CSIR to help preserve sugarcane juice for 3-5 months

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has come up with a technology that can help preserve sugarcane juice for 3-5 months, opening up the possibilities of commercially exploiting it as a beverage.
India is one of the leading producers of sugarcane in the world.
Sugarcane juice has low glycemic index due to the presence of complex sugars and hence it is also good for even diabetic population. However its consumption is limited to roadside crushers and only in a specific season, a senior CSIR scientist said.
The presence of bacteria and yeast in the sugarcane juice causes quick fermentation, making it unfit to compete in the massive Indian beverage market, said Alok Dhawan, Director of Lucknow-based CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), which is spearheading the mission.

He said, it was the industry that first approached the IITR to come up with such a technology to optimise the yield.
"By making sugarcane juice fit for consumption for three to five months from the date of manufacture, given its popularity to beat the heat, it is expected to become multi-crore industry, directly benefitting the farmers," Dhawan added.

Elaborating on the technology, Dutta said bacteria is a major culprit that leads to fermentation of sugarcane juice when it is extracted.
"We treat the sugarcane with very light electricity current and this helps in killing the bacteria. The long term plan is to make it run on solar so it becomes cost-effective," he added.

In comparison to other beverages sugarcane juice is loaded with abundant carbohydrates, proteins and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium, and vitamins A, B-complex, and C, Dhavan said.
The nutrients of this juice strengthen liver, which is useful during jaundice. Unlike other sweet drinks, which hurt teeth, sugarcane contains a host of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which help build your teeth enamel, he added
Apart from IITR, six other laboratories of CSIR have come together to work in a mission mode in three focus areas, namely milk and beverages, edible oils and food storage.
"Scientists from different disciplines, for example, physics, chemistry, economics, psychology, biology, don't often get the opportunity to mingle and put their collective wisdom together. This exercise is a classic example where brains from different streams have come together to make this a mission, Girish Sahni, Director General, CSIR, said.