DIETARY FIBRES

SURESH D SAKHARE, AASHITOSH A. INAMDAR*

*Corresponding Author
Flour Milling, Baking & Confectionery Technology Department
CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore - 570020, India

Aashitosh A. Inamdar

Indian Atta (whole wheat flour) industry:

history and recent trends

KEYWORDS: Atta, whole wheat flour, wheat flour fortification, wheat milling, Indian atta industry, atta market

Abstract Wheat has been a staple food with the high level of consumption largely unaffected by changes in its
price. India is 2nd largest producer of wheat producing 85-90 million metric tons (MMT) every year,
accounting 12.05% of the total world wheat production. 40 to 45 MMT of wheat is ground to produce whole wheat flour, locally known
as atta in stone mills known as chakkis.
Indian market is largely dominated by local flour mills, but they are now facing competition from branded packaged atta
manufacturers who are campaigning for hygiene and convenience factors. With the rise of modern retail formats, increasing
disposable incomes and health awareness, the category is undoubtedly evolving.

INTRODUCTION Wheat in India

Wheat is the second most important cereal in India after
Wheat is one of the world’s rice. Wheat provides more than 50% of the calories to
most important field crops the people who mainly depend on it. India has witnessed
and the third most produced a significant increase in the wheat production over the
after maize (corn) and rice years and has touched 93.9 MMT in 2012. There has been
(1). It belongs to grass family, linear increase in the production from 44.3 MMT in 1987 to
Gramineae, and the genus 86.87 MMT in 2011 with moderate growth rate of 2.27 (4).
Triticum (2). Globally wheat There were significant ups and downs between 2001 and
is grown in 122 countries 2007 due to unfavourable weather conditions. However
producing nearly 700 million from 2007 there has been a steady rise (3).
metric tons. India is 2nd largest Table 1. Major wheat
About 91% of the Indian wheat is produced in six states
producer of wheat and is producing countries (2011) viz., Uttar Pradesh (34%), Punjab (22%), Haryana(13%),
maintaining the position from (Source: FAOSTAT) Madhya Pradesh(10%), Rajasthan(9%) and Bihar(6%).
last eight years (3). India Uttar Pradesh, with 24.3 MMT is the highest producer
accounts for 12.05% of the total world wheat production, of wheat followed by Punjab (14.7 MMT) and Haryana
which is next to China accounting 18.41%. Wheat (9.1MMT). Wheat productivity in India is 2.8 tons/
production for major wheat growing countries for the year hectare. Punjab (4.3t/ha) and Haryana (4t/ha) have the
2011 is shown in Table1 (4). highest productivity than other wheat producing states.
Contribution of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh is due
to relatively large area (about 50% of total area) sown to
WHEAT wheat (3).

Structure and composition of wheat Wheat utilization

Kernel of wheat is divided in three main parts viz. endosperm,
bran and germ. The endosperm, or, as, it is sometimes termed, the
food bag of the grain of wheat, contains approximately 82-85%
by the weight of the grain, bran 14% and germ 2-3%. Endosperm
gives energy for plant growth and carbohydrates & protein for
people. Bran protects seed and is rich in fibre, B-vitamins, minerals;
whereas germ nourishes seed, future wheat plant and is excellent
source of antioxidants, vitamin E and B-vitamins (5). Wheat consists
of about 7.8-18% moisture, protein 8.3-19.3%, crude fibre about
1.2%, fat about 1.5% and ash content 1.17-2.96% (5, 6).
Wheat is primarily used for direct human consumption
because of the high-quality flour it produces, which
is a major ingredient in many different food products.
Wheat is also often utilized as feed grain for livestock,
particularly wheat that has been rejected for human
consumption and milling by-products. Sometimes wheat is
planted as a forage crop and harvested before full grain
maturation as whole crop cereal. Alternatively, wheat
can be grazed before true stem elongation to provide
for additional forage when grass production is limited.

