Journal of Scientitic & Industrial Research Vol.58, June 1999, pp 403-413

Starch: Perspectives and Opportunities

Fausto F Dias B2, G3 Navelkar Estates, Bainguim, Old Goa, Goa 403 402

Starch is commercially mainly produced from maize, wheat, tapioca, and potato. Most of the starch produced in India is from maize and tapioca. The manufacturing processes are described as well as the properties of the starches produced from different raw materials. Starches (native and modified) are used in the manufacture of a variety of products. The demand for starches is expected to grow in India, and the Indi an starch industry will have to improve its efficiencies and produce quality products if it is to meet thi s demand. At present the per capita consumption of starch is one of the lowest in the world.

Introduction

Starch is a polysaccharide made up of glucose units and is the reserve carbohydrate of the plant kingdom. Starch granules are deposited in the seeds, tubers, roots, and stem pith of plants, as a reserve food supply for peri­ods of dormancy, germination, and growth. Starch oc­curs as tiny granules ranging in size from I to 100 mi­crons, the size and shape of the granules being plant spe­cies specific. Next to cellulose, also a glucose polymer, starch is the most abundant natural polysaccharide.

Commercially, starch is derived from cereal grains such as wheat and maize, or from tubers such as potato, tapioca and arrowroot, or the pith of the sago plant. By far the largest quantity of starch is produced from maize, wheat, potato and tapioca. The world wide production of starches from these raw materials is given in Table I . The starches from different sources have different prop­erties which affect their functionalities, and hence, their end-use. Starches are normally referenced with respect to their source: maize starch, tapioca starch, etc. (Note that maize starch is also referred to as corn starch, as maize is called corn in the U.S .A., the largest producer of maize and maize derived starch products) . The vol­ume of starch production in various continents is indi­cated in Table 2.

In India, only maize and tapioca starches are produced in significant quantities.

Starch Properties Though all starches are condensation polymers of glu­

cose, they are not an uniform material. Most starches contain two types of glucose polymers: a linear molecule,

wherein the glucose units are linked via 1-4 linkages, called amylose, and a branched polymer, in which the linear molecule has branches attached to it via 1-6 link­ages, called amylopectin. (Figure I). The proportion of amylose and amylopectin varies with different starches,

Table I - Worldwide production of starches from various sources (1995)

Raw materi al Quantity x 1000 MT %

Maize 27.380 74

Waxy mai ze 370 I

Wheat 2.960 8

Tapioca 3,700 10

Potato 2,590 7

Total 37,000 100

Table 2 - Production of starch in various geographic areas (1995)

Quantity, x 1000 MT %

Americas 18870 51

Asia 9620 26

Europe 7400 20

Africa 740 2

Australia/Oceania 370 I

Total 37000 100

404 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

o +---(J,6Iinkage)

I CH20H CH2 CH20H ..

0-<=>-00-0-0 . i

(1,4 linkage) 1,6 linkages of AMYLOPECTIN

Linear structure of AMYLOSE

Fig. 1 - Structure o f amylose and amylopectin

and influences the properties of the starch and its func­tional properties.

swell to many times their normal size. When heating is continued, the swollen granules begin to disintegrate. The viscous mass results from the swelling and colloidal mass of starch in water is re ferred to as starch paste. True solu­bilisation occurs when pastes are cooked at temperatures of IOO"C to J60"C. When a cooked paste is allowed to

Starch granules are insoluble in water at ambient tem­perature. However, when a water suspension of starch is heated beyond a critical temperature, the gelatinisation or pasting temperature, the granules absorb water and

FF Dias, after training as a biotechnologist at the I.I.Sc., Bangalore and at Cornell and Rutgers University, started his career developi ng processes to manufacture various microbial enzymes. Subsequently, he has been involved in every facet of the wet-milling industry. Besides his invol ment in the manufacture of starches, dextrose, glucose syrup, and other products of the wet milling industry, he has been associated with the developmel1l of various modifi ed starches and other starch rel ated products. More recently, hi s interests have centered around developing various food products specially those in which the function aliti es of products of the wet-milling industry are used to advantage. He has heen actively associated in the control of en vironmental pollution by the starch industry. Dr. Dias has visi ted many wet-milling facilities, both in No rth and Latin America.

