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Food processing industry sees shift towards healthier snacks
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Monday, 09 November, 2026, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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Bhushan Namdeorao Yengade, founder, Binder Technology Consultancy and vice-president, CPRTTF, highlighted the structural changes taking place in India's food processing industry during a recent technical session. He pointed to the growing preference among urban consumers for blue and purple snacks, including dehydrated fruits and vegetables, as an indication of changing nutritional preferences and increasing demand for healthier processed food products.
Moderated by Mohit Shrivastava, the session focused on the need to upgrade public and private industrial infrastructure to accommodate emerging agricultural inputs and changing consumption patterns. Discussions highlighted the challenges faced by small and medium-sized food enterprises (SMEs) in adopting modern processing technologies, particularly due to high credit costs and capital investment requirements. Yengade stressed the importance of making efficient dehydration and packaging technologies accessible to smaller manufacturers to help them compete in high-value food markets.
He also emphasised the potential of integrating traditional agricultural products into modern food supply chains. The transformation of millets from conventional staples into convenient snack products was identified as an important opportunity, particularly in the context of climate challenges. This transition requires specialised processing machinery capable of preserving nutritional value while supporting large-scale production. Upgrading factory equipment and adopting automated quality control systems are also essential to reducing post-harvest losses, improving food safety and strengthening the economic viability of rural processing centres.
Nayan Maskai highlighted the importance of maintaining ingredient purity and consistency in large-scale food manufacturing. He noted that modern grinding and dosing equipment should minimise dust emissions to protect workers' health while ensuring accurate ingredient formulations and uniform product quality across production lines.
Shashank Joshi emphasised the need for a structured machinery modernisation strategy, particularly for factories transitioning from labour-intensive operations to automated processes. He underlined the importance of monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) when introducing automated frying systems and real-time process sensors to ensure that capital investments translate into improved operational efficiency.
Shubham Choubey highlighted the role of integrating agricultural procurement networks with modern processing facilities to minimise food wastage. He pointed out that advanced packaging technologies and digital inventory tracking systems are important for managing product shelf life across regional markets, strengthening distribution networks and ensuring supply reliability.
Yash Gawdi stressed that addressing operational bottlenecks is essential for achieving sustainable growth in food manufacturing capacity. He also underlined the importance of developing comprehensive quality assurance systems to maintain consistent product standards and enable domestic food processors to strengthen their competitiveness in international export markets.
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