66 Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech - vol 25(1) - January/February 2014

Wheat starch is utilized as feedstock for various industrial can result in considerable damage to starch, protein,
processes such as paints and coatings, adhesives, and unsaturated fatty acids in comparison with other
emulsifiers, fermentation substrates, and biodegradable milling techniques. Interestingly, there appears to be a
plastics. Wheat grains are also utilized in the beverage marketing advantage by using the term “stone ground”
industry (e.g., spirits, beer) and in the ethanol industry for with consumers, as evidenced by the preponderance
use as biofuel. Wheat straw is widely used as an animal of whole wheat flour products making this claim in both
litter but sometimes also combusted for the production retail and commercial markets (10). The stone will have
of heat and electricity (1). Close to 80% of the wheat the different types of furrows throughout their inner
produced is consumed in the country; rest is stored or grinding surface as shown in Figure 1, such as: main
exported. Wheat is utilized in the form of food, feed, seed furrow, side furrows, grinding furrows or shallow furrows.
and others (mainly industrial).
Food: Major use of wheat accounting on an
average two thirds of the total wheat consumption
Feed: Wheat is excellent for poultry; however, its
use as feed is highly variable and depends on the
price relationship between other feed grains and its
production in any given year
Seed: About 7% of wheat utilization is seed.
Others: Mainly industrial use accounts for 6%

Wheat classification and its uses

Indian wheat is largely soft/ medium hard with
protein content ranging from 9-12.5%. Three species
of wheat namely, (i) T.aestivum, (ii) T. durum and (iii)
T. dicoccum are being cultivated in India. About
95% of wheat cultivated in India is T. aestivum,
whereas 4% is T. durum and 1% is T. dicoccum.(7)
Just as bread is a staple food item in western world,
chapatti, a flat unleavened baked prepared from atta,
is the staple food of a majority of the population in many
regions of the Indian sub-continent (8). Aestivum wheat
is milled to get atta for chapattis, poories and paronthas;
and maida (wheat flour) for pan bread, biscuits, cookies,
crackers; and semolina (suji/ rawa) for traditional
products like rawa idli, upma, halwa. Durum wheat is
milled into semolina for pasta products and traditional
products like rawa idli, upma and halwa. Dicoccum
wheat is used for cakes, cookies and dalia.
Atta
Atta means the coarse product obtained by milling or
grinding clean wheat free from rodent hair and excreta (9).
Processing of Atta
Perhaps the most important consideration in producing
whole grain flour is selecting the milling process that will
be used. The two predominant techniques for grinding
whole grain flours are stone and roller mills (10). In India,
atta is preferably ground in stone mills, known as chakkis.
Indian consumers prefer chakki atta over roller mill atta
for its taste and texture. It is commonly thought that stone
grinding breaks the starch sufficiently to release extra
sweetness while burning it slightly to give added flavour
to chapattis (11). Atta is produced by grinding wheat
between pair of stones, of which, one is
stationery and other is a rotating stone.
Stone mills are the oldest attrition mills
used for making whole grain flours,
which simultaneously use compression,
shear, and abrasion to grind wheat
kernels between two stones and
produce a theoretical extraction
rate of 100%. Stone mills generate
Table 2. Flow sheet of Atta Manufacturing
considerable heat due to friction. This
Figure 1. Stone mill inner view
Furrows main purposes in the grinding process are:
- - To shear open the wheat kernels
- - To transport the product to the circumference with
the help of centrifugal force
- - To turn over the product during grinding process
- - To support the aspiration of the grinding stones by
forming air channels
Critical steps to be followed in Atta processing:
Storage of wheat to avoid infestation as it directly affects
the shelf life of Atta
Removal of the ferrous impurities which otherwise wear
and tear the millstones and also affect the quality of Atta
Gap adjustment between the two stones to get desired
granulation and yield of Atta To set the stones to get the
desired starch damage which is more important in the
preparation of soft chapattis owing to the higher water
absorption
Industrialization started with the wheat being processed
into atta on a large scale. Atta plants have their own
integrated cleaning sections. Grinding section include
pairs of stone chakkis which are driven by electric
motors. Daily grinding capacity of plant ranges from
10-20 tons per day to up to 250 tons per day. Number
of pair of stone chakkis in the plant is decided based
on plants daily grinding capacity. The flow sheet of atta
manufacturing at industry level is given below:

Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech - vol 25(1) - January/February 2014 67

