eChapters

Maturity Standards and Harvesting Indices

Harvesting : Harvesting is detaching a commodity from the point of its origin. This point of origin may be an above ground plant part i.e. shoot eg. apple, tomato etc. or an underground plant part eg potato, carrot, etc. or in water i.e. harvesting of fish from a pond (not to be covered in this book).

Abstract

India has become not only self sufficient in food grains but has also emerged as net exporter of wheat and rice. Acute famines in India have practically been eliminated, thanks to increased food availability at the national level, improved early warning systems and expanding infrastructure for more rapid transport of food grains and other products to needy areas. However, the existing post management system, strategies and policies don’t seem to match new challenges. Despite government intervention in pricing and procurement of food grains, primarily wheat and paddy, India continues to suffer heavily on account of losses and wastages incurred during the post harvest stages, which are more manmade than natural. Some losses have already occurred before the arrival of food grains in the regulated and wholesale markets and continue till food grains reach their destination. What contribute to continuing losses and wastages are improper post harvest handling, government policies and their implementation, which even stifle growth and modernisation of grain markets and processors.

Introduction

Food grains have been the key component of the human diet for thousands of years and have played a vital role in framing human civilization. Rice, wheat, and maize, and to a lesser extent, coarse grains are major staples, crucial to the daily endurance of billions of people around the world. Cereal grains are consumed by more than 50% of world population to meet daily calorie requirements. Most grains undergo a milling process that ideally removes the outer bran (pericarp) and germ layers; catering to consumer market requirements. To a farmer, yield is the most prominent aspect. As the grain moves along the supply chain, and as the product reaches the market, quality becomes the key determinant of its sale-ability and economic value. Grain quality is defined by a range of physical and compositional properties where threshold necessities are set according to end consumer use requirements. Most industries and consumer markets have become habituated over the years to demand grain with specific attributes. Where consumers are close to the source of grain production (e.g. in local markets), their own preferences and the laws of supply and demand control the grain quality. However, where grain is traded over large distances, particularly internationally, consumers almost have no direct influence on quality, requiring regulatory standards to be established and imposed to protect consumer rights. Therefore in the grain supply chain, all points have effects with respect to grain quality.

1. Introduction
Quality makes the product what it is. Quality is how well a product or service satisfies the needs of the customer. Quality can be interpreted in several ways, such as conformance to the standards, meeting customers’ preference/ satisfaction for desired quality attributes, degree of excellence, zero-defect products, etc.
The quality standard of fresh and processed fruit or vegetable products varies with their intended use. For marketing purposes, size, attractiveness, maturity, organoleptic quality and freedom from defects are to be kept in mind in fresh and processed fruit or vegetable products. During the processing of fruit or vegetables into value-added products, colour, flavour and texture also become important. Therefore, Quality is defined in different ways, such as:
i. Quality is a measure of the degree of excellence or degree of acceptability by the consumer.
ii. Quality is also defined as the combination of attributes or characteristics of the products that have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of the product to a user.

Quality is an increasingly important factor in the production and marketing of biological products. Consumers are becoming more discerning as their affluence increases, and would be suppliers of products must meet these demands if they are to maintain or increase market share. The term ‘quality’ is one of the most defined terms in use in food industry today. Quality may be defined as ‘The totality of features and characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy a given need’. The first part, ‘The totality of features and characteristics of a product…..’ concerns objective factors related to the product.  The second part, ‘…… to satisfy a given need’, concerns subjective factors related to user or consumer of goods.

Food is a major determinant of health, nutritional status and productivity of the population. It is, therefore, essential that the food we consume is wholesome and safe. Unsafe food can lead to a large number of food-borne diseases. It is necessary that the food available is safe, hygienic, wholesome and its quality must be assured. Quality of foods can be defined as the ‘composite’ of those ‘characteristics’ that differentiate individuals units of a product and have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of that unit by the buyer. In general, the quality control is the maintenance of quality at levels and tolerance acceptable to the buyer, minimizing the cost for the vender. But, from the scientific angle the overall quality refer to technical, physical, chemical, microbiological, nutritional and sensory parameters to achieve the wholesome food. These quality factors depend on the specific attributes such as sensory properties, based on flavour, colour, aroma, taste, texture, quantitative properties viz. percentage of sugar, protein, fibre etc and hidden attributes like peroxide, free fatty acids, enzymes etc. Though quality attributes are many, not all need to be considered for a particular product. It is imported to determine how far relatively the factor is in relation to the total quality of the product.

