Prabhat K. Nema

Conference Report: Second Workshop on Dehydration of Food and Agricultural Products: Principles, Practices, and Prospects; National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), India, February 25–27, 2015

Following the success of the first Workshop, which was held during March 25–26, 2014, at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) campus, the Second Workshop on Dehydration of Food and Agricultural Products: Principles, Practices, and Prospects, was organized by NIFTEM and held during February 25–27, 2015, at the NIFTEM campus, Kundli, Sonepat, Haryana, India. The Workshop witnessed the participation of 60 delegates, both from academia and industry from different parts of India, Thailand, and Singapore. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Ajit Kumar, Vice Chancellor, NIFTEM, in the presence of esteemed guests, Mr. Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air (Asia) P. Ltd.; Dr. K. Vidyasagar, Vice President, SEED, Hyderabad; Dr. Sakamon Devahastin, KMUTT, Thailand; and Dr. Pitam Chandra, Head, Department of Food Engineering, NIFTEM. The workshop began with the introductory lecture by Mr. Dinesh Gupta. He explained the basics of drying followed in low-temperature desiccant drying technology, which offers a cost-effective and energy-efficient drying alternative to freeze-drying technology. Dr. Sakamon Devahastin discussed a superheated steam drying (SSD) system and explained its advantages over conventional hot air drying, both from product quality and energy consumption points of view, along with recent developments in this area. The session progressed with a description of a solar-assisted heat pump dryer developed by Dr. P. L. Singh, which has proved to be more efficient in retaining the antioxidant properties of fruits, such as Indian gooseberry, as compared to other conventional drying systems. Dr. Abhijit Kar from IARI, New Delhi, highlighted the importance of mushrooms in daily diet and the present status of their cultivation and prospects of processing in India, along with the criteria for the selection of right type of dryer for processing mushrooms. The participants were introduced to a wide variety of solar drying systems by Dr. K. Vidyasagar and Dr. V. Siva Reddy. The systems have advantages of near-zero energy cost, pollution-free operations, and suitable for farm-level processing, which could ultimately lead to the economic empowerment of small and marginal farmers and rural women. Advances in drying technologies, the importance of innovations in food drying, and challenges in bringing these innovations into practice were discussed by Dr. Sachin Jangam (National University of Singapore). Dr. Parag Sutar from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and Mr. Rajesh Deolalikar (General Manager of Twin Engg, Vadodara) focused on new innovations and advances in the fields of microwave and infrared drying. On the last day, we listened to the personal industrial experience of Mr. Ashok Anand, who discussed the operational management of running a dehydration unit at a commercial scale and different regulations to be followed by entrepreneurs. The Workshop received 14 papers for poster presentation. A peer team evaluated the posters, and two of them were selected for the best paper awards. Besides the technical sessions, there were three lab sessions on spray drying, freeze drying, and vacuum drying to give practical hands-on experience and demonstration to the participants. An industrial visit to a food dehydration unit, namely, M=s Gopi Dehydrates Pvt. Ltd., Kundli, Sonepat, was also organized. The unit is engaged in dehydration of a large variety of fruit and vegetable products. It also has testing laboratories to ensure best quality products to its customers. The visit was appreciated by all the visiting delegates, as some of them were also interested in taking up similar work for their own enterprises. The organizing team extended thanks to the Managing Director of the unit, Mr. Ashok Anand, for the cooperation received from his whole team. The Workshop was supported by National Mission on Food Processing, Government of Haryana, and State Bank of India, NIFTEM, Kundli. Papers presented at the workshop will be compiled and published in the near future. The next Workshop is proposed to be held in early 2016 at the NIFTEM. Prabhat K. Nema Barjinder Pal Kaur Vinkel Arora NIFTEM E-mail: pknema@gmail.com Drying Technology, 33: 1018, 2015 Copyright # 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0737-3937 print=1532-2300 online DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2015.1044926

Report on the First Workshop on Dehydration of Food and Agricultural Products: Principles, Practices, and Prospects, March 25–26, 2014

The First Workshop on Dehydration of Food and Agricultural Products: Principles, Practices, and Prospects, organized by the Department of Food Engineering, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), was held during March 25 to 26, 2014, at the NIFTEM campus, Kundli, Sonepat, Haryana, India. The Workshop witnessed the participation of 53 delegates, both from academia and industry from different parts of India. In addition, 23 delegates from different countries of the South African subcontinent also attended lectures of the Workshop. The Workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Ajit Kumar, Vice Chancellor, NIFTEM, in the auspicious presence of Professor Arun S. Mujumdar, Professor Emeritus, NIFTEM; Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air (Asia); and Dr. Sakamon Devahastin, KMUTT, Bangkok, Thailand. The Director of CIAE Bhopal, Professor Pitam Chandra, was the Chief Guest of the inauguration program. The objective of the Workshop was to provide a unique blend of learning through interactive lectures and brainstorming discussion among the speakers and participants. There were 10 invited lectures by eminent researchers from academia and industry, from India as well as from abroad. The detailed topics covered were as follows: