The advantages of the product are its higher stability against deteriorative microbial, chemical and biochemical reaction, reducing handling, packaging and transportation costs and negligible energy requirements during storage. Retention of color, flavor, vitamins (particularly the ascorbic acid) and other nutritional characteristics in the product are the main attraction of the process technology. The product is free form any scorched odor / taste, has good nutritional and organoleptic qualities and satisfactory shelf life. It reconstitutes well remains free flowing during storage.

Earlier, dehydrated tomato juice was not available in the market. Although tomato products rank first among the processed vegetables, the fact remains that this industry has not progressed well in India with only about 1 – 2% of its total produce being processed and marketed in the form of traditional products like puree, paste, ketchup, sauce, pickles, chutney etc. Further, these products continue to be produced by traditional methods involving energy intensive thermal processes, which generally degrade their quality. Also because of their moisture contents, these products involve high packaging, handling, transportation and storage costs.

Tomato is the second largest vegetable crop in India. With an annual production 5 million tones, India contributes about 7% to the world production. Being highly perishable in nature, tomato has limited shelf life. It creates glut during production season and becomes scanty during off-season. Short shelf-life coupled with inadequate processing facilities results in heavy revenue loss (about Rs. 5 crores per annum) to the country. Thus, a need exists to develop suitable technology for processing and preservation of this valuable produce in a way that will not only check losses but also generate additional revenue for the country.

In this context, the dehydrated tomato juice holds a promise. It has the potential to meet the increasing demand for quality vegetable juices in India and abroad. The tomato powder can be reconstituted into juice or used as a starting material for the preparation of products like sauce, ketchup, chutney etc. It can also be used as a flavouring agent / nutrient supplement in food mixes, baby foods, health foods, etc.