Career in Food Technology for Indian Students
Food processing includes all the work required to convert raw ingredients into edible food items or, otherwise, food into other edible forms. BE / B.Tech course of 04 years duration is conducted in Food Technology. Food technology involves chemical processes on various food items using which to make many food products marketable and useable over a long period of time.
Through food technology, clean, freshly harvested crops can be used for a long time and produce delicious, healthy, attractive and marketable food products. Food technology is being used extensively in the country and the world these days to keep the veg-non-veg foods usable for a long time. You can also do MTech in Food Technology after getting BE / BTech degree.
Although food science, food engineering and food technology are very similar to each other, they also have some special differences. A thorough study of these topics can give you accurate information about these differences.
Top Indian Recruiters for Food Technology Experts
- Dabur India
- ITC Limited
- Agro Tech Foods
- Parle Products Private Limited
- Cadbury India Limited
- Nestle India Private Limited
- PepsiCo India Holdings
- Britannia Industries Limited
- Hindustan Unilever Limited
- Godrej Industries Limited
Prominent examples of food science and technology (food products)
The following are the ones we use a lot on a daily basis:
- frozen food
- canned or canned food
- Snacks and fast food (chips, french-fries, pizza, burgers, pasta etc.)
microwave meal
- ready to eat meals
- Bottled and packaged milk (long life, skimmed, semi-skimmed etc.)
- baby food
- low fat butter
- Chocolate
- Yogurt
- Coffee (Instant and Filter; Don’t know the difference yet? Read here)
- Serials (including Serial Bars)
- Packaged juices (fruits and vegetables)
- Aerated drinks (colas), energy drinks (Gatorade, Red Bull), beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages
Core Subjects in Food Technology
Following are the specialization courses in the field of food technology:
- serials
- dairy
- alcohol
- Sugar
- Bakery & Confectionery Items
- fruits and vegetables
- Oil & Oil Seed Processing
- meat-fish
job options for food technology graduate in india
- food technologist
- nutritional therapist
- Product/Process Development Scientist
- quality manager
- regulatory affairs officer
- scientific laboratory technician
- technical brewer
Jobs where your degree would be useful:
- production manager
- purchasing manager
- Research Scientist (Life Sciences)
- toxicologist
Indian Government Jobs for Food Technology Experts
Tech graduates in food technology can get jobs in various government organizations and laboratories etc. Many firms working under the Food Corporation of India recruit graduates in this field. Initially these graduates are recruited as trainees. During the training period, they are given a salary of Rs 20,000/- per month. The duration of this training period is usually 6 months. On completion of this training, candidates are promoted to higher grades on the basis of their merit. After the training period, their salary also increases significantly. Apart from salary, they also get many perks and benefits. Graduates in food technology can also get jobs in laboratories that test the quality of food products.
Need for Food Science and Technology in India
Food or food is very necessary for all kinds of life, human beings always need food to survive. Like any place to live, clothing, education and healthcare, food is also a basic need for human beings.
Most food items are animal or organic in origin. Therefore, all the work related to processing, harvesting, distribution, storage and preparation of food items is very difficult. Food technology requires extensive knowledge and training to understand the food process and solve various problems throughout the process.
The job of food scientists is to make abundant food items safe and nutritious with innovative packaging. Therefore, Food Scientists make their significant contribution towards the best use of food resources as well as the least wastage of these resources.
Food science and food technology (read more) have led to tremendous development of food systems all over the world. Processed food items are more convenient to eat. These food items are more flavorful and healthy too.
Private jobs
Many private sector organizations recruit BTech graduates in food technology. Companies like Amul, Cadbury, Britannia, Nestle provide jobs to food technology professionals. Entry level professionals are initially given 6 months of training and after completion of training they are promoted to higher grades. During the training period, the candidates are given a salary of Rs 15,000/- per month. After the completion of the training period, the salary of the candidates is increased based on the job position of the candidates. Tech graduates in food technology can also get jobs in home catering services of food entrepreneurs.
Entrance Exams for B.Tech Career in Food Technology in India
To do B.Tech in Food Technology, the student must have passed the Higher Secondary Examination from a recognized board. After passing the 10+2 exam in India, there is a BTech of 4 years duration. The minimum age of the student should be 17 years. Students can take admission in this program only if they have passed any engineering exam like AIEEE, WBJEE, JEE, BITS etc.
CFTRI: Central Food Technological Research Institute Entrance Exam: Conducted by CFTRI, Mysore for offering admission to MSc, Food Technology courses.
IICPT: Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology Entrance Exam.
AIJEE: All India Joint Entrance Exam is conducted to admit students to B.Tech courses in Food Technology and Biochemical Science. Candidates must clear the State Joint Entrance Test (JEE) or All India Joint Entrance Examination (AIJEE) to take admission in this course.
MTech Career in Food Technology
As a minimum eligibility criterion for pursuing M.Tech in Food Technology, students must have passed Food Science/ Food Science & Technology/ Food Technology & Management/ Food Technology/ Food Process Engineering/ Food Engineering from a recognized Institute with a minimum aggregate score of 45 – 50%. / BE / B.Tech degree in Dairy Engineering / Dairy Technology / Agriculture and Food Engineering / Dairy and Food Engineering.
Career Scope in Food Technology for Indian Students
There is a huge scope for career growth in Food Technology which is detailed below:
- As organic chemists, food technologists provide information and advice on the methods by which raw food items are converted into processed food.
- As biochemists, they suggest ways to improve the flavour, texture, storage and quality of food items.
- As home economists, they specialize in dietetics and nutrition and test food and recipes according to the instructions on the containers.
- As engineers, these people work in planning, designing, improving and maintaining processing systems.
- As research scientists, these people do various experiments to improve the product, flavour, nutritional value and general acceptability of packaged food.
- As managers and accountants, these professionals perform the functions of managing administration and finances, in addition to supervising processing related tasks.
Top Indian Food Technology Educational Institutes
- Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)
- National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM)
- Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT)
- National Agricultural-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI)
- Food and Drug Toxicology Science Research Center (FDTRC)
- National Institute of Nutrition (NIN)
- Indian Institute of Toxicology (IITR)
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University
- International Life Sciences Institute – India (ILSI)
- IISER – Pune
- Bhabha Atomic Research Center
- IISc Bangalore
- National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI)
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, SNDT Women’s University
- Amrita University (Research Projects)
- Food Science and Technology Centre, Sambalpur University
- School of Life Sciences, JNU
- Department of Agriculture and Food Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
- Faculty of Food Security and Quality
- Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET)
- Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI)
- National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD)
- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)
- Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR)
- National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management (NIAM)
- Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE)
- CCS Haryana Agriculture University
- GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
- School of Health Sciences, University of Calicut
- Department of Food Process Engineering, SRM University