eChapters

Naïve panel: It refers to the sensory evaluation panel that has not been trained specifically regarding the product evaluation being undertaken in the study.

Nano technology: It is the art of manipulating materials on an atomic or molecular scale to build microscopic devices. The word “ nano’ meaning ‘dwarf” in Greek language refers to dimension / magnitude of the material / particle in the order of 10⁹. Nanotechnology is nothing but manipulating of particles into very small particles called nano-particles. These particles have dimensions in the scale of nano-meter and used to design / build materials and devices. Nanotechnology has been provisionally defined as relating to materials, systems and processes which operate at a scale of 100 nanometers (nm) or less. It will allow many things to be manufactured at low cost and with no pollution. The concept of nanotechnology was first given by Nobel Laureate physicist Richard P. Feynman in Southern California in 1959.

NaNO_2: Pink colour of cured meat is preserved by NaNO₂. It is effective against Cl. Botulinosm

Nanogram: It is one billionth of a gram.

Foliage or house plants are mostly those with attractive foliages or flowers and are able to survive and grow under indoor conditions. They are mostly used for interior decoration or interior plantscaping. Foliage plants of world’s importance include Aglaonema, Dieffenbachia, Dracena, Epidendrum, Ficus, Peperomia, Philodendron, Sansevieria, Syngonium, Schfflera, ferns, Anthurium, Codiaeum. Florida shares more than 55% in foliage industry.

Flowers attract both young and old alike. They are associated with mankind from the dawn of civilization. These have become an integral part of human life in the modern era.
 
The Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 hectares, area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers.

Various methods are employed to dry flowers and foliage. The method adopted for drying depends largely on the character of the plant, that is to say whether the plant is glabrous, succulent or not succulent, hardy or delicate in nature. The suitable method for drying any given plant has to be studied elaborately. However, the different methods of drying are described broadly in this and consequent chapters.

Pressing Flowers

One of the most popular methods for drying flowers is to put them under pressure, to remove the moisture out while leaving the color of the flowers and structure intact. There are several ways to apply pressure to flowers. The easiest method is placing them in heavy books and allow for drying. Flower presses can also be used. Some guidelines for pressing flowers in the traditional way are explained below:

Drying by Embedding

A desiccant is simply a substance with a high affinity for water which can be used as a drying agent. Embedding the flowers in a granular, desiccating material is probably the most commonly used method and many consider it the best all around method. Several materials are used as drying agents. All the agents used vary in cost and in the results they produce. It is important to use the correct procedure when covering the flowers so that their form is maintained. Most well known is silica gel, but also clean dry sand can be used. Usually an airtight container is used; the flower heads are placed in the drying mixture face up, and very carefully covered with the mixture. The container must be kept closed during the drying process. After 4-14 days, depending on the thickness of the flower, the flower will be dry.

Dried Grasses

Grasses are easy to collect to dry and use. When the seed-heads have formed, the grass is cut off just above the soil using a sharp knife. They are allowed to lie in a thin layer in the sun for a day or two, turning them over a few times. They should not be allowed to get too damp. After they are dried they are put into a plethora of uses. Bunches of dried grasses can make a wonderful addition to any home or office.

Artificial flowers are a great source of handmade decorations. Beautiful handmade artificial flowers are suitable for banquets, weddings or to decorate any room in the home. They are generally made of paper or cloth and in a variety of colors. They come in either a bouquet form or can be ordered as individual stems. There are different kinds of artificial flowers including silk flower, latex flower, flowers made from natural leaves and embroidery flower.

23.1 Dry Flower Packing

Careful packing is one of the most important aspects of any product. Dry flower packing is the simplest way to capture the essence of summer flowers till long. Dry flowers should be packed nicely to avoid any damage. They should be packed alone in appropriate sized carton loosely cushioned with paper.They should be packed in a manner to keep them away from direct sunlight leaving some room for air. Packing material should be stable and firm to hold the dry flowers well without any damage during storage or transportation. Dry flowers can be packed in a variety of ways: in poly bags, window box, cardboard box, or in a sachet.

Abstract

Wheat is unique among cereals because of its ability to form viscoelastic dough. Variety of products such as leavened and unleavened breads, pasta, cookies, and breakfast cereals are prepared using wheat. The viscoelastic property of dough is mainly due to the presence of gluten proteins viz., gliadins and glutenins. Variations among these proteins play a significant role in determining the quality of wheat. Although considerable studies have been carried out on quantity and quality of protein and their relation to bread quality, very little work has been reported on their relation with quality of Indian traditional products like chapati and tandoori roti. Results indicate that ratio between gliadins and glutenins are important in determining the chapati quality. It has been found that varieties having 5+10 HMW glutenin subunits with IBL/ IRS chromosomes are more suitable for the preparation of chapati and roti. This article is focused on the relation between protein and its subunit composition and the quality of chapatti and roti quality.

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.

Abstract

High moisture paddy can be dried in a trolley drier at farm level/grain market to reduce losses during various post harvest operations. During last two paddy harvesting seasons quality analysis of eight, most popular varieties of fresh paddy arrivals from about 40 grain markets, scattered all over Punjab, was performed. Monitoring of paddy in grain markets showed that maximum number of samples (62.7%) was in the range of 12-18%, moisture content (w.b.). Over-dried paddy samples (<12% m.c., w.b.) were only 9.1%. The samples with more than 18% m.c ,w.b. (high moisture paddy) were 28.2%, which have to be dried to safe moisture levels. Milling characteristics of the analyzed samples indicated that the broken percentage was highest (25.5%) in PR-113 followed by PR-111 (20.6%) and minimum in Pusa-44 (12%). The highest insect- pest infestation (Sitotroga cerealella (olivier) was observed in PR-108, followed by PR-116, PR-113, PR-111, Lal Mundi, Govinda, PR-114 and Sharbati. The Mycoflora isolated and identified were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Alternaria, Curvularia, Helminthosporium and Cladosporium spp. Maximum fungal infestation were associated with samples of PR-108 variety. To avoid further proliferation of mycoflora and inset pests, paddy should be dried to safe moisture levels for further storage and processing. For this, a trolley drier has been developed by converting a conventional farmer’s tractor trolley, into a portable drier, which can reduce 5% moisture of 1 tonne batch of paddy in about 100 minutes, consuming 56 kWh of electrical energy

