eChapters

Preamble

Historically, food has been an integral part of human civilization and diet with varied food components has sustained human life on this planet over the centuries. Similarly, culturing of food with natural fermentation as means of preserving foods with extended shelf life for future use. In the background of sustaining food security, advances made in biotechnology and molecular biology has provided ample scientific platform to use the advances in increasing and expanding food production on a global magnitude, so as to meet the needs of an ever-growing world population.

The intestinal microbiota is a key component of both the metabolism and immunity of humans and animals. The desirable microbes do have a significant role to play in healthcare through control of digestive disorders and foodborne illnesses. The continued research in this area over the years has led to the identification of important molecules that regulate major functional attributes in the betterment of human health and wellness in the long run. The science and technique of genetic engineering through molecular biology approaches has enabled in enriching the beneficial molecules for the benefit of human life. The accuracy in targeting and designing of molecules will go a long way in developing genetically modified (GM) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and GM probiotics to significantly rewrite the medical care with food-based approach in the form of targeted specific diets – “Dietomics”.

Abstract

Mentoring is a personal enhancement strategy through which one person facilitates the development of another by sharing known resources, expertise, values, skills, perspectives, attitudes and proficiencies. The concept of mentoring is not new. Guru – Shishya traditions in every old civilization are the examples of mentoring by which culture, technology and knowledge have been successfully disseminated from older generation to newer generation. Being an important career building factor, now more emphasis is given to develop mentoring relationship in organization level. In office culture mentoring facilitates an environment in which an individual grows both as a person and as a professional.

2.1 Introduction

Many complicated engineering principles are to be analyzed and applied, before any food processing operations takes shape of a commercially viable enterprise. The size and type of the required equipments have to be specified and their sequences have to be arranged. Further, the process analysis consists of understanding of material and energy balances. This chapter provides the application of steady state conservation of mass and energy equations to analyze food-processing operations.

Wastewater is defined as water that has been altered by certain substances, resulting in changes in its physical, chemical, or biological properties. These changes render it unfit for certain uses, such as the purpose of drinking. Since almost all of man’s daily activities are dependent on water, therefore ‘waste’ is discharged into the surroundings as a result of these actions. There are a number of substances that can be harmful to the environment and make people sick, including chemicals, detergents, household cleaners, dirt, microorganisms (germs), and body wastes. The water supply generates a great deal of wastewater, so it is essential that it is treated in order to reduce the amount of waste that it generates. Essentially, wastewater treatment ensures that a healthy environment is created and public health is protected by removing the majority of pollutants found in wastewater through the treatment process. Consequently, wastewater management plays an important role in protecting the planet, and public and economic health, as well as social, economic, and political stability.

Pack inspection: It is similar to continuous inspection except that here inspector(s) may make in-process checks during different processing operations under contract but not required to be present all the times in the plant during operation.

Package: The package means a pre packed box, tin, barrel, pouch or can etc in which food article is packed.

Package store: A store that sells bottled or canned alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises.

Packaging: Packaging is an industrial and marketing technique for containing, protecting, identifying and facilitating the sale and distribution of agricultural, industrial and consumer products. Packaging is defined as an enclosure of products, items or package in a wrapped pouch, bags, box, cup, bottle or any container form to perform one or more of the functions as containment, protection and preservation, communication and utility or performance. Technically, packaging is a system or method by which a product from the manufacturing point to the consumer level reaches in a safe and sound condition at an affordable cost. The primary purpose of the packaging is to protect the food product, to keep it in good condition and to preserve the flavour until it reaches the consumer. It is therefore, very essential that a suitable form of the packaging is chosen for a finished product. Packaging is an art, which determines the buying decision of a consumer. or Wrapping / placement of objects in paper / other packaging materials keeping in box, etc is known as packaging which has two main functions, to assemble the produces / objects in convenient units for handling and to protect them during transporting, marketing and storage which results in extended shelf life of the produce. “Packaging” play a very important role not only in ensuring safety of the product during transportation, storage and distribution and in conveying information about the pack contents to the consumers, but also ensuring desired sensory characteristics and micro-biological soundless till consumed.

Guava is one of the most common fruits grown widely throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Guava is hardy in nature, prolific bearing and highly remunerative even without much care (Mitra and Bose, 1990). Because of its excellent adaptability and exceptional performance in the tropics, it is regarded as the ‘apple of tropics’.

In India, guava is the fifth most important fruit crop in terms of area and production. It is cultivated over 1.51 lakh ha area with a total production of 18.0 lakh tones (Chadha, 2001). It is rich in pectin and used for jelly making. It is useful as table fruit and also for processing purpose.

