CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The alarming public health issues have made the scientists and researchers to search knowledge and new wisdom to curtail the problems of non- communicable diseases (NCDS) in the recent past. The threat to humanity due to environmental hazards and issues awakened the Agricultural Scientists, Nutritionists and Food Scientists to combat Obesity, Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders and cancers all over the globe to work on Green technology and Green concepts in all areas of natural and basic sciences to curtail the incidences of mortality and morbidity due to risk factors associated with Public Health issues as stated above. Food processing in India is an emerging area of science hence it is essential to safeguard food from spoilage. It could help millions of humans who are unfed every day. The industrial revolution brought many technologies together and provided new possibilities for a healthy society. Since there are more people to be fed, more and more factories are to be built for mass production of goods in huge number of growing towns and cities for an extended population (Singh et al ., 2013). The traditional food technology methods have been identified with some modifications to safeguard the preparatory process. Indian traditional foods have their own medicinal values (Rais et al ., 2013 ). When compared with the modern food processing technique, traditional food needs lot of energy, manpower and long time for its process and added preservatives to improve its shelf life. India is the largest consumer and the second largest producer of sugar in the world. Sugar industry is the second largest organized industrial sector in our country. In most parts of the world, sugar is an important part of the human diet, making food more palatable and providing food energy. After cereals and vegetable oils, sugar derived from sugar cane and 26 beet provided more kilocalories per capita per day on an average, than other food groups. Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris ), Family Amaranthaceae, the tuberous root contains a high proportion of sucrose. Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.), family Poaceae, is cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions for sucrose that is found in its stems. An unbleached and unrefined sweetener made from sugar cane resembling brown sugar, containing more minerals, golden or brown in color is Panela. The multi- dimensional approach to public health and natural resources viability in specific regions of human habitation and its contribution to good health is the focus to take up this research on the topic “Innovative Processing method of palm sugar through Traditional Technology Transfer” – to bring out the ease in preparing “Palm Sugar” a natural resource from ‘Sap’ obtained from palm trees of Ramnad District. The Researcher is a resident of Ramanathapuram, taken this research work to support the local palm products producers families working in the coastal regions of Ramanathapuram District. The Ramanathapuram District has more than one crore palm trees all around the district. But the maximum use to tap Sap during seasons starting from February to July end every year is minimal. It is an “untapped Potential” of this district resource not much development and research in processing Sap for Palm sugar production is done. Hence the study was taken to explore the transfer of traditional technology used in producing “palm candy” to “palm sugar” directly and this is the focused objective in designing the equipment to produce palm sugar as an organic product as it was not cultivated by farmers or agriculturists. It is a wild tree grown densely in a natural way. The products of palm tree is highly valuable and eco- friendly. The entire tree is useful to human race. This natural resource to be safe guarded and tapped for human living as a food source keeping all these factors into consideration the study has been taken to help the rural folk involved in palm 27 products activities in particular, to initiate the production of palm sugar as a cottage industry in Ramanathapuram District. Palm trees usually thrive in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In fact, there is an area designated as Palm Belt of the world, which extends up to 45 ° on both sides of the equator. This belt involves three continents covering 13 countries in Africa, ten in Asia and five in South America. In India, Palmyrah palm ( Borassus flabellifer Lin ) is traditionally used for obtaining various edible and non-edible products. According to the census taken in India in 1995, about 8.59 crores of palmyrah trees present in India and out of which 5.19 crores of palmyrah trees present in Tamil Nadu. Palm trees thrive on non-agricultural lands, on the banks of streams, rivers and canals, on undulating hill slopes and sandy lands which are normally unfit for cultivation. (Central Palm