Health benefits
Roller flour milling of wheat efficiently separates the bran,
germ and endosperm to produce refined wheat flour
(maida); however dietary fiber, antioxidant, and phenolic
compounds are chiefly present in the bran layers and
germ of wheat kernel. Atta is a low cost micronutrients
and dietary fibre source besides to be the main food stuff
for human. Dietary fibre content of wheat is about 12.2%
(10). It receives increasing demand year to year due to the
decreasing effect on the risk of heart disease, hypertension,
colon cancer, diabetes and obesity. On the other hand,
it has some antioxidants like phytic acid, glutathione, and
tocopherols, and some essential fatty acids (12). Whole-
grain foods are a unique source of dietary fibre in that plant
cell walls constitute the complex matrices within which
thousands of bioactive compounds coexist (13). It is used
to make some foods with lower glycaemic index foods by
preventing several chronic diseases and help in maintaining
the health by regulating the nutrient supply to the body
over a period of time (14). It has the proteins with good
nitrogen balance, and the high amount of starch with the
best suitable and cheap energy source (12). The beneficial
effects associated with whole grain consumption are in
part due to the existence of the unique phytochemicals
of whole grains. The majority of phytochemicals of whole
grains that are beneficial for health are present in the bran/
germ fraction. Increasing intakes of whole grains may
help reduce the incidence of Coronory Heart Diseases
(15). Some epidemiological studies indicate that the
consumption of whole-grain and wholegrain products is
related to reduction in total mortality (16).
INDIAN WHEAT MILLING INDUSTRY
There are about 1200 Roller Flour Mills in the country which
grind about 15 to 18 million tonnes of wheat per year into
‘maida’ and other products like semolina, resultant atta
and bran. About 40 to 45 million tonnes of atta still ground
on job-work basis in villages, towns and even in large cities
by small electric or diesel driven stone mills, known as
chakkis. Stone chakkis are used for producing atta, where
wheat is ground between a stationery stone and a rotating
stone (10).
Traditionally used smaller size atta chakkis are facing
68
competition from better mechanized chakkis. The domestic
packaged branded atta market, estimated at 2 MMT is
about 2% of the total atta market.
Marketing of packaged Atta in India
Selling packaged atta in India is almost revolutionary, as
many housewives still buy raw wheat in bulk, clean it by
hand, store it, and bring some every week to the mill or
chakki, where it is then ground. India has always been an
attractive market because of its size. Shakti Bhog was the
first brand which started the packaged atta (Late1980)
but was concentrated only in North India (17). Pillsbury
(General Mills) was the pioneers in the branded atta
category at the national level. General Mills introduced
Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta was introduced to India in 1998.
It was a high-quality, nutritious alternative to the age-old
tradition of purchasing grain and having it ground at the
local “chakki” or flour mill (18). Different players entered
the packaged atta segment sensing the growth of the
trend in the near future sooner or later. Even private brands
emerged at local and regional level. Many roller flour mills
have set up the chakki plant in their existing roller flour mill
plants and started production of their own brand of atta.
A brand with colourful 5-kg, 10-kg or 25-kg packaging can
be created easily (11). Some of the most successful roller
milling companies are contracted copackers of chakki
atta for the handful of national brands. By far, the leader
in this segment is the domestic consumer goods giant ITC,
whose Aashirvaad brand sells 100,000 tonnes per month.
Aashirvaad atta has further built on its leadership position
among the National Branded Players with a market share
of 56% (19). Multinationals General Mills and Hindustan
Unilever have also targeted this segment for over a decade
with their Pillsbury and Annapurna brands, respectively.
None of these market leaders own their own chakki mills,
relying instead on the larger flour milling companies who
invest in lines of large diameter horizontal stone mills to
supply them (11).
Consumer behaviour is the biggest hurdle in this category.
Chakki atta carries a very strong perception regarding
quality because here the consumer goes through a
psychological process wherein s/he himself selects the
wheat and is mentally satisfied because this has been the
tradition. The general perception of packaged atta is that it
is not of good quality because the consumer does not get
a choice to select the wheat which he is addicted to since
decades. The price is also perceived to be on the higher
side and so it is not a major incentive to attract consumers.
Other reasons are the freshness and the taste. However, the
advantage that the packaged atta carried over normal
chakki atta was that it has very high convenience factor
