eChapters

1. Introduction

The materials widely used for food contact applications include paper and coated-paper products, cellulose products, cellophane, metals, ceramics, glass, rubber, plastics, and miscellaneous materials such as wood, fabric, etc. Most of these materials have been in vogue for several years. Among them plastics are widely used in the food industry as they offer many advantages due to their high cost-to-benefit ratio. However, food safety issues in terms of migration of additives is a cause of concern. Plastics contain a number of additives either deliberately added during their manufacture or inevitable due to technical requirement.

Introduction

A biopolymer is defined as a polymeric substance obtained from any living organism (plant or animal) [1]. These polymers are organic compounds where simpler molecules are covalently bonded with each other [2]. Although biopolymers are strictly synthesized naturally by living cells but some of them are also synthesized from non-biomaterial as well. Natural biopolymers are of different types based on their chemical nature like carbohydrate based, protein based or lipid based. Biopolymers can be broken down by the action of naturally-occurring organisms which leaves organic non-harming by-products like water and carbon dioxide in the environment[3].

Bio polymers are gaining importance in the field of food packaging, medical application, commodity packaging etc. because of their have specific physical, chemical, biological, biomechanical and degradation properties. Wide ranges of natural or synthetic biopolymers capable of undergoing degradation hydrolytically or enzymatically are being investigated for many applications[1]. Bio polymers are mainly based on two properties: a) Biological origin b) Biodegradability.

Earlier natural biopolymers such as cellulose, protein, starch have been used extensively for food applications. Recently, synthetic biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyglycolic acid (PGA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) are gaining more attention[4] for various applications. Natural biopolymers are more stereospecific and mostly hydrophilic having complex 3D structures as compared to the synthetic polymers[2]. Among the synthetic biopolymers some are microbiologically degradable in the environment whereas some are recyclable[1].

Introduction

For capacity building of farming community, training plays a vital role. It helps in enriching the knowledge along with enhancement of essential skill required in performing certain practices in a specific crop cultivation. The skills required by a coconut cultivator need to be supplemented with additional skills in order to increase the yield of nuts. Government provide better support to the coconut growing farmers to improve their income, to reduce the risk involved in cultivation, implementation of quality agricultural practices and f inally enhancing the income of coconut grower in business mode. Training is a source of information, advice and influence in the decision making process. Training helps in enhancement of knowledge, improvement of skill, interaction with experts and to build confidence. Keeping this in view, the present study was conducted to know the training need areas of coconut growers in Gop block of Puri district of the state of Odisha.

Abstract

A survey of various wheat milling units (atta chakki) available around Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was conducted to study the performance of these. The mills of various sizes (12", 16", 18", 20", 24" and 30" stone disc diameter) with horsepower ranging between 2 to 20 are in operation. Both horizontal and vertical disc types of mills are in use. The capacity of these units ranges between 10 kg/h to 200 kg/h. The stationary sieve, hand sieve, pedestal/exhaust fan are used for cleaning. The average wheat cleaning cost is Rs. 200 per ton. A small room of 8' x 10', 10' x 10' and 10' x 12' size is used for running the mills and storage of wheat grains. The grinding charges (Rs./q) of wheat, coarse grains (maize, sorghum, millet etc) and spices are 100, 200 and 1000, respectively. Sample of 500 g of wheat and flour were collected from each chakki and were analysed for wheat grain and flour quality. Infested, damaged grains were observed to be in 2-10% range. Sieve analysis of the flour was done and the average particle size, fineness modulus and uniformity index of the flour were calculated. Average particle size, fineness modulus and uniformity index were found in the range 0.1875 to 0.2023 mm, 1.052 to 1.297 and 0:1:9, respectively. Average particle size of the flour obtained from horizontal mills was found to be higher than vertical mills. Temperature of the flour at the outlet was observed in between 45 and 50°C at room temperature of 18.5°C.

Abnormal milk: It is milk that is not smooth and homogenous but is flaky, ropy, stringy, slimy, watery, discoloured or bad flavoured (Plate 1 & 2).

Abrassive peeler: It is equipment comprising a rotating drum lined with carborandum (an abrasive material) in which certain vegetables like potato and ginger are tumbled and exposed to the abrasive action of the carborandum lining, thereby facilitating separation of peel from the vegetables (Plate 3).

Absinthe: It is green liqueur which is flavored with wormwood, anise, and other aromatic herbs (Plate 4). Its commercial production is banned in ma ny countries for health concerns.

