Now the FAO has commissioned a study “Global Food Losses and Food Waste” that brings a [...]]]> Some years ago Food Processors worried about rural grain losses in the “development sector” and the high cost of effluent BODs in the Industrial sector. This was where waste was important to them and where it focussed action.

Now the FAO has commissioned a study “Global Food Losses and Food Waste” that brings a totally different view and confirms an understanding that has been developing over the years as food shortages and global warming become worries to the world.

 

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The overall conclusion is that roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year. The report then goes on into the detail of what losses are and how they are measured. It presents many graphs which a focus on illustrating where in the world and where in the vfood alue chain these losses occur – this is of course vital if anything is going to be done about it.

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 click the image to download the report

The report discusses the causes and prevention of losses with a series of practical experiences.It concludes by identifying the limited data on which the report had to be based, especially as globalization and food logistics change. It finally, points out the different needs in the developing and developed countries and provides a large listing of references and additional reading.

 click image for free [...]]]> This is probably the best technical information I have seen aimed at the training of small scale vegetable and fruit processors. The first book covers the principles of post-harvest handling, storage and processing of fruits and vegetables while the second provides recipes and guidance to put these principles into practice.

 click image for free acces to these books

The books We’re developed for trainers working with household processors in Afghanistan, but the information is so comprehensive that it will be useful for a range of users including the new small scale food processing enterprise.

The first book of 85 pages covers the following in detail, using a clear and simple style supported by many photographs and drawings.

INTRODUCTION 

WHY DO WE NEED TO PROCESS FRUIT AND VEGETABLES? 

POST-HARVEST HANDLING AND STORAGE

PROCESSING: INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PRINCIPLES 

• Principles of food preservation 
• Overview of fruit and vegetable processing techniques
• Summary of small-scale fruit and vegetable processing techniques
• Processing pre-treatments for fruit and vegetables 
• Description of processing methods for fruit and vegetables  

POST PROCESSING PACKAGING AND STORAGE

HYGIENE AND SAFETY

The second book of around 90 pages covers the detail of producing a whole range of products as listed below from the table of contents:

DRYING

• Processing outline for dried fruit and vegetable
• Dried tomato 
• Dried apricots
• Dried onions
• Dried apples

JAM-MAKING 

• Processing outline for Jam and Jelly 
• Fruit jam or jelly – process details and quality 
• Apricot jam
• Carrot and lemon jam
• Cherry jam
• Mulberry jam
• Apple jam
• Apple jelly

SAUCES AND CHUTNEYS

• Processing outline for sauce and chutney
• Sauce and chutney – process details and quality assurance
• Italian style tomato sauce
• Italian style tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Tomato sauce or ketchup
• Tomato puree or simple concentrate
• Tomato concentrate (non-cook method) 
• Coriander chutney (chatni gashnizeh)
• Vegetable chutney
• Tomato chutney (Chatni Badenjani Romi)
• Chili chutney (Chatni Morchi Sorkh/Sabz )

PICKLES

• Processing outline for lactic acid fermented pickles (atchar)
• Fermented pickles – process details and quality assurance
• Pickled cucumbers
• Mixed pickles
• Pumpkin pickle 

VINEGAR

• Process outline for fruit and vinegar
• Fruit vinegar – quality assurance and processing notes
• Tomato vinegar
• Mulberry vinegar

If you have any interest in processing vegetables and fruit, these books are really highly recommended.