and is a time saving product.
Trends in Indian Atta Industry
1. Private label portfolio: Retailers are offering and
developing their private label portfolio in the atta
segment with a healthy mix of national and regional
brands to connect with the local communities. Many
roller flour mills started marketing their packaged atta
in their area (catching the market share by luring the
retailers giving higher margins compared to the
multinationals).
2. Segmenting: Increased competition in the industry calls
for efforts for segmenting and introducing different
Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech - vol 25(1) - January/February 2014
 variants targeting different population. Segmenting
includes value for money , Premium Quality (
Annapurna Special Atta from Hindustan Unilever , ITC
Select-100% MP Sharbati atta); Healthier Food ( Pillsbury
Multi Grain Atta, Annapurna Healthy Multi-Grain Atta);
Region-specific atta (Pillsbury PUNJABI Atta targeting
Punjabis living outside their State) (17-20).
Fortification of Atta
Micronutrient malnutrition or hidden hunger – is widespread
apart from the problem of generalized protein energy
malnutrition (PEM). Poor most affected by micronutrient
deficiencies, but affluent groups not spared due to faulty
food habits. Fortification of “atta” is one of the several ways
of improving nutritional levels of the population. The Flour
Fortification Initiative estimates that only about 30% of the
world’s flour is fortified (21). There is also strong advocacy
in place for making available fortified whole wheat flour
to end-users through Government’s Public Distribution
System (PDS) and other Welfare/Feeding Program including
Mid-Day-Meal Program; Integrated Child Development
Services, etc. as well as through open market sales. Under
this scheme, the State Government, through its nodal
agency will issue wheat to those flour mills, which enter into
an agreement with the nodal agency for manufacturing
and supplying whole wheat fortified atta. The Govt. of
Gujarat started distribution of fortified atta in place of
wheat in open market from 2006. Gujarat is the first State in
the country to distribute fortified atta through PDS.
FUTURE PROSPECTUS OF INDIAN ATTA INDUSTRY
3. Survey of Indian Agriculture, 2010
4. Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, FAOSTAT
(2011)
5. Pomeranz Y. Chemical composition of kernel structures in
Wheat: Chemistry and Technology, Edited by Pomeranz Y.
(1988)
6. Gopalan C. et al. Tables of Food Composition In: Gopalan C et
al. Nutritive Value of Indian Foods (1971)
7. http://umc.edu.dz/vf/images/russie/2.06.2010/5.
Wheat%20production%208IWC%20SS%20Singh.pdf (Last
checked on 3rd June 2013)
8. Haridas Rao et al., Cereal Chem. 63(4):297-303
Food Safety & Standards Act 2006, Rules 2011, Regulations 2011
9. A.F. Doblado-Maldonado et al.,Journal of Cereal Science 56,
119-12 (2012)
10. David McKee, World Grain 30(4), 40-45(2012)
11. Slavin et al., Journal of the American Dietetic Association 101,
780-785 (2001)
12. Englyst HN et al., Eur J Clin Nutr, 49(suppl),48–62, (1995)
13. Shalini Ghodke et al., AgroFood industry hi-tech, 20(2), 30-32
(2009)
14. Liu et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 70, 412–419
(1999)
15. Jacobs et al., European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 55, 137–143 (2001)
16. http://shaktibhog.tradeindia.com/company-profile.html
(Last checked on 3rd June 2013)
17. http://www.generalmills.com/en/Brands/Baking_Products/
Pillsbury%20Atta.aspx (Last checked on 3rd June 2013)
18. http://www.itcportal.com/businesses/fmcg/foods/aashirvaad.
aspx (Last checked on 3rd June 2013)
19. http://www.hul.co.in/brands-in-action/detail/
Annapurna/296574/ (Last checked on 3rd June 2013)
20. Sarah Zimmerman, AgroFOOD industry hi-tech, 23(5), 30-32
(2012)

Whole wheat flour is increasingly popular as research

continues to reveal the benefits of whole grains and
the food industry offers more whole grain options
for consumers (10). Although the relative share
of branded vs. unbranded sales is currently
minuscule; the sheer size of the market
offers tremendous opportunity for growth.
Packaged atta industry is witnessing the
growth of about 25% annually. As the
country gets more and more modernized
the penetration of women employment
in the country is on the higher side and
this is the reason where all time saving
products will get the edge and so will
packaged atta. Rigorous Advertising in
the print and the visual media campaigning
quality, hygiene, health, convenience factors
are helping to boost the sales. Growth has also
picked up pace with the Government’s proactive
approach with the formulation of national food
policy. With the rise of modern retail formats, increasing
disposable incomes and health awareness, the category is
undoubtedly on upspring.

REFERENCES

1. Florian Diekmann, Journal of Agricultural & Food Information,

10:289–299, (2009)
2. The Practice of Flour Milling Vol. 1, N.J.I.C. for the Flour Milling
Industry (1977)

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