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 Food - Farms & Herbal Products |
 Food, Farm and Herbal Products
The section dealing with the food and farm products focuses on the following thrust areas:
- Quality evaluation of various raw and processed food products
- Quality evaluation of food additives and food packaging materials
- Method development and validation of analytical techniques
- Studies on product differentiation
- Shelf life / stability studies of products at both ambient and accelerated conditions
- Inspection and certification of product quality
- Certification of packaging materials for food products
- Certification of materials used for serving food products
- Certification of organic food
- Evaluation of contaminants in foods
- Development of food products for special purpose
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| What are the various categories of food products usually analyzed at ITL? |
- Functional foods
- Milk and dairy products
- Spices and Condiments
- Raw and processed fruits and vegetables
- Cereals and pulses
- Sugar and confectionery
- Food additives
- Vegetable oils and fats
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
- Meat and meat products
- Egg and poultry products
- Food packaging materials
- Marine products
- Beverages including alcoholic
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| What do you mean by quality of food? |
| Quality of food can be defined as specific criteria, which can be taken into account for a particular food to be used for an intended purpose. |
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| What are the various factors which contribute towards quality of food ? |
| The various factors contributing towards quality of food are : |
- Appearance
- Colour
- Taste
- Odour
- Nutritional value
- Adulterants
- Contaminants (Physical, Chemical & Microbiological)
- Hygiene
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| Why is it necessary to analyze and certify food products before or after processing ? |
| It is necessary to analyze and certify food products before or after processing: |
- To know the quality of raw materials and final products,
- To understand occurrence of any physicochemical changes during processing or storage, and
- To ensure purity, freshness and safety of the food products at the time of consumption.
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| What are the quality Norms and Protocols followed for analysis? |
| Analysis is done as per both National and International Standards with the following major protocols : |
- Bureau of Indian Standards
- Agricultural Markings
- Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
- Fruit Product Order
- Association of Official Analytical Chemists International
- American Association of Cereal Chemists
- American Oil Chemist's Society
- American Spice Trade Association
- American Dry Products Institute
- American Public Health Association
- SriLanka Standard Institution
- In-house validated methods and procedures
- Party's specifications
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