DIAS : STARCH 405

Table 3 - Properties of some commercially available starches.

Maize Waxy maize . starch starch

Granule Properties . Granule shape Round, Round,

polygonal polygonal

Diameter range, Jl 5-25 5-25

Specific area, m2/kg 300 300 Density 1.5 1.5 Granules/g, x million 1300 1300 Composition, % ds Lipids 0.8 0.8 Protein 0.35 0.35 Ash 0.1 0.1 Phosphorus 0.02 0.D2 Amylose 28 I Amylopectin 72 99 Gelatinisation characteristics A verage peak viscosity 600 800 (Brabender Units), 5% paste Paste viscosity Medium High Pasting temperature, 75-80 65-70 °c Paste texture Short, Long,

heavy body stringy, fluid body

Paste clarity Opaque Translucent Retrogradation High Very low Starch Film Clarity and gloss low high Film strength low high Flexibility low high Film solubility low high

stand, retrogradation (set-back) takes place due to a reassociation of amylose molecules, leading to a gel or precipitate. Amylopectin molecules do not retrograde as the branches prevent close re-association needed for hy­drogen bonding.

The gelatinization temperature of starches is species specific, and is generally in the range of 55"C and 80"e. High amylose maize starch may need cooking at tem­peratures above I OO"C for complete pasting. The physi­cal properties of the pastes are also different for different starches.

The properties of some common commercially avail­able starches are indicated in Table 3.

History and Manufacturing Processes The starch manufacturing process differs with the raw

materials.

Wheat starch Tapioca Potato starch starch

Round, Truncated, Oval, lenticular round spherical 2-45 4-35 15-100 500 200 110 1.5 1.5 1.5 2600 500 100

0.9 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.08 0.06 0.01 0.08 28 17 24 72 83 76

300 1000 3000

Low High High 65-70 60-65 60-65

Short, heavy, Long, Long, body stringy, fluid stringy,

body fluid body Opaque Translucent Translucent High Low Medium

low High high low High high low High high low High high

Maize (corn) Starch: The commercial production of maize starch

started in 1884 when a small plant was built in Jersey City, N.J. , U.S.A. and in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. In 1888, a larger plant was built in Oswego, N.Y., U.S.A. Since then the technology for the manufacture of starch from maize has steadily improved and maize represents the dominant raw material for starch manufacture. Most of the development took place in the U.S .A, which is the largest producer of maize world-wide . The manufacture of starch from maize by wet milling is schematically in­dicated in Figure 2. The figure also indicates the produc­tion of nutritive sweeteners and dextrin as many wet mill­ers also have these in their operations. The basic princi­ple of starch manufacture from maize is the separation of the various maize constituents of the maize due to differ-

406 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

SHELLED MAJIZE

" . ~

MAIZE CLEANERS

~ STEEP TANKS GERM GRINDING ---->0.. SCREENS---",,- CENTRIFUGAL

~EPARATOR~.,;: ---"'-----;1'" SI .> MILLS SEPARATORS

HYDROCLONE 1 STEEP WATER GERMS -?OIL

1 OIL CAKE

STARCH DRIERS

l r ROASTERS

I

1 1 FIBRE GLUTEN

STARCH WASHING

~ _________________ STARCH r SLURRY

RE}INERY MODIFICATION

TANKS I I DRIERS

I NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS

DEXTRINS UNMODIFIED STARCH

MODIFIED STARCH

Fig 2: Manufacture of maize starch

ences in density. The slUccess of the wet milling process depends on the efficient recovery of all ingredients. The sale of co-products contributes to the economic viability of the process. In fact, the wet milling industry normally costs its products on the basis of net cost of maize, namely, the cost after deducting the realisation for co-products . At present, the unit value of some co-products is higher than that of starch. Additionally, it is important to have an efficient recovery of the co-products, specially the soluble fraction, to avoid adding to the cost of treating the effluent. Tekchandani et af. I have reviewed the prop­erties and uses of the co-products . One product not con­sidered by them is corn oil which is recovered from the germ. Corn oil, generally regarded as a "healthy" oil, commands a premium price over other edible oils.

