Flavour and fragrance research institute to come up in Deoghar
The Jharkhand Cabinet has approved 10 acre in Deoghar for a research and development centre and 20 acre in Godda for an extension centre as part of its initiative to set up a flavour and fragrance research unit in the state.
The Jharkhand Cabinet has approved 10 acre in Deoghar for a research and development centre and 20 acre in Godda for an extension centre as part of its initiative to set up a flavour and fragrance research unit in the state.
On the request of the state government, the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) had prepared a plan to set up the institute based on the suggestions given by the Fragrance and Flavor Development Centre (FFDC) in Kannauj (UP).
“The project is all about studying crop pattern and identifying naturally available plants with elements of fragrance,” said SV Shukla, director, FFDC.
As part of the project, the FFDC has suggested plantation of menthol mint, palmarosa, French basil, lemongrass and vetiver taking into account the total yield, plantation costs, market rates and profits per acre.
K Ravikumar, director (industries), said the state allotted land for the Union government-funded project after a demand by the MSME. The outcome of the research will be applied in production and marketing thereafter, he added.
The idea of the flavour and fragrance research institute was conceived about four years back when Dhirendra Kumar, retired Indian Forest Service officer and a special officer in the state industries department, shared his views with R Ramani, the former managing director of Indian Institute of Natural Resins & Gums (IINRG).
The duo took up the matter at various forums and threw light on locally available flora having fragrance. The MSME finally showed interest in the project last year, which is taking shape now.
Throwing light on Lac and how it is related to flavour and fragrance, Ramani, now officer on special duty (OSD) of the proposed Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Hazaribagh, said perfume is a combination of several chemicals. The French used Lac to produce perfumes from aleuritic acids derived from its resin, he added.
“Chemicals like ambrettolide and iso- ambrettolide derived from Lac could be put to use for manufacturing perfumes and flavours,” he said.