Post Harvest Technology Laboratories

The centre is well equipped with a food processing pilot plant under a CIDA project on “Consolidation of Food Security in South India” with a multi-product research and teaching facility. It provides hands on training in the food processing and engineering. Food Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biotechnology and Horticultural and Agricultural Technology degree courses utilize the plant for demonstrations and production activities. In addition, faculty researchers, graduate students and industry clients use the plant in their research for evaluating processes, ingredients and equipment. The food processing pilot plant of the centre is licensed by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, as a fruit products processing facility and has its FPO number under the FPO regulations. The unique infrastructure also includes a strong expertise in terms of R&D in food processing and engineering. The pilot plant has got a quality testing laboratory facility which helps and assists in process control testing and finished product testing.

Machineries in the Incubator

Fruits Reception Section

Machineries in the reception area includes fruit washer, blancher, fruit pulpers and juicers with sanitary pumps.

Products Processing Hall

The processing hall house the plate heat exchanger, tubular heat exchanger and scraped surface heat exchanger and homogenizers for the heat processing of food products with sophisticated control and monitoring systems. The pilot scale flash type evaporator can be used for the concentration of milk, juice and other liquid food products. Spray drier can be used for powder production form liquid slurries.

Sugar syrup preparation Section

Sugar syrup preparation section houses sugar mixing and storage tanks with disc type filter press and circulating pumps for the preparation of the clear sugar syrup for the production of fruit beverages. A batching tank with load cell attachment precisely controls the quantity of ingredients like sugar syrup, fruit pulp and water for the production of ready to serve beverages.

Packaging Section

Packaging technologies used in the pilot plant includes form fill seal packaging for semi solids and powders which continuously forms the package from specialized films and seals after filling. Vaccum packaging involves removal of air inside the package so that it forms a tight glove skin fit over the product after creating vacuum inside the package. A pilot scale retort pouch processing machine is available for the preparation of ready to eat food products in retortable pouches.

Service Section

The services for the food processing business incubator like stream, chilled water and compressed air are provided with the necessary equipments and control device.

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Utilize the Food Processing Incubator Facility

Incubator facility is provided to any progressive entrepreneur on a contract usage for one year for which membership fee of Rs. 10000/- (Non-refundable) will have to be paid and a memorandum of understanding will be entered into between the entrepreneur and TNAU. During this period, the entrepreneur is allowed to use the facility for the manufacturing of the prodcuts and he is expected to grow to a level within a year’s time and is required to set up his own processing unit.

Food engineering laboratory includes modified atmospheric packaging, texture analyser, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrography, Vaccum oven, Form fill seal machine, Farinograph, Laboratory model pulsed light treatment system, Laboratory model cold plasma technology for solid foods and Forced Air Cooling Chamber

The grain and spice milling unit houses pulverizer, plate mill, spices roaster, ribbon blender, pasta making machine dehuller for millets and form fill and sealing machine.The machineries are equipped with cyclone separation unit to prevent dust pollution .This facility is utilized for imparting training to the progressive entrepreneurs, new product development, commercial production of spice powders and also hands on training to the students, entrepreneurs and self-help groups.

Food quality testing Laboratory is established in Centre for Post-Harvest Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, in the Year 2006 with the financial assistance from Ministry of Food Processing Industries.Laboratory is equipped with modern facilities like Chromatograph with Mass Spectrometry (GCMSMS), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Amino acid Analyser (AAA), Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) with graphite furnace,Amino acid Analyser (AAA), Viscometer, Texture analyser, Water activity meter, Tintometer, Kel plus, Moisture meter, Gas analyser, Spectrophotometer, Fibre plus, Stereo Zoom and Phase contract Microscope with camera accessories, Advanced protein analyser. Food Samples are analysed as per AOAC and BIS Standards.  The laboratory is committed to good professional practice with emphasizes on improvements continuously with ISO 17025:2005 standard.

Analytical Charges for Food Samples