Focusing on Building Blocks of Life
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Indians should consume 0.8 to 1 gm protein per kg of body weight per day to meet their basic nutritional needs. The situation, however, is different.
India is home to 32 per cent of the world's stunted children, totalling around 46.6 million. Furthermore, 84 per cent of India's vegetarian population is protein insufficient, resulting in a slew of health issues. Furthermore, malnutrition is responsible for roughly 66 per cent of India's 1.04 million child fatalities under the age of five, according to Protein Paradox.
Malnutrition as well as micronutrient deficiencies can be reduced by increasing the consumption of pulses and cereals, milk and milk products, animal sources such as eggs, fish, and meat, and other sources of protein. Cereals are a moderate source of protein as they contain only about 10 per cent protein. However, in the Indian diet, they are the major source of protein as per the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), 2011-2012.
Soyabean, a cereal, is one of the very few plants that provide a high-quality protein with minimum saturated fat. It contains all the three macronutrients required for good nutrition, as well as fibre, vitamins, minerals. Soyabeans have almost 40 per cent protein, making them higher in protein than any other legumes and many animal products. Soya protein provides all the essential amino acids in the amounts needed for human health. Protein in just 250 grams of soybean is equivalent to protein in 3 liters of milk or 1 kg of mutton or 24 eggs. The quality of soya protein is virtually equivalent in quality to that of milk and egg protein.
Here exists a huge opportunity for soya food processing and utilisation in India.
According to Research and Markets, the soya protein industry of India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8 per cent from 2022 to
2027 to capture the value of $478.7 million by 2027. The application of soya protein across the food industry shares the highest market share. In the last few years, consuming proteinrich food in daily diets has increased in India.
Growing soya protein-based food manufacturers in the country consider this an opportunity and plan to expand the soya protein products range. The country's beverage industry has changed significantly since last decade with rising consumers preferring juices, flavoured and carbonated water containing healthy and natural ingredients. Such a trend has led to the evergrowing application of soya protein across the beverage industry.
The know-how for food processing is very low. Hence, there are not many local key soya protein players in India. Also, the policy and regulation with respect to the soya protein application across various industry segments have not been strictly defined, which hinders the market growth. However, all these issues need the attention from the regulators in coming years and will aid in the rapid market expansion.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has already published seven Indian Standards for soya products. Considering the growth of the soya products market in India, BIS is developing new Indian Standards for soya products covering new products namely Doc. No. FAD 16 (19026) C – Draft Indian Standard Soy Curd — Specification; Doc. No. FAD 16 (19046) C – Draft Indian Standard Soya Nuggets — Specification; Soya Based Extruded Snacks – Specification; Soya Chakka and Soya Shrikhand – Specification; Soya Muffins – Specification; Soya Sattu – Specification; Soya Biscuits – Specification and Tofu (Soya Paneer) – Specification.
Implementation and certification of the Indian standards on soya products will aid in integrating soya products into the Indian diet. Thus, enhanced quality and safety of the soya products will benefit the producer by commanding better prices and the end consumers will receive safe products enhancing overall public health.