CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. (TCPL) will establish a Centre of Excellence for Food Fortification Innovation, Research and Training (CEFIRT) at Thiruvananthapuram to develop and test technologies for nutrient-enriched foods.
The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the centre during the 85th CSIR Foundation Day celebrations in New Delhi on September 25.
CEFIRT will be established at the CSIR-NIIST Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (ITE) Hub at Bio 360 Life Sciences Park, Thonnakkal. The centre will focus on fortification technologies for staple foods such as grains, salt, milk and edible oils, along with protein-enriched, functional and specialised nutrition products.
Focus on Nutrient Stability and Bioavailability
The centre will work on a key challenge in food fortification: ensuring that nutrients added to food remain stable and available through processing and storage.
Its facilities will support characterisation, quality assurance, nutrient stability and bioavailability assessments. The centre will also undertake research related to nutrient incorporation, processing and storage of fortified foods.
CEFIRT is expected to support the development and validation of technologies before they are scaled up and transferred for commercial use.
Research-industry Partnership
The collaboration brings CSIR-NIIST’s research capabilities together with TCPL’s experience in food products, nutrition and product innovation.
The centre will support joint research and development, analytical testing, technology validation, scale-up, technology transfer and commercialisation. It will also conduct specialised training programmes for researchers, students and industry professionals.
Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, said the partnership would bring scientific and industrial capabilities together to develop scalable solutions in food and nutrition.
Vikas Gupta, Global Chief R&D Officer, Tata Consumer Products, said collaborative research and industry-led innovation would be important for developing food-fortification solutions with wider societal applications.
New Research Facility at Thonnakkal
The centre will form part of the wider innovation ecosystem being developed at the CSIR-NIIST ITE Hub. The hub was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2026 and is intended to support the translation of scientific research into technologies and enterprises.
With CEFIRT, the Thonnakkal facility will add a dedicated research and technology-development platform focused on food fortification and nutrition.
The centre is expected to work towards scientifically validated solutions for fortified and nutrition-enhanced foods, with research spanning nutrient stability, safety, quality, bioavailability and consumer acceptability.
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