Infrastructure Factilities
The NIFTEM-T is located at a distance of 2 km from the Thanjavur new bus terminus, 8 km from Thanjavur Railway Station and 50 km from Trichirappalli Airport and 300 km from Chennai. NIFTEM-T has created world class research laboratories in its main campus at Thanjavur for conducting research in different areas of food processing technologies. NIFTEM-T and its scientists are experts in different field of food processing. The institute has world class teaching and research facilities. The current facilities in the institute include the following:
Teaching Laboratories
o Unit Operations Lab
o Engineering Properties Lab
o Heat Transfer Lab
o Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Lab
o Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Lab
o Strength of Materials Lab
o Crop Process Engineering Lab
o Spices Process Engineering Lab
o Theory of Machines and Engineering Mechanics Lab
o Food Engineering Lab
o Manufacturing Practices Lab
o Electrical Engineering Lab
o Electronics and Instrumentation Lab
o Food Packaging Lab
o Food Chemistry and Safety Lab
o Dairy and Meat Sciences Lab
o Basic Sciences Lab
o Computer Lab
o Communications Lab
· State of Art R&D Laboratories
o Food Science and Product Development Laboratory
o Food Microbiology Laboratory
o NABL Food Analysis Laboratory
o Food Packaging and storage laboratory
o ISO certified Food Processing Business cum Training Incubation Centre
o Image processing laboratory
o Soft X-ray laboratory
o Acoustics Resonance laboratory
o Modern Bakery Unit
o Food Engineering Workshop
· Bulk Storage Facilities
· Knowledge Centre and Computing Facilities
Departments
Department of Food Process Engineering
The Department of Food Process Engineering focuses on advancing the science and technology of food processing through engineering solutions. The Department offers MTech & PhD (Food Technology) in Food Process Engineering. This department is responsible for developing innovative solutions to improve the safety, quality, and sustainability of food products, design of processing lines, and overall process control. The department’s activities focus on education, research and development, consultancy, capacity building and industry collaboration. To support this mandate, currently, the Department of Food Process Engineering at NIFTEM-T has the following unique Facilities and Centres: • Centre of Excellence in Grain Sciences: State-of-the-art facility equipped with pilot-scale grain milling lines, and a strong knowledge base for grain quality evaluation and primary processing of cereals, pulses, millets and oilseeds, supported by faculty with different subject expertise. • Workshop and Fabrication Unit: Supports the design and development of food processing machinery, sensing units, gadgets for on-farm processing and customized machinery; • Computational Modeling and Nanoscale Processing Unit: Hi-end research facility housing sophisticated instrumentation for nanomaterial characterization, microfluidics, micro and nano encapsulation, and computational modeling of food processing operations. Further, the Department has many fully equipped teaching laboratories for courses related to core food process engineering, like engineering properties of materials, computer aided design, unit operations in food processing, heat and mass transfer, fluid mechanics, spice processing, basic engineering, etc.
Department of Food Process Technology
The Department of Food Process Technology at NIFTEM-Thanjavur is dedicated to advancing food processing innovations through cutting-edge research, academic excellence, and industry collaboration. The department plays a pivotal role in developing sustainable, efficient, and technology-driven solutions to enhance food quality, safety, and shelf life while ensuring minimal nutrients loss and resource utilization. The department offers MTech (Food Technology) and PhD (Food Technology) programmes in the field of Food Process Technology, providing students with in-depth knowledge, hands-on experience, and research opportunities in the emerging areas of food processing technology. Additionally, the department conducts specialized training programmes and high-end workshops in Non-thermal Food Processing and Sensory Sciences to enhance industry knowledge and skill development. These include one-day and one-week training sessions designed for professionals, researchers, and entrepreneurs seeking expertise in advanced food processing techniques and sensory evaluation. With a strong emphasis on research, education, and industry-driven solutions, the Department of Food Process Technology at NIFTEM-Thanjavur is committed to shaping the future of food processing and ensuring global food security through technological advancements. The department houses two specialized research and innovation hubs:
Centre of Excellence in Non-thermal Food Processing This Centre is at the forefront of developing advanced Non-thermal food processing technologies, such as pulsed electric field processing, high-pressure processing, UV, Pulsed light, ultrasound, and cold plasma. These innovative food processing techniques help retain nutritional integrity, improve food safety, and enhance product quality while minimizing thermal degradation. This is one of the unique Centres in Asia that house all non-thermal food processing technologies under one roof. This Centre actively collaborates with industry partners, research institutions, and startups to drive commercialization and technology transfer.
