Innovation for Effective Low-Cost Processing of Assam Lemon

North East is known for its rich biodiversity with a large variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs like pineapple, tea, peach, plum, strawberries, ginger, Cinnamon, bay leaf, Bhoot Jolokia, wild apples, lemon, beetle nut, Elephant apple, etc. being grown in the regions. Most of these items are perishable and require to be processed and preserved within a short span after harvest during the seasons. Many small processing units process this harvest locally. The best part of these units is that they operate with a very small capital and in a very small space but provide employment to the local population. However, these small units have significant scope for improvement as the processing activities are labor-intensive and most of the processes used in the units are the traditional methods. One such fruit is the Assam lemon which has a lot of nutritional value and medicinal properties and an interesting fact is that even the cover of the lemon is useful as it contains the natural pectin used in different kinds of preparations. However, due to its unique shape, the processing is difficult and the probability of contamination of the juice is high which reduces its shelf life. Also crushing or cutting the lemon seeds makes the juice bitter. So, there is a need for an effective solution that helps proper extraction of the lemon juice without bitterness and contamination risk. The paper highlights the development of a solution that addresses the issue related to the Assam lemon processing. It describes the issues related to lemon processing and then explains the development of equipment that addresses those issues. The paper concludes by reporting the evaluation of the proof of concept and the future directions for further testing and refining of the solution.