The wet-milling operation starts with the softening of the grain by steeping in sulphur dioxide solution (water

from other sections of the process, in which sulphur di­oxide is dissolved, is normally used) in a countercurrent battery at SOlie. Because of the presence of sulphur di­oxide, as well as temperature, a lactic fermentation takes place. Steeping is a very important step in the starch manu­facturing process as it toughens the germ, and breaks down the protein starch matrix, thus permitting the effi­cient separation of the constituents of the maize kernel. Watson2 describes the chemistry associated with the steep-

Table 4 - Recoveries of various products during the wet milling of maize

Per cent of clean corn. dry basis Starch Corn Extractives Fibre Germ Gluten Meal

67.5 6.5

12.5 7.3 5.4

DlAS: STARCH 407

WHEAT, CLEANED

VITAL GLUTEN SEPARATOR

! I-___ D_E_W_A_T_E....;RIN.:.=, ....;G:..:,-=D-=R..:..:Y:....:I:.:...N-=G:....-~Vital Gluten ,

EVAPORATION J Solubles IDRYING _

DRY MILLING ~ Bran '-----~ hr------?oI'" "'eed 1 I "I I STRIPPING

L-...f---~

Flour

i Water

---')[){)UGHIBA TrER MAKING

STARCH SLURRY

'f STARCH A

'¥ STARCHB

Fig. 3 : Wheat Starch Manufacture

TIJBER (POTATO or TAPIOCA)

WASHING ~ RASPING ~ ROTATING SElVES T HYDROCLONES I FIBRE ( SOLUBLES!

1 DRIER

FlED

DRYING

~ STARCH

Fig. 4 : Manufacture of tuber starches

ing process. The softened grain is then ground, coarsely, in mill s having one stationary and one rotating disk. The separated germs are collected in flotation cell s, or, more commonly today, in hydroclones. The ground maize from which some of the germs have been separated is ground through a second grind mill to release germs not re leased in the first pass. The released germs are collected as be­fore. After germ separation, the maize slurry is passed through Entoleter mills which sling the material against

pins at high speed or counter-rotating disc mills to free the starch with minimum damage to the fibre. The fibre is recovered on a series of screens from which the ad­hering starch and gluten is washed off and then dewatered in screw presses . After the germs and fibre have been removed, the starch and gluten are separated in a disc­nozzle type of centrifuge. Advantage is taken of the den­sity difference, 1.06 for gluten versus 1.6 for starch . The gluten is dewatered on rotary vacuum filters and then

408 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

Table 5 - Some physical and chemical modifications of starch practiced commercially.

Main objective Treatment Type of modi tic at ion

Pregelatinised starch

Low viscosity :,tarches

Dextrins

Cold water dispersibility Drum drying, extrusion

Low viscosity, High gel tendency

Low viscosity, high solubility, improved tack, etc

Acid hydrolysis in suspension

Dry roasting

Oxidised starch Improved viscosity stability, low viscosity

Hypochlorite oxidation

Cross linked starch

Esterification

Shear, temperature, and pH stability of pastes; Improved texture and mouthfeel Improved viscosity stability

Epichlohydrin, phosphorus oxychloride, adiphic acid anhydride Sodium orthophosphate, phosphorus oxychloride, vinyl acetate, octenyl succinic anhydride

Etherification . Improved stability, lower gdatinisation temperature; Films have improved properties; Change ionic charge (make starch cationic)

Ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, sodium monochloroecetate. For cationic starch: Tertiary amino­alkyl derivatives (Dimethylaminoethyl chloride hydrochloride) or quaternary derivatives (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride) Combination oftreatrnents Combinations

Hydrolysis to maltodextrin and starch sugars .