School of Sensory Sciences The School of Sensory Sciences focuses on sensory evaluation, consumer behavior, and product acceptability studies to ensure that food innovations meet consumer preferences and industry standards. The School integrates sensory science with food technology, helping manufacturers develop high-quality, consumer-friendly food products through scientific testing and analytics.
Department of Food Safety and Quality Assurance
The Department of Food Safety and Quality Assurance is one of the cornerstones of the Institute, offering an exceptional environment for both teaching and research the department is responsible for offering MTech & PhD (Food Technology) Degree programmes in Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA). The department also contributes significantly to all the academic programmes at BTech, MTech, and PhD (Food Technology) levels. Dedicated to addressing critical concerns in food safety and quality, the DFSQA has built a well-equipped laboratory infrastructure and performs comprehensive analysis of food commodities, including nutritional, physicochemical, bioactive components, contaminants, and microbiological toxins. Core Research Areas • Extraction and fortification of bioactive compounds • Functional foods and nutraceuticals • Food microbiology and molecular biology Department of Food Safety and Quality Assurance • Genetics and microbiome studies • Shelf-life extension technologies • Biofilm research • Food safety management and regulatory standards.
Department of Food Plant Operations, Incubation and Entrepreneurship
The Department of Food Plant Operations, Incubation and Entrepreneurship is a feather on the cap of NIFTEM-T, consistently engaged in a variety of activities throughout the year. These activities include Hands-on Training Sessions such as one-day beginner’s training, three-day master’s training, five-day executive training, online trainings, and special trainings for various stakeholders. Additionally, the department offers incubation services and technical support for entrepreneurs and food start-ups especially the NIFTEM-T Technologies that are ready for commercialization. All the BTech (Food Technology) students undergo one semester experiential learning in the department to enhance their practical skills. The state-of-the-art Food Processing Incubation-cum-Training Centre at NIFTEM-T is equipped with the following facilities: Department of Food Plant Operations, Incubation and Entrepreneurship 1. Pilot Scale plants • Fruit juice processing plant including bottling facility • Ice cream processing plant • Virgin coconut oil processing plant • Hot extrusion plant (Ready-to-Eat products) 2. Confectionery unit • Chocolate processing (from cocoa nib to chocolate) • Chocolate enrobing unit • Gum extruder • Compressed candy unit • Nutri bar maker 3. Bakery unit • Rotary oven • Cookies wire cutter and wrapper • Planetary mixer • Dough sheeter • Bread moulder • Bread slicer 4. Dryers • Spray dryer • Fluidized bed dryer • Freeze dryer • Solar assisted dryer • RF dryer • Cabinet dryer 5. Packaging facilities • Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) • Form fill seal packaging 6. Other facilities • Cryogenic spice grinder • Onion peeler cum grader • Flaking machine • Cold extruder (Ready-to-cook products) • Oil expeller • Jams and jelly manufacturing • Instant mix and masala powder processing • Coconut water collection unit • Ribbon blender • Urili roaster • Pulveriser • Sugarcane crusher
Department of Food Packaging and Storage Technology
The Department of Food Packaging and Storage Technology is a key department that not only supports all academic programmes of the insistitute. but also offers special technological support to the food sector in the areas of packaging and storage of various food commodities. Providing nutritious and healthy food to humans, and preservation of nutrition are huge challenges these days since consumer awareness about food safety and quality has increased. The department has a Food Packaging Laboratory with state of the art equipments for analyzing important physical, mechanical, barrier and biodegradation properties of food packaging materials like Universal Testing Machine, Vibration Tester, Cobb Tester, Drop Tester, Box Compression Tester, Bursting Strength Tester, Oxygen/Gas/Water Vapor Permeability Tester, Head Space Gas Analyzer, Bopp Shear Strength Tester and Vacuum Leak Tester. This department works on storage technologies of various food commodities to enhance the shelf life including development of safe storage guidelines for food grains, devicing various chemical and non-chemical protocols for the management and disinfestation of stored product insects in cereals, pulses, oilseeds and many value-added products. The department also conducts many popular training programmes on food packaging & storage technology and takes up need based Sponsored Research Projects from industries for identification & disinfestation of food products. The department regularly undertakes consultancy services for analyzing the presence of insects and their life stages in foods; to design suitable packaging and evaluation of packaging materials for shelf-life extension.