Abstract

The establishment of All-India Coordinated Wheat Improvement Project in 1965 coincided with the introduction of high yielding semi-dwarf wheat varieties. Since then India has made very impressive progress in increasing wheat production over the past three and half decades. India now ranks as the second largest wheat-producing nation in the world. In fact from a state of “Ship to mouth” in 30 years or so India has become a nation of surpluses. The significant contribution made by the project in helping the increased wheat production cannot be ignored. Through coordinated research and development, nearly 200 wheat varieties have been developed during the last 35 years in India. However, only a small number of them produced without backing of specific quality breeding programs excel in quality traits also. The increasing demand of baked and pasta products in the country along with economic liberalization and global trade have offered opportunities for better utilization of the surplus wheat. Thus, in the current decade and beyond, wheat quality needs uppermost attention to meet the trade requirements for domestic and export purposes. Therefore, there is a need to reorient the wheat improvement programs in the country.

Abstract
 
Technological advancement, increased urbanization, awareness and interest of consumer for variety products have given a great challenge to the food sector to develop inexpensive foods that are nutritionally superior and acceptable to the intended consumers. Keeping this objective in view, we have made an attempt to develop technology for variety products from wheat and corn and suitability of available varieties judged. With the emerging trends of food market towards fast foods, there are vast prospects for efficient utilization of cereals by exploring varieties products. A steamed bread (a Chinese traditional product) and Tortilla and corn chips (Mexican snacks) were developed. Steamed bread is defined as the product resulting from cooking or steaming fermented dough. Recipe and method for its preparation was standardized. Nutritionally rich steamed bread can be prepared by supplementing 10% level of chickpea and defatted soybean flour. Corn snacks have become a prime target of some consumer advocates and nutritionists who have referred them as a source of ‘empty calories’. But reality is that these snacks provide instant energy, as they are rich storehouse of nutrients. Process and recipe for the preparation of Tortilla and corn chips from Indian maize were standardized. The quality and acceptability of these snacks were worked out and found that these products were highly acceptable. Indian consumers have versatile taste, so these products will be readily accepted in Indian market. 

Abstract

Pulses constitute an important component of the diet and are a major source of protein in vegetarian diet. India has largest area under pulse cultivation and produces a variety of pulses. A large portion of this produce gets spoiled due to insect and fungal attack. A variety of insecticides and fungicides are used for the control of pest during storage. There is an increasing trend towards the reduction in the use of pesticides in storage due to strong demand from consumers to choose food with no pesticide residue, development of insect resistance to pesticides and the impact of pesticides’ use on environment. All these have posed a challenge to refine the existing management procedures of storage and commodity to find the optimal solution. Controlled/ Modified Atmosphere storage offers an alternative to the use of pesticides extends storage life and maintains product quality. The Controlled/Modified Atmosphere is created by altering the composition of the atmosphere in terms of CO2, O2, and N2 concentration. High CO2 produce undesirable conditions for insects and microbes and thus control their activity.

Abstracts

About 60-70% of total food grain production is retained and stored by farmers for household consumption, use as seed, feed for cattle and payment of wages to labours etc. in our country. Yet the quality of grains stored is not so good, and hence, preserving the harvested crops without loss or damage has always been a problem of national importance. This study was conducted in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh state. A tribal block namely Kundam was selected for study purpose. The responses of 120 women were recorded in pre-tested structural schedule through interview. Rural women are an important source of information on the use of indigenous practices for grain storage. The data reveals that the majority of respondents are using dry leaves of Neem, dry onion bulb, wheat straw, Nirgudi leaves, roots of bach etc. for storage of grain at household level. In our country, indigenous practices of grain storage have always been and are still followed, because it is supposed that these practices are useful in control of grain loss.

Cereal Processing

    1.    The protein content of wheat grain varies widely, but for bread making a value of at least 11% is required.

    2.    Low grain sulphur will result in low concentrations of the sulphur-containing amino acids, cystine and methionine, and may result in poor loaf volume.

    3.    During seed germination endosperm starch is converted into soluble glucose and maltose to support the developing embryo. This is brought about by enzymatic activity, especially the enzyme a-amylase.

    4.    Excessive a-amylase levels result in the formation of a darkened loaf crust as a result of sugar caramelization and a sticky crumb structure which can cause problems during slicing.

    5.    Wheat with a protein level below 10% is preferred to reduce gluten elasticity.

    6.    There is a very good correlation between grain nitrogen and the amount of malt extract achieved, low grain nitrogen giving more fermentable extract

    7.    The term ‘coarse grains milling’ is a very broad one that refers to the comminution of the berries of the wheat, barley and other coarse grain crops.

Meat and Meat Products

    1.    Meat can be defined as “the muscle tissue of slaughter animals”.
    2.    meat is composed of water, fat, protein, minerals and a small proportion of carbohydrate

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.

Materials Required

Fruits/vegetables, thermometer, refractometers, NaOH, Phenolphthalein, glassware, weighing balance, plastic crates for storage of commodity, water cooling facility.

Procedure

    1.    Harvest the fruit / vegetable
    2.    Count No. of unmarketable fruits in every 100 fruits harvested
    3.    Record the internal fruit temperature in about 5-10 randomly selected fruits with the help of a thermometer
    4.    Pre-cool the commodity in cold water (<5ºC), air or refrigerator till the temperature reaches near its optimum storage temperature
    5.    Record the internal fruit temperature
    6.    Record the time required to pre-cool the commodity
    7.    Keep the product for storage at ambient conditions alongwith control
    8.    Record the difference in the shelf life and quality during storage

Materials Required

Fruits juice, enzymes (pectinase, cellulase, pectinase CCM etc.), filter press, buchner filter apparatus, water bath, filter paper pulp, buchhi type rotary vacuum evaporator, freeze concentrator, membrane concentrator (whichever available), vacuum grease.

