Dr. S. Prem Mathi Maran, Founder Director and CEO of Clean Green Biosystems, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, explains the nuances of how to set up tomato processing unit.
The botanical name of tomato is Lycopersicon esculantum and family Solanaceae. The crop is widely grown all over the world, and India stands at 4th place. It is a short duration crop, suitable for any cropping system, and it is a versatile vegetable for many culinary purposes. It is consumed as salad, puree, paste, powder, ketchup, sauce, and soup. The ripened fruits are processed as pickles, chutney, and traditional cuisines too. The waste from the product can also be processed for value added products to earn additional income. Tomato is a healthy and well-balanced diet. Sugar content is 2.5%, ascorbic acid varies from 16 to 65 mg per 100 gram of fruit weight, amino acid is 100 to 350 mg per 100 g of fruit weight. The fruit is also rich in minerals, vitamins, essential amino acids, sugar, dietary fibre, Vitamin B, iron, and phosphorus. It is red in colour because of the presence of lycopene and other natural antioxidants like carotene, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, Vitamin E, phenolics, and flavonoids.
Tomato being a perishable item, processing enhances the shelf life of the product. The consumption of tomato is steadily rising since 1980s with the advent of pizza, pasta, and salsa. Any individual can start tomato processing business from home or on a small scale. Indian tomato processing market has reached US $ 1233.3 million in 2022 and is expected to reach US $ 1931.2 million by 2028. Tomato processing includes all types of value added products such as juice, puree, sauce, ketchup, and pulp. Juice and pulp are used for domestic consumption as the demand for ready-to-eat foods is increasing. The modern packaging technology with multi-layered flexible plastic packaging, tetra pack, and brick packing have a great role in the growth of tomato processing industry as it helps distribution of tomato products to remote areas too. It can be stored at room temperature for more than 4 months.
When starting any business, one should have a business plan that includes market research, business we are going to enter into, etc. We must understand the product that is in demand in the market and availability of raw materials. The location should have demand for the product we are planning to produce. It is also important to understand the products produced by other companies, price, their strategies, etc. When we are planning to start with a small capital, it is advisable to start with single product manufacturing. Once the market is established, additional products can be introduced. While starting a tomato processing industry, three major things are to be considered; a) Raw material b) Machineries and c) Manpower. Raw materials are tomato, water, spices, vinegar, sugar, and glucose are some of the raw materials we should have steady supply. The machinery needed include pulping, grinding, bottle washing, crown corking, boiler, exhaust, and processing machine. The manpower need to have skilled labour to take care of machinery, equipment handling, safety and precaution measures, and business growth.
Setting up a tomato processing industry involves registration with ROC as per the management liability and mode of operation depending on the capital investment and operation. Obtain trade license from the local authority as per the norms and conditions of the local area, open a current account in the Bank for transactions, obtain Udyog Aadhar as per MSME, obtain FSSAI license as this is a food product. The license may vary from product to product such as juice and pulp or sauce come under different categories. It is mandatory to register with GST. BIS offers different certification for standardisation of different products, such as for juice it is 3881 1966, ketchup 3882 1966, and puree 3883 1966. Tomato processing unit does not pollute the environment, but material waste like skin and seeds are the effluent which should be treated, and so it is important to get NOC from Pollution Control Department as per the local norms. If the industry is huge, we will be using boiler for heating and evaporation. So there should be a Boiler recommendation to be obtained based on the capacities. If the capacity is more than 2 ton, we have to get pollution control board approval. It is also better to have HACCP and ISO 9000 certifications to sell the product in the international market.