Combination of objectives

Bulking agents, nutritive sweeteners, instant energy

Acid and/or enzymes

dried to give gluten meal with a protein concentration of greater than 60 per cent. The starch stream from the cen­trifugal separator still contains considerable quantities of protein and these are removed by washing in a coun­tercurrent fashion in a series of hydroclones. In the wet­milling of maize the only entry point for fresh water is at the last stage of the starch washing system. The water from one operation is used in another. Efficient water use is an important fac ior in a successful wet-milling operation. Efficient operation results in over 99.5 per cent of the dry matter being recovered. The recoveries of starch and co-products are indicated in Table 4. Indian wet mill­ing operations do not achieve these recovery values at present, but there is a growing awareness that if they are to grow the market for maize starch they will need to reduce costs by improving efficiencies. The manufacture of waxy starch from waxy maize is done in the same manufacturing facility used for milling regular maize. Waxy maize is more difficult to mill, and the recoveries are lower than those obtained with regular maize. No Indian wet miller grinds waxy maize.

The most comprehensive description of the produc­tion of starch from maize is given by Blanchard'.

Wheat Starch Starch produced from wheat is a co-product of the

manufacture of vital gluten, the protein of wheat which gives wheat dough its characteristic properties. Wheat emerged as a significant source of starch in Europe due to changed agriculture market regulations in the seven­ties. Tariffs made imported maize and "hard" wheat (17 per cent gluten) expensive. To make European "soft" wheat (9-10 per cent gluten) suitable for baking purposes it had to be fortified with vital gluten, The demand for vital gluten was the driver for increased availability of wheat starch. The industry grew 900 per cent between 1980 and 1993, from 0.3 million MT to 3 million MT. Europe is the largest producer of vital gluten . Of the 440 thousand MT of wheat gluten produced world-wide in 1997, about 50 per cent was produced in Europe, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom be­ing the main producers. The U.S .A. produced about 45 thousand MT and Australia 55 thousand MT. The net cost of wheat has averaged 80 per cent of the maize net cost in Europe. Wheat is technically more difficult to process . Cost effective technologies emerged in the late seventies with the development of the Rasio process in

DlAS : STARCH 409

STARCH SLURRY

I FLASH DRIED

I UNMODIFIED

I DRY MODIFIED

t: Roasted (dextrins) Extruded

Additives No additives

ACID BLEACHED THINNED OXIDISED

HYDROXY ETHYLATED

( non-Gelatinised)

HYDROXY PROPYl-ATED

TO MODIFIA TION & REFINIRlES

I

I Glucose syrup,

Dextrose, HFCS

ACETYLATED

CROSSLINKEO OCTENYL CATIOMSED 1 FLASH DRIED

PRE-GELA TINISED

Fig. 5 : Manufacture of modified starches

Finland. Subsequently other technologies have been de­veloped, and the major maize starch manufacturers in Europe (Roquette, Cerestar, Amylum) have set up large wheat processing facilities. Figure 3 is an illustration of the process to manufacture wheat starch. In contrast to the manufacture of starch from maize, wheat is first dry milled to a flour. The dry milling process, as well as the quality of the wheat, have an important bearing on the "vitality" of the gluten recovered. Thereafter, the wheat flour is either made into a dough or batter with water. The starch is then separated from the gluten. The starch fraction also contains fibres, pentosans and bran . The gluten contains about 75-85 per cent protein (N x 5.70, not 6.25 as for maize gluten). The starch fraction is refined through centrifugal separators to give two starch fraction s, A- and B- starch. A-starch (60-65 per cent) is made up of starch particles of size 15-50 mi­crons, while B-starch has a particle size of2-15 microns. The B-starch is about 15-20 per cent of the starch re­covered and is of low purity (protein between I and 2 per cent). It is sometimes used to prepare glucose syrup but as these are difficult to refine to an acceptable level, the fraction is normally added to feed. The very small granules are sometimes further purified to yield a high

value product which is used in the production of carbon less paper.

Tuber Starches-Tapioca and Potato Potato starch is mainly produced in Europe especially

in The Netherlands and in Germany. About 25 per cent of the starch produced in Europe is derived from potatoes . Other than fructose syrup, potato starch manufacture is regulated by a subsidy system. Regulations offer subsi­dies to about 1.7 million MT of potato starch spread over several European countries. Special grades of potato are grown for starch manufacture; these are not marketed for table use. It may be mentioned that maize gives three times as much starch per unit of raw material as does potato. In the United States small quantities of potato starch are pro­duced using potato wastes (peels, etc.) from the food in­dustry as the raw material. The food industry is finding uses for these wastes, and hence its availability as a raw material is becoming scarce.

