A short presentation on minimal processing of fruits and vegetables.

1. MINIMAL PROCESSING
OF FOODS
DEBOMITRA DEY
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2. WHAT IS MINIMAL PROCESSING
• Minimally Processed Foods are those which minimally influences the quality
characteristic of a food, whist at the same time giving the food sufficient shelf life
during storage and distribution.
• Minimally processed technologies are techniques that preserve foods, but also retain to
a certain extent their nutritional quality and sensory characteristics by reducing the
reliance on heat as the main preservative action.
• Minimally fresh processed fruit and vegetables are prepared for consumption by using
light combined methods such as washing, cutting, grating, shredding, pulling the
leaves off, etc. and packing at chilling temperatures under polymeric films that are
able to generate optimum modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions.
It is also named fresh-cut or ready-to-eat, is commonly free from additives and only
needs minimal or no further processing prior to consumption (Artés, 1992, 2000a;
Artés and Martínez, 1996; Odumeru et al., 1997).
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3. WHY MINIMAL PROCESSING?
• Studies show that consumers need for convenience are correlated with food
choice, therefore the fresh cut fruit and vegetable industry is working to increase
the assortment of minimally processed vegetable products that meets the
consumers needs for quick and convenient products that preserve their nutritional
value, retain a natural and fresh colour, flavour and texture and contain fewer
additives such as preservatives.
• As consumers increasingly perceive fresh food as healthier than heat-treated food,
it motivates a general search for food production methods with reduced
technological input. This phenomenon was observed over the last few years since
the per capita consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has increased
significantly over the consumption of processed vegetables such as canned
vegetables (Orsat et al., 2001).
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4. General unit operations in a minimally fresh processed vegetable and fruit processing plant
and the maximum recommended temperatures to each processing step.
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MINIMALLY PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:
1. POTATO
2. GRATED CARROT
3. KIWI FRUIT
4. PAPAYA FRUIT IMPREGNATED WITH PASSION FRUIT JUICE

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POTATO

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PROCESSING GUIDELINES FOR GRATED CARROT

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PREPARATION OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED KIWI FRUIT

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MINIMALLY PROCESSED PAPAYA IMPREGNATED WITH PASSION FRUIT JUICE

10.  BIOCONTROL
• The addition of antimicrobial agent producing strains or the use of culture
permeate, combined with refrigerated storage and good hygienic handling practices
could be helpful to control spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in fresh-cut vegetables
(Torriani et al., 1997).
 GENETIC ENGINEERING
• To develop higher production and more resistant plant food
• This technology is mainly attributed to improve colour, aroma, flavour and taste of
different fruit and vegetable products.
 MODIFIED ATMOSPHERIC PACKAGING (MAP)
• The aim of MAP is to create a optimum gas balance inside the package, such that the
respiration activity of a product is as slow as possible, and the O2 and CO2 levels are
not detrimental to the product.
• a modified atmosphere can be created by using proper permeable packaging
material and by using a specified gas mixture. Gases like O2 and CO2 (2-5% each and
rest N2).
• the aim is to have a gas composition where there is 2-5% CO2, 2-5% O2 and the rest
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OTHER EMERGING TECHNIQUES FOR THE RAW MATERIALS FOR MP

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EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR MINIMALLY PROCESSED FRUIT JUICES
1. PULSED ELECTRIC FIELDS (PEF)
• Able to reduce microbial population in Apple juices. Electrodes are used with
high pulse charged capacitor which passed through fluid/liquid food,
potential energy is created across the cells, this caused changes in the cell
membrane and causes cell death of the microbe.
• Studies were done on PEF for Orange juice, 35 pulses in electric field of 35
kV/cm was applied to reduce microbial growth without modifying nutrient
content or the sensory properties. This also increased the shelf life of Orange
juice to 14 days.
2. HIGH HYDROSATIC PRESSURE (HPP)
• Applying hydrostatic pressure treatment to foods in the range of 4000-9000
atm , to inactivate microbial growth, as well as enzymes to prolong shelf life
of food
• The production of HPP for non-pastuerized citric juices without Vit C loss,
and an extended shelf life of about 17 months.

12. Factors that affect minimally fresh processed fruit and vegetables decay and shelf-life.
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13. • The most important characteristic of fresh fruit and vegetable products is that they
continue living after harvesting. Respiratory activity is a metabolic process that
provides the energy for plant cells to stay alive and develop physiological and
biochemical processes.
• Several factors affect the respiration rate of the product, such as the type and
maturity stage of the commodity and the storage conditions after harvesting.
• The physical damage accrued during minimal processing, especially with wounding,
causes disruption of the cellular membrane, putting enzymes and their substrates in
direct contact which accelerates the loss of quality.
• The ones related to the quality are increase in Respiration Rate, production of
Ethylene- accelerate loss of chrophyll from Spinach, but not Broccoli, as increase in
Chrolphyllase is directly related to increased synthesis of Ethylene.
• Enzymatic browning occurs due to decompartmentalization of substrates of enzyme
due to large exposure to O2 in cut fruits and vegetables.
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EFFECTS OF MINIMAL PROCESSING ON FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

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REFERENCES
1. Alzamora M Stella, Tapia S. Maria, Malo Aurelio, ‘’Minimally processed Fruits
and Vegetables, Springer, 2000, Pg: 11-13
2. Alzamora M Stella, Tapia S. Maria, Malo Aurelio, ‘’Minimally processed Fruits
and Vegetables, Springer, 2000, Ahvenainen Raija, Minimal Processing of
Fresh Produce, Pg: 277-281
3. Da-wen Sun, “Emerging Technologies for Food processing”, Elsevier
Academic Press Marcel Dekker Inc. NY, 2005 Pg: 672-702
4. Silva et al, Minimal Processing Fruits and Vegetables, Pg: 217-222

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THANK YOU!