We must select a suitable location with levelled land, availability of water, electricity, and secured utilities. We should talk to the machinery supplier or food processing consultant who can give a full line of production machinery. We can get the machinery from the supplier which depends on the product we want to produce. Basic machinery include steam boiler, washing machine with rotatory rod, tilting tube, steam jacketed kettle, pulper, exhaust, processing tank, pasteuriser tank, bottle washing machine, vacuum filing machine, water storage cap, buckets, cutting and peeling knives. The additional machinery include SS tilting tube steam jacketed kettle of cap, washer with spray arrangement, and collection tank. We must give due consideration for raw materials such as fully grown tomato and arrange for regular supply of tomato to the factory. Redness that indicates the presence of lycopene a beneficial pigment should be on the fruits. Plant ripened fruit with uniform red colour are preferred as prolonged heating is not required and also non-reactive equipment. We have to make arrangement for supply of sugar, preservatives, salt, and spices. We should follow quality control aspects when adding preservatives.
For making juice, we should get fully ripened red colour tomato, wash, trim, steam, and crush and heat the same in the steam jacketed kettle, pass it through the pulping machine using a fine mesh sieve, heat till 85 to 99 degrees, add sugar and salt at 1% and fill in bottles, seal and sterilise them in boiling water for 30 minutes. To prepare pulp and paste, juice is further concentrated to 9 to 12% solids using a vacuum displacing setup to achieve the solid content. When the juice is passed through the spray drying system, we get tomato powder. The guidelines can be obtained from government research institutes. The percentage of soluble solids in ketchup varies from state to state and should be accordingly adhered to. The juice is further concentrated, spice, salt, sugar, and other ingredients are tied in a cloth and placed in the boiling juice, then vinegar or acetic acid are added. Puree processing is not different from ketchup. When the juice is obtained, it is concentrated under vacuum to get 9 to 12% solids. The liquid is filled in bottles with crown cork, processed in boiling water for 30 minutes and cooled. The soluble solids should be 9 to 15% in puree, filled in bottles at 82 to 88 degrees, sterilised in boiling water for 20 minutes and after cooling stored in ambient temperature.
For preparing sauce, we have to concentrate the juice under vacuum and controlled temperature, add sugar, salt, vinegar, spices, and onions as per requirement. The mixture is boiled under vacuum till it gets 12% solid and 28% total solid, it is passed through a sieve to remove fibrous and other materials. After cooling preservatives are added and sent to packing with crown corking. Pasteurisation is done at 85 to 90 degrees for 30 minutes, cooled, and stored at ambient temperature. For chutney, the fruits are washed, blanched for 2 minutes, put quickly in cold water, peeled, crushed, ingredients added, and cooked gently to get desired consistency. Salt, vinegar are added and cooked for 5 minutes, filled hot in bottles, sealed and stored in ambient temperature. This can be done as a cottage industry too. Juice should have higher solid content up to 12%, and when it becomes sauce it should be 28%. When we use low temperature method, the colour will not change, and the nutrients will not be damaged. Huge industries can use low temperature vacuum evaporation system.
When processing tomatoes, we should use only plant ripened red tomatoes. To avoid colour masking and browning due to oxidation, we should use only stainless steel 316 or other food grade equipment. The product should be quickly cooled. Proper cleaning of the fruits is essential to prevent contamination. Pasteurisation helps in preventing fermentation, black neck formation, and maintain quality. Additives handling equipment should be also stainless steel to avoid contamination.
Compliance with FPO 1955 is mandatory, and specifications such as levels of solid, sodium benzoate, acidity, water contaminations, and microbial parameters, as per FPO should be followed. Promotion and marketing are essential for success in this business. We should pay attention to packaging, reach out to the local customers, good distribution channel, supermarkets and malls are places to promote the product.
What are the legal and regulatory requirements for setting up a food processing unit? How can we source high quality tomatoes consistently? Will it be correct to grow ourselves?
Tomato processing comes under fruit and vegetables processing. The norms are different for this category. Compliance with FSSAI and FPO are the main legal criteria. We must procure from such farmers who are farming specific varieties. With higher TDS, we can get higher production using the same utilities such as steam power and man power. So if we get good quality raw materials, the business will be profitable.