Procedure

    1.    Extract the juice as discussed in earlier exercises. Take a known quantity of juice in a conical flask.
    2.    Add enzymes i.e. pectinase @ 0.2% to the juice and keep in a water bath at temperature of 40-50ºC for 2 hrs.
    3.    Shake the flasks occasionally for uniform mixing of enzyme all throughout the flask during the enzymatic treatment.
    4.    Leave the flasks undisturbed for 10-12 hrs for allowing the insoluble solids to settle at the bottom of the flask.
    5.    Siphon the clear juice from the top of the flask.
    6.    Pass this siphoned juice through filter press or through a 0.4-0.5 cm thick bed of filter paper pulp in a Buchner filter apparatus or filter press.
    7.    Record the volume of the clarified juice obtained. Calculate the wastage.
    8.    Concentrate the juice in rotary vacuum evaporator at 50+2ºC temperature and at 28-30” Hg vacuum to a TSS of about 50 to 70º Brix. Record the exact TSS.
    9.    Record the volume of condensate obtained in the round bottom flask of the buchhi apparatus.
    10.    Calculate the folds of concentration

Materials Required

Fruit pulp, cane sugar, potable water, essence, citric acid, colours, preservatives, weighing balance, glass jars (500 ml capacity), jar closures, hand refractometer, steel pan, ladle etc.

Procedure

    1.    Select sound and fresh fruits, free from any blemishes. Generally a mixture of ripe and unripe fruits should be taken as the ripe fruits impart good flavour and the unripe fruits are rich in pectin, required for a good set.

    2.    Wash the fruits thoroughly. Cut into 4-8 pieces depending upon the fruit and size
    3.    Boil the fruit pieces for about 20-25 min in boiling water and pass through pulper to get a good pulp.
    4.    Weigh known quantity of fresh or preserved pulp and add about equal quantity of sugar (preferably in 45:55 ratio)
    5.    Cook the mixture on gas flame by occasional stirring. 
    6.    When the mixture becomes thick, perform sheet test.
    7.    Citric acid is added generally towards the end of cooking. Addition of all the acid in the beginning may result in stickiness and poor set. 
    8.    Remove from the flame when the mixture gives a clear sheet
    9.    Flavours, colours etc may also be added towards the end of boiling. 
    10.    Fill the jam in glass jars (preferably pre-warmed in hot air).
    11.    Close the jars with lug caps and allow to cool overnight.
    12.    Label and store in a cool place.

Materials Required

Fruit extract, cane sugar, potable water, essence, citric acid, colours, preservatives, weighing balance, glass jars (500 ml capacity), jar closures, hand refractometer, steel pan, ladle etc.

Procedure for Jelly

    1.    Select sound and fresh fruits, free from any blemishes. Generally a mixture of ripe and unripe fruits shouldbe taken as the ripe fruits impart good flavour and the unripe fruits are rich in pectin, required for a good set.
    2.    Wash the fruits thoroughly. Cut into 4-8 pieces depending upon the fruit and size
    3.    Boil the fruit pieces in water (about ½ to an equal weight of fruits for fruits like apple and 2-3 times the weight of sliced fruits in case of citrus fruits) for about 30 min. with occasional stirring. Strain the boiled mixture through coarse muslin cloth to get a clear pectin extract
    4.    A second extract may also be taken by boiling the same mass again and straining.
    5.    Add sugar (usually 3/4th to one part of the extract or in 45:55 ratio) to the pectin extract and boil in a stainless steel pan. Add required quantities of acid towards the end of boiling.
    6.    Remove the scum rising on the top of boiling mass occasionally.
    7.    To avoid charring, occasional stirring is also done.
    8.    To avoid destruction of pectin the cooking should be completed fast
    9.    Determine the end point of jelly as detailed ahead.
    10.    Fill in hot dry glass jars and cool rapidly
    11.    Pour a thin layer of hot molten paraffin wax seal to avoid moulding.   
    12.    Label and store in a cool place.

Materials Required

Lime fruits, green chillies, ginger salt (common), stainless steel pans, kinives, weighing balance, spices etc. 

Procedure

    1.    Select sound and mature fruits of lime, mature but green chillies having good size and ginger rhizomes.
    2.    Wash the lime fruits, ginger and chillies properly in running cold water.
    3.    Cut the lime fruits into pieces / halves. 
    4.    Remove the stalks of the chillies and cut into longitudinal slices. Peel ginger and cut into long thin slices.
    5.    Put the lime pieces, chilli and ginger slices in a wide mouthed pre-sterilized glass jar 
    6.    Add common salt @ 250g / Kg of material.
    7.    Squeeze some of the juice over the slices
    8.    Stir the mass well mixing thoroughly
    9.    In case the juice does not cover the material completely, add pre-boiled and cooled 5% solution of citric acid.
    10.    Keep the jar in Sun for about a week with occasional shaking of the material.
    11.    When the lime pieces start turning light brown, the pickle is ready for consumption.

Materials Required

Dehydrator, balance, thermometer, sulphur dioxide, blanching pan, fruits / vegetables, polythene or aluminium bags.

Procedure

    1.    Select sound fruits or vegetables 
    2.    Record their initial weight and wash them properly in plain water to remove any dirt or extraneous matter. 
    3.    Peel with stainless steel knife (as the case may be) and cut into thin uniform pieces or slices of  0.2-0.5 mm thickness
    4.    Blanch the slices in boiling water for 1-2 min. to inactivate the enzymes followed by immediate cooling.
    5.    Treat the slices with sulphur (sulphuring or sulphiting) in order to prevent darkening of the product during drying. 
    6.    Dry the slices in a mechanical air dehydrator at about 55 + 5oC temperature.
    7.    Record the weight of the product after every 2 hr till it becomes (almost) constant i.e. when there no more (significant) loss of moisture from the product.
    8.    Pack the product in ploythene or aluminium laminated pouches and seal them air tight. 
    9.    If it is to be converted into powder, the dried product can be ground in a grinder before packing.
    10.    Label the packages and store them in a cool dry place.
    11.    Plot the drying rate curve of the product on a graph paper and analyse it.
    12.    Record the initial and final moisture content of the product (as discussed in Exercise No. 19). 

