For the dietary fibre along with protein supplementation to the baked products, different oils like soy bean, peanut or coconut are also being utilised. Virgin coconut oil-based biscuits are one the recent developments made by us, stated Dr Bawa.
But the use of ingredients in bakery products should be used with caution. This is because, there is considerable concern on the use of melamine. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has detected melamine and cyanuric acid in a number of products that contain milk or milk-derived ingredients like biscuits, cakes and buns. Hence it is of utmost concern that the bakery products should be formulated using such major and minor ingredients which will supplement maximum nutrition and functionality keeping the viability of cost for the common consumer, he said.
The bakery industry in India is the largest of the food industries. The country is the second largest producer of biscuits after the USA. The biscuit industry in India comprises of organised and unorganised sectors. Bread and biscuits form the major baked foods accounting for over 80 per cent of the total bakery products in the country.
The quantities of and biscuits produced are more or less the same. However, value of biscuits is more than bread. The industry has traditionally being and largely continues to be in the unorganised sector contributing over 70 per cent of the total production, stated Dr Bawa.
The bakery industry has earned approximately $278 million during 2010-2011. According to various reports, the annual production including bread, biscuits, pastries, cakes and buns was to the tune of three million tonnes. Bread alone had a market of 1.5 million tonnes. Reduced profit was the main challenge of the organised bread production sector. The rising prices of main ingredients like sugar, edible oil, milk and wheat flour had contributed to the falling profits, said Dr Bawa.