Are there any energy efficient technologies available for the processing units operations? How can we measure the quality and safety of the processed tomato products? Any specific food safety standard we need to follow?
There are forced circulation evaporation systems with low temperature and vacuum. These systems are energy efficient, production volume is high, and we will get good quality product as heating is the key criterion in tomato processing. There are energy efficient systems with low temperature operations that can be used. We need to adhere to specific standards set by BIS and FSSAI. Every batch of raw material and finished product should be checked in the quality control lab. Contamination risks can be avoided by following specific procedures during processing. We can get good guidelines from FSSAI and BIS.
How can we handle waste generated during the processing? Any chances for recycling or repurposing? What are the marketing strategies that can be followed? Do we have to focus on local market or national market?
The skin and seeds from tomato processing can be value added. The skin is used for extracting lycopene, an anti-cancer medicine. Solid waste is added to animal feed as additives. Some oil can be extracted from the seeds though it is not a very viable process. We have to start with local market, then regional, national markets, and finally exports. Online marketing channel is the best one We have to give importance to labelling the medicinal benefits also so that if some claim related to the health benefit arise later, we can tackle it easily. We have to start with local market and then go further.
What quality control measures should be implemented in each stage of processing? How can we maintain consistency in taste, texture, and colour of tomato products?
Procurement of correct colour, shape, and plant ripened fruits should be done. While collection itself we can have quality control. Depending on the product, quality control parameters vary for each product. The equipment should be washed and sterilised thoroughly before starting the next production. Only stainless steel 316 machinery should be used to avoid contamination. When we use automated plants and program them, we can get continuously consistent product. If we are operating manually, there are standard operating procedures, time of stirring, vacuum usage, and steam so that the guidelines are followed in the production.
How can consider the pricing strategy for the product in relation to production and market competition?
It is better to keep the price a little less than the other companies products in the market. You will get sufficient margin for the products.
Dr.S.Prem Mathi Maran
Email : ceo@cleangreenbio.com
Tel : 8056126827
The botanical name of tomato is Lycopersicon esculantum and family Solanaceae. The crop is widely grown all over the world, and India stands at 4th place. It is a short duration crop, suitable for any cropping system, and it is a versatile vegetable for many culinary purposes. It is consumed as salad, puree, paste, powder, ketchup, sauce, and soup. The ripened fruits are processed as pickles, chutney, and traditional cuisines too. The waste from the product can also be processed for value added products to earn additional income. Tomato is a healthy and well-balanced diet. Sugar content is 2.5%, ascorbic acid varies from 16 to 65 mg per 100 gram of fruit weight, amino acid is 100 to 350 mg per 100 g of fruit weight. The fruit is also rich in minerals, vitamins, essential amino acids, sugar, dietary fibre, Vitamin B, iron, and phosphorus. It is red in colour because of the presence of lycopene and other natural antioxidants like carotene, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, Vitamin E, phenolics, and flavonoids.
Tomato being a perishable item, processing enhances the shelf life of the product. The consumption of tomato is steadily rising since 1980s with the advent of pizza, pasta, and salsa. Any individual can start tomato processing business from home or on a small scale. Indian tomato processing market has reached US $ 1233.3 million in 2022 and is expected to reach US $ 1931.2 million by 2028. Tomato processing includes all types of value added products such as juice, puree, sauce, ketchup, and pulp. Juice and pulp are used for domestic consumption as the demand for ready-to-eat foods is increasing. The modern packaging technology with multi-layered flexible plastic packaging, tetra pack, and brick packing have a great role in the growth of tomato processing industry as it helps distribution of tomato products to remote areas too. It can be stored at room temperature for more than 4 months.