It is known by different names viz., madhuri (Assamese), peyara (Bengali), phanas (Gujrati), amrood (Hindi), sebe (Kannad), soh-priya (Khasi-Meghalaya), komperam (Garo-Meghalaya), pera (Malayalam), peru (Marathi), pijuli (Oriya), amrud (Punjabi), koyya (Tamil) and jama (Telugu).

4.1 Introduction

The food preservation may be define as the state in which the food may retained over a period of time without being contaminated by pathogenic organism or chemicals and without losing its colour, texture, flavour and nutritional value. All the methods of food preservation must provide such an environment in and around the preserved food so that it produces one or more unfavourable conditions to the continued activity of the spoilage agents. The various methods used for food preservations are:

Introduction

The apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) is a significant temperate fruit growing in India and is widely cultivated in many regions around the world with cold winters, frost-free springs, and warm summers. It is a deciduous tree that belongs to the Rosaceae family. It is a widely cultivated fruit tree and is known by various names across different regions. In India, apples are commonly referred to as “seb” in Hindi, “sev” in Bengali, “sevva pazham” in Tamil, and “seema palam” in Telugu. These names reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the country (Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 2020). The apple is a round fruit that comes in a variety of colors including red, green, and yellow. The apple tree, like most plants, has a specific chromosome number that determines its genetic makeup and characteristics. The chromosome number of the cultivated apple, Malus domestica, is 2n = 34 (Janick et al., 1996). This means that each cell of the apple tree contains 34 chromosomes, with 17 pairs in total. Most of cultivated apples (2n=34) are diploids, and a (2n=51) are triploids. Understanding the chromosome number is crucial for breeding programs and genetic research as it helps in identifying genetic variations and selecting desired traits. Delicious group apples are widely popular and cover 50–70% of the land. The apple, which is the most popular table fruit in the world, is regarded as the king of temperate fruits. Its positive qualities include a pleasing look and a longer shelf life at room temperature. Except for the Kashmir Valley and a small portion of the Kullu Valley, the majority of apple acreage is on hill slopes. Unlike other fruits, apples can be grown effectively in sod culture as long as the apple plants are given more nutrients than is recommended to prevent nutritional competition between grass and apple trees. They require a cool climate with cold winters and moderate summers for the fruit to develop properly.

5.1  Write True/False

Q.1    The null hypothesis H₀ is said to be composite if it does not specify the joint probability of x₁, x₂, ......, x_n completely.
Q.2    We may write null hypothesis as :
    H₀ : θΣ Ωθ_0-

Introduction

The rate of increase in anthropogenic CO₂ concentration of the atmosphere is increasing at an alarming rate from 1.7 µmol mol-1 yr-1 in 2009 (Tans 2009) to 2.2 µmol mol-1 yr-1 in 2013 (WMO 2013). At this rate, its level in the atmosphere will reach around 450 µmol mol-1 by the turn of century from its current concentration of 400 µmol mol-1, leading to increased global warming and concomitant climate change. There is, thus, a very strong scientific interest in finding ways to slow or reverse this trend. Mitigation strategy of diverting CO₂ from atmosphere to soil by adopting appropriate agricultural practices such as conservation agriculture (CA) is a recognized such method (Lal 2008 a, b). Broadly, CA has three major components- reduced tillage, crop residue management, and intensive cropping. Conservation tillage practices which include reduced tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT) have been amply demonstrated as the agricultural practices that are very helpful in this direction (West and Post 2002; Franzluebbers 2010).

5.1 Introduction

The medium used in various unit operations of food process engineering such as heating, cooling, drying, mixing and transport processes, is moist air, which is a mixture of two substances. One of these is dry air which itself is a mixture of number of gases and the other is water vapour which may exist in a saturated or superheated state. The properties of moist air are called psychrometric properties and the subject, which involves determination of thermodynamic properties of moist air, is known as psychrometry. Thus, psychrometry is that branch of engineering science, which deals with the study of moist air i.e. dry air mixed with water vapour or humidity. Knowledge of properties of moist air is imperative in design of systems such as air- conditioning equipment for storage of fresh produce, dryers for drying of cereal grains, and cooling towers in food processing plants. In this chapter, important thermodynamic properties used in psychrometric computations are defined. Psychrometric charts useful in determining such properties are presented. In addition, various psychrometric process used in food process engineering are discussed.