Materials Required

Apple (or any local fruit), fruit mill, hydraulic press, weighing balance, Refractometer/sugar pectinol, diammonium hydrogen phosphate, Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture, Potassium metabisulphite (KMS) etc.

Procedure

    1.    Take a known quantity of apple (or any other fruit) say 20 Kg
    2.    Extract the juice as discussed in earlier exercises.
    3.    Add about 200 ppm of kms.
    4.    Add sugar syrup to increase the TSS to about 20 – 24ºBrix.
    5.    To about 10 Kg of juice diammonium hydrogen phosphate (10 g) and pectinol (20-25 g are added).
    6.    Take about 500 ml of this mixture in a conical flask and add pure Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture @ 1 % and plug the neck with cotton. Keep at 22-24ºC to complete the fermentation within one day and yeast culture is ready.
    7.    Add this culture to about 10 Kg of must for further fermentation (i.e. culture is added @ 5% therefore 500 g is added to 10 Kg must).
    8.    Record the TSS of the must before fermentation.
    9.    Keep must for fermentation in big jars (narrow mouth) filled to about 75 % of their volume. Close the mouth of jars or bottles with cotton plug.
    10.    Allow fermentation to take place at 22-24ºC for about 10–15 days.
    11.    When no more bubbles are coming out of the jars, fermentation is complete. At this stage the TSS reaches about 7º Brix.
    12.    Siphon the wine. Add filter aids if wine is not clear.
    13.    Blend the wine with sweetening agents if required.
    14.    Fill in beer bottles by keeping a head space of about 2.5 cm followed by crown corking them.
    15.    Pasteurize the bottles by keeping at 62.5ºC for 20 min.

Materials Required

Sample, 0.1 N NaOH solution, 1% phenolphthalein indicator solution, beakers, conical flasks, pestle and mortar, funnels, volumetric flasks, pipettes, pH meter, shaker.

Reagents

    1.    0.1 N NaOH: Dissolve 4 g NaOH (AR) crystals in sufficient water to make up the final vol. 1 litre.

    2.    1 % Phenolphthalein: Dissolve 1 g in 100 ml water. Readymade indicator solutions are more commonly used.  

Procedure

Preparation of sample: For fresh fruits and vegetables, prepare a well blended, uniform pulp in a pestle and mortar and for processed products, take out a representative sample and blend it well so that it becomes uniformly soluble when added to water. Filter through a fine muslin cloth or coarse filter paper if felt necessary. The liquid samples can be taken directly for estimation.
    1.    Take out a known weight / vol. (say 20 g) of sample in a beaker (in 3 replicates).
    2.    Make it to a known vol. (say 100 ml) with added distilled water.
    3.    Take 10 ml of this aliquot in a conical flask.
    4.    Add 1-2 drops of phenolphthalein indicator into the aliquot.
    5.    Titrate against 0.1 N solution of NaOH till light pink coloured end point is obtained.
    6.    For coloured products, i.e. tomato products where judgment of light pink colour is difficult, titration may be done over a shaker, and digital pH meter may be used for continuously measuring pH of aliquot which would show a steady increase with more and more addition of 0.1 N NaOH. Titre value may be recorded when pH of 8.3 is obtained.
    7.    Record the titre value and calculate the acidity of the sample as per the given formula.

Materials Required

Sample, reagents, beakers, conical flasks, pestle and mortar, funnels, volumetric flasks, pipettes, hot plate, weighing balance, spectrophotometer/colorimeter.

Reagents

    1.    0.1 N NaOH: Dissolve 4 g NaOH (AR) crystals in sufficient water to make up the final volume 1 Litre.
    2.    1 % Phenolphthalein: Dissolve 1 g in 100 ml water. Readymade indicator solutions are more commonly used.
    3.    Alkaline copper Tartarate
        a.    Dissolve 12.5 g anhydrous sodium carbonate, 10 g sodium bicarbonate, 12.5 g potassium sodium tartarate and 100 g anhydrous sodium sulphate in about 400 ml of distilled water and make up the final volume to 500 ml.
        b.    Dissolve 15 g copper sulphate in distilled water. Add one drop of sulphuric acid and make up to 100 ml in distilled water.
    4.    Always prepare fresh Alkaline Copper Tartarate reagent by mixing 96 ml of sol. a. and 4 ml of sol. b. and before use.
    5.     Arsenomolybdate Reagent: Dissolve 5.0 g ammonium molybdate (AR) in 90 ml of distilled water. Add about 5.0 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid and mix well. Add 600 mg of disodium hydrogen arsenate dissolved in 50 ml water. Mix well and incubate the prepared reagent at 37ºC for 24-48 hr or 55ºC for 30  min. with constant stirring.

2.1    Origin
    
2.2    Production
    
2.3    Distribution

2.4    World Scenario

6.1    Phytochemicals
    
6.2    Health Benefits  and Therapeutic Properties of Banana
    
6.3    Validation of Health and Therapeutic Claims

1. Introduction

The Refractance Window drying system uses circulating hot water, usually at 90°C and at atmospheric pressure, so that it can carry the thermal energy to the material to be dehydrated. Thermal energy is transferred to the wet product from circulating hot water through a plastic interface which is transparent to the infrared radiation. The actual product temperature is kept below 70°C. The heated water is recycled and reused, which helps in improving the thermal efficiency of the system. The use of hot water as the heat transfer medium and at temperatures just below boiling is a design feature that is unique to this drying method. In RW drying, there are three modes of heat transfer, namely conduction, convection, and radiation. The process water is heated by steam within an insulated tank and then circulated in shallow troughs to transfer thermal energy to the plastic conveyor. As the plastic conveyor is very thin, it reaches the temperature of hot water flowing beneath it almost immediately. By conduction and radiation, the thermal energy from the hot water is transmitted through the plastic conveyor. The use of process water at temperatures just below boiling and a thin plastic conveyor with infrared transmission in the wavelength range that matches the absorption spectrum for water all work together to facilitate rapid drying.