Hence, the quality attributes of a particular is based on the composition of the product, expected deteriorate reaction, packaging used, shelf required and the type of the consumer i.e., deployed in terrain conditions or in peaceful situation. With the ultimate goal of protecting the consumer, quality standardization systems have come into force for regulating the gamut of operations in food manufacture. In a broader sense, food laws and Regulation cover the related acts affecting the marketing, production, labeling, food additives used, dietary supplements, enforcement of General Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard analysis and critical Control Point (HACCP), federal laws and regulations, factory inspections and important-export inspections.

Introduction The onion (Allium cepa) is one of the world's oldest cultivated crops, with a history dating back over 5,000 years (Gorrepati et al., 2014). At present, India is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of onions. At the time, India ranked second in onion production with a yearly production of around 23262 TMT and an average yield of 18.10 MT/ha (Prajapati and Saini, 2019; Horticulture Statistics at a Glance, 2018; Tripathi and Lawande, 2016). Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Telangana are the major onion producing states in India. Maharashtra alone covers 55-60% of countries total production. Solapur, Satara, Dhule, Jalgoan, Osmanabad, Beed, Latur, Aurangabad are the major onion producing districts in Maharashtra (Tripathi et al., 2005). Unfortunately, India witnessed around 40-50% post-harvest losses of onions every year (Prajapati and Saini, 2019).

Abstract

Fertilizer inputs are increasing the cost of production in inputintensive crops, so nutrient efficientcultivar is need oftoday. More demands for food by increasing world populations further enhance the importance of nutrient efficient crop cultivars that are higher producers. Breedingtechniques havebeenimplemented significantlyto breed highnutrientefficient crop cultivars to achieve the targets. However, molecular mechanism of nutrient metabolism has been understood to some extent in many crops through quantitative genetic approaches. This minireview outlines an update on recent progress on the genetic approaches of QTL/candidate genes controlling nutrient metabolism pathways in the crop plants.

‘Prunes’ is prepared from peach.

Arrak” liquor is prepared from date palm.

Hayane” variety of date palm suitable for juice making.

Kanji” is made from black carrot.

Kirschwascer” a wine prepared from cherry.

Shahi” variety of Litchi suitable for canning.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a part of “Chenopodiaceae” family. Up to 250 species of Chenopodium have been identified to date. Quinoa is a South American grain that has been farmed in the Andes for thousands of years, particularly in Peru and Bolivia. It is considered as a sacred plant because of its abundance in protein and essential amino acids (Jancurova et al., 2009). Quinoa is distinguished by its excellent adaptability to a diverse variety of land and environmental variables. Both leaves as well as the grains are considered as the edible parts. However, the quinoa grains have been extensively studied and economically explored (Rocha, 2008).

R - Enamel can: The acid resistant, gold coloured enamel treated can are called R enamel cans. It is used for canning of acidic food which have soluble colouring pigments.

R value: R value is a measure of resistance to the flow of heat through a given thickness of a material (insulation) with higher numbers indicating better insulating properties. R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.

Rabbitto and putridity: The surface taint of the milk caused by Pseudomonas putrefaciens is called rabbitto and putridity.

Racking: An important operation for the wine production in which wine is siphoned off and is transferred to a fresh vat with the help of a false bottom. Racking is repeated decanting to remove the slowly setting cloud of the freshly fermented young wine. It is also called clarification. It is synonym to siphoning.

1. Introduction

Food is processed for its preservation, hygienization or value addition. To date, the food preservation technologies such as canning, dehydration, freezing, pasteurization and controlled atmosphere and modified atmosphere packaging have been the main processes employed to preserve foods, with the use of antimicrobials and microwaves also being employed more recently. In future, however, technologies such as exposure to ionizing radiation, high pressure processing, ohmic heating and pulsed electric field processing, could potentially be the new alternatives to the above food preservation technologies.

Irradiation of food involves the exposing of food, either in prepacked form or as such to controlled doses of ionizing radiation being generated either by electrically driven machines such as electron beam accelerators, x-rays or gamma rays produced by radioactive isotopes such as CS-137,CO-60, to achieve certain desirable objectives. The process of exposing a range of food stuffs to specific doses of ionizing radiation is being used to extend the shelf life of food stuffs, to improve their overall safety and quality by eliminating pathogenic bacteria, by reducing number of food spoilage organisms, to reduce the bacterial load on herbs and spices and thereby making them safe to incorporate into food stuffs, to inhibit sprouting in stored tuber and bulb crops such as potatoes, onions and garlic, to disinfest grains, grain products and tropical fruits to prevent damage to the commodity and to meet the quarantine regulations(Arun Sharma, 2004, Farkas, 2006).