Introduction

Global meat production is a crucial component of the global food system, driven by expanding populations, wealth development, and shifting dietary preferences. It involves the rearing of animals such as cattle, poultry, pigs, and sheep, and has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. In 2023, worldwide meat production was estimated to reach approximately 350 million tons per year, with chicken, pork, and beef being the most popular forms. Poultry meat is the most produced and consumed meat globally due to its lower cost and shorter production cycles. Countries like the U.S., Brazil, and China are major poultry producers globally. Pork is highly consumed, especially in Asia, with China being both the largest producer and consumer of pork. By 2050, the global human population is projected to reach 10 billion, presenting a major challenge in ensuring adequate balanced food. The demand for animal-based foods is increasing, and the intensification of animal farming is leading to the exploitation of natural resources and resulting in natural calamities that adversely affect humans, animals, and ecosystems. Meat production fosters sustainable development as it employs and supports over a billion people worldwide, many of whom live in underdeveloped regions. Meat contains essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which help prevent nutritional deficiencies and improve health (Headey et al., 2018; Zaharia et al., 2021). The meat production industry can also transform grass and agricultural waste into healthy food for people, thereby promoting food security in a world with limited natural resources (Mottet et al., 2017). However, it is important to note that meat has a much larger environmental and climatic footprint compared to plant-based diets (Poore & Nemecek, 2018).

The general concept of agroforestry is to integrate trees and agriculture so as to create a more diversified landscape, while providing the producers with new
environmental and economic benefits. In other words, agroforestry is a method of farming that allows trees and shrubs to grow along with crops and/or livestock,
therefore blending agriculture and forestry in the same production system.

Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. is an important vegetable cultivated throughout the world; both outdoors and under protected structures for fresh market consumption and processing. In India this nutritive rich vegetable is grown over an area of 0.60 m ha with an estimated production of 11.9 mt. Productivity of tomato in India is lower (18.6 t/ha) than the world productivity (27 t/ha) (Anonymous 2009). Tomato is grown in a wide range of climatic conditions across states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Introduction

Vegetables contain large quantities of minerals, vitamins and essentials amino acids required for normal functioning of human metabolic processes and plays an important role in food and nutritional security. India is the second largest vegetables producing countries next to China and occupies 7.981 million ha area with an annual production of 129.077 million tons (Anonymous, 2009). Due to expanding urbanization and deforestation, most of the natural resources are depleting and shrinking with a rapid pace. With the limited land and depleting water resources, India has to feed the burgeoning population without destroying the ecological balances. In this context, we must have to look after the vertical expansion through increase in the intensity, diversification, mixed and intercropping of vegetable crops. Besides this, vegetables are also more prone to insect pests and diseases mainly due to their tenderness and softness as compared to other crops.

Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. is an important vegetable cultivated throughout the world; both outdoors and under protected structures for fresh market consumption and processing. In India this nutritive rich vegetable is grown over an area of 0.60 m ha with an estimated production of 11.9 mt. Productivity of tomato in India is lower (18.6 t/ha) than the world productivity (27 t/ha) (Anonymous 2009). Tomato is grown in a wide range of climatic conditions across states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Tomato crop is highly sensitive to environmental stress caused by high temperature and low soil moisture. In fact, temperature is rising in the tomato growing locations and can cause reduced fruit set and lower the quality of fruits.

Abstract

Ethnobotany as an academic discipline surfaced in the 19^th century. Traditional medicine is used globally and is of rapidly growing economic importance. In developing countries, traditional medicine is often the only accessible and affordable treatment available. The chapter deals with importance of plants in the life of people, value of collecting the plant samples and adding knowledge to plants based on their economic potential and issues related to ethnopharmacology.

Keywords: Ethobotany, Ethnopharmacology, Drug discovery, Research ethics.

Members of the family Cruciferae commonly used as vegetable include Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mustard etc. The genus Brassica is known for its important agricultural and horticultural crops. A dislike for cabbage or broccoli can result from the fact that these plants contain a compound similar to
Phenyl thiocarbamide (PTC), which is bitter or tasteless to some people depending on their ‘taste buds’ (Theresa, 1995).

Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road, Phra Nakorn, Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Selected ICT-enabled Agricultural Development Initiatives

• International Initiatives
• National Initiatives

Success Stories on Agricultural Information Systems

• South Korea’s Agricultural Information Service – A NARS Initiative
• ITC’s e-Choupal – A Private Sector Initiative

Lessons Learned on Secrets of Success

Extent of Adoption of Technology

Benefits and Impact at National and Regional Levels

Freezing is among the oldest and most commonly used techniques for preserving food, as it effectively maintains taste, texture, and nutritional value better than other preservation methods. This process leverages the advantages of low temperatures, which inhibit microbial growth, slow down chemical reactions, and delay cellular metabolic activities.
ROLE OF REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS FOR FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
Proper collection, handling, storage, and distribution of fruits and vegetables are crucial to ensuring they reach consumers in the best possible condition. Refrigeration plays a key role in maintaining freshness and extending the shelf life of these products. Companies involved in production, processing, and marketing that implement efficient commercial and industrial refrigeration systems benefit in several ways:
• Slowing down the ripening and aging of tissue cells.
• Preventing microbial growth.
• Reducing overall quantitative and qualitative losses.