1. Introduction

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a tuberous root crops. It is known as “U mangra” in Manipuri. It is also known as mandioca or tapioca, yucca, mosioc. Cassava belongs to Euphorbiaceae family The cassava plant is of perennial woody shrub in nature. (CGIR 2011; FAO-2015, Zhu 2015). Like paddy and wheat as staple food crops, cassava is also staple food crops for many countries. It supports millions of population especially in South American and African countries. It is also known as food security crop because of its ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions when other food crops cannot sustain and destroy. It can grow in low fertility soil, marginal land with less agricultural maintenance. It resists to pest and diseases so cultivation is easy to carry out with less expenditure. Cassava is abundantly grown in Manipur mostly in hilly areas. To some extent, it is consumed as snacks item either by burnt in fire or charcoal or boiled form with little addition of salt. The fresh young leaves and roots after removing its cover is used as ingredients of “singju” a salad type traditional snack items of Manipur. Out of cassava sweet snack item locally called “manghra heingan” in Manipur is also prepared. For making this sweet item, cassava is boiled with sugarcane molasses until it is cooked and reach certain sugar consistency of molasses. This sweet item is similar with murabba available in Indian market.

1. Introduction

Purple colour passion fruit (Passifora edulis Sims) is a tropical fruit and is well known for its nutritional content and medicinal properties (Patel, 2009). Various type of vitamin E such as α-tocopherol (5,7,8 trimethyl), β-tocopherol (5,8 dimethyl),g-tocopherol (7, 8-dimethyl),d-tocopherol (8-methyl) and α-tocotrienol, b-tocotrienol,g–tocotrierol and d- tocotrienol were quantified in passion fruit as antioxidant molecules with various health benefits (Ramaiya et al., 2013).

Foam mat drying convert thin pulp into stable foam by whipping. Eventually, the whipping process increases surface area, and speed up the drying rates which yield dried foam mat powder of acceptable quality in reduced time span (Kudra and Ratti, 2006). Rheology plays a vital role in food manufacture and marketing nowadays viz., design of handling systems, quality control and evaluation of sensory stimuli of viscosity (Barnes, 2001). It also concerns with how all food materials respond to applied forces and deformations. Basic concepts of stress (force per area) and strain (deformation per length) are keys to all rheological evaluations. Stress(r) is always a measurement of force per unit of surface area and is expressed in units of Pascals (Pa). The direction of the force with respect to the impacted surface area determines the type of stress. Normal stress occurs when the force is directly perpendicular to a surface and can be achieved during tension or compression. Shear stress occurs when the forces act in parallel to a surface. Various food shows different rheological behavior and categorized into solid and liquids stages. It basically means that food varies their characteristic in viscous and elastic behaviors commonly known as viscoelasticity of food, caused by entanglement of long chain molecules with other molecules (Abang, 2010). The dough rheology of various flour has been investigated by various research. Although, there has not been any published literature about dough rheology with incorporated passion fruit powder. To the best of our knowledge, there are no published reports regarding the shear stress properties of passion fruit powder incorporated rice dough.

1. Introduction

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical fruit having good sensorial characteristics such as, mechanical properties, flavor, acidity/sweetness ratio, color; and nutritional. Pineapple is known to be a good source of vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin B and antioxidants. The free radical scavenging activity of pineapple is found to be much higher than banana and is comparable to that of guava (Alothman et al., 2009). However, it is a perishable cash crop that grows in abundance in a short time. This necessitates protecting the perishable fruit against quality loss during storage and distribution.

Fruit leathers are an economic and convenient substitute for natural fruits with high nutritional components. Leathers are made by removing moisture from wet pulp until the desired cohesive “leathery” composition is obtained. Since it is light and low in moisture it has minimum storage problems and is economical to ship (Moyls, 1981). Therefore, making fruit leather from fresh fruits is an effective way to preserve fruits (Maskan et al., 2002). Furthermore, fruit leather has far fewer calories, less than 100 kcal per serving (Huang and Hsieh, 2005) and have a far greater nutritional value (e. g., especially in terms of energy, minerals, antioxidants and fiber) than the fresh fruits because all nutrients are concentrated. There are large numbers of fruit leather available in the market, such as mango leather, apricot fruit leather, grape leather, berry leather, kiwifruit leather, and jackfruit leather (Torres et al., 2015).

1. Introduction

Starch is present in the endosperm of cereal grains which provides the necessary energy during the process of germination and seedling establishment and rice starch is reported to supply 22% of global energy intake in humans (Sun et al, 2014). Starch is a semi-crystalline polymer composed mainly of linear and highly branched polymer viz. amylose and amylopectin respectively. Each polymer is composed of several D-glucose molecules and the difference lies only in the linkages between them. Amylose is a linear chain which is interlinked by α- (1→4) linkages and few branched chains (Kizil et al, 2002). Amylopectin subunits are linked by both-(1→4) and-(1→ 6), with about 95% of the glyosidic bonds being-(1→ 4) linkages and roughly 5% being-(1→ 6). The highly branched nature of amylopectin is attributed to the-(1→ 6) linkage.

CONTAMINATION

The healthy inner flesh of meat contains few or no microorganisms, although they have been found in lymph nodes, bone marrow and intestine. Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Clostridium and Salmonella have been isolated from lymph nodes of red meat animals. During slaughtering the lymph nodes are removed from edible parts. The important contamination, however comes from external sources during bleeding, handling and processing. During bleeding, skinning and cutting the main sources of microorganisms are from the exterior of the animal- hide, hoof and hair and the intestinal tract. The exterior of the animal harbours large number and many kinds of microorganisms from soil, water, feed and manure as well as its natural surface flora.

