Current status and future prospect of Food & Beverage Biotechnology in Bangladesh
Tags: Food And Beverage, Bangladesh, Biotechnology

Food biotechnology is the use of technology to modify the genes of our food sources. Our food sources are animals, plants and microorganisms. By improvement, we mean either making the food cheaper to produce, longer lasting, more disease resistant or more nutritional. The food and beverage industry is re-discovering fermentation as a crucial step in product innovation. Fermentation can provide various benefits such as unique flavor, health and nutrition, texture and safety (shelf life), while maintaining a 100% natural label. In this review several examples are presented on how fermentation is used to replace, modify or improve current, artificially produced, foods and beverages and how also fermentation can be used for completely novel consumer products.

Fermented foods and beverages have occupied an important place in the dietary habits and the food culture of Bangladesh. Fermented foods are of great significance because they provide nutritious foods in a wide diversity of flavors, aromas, and textures that enrich the human diet. Fermented foods have also great potential in maintaining health and preventing disease. In Bangladesh, many different types of traditional fermented foods and beverages are produced at the household level: these include cereal-based fermented food , fermented fish, fermented legumes, fermented milks (ghee, lassi), alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and fermented fruits and vegetables (chutney). Most of the traditional food fermentation industries, especially in Bangladesh, are rural, seasonal, labor intensive, informal, and capital deficient. This chapter describes the traditional fermented foods and beverages of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is on of the verge of adopting genetically modified (GM) crops for commercial cultivation and consumption as feed and characterization of plants , whereas some have started GM research despite shortage of trained manpower , infrastructure ,and funding .Nutritionally improved golden rice , Bt brinjal ,and late bright resistant potato are in contained trial in glasshouses while papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) resistant papaya is under approval process for field trail.

The government has taken initiatives to support GM research which include the establishment of a biotechnology department in all relevant institutes and the formation of an apex body referred to as the national Task Force committee on biotechnology of Bangladesh (NTCBB) under the prime minister as chairperson .

Bangladesh is a promising country in south asia for biotechnology crop commercialization in the near future .It is a party to the cartagena protocol on biosafety and has developed a series of enabling and regulatory frameworks for genetically modified crops management. Research is being done on golden rice, Bt brinjal and blight resistant potato which have gone through glasshouse and two years of field trial.

Crop Biotechnology in Bangladesh :Agricultural biotechnology is one option that developing countries like Bangladesh are considering to meet the food needs ,reduce poverty and enhance environmental sustainability through improved productivity. The department of botany in Dhaka university started a program on plant biotechnology in the late 1970s with tissue culture of jute subsequently other research institutes and universities such as the Rajshahi university ,Chittagong university, Jahangirnagar university, Khulna university, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) ,Bangladesh Jute Research Institutes (BJRI), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI),Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agricultural (BINA) also went into tissue culture . They were in addition to non governmental organization (NGOs) such as the development of Biotechnology and Environmental Conservation centre(DEBTECH) and proshika .Plant tissue culture protocols on plant regeneration and micropropagation have been developed on different crops,fruit trees and vegetables and are awaiting commercial use and approval (Choudhury and Islam ,2002).

Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverage in Bangladesh :

Jilapi

Jilapi is a traditional sweet dessert of Bangladesh that is formed in crunchy, sweet, deep-fried multiple circular shapes that are soaked in sugar syrup just after frying. The popularity jilapi can be attributed to its attractive shape, crisp texture and Balaswamy et al.2012.Jilapi is prepared by mixing wheat flour with curd, adding lukewarm water to make dough ,and leaving it embroidered hole in thick and durable cotton cloth, deposited as continuous spirals into hot edible oil, and fried on both sides until, golden and crisp .After about few minutes, these are removed from oil with a sieved spatula and then submerged for several minutes in hot sugar rose scented syrup ,which saturates their hollow in sides ; Chakkaravarthi et al.Balaswamy et al.

