Artificial intelligence is making its way into the research laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI) in Mysuru, with scientists exploring ways to integrate AI-driven technologies into food processing, food safety, and post-harvest management for societal benefit.

Although AI-based research initiatives have gained momentum only recently, CFTRI scientists are working to leverage the technology to address longstanding challenges in the food sector.

One key area of focus is tackling fungal contamination in food grains and other commodities during post-harvest storage. Food products stored in silos and warehouses are often vulnerable to fungal infestations, leading to spoilage and deterioration in quality.

To address this issue, CFTRI has developed an ozone-based technology that is believed to be effective in preventing fungal contamination. The technology is currently capable of treating food stocks ranging from 50 kg to 100 kg. Scientists are now developing a prototype that can be scaled up for use in large warehouses, where food grains are stored in quantities running into lakhs of tonnes.

“Data collection has been completed, and logistics-related aspects are being worked out. We are making progress on the project,” said Giridhar Parvatam, Director of CFTRI.

Another area in which AI is being deployed is onion storage and sorting. Onion crops are often affected by fungal infections, resulting in significant post-harvest losses. CFTRI is developing an AI-enabled technology that can identify and separate healthy onions from fungal-infected ones. The institute is also developing AI algorithms for grading and sorting food products to enable faster and more accurate quality assessment.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday, Dr. Parvatam said that scientists are also working on research related to space foods and sports nutrition. Details of these projects will be announced once the studies are completed.