Shimla
Have you ever thought that those apples that are sold at low prices in the market or go to waste can now become a new source of income for farmers? With the aim of increasing the income of apple farmers and developing diverse products for consumers, scientists of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, have developed a standardized protocol for carbonating apple juice. This technology will be especially beneficial when farmers do not get proper prices for their low-grade apples during the apple season. The Department of Food Science and Technology of the University has recently launched three variants of carbonated apple juice, which further adds to the list of products made by the department. These include pure carbonated apple juice, spiced carbonated apple drink, and apple drink.
All these drinks are prepared from pure, preservative-free apple juice. This initiative has been prepared by Dr. Satish Sharma and the team of the department under the guidance of Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Head of the Department of Food Science and Technology. These products have been prepared keeping the youth in mind and are a healthy alternative to the products available in the market. Farmers often have to sell low-grade apples at low prices during apple harvesting. To deal with this problem, the scientists of the university adopted this research initiative and developed preservative-free carbonated drinks from pure apple juice. The refrigerator storage shelf life of carbonated beverages prepared under this new technology is about six months. Carbonation also has mild preservation effects, and in this process the juice is not processed at high temperature, due to which the nutrients of the juice remain intact. HDM
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, Vice Chancellor of the Industrial and Forestry University, Prof. Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, said that because low-grade apples get low prices in the market, farmers have to sell them at a low price, but apple-based carbonated beverages can be prepared from them, which have high market value in the market. This not only gives good returns to the farmers for their produce, but additional healthy products are also available in the market for consumers.
Interested farmers can purchase this technology from the department at a low cost under a nonexclusive agreement. This innovation will not only transform the apple industry but will also provide a healthy option for health-conscious consumers.
