FRONT PAGE | Monday, November 23, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Mutton sandwiches to boost jawans’ menu
Kestur Vasuki | Mysore
DFRL develops item with one-year shelf life for armed forces
If you are a jawan posted at high altitudes or in Rajasthan desert and fond of eating mouth-watering mutton sandwiches, don’t worry, you will get it.
The Army has decided to include thermally processed mutton sandwiches on the menu for jawans. What you need to do is to grab one, heat it and relish it.
The food product was developed by the Mysore-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), a subsidiary of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and has a shelf life of over one year. The mutton sandwich — the latest from the DFRL’s sophisticated R&D kitchen using the latest technology — is going to boost the spirits of Armymen guarding the nation’s boundaries.
The product has been developed keeping in mind the nutritional needs of jawans who are working in inhospitable terrains. Although it has been prepared exclusively for the armed forces, the agency is open to transfer of the technology, at a later stage, to enterprises so that public can relish it or preserve it for long.
Talking to The Pioneer, Director of DFRL, Dr AS Bawa said the mutton sandwich with long shelf life is available for the armed forces. “We have developed this unique food product from our hi-tech kitchen. It’s a ready-to-eat and nutritious item that can be consumed at any given weather condition,” said Bawa.
The DFRL was established in 1961 under the DRDO to develop high quality, light-weight food items for the Defence and paramilitary forces. The DFRL has also designed and supplied rations for Antarctica, mountaineering and rowing expeditions and also Indo-Soviet space missions.
According to Bawa, the DFRL has also designed and developed appetisers to overcome the high altitude problems for jawans. “Loss of appetite is a problem on exposure to high altitude areas. There may be lack of appetite in several individuals to due to psychophysiological reasons as well. We have developed appetisers which generate appetite by increasing the saliva secretion and also improving the gastric response as well as the hormonal stimulation,” said Bawa. The appetisers include instant ginger munch, fruit munch, lemon munch and jeera munch. During Kargil War, the DFRL played a major role in supplying de-hydrated food to the jawans.
Apart from ready-to-eat ration, short-term preserved chapatis, flavoured rotis, puff-and-serve chapatis, aloo-paranthas, nutria-food bar, chikki, compressed cereal bar, variety of biscuits, pre-cooked dehydrated pulav, upma, dal curry, mutton pulav and many processed food items have been developed by the DFRL for the Defence needs. The institute has also transferred technology to the private players for the benefit civilians.
According to Bawa, the DFRL has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop food for the Moon Mission. “We have had several rounds of discussions with the ISRO to develop space food for Indian astronauts who will be part of the country’s space mission. We have the expertise and technology to develop state-of-the-art space food for our astronauts. The project is in progress. We had developed food for astronaut Rakesh Sharma during the Indo-Soviet mission,” said Bawa.
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