Absolute alcohol: It is water free alcohol. It contains atleast 99 per cent pure alcohol by weight and obtained by digesting rectified spirit over quicklime and redistilling the same.

Absolute density: It is the ratio of weight of certain volume of a substance at 1oC to that of weight of same volume of water at 4oC.

Absolute humidity: Absolute humidity is defined as kg of water vapour per kg of dry air at a given temperature and pressure. Absolute humidity is the mass of water vapour divided by the mass of dry air in a certain volume of air at a specific temperature. The warmer air absorbs more water than cooler one. Absolute humidity is the measure of water vapour or moisture in the air, regardless of temperature.

Absolute pressure: It is equal to atmospheric pressure minus vacuum pressure (Plate 5).

Absolute zero: It is a theoretical temperature characterized by complete absence of heat and motion and equivalent to exactly -273.15°C or -459.67°F (Plate 6).

Materials Required

Equipments and machinery used in Postharvest Technology laboratory for processing, packaging and quality analysis.

Procedure

    1.    Identify the equipments and machinery, note down the typical features about its shape, size, colour etc.

Agro processing involves a diverse range of unit operations aimed at converting raw agricultural products into value-added goods. These processes serve to enhance the shelf life, quality, and overall appeal of agricultural commodities while also boosting their nutritional content and market value. The unit operations employed in Agro processing are determined by the specific characteristics of the product and the desired outcome. Common steps include cleaning, sorting, peeling, grinding, and milling. Preservation methods such as blanching, fermentation, drying, and freezing play a crucial role in preparing products for consumption or further manufacturing. Furthermore, operations like extrusion, canning, juicing, and packaging are essential for producing a variety of processed food items, while proper storage and warehousing ensure the long-term availability and sustainability of these goods. Each unit operation is designed to contribute toward creating high-quality, market-ready products, minimizing waste, and ensuring optimal utilization of raw materials. By combining these processes effectively, Agro processing maximizes the potential of agricultural resources and strengthens the overall food industry.
OVERVIEW OF MATERIAL HANDLING
Materials handling encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, including mechanical harvesting on farms, transportation of live animals, refrigerated transport of perishable goods, and pneumatic conveying of flour from rail cargo to bakery storage facilities. It is important to minimize product losses during these operations while maintaining the quality of raw materials, such as preserving vitamin content and physical appearance, ensuring sanitary conditions, reducing bacterial growth, and optimizing the timing of transfers to avoid delays that could compromise both the economy and product quality. The journey of agricultural produce from farms to processing areas often results in significant transformations. For instance, grapes are transported via tractors, trucks, or trailers to juice plants or wineries, where they are graded, washed, and processed further. However, there are limitations on the size of transport vehicles and the duration fruits and vegetables can be held. Since these are living, respiring products, prolonged storage can increase batch temperatures to levels that encourage spoilage.

8.1. Introduction

Food packaging’s essential functions is to protect the food from hazardous compounds, and contaminant. In order to improve the shelf life of food commodity, smart packaging like active and intelligent packaging has been developed which can monitor freshness, display information of quality, and improve food safety. More precisely, smart packaging was defined by Smart Packaging Journal as “the use of features of high added value that enhance the functionality of a product, notably mechanical, electronic and chemical features that improve safety and efficiency”. The major concerns with traditional packaging are not only shelf life of packaged food, but also the inability of packaging material to convey the important information about quality changes to both customer and manufacturer. 

The success of a TTO relies on a systematic approach encircling factors like assessment, valuation, marketing, negotiation, and post-transfer management (fi gure 8). This chapter covers the activities that are essential for the effective functioning of a TTO. Other activies Technology Assessement /Valuation Financial Managemnt Major Activities of technology transfer office Commercialization IP Management Fostering Innovation
Fig 8: Various activities of TTOs.
3.1 Technology assessment - A pillar of innovation commercialization
The process of transitioning an innovative technology to commercial reality requires a stringent and formal process known as technology assessment. This early stage is crucial as it determines the viability of an invention by analysing practicability of the invention as well as its uniqueness and the likelihood of it being adopted in the target markets. In the absence of this preliminary examination, the chance of technology’s potential being mismatched to the market can arise.
a) Scientific merit and technical feasibility
A key benchmark in assessing technologies involves the identification of
scientific validity and technical performance. An innovation’s viability depends on the fact that it complies with good scientific practice or the innovative application of a new paradigm that has empirically confirmable validity. It is important to determine whether the invention’s underlying mechanism can be reliably proven through established scientific practice. A working prototype allows for empirical testing in different conditions and serves as proof of practical application. In addition to that, scalability has to be tested critically. It often happens that innovations perform well in a controlled laboratory setting but lose efficiency or cost-effectiveness in the case of mass production. The viability of the implementation on a grand scale becomes a core concern in this phase of the evaluation.

