Spices are high value export oriented crops extensively used for flavouring food and beverages, medicines, cosmetics, perfumery etc. India produces more than 65 varieties of spices out of the 109 varieties listed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and is the leading producer, consumer and exporter of spices. Spices are known for their intrinsic quality which has several commercial applications. Primary processing operations are of utmost importance for production of safe and quality spices at farm level. With secondary agriculture being the buzz word of today, value addition, product diversification and by-product utilisation are key requirements for success. Realizing the importance of processing and value addition in spices, Indian Institute of Spices Research has established an “Advanced Facility for Post-Harvest Technology on Spices” which was inaugurated by Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR on 22 December, 2018 to gear up research on processing, food safety and value addition of spices. It is also envisaged to encourage entrepreneurship in this sector by extending incubation facility to young entrepreneurs and startups.
- Facilities for primary and secondary processing of spices
- Value addition and product diversification
- Facilities for food safety and quality analysis
- Training, Capacity building and Entrepreneurship development
I. Spice Processing Facility at ICAR-IISR, Experimental Farm,Peruvannamuzhi, Kozhikode established during 2014 with funding from National Agricultural Innovation Project, ICAR, New Delhi
The facility is equipped with three units –
a) Black pepper cleaning cum grading unit with a capacity of 200kg/h
- Black pepper cleaner with aspirator, destoner and grader
- Spiral Separator
- Metal detector
- Grader
b) White Pepper production unit with a capacity of 250kg/h
- Grader for green pepper
- Mechanical washer
- Fermentation tank
- Pulper cum washer
c) Curry powder production unit with a capacity of 100 kg/h
- Rotary drier
- Drum roaster
- Plate crusher
- Micro pulveriser
- Ribbon blender
- Vibratory sifter
- Automatic filling machine
- Continuous band sealer
II. Agro Processing Centre for Cardamom and Black pepper Processing at ICAR-IISR, Regional Station, Appangala, Kodagu, Karnataka established during 2017 with funding under Consortia Research Project on Secondary Agriculture, ICAR, New Delhi.
Agro Processing Centreis equipped with facilities for primary processing of cardamom and black pepper. The facility is housed with following equipments.
Equipments for primary processing of cardamom
Cardamom washer
Cardamom dryer
Cardamom polisher
Cardamom grader
Continuous band sealer
Weighing machine
Equipments for primary processing of black pepper
- Thresher
- Cleaner cum grader
- Spiral separator
III. Spice Processing Facility at ICAR-IISR, Headquarters,Chelavoor, Kozhikode, Kerala established during 2019 with funding from Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala.
The facility is equipped with the state of the art facility for processing a wide array of value added products like jam, squash, candy, dehydrated flaked products and confectionary items. This facility was inaugurated by Adv. V.S Sunil Kumar, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala on 1st July 2020. The facility is housed with following equipments.
- Ginger washer cum peeler
- Ginger slicer
- Single screw extruder
- Fruit Pulper
- Fruit mill
- Colloidal mill
- Boiling vessel
- Sautiner
- Thermic fluid boiler
- Pickle blender
- Semi solid dozer
- Dough Mixing Unit
- Baking oven
- Tray drier
- Sealing machine
IV. ICAR-IISR has also ventured into the application of solar energy for spice processing using the following equipmentsat ICAR-IISR, Experimental Farm, Peruvannamuzhi
- Concentrated solar thermal curing unit for turmeric
- Tray type solar cabinet dryer
- Solar tunnel dryer
Value addition and product diversification Technologies developed optimized and commercialized
I. Spice mix as an adjuvant for milk and milk products ( Commercialised)
A novel spice mix formulation with enhanced bio-available active ingredients has been developed at the institute. The key ingredients of this spice mix are Turmeric, Ginger and Cinnamon. This technology has been finetuned and transferred to MILMA for its commercialistaion. The products were launched under the names Golden Milk and Golden Milk Mix and has been widely accepted by the consumers by virtue of its nutritional benefits.
II. Black Pepper based value added products
- White pepper
- Black pepper powder
- Pepper in brine
III. Ginger based value added products
- Dry ginger
- Ginger flakes
- Ginger squash
- Ginger RTS
- Ginger candy
IV. Turmeric based value added products
- Turmeric powder
V. Nutmeg based products
- Nutmeg rind jam
- Nutmeg rind squash
- Nutmeg rind candy
- Nutmeg rind pickle
- Dehydrated rind
VI. Spice based confectionary items
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Bread.
Facilities for Food safety and quality analysis Quality evaluation and pesticide residue analysis of spices is extensively done using the following facilities at the centre-
Gas Chromatography: For analysis of fatty acids, terpenes, etc.
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS): For identification of essential oil components and other volatile compounds
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): For quantification of flavonoids, phenolic acids, piperine, curcumin, sugars etc.
Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LCMS): For identification of pesticide residues in spices Training, Capacity building and Entrepreneurship development Training domains include:
Primary processing of spices
Secondary processing and value addition
Handholding startup entrepreneurs
Quality analysis of spices
Machinery suppliers
Brochures and Bulletins
Links to other important website
Entrepreneurs associated with us
Photo gallery
Video gallery
Success stories
Incubatees who have signed MoUs with ICAR-IISR
Till date, 09 startups and 2 organisations have entered into MoUs with the centre.
| Sl.No | Incubatees |
| Entrepreneurs | |
| 1. | M/s SUBICSHA Coconut Producer Company Limited |
| 2. | M/s Abhiruchi Foods Pvt. Ltd. |
| 3. | M/s Malu’s Pure Food Mix |
| 4. | M/s Mannil Spices, Perambra |
| 5. | M/s Innofarm, Koodaranhi, Kozhikode |
| 6. | M/s Chakkittappara Service Cooperative Bank, Kozhikode |
| 7. | Alagappanagar Co-operative Consortium, Alagappanagar, Amballur, Thrissur |
| 8. | Pepper Trail Trading Private Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka |
| 9. | Al Dina Home Made, Mukkam, Kozhikode |
| Organisations | |
| 1. | Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organization Ltd. (KITCO) |
| 2. | Central Arecanut & Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Limited “CAMPCO”, Mangalore |
