Quality Management of Processed Food Products by Women SHG's in Assam

The most important quality factor of processed food is safety and reliability followed by deliciousness and appropriate price. Food processing is emerging as a major industry in Assam and has the potential of generating employment and raising farm incomes. Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are coming up in a big way with various processed food products that need to maintain a minimum quality to increase their sale volume. There are all total 9189 SHG's (2009–2010) in Jorhat district under 8 development blocks. Among them 7148 are women SHG, which are registered under District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). The study encompasses the documentation of various processed food products prepared by the women SHGs in Jorhat District of Assam and the problems faced by the women while maintaining the proper quality of the products. About 35 processed food products prepared by them have been documented. The major problem faced was the lack of transportation facilities followed by lack of proper market place. In spite of the problems the SHGs tried to overcome the problem by adopting certain strategies to commercialise their products.