Kerala Agricultural University scientist bags ICAR fellowship

Thrissur: Dr K. P. Sudheer has become the first scientist from Kerala Agricultural Unversity to get Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) national fellowship. A professor at College of Horticulture at Vellanikkara under KAU, he received the recognition for his research on 'safety and quality of high hydrostatic pressure processed fruits and vegetables’. The fellowship consists of a research grant of Rs 5 crore to help standardise the processing techniques for the minimally processed tropical fruits like jackfruit and pineapple.

High hydrostatic pressure as a minimal thermal technology is a valuable tool for safe and shelf-stable food production. This novel technology has enormous potential in the food industry, controlling food spoilage, improving food safety and extending product shelf life while retaining the characteristics of fresh, preservative-free, minimally processed fruits and vegetables.   It can be used as a remedy for high wastage of indigenous fruits and vegetables, KAU officials said. Credited with developing many innovative process protocols and food processing machinery to cater to the needs of the emerging food processing sector, he recently received state government’s Krishi Vigyan award for the best agricultural scientist.