Tapioca starch is mainly produced in South East Asia, Brazil and India. In India, 50,000 MT of the 150,000 MT of the tapioca starch produced is conveltecl to "sago" pearls (sabudanna) 4. Under the Industrial Development Regu­lation Act (lOR) (India) , 1951 , tapioca sago and tapioca

410 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

Table 6 - Products in the manufacture of which starch is used

CORN STARCH ( Industrial Uses)

Abrasive paper and cloth Adhesives (glues, mucilages, gums etc.) Batteries, dJ;1 cell Binder or binding agents Board (corrugating, laminating, solid

fiberboard, cardboard) Boiler compounds Bookbinding Briquettes Ceramics (as clay binder) Chemicals Cleaners, detergenets Coatings on wood, metal and paper Colour carrier ( in paper and textile

printing) Cord polishing, sizing Cork Products Crayon and chalk (as a binder) Dispersing and standardizing agent Dressing, surgical Dyes (as a bodying agent, carrier

diluent, etc Fermentation processes Fiberglass size Fireworks Insecticide powders Insulating material (glass, wool, rock

wool, etc.) Lubricating agents Oilcloth Oil-well drilling (drilling mud) Ore refining (electrolytic reduction Process, flotation process, etc.) Paints (cleaning compounds, cold-

water and latex paints, poster, lacquers, etc.)

Paper and paper products manufacture Plastics (moulded) Plywood (interior) Printing Protective colloids (emulsions) iexti\es (warp sizing and fll1ish·ll1g) Tile, ceiling Tires, rubber Wallboard and wallpaper Water recovery, industrial

CORN STARCH (Food, Drug or Cosmetic Uses)

Antiboitics Aspirin Baby foods Bakery products (bread, rolls, cakes, pies, crackers and cookies) Baking powder Beverages, brewed (beer, ale) Chewing gum Chocolate drink Confectionery Cosmetics Desserts (puddings, custards) Drugs and pharmaceuticals Flours, prepared (including

prepared mixes) Food and drug coatings Gravies and sauces Meat products Mixes, prepared (pancake, waffle,

cake, candy, etc.) Mustard, prepared Pie fillings Precooked frozen meals Salad dressing Soaps and cleaners Soups Sugar, powdered Vegetables, canned

DEXTRINS

Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums)

Bookbinding Briquettes Candles Ceramics Cord polishing Core binder (castings, molds,

etc.) Cork products Crayon and chalk (as a binder) Dyes (dry, cake, etc.) Envelopes Fireworks Inks, printing . Insecticides Insulation, fiberglass Lables Leather Linoleum Magazines Matches (on head and side of

box) Oil-well drilling Ore seperation Paints (cold-water, poster, etc.) Paper and paper products Plastics (moulding) Plywood Sandpaper Shoes (counter pastes, polish,

etc.) Silvering compounds Soaps Straws (drinking) Textiles, sizing, finishing and printing Twine (cord, string, etc.) Wallboard and wallpaper Window shades and shade cloth

From:The World orCom, 1997. The National Corn Growers Association, St. Louis, MO.

flour, but not tapioca starch, are reserved fo r exclusive manufacture in the small scale sector.

principle, the same except that the practices followed are not mechanised resulting in an inferior grade of starch . Considering that tapioca starch and some of its deriva­tives command a price premium in the U.S .A. and Eu­rope it would be useful if the manufacturing processes are upgraded to yield a globally acceptable product. Fig­ure 4 shows a schematic diagram for producing tuber starches.

