Combined Preservation Methods – Free Technology Information
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Here’s another one of those amazing FAO books. Although its focussed on rural processing it presents technologies that can produce products the equal of large industry.
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This is mainly hurdle technology where shelf stability is achieved by a combination of processes and ingredients rather than a single one. The focus is on water activity rather than moisture and allows the production of more sophisticated shelf stable foods that the traditional sun dried vegetable. The contents of the manual below gives an idea of its breadth and depth.
CHAPTER 1 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: AN OVERVIEW ON
SOCIO-ECONOMICALAND TECHNICAL ISSUES 3
1.1 Trade and global trends: Fruits and vegetables 3
1.2 Traditional consumption 4
1.3 Economic and social impact 4
1.4 Commercial constraints 5
1.5 Post-harvest losses and resource under-utilization in developing countries 6
1.6 Pre-processing to add value 8
1.7 Pre-processing to avoid losses 8
1.8 Alternative processing methods for fruits and vegetables in rural areas 8
CHAPTER 2 BASIC HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST HANDLING
CONSIDERATIONS FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 19
2.1 Harvest handling 19
2.1.4 Packing in the field and transport to packinghouse 26
2.2 Post-harvest handling 29
2.2.1 Curing of roots, tubers, and bulb crops 29
2.2.2 Operations prior to packaging 30
2.2.3 Packaging 31
2.2.4 Cooling methods and temperatures 33
2.2.5 Storage 35
2.2.6 Pest control and decay 37
CHAPTER 3 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRESERVATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 39
3.1 Water Activity (aw) concept and its role in food preservation 39
3.2 Intermediate Moisture Foods (IMF) concept 44
3.3 Combined methods for preservation of fruits and vegetables: a preservation concept 46
CHAPTER 4 EXTENSION OF THE INTERMEDIATE MOISTURE CONCEPT TO HIGH MOISTURE PRODUCTS 55
4.1 Preliminary operations 56
4.2 Desired aw and syrup formulation 57
4.3 Example of application 60
4.4 Packaging methods for minimally processed products 74
4.5 Transport, storage and use of fruits preserved by combined methods 75
4.6 Quality control 79
CHAPTER 5 PROCEDURES FOR VEGETABLES PRESERVED BY COMBINED METHODS 83
5.1 Preliminary operations 83
5.2 Combined optional treatments 86
5.3 Packaging methods 91
5.4 Transport, storage and use of vegetables preserved by combined methods 92
5.5 Quality control 95
The manual can be read online or downloaded as pdf files for each chapter.
