlier, now able to fetch high prices in the market.
• The crops are mostly seasonal and we can get them only at their season but value addition  provide these seasonal commodities year around as in the form jam, jellies , chutneys, sauces, Squashes, juices.
• People who have their own orchards but grow just for their own requirements can also be benefitted from this if they have the proper knowledge how to do value addition . And if they follow specific guidelines for the products value addition i.e by FSSAI{ Food Safety and Standards Authority of India}then they may be able to sell their product at international market.

Here is the list of some Value added products with their FSSAI specifications that are of commercial importance :

• Jam

Fruit Pulp – 45%

TSS(Total soluble solids)-65%

Citric acid- 5g

Preservative-40 ppm of SO2

• Jelly

Fruit Pulp – 45%

TSS-65%

Citric acid -2 g

Preservative-40 ppm of SO2

• Marmalade

Fruit Pulp – 45%

TSS-65%

Citric acid -2 g

Preservative-40 ppm of SO2

Shreds-62 g/lit

• Preserve

Fruit pulp -55%

TSS -70%

Citric acid – 1-1.5%

• Candy

Fruit pulp -55%

TSS -75%

Citric acid – 1-1.5%

• Squash

Juice content -25%

Acidity – 1%

TSS-45 %

Preservative -350 ppm of SO2 (or)

600 ppm of benzoic acid

• Cordial

Juice content -25%

Acidity – 1.5%

TSS-30 %

Preservative -350 ppm of SO2

• Ready to serve beverages (RTS)

Juice content -10%

Acidity – 0.2-0.3%

TSS-10 %

Preservative -70 ppm of SO2

• Synthetic Beverages

TSS – 70-75%

Acidity- 1%

Citric acid – 7.5 g

• Sauce / Ketchup

Pulp -25%

TSS-25%

Preservative -70 ppm of SO2

• Pickle

Drained weight -60%

Sodium chloride -12%

Acidity -1.2%

Preservative -100 ppm of SO2

• Chutney

TSS-50%

Preservative-100 ppm of SO2 (or)

250 ppm of benzoic acid

source  of specifications