Though there are some differences in the details, the manufacturing processes of potato and tapioca starch are essentially similar. This statement applies to the mechani­cal process used but not to the manual process employed by most tapioca starch producers in Salem District of Tamil Nadu, where most of the tapioca starch is manu­factured in India. The process used by these units is, in

DIAS : STARCH 411

Table 7 - Starch use, %, by end-use sector (1995)

Use sector U~S .A. European Union India Ethanol 42 3 0 Fructose syrup 31 4 0 Other starch sweeteners 12 40 45 Food use 4 12 19 Non-food use 11 41 36 Total starch production: U.S.A.: 22.95 million MT. cU: 0.75 million MT. India: 0.55 million MT

Table 8 - Per capita starch consumption (kg)

U.S.A. 64 Canada 52 European Union 18 Japan 15 Mexico 14 South Africa 8 Thialand 3 Pakistan 2 India 0.6 Wo!ld Average 6.5

Modified Starches Starches from any plant source can be modified either

by physical or chemical methods. Figure 5 is a sche­matic diagram of the modified starch manufacturing proc­ess. The commercially practised modifications have been reviewed by Dias' and are given in Table 5. Modified starches prepared from starches derived from different sources may have different properties . In certain appli­cations modification of a particular starch makes it suit­able for a particular use. For example, the texture of waxy starch pastes is not acceptable for food use unless the same is modified by cross linking.

Applications Starches and modified starches are used in a variety

of industries (Table 6). Even in a single industry, starch may be used in more than one application. A very large part of the starch produced is converted to nutritive sweet­eners such as glucose syrup, dextrose, and high fructose syrup (Table 7). Considerable quantities have also been used in the United States as a raw material for the manu­facture of fuel ethanol. High fructose sy rup and ethanol

have been the main drivers for the rapid growth of the maize wet milling industry in North America. There is a move to use starch or starch hydrolysates as the raw ma­terial for the microbiological production of various chemi­cals6.7 . Large quantities of starch are converted to lactic acid to be used as the starting material for the manufac­ture of plastics. Erythritol is an other example.

Details of the application of starch and modified starch have been described by Dias" Dias, Tekchandani and MehtaK and WurzburgY • By far the largest consumer of dried starch in the United States and in Europe is the paper industry. In India, the largest consumer is the tex­tile industry. The paper industry uses starches at the wet end before the paper sheet is formed , for sizing where the starch is applied to the web (the wet paper sheet) and finally for coating the paper. Starch use for sizing is by far the largest application consuming about double the quantity used in the other two applications. Different types of starch are used for each application. In 1996, the U.S. paper industry consumed 1.2 million MT of various types of starches 10. Besides its use in the manufacture of paper, large quantities of starch are used in the manufacture of corrugated board . A second large user of starch is the textile industry. The larger of the applications is in warp sizing of cotton and cotton blended fabrics where the warp yarn is strengthened by impregnating it with starch mixed with other chemicals so as to enable it to withstand the weaving process. Starches are also used in the fini shing of fabrics, specially inferior products, to add weight and to improve the handle of the fabric. The latter is an im­portant application in India, where a significant amount of coarse grades of cotton fabrics are produced. Starches are also used in the stiffening of garments. A consider­able amount of starch goes into the manufacture of adhe­sives and glues. The food industry is a major user of starch where it is used as a thickener and bodying and bulking agent. In a few instances it may be the main contributor to the nutrition of the product. Usually, it is used as it

412 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

imparts various functional properties to the food. In the Indian context, an important use of tapioca starch is the manufacture of "sago" pearls (saudana ). About 50,000 MT of sabudana are produced annually4. Table 5 is a list of products where starch is used or can be used. This list excludes products where starch derivatives such as glucose syrup and sorbitol are used . Very large quanti ­ties of glucose syrup are used in confectionery, while sorbitol is used in tooth paste, cosmetics and in several other applications II. Brewing is another area which takes large volumes of a specialised starch derived high mal­tose syrup. This application has been the driver fo r the rapid growth of the starch industry in Brasil and South Africa, for example. It is evident that starch and starch deri ved products are used in the manufacture of a very wide range of products . There are substitutes for starch, but starch is the most cost effective.

Opportunities

The per capita consumption of starch in India is low even when compared to consumption in Paki stan (Table 8) . The comparison with Paki stan is meaningful as the cultures and food habits in the two countries are not di s­similar. The world average growth rate is reported to be 12 per cent. The growth rate in Indi a has been less than 5 per cent. However, with changes in the economy there should be a spurt in the demand for starches both in in­dustrial applications and in the food sector.

