Considered breakthroughs in the food sector, this first ready-to-eat series of millet products in the market is expected to cater to a fast-paced consumers across the world at their convenience in a healthy way.
In a move aimed at providing a global platform for millet products, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) launched a variety of millet products for all age groups at affordable prices ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 15 at the AAHAR food fair, a business to business fair for the food and hospitality sector that concluded yesterday at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.
All millet products launched by APEDA are gluten-free, completely natural and have been patented. The launched products are cream biscuits, salt biscuits, milk biscuits, ragi peanut butter, jowar peanut butter, jowar upma, pongal, khichadi and millet malts (jowar, ragi, bajra).
Going by the success of instant foods like noodles in the consumer marketplace, APEDA has also launched a range of “Millet in Minutes” products under the category of ready-to-eat foods. These include Upma, Pongal, Khichadi, Biryani, and, of course, instant noodles made from millets.
These are considered breakthroughs in the food sector, and as the first ready-to-eat series of millet products in the market, these products are expected to cater to a fast-paced consumers across the world at their convenience in a healthy way.
All the ready-to-eat products are vacuum processed and come without any additives, fillers and preservatives. The nutrition value of these foodstuffs is retained as original with a shelf-life of 12 months in ambient temperature.
APEDA is also working in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to increase cultivation area, production and productivity of millets, including bajra, jowar and ragi.
Millets are a rich source of protein, fibre, minerals, iron, calcium and have a low glycemic index and in view of the nutritional value of the millets, the government has notified millets as nutri-cereals in April, 2018. In March, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) too declared 2023 as International Year of Millets.
Production of millets in India has increased from 14.52 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 17.96 million tonnes in 2020-21 and the production of bajra has also increased from 8.07 million tonnes to 10.86 million tonnes during the same period.
Image: Wikimedia, Kalaiselvi Murugesan