Knives, cloths, air and hands and clothing of workers can serve as intermediate sources of contamination. During handling and processing the contamination can come from containers, air, other contaminated meat, equipments and personnel.

Molds that grow on the surface of the meat include the species of Cladosporium, Sporotrichum, Geotrichum, Mucor, Monilia, Penicillium and Alternaria. The important bacteria found in meat are Staphylococcus, Sarcina, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, Proteus, Flavobacterium, Bacillus, Streptomyces, Escherichia and Salmonella.

14.1. EGGS

India is the third largest producer of eggs. Fresh eggs are gathered on automatic collection belts at the farm and stored in a cooler at about 7°C. The eggs are then delivered to a central processing plant, where they are washed, sanitized, and graded. Grading involves the sorting of eggs into size and quality categories using automated machines. Flash candling (passing the eggs over a strong light source) detects any abnormalities such as cracked eggs and eggs containing bloodspots or other defects. Higher-grade eggs have a thick, upstanding white, an oval yolk, and a clean, smooth, unbroken shell.

14.1.1. Eggs Contamination

More than 90 percent of all eggs are free of contamination at the time they are laid; contamination with Salmonella bacteria and with certain spoilage organisms occurs essentially afterward. They become contaminated by faecal matter from the hen, by the lining of nest, by handling, by wash water and packing materials. The total number of microorganisms per shell of a hen’s egg was found to range from 100 to 10,000,000 with a mean of about 100,000. Proper washing and sanitizing of eggs eliminates most Salmonella and spoilage organisms deposited on the shell. The organism Salmonella enteritidis, a common cause of gastroenteritis (a form of food poisoning), has been found to be transferred through the hen ovary in fewer than 1 percent of all eggs produced. Ovarian- transferred S. enteritidis can be controlled by thorough cooking of eggs (i.e., until there are no runny whites or yolk).

Bacterial species vary greatly in the ability of their cultures to remain alive after the completion of growth. Some species such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Streptobacillus are poorly viable and their cultures usually die out within a few day, whether kept at 37°C at room temperature or at 4-5°C; thus, they must be sub cultivated every 2-4 days for maintenance in the laboratory. Other species are much hardier,. especially sporing species which may remain viable for many years. There are also many non - sporing species (enterobacteriaceae) whose cultures, under suitable conditions, commonly remain viable for many months and often for as much as 10-20 years.

Abstract

Food is basic need of human for its existence. Food is a source of nutrients needed for growth, energy and protection. There are number of chemical compounds not considered as nutrients but has positive effect on health. There is a need to look into the health benefits of the food components. Many lifestyle diseases are caused by the unhealthy food habits. Developments in science have led to establish the link between food intake and healthy living. Non-nutrient compounds of food are also called phyto-chemicals. Functional foods are prepared by increasing a particular nutrient or phyto-chemical to get health benefits. The increased cost of health care and drugs trigger the developments in this area. The approximate global market size is 30 billion US$ while Japan, United States, and Europe are the leaders in functional foods. FICCI has reported that functional food market in India is worth Rs 4,400 crore with growth rate of 21%per annum.

Introduction

The food has been considered as source of nutrients in the past but increasing evidences has proved that particular types of food can help in preventing the diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that deaths due to Non-Communicable diseases are increasing in South East Asian counties; where as CMPN (Communicable, Maternity, Prenatal, and Nutrition) are

Production: According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nation, the global production of fruits and vegetables including melons was 638 and 1090 million metric tons while India produced 75 and 106 million metric tons in 2011. In addition to this, the world production of roots and tuber was 810 million metric tons whereas India produced 51 million metric tons in 2011. It indicates that fruits and vegetables form an important part of the diet in the world including India. There is an ample opportunity to manufacture various health promoting products based on fruits and vegetables. A number of Fruits and Vegetable based functional food that can be prepared and presented in (Table 1) indicates the role of fruits and vegetables in the nutraceutical production for their health benefits.

Abstract

Mango pulp is high in prebiotic dietary fibers vitamin c, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins and dietary minerals. Mint leaves are known for its medicinal aromatic and flavorsome qualities. Mint act as powerful antioxidant, protecting the body against the formation of cancerous cells and is rich source of polyphenolic compounds. Tulsi also have antioxidant, adaptogenic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and immune-enhancing properties. Honey is natural sweetener and has antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Medicinally, honey is non irritant promote rapid growth of healthy tissue and is useful in purities value, bed spores, skin and intestinal disorder, etc. Keeping in mind the beneficial effects of these raw materials, attempt was made to prepare value added drink from it, which may have medicinal value and good sensory acceptability with objective to prepare and evaluate the recipe for value added green mango-mint-tulsi beverage and to study the shelf life of the developed value added beverage. The formulation prepared with partial substitution of honey was more acceptable. Throughout the storage period, the squash prepared with honey scored more in flavor, taste, mouth-feel and overall acceptability than without honey. The cost of production without including labour, bottling and other overhead charges came out to be Rs. 34.5/L for squash without honey and Rs. 59.0/L for squash without honey.

Abstract

A functional food is defined as food that provides health benefit beyond the basic nutrition. Such foods reduce risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and dental caries. Consumers’ increasing interest for maintaining or improving their health by eating specific food items has led to the development of many new functional foods including dairy products. These functional dairy foods contain some functional ingredients that decrease the absorption of cholesterol, reduce blood pressure and play role in regulation of satiety and have antimicrobial effects. Milk is a good source of fat, protein and minerals. It also contains several intrinsic functional components like melatonin, conjugated linoleic acid etc. in amounts lower than the body requirements. Fermented dairy products contain probiotics with special health benefits. Functional dairy foods could be produced with the addition and/or generation of functional components. Some examples include milk, yogurts and cheese enriched with conjugated linoleic acid or plant stanols/sterols to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Fermented dairy foods possess various nutritional and therapeutic properties. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a major role in determining the positive health effects of fermented milks and related products. Dairy products with probiotics and prebiotics enhance digestive health, prevent colon cancer, help in lowering blood pressure and improve immune functions. Melatonin is important in curing of sleep disturbance and enhancement of alertness. Milk derived peptides have immunological, antimicrobial, ACE-inhibitory activity/antihypertensive, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant activity. The aspects of functional dairy foods will be presented in detail.