When starting any business, one should have a business plan that includes market research, business we are going to enter into, etc. We must understand the product that is in demand in the market and availability of raw materials. The location should have demand for the product we are planning to produce. It is also important to understand the products produced by other companies, price, their strategies, etc. When we are planning to start with a small capital, it is advisable to start with single product manufacturing. Once the market is established, additional products can be introduced. While starting a tomato processing industry, three major things are to be considered; a) Raw material b) Machineries and c) Manpower. Raw materials are tomato, water, spices, vinegar, sugar, and glucose are some of the raw materials we should have steady supply. The machinery needed include pulping, grinding, bottle washing, crown corking, boiler, exhaust, and processing machine. The manpower need to have skilled labour to take care of machinery, equipment handling, safety and precaution measures, and business growth.
Setting up a tomato processing industry involves registration with ROC as per the management liability and mode of operation depending on the capital investment and operation. Obtain trade license from the local authority as per the norms and conditions of the local area, open a current account in the Bank for transactions, obtain Udyog Aadhar as per MSME, obtain FSSAI license as this is a food product. The license may vary from product to product such as juice and pulp or sauce come under different categories. It is mandatory to register with GST. BIS offers different certification for standardisation of different products, such as for juice it is 3881 1966, ketchup 3882 1966, and puree 3883 1966. Tomato processing unit does not pollute the environment, but material waste like skin and seeds are the effluent which should be treated, and so it is important to get NOC from Pollution Control Department as per the local norms. If the industry is huge, we will be using boiler for heating and evaporation. So there should be a Boiler recommendation to be obtained based on the capacities. If the capacity is more than 2 ton, we have to get pollution control board approval. It is also better to have HACCP and ISO 9000 certifications to sell the product in the international market.
We must select a suitable location with levelled land, availability of water, electricity, and secured utilities. We should talk to the machinery supplier or food processing consultant who can give a full line of production machinery. We can get the machinery from the supplier which depends on the product we want to produce. Basic machinery include steam boiler, washing machine with rotatory rod, tilting tube, steam jacketed kettle, pulper, exhaust, processing tank, pasteuriser tank, bottle washing machine, vacuum filing machine, water storage cap, buckets, cutting and peeling knives. The additional machinery include SS tilting tube steam jacketed kettle of cap, washer with spray arrangement, and collection tank. We must give due consideration for raw materials such as fully grown tomato and arrange for regular supply of tomato to the factory. Redness that indicates the presence of lycopene a beneficial pigment should be on the fruits. Plant ripened fruit with uniform red colour are preferred as prolonged heating is not required and also non-reactive equipment. We have to make arrangement for supply of sugar, preservatives, salt, and spices. We should follow quality control aspects when adding preservatives.
For making juice, we should get fully ripened red colour tomato, wash, trim, steam, and crush and heat the same in the steam jacketed kettle, pass it through the pulping machine using a fine mesh sieve, heat till 85 to 99 degrees, add sugar and salt at 1% and fill in bottles, seal and sterilise them in boiling water for 30 minutes. To prepare pulp and paste, juice is further concentrated to 9 to 12% solids using a vacuum displacing setup to achieve the solid content. When the juice is passed through the spray drying system, we get tomato powder. The guidelines can be obtained from government research institutes. The percentage of soluble solids in ketchup varies from state to state and should be accordingly adhered to. The juice is further concentrated, spice, salt, sugar, and other ingredients are tied in a cloth and placed in the boiling juice, then vinegar or acetic acid are added. Puree processing is not different from ketchup. When the juice is obtained, it is concentrated under vacuum to get 9 to 12% solids. The liquid is filled in bottles with crown cork, processed in boiling water for 30 minutes and cooled. The soluble solids should be 9 to 15% in puree, filled in bottles at 82 to 88 degrees, sterilised in boiling water for 20 minutes and after cooling stored in ambient temperature.
