5 - Processing of Grain Sorghum: Technology Choices and Limitations

Summary

Food processing in all the sectors involves the conversion of raw material into a finished end-product of higher value to consumer. In some situations, processing is a one-step conversion of raw material to a consumer product. The history of food processing emphasises on establishing and maintaining microbial safety, as well as economic shelf-life of the food. All developments in food processing have similar origins. One common aspect is achieving and maintaining microbial safety in the product. Food processing methods are used worldwide as they improve nutritional quality of the grains, digestibility, and shelf-life. Food processing operations mainly involves primary and secondary processing steps.

Primary processing is a crucial step to maintain the quality of grain, which is a vital consideration in ultimately ensuring the quality of processed foods. In this process, stones, sand, dust, hay, glumes, animal excreta, and other foreign matter are removed. Grading and sorting are usually employed that aid in the removal of oversize, undersize, immature or poor quality grains. Secondary processing is a set of operations, wherein the processed raw material obtained after primary treatment is converted into ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) products. These finished products minimise the cooking time and are used as convenience foods.

Sorghum, the indigenous millet, is a traditional staple food in Africa, India, and other Asian countries. The consumption pattern of sorghum is quite traditional, and sorghum is not available as commercially processed food in the Indian market. This is due to lack of processing technologies, inavailability of machinery, and inconsistent grain availability. In semi-arid regions, dehulling and milling are done by hand pounding, and unfermented baked food and fermented food are used to prepare sorghum-based food.