Amriti

Amriti is a dessert popular in Bangladesh that is made by deep-frying black lentils or mung dalflour batter in a kind of circular flower shape which then soaked in essence suger syrup. This dish is not to be confused with jilapi ,which is made of comparatively thinner material and is sweeter than amariti. Black lentils or mung dal are soaked in water for a few hours , stone ground into a fine batter and put aside for a few hours, stone ground into a fine batter and put aside for a few hours .

Pauruti

Pauruti or bread is also used as a staple food in Bangladesh but it is comparatively expensive and it is essentially limited to the higher class ,althouth there is another type of cheaper bread called bonruti that is more popular among people with less income such as rickshaw pullers.There are five simple ingradients ; whole wheat flour lukewarm water ,fresh yeast,salt and a small amount of suger .All the ingredients are mixed and kept for 6–8hours ,until the dough becomes double in size ,then is poured into a box and baked in an oven .

Pantavaat

Among all the fermented cereals , pantavaat is the most popular food in Bangladesh in the mass of the people ,especially the people living in rural areas .It is prepared by soaking boiled rice generally leftover in water overnight traditionally , it is served in the morning with salt ,onion and chilli. It is also a popular dish on the day of pohela boishakh with hilsha fish,pickles ,dried processed fish. There are many variations of the dish but a common one is made by soaking cooked rice in water overnight.

Doi

Doi or curd is a popular fermented milk product of Bangladesh and is also used for the preparation of a number of other ethnic milk products such as ghee ,lassi and matha. Cow milk usually is boiled to evaporate the water ,sugar is added according to desired sweetness;waiting to lukewarm temperature is followed by adding some old doi as a source of lab and fermenting for 15 -25 hours to obtain doi .

Ghee

Ghee is a butter locally prepared from cow’s milk,with a typical flavor and aroma . The churning can be done in a number of ways. The most common and easiest method is by using a long bamboo vessel .

Lassi

In Bangladesh lassi is prepared by doi blended with chill water , sugar, and a pinch of salt .Sometimes ice cubes are mixed with it .

Matha (Buttermilk)

Buttermilk is named matha in Bangladesh. During ghee production the remaining liquid part is matha . Matha is consumed as a cooling beverage during hot days and also to overcome tiredness.

Bangla Maad

It is an alcoholic drink prepared from rice that is consumed in Bangladesh although at low frequency . Making bangla maad at home takes several days ; the necessary ingredients are glutinous rice ,all purpose flour , a yeast ball and hot water .First , glutinous rice is put into a saucepan and the rice is covered with hot water and allowed to soak for 1 h.

Tari

Palms are fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage called palm wine ,or toddy, named tari in Bangladesh. There are three types of toddy; sendy obtained from wild date palm; tari from palmyra palm and date palm and nareli from coconut palm.

Borhani

Borhani is a yogurt like beverage that is very popular in parties where very rich food is served , especially at a wedding party in Bangladesh.It is mixed with several types of spices and herbs such as ground pepper , ground mustard, mint leaves paste, coriander leaves paste, cumin seeds, green chilies, rock salt, sugar and water, followed by blending all the ingredients until they become smooth ; it is then kept in the refrigerator to chill.

In the past several years , biotechnology in the food industry has been the central theme of numerous scientific reviews, national and international symposia, and several ,major reference works. Reports of significant advances have come from the full spectrum of biotechnology research and development resources ; universities and institutes as well as genetic biotiques and large food corporations.

Future prospect: Food Biotechnology offers a large variety of new foods, and ways of producing foods in the future, such as, producing higher crop yields , plants that are naturally protected from harmful diseases and insects and possible more nutritious and better testing foods.

Technologies that improve productive efficiency will benefit both producers and consumers because feed provision constitutes a major component ( about 70% ) of farm expenditures. Advances in biotechnology research have allowed impressive improvements to be made in diagnostic approaches , increasing microbial safety of food and improving animal health .One thing is clear: The excitement and enthusiasm for biotechnology so characteristic of the pharmaceutical and medical areas in the early 1980s have now begun to hit the food industry with increasing force, and this momentum will likely establish this industry as the largest commercial arena for biotechnology .