Water- As A Food Processing Ingredient

Food and food processing industry is a growing market in agrarian economies across the globe.

- Mr. Bridreth Khokhare

Water is an important component of the food processing industry as it is not only present in all foods; it is also extensively used in most food plants as a processing aid as well as an agent for cleaning operations. Water is used in rinsing, dissolving, dispersing, separating and other processes within the food industry.

Given the strict food safety standards that producers within the food industry must adhere to, the use of water is also monitored under strict parameters to ensure purity of water. As per the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines, water is tested along various parameters, including colour, odour, pH, taste, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), heavy metals present, total plate counts (TPC), pesticide residues, chlorides, fluorides, etc.

Sources and criteria of usable water:

Water used in the food industry is primarily of two types - fresh surface water and ground water. Surface water is procured from rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and may have higher levels of suspended materials, turbidity, temperature fluctuations and pesticide residues. Ground water, on the other hand, may have higher levels of heavy metal and mineral content.