1. Introduction

Food is an essential requirement for survival. We work hard to earn money so that we can feed ourselves. However, at the end of the day, many of us are unsure about the quality of food we consume. The allure of money, along with a general disregard for humanity, has resulted in the addition of adulterants to food ranging from simple stones in rice to the more harmful chemicals in food of daily use. Surprisingly, food fraud is not a modern issue. There are several references to fraudulent food behaviour as early as the Romans, but it is usually considered to be the Victorian who places food fraud on the map.

Abstract

Adulteration refers to a process by which the quality or the nature of the given substance is reduced by the addition of foreign or an inferior substance, removal of vital component, packing and storage under harmful conditions, insect infestation, poisonous material, undesirable chemicals and unintentional contaminants. All these change in food whether intentional or unintentional are covered under food adulteration. In cereal grains adulteration results by incidental contamination during the period of growth, harvesting, processing, transport, and distribution and results in various health hazard, sand, marble chips, earth and filth are also adulterants in grains. Pest and pesticides residues are also hazardous.

Introduction

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of healthy human diet. Consumption of vegetables is widely promoted by Governmental health agencies since it provide consumers essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemical compounds, at a relatively low calorie density. Furthermore, the consumption of vegetables has been strongly associated with reduced chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart related ailments. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily (Berger et al 2010). In recent years, fresh-cut produce has become more popular due to their convenience, freshness, taste and assumed “Healthiness”.

In recent years dietary supplements have gained attractiveness within fitness and wellness circles. The other commonly used terms areNutraceuticals, dietary supplements or wellness-focussed foods. Being highly nutritious they are associated with a number of potential therapeutic effects. Nutrient-rich ingredients like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains are often considered dietary supplements as well. Oats fibre called, beta glucan, which has been shown to reduce inflammation, enhance immune function, and perk up heart health.

1. Conventional and Non-conventional Dietary Supplements

Nutrient-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes are often considered dietary supplements. Meanwhile, modified foods have been fortified with micro and macro nutrients to boost health benefits of foods.

Aquaculture or farming and husbandry of aquatic organisms and plants is the future for increasing aquatic food production. It is the fastest growing food production sector with an annual average growth of >6% in the last two decades. It increased from <1 million tonne in 1950 to 70.2 million tonnes in 2013. An update of aquaculture production (FAO) revealed that the total world aquaculture production continued to grow in 2013, reaching 97.2 million tonnes (live weight) with an estimated value of US$157 billion. A total of 575 aquatic species and species groups are grown in freshwater, seawater and brackish water have been registered in the FAO Global Aquaculture Production Statistics Database. The production of farmed food fish (finfish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals) was 70.2 million tonnes in 2013, up by 5.6 % from 66.5 million tonnes in 2012. The production of 27 million tonnes of farmed aquatic plants was a 13.4% jump on the 23.8 million tonnes of 2012. The contribution of aquaculture to the world total fish production reached 43.1%, up from 42.1% in 2012. It was only 30.6% a decade ago in 2003. Meanwhile, world production of aquatic plants, mostly seaweeds, is still overwhelmingly dominated by aquaculture (95.5% in 2013). On a global scale, the production of major non-fed species contributed 30.7% to world food fish aquaculture production in 2013, including 13.9 million tonnes of bivalves and 7.7 million tonnes of filter-feeding carps.

Mariculture involves the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in an enclosed section of the sea (cages/pens), or in tanks, recirculating systems, ponds or raceways in seawater..It is a promising sector by which the additional marine fish requirement can be met in the future years. It is also the fastest growing sub-sector of aquaculture. At global level, mariculture produces many high valued finfishes, crustaceans and molluscs viz. oysters, mussels, clams, cockles and scallops. In 2013 mariculture has contributed around 25.5 million tonnes of foodfish globally which formed about 36.3 %of the foodfish aquaculture production(World food fish aquaculture production was 70.2 million tonnes in 2013). Molluscs dominated the global mariculture production (59.7%) followed by finfish (22.7%), crustaceans (16.2%) and others (1.4%). In addition about 26.9 million tonnes of macro algae were also produced by mariculture. The total mariculture production including seaweeds was 52.4 million tonnes in 2013 which constituted 53.9% of the total aquaculture production (The total global aquaculture production including the aquatic plants was 97.2 million tonnes in 2013).