Department of Food Business Management
The Department of Food Business Management is the new and the youngest department created during the year 2024 in NIFTEM-T andis committed to advancing education, research and skill development in Food and Agribusiness Management. The department offers demand-driven academic and management training programmes to build a strong human resource base for the food processing sector. Key initiatives of the department include: Launching a full-time MBA programme in Food & Agribusiness Management possibly in the upcoming academic year; Providing consultancy services to support the establishment of new food enterprises and enhance the efficiency of existing businesses; Conducting basic, applied, and adaptive research in Food Business Management; and Collaborating with national and international institutions to address critical industry and academic challenges. Through these initiatives, the department strives to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering innovation and sustainable growth in the food sector. Under RAMP programme funded by TNAPEx, Government of Tamil Nadu, the department is hand-holding 40 Food MSME Entrepreneurs for one year to take their ideas into successful business ventures.
Food Testing Laboratory
The Food Testing Laboratory (FTL) is a state-of-art facility equipped with hi-tech precision equipments. It is accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for testing: (a) in Biological discipline - Food & Agricultural products, Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods, and Water; (b) in Chemical discipline - Food & Agricultural products, Residues in Food products, Water and Residues in Water and (c) in Mechanical discipline - Paper & Paper products. The laboratory functions as a Referral Laboratory and National Reference Laboratory for FSSAI. Recently the FTL has been recognized as an empanelled laboratory by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The laboratory activities include commercial food sample testing, teaching, training, R&D and consultancy. The FTL has well experienced, scientific and technical manpower with world class analytical equipments. The FTL is equipped to analyse the nutritional, physico-chemical characteristics, contaminants, toxins and microbial quality of food materials including raw and finished products and has a wide range of equipments to analyse food composition. This testing laboratory is one of its kind and unique in serving the food industries, research institutes and other stake holders in the areas of food processing. The FTL works closely with manufacturers helping them that their products are scientifically tested and proved to be safe for human consumption. The FTL is FSSAI-FOSTAC empanelled Training Partner. To improve the skills and impart knowledge on the quality for safe food production, periodic training programs are conducted for stakeholders. Consultancy is offered for the setting up of Quality Testing Laboratory in modern rice mills, oil industries, food industries, mineral water manufacturing units and fruit processing industries. Also, FTL provides turn-key-project support for setting up of Quality Testing Laboratories and offer consultancy services to aspirants who are interested in creating a food testing facility.
Laboratory Facilities
Apart from NABL accerdited Food Testing Laboratory, the NIFTEM-T has bulit many world class teaching and research laboratory facilities in different areas of food processing as given below:
Food Microbiology
Food Biochemistry
Food Engineering
Food Biotechnology
Food Quality Testing
Food Packaging
Non-thermal Food Processing
Sensory Food Analysis
Unit Operations
Heat Transfer
Manufacturing Practices
Grains Processing
Spices Processing
Computation Modeling & Nanoscale Processing
Biosensor u Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics
Instrumentation and Process Control
Central Instrumentation
Common Analytical Instrumentation
Primary Processing & Storage Technology
Electrical Engineering
Basic Electronics
Computer Centre.
Knowledge Centre
The Knowledge Centre (Central Library) in NIFTEM-T is a hub of academic activities that boasts an extensive collection of textbooks and reference books related to food technology domain, covering food science and nutrition, value addition, process engineering and technology, packaging and storage, food safety and preservation. In addition, significant number of general study materials and resources for competitive exams are also available. It houses over 1,000+ Research Theses and Dissertations, serving as a valuable repository for students. The library regularly subscribes to a number of prominent academic and research journals espeacially in food domain and has the facility to access the national and international peer-reviewed journals through ONOS. With a fully automated system, seamless access to online databases and a rich collection of newspapers and magazines, the Knowledge Centre fosters an engaging learning environment. The library is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, making it the perfect space for academic learning and thinking.