Defence laboratory ramps up production to two tonnes a day

: The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in the city — which is supplying ready-to-eat (RTE) food to the flood victims in Jammu and Kashmir — has been asked to continue its production process till further notice.

The laboratory, which dispatched five tonnes of food early last week and is ready with another six tonnes for airlifting, has put all its research and development (R&D) staff in to the production and packaging process.

Addressing a press meet DFRL Director Harsha Vardhan Batra said here on Saturday that the institute’s production capacity of nearly two tonnes per day was being harnessed to the fullest capacity to meet the exigencies. Keeping in view the different dietary pattern of the people of that State, there is emphasis on dal, curry and chapatis, Dr. Batra said.

In addition to these, the DFRL’s energy bars, which provide sufficient calories to ward off hunger, are also being dispatched.

“The RTE products with long shelf life are nutritionally adequate, typically suited to the north Indian palate and the packaging is such that it can withstand airdropping,” Dr. Batra said. It does not go bad even if the box falls into water, he added.

The first batch of nearly five tonnes was airlifted on September 9 and was distributed by the Indian Air Force personnel by the evening of September 10, according to Dr. Batra. The laboratory was using machinery meant for demonstration and research for producing the RTE food. “The emergency production capability of the laboratory has been upgraded to produce two tonnes of food products per day,” said Dr. Batra.

The cost of production does not amount to much as the DFRL was using its installed machinery and laboratory and has put its staff on special duty to cater to the calamity. “The cost of a packaged meal would cost about Rs. 20, though it is distributed for free,” according to Dr. Batra.

The laboratory is poised for expansion and a new campus, housing state-of-the-art machinery for testing and experiment, will be established on land measuring 18 acres at Hebbal. “The blueprint for the laboratory is ready and the land has also been acquired and fenced. We are awaiting the release of funds from the government to ramp up the facilities,” Dr. Batra said.