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ICT, Trilok Food startup plan to serve RTE packets to Covid-19 centres
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Saturday, 25 July, 2020, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ranjana Sharma, Mumbai
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In order to serve quality and hygienic ready-to-eat food (RTE) packets to Covid-19 isolation centres amidst the pandemic, a startup plan is underway in Maharashtra’s Satara district by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai, and Trilok Food India, under public-private partnership (PPP) model. The plan would also help in reducing food wastage.
The startup plan is led by Gaurang Kotnis, food technologist and managing partner of Trilok Food India. Kotnis explained, “It is safe, clean and green process without using chemicals & preservatives to make novel and affordable products with complete utilisation of fruits & vegetables used as raw material.”
He added, “We are planning to enter in Metro cities in the next three months to cater customised solutions in RTE segment”.
Chips in, Smita Lele, a food tech engineer, professor and director, Marathwada off campus at Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai: “The startup initiative was established three years ago with an intent to provide quality and hygienic RTE snacks and staples for mobile consumers, particularly those who do not have the access to home-cooked foods due to hectic lifestyles”.
She stated, “The manufacturing facility situated near Satara has a capacity of processing 1.5 tonne of food each day and is equipped with requisite technology that produces ISO 22000 certified products.”
Lele said, “The startup was working with 80 farmers in Satara who are paid assured prices and not like most companies offering a fixed contract to farmers, Trilok provides assured prices irrespective of market fluctuations. Trilok Food also lets farmers sell their produce directly in the market if they get a better price, so farmers have a lot of freedom”.
Adding further, Kotnis said, “Main idea (is) to reduce food wastage and give fair prices to farmers for locally grown vegetables.
He stated, “In current Covid situation, in most isolation centres, there is no fixed head count and the number of food consumers varies every day. If fresh food is cooked, it either falls short or there is excess which gets wasted. Also few complaints received from existing vendors or NGO for bad quality and hygiene issues to government officials”.
Kotnis concluded, “Currently we are serving almost 1,000 daily meals and breakfast at three isolation centres at Pune and supply of khichdi to emergency service workers in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur Districts. Soon we are going to supply packets in Mumbai also”.
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