For preparing sauce, we have to concentrate the juice under vacuum and controlled temperature, add sugar, salt, vinegar, spices, and onions as per requirement. The mixture is boiled under vacuum till it gets 12% solid and 28% total solid, it is passed through a sieve to remove fibrous and other materials. After cooling preservatives are added and sent to packing with crown corking. Pasteurisation is done at 85 to 90 degrees for 30 minutes, cooled, and stored at ambient temperature. For chutney, the fruits are washed, blanched for 2 minutes, put quickly in cold water, peeled, crushed, ingredients added, and cooked gently to get desired consistency. Salt, vinegar are added and cooked for 5 minutes, filled hot in bottles, sealed and stored in ambient temperature. This can be done as a cottage industry too. Juice should have higher solid content up to 12%, and when it becomes sauce it should be 28%. When we use low temperature method, the colour will not change, and the nutrients will not be damaged. Huge industries can use low temperature vacuum evaporation system.
When processing tomatoes, we should use only plant ripened red tomatoes. To avoid colour masking and browning due to oxidation, we should use only stainless steel 316 or other food grade equipment. The product should be quickly cooled. Proper cleaning of the fruits is essential to prevent contamination. Pasteurisation helps in preventing fermentation, black neck formation, and maintain quality. Additives handling equipment should be also stainless steel to avoid contamination.
Compliance with FPO 1955 is mandatory, and specifications such as levels of solid, sodium benzoate, acidity, water contaminations, and microbial parameters, as per FPO should be followed. Promotion and marketing are essential for success in this business. We should pay attention to packaging, reach out to the local customers, good distribution channel, supermarkets and malls are places to promote the product.
What are the legal and regulatory requirements for setting up a food processing unit? How can we source high quality tomatoes consistently? Will it be correct to grow ourselves?
Tomato processing comes under fruit and vegetables processing. The norms are different for this category. Compliance with FSSAI and FPO are the main legal criteria. We must procure from such farmers who are farming specific varieties. With higher TDS, we can get higher production using the same utilities such as steam power and man power. So if we get good quality raw materials, the business will be profitable.
Are there any energy efficient technologies available for the processing units operations? How can we measure the quality and safety of the processed tomato products? Any specific food safety standard we need to follow?
There are forced circulation evaporation systems with low temperature and vacuum. These systems are energy efficient, production volume is high, and we will get good quality product as heating is the key criterion in tomato processing. There are energy efficient systems with low temperature operations that can be used. We need to adhere to specific standards set by BIS and FSSAI. Every batch of raw material and finished product should be checked in the quality control lab. Contamination risks can be avoided by following specific procedures during processing. We can get good guidelines from FSSAI and BIS.
How can we handle waste generated during the processing? Any chances for recycling or repurposing? What are the marketing strategies that can be followed? Do we have to focus on local market or national market?
The skin and seeds from tomato processing can be value added. The skin is used for extracting lycopene, an anti-cancer medicine. Solid waste is added to animal feed as additives. Some oil can be extracted from the seeds though it is not a very viable process. We have to start with local market, then regional, national markets, and finally exports. Online marketing channel is the best one We have to give importance to labelling the medicinal benefits also so that if some claim related to the health benefit arise later, we can tackle it easily. We have to start with local market and then go further.
What quality control measures should be implemented in each stage of processing? How can we maintain consistency in taste, texture, and colour of tomato products?
Procurement of correct colour, shape, and plant ripened fruits should be done. While collection itself we can have quality control. Depending on the product, quality control parameters vary for each product. The equipment should be washed and sterilised thoroughly before starting the next production. Only stainless steel 316 machinery should be used to avoid contamination. When we use automated plants and program them, we can get continuously consistent product. If we are operating manually, there are standard operating procedures, time of stirring, vacuum usage, and steam so that the guidelines are followed in the production.
How can consider the pricing strategy for the product in relation to production and market competition?
It is better to keep the price a little less than the other companies products in the market. You will get sufficient margin for the products.
Dr.S.Prem Mathi Maran
Email : ceo@cleangreenbio.com
Tel : 8056126827