Our exposure to wide variety of chemicals has increased markedly in the recent past. Most of these compounds are mutagenic as well as potential carcinogens. Emphasis is being laid to develop method for detection of environmental carcinogens so that their use can be avoided.

Despite the fact that mammalian cell structure and human enzymatic pathways differ from those in bacteria, the chemical nature of DNA is common to all organisms; this permits the use of bacterial test systems for rapid detection of possible mutagens.

The Ames test which was developed by Bruce Ames in 1970, at the University of California, U.S.A. is a mutational reversion assay employing several special strains of Salmonella typhimurium, each of which has a different mutation in the amino acid histidine biosynthesis operon.

S. typhimurium, the indicator organism, used in this test is the mutant strain that cannot synthesize histidine (His^-), lack the enzyme to repair DNA so that mutation shows up readily and has leaky cell wall that permit the rapid entry of chemicals. In addition, this S. typhimurium strain carries mutation enhanced plasmid, the combined effect of these characters increase the sensitivity of the organism to mutagenic treatments.

Viruses are smaller than bacteria and require living cell for their growth. They can be detected through the bacteria to which they parasitise. Viruses are associated with both eukaryotes as well as prokaryotes and contain either DNA or RNA; only few have both DNA and RNA.

Viruses that infect bacteria are called bacteriophage. They consist of head or capsid and a tail. The head may be round, oval, polyhedral and is made up of proteins while tail is hollow and provides an exit for nucleic acid to enter in bacterial cell. The tail also helps in attachment to the cell wall surface of bacteria. After injection of the nucleic acid into bacteria they multiply and form large number of bacteriophage particles which cause lysis of the bacterial cell wall releasing many bacteriophages. Phages that cause lysis are known as lytic phages and that do not cause lysis are called temperate phage. The most common lytic phage is E.coli – a coliphage.

Today, organic and local foods are preferred as they use less pesticides or fertilizers. However, these foods, like others, can be exposed to harmful bacteria during the growing and harvesting process. The farmers and distributors must use good sanitary practices to minimize food contamination. Consumers should cook food properly. The street food vendors are a traditional and indigenous fast food approaching in most countries of the South-East Asia Region. As these are economical they cater to millions of consumers. Among safe street foods there are many contributing factors that are associated with the safety of street food. WHO had conducted a survey in 1993 covering 100 street foods in 100 countries around the world. It revealed that the major health threat comes from raw and undercooked food, infected food handlers and inadequate hygiene practices in processing and storing such food. If the street food is cooked well and is served hot, then the chances of food poisoning is less. The water quality, hygienic conditions and the level of cleanliness especially in the summer season are the major factors for food poisoning. However improvements in physical infrastructure and hygienic conditions are growing as consumers are also demanding quality food. Michael et al., (2017) have looked into organic versus conventional foods.

When certain disease-causing bacteria or pathogens contaminate food, they can cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning”. Foods that are contaminated may not look, taste or smell any different from foods that are safe to eat. Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Escherichia coli are common bacteria causing foodborne illness. Some foodborne illnesses are mild where most people get better within a few days, but illness can sometimes be more severe and fatal. Bacillus cereus can form heat resistant spores. On cooking the food with these spores the heat resistant toxin is left at room temperature. Reheating or lightly cooking the food does not destroy these toxins. Most types of foodborne illnesses cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps. Fever and/or the presence of blood or mucus in the stool are signs of bacterial infection that may require a medical consultation. Proper food handling is vital to prevent most foodborne illnesses and diseases. WHO has given keys towards safer food which should be followed. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases which range from diarrhoea to cancers. Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases kill around 2 million people worldwide annually, including many children. A single foodborne bacterium can grow into more than two million bacteria in just seven hours under the right conditions. Foodborne pathogen called Listeria sp. can survive and sometimes grow on foods being stored in the refrigerator. Hepatitis A virus can cause long-lasting liver disease and spreads typically through raw or undercooked seafood or contaminated raw produce. It is estimated that more than 250 million people worldwide suffer food allergies. The boiling temperature (smoke point) of cooking oil is above 200 °C. The boiling point of water is 100 °C.

According to the World Health Day (WHO,2015) food contamination happens when food are corrupted with another substance. It can happen during the process of production, transportation, packaging, storage, sales and cooking process. The contamination can be physical, chemical and biological. Faulde et al., (2013) studied the infection caused to patients by mothfly

Introduction

While Indian agriculture has evolved to provide food to our ever growing population, nutritional security had remained a distant dream. Vegetables, an important component of a healthy diet, are rich source of nutraceuticals such as flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins, anthocyanins, polyphenolics etc. Such constituents provide health benefits of disease prevention through antioxidant activity and reduced disease risks. Since perishable food commodities and light sensitive nutraceuticals have a specific shelf life, these run the risk of getting spoilt beyond a specific time. Excessive quantities of these must therefore, be processed and converted into value added products with improved shelf life and nutrition value after fortification with nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals are also referred to by different terminologies like functional foods, fusion foods, dietary supplements, designer foods etc. Nutraceutical products include food supplements, dietary supplements, value-added food products, processed food commodities as well as non-food supplements such as tablets, soft gels, capsules etc. A survey related to nutraceutical rich vegetables has revealed that farmers are growing only the conventional vegetables and there is little awareness about the use of nutraceutical rich vegetables.

Vegetables are rich sources of important phytochemicals, which provide essential nutrients and enhance the body’s ability to prevent and fight disease. There is a multitude of phytochemicals, in unique combinations, in different vegetables, and each functions differently in the body as anti-oxidant, as anti-allergenic, as anti-carcinogenic, as anti-inflammatory, as anti-viral, and/or anti-proliferative. Being of natural origin, some of the phytochemical pigments are increasingly sought after as food colorants. Some of the nutraceutical rich vegetable crops include red and black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and broccoli.

