Now, eat your Onam payasam on Vishu

Not only ‘payasam’, but curries such as ‘kurukku kalan’, ‘pulisseri’, ‘puli inji’ and ‘onion sambar’ can be stored in room conditions for at least six months without any deterioration in taste or flavour, thanks to a method developed by fisheries technologists.

CIFT introduces a technology to store food in room conditions.

Here is a good news for the foodie in you! Soon, you can keep your favouritePalada payasam or Pazham pradhaman ready to eat for months.

Buy and store sufficient quantities of your preferred food, including payasam and curries such as Kurukku Kalan, Pulisheri, Puli inji and Onion Sambar. It can be stored in room conditions for at least six months without any deterioration in taste or flavour, thanks to a technological intervention from fisheries technologists.

The support for keeping these vegetarian dishes safe for consumption comes from Fish Processing Division (FPD) of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT).

The Institute has helped a prominent local caterer to process and store as many as 13 food varieties, including sambar for feasts, Avial, Chappathi Kuruma and Masala curry, without refrigeration.

While the Institute took care of the technology part of the safe-to-eat products, the Centre for Food Research and Development (CFRD), Konni, chipped in with the design of the processing plant, which was inaugurated on Wednesday.

While there is a huge demand for ready-to-eat food products, there are also several health concerns over the adulteration and preservatives in them. “The FPD has helped in producing safe and shelf-stable food products,” said C.N. Ravisankar, Director of the Institute.

“Preservative-free and shelf-stable products are developed by applying heat under very high pressure conditions in a closed vessel, killing the pathogens and spoilage microorganisms,” he explained.

In designing the plant, care was taken to avoid cross-contamination in food stuff and ensure maximum food safety for the products. The principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, a food safety management system, were also applied, said M.K. Mukundan, Director of the CFRD.

The products from the plant are expected to hit the market during the current festival season.