Need to Preserve Food

Food is vital for human existence. Conservation and preservation of food is a prerequisite for food security and it provides economic stability and self reliance to a nation. The need to preserve food has been felt by mankind since time immemorial. The seasonal nature of production, long distances between production and consumption centers and rising gap between demand and supply have made this need even more relevant today. The hot and humid climate of a country like India is quite favorable for the growth of numerous insects and microorganisms that destroy stored crops and cause spoilage of food every year. Spoilage can also occur due to chemical and physiological changes in stored foods. Sea-foods, meat and poultry may carry harmful microbes and parasitic organisms that cause illnesses associated with their consumption. As in other parts of the world, India has also practiced various methods of food preservation such as sun drying, pickling and fermentation which were supplemented with more energy consuming techniques such as refrigeration, freezing and canning. Each of these methods has its merits and limitations. Man has always been on the search for newer methods to preserve foods with least change in sensory qualities. Radiation processing of food is one of the latest methods developed for this purpose.

Radiofrequency (RF) pasteurization is an emerging thermal processing technology that uses electromagnetic energy to generate rapid and volumetric heating within food materials. This chapter introduces the principles underlying RF heating and explains how alternating electric fields interact with polar molecules and ions to produce heat. It examines RF system configuration, electrode arrangements, packaging considerations and the operational workflow from raw-material preparation to post-treatment cooling and quality evaluation. Particular attention is given to microbial inactivation, enzyme control, uniform heating, nutrient and bioactive-compound retention, colour and structural preservation. The chapter also discusses technical limitations, hotspot formation, packaging challenges, nutritional considerations and current industrial constraints associated with RF processing.

1. Introduction

Foods are complex biologically and chemically active systems that require close monitoring of their manufacturing, distribution and storage conditions in order to maintain their nutritive value, safety and sensory qualities by suitable chemical. The determination of trace impurities in food system presents considerable difficulties owing to complexity as it contains thousands of major and minor compounds (Nilufer and Boyacio, 2002). The choice of the method of analysis depends on the sample, the analyte to be assayed, accuracy, limit of detection, cost and time to complete the analysis (Aboul- Eneim et al., 2000). The chemical methods employed for food analysis and quality control are generally time consuming and require tedious or destructive sample preparation. For development of the new detection method, emphasis should be on development of simplified, cost-effective and efficient procedures that complies with the legislative requirements (Stroka and Anklem, 2002; Enker, 2003).

The molecular spectroscopy is a fast, accurate, easy and non-destructive technique that can be used as a replacement of time-consuming methods. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has proved to be a powerful analytical tool used in the agricultural, nutritional, petrochemical, textile and pharmaceutical industries (McGlone and others, 2002; Esteban-Diez and others, 2004). Infra red spectroscopy is based on the absorption of infra red light by the substance to be measured. This absorption excites molecular vibrations and rotations, which have frequencies that are the same as those in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (Pande and Mishra, 2015). This application uses a fiber optic coupled FT-NIR system operating in the 10,000 – 4,000 cm^-1 region in reflectance mode. It involves the analysis and quantification of molecular responses to introduced signals of known energy or frequency. All molecules (e.g. water, glucose, protein) have a definite amount of energy. When alternate energy (e.g. infrared radiation) is introduced, an energy exchange occurs between the introduced energy and the energy contained within the molecule. This is expressed as absorbance (energy is absorbed resulting in a loss of introduced energy), attenuated (energy is scattered resulting in a loss of introduced energy) or emitted (energy is released resulting in a gain on the introduced energy). As individual molecules and molecular groups (e.g. alcohols, nucleic acids, proteins, sugars and fats) have definite energy, by applying external energy of a known amount/type, one can structurally identify, quantify and even determine the natural state of these molecules within complex samples and mixtures.

1. Introduction

There is a general consensus that fruit and vegetable consumption is a key factor for a balanced diet. Globally, majority of people consistently are consuming less than the daily recommended fruit and vegetable requirement. Even in developed nations e.g., Australia, Canada, Europe, UK and USA, researchers have concluded that there is large gap between actual and recommended consumption of both fruits and vegetables despite decades of concern and publicity while resultant outcomes were short-lived. In a study from 52 low and middle-income countries 77.6% of men and 78.4% of women consumed less than the minimum recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Same study reported 74% low fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in India (Hall et al., 2009). In India, recent studies on the fruit and vegetable intake amongst urban residents was reported as 265 g per day as against 400 g per dayof fruits and vegetables excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers, that is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2008).

Epidemiological studies conducted in recent years have indicated a positive correlation between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Health-promoting functional characteristics of vegetables are mainly attributable to their functional bioactive constituents. These effects can be listed as antioxidant activity, cholesterol-bindingcapacity, antidiabetic activity and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity. Studies conducted in cell culture models and animal models have revealed that bioactive compounds of plant foods, including soybean, hawthorn fruit, tea, buckwheat, oats, onion, garlic, almond, and vegetable juice, composed of tomato watercress, parsley, carrots, celery, lettuce, beets and spinach, have cholesterol-lowering activity (El-Shatanovi et al., 2012; Vadivel et al., 2011).