Introduction

Modern life style has taken the fitness out of the men. In ancient times, our life was labour oriented, whereas now we have lots of gadgetry to support our day to day living, thus making our life least labour oriented and we are now more susceptible to diseases diabetes, blood pressure and asthma were, until recently, associated with rich people only, however, these have now become common in urban and even rural areas irrespective of social status and age. The minimum physical exercise, coupled with carbohydrate and fat rich and fiber free diet and lots of tension in day to day life has given way to these diseases.

Since ages, plants have been mainstay medicinal support either in the form of herbal therapy (Like Ayurveda, Unani) or in the form of isolated active substances as being used in allopathic system of medicine. As per a WHO calculation, at least 80% population, in developing world, is dependent on direct use of medicinal plants.

Many of herbal therapies are very simple to use. It is therefore worthwhile to know about some of medicinal plants available commonly around us. The herbal preparations from these plants may not be dramatically effective to palliate disease, as allopathic medicines do, however, with judicious and regular use, we can avoid conversion of some of simple diseases into a major treatment problem.

It is fortunate that side effects of allopathic medicines have compelled us to reconsider the use of herbal remedies and physical exercise in the form of ‘Yoga’, aerobics or whatever you call it. The arid region of Northwest Rajasthan, although vegetated sparsely, is rich in medicinal plants. Some of the species, which are abound in the extreme arid ecosystem, have unique curative and therapeutic properties and some of them are getting a lot of mileage as nutraceuticals as well.

Introduction

Functional food or medicinal food is any healthy food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients. The general category of functional foods includes processed food or foods fortified with health-promoting additives, like “vitamin-enriched” products. Fermented foods with live cultures are considered as functional foods with probiotic benefits. Functional foods are an emerging field in food science due to their increasing popularity with health-conscious consumers. The term was first used in Japan in the 1980s where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) (Benkouider, 2005).

Distinguishing functional foods from dietary supplements and natural or herbal medicine is especially difficult, and cultural perceptions on this vary. Further complications are the large number of terms often used interchangeably and in a confusing manner such as health foods, nutraceuticals, designer foods, pharmafoods, and so forth. Much of the basic fortification (such as iodization of table salt) is no longer considered “Functional food” but new specialized extracts and ingredients for functional food fortification have emerged, including dietary fibres, plant sterols and probiotics. There is growing research on the potential of biotechnology to develop functional foods for improved health effects of the staple foods in developing countries—for example, high-iron rice, high-vitamin A rice, improved oil content in oil crops, and improved protein.

Introduction

Fruits, vegetables and some non food crops are rich source of natural antioxidants, food colorants and other bioactive natural products. Nutraceuticals and natural food colorants exhibit anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-proliferative properties. They tend to enhance ability of the body to fight, cure and prevent diseases. Natural anti-oxidants are particularly important because they scavenge harmful superoxide, hydroxy, and/or peroxide free radicals, and protect the body against a variety of cancers, heart and other life style related diseases. Vegetable like orange carrot, red carrot, black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and fruits like pomegranate, cherries, berries, watermelon and jamun are rich source of natural antioxidants and food colorants. While tomato and red carrot are rich in lycopenes, and carotenes; black carrot is a major source of stable acylated anthocyanins. The dark red colour of beet root is associated with anthocyanin, betacyanin and betaxanthins. Similarly, the red colour of chilli is attributed to the carotenoid pigment capsanthin. Capsaicinoids in chilli are responsible for the hot flavour and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidant and other beneficial health effects of pomegranate, cherries, berries, etc. have been attributed to anthocyanins and related polyphenols. Jamun, an under-utilized tropical fruits is rich in anthocyanins and flavonoides. Like anthocyanins, flavonoides and carotenes, lycopene helps to prevent various types of cancer particularly the prostate cancer.

Microalgae represent a promising alternative to renewable source of feedstock for natural food colorants and nutraceuticals and functional food production. With over 40,000 identified species, microalgae are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth. They naturally produce large quantities of many biomaterials. Out of the diverse compounds produced by microalgae, the algal pigments such as phycobillins, carotenoids and xanthophylls have gained commercial importance owing to their unique and multiple applications as food and cosmetic colourants, antioxidants and several beneficial effects of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical value. Microalgal research over the years has geared up significantly from outdoor mass culture in algal ponds, refinement of the cultivation process and life cycle assessment, downstream processing of biomass (i.e., harvesting, dewatering, and drying), to extraction, to systems/process scale-up analysis and development of an economic feasibility model for commercialization of algal biomaterials with nutraceutical properties. Among the various microalgae, Spirulina and Haematococcus are the major source of naturally occurring biopigments which are gaining importance as natural pigments in food, drug and cosmetic industries as an alternative to currently used synthetic colour. Improvement in the cultivation methodologies and use of closed photobioreactors of different configurations, fermentation reactors, open reactors and tubular reactors have opened up new vistas for the development of microalgal biotechnology and bioprospecting. The main constraints in non-exploitation for mass cultivation of microalgae are their slow growth rate, low biomass yield and inadequate culture methodologies and these issues remain to be addressed.

Ripe

This word is derived from Saxon word ‘Ripi’, which means gather or reap. This is the condition of maximum edible quality attained by the fruit following harvest. Only fruit which becomes mature before harvest can become ripe.

Ripening

Ripening involves a series of changes occurring during early stages of senescence of fruits in which structure and composition of unripe fruit is so altered that it becomes acceptable to eat. Ripening is a complex physiological process resulting in softening, colouring, sweetening and increases in aroma compounds so that ripening fruits are ready to eat or process. The associated physiological or biochemical changes are increased rate of respiration and ethylene production, loss of chlorophyll and continued expansion of cells and conversion of complex metabolities into simple molecules.