Young Kashmiri scientist’s date with natural food preservation

Lassipora: One fine morning in 2008, Javid Ahmad Dar, a post-doc in Biotechnology observed his mother drying the vegetables under the genial rays of autumn sun following age-old conservative methods.

It was at this point the thought of preserving the vegetables using modern scientific techniques crossed the mind of the young scientist.

Dar, a resident of Darbagh, a somnolent village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district pursued a postdoctoral programme in the United States after completing his PhD from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

As he began working on extending the shelf life of vegetables, the scene of his mother using traditional ways of preserving the vegetables played before his eyes like something running on a screen.

A host of scientific techniques are employed in preserving processed foods and other eatables.

However, according to Dar, such techniques involve the use of a chemical preservative called Sodium Benzoate.

Researchers around the world have raised concerns over the safety of the chemical.

“An increased concentration of the chemical can prove to be very harmful,” says Dar.

After some 8 years, Dar came up with the technique of preserving vegetables and other food items organically.

“I have interned with many companies in the US and gained good expertise in drug discovery, food processing and preservation, and tissue culture. I take their guidance in developing the technique,” he said.

Upon his return, he immediately set up a food processing unit – Khorasan High-tech Food Processing Industry – in Pulwama’s bustling Lassipora industrial complex.

“We process our products in natural ways using modern scientific procedure,” Dar says.

Dar processes at least 50 products in his unit ranging from different types of pickles, and jams to murabas.

He claims to have for the first time manufactured the apple pickle at the commercial level.

The pickle has also come to the rescue of apple cultivators as Dar procures copious quantities of C-grade apples to make the pickle.

“Last year we utilised at least 300 quintals of such apple, but this year we are planning to procure more,” Dar says.

At present, more than 50 people are directly or indirectly relying on Dar’s processing unit for their livelihood.

He has formed multiple groups of women in his village who help him in the cleaning process.

“These women are indirectly associated with the unit. They help in removing the soil, waxes, and other things attached to the surface of the vegetables,” he says.

The annual turnover of Dar touched Rs 1.5 crore last year.

Dar has made his products available at all crucial points across Kashmir.

The juice junctions at famous holidaying resorts like Gulmarg and Pahalgam also sell their products.

Dar claims to have left a lucrative teaching job in Saudi Arabia to start his business.

“It was not only about extending the shelf life of products by natural scientific means but also about my urge to launch a startup,” he says.

Dar says that the start-up ecosystem was thriving and it was the era of startups.

“The young educated youth should not waste their energy after government jobs. There is an array of opportunities in the entrepreneurial sector,” he says.