One of the major opportunities for increased use of starch is in the paper industry and in the corrugated board industry. The consumption of paper and board in India is one of the lowest in the world, the per capita consump­tion being about 3.3 kg. This is lower than the 19 kg av­erage consumption in Asian countries, and the world av­erage of 45 kg. The demand in India is expected to grow, driven by the general economic and social development such as increased purchasing power, urbanisation and consumerism, increased literacy and development of the educational sector. A conservative estimate is that by the year 20 10 the demand for paper and board wi II have i n­creased from the present 3.5 million MT per annum to 9.7 million MT. Besides the increased demand for paper, there will be a shift to better grades of paper. This, to­gether with the increased use of inferior types of pulp and pulp derived from recycled paper, will need the in­creased use of starch to produce quality paper. Based on starch use patterns in the United States, the demand for

starch, both for paper and board, is expected to be about 100,000 MT per annum early in the next century from the existing level of about 18,000 MT per annum. The food industry will also require additional quantities of starch and starch products . The CII-McKinsey report, FAIDN 2, states that the industry is ex pected to double the production within a decade, with va lue added prod­ucts increasing threefold . For example, the confection­ery industry is expected to grow at Iea~ t 5 times by the year 2005. This would mean that the requirement for glu­cose syrup will grow to about 350,000 MT, from the ex­isting level of 70.000 MT per annum. The demand for processed food s will increase the demand for starches, both native and modified. Though the ir growth is re­strained by the lack of clarity regarding their use in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (P f'"A), Indi a, there has been an increase in the import of such starches, and the starch industry will have to ac t expeditiously to pre­vent imported products from gaining a foothold.

The above are a few examples indicating the potenti al for increased use of starch . If the Indi an starch industry is to benefit from this increased demand it will have to increase efficiencies, so that starches are available at a low cost and comparable in quality to the best in the world . The starch industry should take advantage of the fact that tapioca is available ,in India, and produce value added products for export s. Tapioca starch and products pre­pared from it command a premium in ternationally, if the quality meets internat ional standards. The Indian starch industry will have to convince the fanner to cultivate high yielding hybrids with improved millability so as so as to improve efficiencies. The starch industry should make it profitable for the Indian farmer to grow waxy maize so that this type of starch is also available to industry. Alter­natively, the industry should deve lop tapioca based starches which could compete against waxy starches. It is well to remember that waxy starch was developed as a consequence of the non-availability of tapioca starch in the U.S.A. due to the hostilities in the early forti es. The industry would have to analyse the benefits as to which raw material is the more economical

.The Indian starch industry will have to be proactive in convincing customers about the advantage of using starches and products derived from starch. Customers wi ll have to be convinced that purchasing a high priced starch could reduce their manufacturing cost , or produce a prod­uct with superior properties which could fetch a better price.

DIAS : STARCH 413

References

Tekchandani H K, Dias F & Mehta D, J Sci Ind Res, 58(2) ( 1999)83-88,

2 Watson S A, Starch: Chemistry and Technology, edited by R L Whistler, J N Bemiller and E F Paschall (Academic Press, Orlando, FL, U.S .A.) 1984, p. 418.

3 Blanchard P H, Technology of Corn Wet Milling and Associated Processes, (Elsevier Science Publishers B.Y., The Netherlands) 1992.

4 Dias F F & Mehta D C, Starch/Starke, 49 (1997) 338.

5 Dias F F Chem Wkly, 44 (1998) 163.

6 Lerner M, Chem Mkt Rep, 252 (1997) I.

7 Chem Mkt Rep, 252 (1997) pp 5 and 16.

8 Dias F F, Tekchandani H K and Mehta D, Indian Fd Ind, 16, ( 1997)39.

9 Wurzburg 0 B, Modified Starches: Properties and Uses, (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida) 1986.

10 Rooks A, Pima :~ Papermaker, September 1998 pp. 60-62.

II Kachhi A I, Mehta D & Tekchandani H K. Saket Food Process­ing Handbook edited by Vyas J N and Shah G ( Saket Publishers Ltd, Ahmedabad, India) 1998, 311-321 .

12 Food and Agriculture Integrated Development Action ClI­McKinnsey Report (FA/DA) (ClI, New Delhi) 1997.