Food packaging protects products from physical, chemical, biological and environmental influences while helping to maintain safety, freshness and quality. Advanced packaging systems perform functions beyond simple containment by regulating gases, moisture, temperature and microbial activity. The chapter examines modified-atmosphere, controlled-atmosphere and vacuum packaging, together with active and intelligent systems. Time-temperature indicators, freshness indicators and biosensors enable real-time monitoring of product condition. Edible and biodegradable materials provide more sustainable alternatives to conventional packaging, while nanotechnology can improve mechanical, barrier and antimicrobial performance. Shelf-life modelling and hurdle technology are also considered as tools for designing integrated packaging systems suited to specific foods and storage conditions.

Abstract

Agriculture is the major sector for the livelihood of the billions of people worldwide. Increasing population and decreasing arable lands are the major concern for the fulfillment of the desired food production. After green revolution more production in the crop is obtained by worldwide. Several insects and pests are responsible for the inhibition of desired production in agriculture. Therefore, pesticides play a major role in the control of destructive insects and pests. After ban of organochlorine pesticides, organophosphorus pesticides has been used vigorously. Beside the effective pest management in agriculture, residual organophosphorus pesticides are more lethal for human and other living creature. Monitoring of these compounds is very much essential in the food and agricultural samples. Chromatographic techniques are well adopted techniques for the hundreds of residual pesticides. Introduction of various analyzers in chromatographic techniques improve the monitoring of the residual pesticides from different samples. Therefore, recent advancement in residual pesticides isolation and chromatographic techniques has been discussed in this book chapter.

Drying of the Spices

Drying is an important mode of preservation and it ensures microbial safety of the spices.The main purpose of drying is to increase the shelf storage and make the seasonal spices available round the year with minute losses of nutrients, flavor, taste and color (Maroulis, 2003). During drying, there is a continuous transfer of heat and mass due to the heat application which eventually leads to moisture removal from the product (Akpinar, 2006) (Hashim, 2014). Since, the sensory, nutritional and functional attributes of spices are partially or totally affected by the drying process, the adequate choice of drying technique becomes requisite. There exists a number of conventional drying methods including solar drying (El-sebaii, 2012), freeze drying (Ciurzy nska 2011), vacuum drying (Nadi, 2012), osmotic dehydration,hot air drying and fluidized bed drying (Onwude, 2016). However, these drying techniques lead to poor quality of the spices because of the longer duration of treatment and high amount of energy. To combat with the issues of poor quality, there has been a significant development of the novel techniques, which includes- microwave, ohmic, infrared, pulse electric field, radio- frequency, ultraviolet, ultrasound, supercritical and heat pump heating, in the drying of the agricultural crops. These novel techniques are found to produce higher quality products as compared to the conventional drying techniques (Moses J. N., 2014). The microwave and radio frequency heating technologies are developed in such a manner that they are capable of partial or complete removal of the conventional methods of heating/ drying (Onwude, 2016). The use of these novel techniques has gained a keen attention for the drying purpose of spices. Some of the researchers have also proved that combination of conventional and novel drying techniques leads to better product output.

Abstract

It is well known that drying is an important unit operation in food processing industries, essentially used to extend the shelf life but also in making innovative processed products such as snacks with desired functionalities. Although drying of food products is carried out traditionally using several methods, the quality and energy aspects have been major focus of food drying research in the last decade or two. This is achieved by modifying and/or optimizing the existing drying systems, improving pre and post processing of the product, combination of more than one dryer type or developing altogether a new drying technique. There several dryer types which can give extremely good product quality, however, cost-effectiveness can be a major issue. It is necessary to balance both good product quality and minimum energy usage in order to sustain highly competitive market. This lecture will provide an overview of conventional drying methods used for foods, followed by some advances in these conventional methods and a discussion on some new drying techniques developed in recent years that are either commercialized or have potential of industrial use.

Abstract

Seed technology deals with the various aspects of seed- right from production to make it readily and timely available to the end users. The advancement in seedtechnology was realizedlong back and itwas considered equally important to the development of new technology (varieties). Considering the importance of seed as well as variability among seed of different crop species or even in same crop species, the researchers initiated work and focused their direction of research accordingly which resultedinto worthy achievements. Brief overviews of the advancements made in seed technology are being discussed in this chapter. However, efforts are still on to get rid of problems of seed technology in order to strengthen the seed industry, which makes the highest contribution to rural development, probably among all industries.