Starch is one of the important food ingredients in terms of sheer versatility of applications in the food industry. The native and modified starches from different sources like corn, tapioca, wheat, rice and potato are extensively used in many processed foods. The native starches may not possess the functionalities required for many processed food systems, chemical and physical modifications to native starches can help in enhancing required functionalities. Modified starches offer freeze-thaw stability and stable viscosity under various process conditions. The modified starches have been tailored to create competitive advantage in a food product to enhance product aesthetics, reduce production costs, ensure product consistency and extend shelf life.
Application of starches, modified starches in processed food
Starch can be modified by physical, chemical methods and combination of both treatments. Physical treatment improves water solubility and chemical modifications add functional properties. The most common chemical methods involved in starch modification include acid treatment, cross linking, oxidation, substitution and combinations of two or more of these treatments. The emergence of biotechnology has helped in starch modification during the growth phase of the plant. Different amylose levels and amylopectin structure can be produced with the help of biotechnology.
Starch and its derivatives have emerged as the most promising environment-friendly ingredient over the years and offers varied application benefits in both food as well as non-food industries. There has been a steady increase in demand of starch in food & beverage industry due to high prices of sugar.
A modified starch is a starch that has been chemically modified to allow the starch to function properly under conditions frequently encountered during processing or storage, such as high heat, high shear, freezing and cooling. As an additive for food processing, food starches are typically used as thickeners and stabilisers in foods such as puddings, custards, soups, sauces, gravies, pie fillings, and salad dressings, and to make noodles and pastas.
Cross-linked and stabilised starches (such as acetylated distarch phosphate) are the most suited starches for use in processed food because of their functional attributes. Owing to their beneficial functional properties like excellent freeze-thaw stability and resistance to breakdown under harsh processing conditions, they are especially suitable for use in processed food.
Anil Ltd is a leading manufacturer / supplier of native, modified starches sweeteners & enzymes for food, beverages & confectionary industries. Company’s products find application in processed foods, stabilisers, thickeners, syrups, dairy & bakery products, juices, ice creams, instant food premixes, gravies, puddings, custards, mayonnaise, ketchups & sauces and oral hygiene formulations.
The most common type of starch modification is the treatment of native starch with small amounts of approved reagents. Starch-based sweeteners are other class of products manufactured in starch industries. A variety of sweeteners for very specific end-users are produced by acid / enzyme hydrolysis of starch. Among major starch sweeteners in use, which Anil Ltd manufactures, are liquid glucose, maltose corn syrup, dextrose monohydrate and sorbitol (dextrose) syrup.
Maltodextrin
It is white or cream coloured powder with moderate sweetness. It is used extensively in baby food and feed supplements.
Liquid Glucose
Mixture of glucose and maltose - It is used as bodying agent for frozen dairy products and as sweetening agent in confectionary depending on the requirement of the user.
Dextrose Monohydrates
A crystallised powder, key derivative of starch - It finds applications in bakery, confectionery and soft drink industry.
High Maltose Syrup
It is characterised by low content of glucose and high content of maltose. It is used in soft and hard confectionery, fruit canning and candies.
Sorbitol (Dextrose) Syrup
It is hydrogenated dextrose syrup not having any reducing sugars widely used in cakes, fruit juices and wine production. Also used as preservative.
When it comes to food applications, functionality is the key to marketing starch. The extent of specific functional properties of starches required by the food industry is almost unlimited. Major functional properties include viscosity, adhesiveness, freeze-thaw stability, gel texture and formation, colour, cystallinity and processing conditions tolerance. Higher functional properties in starch would lead to higher demand of indigenous crops from which starch is made. This means that the particular physical and chemical properties of individual starches are the keys to their commercial success.
Processed food industry in India
Processed food or food processing in India is one of the biggest industries and ranks fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and growth.
Segmentation of different sector in processed food industry
Dairy: Whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, condensed milk, ice cream, butter and ghee, cheese
Fruits & Vegetables: Beverages, juices, concentrates, pulp, slices, frozen and dehydrated products, potato wafers / chips etc.
Grains & Cereals: Flour, bakeries, starch glucose, cornflakes, malted foods, grain-based alcohol
Fisheries: Frozen and canned products mainly in fresh form
Meat and Poultry: Frozen and packed mainly in fresh form
Consumer Foods: Snack food, namkeens, biscuits, ready- to-eat food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
The above table indicates that dairy products have the greatest market penetration of about 37%. With the rapid growth of the economy, shift in the consumption pattern, from cereals to more varied and nutritious diet of fruit and vegetables, milk, fish, meat and poultry products etc. has resulted in the development of a sunrise industry namely the food processing industry. The food processing industry contributes to 6.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India, 19 per cent to the Indian industry, and 13 per cent to the export production.
Growth in processed food industry vis-a-vis starch industry
The processed food industry is mainly unorganised with 75% of the processing units belonging to the unorganised category, the organised category though small, is growing fast. The food production is expected to double in the next 10 years and the consumption of value-added food products is expected to grow at a much faster pace. The share and growth of value-added products is likely to be higher going forward as companies in the processing sector opt for higher margin products on ample supply of raw materials used for starch for food additives.
The Indian organised starch industry has an estimated size of around Rs 3,500 crore. The Indian starch Industry is predominantly based on corn, with negligible usage of wheat. Out of more than 1,000 downstream applications of starch, 40 have been commercialised in India. With companies globally focussing on innovations in their product portfolio through R&D, the demand for starch sweeteners and other derivatives has picked up in a number of industries in India as well as in the international markets. During the period 2005-10, the Indian starch industry grew at a CAGR of 21.8%; while starch demand grows at around 5% per annum.
Gujarat with a strong agricultural base, 3.6 million hectares of irrigated land and well developed agro research capabilities is well positioned to drive the growth of food processing industry. Gujarat offers a large number of incentives to set up food processing units.
Hassle-free policies such as single window clearance, a strong agricultural marketing network with over 200 Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) and over 110 cold storages are some of the enablers that have facilitated the rapid growth of this industry. The state also provides financial incentives by offering interest subsidies to agro-industrial units and air & sea freight subsidies for agro exports.
Starches, modified starches and their application find great relevance in the rapidly developing and growing Indian food processing industry. The demand is likely to grow in coming years with already established mega food parks and upcoming projects in India. To tap opportunities in this industry, Anil Ltd has formed SPV for setting up Gujarat’s first mega food park. In the first quarter of 2011-12, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India, allotted the project of establishing mega food park at Savli near Vadodara to this SPV.