1. Introduction

Extrusion is one of the most preferred ways for creating the indulgence called ready-to-eat (RTE) snack foods with diverse shapes, sizes, colours and also nutritional and functional values which appeal to the diverse group of consumer with varied choices. In this chapter ready-to-eat extruded and puffed snacks are the focus covering the technology involved, criteria for ingredient selection, design of experiment, process modelling, effects of extrusion on physical, nutritional and functional quality of the snack; a few relevant case studies are also discussed.

1.1 Market for RTE snack foods

Indian cooking and lifestyle have undergone tremendous changes in the last 15 years. There are many major factors impacting this change which include, liberalization policy, dual income, separate living of couples, innovative kitchen applications, media proliferation, etc. The cooking style and eating habits in India varies drastically from southern part to northern part of the contry. Due to lifestyle pressure nowadays people prefer easy short way of cooking food rather spending too much time on cooking. Rapid urbanisation is also one of the reasons for people to buy such products. Snack foods comprise a very large variety of items including potato chips, crackers, nuts and extruded snacks, among others (Harper, 1981). Snack food extrusion includes subjecting selected raw material to a variety of complex physical processes to yield snacks with varied shapes and textures (White, 1994).

The RTE market in India was expected to expand to reach Rs. 2,900 crore by 2015, according to an analysis done by Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG). The products may vary from noodles, pasta, masala packages, stuffed paratha, etc. and many more. There are many regional players who are making foray into ready-to-eat segment. Many national and international players like Nestle, Pepsico, ITC, Haldirams, Cavinkare, are already in Indian market with their products.

1. Introduction

1.1 Malnutrition

The term malnutrition generally refers both to under nutrition and over nutrition, but in this guide we use the term to refer solely to a deficiency of nutrition. Many factors can cause malnutrition, most of which relate to poor diet or severe and repeated infections, particularly in underprivileged populations. Inadequate diet and disease, in turn, are closely linked to the general standard of living, the environmental conditions, and whether a population is able to meet its basic needs such as food, housing and health care. Malnutrition is thus a health outcome as well as a risk factor for disease and exacerbated malnutrition, and it can increase the risk both of morbidity and mortality (Ogunrinade, 2014). A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive enough nutrients for proper function. A person cannot properly digest or absorb nutrients from the food they consume, as may occur with certain medical conditions (Medicine, 2015). Malnutrition may range from mild to severe and life-threatening. It can be a result of starvation, in which a person has an inadequate intake of calories, or it may be related to a deficiency of one particular nutrient (for example, vitamin C deficiency).

Malnutrition is estimated to contribute to more than one third of all child deaths, although it is rarely listed as the direct cause. Lack of access to highly nutritious foods, especially in the present context of rising food prices, is a common cause of malnutrition. Poor feeding practices, such as inadequate breast feeding, offering the wrong foods, and not ensuring that the child gets enough nutritious food, contributes to malnutrition (WHO, 2015).

Pooled estimates report the prevalence of malnutrition among community-dwelling older adults of 6% and among hospitalized older adults of 39%. In developed countries, treatment of malnutrition is relatively inexpensive and effective: energy and protein supplementation using commercial “sip feeds” results in both weight gain and reduced mortality (Pereira et al., 2015). In 2013, one in four children under age five worldwide had stunted growth. Between 2000 and 2013, stunting prevalence globally declined from 33 to 25 %, and the number of children affected fell from 199 million to 161 million. In 2013, about half of all stunted children lived in Asia and over one third in Africa (UNICEF, 2015). Malnutrition may be several types as follows:

Previous Year Questions

1. Discuss the reasons for food grain surplus (7.5 marks, CSE 2019)

2. What are the reasons for good grain surplus in India? Write the steps taken by the government to save the food grains. (12.5M, CSE 2015)

Reason for Grain Surplus

Green Revolution

• Introduction of high yielding varieties of Rice and Wheat

• Green Revolution was made possible through the use of

Abstract

Potato in India was introduced as a long day temperate crop which found suitable climate in the higher hills of the country. Since then it is grown widely in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the Plateau and the Himalayan regions in north and the Nilgiris hills in south of India. The Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla has developed 49 potato varieties by the conventional breeding for suitable cultivation of potato in different potato zones of India. A number of technologies for ware- and quality seed- potato production, storage and processing have been developed/standardized for adoption by the end users. These technologies have contributed immensely towards multiple increase in area, production and productivity of potato during last sixty years. Apart from conventional tools, modern biotechnological tools like whole genome sequencing technology, transgenics technology, molecular markers, RNAi and microarray technology have are also being employed in potato improvement.