Objective of the visit:
- Educating the students about the processing and preservation of the fruits and vegetables is the main objective of the visit.
- To create business concepts related to fruits and vegetable processing sector.
The Department of Food Science and Processing Management visited Maagrita Exports Limited, Dindigul on 10.09.2024(Tuesday) between 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Maagrita Exports Ltd., was founded in 2004, and now operates a state-of-the-art plant in the Agri Export Zone (AEZ) at Nilakottai Food Park. It was established under the auspices of State Industries Promotion Corporation (SIPCOT), Tamil Nadu and the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. The plant, which consists of a Pack house and processing facility, is set up on an area of about 8.6 acres with a built-up area of about 35,000 square feet. The plant is built in accordance with international specifications and includes a variety of imported machinery from the United States, South Africa, Australia, and the Netherlands.
Mr. Anand, Quality Manager at Maagrita Exports Ltd. in Dindigul, led the industrial visit session with us. Mr. Anand explained in detail about the manufacturing and production process of Maagrita Eports limited. Their product line consists of dehydrated food products, jams, pickles, sauces, and ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. They produce products for prominent brands such as Aachi Masala and Darling Masala, among others.
Following that, Students visited the Jam processing unit. Mr. Anand provided an in-depth explanation of the jam production process, covering aspects such as the collection of raw materials, allowable limits for preservatives, facilities, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, and transportation. In Jam manufacturing unit students visited the following machineries:
Individual quick freezing (I.Q.F.) tunnel, Rotary Washer, Freezer, Sorting Grading Conveyor, Blanching Unit, Fruit Crusher, Twin Pulper, Pulp Pasteurizer, Pulp Pasteurizer, Filling machines, Labeling machines.
Additionally, students went to the ginger garlic paste manufacturing facility. They also observed the advanced machineries and equipment at the Research and Development Laboratory. Two faculty members and 29 students from the Department of Food Science and Processing Management have visited and benefited from the industrial visit.
Outcome of the visit:
It was an insightful session for students to know about the food processing and preservation methods of different food categories. Students who were exposed to a variety of processing methods were better able to understand the various processing methods used.