Gur & Palm Products Institute, 2001). The Palmyra is one of the most valuable and important trees in India. It is not indigenous to this country but is extensively cultivated as it readily propagates itself in regions where it is abundant; it is also found growing wild. The uses of various parts of the tree are innumerable. ( Sandhya et al.,2003). The Palm Products Industry is also one of the major cottage industries under the Village Industries Sector in the State. Tamil Nadu is the pioneer in development of Palm Products Industry in India. Palmyra is declared as the "State Tree" of Tamil Nadu. The State earns foreign exchange by exporting Palm products. The palm tree is present everywhere. Palm trees can last more than 100 years. Palm trees easily germinate and grow, both in domestic and wild environment. The Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board is functioning since 1995 and is engaged in the introduction of modern concepts to promote research for the development of 28 palm products industry and for the better utilization of palm products with the social objective of uplifting the economic condition of rural palm gur artisans. Most of the palms in forest show highly restricted distribution to ecological niches, except Calamus , Genera Livistona , Hyphaene , Borassus , Nypa , Salaca and Ptychoraphis which represent single species each in our flora. About 24 species belonging to nine genera are endemic, including 14 species of Calamus. Most of our present palm species are indicated by the past history, in which Calamus is possible exception. Most of the Palmyra flora is present in Andaman–Nicobar islands and the rest of the bio-geographical regions of distribution of the palms are subjected to extensive habitat loss. Anthropogenic factors like continued deforestation, change in land use, unscrupulous extraction of wild source, etc. are the major reason of habitat loss and poses serious threat to our natural palm populations. (Tamilnadu palm development Board, 2003 ) Edible items that could be made from the fruit of palm trees include sap, jaggery, sugar, syrup, candy, palm fruit jam, chocolates, confectioneries, sherbet as well as non edible items like palm fiber and palm leaf products, baskets are produced and marketed (www.tn.gov.in). Palm leaves are traditionally used for making cigarette wrappings. The leaves which are similar as the coconut leaves are used for thatch, for weaving baskets, band matting and roofing. The midribs of leaflets are used for making durability brooms, fishing tools; outer parts of stem used for flooring, furnishing and hand grips of tools; its roots are useful for medicine and fishing tools; palm sap can be used for indigestion, rashes and pulmonary irritation Palm sap is a nutritional drink, which is very popular during the flowering season. The sap season begins in January, when the palm trees starts budding. In this period, juice is 29 obtained only from the male palm trees. The female palm trees start giving sap in the last week of March or in the first week of April. At this time output from the male palms is on the downturn and it keeps tapering down till the end of April. Then the female palms alone give sap till the end of the sap season, which generally lasts till the first-half of June. Sap is condensed into palm candy and used with hot and cold drinks like paanagam . Fresh palm sap is boiled shortly to collect palm candy and palm sugar. If this is not done, within few hours the ‘sweet toddy’ ferments into a sour and potent brew called toddy, which is not fit to drink the next day. The white palm sap, at initial stages (when collected) does not ferment (non- alcoholic) and tastes very sweet. As the time passes the sap gets fermented, intoxicates and tastes sour. The fermented liquid is known as 'Palm Wine' or Kallu (Tamil). As the palm sap gets fermented very quickly, people apply lime on the surface of the pot as a preservative. The lime prevents quick fermentation . (National Research and Development Corporation, 2005) Toddy is a sweetish, heavy, milky white, vigorously effervescent alcoholic beverage, possess fermentive odour, contains nutrients and becomes turbid. Fresh toddy has pH 5.5 which on 24 hours storage reduced to pH 4.1. Palm sugar Crystalline sugar made from Sap with or without clarification is known as Palm candy. Sugar produced from the nectar of the palmyra or sugar palm tree. Farmers tap the palm flower spikes to release the juice, which is kettle-boiled until it thickens into a golden sugar. Palm sugar found to contain insufficient organic acids like fumaric, malic, oxalic, sucinic acids and tartaric acid. Asian palms provide significant quantities of food, beverage, 30 fiber, rattan, construction material and other products (Sushil et al ., 2013). Asia is endowed with world’s largest palm biodiversity and it is utilized to prepare commercial products, most of the palm related products were established by local farmers.